Michael Cohen, one-time lawyer to Donald Trump, is going to learn his fate next Wednesday. After pleading guilty in New York to campaign finance violations, it seems that the court is not inclined to give him a break simply because he cooperated with Robert Mueller.

In fact, the court says that in typical Cohen fashion, he may have inflated his ability to actually spill dirt on the president.

"Cohen … committed four distinct federal crimes over a period of several years. He was motivated to do so by personal greed, and repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends. Now he seeks extraordinary leniency–a sentence of no jail time." pic.twitter.com/0BDklWaYAi

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) December 7, 2018

SDNY says Cohen has overstated his cooperation with Mueller pic.twitter.com/rNw7AT8zPh

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) December 7, 2018

Ouch. That’s not a good thing for Michael Cohen. And it’s not a good thing for Donald Trump, as campaign finance violations might be the one thing that he could actually get caught on. As Ben Shapiro puts it:

The wages of Stormy Daniels are jail. The SDNY accuses Cohen of having a “campaign email address,” and of advising the campaign. They claim that Cohen “played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories – each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 [Trump] – so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election.”

The SDNY says that Cohen “acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election,” that he coordinated with campaign members, and that he acted “in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.” The SDNY is effectively accusing Trump of ordering a violation of campaign finance law. They explain that Cohen coordinated with executives of the Trump Company to pay off the women, and that the Company then came up with a false invoice scheme to reimburse him.

This sentencing memo suggests that the SDNY is frustrated with Cohen – but that they think they may have Trump on a campaign finance charge related to payments to his former paramours.

The Mueller investigation almost becomes a side note at this point, since it is the Southern District of New York court that holds all the cards in the Cohen sentencing. The court may or may not be able to make a case against Donald Trump, but they sure as heck are going to take out their frustration on Michael Cohen. Is that fair? Probably not. Is Cohen a sleaze who most likely was going to get caught up in his own schemes someday? Definitely.

This makes Wednesday’s sentencing extremely problematic for Michael Cohen – and don’t think for one second that the White House isn’t watching.

Featured image: Michael Cohen (screenshot via ABC News)