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Prosecutors want 'substantial term of imprisonment' for ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen

Posted at 4:51 PM, Dec 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-07 17:09:16-05

Federal prosecutors Friday requested that Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen receive "a substantial term of imprisonment" for various finance-related crimes.

In separate filings, prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's office and the Southern District of New York outlined their cases for Cohen's future.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes after being charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors. Those included tax fraud, making false statements to a bank and campaign-finance violations tied to his work for Trump, including payments Cohen made or helped orchestrate that were designed to silence women who claimed affairs with the then-presidential candidate. Trump has denied those claims.

"After cheating the IRS for years, lying to banks and to Congress, and seeking to criminally influence the Presidential election, Cohen's decision to plead guilty -- rather than seek a pardon for his manifold crimes -- does not make him a hero," prosecutors for the southern district wrote.

In its filing, Mueller's office says that Cohen took "significant steps" to help the investigation has accepted responsibility for his crimes. It argues any sentence he serves run concurrently.