Catch up quick: Cohen was released from federal prison in New York in May to serve his three-year sentence at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he was imprisoned again this month after officials said he refused the conditions of his home confinement, including by writing his book. The judge ruled that DOJ’s actions curbed Cohen’s First Amendment rights.
What they’re saying: ““I’ve never seen such a clause in 21 years of being a judge and sentencing people and looking at terms of supervised release,” District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said at Cohen’s hearing. “Why would the Bureau of Prisons ask for something like this … unless there was a retaliatory purpose?” Continue reading.