“The purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from residence permit and home confinement to jail is retaliation and his retaliation for his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and discuss anything about the book or anything else you want on social media and others, “Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled during a phone hearing.
Cohen and prosecutors will have a week to negotiate the terms of his release regarding his involvement in the media.
“Just as you wouldn’t have a press conference from a jail cell, you shouldn’t be able to have a press conference from your home. You can communicate, you can argue, you can post on social media, but you can ‘not confine a free person You can’t make a person confined in jail or at home a totally free person. There must be a limit, “Hellerstein said.
Cohen’s attorney called the judge’s order “victory for the First Amendment.”
The ruling confirms “that the government cannot prevent Mr. Cohen from publishing a critical book with the president as a condition of his release from home confinement,” said Danya Perry, who argued on behalf of Cohen at the hearing, in a release. “This principle transcends politics and we are pleased that the rule of law prevails.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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