WASHINGTON – Michael Cohen, on way to prison, takes a last swing at Trump

May 7, 2019 Contributor 0 Comment on way to prison, takes a last swing at Trump, WASHINGTON - Michael Cohen

Hours before he was due to report to federal prison to begin serving a three-year sentence, Michael Cohen lashed out at President Trump, calling him a liar and racist.

“I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country,” Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and self-described “fixer,” told reporters outside his apartment in Manhattan.

“There still remains much to be told,” Cohen added. “And I look forward to the day that I can share the truth.”

Michael Cohen leaves his apartment in New York City on Monday. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

The 53-year-old New Yorker pleaded guilty to guilty to tax and fraud charges related to his personal business dealings, and to campaign finance violations stemming from his role in arranging payments on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.

Cohen was sentenced to 36 months in prison. He had until 2 p.m. to report to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N.Y., about 70 miles northwest of New York City.

Cohen admitted to federal prosecutors that he helped arrange hush-money payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 election. The president has denied having affairs with the women. He has called Cohen a “rat” for cooperating with the FBI.

In February, Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee about his role as Trump’s fixer.

“Lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it,” Cohen told the committee.

Trump initially denied knowing about the hush-money payments, although prosecutors believe he actually ordered them. He has also said that Cohen should have known the payments were illegal.

“I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law,” Trump tweeted in December. “He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel,’ and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid.”