U.S. Marshals took Michael Cohen into custody for violating the terms of his early release from prison.
Cohen, the 53-year-old former personal lawyer to President Trump, was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, his lawyer told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s totally unnecessary. It’s totally outrageous,” Jeffrey Levine said after noting his client was “shaken” by being taken into custody, according to CNBC.
The Bureau of Prisons released a statement that said, “Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned to a BOP facility.” An anonymous source familiar with Cohen’s legal status told the New York Times that he was taken into custody because he hadn’t signed papers agreeing to certain conditions related to media appearances and writing books.
Last week, the New York Post published a photograph of him eating at a sidewalk table outside Le Bilboquet, a French restaurant around the corner from his apartment. When asked if that was a factor in Cohen being taken into custody, Levine told reporters outside of the courthouse: “I would leave that to your viewers.”
Cohen was granted release from federal prison to home confinement in late May as the Justice Department sought to stem the spread of the coronavirus among inmates. Levine said Cohen is “not well” and fears his client is at risk of contracting COVID-19.
The president’s former lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty in August 2018 to eight criminal charges, including bank fraud, tax fraud, and campaign finance violations related to facilitating hush-money payments to two women who alleged that they had romantic affairs with Trump.
Cohen’s release date is scheduled for Nov. 22, 2021, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.
