WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene with the U.S. Justice Department in the case against a Chinese telecommunications executive if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing.

“If I think it’s good for the country, if I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made – which is a very important thing – what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters in the Oval Office.

Trump expressed optimism that he could strike a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries struggle to resolve a dispute that has contributed to recent U.S. stock market declines and raised questions about whether economic turmoil could beset the president in the new year.

At the request of U.S. authorities, Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested earlier this month in Vancouver on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The arrest came the same day Trump and Xi declared a 90-day truce in their trade war during summit talks in Buenos Aires.

Trump, who wants China to open up its markets to more American-made products and stop what Washington calls the theft of intellectual property, said he had not yet spoken to Xi about the case against Huawei’s executive.

Over the course of the 30-minute interview, Trump also addressed the controversy surrounding the Oct. 2 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying he stood firmly beside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite accusations that he was the mastermind of it.

Trump refused to comment on whether the crown prince was complicit in the murder, but he provided perhaps his most explicit show of support for MbS, as the prince is known, since Khashoggi’s death more than two months ago.

“He’s the leader of Saudi Arabia. They’ve been a very good ally,” Trump said. Asked if standing beside Saudi Arabia means also standing by the crown prince, Trump said, “Well, at this moment, it certainly does.”

While Trump has condemned the murder of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist who was often critical of MbS, he has given the benefit of the doubt to the prince with whom he has cultivated a deep relationship.

Trump again reiterated on Tuesday that MbS “vehemently denies” involvement in a killing that has sparked outrage around the world.

Despite Trump’s desire to maintain close ties to Saudi Arabia, several of his fellow Republicans have joined Democrats in blaming the crown prince for Khashoggi’s death and backing legislation to respond by ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen, imposing new sanctions and stopping weapons sales.

Last month, the CIA assessed that MbS ordered the killing.

In the wake of his meeting with Xi in Buenos Aires, Trump said during the interview that trade talks with Beijing were under way by telephone, with more meetings likely among U.S. and Chinese officials.

He said the Chinese government was once again buying large quantities of U.S. soybeans, a reversal after China in July imposed tariffs on U.S. supplies of the oilseed in retaliation for U.S. duties on Chinese goods.

“I just heard today that they’re buying tremendous amounts of soybeans. They are starting, just starting now,” Trump said.

Commodity traders in Chicago, however, said they have seen no evidence of a resumption of soybean purchases by China, which last year bought about 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports in deals valued at more than $12 billion.

Already fraught, relations between the United States and China have been further complicated by the arrest of Meng, 46. She faces U.S. accusations she misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of a company operating in Iran, putting the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions and incurring severe penalties, court documents said.

If extradited to the United States, Meng would face charges of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions. A Canadian court on Tuesday granted Meng bail while she awaits an extradition hearing

Trump has intervened on behalf of a Chinese company before. Earlier this year he revisited penalties for Chinese company ZTE Corp for lying to the U.S. after the company pleaded guilty to violating U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran, saying the telecom maker is a big buyer for U.S. suppliers.

Trump said Meng could potentially be released.

“Well, it’s possible that a lot of different things could happen. It’s also possible it will be a part of negotiations. But we’ll speak to the Justice Department, we’ll speak to them, we’ll get a lot of people involved,” he said.

Asked if he would like to see Meng extradited to the United States, Trump said he wanted to first see what the Chinese request. He added, however, that Huawei’s alleged practices are troubling.

“This has been a big problem that we’ve had in so many different ways with so many companies from China and from other places,” he said.

On the domestic front, Trump waved off concerns that he could face the possibility of impeachment when Democrats, intent on greater oversight of the president, take command of the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

“It’s hard to impeach somebody who hasn’t done anything wrong and who’s created the greatest economy in the history of our country,” he said. “I think people would revolt if that happened.”

Trump said the accusations in the probe on whether his campaign colluded with Russia in 2016 amounted to “peanut stuff.” Payments that he allegedly made to an adult film actress and a former Playboy model through then-lawyer Michael Cohen were not a violation of campaign finance law, he added.

