The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) flatly rejected a judge’s justification to release former Trump attorney Michael Cohen back to his confinement on Thursday, saying the decision was based on “blatantly false” claims.
On Thursday morning, US District Judge for the Southern District of New York, Alvin Hellerstein, said the recent move by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to re-incarcerate Cohen was “retaliation” and claimed it was related to his next revealing book.
Hellerstein’s decision came after Cohen earlier this month was sent back to prison and in solitary confinement at Otisville Federal Prison in New York State after violating the terms of his home confinement. Reports say Cohen was seen at a restaurant in Manhattan, raising concerns that he was violating the terms of his home confinement.
COHEN SUE BARR, CLAIMS HE WAS SENT TO PRISON TO AVOID TRUMP
Cohen had been released on May 21 to serve the remainder of his three-year sentence, but allegedly failed to take the necessary steps to end that transfer. In a statement, the Bureau of Prisons accused Cohen of stubbornness rather than complying with the terms of the U.S. Parole Office’s Federal Location Control (FLM) program.
“Any claim that the decision to return Michael Cohen to prison was a retaliatory action is patently false,” the Bureau of Prisons said. During this process of transition to home confinement, the office said, Cohen “refused to accept the terms of the program, specifically electronic monitoring.”
In addition, he was “argumentative” and “was trying to dictate the conditions of his monitoring, including conditions related to self-employment, access to the media, use of social media and other liability measures.” Cohen also allegedly “refused to acknowledge and sign the terms of his transfer of home confinement and was detained.”
“While it is not uncommon for BOP to impose certain restrictions on inmates’ contact with the media, Mr. Cohen’s refusal to accept those conditions here played no role in the decision to retain him to ensure custody or his intention to publish a book, “the office said.
It was not immediately clear if DOJ would appeal. Cohen and his lawyers accepted the conditions set by the judge, except for one centered on the book and its use of social media, which is expected to be renegotiated.
“This order is a victory for the First Amendment,” Danya Perry of Perry Guha LLP, who argued on behalf of Cohen at the hearing, said in a statement. “The First Amendment does not allow the government to prevent Mr. Cohen from publishing a critical book with the president as a condition of his release from home confinement. This principle transcends politics. We are pleased that the rule of law prevails. ”
The decision comes after Cohen sued Attorney General Bill Barr for allegedly violating Cohen’s First Amendment rights when it was forwarded earlier this month. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined Cohen in the lawsuit.
“Today’s important decision recognizes that people retain their right to speak even when they are incarcerated,” Vera Eidelman, an attorney with the ACLU’s Technology, Privacy and Speech Project, said in a statement Thursday. “This is a victory for the First Amendment rights of people in prison, and for the ability of the public to listen to a group of people who are often silenced in our society.”
“He is being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a manuscript of the book that is critical of the President, and recently made public his intention to publish that book soon, shortly before the next election,” the petition read. .
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
