Michael Cohen Getting Released From Prison; Judge Calls Confinement 'Retaliatory' For Planned Trump Book

KEY POINTS

Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered Michael Cohen be released back into home confinement by Friday afternoon and new agreement be drafted for his confinement
Hellerstein said the gag order in the original agreement was a clear violation of Cohen's First Amendment rights
Cohen was taken back into federal custody on July 9 after being released into home confinement on May 21 due to the coronavirus pandemic

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Michael Cohen on Thursday, saying President Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer was taken back into custody as retaliation for his planned book about Trump.

Cohen was to released back to home confinement no later than Friday afternoon, Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled

The point of contention Hellerstein cited was the agreement Cohen was asked to sign regarding his home confinement, specifically a gag order that would have restricted him from publishing his planned book.

“No engagement of any kind with the media, including print, TV, film, books, or any other form of media/news. Prohibition from all social media platforms,” the provision said. The form said it was meant to prevent Cohen from building any sort of publicity on the back of his sentence.

“I've never seen such a clause in 21 years of being a judge and sentencing people,” Hellerstein said in court. “How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?

“The purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement is retaliatory, and it is retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants.”

Hellerstein also put the onus on Cohen’s lawyers and the prosecution to outline an agreement for his home confinement that is satisfactory, but doesn’t violate Cohen’s First Amendment protections.

Cohen was released to home confinement on May 21 from a federal prison in Otisville, New York, because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was initially agreed upon he would serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement, but the Bureau of Prisons said Cohen became “antagonistic” over the conditions of his confinement and wouldn’t sign the agreement, leading to him being returned to prison.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a subsequent lawsuit against Attorney General William Barr and the warden of the Otisville federal prison. The suit is still pending.