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Michael Cohen Is Going To Jail

Michael Cohen is expected to plead guilty today.

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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:

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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UPDATE: According to the New York Times, the plea agreement between Cohen and federal authorities does not require Cohen to cooperate with prosecutors as a term of the deal.

UPDATE #2: As part of his allocution, Cohen notes he acted in “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office” to keep information harmful to the candidate and campaign from the public.

He also admitted to drinking his scotch on the rocks:

And we have a calculation on the minimum sentence he is facing as a result of these guilty pleas:

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headshotKathryn 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).

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