The Latest | Defense questions Cohen’s motivations for cooperating with prosecutors

NEW YORK (AP) — Defense attorney Todd Blanche is attempting to portray Michael Cohen as a Donald Trump-obsessed loyalist who, spurned by his ex-boss, turned on Trump and attempted to parlay his insider knowledge into a reduced prison sentence for his own crimes. Blanche asked about discussions Cohen had with Manhattan district attorney’s prosecutors in 2019 when they visited him at a federal prison camp in Otisville, New York. He asked Cohen if his lawyer requested he have his sentence reduced in exchange for his cooperation with those investigating Trump, and Cohen said yes. Cohen conceded that after reconnecting with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in early 2021, he wanted it publicly acknowledged that he was cooperating, again in hopes of getting his sentence reduced.