Cohen asks lawmakers to help keep him out of prison

NEW YORK (AP) — Attorneys for Michael Cohen are asking members of Congress to help keep him out of prison.

In a letter sent to lawmakers Thursday, Cohen's legal team said he is still sorting through documents in his personal files that might be of interest to House Democrats investigating President Donald Trump, including emails, voice recordings, images and other documents on a hard drive.

"To date, Mr. Cohen has located several documents that we believe have significant value to the various congressional oversight and investigation committees," wrote the attorneys, Lanny Davis, Michael Monico and Carly Chocron.

They said Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, has been going through the documents alone, without any help, and if he reports to prison May 6 as scheduled, he won't be able to finish reviewing the material.

They asked the lawmakers to write letters saying that Cohen was cooperating and that "the substantial trove of new information, documents, recordings, and other evidence he can provide requires substantial time with him and ready access to him by congressional committees and staff to complete their investigations and to fulfill their oversight responsibilities."

If any lawmakers were to write such a letter, it could be useful if Cohen petitioned the court to delay his prison report date.

The letter was sent to U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Maxine Waters and Elijah Cummings

Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to tax evasion, fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations, has already received one short delay on medical grounds while he recovered from shoulder surgery.