“Michael Cohen is a lawyer. I assumed he would know what he’s doing. You rely on somebody. Hey, he was a lawyer. Number

one: it wasn’t a campaign contribution. If it were, it’s only civil. And even if it’s only civil, there was no violation based on what we did,” Trump said.</s>Michael Cohen (left), US President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, attends his sentencing hearing in New York on Wednesday with attorney Guy Petrillo in this courtroom sketch. Graphic: Reuters</s>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, was sentenced to a total of three years in prison on Wednesday for his role in making illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump’s 2016 election campaign and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia.

U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan sentenced Cohen to three years for the payments, which violated campaign finance law, and to two months for the false statements to Congress. The two terms will run concurrently.

Cohen pleaded guilty to the campaign finance charge in August and to making false statements in November.</s>US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen delivered a blistering attack on his ex-boss as he was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for multiple crimes including paying “hush money” to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

Cohen, 52, Trump’s longtime “fixer,” said he was taking responsibility for his personal crimes and “those implicating the President of the United States of America.”

Cohen’s lawyers had asked for no jail time after he admitted tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, illegal campaign contributions and making false statements to Congress.

But Pauley said Cohen — as a lawyer — “should have known better” and sentenced him to three years in federal prison, ordering him to surrender to custody by March 6.

“Each of these crimes standing alone warrant considerable punishment,” Pauley said, adding that Cohen was “motivated by personal greed and ambition.”

Before the judge passed his sentence Cohen addressed the court.

“Today is the day that I am getting my freedom back,” he said.

“I have been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that I accepted the offer to work for a real estate mogul whose business acumen that I deeply admired,” he said.

Cohen referenced a tweet from Trump calling him “weak,” saying his “weakness was a blind loyalty to Donald Trump.”

Cohen pleaded guilty to charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York and by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether any members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow.

Among the counts against Cohen was making “hush money” payments to silence two women threatening to go public during the 2016 presidential election campaign with claims they had affairs with Trump.

Cohen told prosecutors the payments totaling $280,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal were made “in coordination with and at the direction” of Trump.

Both women have claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump before he was the Republican candidate for president and prosecutors have characterized the payments as illegal campaign contributions intended to influence the election.

“Cohen deceived the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election,” prosecutors said.

Trump this week sought to minimize the importance of the payments saying they were a “simple private transaction” and that they were “wrongly” being called campaign contributions.

“Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced,” Trump tweeted. “WITCH HUNT!”

In a sentencing memo, the special counsel’s office said Cohen had “gone to significant lengths” to assist their investigation.

Last month Cohen acknowledged that he lied to Congress about his contacts with Russia about building a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen, wearing a dark suit with a light blue tie, arrived for the sentencing with his wife, son and daughter, who was walking with a crutch.

For 12 years, Cohen was vice president of The Trump Organization, the umbrella company for Trump’s real estate businesses, and one of the principal confidants of the New York billionaire.

