IANAL so please correct me but here’s how I understand it: there are three levels of cooperation. The informal one is basically just telling (some of) the trut

IANAL so please correct me but here’s how I understand it: there are three levels of cooperation. The informal one is basically just telling (some of) the truth during interrogation and agreeing to testify, where her lawyer gets to enter “she cooperated” as evidence during sentencing, but she might still get off scott free, or a judge might ignore the cooperation entirely if she’s found guilty. If SBF pleas guilty anyway, this cooperation is pretty much useless but carries the most credibility. She can cooperate as part of a guilty plea [1] in which case the prosecutor provides the judge with a sentencing recommendation. The judge can still sentence her within the guidelines at his discretion, though usually the plea deal is on a smaller set of charges than the indictment so its a net win regardless and brings double jeopardy into play since it counts as a conviction. The last kind is total immunity which sounds nice in theory but is more dangerous for both sides. She’d have to spill all of the beans on everything within the bounds of her immunity which will be broad. If she is ever caught in a lie or a deliberate omission, the immunity deal flies out the window and everything she said as part of the deal can be used against her at trial. Waiving one’s 5th amendment rights is usually a stipulation of immunity agreements - total honesty or guaranteed prison time. It remains to be seen how much she is cooperating. Edit: [1] turns out the DoJ has several different types of plea agreements and even a handy guide: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/basic-guide-plea-bargaining-under-federal-sentencing-guidelines https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/basic-gu...