Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison in a federal court in New York on Dec. 12.

Among the crimes for which Cohen was sentenced were tax evasion, campaign finance laws violation and lying to Congress about Trump’s Russian business dealings. Cohen’s violation of campaign finance laws occured when he paid an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, to cover up an affair between her and Trump.

According to Gary Lu ’21, the sentencing was less severe than what was appropriate.

“Cohen definitely deserves to go to prison, though in my opinion three years is not long enough,” Lu said.

Cohen is required to report to prison on March 6 by the ruling of Judge William H. Pauley.

The sentencing came after cooperation between special counsel Robert Mueller and Cohen in Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. Prior to their cooperation, Mueller’s investigation revealed several crimes, to which Cohen pleaded guilty on August 21.

Sam Powell ’21 believes this indictment is a signal for future legal repercussions that could be enacted against Trump.

“I feel that this is a strong indicator of the evidence looming by the judicial branch against the Trump campaign,” Powell said.