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Federal prosecutors recommend 'substantial' jail time for Michael Cohen

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prosecutors say ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen deserves substantial prison time, despite his cooperation with Robert Mueller's investigation. Federal prosecutors said the crimes committed were "marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life."

Federal prosecutors in New York say sentencing guidelines call for Cohen to serve about four years behind bars. They say Cohen declined to cooperate in all aspects of their investigation and shouldn't receive full credit for cooperating because he wasn't forthcoming.

Federal prosecutors wrote that Cohen "committed four distinct federal crimes over a period of several years. He was motivated to do so by personal greed, and repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends."

The Associated Press released the full sentencing recommendation Friday evening.

The recommendation was in a filing ahead of Cohen’s sentencing in New York next week.

Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges and cooperated in multiple state and federal probes over several months, including having seven meetings with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

Prosecutors say President Donald Trump’s former lawyer gave investigators information about attempts by Russians to reach Trump’s campaign.

Prosecutors said Cohen was fielding outreach from Russians seeking to reach the Trump campaign as far back as 2015.

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.

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The documents also revealed crimes related to Cohen's dealings with women who claimed to have had affairs with the president.

They went on to write that Cohen "acted in coordination and direction of the President to pay off women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump."

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.