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He has told friends that he is mystified that he is taking the fall for actions he carried out on behalf of Trump, who remains unscathed. Still, he is resigned to accepting responsibility.

“He realizes that he needs to move on with his life, and that he’d like to begin that process as soon as possible,” said Andrew W. Albstein, a lawyer and friend who wrote a letter of support on Cohen’s behalf to the judge.

Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, was for years Trump’s do-it-all fixer who had a hand in several shady deals. He has admitted he lied to Congress to help Trump and broke campaign finance laws by helping to arrange hush money for women who might have embarrassed Trump with accusations of infidelity as he was running for president.

He has not explained his legal approach since he first pleaded guilty in August. But his lawyers, in a sentencing memorandum filed late Friday night, offered the fullest explanation yet for Cohen’s motivation in switching sides and joining the government team, as prosecutors like to say.

He realizes that he needs to move on with his life, and that he'd like to begin that process as soon as possible

Though he has talked extensively with prosecutors, it remains unclear if Cohen possesses any information that could harm the president legally.

Cohen’s approach drew a stinging reaction from Trump, who tweeted angrily on Monday that Cohen had “lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.”

Cohen served as Trump’s loyal ally and go-to lawyer for more than a decade, handling everything from real estate negotiations to hush money payments. He has been trapped at the center of a confusing legal web, involving two separate federal investigations, headed by different prosecutors, delving into different matters.