Michael Cohen Released to Home Confinement
Federal Judge Ruled Cohen’s Return to Prison in Retaliation for Publishing Book Violated the First Amendment
NEW YORK — Michael Cohen was released to home confinement today. The release comes in response to a court order secured yesterday as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and law firm Perry Guha LLP on behalf of Michael Cohen. The court found that the government violated the First Amendment by imprisoning Cohen in retaliation for his plans to publish a book critical of the president prior to the November election.
“Mr. Cohen is extremely gratified that the court upheld his fundamental constitutional right to speak freely and publicly,” said Mr. Cohen’s attorney Danya Perry of Perry Guha LLP.
“With this release, the Trump administration would do well to remember that it cannot put someone in prison for writing a book critical of the president,” said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The ACLU will continue to defend the First Amendment right to be free from government censorship — as we have for a century now.”
The parties have one week from the court order to agree on a new term regarding Cohen’s speech while on home confinement that is consistent with the First Amendment.
Additional information about the case is here: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-files-first-amendment-challenge-against-michael-cohens-retaliatory-imprisonment.
The court order is here: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/cohen-v-barr-order-granting-preliminary-injunction
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