WASHINGTON (US) – An attorney of Michael Cohen, who was President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, said he left prison to complete his sentence in home confinement. This comes a day after a judge found he was imprisoned two weeks ago in retaliation for plans to publish a book about the president.
Attorney Jeffrey K Levine said Cohen was picked up from a prison in Otisville, New York, by his son and his brother. He is expected to be electronically tagged and then taken to his apartment in Manhattan.
After being furloughed in May, he was again imprisoned over concerns about the spread of the pandemic.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Thursday ordered his release.
“He looked exhausted, as one might think, when you come out of quarantine/solitary confinement,” said Levine. “He hasn’t slept in two weeks.”
Earlier, on July 9, Cohen and Levine met with probation officials in a bid to convert the furlough to a home confinement for the last two years of his three-year sentence. When Cohen questioned a provision that prevented him from publishing the book, interacting with media and posting on social media, officials returned him to jail.
During the hearing, Hellerstein said he had never seen such a gag provision in his 21 years on the bench.
“It’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book,” Hellerstein said.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
