Michael Cohen will plead guilty to charges of bank fraud in New York, arising out of his taxi cab medallion business. Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Cohen served for years as a top lawyer and self-described “fixer” of problems for Mr. Trump and the Trump family. If he agrees to cooperate with prosecutors, that could pose a significant setback for Mr. Trump and threaten to increase the president’s exposure to legal trouble in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether his associates colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The case in Manhattan was, in part, a referral from Mr. Mueller’s office.
Defendants who plead guilty and cooperate typically receive the benefit of a reduced prison sentence. The process of cooperating can take months and requires defendants to make complete confessions, so that they are viewed as taking responsibility for all their criminal conduct. The Department of Justice would enter a cooperation agreement only if prosecutors believed Mr. Cohen could provide them with useful evidence for a criminal investigation, legal experts say.
For Mr. Cohen, pleading guilty without cooperating could still benefit him by sparing him and his family a possible trial and protracted legal battle. Defendants who plead guilty generally receive lighter sentences than those who go to trial and are convicted, regardless of cooperation.
A lighter sentence is certainly a reason to plead guilty, but no sentence at all is a great reason to cooperate with authorities.
One thing’s for certain, with the Manafort trial ready to wind up and this new development with respect to Cohen, Donald Trump is not having a good day.
