Michael Cohen leaves federal court after his sentencing Dec. 12. Photo: Julio Cortez/AP

A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday roundly rejected Michael Cohen's months-long effort to reduce his three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress and other crimes, saying it was time for the former attorney and "fixer" to Donald Trump to "accept the consequences of his criminal convictions."

In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III of the Southern District of New York criticized Cohen's "ad hominem" attacks against Justice Department officials who denied his pleas for leniency in exchange for information he provided to investigators. And he called Cohen's latest request to be released from a federal prison camp amid the growing coronavirus outbreak "just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle."

The ruling, entered late Tuesday morning, all but ended Cohen's bid to see his sentence reduced to just one year and a day in prison, based on "substantial assistance" he had offered to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office.

His attorney, Roger Bennet Adler, in December claimed that the decision by prosecutors not to recommend a scaled-back prison sentence was the result of widespread bad faith within the DOJ, and asked Pauley to take a "second look" at Cohen's 36-month sentence, which he began serving in May.

Prosecutors, however, responded that Cohen had been less than forthcoming with the information that he had, and even tried to mislead federal investigators in post-sentencing proffer sessions.

On Tuesday, Pauley said that Cohen's "extravagant allegations" against the Justice Department "lack any substance," and refused to revisit his sentencing absent a showing of unconstitutional motives by prosecutors.

"The government acted well-within its discretion in deciding that Cohen's false statements and efforts to minimize his own wrongful conduct justified the government's decision to cease any consideration of a Rule 35(b) application on his behalf," Pauley said. "It is not within this court's purview to review that determination."

Adler did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

The ruling also took aim at Cohen's claim last week that he should be allowed to serve out the remainder of his sentence from home in light of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which he said particularly threatened prisoners sharing close quarters in federal facilities.

Pauley, however, sided with prosecutors, who argued Monday that Cohen was "manifestly ineligible" for compassionate release and has not exhausted his administrative remedies.

"That Cohen would seek to single himself out for release to home confinement appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle," the judge wrote.

He continued: "Ten months into his prison term, it's time that Cohen accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far reaching institutional harms."

 

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