MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The clock is ticking for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer. Though he has asked for no jail time, the real question is how much he’ll get in light of dueling sentencing memos that paint entirely different pictures of him. Last week, speculation from TV pundits fueled a frenzy of analysis as to whether federal prosecutors would recommend prison time for Cohen. The answer came late Friday, when the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office asked that Cohen be sentenced to ‘a substantial term of imprisonment.’ Special counsel Robert Mueller also filed a memo and said Cohen’s sentence ‘should reflect the fact that lying to federal investigators has real consequences.’ Cohen’s sentencing Wednesday in New York will consolidate his guilty pleas in two cases for convictions relating to his illegal activities on Trump’s behalf.”
–Michael J. Stern, “A tale of two Michael Cohens: Sentencing memos paint opposite portraits of Trump ex-lawyer,” USA Today, December 12, 2018 8:12 pm