Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, had admitted arranging secret payoffs to women to keep quiet about alleged affairs with Trump, and to lying about a Trump business project in Moscow that was pursued during the heart of Trump’s campaign. On a cold, windy day in December 2018, he stood before a federal judge in Manhattan to hear what punishment he would receive for those crimes.
The sentencing hearing, which is captured word for word in this transcript, was remarkable. Cohen, in a charcoal suit and light blue tie, sniffed and fought back tears as he pleaded for leniency from Judge William H. Pauley III. Cohen said he had felt duty bound to cover up Trump’s “dirty deeds,” and in some ways his life was beginning anew, now that he was free from the “personal and mental incarceration” that came from working for Trump.
A prosecutor from the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan blasted Cohen for his personal wrongdoing. A special counsel’s office lawyer was gentler, noting that Cohen had been “helpful” to the special counsel’s probe.
Pauley sentenced Cohen to three years behind bars, along with nearly $2 million in financial penalties, crediting Cohen for his cooperation but rejecting Cohen’s bid to avoid prison entirely.
“While Mr. Cohen has taken steps to mitigate his criminal conduct by pleading guilty and volunteering useful information to prosecutors, that does not wipe the slate clean,” Pauley said.