Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen back on house arrest, claims imprisonment was payback

According to Fox News, a federal judge recently overturned a previous decision to incarcerate former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, citing concerns over the original order to put him in prison was “retaliatory” and tied to a controversial book Cohen plans to release soon.

The previous order not only sent Cohen back behind bars, it put him into solitary confinement at Otisville federal prison in upstate NY. The current order overturning the previous order will have him back in home confinement by Friday noon at the latest.

Alvin Hellerstein, a US district judge, gave his opinion that the incarceration order probably had to do with the book Cohen has almost finished writing, which will be a tell-all book critical of US President Donald Trump.

Even more telling is the timing involved in this scenario, since US presidential elections are looming this November. Cohen has publicly stated previously that he plans to strategically release the book shortly before the elections take place.

Cohen is also suing US Attorney General Bill Barr for the alleged violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of expression, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has joined forces with Cohen in the lawsuit.

Ironically, Trump has also many times come down on the other side of this issue, attacking Charles Schumer and other high level US politicians for trying to silence their opponents.

Also, some reports say that Cohen was seen in public at a restaurant in Manhattan, which would indicate that he had violated the terms of his home confinement, and that there was just cause for sending him back to prison.

Cohen is currently serving a sentence for several charges of which he was convicted, among them violations of campaign finance law. Up until now, he was scheduled to finish his sentence in November of next year.