Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen could be spending the next few years in jail. The sentencing memo from the Russian investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has recommended that Cohen spend the next four years in jail for the eight charges he’s plead guilty to. It also suggests that Cohen was not as cooperative as originally blasted out there by the news media (via WaPo) [emphasis mine]:
The filing was made Friday as Cohen prepares to be sentenced next week in two separate cases, one involving campaign finance violations and lying to a bank, and another in which he admitted to lying to Congress about efforts during the 2016 presidential campaign to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow.
Cohen had asked for a sentence of no prison time, citing his cooperation with investigators, but prosecutors for the Southern District of New York filed a memo arguing that he should serve significant time, possibly years, in prison.
“He seeks extraordinary leniency — a sentence of no jail time — based principally on his rose-colored view of the seriousness of the crimes; his claims to a sympathetic personal history; and his provision of certain information to law enforcement,” prosecutors wrote in their filing. “But the crimes committed by Cohen were more serious than his submission allows and were marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life.”
The filing also suggests Cohen’s cooperation with law enforcement was not so significant to the investigations swirling around the president.
BREAKING: Prosecutors say ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen deserves substantial prison time, despite his cooperation.
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 7, 2018
READ: New York prosecutors sentencing recommendation for President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen https://t.co/UoAM87Gdmh
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) December 7, 2018
So, maybe Cohen didn’t stab Trump in the back, but he very well could have.