TRUMP’S “FIXER” DESPERATELY TRYING TO STAY OUT OF PRISON

 

…Caricature of Michael Cohen after the FBI raid on his home & office

Cohen is rightfully afraid for himself and his family when he heads to prison

It appears that Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s “Fixer” attorney is doing everything he can to stay out of prison.

Now, Cohen’s attorneys have made it clear to the congressional Democrats that he has amazingly discovered another treasure trove of new files that could be relevant to their investigations into Trump.

His lawyers made this claim as part of a highly un­or­tho­dox appeal to key Democrats in order to help them keep Cohen out of prison. These lawyers asked the Democrats to put in writing that not only has Cohen been significantly helpful to them, but he also could be a valuable asset going forward.

Cohen’s lawyers are saying that time is running out before his three-year prison sentence begins in May.  They want Cohen to go through the 14 million files from his computers and phones, including all his emails and voice recordings.

The lawyers tease that Cohen has “located several documents that we believe have significant value to the various congressional oversight and investigation committees,” and Cohen needs to remain out of prison to continue sifting through them.

It is true that Cohen is responsible for moving the Democrats’ investigations forward by providing them a real rationale for requesting Trump’s tax returns and other financial information.  Cohen’s knowledge of Trump’s activities over the last decade could possibly nail the president as he has acted like a “Mob Boss” for all his years working in New York City’s sometimes way of doing business.

There is a reason that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors are known as the renowned anti-Mob prosecutors.  Back in the 1920’s & 30’s, most of the major illegal Mob families had begun in New York, New Jersey and Chicago.

Cohen and his lawyers are seriously afraid of what will happen to Cohen if he is sent to a prison where the inmates tend to deal harshly with anyone that became a “squealer” to the authorities.  The president has already called Cohen “a Rat”, which is the Mob term for anyone that “squeals to the Feds”.  Even today, many of those so called “Rats” have been mysteriously murdered in their jail cells due to their “turning against the Boss”, and Cohen has certainly done that.  In addition, some of those that have turned to the authorities, their families have also been threatened and harassed.

“There is no doubt that Mr. Cohen’s testimony, both public and private, has contributed substantially to the investigation.  This is with documents and other evidence, to triggering additional areas for investigation by law enforcement authorities and the Congress,” his lawyers wrote. “He has done so despite intense personal pressures and stresses he faces for himself and his family. However, with only 30 days left before he surrenders to prison, time is no longer a luxury he is capable of.”

Michael Cohen is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence next month for bank and tax fraud, as well as for lying to Congress about details of the negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.  He is also guilty of campaign finance violations related to the hush-money payments to two women who had affairs with Trump before the November 2016 election.

Cohen told a judge that he lied to Congress about the Moscow project because he wanted his testimony to match Trump’s false public claims that he had no business with Russia during the campaign.  He also said he was directed by Trump to arrange for the illegal payments to the two women.  He even showed the copies of the checks signed by Trump for re-paying Cohen as reimbursement for the women’s payments.

During Cohen’s sentencing hearing in December, prosecutors from the Office of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller III, who told a judge that Cohen had provided helpful and reliable information to the Russia investigation.

However, Cohen screwed up when the New York prosecutors who handled Cohen’s non-Russia-related charges, stated that Cohen had not fully cooperated by declining to answer some of their questions. Ever since that period, Cohen has been attempting to offer additional information to New York prosecutors.  It is an obvious bid to persuade them to ask the judge to reduce his sentence.

With this new letter to Congress, Cohen’s lawyers are pursuing a highly unusual, but understandable strategy to enlist Democratic lawmakers’ assistance.  The lawyers are trying to convince prosecutors that his prison time should be postponed. They also hope the Democrats’ support could help get Cohen’s sentence reduced, or for him to be sent to a white-collar detention facility.

Copyright G. Ater 2019