President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was met with “lock him up” chants outside a New York City federal courthouse on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance law violations.
As Cohen exited the courthouse after pleading guilty to several federal charges, people could be heard shouting “lock him up” in addition to “guilty” on CNN.
Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including five counts of tax evasion and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.
The longtime personal attorney for Trump also pleaded guilty to one count of making an excessive campaign contribution, which occurred on Oct. 27, 2016.
That is the the same day that Cohen finalized a payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement over an affair Daniels claims she had with Trump.
Cohen said that he made the payment after being directed to by “the candidate.” He did not mention Trump by name.
Cohen was released after posting a $500,000 bond. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for Dec. 12 by the judge.
It remains unclear if Cohen’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors will include cooperation with other federal investigations. But the plea agreement is potentially a significant blow to the president.
In addition to Cohen, Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on Tuesday of eight charges of bank and tax fraud.