Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to be released due to coronavirus outbreak - sources

By Aram Roston and Mark Hosenball

 

FILE PHOTO: Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer, leaves his apartment to report to prison in Manhattan, New York, U.S., May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to U.S. President Donald Trump, will be released early from prison because of the coronavirus pandemic, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters late on Thursday.

 

Cohen, who has served less than one year of a three-year sentence, will serve the rest of his time in home confinement, one of the sources said.

 

Before his release, he will have to undergo a two-week quarantine to ensure he does not have symptoms of COVID-19, according to the source, who asked not to be identified.

 

Roger Adler, Cohen's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said that as of Thursday night Cohen was still incarcerated in the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution.

 

A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Cohen, who once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for directing hush payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed they had affairs with Trump. The U.S. president has denied having the encounters.

 

Cohen, 53, was sent to a minimum-security camp at Otisville in upstate New York, about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City.

 

He had pressed to be released early due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered New York state and surfaced in prisons around the country.

 

Last month, a federal judge denied the request, saying Cohen should accept the consequences of his crimes rather than invoke the pandemic to justify his freedom.

 

"Ten months into his prison term, it's time that Cohen accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far reaching institutional harms," U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan wrote.

 

The judge said that Cohen's attempt to "single himself out for release to home confinement appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle."

 

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Aram Roston in Washington, Writing by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Noeleen Walder)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-17

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

Last month, a federal judge denied the request, saying Cohen should accept the consequences of his crimes rather than invoke the pandemic to justify his freedom.

So who has decided he will now be released?

Does that mean the rest of inmates have also been set free....no i thought not.

they also have dual justice systems in the USA too, one for the poor,and another

for the rich connected folks.

regards worgeordie

20 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Does that mean the rest of inmates have also been set free....no i thought not.

they also have dual justice systems in the USA too, one for the poor,and another

for the rich connected folks.

regards worgeordie

I think you are right. Also this week serial fraudster and all-round douchbag Mike Avenatti - the "serious contender" was released. So together with cryin' Michael cohen this is 2 rabid anti-Trumpers getting released early. What is going on?

9 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I think you are right. Also this week serial fraudster and all-round douchbag Mike Avenatti - the "serious contender" was released. So together with cryin' Michael cohen this is 2 rabid anti-Trumpers getting released early. What is going on?

Weinstein with his bad back,will be the next one, they have no shame,

it's too bloody obvious  

regards worgeordie

Edited April 17, 20206 yr by worgeordie

Always a chance he might contract the virus due to having been released.

Pardoned by a virus... 

While these high profile releases are worth noting, little is said about the hundreds of inmates being released for the same reason, and the police forces that are being instructed not to arrest people for minor crimes and property theft of less than $1000.

I will add the case of the guy who murdered someone within 24 hours of being released, but I am not going to look it up again for you.

15 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Bad move Michael. We all know what snitches get...

Is that a death threat emanating from right wing extremists?

Edited April 18, 20206 yr by simple1

6 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

While these high profile releases are worth noting, little is said about the hundreds of inmates being released for the same reason, and the police forces that are being instructed not to arrest people for minor crimes and property theft of less than $1000.

I will add the case of the guy who murdered someone within 24 hours of being released, but I am not going to look it up again for you.

If that is true, the release of Cohen and avenatti is justified.

17 hours ago, webfact said:

he will have to undergo a two-week quarantine

are they saying his whereabouts were unknown?

Good I’m glad he’s out he turned states evidence was and is a good witness to trumps practices and the person trump is he’s disbarred broke kinds screwed he’s paid imo

26 minutes ago, stevenl said:

If that is true, the release of Cohen and avenatti is justified.

Thousands of people in the US, and many more thousands in the rest of the world, are released for the same reason.

 

https://www.vox.com/2020/4/3/21200832/jail-prison-early-release-coronavirus-covid-19-incarcerated

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=countries+that+early+release+prisoners+covid

18 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I think you are right. Also this week serial fraudster and all-round douchbag Mike Avenatti - the "serious contender" was released. So together with cryin' Michael cohen this is 2 rabid anti-Trumpers getting released early. What is going on?

Cohen was not an anti-trumper until he was sent to prison for carrying out Trump's instructions.

 

Besides, are you spending time to divide up criminals into Trumpers and anti-trumpers?

 

And do you really think that with Trump as president and having packed the bench with pro-trump judges etc that there will be a bias in favour of anti-Trumpers?

18 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I think you are right. Also this week serial fraudster and all-round douchbag Mike Avenatti - the "serious contender" was released. So together with cryin' Michael cohen this is 2 rabid anti-Trumpers getting released early. What is going on?

All hail the anti-trumpers 

2 hours ago, wombat said:

are they saying his whereabouts were unknown?

Pretty sure the cops know where he is, but just ain't telling the public. 

3 hours ago, DoctorG said:

While these high profile releases are worth noting, little is said about the hundreds of inmates being released for the same reason, and the police forces that are being instructed not to arrest people for minor crimes and property theft of less than $1000.

I will add the case of the guy who murdered someone within 24 hours of being released, but I am not going to look it up again for you.

tell that to the inmates of Cook County jail in Chicago

19 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

 Cohen was an anti-Trumper since he panicked and testified a whole load of made up garbage about Trump to please the lefties whose star Cohen clearly thought was rising. A snitch and a fantasist. Bad move Michael. We all know what snitches get...

Right, so someone who worked closely with Trump for his entire life is ACTUALLY an anti-Trumper because after getting caught breaking the law numerous times for his boss, he caved to the pressure and testified against him to get a reduced sentence. Why not go whole hog and call him a "never-Trumper" who was conspiring to take the perfect business transactions that he was instructed to do and corrupt them so that it appeared to make Trump look guilty of being a business fraud? If you're going to spend your time constructing a complete fiction, no sense in half-measures!

An off topic trolling post has been removed. 

On 4/17/2020 at 4:10 AM, worgeordie said:

Does that mean the rest of inmates have also been set free....no i thought not.

they also have dual justice systems in the USA too, one for the poor,and another

for the rich connected folks.

regards worgeordie

Do you have any evidence to suggest Cohen was given preferential treatment?

11 hours ago, DoctorG said:

While these high profile releases are worth noting, little is said about the hundreds of inmates being released for the same reason, and the police forces that are being instructed not to arrest people for minor crimes and property theft of less than $1000.

I will add the case of the guy who murdered someone within 24 hours of being released, but I am not going to look it up again for you.

Maybe they needed to free up space to lock up Christians going to Easter services? You know, the REAL criminals.

Some troll posts and the replies have been removed. 

19 minutes ago, Crazy Alex said:

Do you have any evidence to suggest Cohen was given preferential treatment?

Think his second passport and status as a dual National would suffice.