Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, was sentenced Wednesday to 3 years after pleading guilty to nine federal charges stemming from his failure to report millions of dollars in income and making secret payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.
Cohen had also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of lying to Congress about his dealings on a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow.
An emotional Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, was sentenced Wednesday to 3 years after pleading guilty to nine federal charges stemming from his failure to report millions of dollars in income and making secret payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.
One of the charges Cohen pleaded guilty to included a separate charge, stemming from Robert Mueller’s probe into Tump’s potential collusion with Russia, that he lied to Congress about his dealings with a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow.
When standing before Judge William Pauley, Cohen said blind loyalty to Trump led him to “choose darkness over light.” He said he will work to prove history wrong and that he is not the villain in this investigation.
He appeared to tear up as he apologized to his family and to the people of the United States.
“I am truly sorry and I promise I will be better,” he said.
Cohen’s lawyers had previously argued against a prison sentence, citing his cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose office is investigating possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.