Much was made this week of the fact that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty without a written cooperation agreement.
He pleaded guilty to multiple federal offenses, including tax fraud, campaign finance violations and bank fraud. The guidelines range agreed to in the plea deal is around 4 to 6 years.
Now, it’s true that his plea agreement did not have a cooperation provision in it. In fact, it said
The parties agree that neither a downward nor an upward departure from the Stipulated Guidelines range set forth above is warranted. Accordingly, neither party will seek any departure or adjustment pursuant to the Guidelines that is not set forth herein.
Even though the plea agreement said that neither party would seek a downward departure (even for assistance), it’s still very possible that Mr. Cohen will get cooperation credit during the whole sentencing process.
Let’s explore how that could happen.
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