Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen seeks reduction in U.S. prison term
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[December 12, 2019]
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, a
former lawyer for Donald Trump who became a key witness against the
president for House Democrats, is seeking a reduction in his current
three-year prison sentence, an attorney for Cohen said on Wednesday.
Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis said that Cohen had filed a court motion
seeking a reduction in his sentence as credit for his cooperation with
investigators looking into various issues related to Trump.
Cohen, who once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump, was jailed for
arranging payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former
Playboy model Karen McDougal during the 2016 U.S. presidential election
campaign. Cohen said that Trump directed the payments.
"We question whether Attorney General [William] Barr, who thinks his
role is to act as President Trump’s personal attorney rather than the
attorney for the American people, has interfered and influenced the
decision not to credit Mr. Cohen for all his cooperation in bringing the
facts out publicly about Mr. Trump’s wrongdoing," Davis said in an email
to Reuters.
"We also respectfully ask the court to consider the fairness of what
appears to be unjust targeting and selective prosecution of only Mr.
Cohen, who took responsibility while all others in the Trump
Organization, including Mr. Trump himself, have thus far escaped all
accountability," Davis added.
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![](../images/121219pics/news_f13.jpg)
Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer, leaves
his apartment to report to prison in Manhattan, New York, U.S., May
6, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
He said that the deadline for Cohen to request a reduction in his
current sentence was Thursday, one year from when his sentence was
imposed.
Davis said that Cohen was not seeking a specific reduction in his
sentence, but rather that he and his lawyers were leaving that "to
the discretion and fairness" of a federal judge.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Dec/12/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small_2016.png)
Cohen is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute
in Otisville, New York, about 70 miles (113 km)northwest of New York
City.
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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