Mueller to reveal what Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort shared

[Glasgow]

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen could be jailed for four years for tax evasion, orchestrating hush-money payments and lying to Congress, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe gets closer to the US President.

Cohen’s own lawyer Lanny Davis declined to comment on Friday after prosecutors said in court filings that Cohen deserved a “significant” prison term.

The filings stated Cohen had overstated his assistance to law enforcement, but special counsel Robert Mueller credited him for meeting seven times with his prosecutors investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Federal prosecutors say Cohen declined to cooperate in all aspects of their investigation and shouldn’t receive full credit for cooperating because he wasn’t forthcoming.

Mueller’s prosecutors say the information from Cohen pertained to his contacts with people “connected” to the Trump White House during 2017 and 2018.

The contacts are being disclosed as Mueller investigates not only Russian election interference but whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation. The filing comes about a week before Cohen is scheduled to be sentenced after he pleaded guilty to a raft of felonies, including lying to Congress about a proposed Trump business deal in Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Court papers say Cohen described speaking to a Russian national who claimed to be a “trusted person” in the Russian Federation and proposed a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The person offered Trump’s campaign “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level.” The person wasn’t identified by name in the court documents.

Cohen’s lawyers, in their own filing last week, said he should be spared any prison time.

COMEY QUIZZED BY HOUSE COMMITTEES

The Comey filings occurred on the same day as former FBI Director James Comey met with two House committees for closed-door interviews.

House Republicans are questioning Comey on decisions made by the Justice Department during the 2016 presidential election.

Republicans argue that department officials were biased against President Donald Trump as they started an investigation into his campaign’s ties with Russia and cleared Democrat Hillary Clinton in a separate probe into her email use.

Speaking to the media on Capitol Hill, Comey was asked about Trump’s assertion that he is best friends with Mueller. “Note that I smiled,” the former FBI boss said.