Investigators raided Cohen’s offices and New York home in April and he admitted in August to hiding about $4 million in revenue from his taxi business from the tax authorities.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.</s>Michael Cohen, a lawyer who made his career protecting President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 36 months in prison Wednesday for dodging taxes, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.A federal judge in New York sentenced Cohen for making illegal hush-money payments to two women to protect Trump during the campaign - a scandal that could damage Trump's presidency. Other crimes for which Cohen will be sentenced include tax evasion and lying to Congress about the president's past business dealings in Russia.Some of Cohen's crimes, his attorneys said, were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump, rather than any nefarious intent.He has pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about his work on a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, hiding the fact that he continued to speak with Russians about the proposal well into the presidential campaign.Cohen also pleaded guilty in August to breaking campaign finance laws by helping orchestrate payments to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who said they had sexual encounters with Trump while he was married.For weeks, Cohen's legal strategy appeared to revolve around persuading the court that he is a reformed man who abandoned longtime friendships and gave up his livelihood when he decided to cut ties with the president and speak with federal investigators. Cohen's lawyers have said in court filings that their client could have stayed on the president's side and angled himself for a presidential pardon.New York prosecutors have urged a judge to sentence Cohen to a substantial prison term, saying he'd failed to fully cooperate and overstated his helpfulness.They've asked for only a slight reduction to his sentence based on his work with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller and prosecutors looking into the campaign finance violations in New York.A probation-only sentence, they said, is unbefitting of "a man who knowingly sought to undermine core institutions of our democracy.""While many Americans who desired a particular outcome to the election knocked on doors, toiled at phone banks, or found any number of other legal ways to make their voices heard, Cohen sought to influence the election from the shadows. He did so by orchestrating secret and illegal payments to silence two women who otherwise would have made public their alleged extramarital affairs" with Trump, prosecutors wrote.Prosecutors said Cohen orchestrated payments to McDougal and Daniels at Trump's direction.Trump, who insists the affairs never happened, said Monday in a tweet that the payments to the women were "a simple private transaction," not a campaign contribution. And if it was campaign contribution, the president said, Cohen is the one who should be held responsible."Lawyer's liability if he made a mistake, not me," Trump wrote, adding, "Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!"A sentence of hard time would leave Cohen with little to show for his decision to plead guilty, though experts said Wednesday's hearing might not be the last word on his punishment.Cohen could have his sentence revisited if he strikes a deal with prosecutors in which he provides additional cooperation within a year of his sentence, said Michael J. Stern, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit and Los Angeles."Few things spark a defendant's renewed interest in cooperating faster than trading in a pair of custom Italian trousers for an off-the-rack orange jump suit," he said.Annemarie McAvoy, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said prosecutors appear to be angry at Cohen for limiting his cooperation."It could be a tactic to try to break him like they've tried to do with (Paul) Manafort," McAvoy said, referring to Trump's former campaign chairman. "It kind of shows they're putting the screws to him. If they're not mad at him, he didn't give them what they wanted."Cohen's transition from Trump's fixer-in-chief to felon has been head-spinning.He once told an interviewer he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But facing prosecution for evading $1.4 million in taxes, Cohen pleaded guilty in August, pledged to cooperate with Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the presidential election and changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat.Judge Pauley, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton, may allow Cohen to begin serving any prison term he receives at a later date. But legal experts said Cohen could also be taken into custody immediately."If I were advising him, I'd encourage him to bring his toothbrush to court," said Stern.Cohen's lawyers have asked for no prison time, saying he has suffered enough already."The greatest punishment Michael has endured in the criminal process has been the shame and anxiety he feels daily from having subjected his family to the fallout from his case," his attorneys wrote in a court filing last month. "The media glare and intrusions on all of them, including his children, the regular hate correspondence and written and oral threats, the fact that he will lose his law license, the termination of business relationships by banks and insurers and the loss of friendships, are but some of this fallout."</s>NEW YORK -- The latest on the sentencing of Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump (all times local):

A judge says Michael Cohen's co-operation with prosecutors "does not wipe the slate clean" of his crimes.

U.S. District Judge William Pauley III made the comments Wednesday as he handed down a three-year prison sentence to the former lawyer for President Donald Trump.

Pauley said that Cohen "appears to have lost his moral compass" and that the lawyer "should have known better" than to dodge taxes, lie to Congress and violate campaign finance laws.

The 52-year-old Cohen pleaded guilty to those offences.

He said Wednesday he takes "full responsibility" for the crimes he admitted committing. But he also said his "blind loyalty" to Trump made him feel a duty to "cover up" the president's "dirty deeds."

Trump had called for a tough sentence for Cohen, whom he labeled a liar.

President Donald Trump's former lawyer has been sentenced to three years in prison.

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said Wednesday that Michael Cohen deserved a harsh punishment for crimes including tax evasion, lying to Congress and arranging illicit payments to silence women who posed a risk to Trump's presidential campaign.

The judge rejected arguments by Cohen's lawyers that he should be spared jail time because he co-operated in multiple federal investigations involving Trump.

Cohen said his "blind loyalty" to Trump made him feel a duty to "cover up" the president's "dirty deeds."

Cohen's crimes included evading $1.4 million in taxes and misleading Congress about his talks with Russians about a Trump skyscraper project in Moscow.

Trump had called for a tough sentence for Cohen, whom he labeled a liar.

President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen says his "blind loyalty" to Trump led Cohen to "cover up his dirty deeds."

Cohen said at his sentencing Wednesday that he takes "full responsibility" for the crimes he admitted committing. But he went on to say his allegiance to Trump led him "to take a path of darkness instead of light."

