The Latest: Putin’s spokesman displays Trump lawyer’s emails

NEW YORK – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen (all times local):

8:45 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has displayed what he says are two emails from President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer asking for help getting the Trump Tower Moscow project off the ground.

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about the real estate deal.

Cohen last year acknowledged sending the emails to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in January 2016, but said he killed the proposal after talking to Peskov’s office. This week he confessed that he continued to pursue the deal on Trump’s behalf during the heat of the campaign.

Peskov, who is with Putin at an international summit in Argentina, said Saturday, “We told them that the presidential administration isn’t involved in construction projects, and if they are interested in making investments we will be glad to see them at St. Petersburg’s economic forum.”

Peskov said they never heard from Cohen again.

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1 a.m.

Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer say Michael Cohen deserves no prison time for crimes he committed in an abundance of enthusiasm for his ex-boss.

The lawyers said in court papers filed in New York Friday that Cohen co-operated extensively with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and New York state investigators who brought a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization and individuals, including Trump.

They say he’ll continue to do so. The 52-year-old Cohen faces sentencing Dec. 12 after pleading guilty to crimes in August and on Thursday. Prosecutors have not yet filed a pre-sentence submission but have agreed to note Cohen co-operation to the sentencing judge.

On Thursday, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. In August, he pleaded guilty to charges including campaign financé and bank fraud.