President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced on Wednesday, December 12, to three years in prison.
The 52-year-old, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, slightly shook his head and closed his eyes as U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III made the announcement in federal court in New York City. He was ordered to surrender to prison on March 6, 2019.
The New York Times reports that the judge said Cohen “should have known better” than to commit a “smorgasbord” of crimes that included lying about the president’s business dealings in Russia and paying “hush money” to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom have claimed they had affairs with Trump.
Earlier in the day, the attorney blamed his actions on his “blind loyalty to Donald Trump” and said he “felt it was my duty to cover up [Trump’s] dirty deeds.” He also apologized to the public, saying, “Lying to you was unjust.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in August to evading $1.4 million in taxes related to his personal businesses. He also confessed to breaking campaign finance laws by arranging payments to Daniels, 39, and McDougal, 47, at the direction of Trump, 72, during the 2016 presidential election.
The former Celebrity Apprentice host has repeatedly denied having affairs with Daniels and McDougal.