Cohen has pleaded guilty to dodging taxes, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.

Cohen, who used to be the president's self-described fixer, could get about four to five years in prison.

His lawyer is arguing for leniency, noting Cohen's co-operation with prosecutors investigating whether Russians attempted to influence Trump's campaign.

But a prosecutor on the case against Cohen says Cohen's crimes showed a pattern of deceit, brazenness and greed.

A prosecutor with special counsel Robert Mueller's office says President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen "has provided consistent and credible information about core Russia-related issues under investigation."

Jeannie Rhee didn't elaborate on that information as she spoke Wednesday at Cohen's sentencing. But she did say that Cohen "has sought to tell us the truth, and that is of the utmost value to us."

The 52-year-old Cohen served as Trump's personal lawyer and self-described fixer. Cohen has pleaded guilty to dodging taxes, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.

Cohen could get about four to five years in prison, but his lawyer is arguing for leniency.

His attorney, Guy Petrillo, says Cohen "came forward to offer evidence against the most powerful person in our country" when he co-operated with prosecutors.

A defence lawyer says Michael Cohen "came forward to offer evidence against the most powerful person in our country" when he co-operated with prosecutors investigating whether Russians attempted to influence President Donald Trump's campaign.

Cohen's lawyer, Guy Petrillo, told a judge Wednesday that Cohen "stood up to power and influence."

Petrillo spoke as Cohen faced sentencing after pleading guilty to dodging taxes, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.

Cohen could get four to five years in prison, but his lawyers are arguing for leniency.

The outspoken lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels has turned up at the federal courthouse in Manhattan where Michael Cohen is scheduled to be sentenced for crimes including a hush-money payment to the performer.

Michael Avenatti represented Daniels in a legal dispute with Cohen in which she sought to be released from the non-disclosure agreement.

Avenatti has bashed Cohen for months on cable television, saying President Donald Trump's former lawyer deserves to go to prison.

Cohen's sentencing will begin Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Cohen pleaded guilty to evading $1.4 million in taxes, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Prosecutors say the $130,000 payment Cohen made to Daniels exceeded legal limits.

His lawyers say some of his crimes were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump.

New York prosecutors have urged a judge to give Cohen substantial prison time.

President Donald Trump's former lawyer has arrived at the courthouse in Manhattan where he is scheduled to be sentenced for evading taxes, lying to Congress, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Michael Cohen was accompanied Wednesday by his wife and two college-aged children. He didn't stop to speak with a crowd of reporters.

Cohen is facing the possibility of four years in prison. His lawyers have asked for leniency.

They say some of his crimes were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump.

New York prosecutors have urged a judge to give Cohen substantial prison time.

He also admitted misleading Congress about a Trump real estate project in Moscow and orchestrating prohibited payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump.

A lawyer who made his career protecting President Donald Trump is set to learn whether co-operating with federal investigators will lessen his punishment for dodging taxes, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws.

Michael Cohen's sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. at a courthouse in Manhattan.

He could get around four years in prison. His lawyers have asked for leniency.

They say some of his crimes were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump.

Cohen pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about a Trump real estate project in Moscow and orchestrating prohibited payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump.

New York prosecutors have urged a judge to give Cohen a substantial prison term.

This is a breaking news update. See earlier story below

NEW YORK -- Michael Cohen, a lawyer who made his career protecting U.S. President Donald Trump, is set to learn Wednesday whether his decision to co-operate with federal investigators will lessen his punishment for crimes including making illegal hush-money payments to two women during the 2016 campaign -- a scandal that could damage Trump's presidency.

Cohen said nothing to reporters as he arrived at court for his sentencing, where U.S. District Judge William Pauley III is set to decide whether the attorney will get leniency or years in prison for campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress about the president's past business dealings in Russia.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Cohen, 52, stands to get about four years in prison, but his lawyers have argued for leniency.

Some of Cohen's crimes, they said, were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump, rather than any nefarious intent.

He has pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about his work on a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, hiding the fact that he continued to speak with Russians about the proposal well into the presidential campaign.

Cohen also pleaded guilty in August to breaking campaign finance laws by helping orchestrate payments to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who said they had sexual encounters with Trump while he was married.

