President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, reportedly surrendered to the FBI on Tuesday ahead of an expected guilty plea to charges of tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. The Washington Post reported that Cohen turned himself in to the FBI in New York City just hours before he was scheduled to make a 4 p.m. court appearance. The federal prosecutor handling Cohen's case in the Southern District of New York is expected to make comments following the hearing. CNBC captured video shortly before 2 p.m. of Cohen entering a building in Manhattan that houses FBI offices, among other tenants. Moments ago: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen seen entering FBI New York office as NBC News reports that he's reached a plea deal. https://t.co/KbtozqtTkU pic.twitter.com/7o3uU4PirA — CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 21, 2018 Cohen's decision to turn himself in marks a stunning fall for a man who was once one of the president's oldest and closest confidants. ADVERTISEMENT It's not yet clear if Cohen will cooperate with federal investigators as part of his plea deal, but it could lead to major legal implications for Trump, depending on the specifics of the charges and the extent of the agreement. Cohen allegedly coordinated "hush money" payments to Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels, both of whom allege they had affairs with Trump more than a decade ago. While Cohen has been fiercely loyal to the president, vowing in a September 2017 interview that he would “take a bullet” for Trump, signs in recent months have pointed toward the possibility he would cooperate with prosecutors. He said in an interview last month that his "first loyalty" is to his family and the country, not the president. It was later revealed that he recorded a conversation with Trump in which the two men discuss possibly purchasing the rights to the McDougal's account of her alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007. After CNN aired audio of that recording, Trump and his personal attorney in the Russia investigation, Rudy Giuliani, launched a wave of attacks on Cohen's credibility. "The man is a pathological manipulator, liar. I didn't know that," Giuliani said last month after the tape aired. "I knew nothing bad about Michael Cohen until all of this started to happen in the last couple weeks." "What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad!" Trump tweeted.<doc-sep>“In coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office… I participated in [felonies]… for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” —Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, pleading guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign-finance violations on Aug. 21, 2018 That statement was made under oath. It was also backed by a charge made by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York — whose representatives, in open court, told the federal judge they had evidence to prove the accuracy of Cohen’s allocution, including tapes, texts, financial records and documents. Our Article I representatives responded to this news, which implicates the President in a federal crime, disgracefully. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “We will need more information than is currently available.” Senator Lindsey Graham — who as a U.S. Representative in 1993 urged for the impeachment of Bill Clinton by saying, “You don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic [as President], if [Congress] determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role… Impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office of President” — made no mention of President Trump’s manifest dishonesty and association with a conspiracy to commit felonies to influence the election, themselves disfigurements upon the honor and integrity to the office of the President. Instead he said, “there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.” Majority Whip John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said, “this doesn’t add anything to the allegations of misconduct relative to the Russia investigation.” But that is not necessarily true. Cohen is facing five years in federal prison, and his lawyer said he has evidence he is willing to share with Special Counsel Robert Mueller regarding Trump’s knowledge and private encouragement of Russian hacking. Paul Manafort is also now facing seven to nine years for his eight felony convictions, and yet another trial in which he is being charged with, among other things, being a foreign agent (for a Russian sycophant) while serving as Trump’s campaign manager. Given the exposure both Manafort and Cohen have to separate state crimes — New York State income taxes, other bank frauds and conspiracies — a presidential pardon would appear to be an inadequate remedy for either of them now, because federal pardons do not immunize state crimes. A pardon from the President would also be obviously self-serving and could amount to an obstruction of justice. Indeed, some legal experts have suggested that a pardon under these circumstances might be so corrupt as to be challengeable by an aggressive prosecutor. Bottom line, each has a great incentive to tell all to Mueller. While things may appear grim, this is a great day for the Constitution. The Article I and Article II personnel have behaved disgracefully. But our Article III law-enforcement mechanism is doing its job. This is half-time. We do not know what the Mueller investigation knows, what it has learned from Flynn, Popadopoulous, Gates, Van der Swan, Pinedo — who have all pleaded guilty. Nor do we know what, if anything, Michael Cohen has already told investigators. Or what White House counsel Don McGahn said in 30 hours of interviews with them. Or what Mueller’s team has learned from what we can sure is the scores, if not hundreds, of other witnesses they have interviewed. And, of course, there are the millions of tapes, computer files and documents seized in the Cohen raid, along with those handed over by Trump’s former lawyers. Mueller can and likely will name Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator on any case he brings going forward, if he abides by Department of Justice guidelines and does not indict a sitting president. And Trump needs to worry about his criminal liability (and that of his son and son-in-law) when he leaves office. Impeachment aside, given all that the President now faces, does anyone in his camp have the courage to discuss a so-far unmentionable strategy? Do what we did for Spiro Agnew, and the country. Negotiate a deal: You end the Mueller investigation, and I’ll send out of a tweet: “No collusion, I did nothing wrong, rigged witch hunt, but this is bad for the country, and I am a patriot. So I hereby resign. Sad.” Sign up for Inside TIME. Be the first to see the new cover of TIME and get our most compelling stories delivered straight to your inbox. