LANNY DAVIS

An attorney for an Arizona real estate developer who was referred to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation by congressional Democrats wants to publicly rebut the allegations.

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee have asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a Trump administration interior secretary engaged in possible criminal conduct while helping an Arizona developer get a crucial permit for a housing project.

Donald Trump’s company won’t have to pay hefty legal bills incurred by his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who became a vocal critic of the ex-president and went to prison after pleading guilty to tax and other crimes.

Michael Cohen exits the Manhattan district attorney’s office on March 19, 2021 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesMichael Cohen, a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, met Friday for the eighth time with top officials from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, who are conducting a sprawling criminal probe of the former president, his company and others in his orbit. A source familiar with Friday's session said that Cohen, who has cooperated with Vance's probe since 2018, is expected to return for another meeting with investigators. Michael Cohen pauses while speaking with members of the media after leaving the Manhattan district attorney’s office on March 19, 2021 in New York City. Pomerantz, a former leading federal prosecutor who most recently has been in private criminal defense practice, was hired last month as a special assistant DA for the sole purpose of the Trump probe.

FILE - In this Friday Feb. 14, 2020, file photo, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., center, leaves Criminal Court in New York. New York prosecutors are asking new questions about former President Donald Trump's Seven Springs estate in Mount Kisco, N.Y., trying to determine whether the value of the century-old mansion was improperly inflated to reduce the former president's taxes. AdIn a recent interview with Cohen, investigators asked questions about Trump's Seven Springs estate as part of an inquiry into whether the value of the 213-acre Westchester County property was improperly inflated to reduce his taxes. Ad“The work continues,” Vance wrote, echoing his short statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that he could have Trump's tax records. The amount was based on a professional appraisal that valued the full Seven Springs property at $56.5 million as of Dec. 1, 2015.

FILE PHOTO: Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer, leaves his apartment to report to prison in Manhattan, New York, U.S., May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah MoonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for Donald Trump who became a key witness against the president for House Democrats, is seeking a reduction in his current three-year prison sentence, an attorney for Cohen said on Wednesday. Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis said that Cohen had filed a court motion seeking a reduction in his sentence as credit for his cooperation with investigators looking into various issues related to Trump. We also respectfully ask the court to consider the fairness of what appears to be unjust targeting and selective prosecution of only Mr. Cohen, who took responsibility while all others in the Trump Organization, including Mr. Trump himself, have thus far escaped all accountability, Davis added. Cohen is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Otisville, New York, about 70 miles (113 km)northwest of New York City.

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen departs after testifying behind closed doors before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 26, 2019. The court filing contains a Nov. 26 email from one of Cohen's lawyers, Roger Adler, to federal prosecutors in Manhattan noting their refusal to meet with Cohen. Adler, in another email to federal prosecutors last week, cited a New York Times article a day earlier. A spokesman for Manhattan federal prosecutors declined to comment. Cohen has been incarcerated at the federal prison camp in Otisville, New York, since May 6.