Daniels' outspoken lawyer, Michael Avenatti, also turned up for Cohen's sentencing. Avenatti represented Daniels in a legal dispute with Cohen, in which she sought to be released from an agreement prohibiting her from talking about the alleged affair. Avenatti has bashed Cohen for months on cable television, saying Trump's ex-lawyer deserves to go to prison.

Meanwhile, Cohen looked relaxed as he sat in court awaiting the proceeding, occasionally looking at papers on the table in front of him.

For weeks, Cohen's legal strategy appeared to revolve around persuading the court that he is a reformed man who abandoned longtime friendships and gave up his livelihood when he decided to cut ties with the president and speak with federal investigators. Cohen's lawyers have said in court filings that their client could have stayed on the president's side and angled himself for a presidential pardon.

New York prosecutors have urged a judge to sentence Cohen to a substantial prison term, saying he'd failed to fully co-operate and overstated his helpfulness.

They've asked for only a slight reduction to his sentence based on his work with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller and prosecutors looking into the campaign finance violations in New York.

A probation-only sentence, they said, is unbefitting of "a man who knowingly sought to undermine core institutions of our democracy."

"While many Americans who desired a particular outcome to the election knocked on doors, toiled at phone banks, or found any number of other legal ways to make their voices heard, Cohen sought to influence the election from the shadows. He did so by orchestrating secret and illegal payments to silence two women who otherwise would have made public their alleged extramarital affairs" with Trump, prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors said Cohen orchestrated payments to McDougal and Daniels at Trump's direction.

Trump, who insists the affairs never happened, said Monday in a tweet that the payments to the women were "a simple private transaction," not a campaign contribution. And if it was campaign contribution, the president said, Cohen is the one who should be held responsible.

"Lawyer's liability if he made a mistake, not me," Trump wrote, adding, "Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!"

A sentence of hard time would leave Cohen with little to show for his decision to plead guilty, though experts said Wednesday's hearing might not be the last word on his punishment.

Cohen could have his sentence revisited if he strikes a deal with prosecutors in which he provides additional co-operation within a year of his sentence, said Michael J. Stern, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit and Los Angeles.

"Few things spark a defendant's renewed interest in co-operating faster than trading in a pair of custom Italian trousers for an off-the-rack orange jump suit," he said.

Annemarie McAvoy, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said prosecutors appear to be angry at Cohen for limiting his co-operation.

"It could be a tactic to try to break him like they've tried to do with (Paul) Manafort," McAvoy said, referring to Trump's former campaign chairman. "It kind of shows they're putting the screws to him. If they're not mad at him, he didn't give them what they wanted."

Cohen's transition from Trump's fixer-in-chief to felon has been head-spinning.

He once told an interviewer he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But facing prosecution for evading $1.4 million in taxes, Cohen pleaded guilty in August, pledged to co-operate with Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the presidential election and changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat.

Judge Pauley, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton, may allow Cohen to begin serving any prison term he receives at a later date. But legal experts said Cohen could also be taken into custody immediately.

"If I were advising him, I'd encourage him to bring his toothbrush to court," said Stern.

Cohen's lawyers have asked for no prison time, saying he has suffered enough already.

"The greatest punishment Michael has endured in the criminal process has been the shame and anxiety he feels daily from having subjected his family to the fallout from his case," his attorneys wrote in a court filing last month. "The media glare and intrusions on all of them, including his children, the regular hate correspondence and written and oral threats, the fact that he will lose his law license, the termination of business relationships by banks and insurers and the loss of friendships, are but some of this fallout."</s>Michael Cohen, who as President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer once vowed he would “take a bullet” for his boss, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for an array of crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to two women that he says was done at the direction of Trump.

The sentence was in line with what federal prosecutors asked for. Sentencing guidelines called for around four to five years behind bars, and prosecutors asked in court papers that Cohen be given only a slight break. He is ordered to surrender March 6.

Cohen, standing alone at the defense table, shook his head slightly and closed his eyes briefly as the sentence was announced by the judge.

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said Cohen deserved modest credit for his decision over the summer to admit guilt and cooperate in a federal investigation of efforts by Russians to influence the presidential election, but his assistance “does not wipe the slate clean.”

