He appeared in federal court in Manhattan Thursday, where he entered a guilty plea for false statements to Congress in a letter last year about his contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign.

According to court documents, Cohen admitted that he made the misstatements about the "Moscow Project" – the Trump Organization's efforts to "pursue a branded property in Moscow" in an August 2017 letter to the House and Senate intelligence committees, which were conducting inquiries into alleged collusion and Russian interference.

In court, Cohen admitted that he made the false statements "to be consistent with Individual 1's political messaging and to be loyal to Individual 1," Cohen told the judge. Individual 1 was believed to be Trump, based on the description in court documents.

The crime carries up to a 5-year prison sentence and potential $200,000 fine, but sentencing guidelines in the plea deal ranged from zero to six months. He was released without bail.