[ad_1]
Michael D. Cohen, a former lawyer and adviser to President Trump, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the president's family business and a donor to inaugural committee, according to people close to the file.
Cohen, who worked for the Trump Organization for a decade, told prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not specify the nature of any irregularities.
Although it is unclear whether prosecutors found Mr. Cohen's credible information and if they had the intention to consult them, the meeting hinted that they were "safe." 39 were interested in more general aspects of the Trump organization, beyond their investigation of the role of the company in the payment of check. before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had relations with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last summer for arranging these payments.
Prosecutors also questioned Cohen about a donor to the president's inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and a political fundraiser, according to people close to the case who were not there. authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time Mr. Zuberi had paid $ 900,000 to the committee, he had also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and had made a substantial check to him, said the president. one of the people.
Although Mr. Cohen did not sign the agreement, he was setting up a consulting business with clients who wanted to understand and access the Trump administration.
Steve Rabinowitz, a spokesman for Mr. Zuberi, confirmed the check on Friday by claiming that it had risen to $ 100,000 and had never been cashed. Mr. Zuberi, the only person directly named in a recent subpoena that prosecutors sent to the inaugural committee, had previously denied having dealt with Mr. Cohen beyond a few conversations.
There is no indication that Mr Cohen, who should start serving a three-year prison term in May, has implicated Mr Trump in any irregularities discussed at last month's meeting. If the prosecutors concluded that Mr. Cohen's information was truthful and useful, they could ask the judge who sentenced him to reduce his jail sentence.
The White House has referred questions to the Trump organization. A spokeswoman for the company did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, the president accused Mr. Cohen of lying to try to reduce his sentence.
Lanny Davis, counsel and legal counsel for Mr. Cohen, did not want to comment on the investigations, though it was that his client was "interested in cooperating with and assisting prosecutors". a way that they find useful.
A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, known as the Southern District of New York, declined to comment.
Prosecutors have recently sought to question the leaders of the Trump Organization, according to a person informed of the request, which had already been reported by CNN. The nature of the questions they were trying to ask was not known.
Until now, Mr. Cohen is the only person sentenced to significant jail time in various investigations related to Mr. Trump.
In August, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws for his role in secret payments, as well as in tax and banking crimes. In a separate case brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special advocate, Mr. Cohen In November, he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress on the timing of negotiations for the construction of a Trump Skyscraper in Moscow and on the extent of Mr. Trump's involvement. to these plans.
In a note to the court before his conviction in December, Mr. Cohen's lawyers wrote that he was disproportionately punished for "regularly pursuing behavior by non-criminal means," citing his admiration for tax evasion. His lawyers compared celebrities to fines or much less time after being accused of significant tax evasion.
The session with the South District attorneys was not the first time that Mr. Cohen provided information that could possibly result in a reduction of the sentence. Previously, Mr. Cohen had met twice with prosecutors to facilitate their investigations of payments to women, including the Trump Organization's decision to reimburse Mr. Cohen for the $ 130,000 he paid to the actress. of pornographic movies Stormy Daniels.
In an interview in December, Mr. Cohen told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that he "was done with the lie." He continued, "I have finished being faithful to President Trump and my first loyalty goes to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country.
Federal law allows prosecutors to request – and a judge to grant – a reduced sentence of imprisonment to an accused who offers "substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person" within one year of conviction. The same rule would also allow the judge to consider the assistance provided by Mr. Cohen prior to his sentence to the special advocate. Last year, he met seven times with the prosecutors of Mr. Mueller's office.
The ongoing monitoring of the Trump family business and the southern district's inaugural committee comes as Mr. Mueller's investigation is concluded. Once he has written a report containing his findings, various aspects of his investigation are expected to continue in the South District and in other US law offices.
Mr. Cohen refused to seek a formal co-operation agreement with the Southern District, which would have required him to disclose any crimes he allegedly committed or would have known about, and delayed his conviction. His decision to give up such an agreement most likely contributed to the severity of his sentence; his lawyer had pleaded for no time in prison.
Mr. Trump had expressed a different point of view, saying that last year, Mr. Cohen should serve a "full and complete" sentence. And as Mr. Cohen remains in the limelight as a likely witness before Congress, Mr. Trump he stepped up his attacks on his former employee, urging prosecutors and the media to take a close look at Mr. Cohen's family.
The attacks led Mr. Cohen to postpone the scheduled appearance before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month. But this week, the committee announced that the testimonies were back for next Wednesday and that the Democrats were considering questioning Mr. Cohen on "the president's business practices".
Mr. Cohen also agreed to testify in camera before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Mr. Cohen was originally scheduled to begin his jail term next month, but his lawyers cited Congressional testimony, as well as recent shoulder surgery, as a reason for the arrest. a period of two months. The judge in charge of Mr. Cohen's case granted the request on Wednesday.
[ad_2]
Source link