“Somewhere along the way Mr. Cohen appears to have lost his moral compass,” the judge said. “As a lawyer, Mr. Cohen should have known better.”

Cohen told the judge just before he was sentenced that loyalty to Trump led him astray.

“It was my blind loyalty to this man that led me to take a path of darkness instead of light,” he said. “I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds.”

Cohen’s lawyers had argued for leniency, saying he decided to cooperate with investigators rather than hold out for a possible pardon.

“He came forward to offer evidence against the most powerful person in our country,” Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo, told the judge during the hearing.

Cohen, 52, pleaded guilty in August to evading $1.4 million in taxes related to his personal businesses. In the part of the case with greater political repercussions, he also admitted breaking campaign finance laws in arranging payments in the waning days of the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom said they had sexual encounters with Trump.

Cohen became the first — and so far, only — member of Trump’s circle during two years of investigations to go into open court and implicate the president in a crime, though whether a president can be prosecuted is a matter of legal dispute.

Last month, Cohen also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump’s business dealings in Russia. He admitted hiding the fact that he was negotiating a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow well into the presidential campaign. He said he lied out of devotion to Trump, who had insisted during the campaign that he had no business ties whatsoever to Russia.

The sentence was the culmination of a spectacular rise and fast fall of a lawyer who attached himself to the fortunes of his biggest client, helped him get elected president, then turned on him, cooperating with two interconnected investigations: one run by federal prosecutors in New York, the other by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into Russian efforts to influence the race for the White House.

At the sentencing hearing, a prosecutor in Mueller’s office, Jeannie Rhee, said Cohen has “sought to tell us the truth and that is of the utmost value to us.”

“He has provided consistent and credible information about core Russia-related issues under investigation,” she said without elaborating.

It remains to be seen how much damage Cohen’s cooperation will do to Trump. Legal experts said Cohen could get his sentence reduced if he strikes a deal with prosecutors to tell them more.

The defense team said Cohen’s tax crimes were unsophisticated, and his campaign violations and lies to lawmakers were motivated by overenthusiasm for Trump, rather than any nefarious intent.

But the New York-based prosecutors who handled the case had urged the judge to sentence Cohen to a substantial prison term and said he failed to fully cooperate with investigators.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said Cohen’s crimes showed a “pattern of deceit, brazenness and greed.”

He called for a sentence that sends a message that “even powerful, privileged individuals cannot violate these laws with impunity.”

In their court filing, the prosecutors left no doubt that they believe Cohen arranged the hush-money payments at Trump’s direction, saying the maneuver was part of an effort to “influence the election from the shadows.”

Trump, who insists the affairs never happened, argued on Twitter that the payments to the women were “a simple private transaction,” not a campaign contribution. And if it was a prohibited contribution, Trump said, Cohen is the one who should be held responsible.

“Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me,” Trump wrote, adding, “Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!”

Trump had repeatedly called for a tough sentence for Cohen, whom he labeled a liar.

Cohen has had at least seven meetings with Mueller’s team, which said in court papers that Cohen provided “relevant and useful” information about attempts by Russian figures to influence Trump’s campaign.

In the hush-money case, prosecutors said, Cohen arranged for the parent company of the National Enquirer to pay $150,000 to McDougal. He also paid $130,000 to Daniels and was reimbursed by Trump’s business empire. Prosecutors said the McDougal payment violated federal law against corporate campaign contributions, while the money that went to Daniels exceeded the $2,700 limit on campaign donations.</s>NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s one-time fixer, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money during the presidential campaign to conceal his boss’ alleged sexual affairs, telling a judge that “blind loyalty” led him to cover up Trump’s “dirty deeds.”

Separately, the legal and political peril surrounding Trump appeared to deepen when prosecutors announced that another piece of the investigation had fallen into place: The parent company of the National Enquirer acknowledged dispensing some of the hush money in concert with the Trump campaign to fend off a scandal that could have damaged his White House bid.

Cohen, 52, shook his head slightly and closed his eyes as a judge pronounced his sentence for evading taxes, lying about Trump’s business dealings and violating campaign-finance laws in buying the silence of two women who claimed they had sex with the candidate. Cohen and federal prosecutors have said the payments were made at Trump’s direction to influence the election.

