NEW YORK: US prosecutors have revealed that a Russian offered cooperation to Donald Trump'scampaign as early as 2015, declaring that the president's ex-lawyer MichaelCohen had provided "relevant" and "substantial" help to theRussia investigation. In a separate case, federal prosecutors Friday demanded"substantial" jail time of between 51 to 63 months - four to fiveyears - for Cohen for bank fraud and campaign finance violations to which heplead guilty in August.

US Attorney
Robert Khuzami accused the 52-year-old, who once vowed to take a bullet for the
president, of being motivated by "personal greed" and of
"repeatedly" using his power and influence for "deceptive
ends". "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" Trump tweeted
cryptically as television networks were consumed by the Cohen documents - which
the White House dismissed as revealing "nothing of value".

The campaign
finance violations to which Cohen plead guilty - unrelated to the Russia investigation
- concerned hush payments he made on Trump's behalf to alleged former lovers of
the president, including porn star Stormy Daniels. In the 40-page document
Khuzami drew a direct link between Cohen's illegal behavior and Trump. "In
particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both
payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of
Individual-1," the document reads, referring to Trump.

Robert Mueller,
the special counsel heading up the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016
vote, followed up with a separate filing saying Cohen had made
"substantial and significant efforts to remediate his misconduct, accept
responsibility for his actions, and assist" the special investigation, a
thorn in Trump's side. Cohen continued to provide "relevant and truthful
information" to assist the probe, holding seven sessions with
investigators, "many of them lengthy, and continues to make himself
available to investigators," it said.

He had provided
information about contacts with Russian interests during the campaign, attempts
by Russians to reach the campaign and about contacts with "persons
connected to the White House" in 2017-2018, the filing added. Around Nov
2015, some five months after Trump launched his bid for the presidency and well
before previously reported contacts, Cohen spoke to a purported "trusted
person" in the Russian Federation who offered the campaign "political
synergy" and "synergy on a government level."

Cohen said the
unidentified person "repeatedly proposed" a meeting between Trump and
Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming it could have a
"phenomenal" impact "not only in political but in a business
dimension as well". "Cohen, however, did not follow up on this invitation,"
the filing added.

Trump claims
'cleared'

The former fixer
last week pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in connection with a Moscow real
estate deal, which was being pursued as late as one month before Trump
officially became the Republican nominee for president. Due to his help,
Mueller declined to recommend additional jail time for Cohen for lying to
Congress. Recent filings in the Mueller probe have suggested the White House
knew that Cohen planned to lie to lawmakers about his contacts with Russians.
They also suggest Trump and his family were in the loop on discussions with
Russians on a Moscow project, even after the real estate tycoon secured the
Republican nomination in mid-2016.

In Washington,
Mueller also detailed multiple "lies" that former Trump campaign chief
Paul Manafort told investigators, leading to a termination of his cooperation
deal, which could lead to a stiffer jail sentence for the 69-year-old. A
heavily redacted court filing said that Manafort's "lies" included
untruths about his dealings with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate who
US officials suspect is a Russian intelligence operative, and about his
contacts with Trump administration officials after striking a plea agreement.
The White House similarly dismissed that filing, arguing it "says
absolutely nothing about the President". "Once again the media is
trying to create a story where there isn't one," said Sanders.

Comey testifies

Meanwhile, former
FBI director James Comey testified before US lawmakers for the first time in
over a year Friday, with much of the discussions centering on Hillary Clinton's
email use. Comey had pleaded for a public hearing after he was subpoenaed by
the outgoing Congress in November, but House Republicans including some of
Trump's allies insisted on a private session before the judiciary and oversight
committees.

Comey was
questioned as part of a Republican-led House inquiry into possible Russian
interference, and Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, featured prominently.
"Hillary Clinton's emails, for heaven's sake," Comey said after
testifying for six hours. "I'm not sure we need to do this at all."
Clinton had set up a private email server before becoming secretary of state in
2009.

Republicans
seized on the revelation years later, saying she broke department protocol by
using a private email account while a government official in order to hide
sensitive correspondence. The issue became a flashpoint of the 2016 race.
Republicans exited Friday's session complaining that Comey lawyers shut down certain
avenues of questioning. Comey disputed that but gave a rationale for why he
would not publicly discuss some elements. "The FBI, for understandable
reasons, doesn't want me talking about the details of the investigation that is
still ongoing, and began when I was FBI director," he said. - Agencies