Michael Cohen Is Going To Jail

GOTCHA! (Paskova/Getty Images)

Oh, how the mighty — and smarmy — have fallen! CNN is reporting that Michael Cohen, one time lawyer and confidant of Donald Trump, is expected to plead guilty to a variety of charges including multiple counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors.

The deal with prosecutors, the details of which are expected to be revealed at a 4 p.m. court hearing today in front of S.D.N.Y’s Judge William Pauley III, will include jail time and a monetary fine according to reports. The negotiations on the specific jail time and asset forfeiture was a sticking point, though obviously, the deal will still have to be approved by a judge.

Among the sticking points in the talks, the two sides were negotiating over jail time, according to one source. Cohen is pressing for three years but prosecutors are seeking 50 months.

Cohen has been concerned about asset forfeiture, leaving his family with nothing.

The deal may have far-reaching implications for the legal troubles of the president, as Stormy Daniels’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, was quick to point out.

The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. We will disclose it all to the public.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) August 21, 2018

So far, Donald Trump has not given a statement (or tweeted) about this development. We will update this story as it develops.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Michael Cohen Is Going To Jail curated from Above the Law