“It was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to this man that led me to choose a path of darkness over light,” said Cohen, a lawyer who once boasted he would “take a bullet” for Trump. “Time and time again, I thought it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds rather than listen to my voice.”

The twin developments represented a double dose of bad news for the president, who ignored reporters’ questions about Cohen during an appearance at the White House later in the day.

Implicated: Cohen is the first and, so far, only member of Trump’s circle during two years of investigations to go into open court and implicate the president in a crime, though whether a president can be prosecuted under the Constitution is an open question.

In a possible sign of further trouble for the president, Cohen said he will continue cooperating with prosecutors, and one of his legal advisers said Cohen is also prepared to tell “all he knows” to Congress if asked.

At the sentencing, defense attorney Guy Petrillo pleaded for leniency in light of Cohen’s cooperation with investigators, saying, “He came forward to offer evidence against the most powerful person in our country.”

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said Cohen deserved modest credit for his decision over the summer to admit guilt and cooperate in the federal investigation of efforts by Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election, but his assistance “does not wipe the slate clean.”

“Somewhere along the way Mr. Cohen appears to have lost his moral compass,” the judge said.

The judge also ordered Cohen to pay $1.39 million in restitution to the IRS, forfeit $500,000 and pay $100,000 in fines. He was ordered to report to prison March 6 and left court without comment.

The prison sentence was in line with what prosecutors asked for. Sentencing guidelines called for around four to five years, and the government asked in court papers that Cohen be given only a slight break.

Emotional: Cohen got choked up near the end of his remarks and paused briefly to compose himself. His daughter, seated behind him, sobbed throughout. As he returned to his seat, he ran his hand across her cheek.

The sentence was the culmination of a spectacular rise and fast fall of a lawyer who attached himself to the fortunes of his biggest client, helped him get elected president, then turned on him, cooperating with two ‘interconnected investigations: one run by federal prosecutors in New York, the other by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the Russia investigation.

Cohen pleaded guilty in August to evading $1.4 million in taxes related to his personal businesses. In the part of the case with political repercussions, he also admitted violating the law in arranging payments in the closing days of the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress by concealing that he was negotiating a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow deep into the presidential campaign season. He said he lied out of devotion to Trump, who had insisted during the campaign that he had no business ties whatsoever to Russia.

Beyond the guilty pleas, it is unclear exactly what Cohen has told prosecutors or what he has left to say, though a prosecutor in Mueller’s office, Jeannie Rhee, said in court Wednesday that Cohen has “provided consistent and credible information about core Russia-related issues under investigation.” She did not elaborate.

Legal experts said Cohen could get his sentence reduced if he strikes a deal with prosecutors to tell them more.

In the hush-money case, prosecutors said, Cohen arranged for American Media Inc., the parent of the pro-Trump National Enquirer, to pay $150,000 to McDougal to buy and bury her story. He also said he paid $130,000 to Daniels and was reimbursed by Trump’s business empire. Prosecutors said those secret payments were not reported as campaign contributions and violated the ban on corporate contributions and the $2,700 limit on donations by an individual.

Shortly after Cohen’s sentencing, federal authorities announced a deal not to prosecute AMI, which has been cooperating in the investigation. As part of the deal, AMI admitted making the payment to McDougal “in concert” with the Trump campaign to protect him from a story that could have hurt his candidacy.

Trump had denied any sexual relationship with the women and argued on Twitter earlier this week that the payments to the women were “a simple private transaction,” not a campaign contribution. And if it was a prohibited contribution, Trump said, Cohen is the one who should be held responsible.

“Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me,” Trump wrote, adding, “Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!”

Trump’s legal culpability could hinge on whether the payments to the women were, in fact, made at his direction, and whether he intended them to influence the election.

In a case with some parallels, prosecutors in 2011 charged former Sen. John Edwards with funneling nearly $1 million in under-the-table campaign contributions to hide his pregnant lover during his 2008 run for president. Edwards had argued that the payments were a personal matter — intended to keep the matter secret from his wife — and had nothing to do with the election.

A jury acquitted the Democrat on one charge and deadlocked on other counts. He wasn’t retried.

Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who played a major role in exposing the hush-money discussions, said outside the courthouse: “We will not stop until the truth is known relating to the conduct of Donald Trump.”

But he added: “Let me be clear, Michael Cohen is neither a hero nor a patriot” and “deserves every day of the 36-month sentence he will serve.”

Associated Press writer Jim Mustian contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump offered up a handful of legal arguments in a series of tweets on Thursday distancing himself from former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced to prison on Wednesday for arranging 2016 hush-money payments to women who say they had affairs with the married president.

Cohen admitted his actions were aimed at influencing the election in violation of campaign finance laws and said they were directed by Trump. But the president said in his tweets he never told Cohen to break the law and that the payments were unrelated to the campaign.

The early-morning tweets came as the legal pressure on Trump intensified. Also on Wednesday, federal prosecutors in New York announced they had reached a cooperation deal with National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc, which admitted making a hush payment to a former Playboy model to prevent her from going public with Trump affair allegations before the 2016 election.

Trump has offered a shifting defence on the payments, first saying in April he did not know about them. Later, he seemed to acknowledge the payments were made, but said they were unrelated to campaign finances, as he said again in the latest tweets.

Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet for Trump,” was sentenced in New York to three years in prison for orchestrating the payments in violation of campaign finance laws before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He called the payments part of the “dirty deeds” he did at Trump’s behest.

Federal prosecutors said Trump ordered the payouts to protect his campaign from the allegations of sexual affairs.

Trump wrote on Twitter: “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel.’ ... This was not campaign finance.”

The president continued: “Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me.”

The main defence Trump and his lawyers have put forth in recent weeks is that the payments were not subject to campaign finance laws because they were aimed at protecting his personal reputation and would have been made even if he had not been a candidate for president.

His claim on Twitter to have relied on advice of counsel was new though, but legal experts expressed scepticism it would work.

Jessica Levinson, a professor of election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, explained that the defence, often invoked by corporations in complex transactions, depends on a party relying on lawyers in good faith.

But, if Trump had wanted legal advice on this issue, he would have sought out specialised campaign finance lawyers rather than Cohen, Levinson said.

Trump’s campaign did have such specialised counsel, a team of election lawyers from Jones Day led by Don McGahn, who would go on to serve as White House counsel.

Justice Department policy is not to indict a sitting president, but some legal experts have said Trump could be charged after leaving office. Democrats and other critics also have raised the issue of impeachment by Congress.

Trump has denied the affairs. He has also denied the main focus of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: whether his campaign colluded with Moscow in its meddling in the 2016 campaign. The Kremlin has denied that any meddling occurred.

Trump has routinely blasted the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Mueller referred the Cohen prosecution to federal prosecutors in New York earlier this year.

Prosecutors on Wednesday also said the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid had struck a deal to avoid charges over its role in one of the payments made “in concert” with Trump’s presidential campaign.

Cohen, who also pleaded to tax evasion and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Organization building in Moscow, in court on Wednesday said his “blind loyalty” led him to cover up for Trump.

Cohen is the latest Trump associate to be swept up in Mueller’s investigation following Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, among others.

In an interview with Reuters this week, Trump slammed Cohen for cooperating with prosecutors and said he was unconcerned about possible impeachment. He also called any of his potential business dealings with Russia “peanut stuff.”</s>US President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen delivered a blistering attack on his former boss as he was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for multiple crimes.

"It was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds," Cohen said as he pleaded for leniency before US District Judge William H. Pauley III.

Cohen, 52, said he was taking responsibility for his crimes "including those implicating the President of the United States of America."

Cohen's lawyers had asked for no jail time after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, illegal campaign contributions, and making false statements to Congress.

But Judge Pauley sentenced Cohen to three years in jail.

Among the charges against Cohen was making "hush money" payments to two women who had threatened to go public during the 2016 presidential election campaign with claims they had affairs with Trump.

Trump this week sought to minimize the importance of the payments saying they were a "simple private transaction" and that they were "wrongly" being called campaign contributions.
Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, is sentenced to three years in prison for making illegal hush money payments to two women with whom Trump allegedly had affairs, and a concurrent sentence of two months for making false statements to Congress about a possible Trump Tower deal in Russia.