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Contact us at letters@time.com.<doc-sep>If Donald Trump ever wants to retain the legal services of Michael Cohen again for some reason, he's going to have to wait several years ... TMZ has learned. Trump's former lawyer is on a fast track to being disbarred in New York following his guilty plea Tuesday on 8 federal counts, including tax evasion and campaign law violations ... according to a source familiar with the process. We're told Cohen will lose his right to practice law as soon as the NY Attorney Grievance Committee files a motion to have him disbarred ... it's just waiting on the official paperwork needed to get the ball rolling. According to Nicholas Biase, spokesperson for the Southern District of NY ... "Mr. Cohen does lose his law license upon conviction, which technically does not occur until sentencing." Cohen's disbarment isn't forever though -- he can reapply to get his license back after 7 years, and it would be up to a judge to allow it or not. As we reported ... Cohen pled guilty to 5 counts of tax fraud and one count of bank fraud, as well as 2 campaign finance violations related to "hush" deals he struck with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Cohen claimed the campaign law crimes were carried out at the direction of Trump to cover up affairs with the women and influence the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affairs and responded to Cohen's guilty plea on Twitter Wednesday, saying the campaign finance violations are "not a crime." Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled! @realDonaldTrump<doc-sep>“Buckle Up Buttercup. You and your client completely misplayed this,” Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti happily tweeted to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday after word broke Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen had turned himself in to the FBI. Cohen will plead guilty to campaign finance violations, bank fraud and tax fraud. He’s looking at up to three years in jail and pay a substantial financial fine. “The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it,” Avenatti tweeted. “We will disclose it all to the public,” he promised. Avenatti’s snark at Giuliani references Team Trump’s campaign to attack Trump’s former lawyer. Giuliani began describing Cohen as a “scoundrel,” a “pathological manipulator and a “liar,” saying, “I don’t see how he has any credibility.” Appearing on CBS’ Late Show back in mid-June, Avenatti told Stephen Colbert he thought Cohen was in “a very, very bad spot.” “And I think the President is in a very, very bad spot. Because this is what happens when you trust your innermost secrets to a moron,” Avenatti explained. That same day, Cohen had parted company with his previous legal team, and Washington spent the day playing a new Michael Cohen parlor game called “Flip or Indict.” Avenatti’s tweets: . @RudyGiuliani Buckle Up Buttercup. You and your client completely misplayed this… https://t.co/peLpswrDO1 — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) August 21, 2018<doc-sep>
UPDATED: President Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen has surrendered to the FBI in New York. As part of a plea deal, Cohen is expected to plead to guilty to multiple counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud. He’s looking at up to three years in jail and a substantial monetary fine. The plea deal had been in the works this week with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. He is expected to appear in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan later today. In early April, FBI executed a no-knock raid on Cohen’s office and home. Trump called it “a disgraceful situation,” adding, “I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” and complaining it’s “an attack on our country…what we all stand for.” Agents seized records of payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claims she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago. In July, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN the FBI is in possession of a pre-election recording between Trump and Cohen in which the two men talked about payment to former Playboy bunny Karen McDougal, who claims she had a months-long affair with Trump. That month, Cohen also lobbed a grenade, saying candidate Trump knew in advance and signed off on the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians promising to bring dirt on Hillary Clinton. Cohen indicated he would be willing to say same to Robert Mueller, though it contradicts claims by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., their lawyers and other administration officials that Trump knew nothing about the meetings until the New York Times approached him about it in July 2017. Horseradish, said Cohen, who claimed he was present, as were others, when Trump was informed of the Russians’ offer by Donald Jr. Today’s news of a plea deal comes one day after the Associated Press reported Cohen could be charged by end of this month. NBC News first reported today that a deal could come as early as end of day. Cohen attorney Lanny Davis recently told Politico he has been reaching out regularly over the past few months to John Dean, the former White House counsel who helped bring down the Richard Nixon presidency. “I reached out to my old friend John Dean because of what he went through with Watergate, and I saw some parallels to what Michael Cohen is experiencing. I wanted to gain from John’s wisdom,” Davis told Politico. “I certainly don’t want to raise expectations that Mr. Cohen has anything like the level of deep involvement and detailed knowledge that John Dean had in the Nixon White House as a witness to Nixon’s crimes, but I did see some similarities and wanted to learn from what John went through.”