Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Denied Release from Prison; Sources Say “Tell All Book” Was the Problem

Edited by: JV Staff

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer and fixer for President Trump was denied a promised early release from prison Friday, a day after an attorney from the Trump Organization sent him a threatening letter warning against him publishing a reported “tell-all” book before the 2020 election, according to a CNBC report.

Two weeks ago, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had notified Cohen, 53, that he would be released early from prison due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Otisville prison in upstate New York, Cohen’s attorney Roger Adler told ABC News at the time.
Cohen is serving a 3-year sentence at the federal prison camp where several staff and inmates have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the ABC News report.

He has completed a 14-day quarantine required for that release.

CNBC reported that on Thursday, Charles Harder, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, sent Cohen a letter warning him that he would be at legal risk if he wrote a book about his time working for Trump, according to several people.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said “absolutely not” when asked at a news conference whether the White House directly or indirectly interfered in the decision to delay Cohen’s planned early release, according to the CNBC report,
ABC News reported that he is scheduled for release in November 2021. Cohen would have been allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence from home confinement.

Cohen’s lawyer, Roger Adler, told CNBC in an email, “I am disappointed that Michael was not released after the 14 day quarantine period.”
“It is my understanding that compassionate release applications are being reviewed by the BOP central office,” Adler wrote, according to the CNBC report. “It is my hope that following that review that Michael Cohen will be released either on a furlough, or transferred to home confinement.”

Lanny Davis, another Cohen lawyer, said in a statement Saturday that he “remains in effect in solitary confinement, under quarantine, rather than under home confinement as he was led to believe would occur yesterday, May 1.”
“As his friend and legal advisor, and on his and his family’s behalf, we are disappointed not only that there was this delay but that no explanation has been offered to him or his family as to the reason for the delay,” Davis said. “We hope that someone in positions of authority gives him and his family assurance that his release under home confinement for the remainder of his term will be forthcoming, for the valid reasons previously announced.”