{"slug":"trump-michael-cohen-tax-fraud-bank-fraud","title":"Michael Cohen's Crimes Done at Trump's Direction: Tax Fraud, Bank Fraud, Campaign Finance","date":"2016-01-01","lastUpdated":"2018-12-12","description":"Michael Cohen — Donald Trump's personal attorney and fixer for over a decade — pleaded guilty in August 2018 to eight federal charges: two campaign finance violations, five counts of tax evasion, and one count of bank fraud. Cohen stated in open court that Trump directed him to commit the campaign finance crimes. His cooperation with prosecutors established that the hush money scheme was directed by Trump and executed with knowledge of campaign finance violations.","summary":"Cohen's guilty plea was not just his own conviction — it was Trump's implication. Cohen stated in federal court that the campaign finance crimes (the Daniels and McDougal payments) were committed 'in coordination with and at the direction of' a candidate for federal office. The federal prosecutors who accepted his plea treated Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator. Cohen served three years in federal prison; Trump, protected by the OLC no-indictment policy, was not indicted federally until after leaving office.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/nyregion/michael-cohen-plea-deal.html","title":"Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty and Says Trump Directed Him to Make Payments","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1083516/dl","title":"Michael Cohen Plea Agreement — SDNY","publisher":"U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michael-cohen-trump-election/2018/08/21/","title":"Cohen implicates Trump in campaign finance violations","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/68f5cc42e5c84d1f93a0f20e9d2f9e5b","title":"Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison; Trump implicated","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Michael-Cohen","campaign-finance","tax-fraud","bank-fraud","pre-presidency","hush-money","felony"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-08-21","title":"Cohen pleads guilty to eight federal charges","summary":"Cohen pleads guilty in federal court to five counts of tax evasion, one count of bank fraud, one count of making excessive campaign contributions, and one count of causing an unlawful corporate contribution. He states from the podium that the campaign finance crimes were committed at Trump's direction."},{"date":"2018-11-29","title":"Cohen cooperates with Mueller on Russia investigation","summary":"Cohen pleads guilty to a ninth charge — making false statements to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project — and agrees to cooperate with Robert Mueller. He provides new information about the Trump Tower Moscow project, which had continued through the 2016 campaign."},{"date":"2018-12-12","title":"Sentenced to 36 months","summary":"Cohen is sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, a $50,000 fine, and $1.4 million in restitution. The judge notes that Cohen's crimes were 'committed in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.'"},{"date":"2020-07-09","title":"DOJ attempts to revoke home confinement","summary":"The DOJ attempts to return Cohen to prison from home confinement after he announces plans to publish a memoir about Trump. A federal judge finds the attempt was an improper effort to suppress speech and orders his release."},{"date":"2024-02-01","title":"Cohen testifies at Trump trial — key prosecution witness","summary":"Cohen testifies extensively at Trump's Manhattan trial, describing the catch-and-kill scheme, the Daniels payment, and the falsified reimbursement checks. His testimony, along with Pecker's and documentary evidence, forms the core of the prosecution case that results in Trump's conviction on 34 counts."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"The American public defrauded through campaign finance violations; the IRS and taxpayers defrauded through Cohen's tax evasion; banks defrauded through fraudulent loan applications","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Directed the campaign finance crimes; unindicted co-conspirator","institution":"Trump campaign / Trump Organization"},{"name":"Michael Cohen","role":"Executed the crimes; pleaded guilty","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-02-01","summary":"Updated with Cohen's testimony at Trump's Manhattan trial."}]}}