Michael Cohen was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over tell-all book about Trump, federal judge rules

WASHINGTON – Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, will be released to home confinement after a federal judge in New York found that he was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over his decision to write a tell-all book about his former employer.

"I cannot believe fairly that it was not in purpose ... to stop his exercise of First Amendment rights" to publish a book and discuss it on social media, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said at a hearing Thursday.

The judge ordered the Bureau of Prisons to release Cohen back to his family by Friday afternoon. Cohen has been in isolation since he was sent back to prison this month.

In a statement, Danya Perry, Cohen's attorney, said the judge's ruling confirms that the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons can't block Cohen from publishing a book about the president as a condition of his home confinement.

"This principle transcends politics, and we are gratified that the rule of law prevails," Perry said.

The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that assertions officials retaliated against Cohen were "patently false."

The self-described fixer for the president was furloughed to home confinement in May because of coronavirus fears in the federal prison system. Cohen was sent back to prison in Otisville, New York, after he refused the conditions of his home confinement. Officials were finalizing Cohen's processing to home confinement as part of the U.S. Probation Office's Federal Location Monitoring program.

Lanny Davis, Cohen's legal adviser, said Cohen was meeting with authorities to go over final conditions of home confinement and to obtain an ankle bracelet monitor when he balked at a required provision that he not speak to the media or pursue a previously announced book project during the term of his sentence.

The media and book prohibitions, Davis said, were part of an eight-point list presented to Cohen. Davis said officials departed the meeting to discuss Cohen's disagreement, then U.S. marshals returned about an hour later, carrying shackles.

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The Bureau of Prisons said in its statement that Cohen was "argumentative" during the meeting and tried to "dictate" the conditions of his home confinement, including whether he's allowed to talk to reporters and use social media.

"Mr. Cohen refused to acknowledge and sign the conditions of his transfer of home confinement and was remanded into custody," the statement said. "Mr. Cohen's refusal to agree to those conditions here played no role whatsoever in the decision to remand him to secure custody nor did his intent to publish a book."

Jon Gustin, a Bureau of Prisons administrator who ordered Cohen back in custody, said his behavior "was unacceptable and undermined his suitability" to be placed on home confinement.

"If an inmate had engaged in similar behavior prior to COVID-19 – when inmates typically remained in secure custody ... he would have simply remained in custody," Gustin said in court filings, adding that he was not aware Cohen was writing a book when he made the decision.

After he was sent back to prison, Cohen sued Attorney General William Barr and prison officials, accusing them of retaliating against him after he revealed his intention to write an unflattering book about the president.

In the book, which he began writing after he was convicted, Cohen talked about "how he had lost his moral compass" over years of working for Trump, according to court records.

"Mr. Cohen's book describes Mr. Cohen's first-hand experiences with Mr. Trump, and it provides graphic details about the President's behavior behind closed doors," his attorneys said in court filings. "For example, the narrative describes pointedly certain anti-Semitic remarks against prominent Jewish people and virulently racist remarks against such Black leaders as President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela."

During home confinement, Cohen tweeted that he was finishing the book. Shortly after, probation officers set forth conditions barring him from speaking publicly, including publishing a book, his attorneys argued in court records.

At the hearing Thursday, Hellerstein pressed Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Rovner about the issue of retaliation and why prison officials imposed certain prohibitions. The new conditions came days after a New York Post article showed Cohen dining out. Davis said he didn't believe going out to dinner was a violation.

Hellerstein questioned why Cohen's attorney wasn't given the chance to negotiate their objections to the media and book prohibitions.

"Why couldn’t something like that be subject of negotiations with an attorney? What’s an attorney for if not negotiating terms for his client?" Hellerstein said.

Rovner argued it is not unlawful for the Bureau of Prisons to refuse negotiation, and the probation officer who drafted the conditions of Cohen's home confinement was also not aware he planned to write a book.

"Home confinement was contingent on him agreeing to the terms of home confinement, which he already refused to do expressly," Rovner said.

Perry said Cohen is willing to negotiate with prison officials on the terms and abide by them.

"We're trying to understand the contours of what he was and wasn't allowed to do, so he won't be in violation," Perry said.

Cohen is serving a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to coordinating payoffs to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The women said they had sexual affairs with Trump before he was elected.

Cohen insisted he acted at the direction of Trump, who denied the affairs.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Cohen: Judge says DOJ sent ex-Trump attorney back to prison as retaliation