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Michael Cohen taken back into federal custody Michael Cohen taken back into federal custody
(about 1 hour later)
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, has been taken back into federal custody after the Bureau of Prisons alleged he had “refused the conditions of his home confinement.” Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, was taken back into federal custody Thursday amid a dispute over the conditions of his home confinement, according to the Bureau of Prisons and one of Cohen’s legal advisers.
The move comes less than two months after Cohen was let out of federal prison early as part of the Justice Department’s push to stem the spread of the coronavirus among inmates. The president’s former self-proclaimed “fixer” who would later become a nemesis to Trump had been serving a three-year term for financial crimes and lying to Congress. Lanny Davis, the legal adviser, said that Cohen initially balked at agreeing to a Bureau of Prisons requirement that he not talk to reporters, not use social media and not write a book while on home confinement.
Last week, Cohen was photographed by the New York Post eating outside the French restaurant Le Bilboquet, which is near his Manhattan apartment, sparking some speculation that he was violating the terms of his release. The Bureau of Prisons statement did not address that, noting only that on May 21, Cohen had been “placed on furlough pending placement on home confinement.” A Justice Department official, however, said Cohen “refused electronic monitoring” — which Davis disputed. The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that Cohen had “refused the conditions of his home confinement,” but did not respond to inquiries seeking more details.
“Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned to a BOP facility,” the statement said. The move comes less than two months after Cohen was let out of federal prison early as part of the Justice Department’s push to stem the spread of the coronavirus among inmates. The president’s former self-proclaimed “fixer,” who would later become a Trump adversary, had been serving a three-year term for financial crimes and lying to Congress.
Michael Cohen released from federal prison over coronavirus concerns Davis, who does not formally represent Cohen as a lawyer, said Cohen had been scheduled to meet with probation officers on Thursday to get an ankle bracelet as part of a bureaucratic transition from being on “furlough” to being on “home confinement.” He said Cohen told him earlier in the day he had to “sign some papers and to get my ankle bracelet.”
Roger Adler, one of Cohen’s attorneys, said that the development was “news to me,” and that he was seeking more information. He said he was concerned by the timing of the action, on the day the Supreme Court decided that a New York prosecutor could pursue a subpoena of the president’s private and business financial records. Davis said Cohen was presented with a list of about eight conditions to which he would have to agree, among them the restrictions on his public comments and writings.
Davis said that Cohen objected — noting that he could correspond with reporters even while in federal prison, and that he had already written the book, reportedly a “tell-all” account about his relationship with Trump.
“He said, ‘But the book is already done, and I’m not giving up my First Amendment rights to talk to the media, to use social media, and especially, to publish a book,’ ” Davis said.
The restrictions, Davis said, would have lasted through 2021 — the term of Cohen’s sentence.
Davis said the probation officers left, and about an hour and a half later, U.S. marshals returned and began putting Cohen in shackles. Cohen, he said, then offered to sign the conditions, and a marshal responded, “It’s out of our hands,” Davis said.
Davis said that information came from Cohen lawyer Jeffrey Levine, who was with Cohen during the encounter. Levine did not respond to messages Thursday. A U.S. Marshals spokesman also did not respond to requests for comment.
Roger Adler, one of Cohen’s attorneys, said he was concerned by the timing of the action, on the day the Supreme Court decided that a New York prosecutor could pursue a subpoena of the president’s private and business financial records.
“The coincidence of the Supreme Court’s decisions and this action by the BOP under the supervision of Attorney General [William P.] Barr is, I find, unsettling, and hopefully only coincidental,” Adler said.“The coincidence of the Supreme Court’s decisions and this action by the BOP under the supervision of Attorney General [William P.] Barr is, I find, unsettling, and hopefully only coincidental,” Adler said.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 in two separate criminal cases. In the first, he admitted to campaign finance violations stemming from payments made before the 2016 election to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and another woman who alleged having affairs with Trump years earlier. (Trump has denied their claims.) In the second case, Cohen admitted he lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate project Trump and his company pursued while Trump was trying to secure the Republican nomination to become president. Last week, Cohen was photographed by the New York Post eating outside the French restaurant Le Bilboquet, which is near his Manhattan apartment, sparking some speculation that he was violating the terms of his release. The Bureau of Prisons statement did not address that.
In court and in public, Cohen placed the blame for his misdeeds squarely with the president, saying he felt it was his duty to cover up the “dirty deeds” of his former boss. Davis said Cohen believed going to the restaurant “was not a violation of any rules, and he was never told that it was a violation of any rules.” He said he had spoken with Cohen directly about the matter.
After reporting to prison in May 2019, Cohen repeatedly sought to get out early — most recently citing the threat he faced from the coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors objected, and U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III rejected that bid. But Cohen was then permitted to leave under a push by Barr to use new authority given to him by Congress to release more inmates amid the pandemic. “He believed it was consistent with the rules, or he wouldn’t have done it,” Davis said.
According to information on the Bureau of Prisons’ website, more than 6,700 have moved to home confinement. Michael Cohen released from federal prison over coronavirus concerns
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 in two separate criminal cases. In the first, he admitted to campaign finance violations stemming from payments made before the 2016 election to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and another woman who alleged having affairs with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied their claims.
In the second case, Cohen admitted he lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate project Trump and his company pursued while Trump was trying to secure the Republican nomination to become president.
In court and in public, Cohen placed the blame for his actions squarely with the president, saying he felt it was his duty to cover up the “dirty deeds” of his former boss.
After reporting to prison in May 2019, Cohen repeatedly sought to get out early — most recently citing the threat he faced from the coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors objected, and U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III rejected that bid. But Cohen was then permitted to leave under a push by Barr to use new authority given to him by Congress to release more inmates amid the pandemic — though that was briefly delayed, according to Justice Department officials, because of new criteria imposed by the Bureau of Prisons about who would be prioritized for release.
According to information on the Bureau of Prisons’ website, more than 6,700 inmates have moved to home confinement as part of the response to coronavirus.