Tag: Michael Cohen

Justice Dept. drops support for Michael Cohen gag order, clearing way for tell-all Trump book

Washington Post logoNEW YORK — The Justice Department on Thursday dropped its support for a gag order that would have prevented President Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen from writing his forthcoming tell-all book or discussing it with the media, according to documents filed in federal court Thursday.

The about-face was spelled out in a proposed settlement agreement sent to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. In it, Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Rovner and Cohen’s attorney Danya Perry wrote that there should be “no specific media provision” governing Cohen’s release from prison to home confinement.

Hellerstein has yet to approve the deal. Continue reading.

Judge Orders Cohen Released, Citing ‘Retaliation’ Over Tell-All Book

New York Times logoA judge agreed that federal officials had returned Michael D. Cohen to prison because he wanted to publish a book this fall about President Trump.

When Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer, met with probation officers this month to complete paperwork that would have let him serve the balance of his prison term at home, he found a catch.

Mr. Cohen was already out on furlough because of the coronavirus. But to remain at home, he was asked to sign a document that would have barred him from publishing a book during the rest of his sentence. Mr. Cohen balked because he was, in fact, writing a book — a tell-all memoir about his former boss, the president.

The officers sent him back to prison. Continue reading

Judge orders Michael Cohen to be released to home confinement

Axios logoA federal judge on Thursday ordered President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen to be released from prison and into home confinement, ruling that the Justice Department retaliated against him over his planned tell-all book about the president.

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.

Michael Cohen’s book to allege Trump made racist comments about Obama and Nelson Mandela, lawsuit says

Washington Post logoNEW YORK — The book manuscript being drafted by President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen alleges that Trump has made racist comments about his predecessor Barack Obama and the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, according to court filings made public Monday night that contend Cohen was sent back to prison this month as retaliation for seeking to publish his memoir before November’s election.

The lawsuit seeks Cohen’s immediate release from federal custody. He was rearrested July 9, less than two months after he was approved to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. His attorneys allege that Cohen’s First Amendment rights were violated when he was detained at the federal courthouse in Manhattan during a meeting with probation officers, who had asked him to sign a gag order prohibiting him from speaking to the media or publishing a book while serving the rest of his sentence.

Cohen’s suit names Attorney General William P. Barr and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials, in their official capacities. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in the Southern District of New York, and an initial hearing was scheduled for Thursday. Continue reading.

The Daily 202: Michael Cohen asked to sign stay-out-of-jail agreement that may violate his First Amendment rights, lawyers say

Washington Post logoMichael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, is back in solitary confinement at a federal prison facility in Otisville, N.Y., and legal scholars across the political spectrum are expressing alarm about his treatment.

Their objections center on a Federal Bureau of Prisons agreement Cohen was asked to sign last week that he and his lawyers say would limit the ex-Trump ally’s ability to work on books, including a forthcoming tell-all about the president.

Cohen’s return to jail last week is likely to open yet another legal front for a man who once described himself as Trump’s loyal “fixer” but later offered testimony implicating the president in possible crimes. Continue reading.

Roger Stone joins the remarkable universe of criminality surrounding President Trump

Washington Post logoOn Friday, President Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone was found guilty on seven criminal charges related to testimony he gave to Congress as part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Those charges included five counts of offering false statements, one of obstruction and one of witness tampering. Stone is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.

Stone was with Trump at the very beginning of the president’s time in politics. In fact, Stone long pushed Trump to enter into the political world, encouraging him repeatedly to announce presidential bids in previous cycles. He was sidelined during Trump’s 2016 run after either quitting or being fired; as with many things related to Stone, details are murky.

Friday’s convictions seem to bring to an end the high-profile criminal probes stemming from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The convictions also contribute to a truly remarkable universe of admitted, proved or alleged criminal behavior involving people linked to Trump.

View the complete November 15 article by Philip Bump on The Washington Post website here.

Manhattan DA Subpoenas Trump Org Over Hush Money Payments to Stormy Daniels

NEW YORK — Just weeks after federal prosecutors revealed they were through investigating hush money paid to protect President Donald Trump from allegations of adultery, the probe has been picked back up by state prosecutors in New York City.

The president’s family business, the Trump Organization, received a subpoena Thursday from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., according to an attorney for the company.

“This is a political hit job,” said the lawyer, Marc L. Mukasey, in an email. “It’s just harassment of the President, his family, and his business, using subpoenas and leaks as weapons. We will respond as appropriate.”

View the complete August 1 article from the Associated Press on The Time Magazine website here.

FBI warrants show Trump’s close involvement in hush money effort

Washington (CNN) — Federal search warrants released Thursday detail how Donald Trump and his allies scrambled in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign to arrange a hush-money deal to hide his alleged affair and contain the fallout from related stories in the press.

The internal chaos consumed Trump, then-attorney Michael Cohen, campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks and even reached campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, according to the documents unsealed by a federal court in New York.
The documents are the first time that the US authorities have identified Trump by name and allege his involvement at key steps in the campaign finance scheme. Authorities had previously referred to Trump in court filings as “Individual 1,” the person who directed Cohen to make the payments. Trump has publicly denied making the payments. Cohen pleaded guilty to two campaign finance crimes, among others, and is serving a three year prison sentence.

View the complete July 18 article by Kara Scannell and Marshall Cohen on the CNN website here.

Report: Million-Dollar Donor To Trump Inaugural Under Federal Investigation

A $1 million donation that real estate mogul Franklin Haney made to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee is now being investigated by federal prosecutors in New York, ABC News is reporting.

The probe of Haney’s donation is part of a federal investigation of the committee’s finances. This isn’t the first time that one of Haney’s large donations has been investigated: in 1999, Haney (who is now 79) was charged with making about $100,000 in illegal donations to President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and others but was acquitted.

Haney’s $1 million contribution to the Trump inaugural committee came at a time when he was hoping to acquire Alabama’s Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant and needed regulatory approval. But two years later, that acquisition still hasn’t come about.

View the complete May 27 article by Alex Henderson on the National Memo website here.

What Michael Cohen says about the origin of his false congressional testimony

In his public testimony before Congress in February, Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former attorney, was explicit during his opening statement about what Trump didn’t do.

“Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress,” Cohen said, referring to his untrue assertion in a statement offered to congressional investigators in 2017 that discussions about a possible Trump-branded real estate project in Moscow had ended in January 2017. For this falsehood, Cohen reached a plea agreement with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III last year.

But Cohen continued:

View the complete May 20 article by Philip Bump on The Washington Post website here.