President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen accepts that will not receive a presidential pardon and will need to serve jail time after pleading guilty to bank and tax fraud last week.
“He’s very resigned to doing the time. He’s resigned to the fact that he’s going to go to jail for some time,” a source familiar with Cohen’s thinking told CNN in a report published Wednesday.
Cohen pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud as well as campaign violations in which he implicated the president without naming him directly. It is seen as unlikely that Cohen might receive a pardon, with Trump publicly criticizing him.
“If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Trump tweeted last week.
The source told CNN that Cohen has been worn down by the investigation and grew reluctant to protect Trump.
“He was very — ‘I’m going to fight this to the death.’ Very defiant,” Cohen’s friend told CNN. “But I think over a period of time, you get to realize the reality of this. What are you fighting for? And who are you fighting for?”
{mosads}Prosecutors have also targeted potential charges against Cohen’s wife, Laura Cohen, a factor that Cohen’s friend said may have influenced his decision.
“I don’t think it was such a great deal, but he had to take it because there could have been liability on the part of his wife,” said the source.
Cohen’s guilty plea came the same day that a jury found Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, guilty on 8 counts of financial crimes.
A mistrial was declared on 10 other charges in Manafort’s case along with the guilty verdicts.
Manafort faces another trial, set to begin next month, in Washington D.C. this time over charges covering illegal lobbying and money laundering.