Name: Michael Cohen Is Out of Jail and Manifesting a Book Deal
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Michael Cohen Is Out of Jail and Manifesting a Book Deal

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Michael Cohen’s newest attorney didn’t have to do much talking during her client’s hearing Thursday morning. For much of the short discussion, which, in a sign of the times, took place over the phone, Federal District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein peppered the attorney for the U.S. government—which Cohen , along with Attorney General William Barr—with a version of the same question: How could the order to return Cohen to prison, carried out after he refused to sign documents setting the terms of his home confinement, be anything but retaliation for his plan to write a book critical of Donald Trump?Cohen was furloughed from prison in May as part of a push to free inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic. He had been serving out the remainder of his 36-month sentence in his Trump-owned Upper East Side apartment. But when he appeared before a probation officer two weeks ago, he objected to a clause that prohibited him from publishing a book, speaking to reporters, or posting on social media—a measure Judge Hellerstein said he had never seen anything like in his more than two decades on the bench. Cohen balked, so he was to solitary confinement in Otisville, New York, as part of the prison’s COVID-19 protocol.The judge told the U.S. attorney that it was within Cohen’s rights to ask questions and negotiate the terms of the agreement without being taken back into custody. The government countered that Cohen had been “antagonistic” in the meeting and that no “high-level official” had any “motive” to prevent the further release of Cohen’s forthcoming book. But the judge didn’t bite. He ruled that transferring Cohen back to prison was “retaliatory” and ordered that he be released by Friday afternoon. “It’s retaliation because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others,” he said. The government and Cohen’s attorneys have a week to work out the specifics of his home-confinement agreement.The ruling was the latest bend in a twisty, protracted legal and public battle between Cohen and his former boss. Almost exactly three years ago, I sat across from Cohen in a crowded coffee shop in the Hamptons, with Trump not yet a year into his term, no masks in sight, and no need to contemplate prison, and he told me that he would take a bullet for his boss. Half a year later, federal agents executed search warrants of his home and office, and half a year after that, Cohen to counts of bank fraud, tax evasion, and campaign-finance violations stemming from payments he made on behalf of and at the direction of Trump in order to silence women alleging they had affairs with the then candidate. (The president has denied wrongdoing.) Half a year after that, Cohen testified to Congress under oath that Trump was a liar, a cheat, and a racist. He sat with investigators for dozens of hours before and after he began serving time in Otisville, where he started work on his book.No sooner had he initiated talks with publishers than he received a from Charles Harder, the attorney who challenged Mary Trump and Simon &amp; Schuster as they prepared to publish her account of her uncle. Harder said Cohen was bound by a nondisclosure agreement, which Cohen disputes. Cohen continued to have a difficult time finding a publisher, flirting with the idea of self-publishing leading up to his being taken into custody earlier this month.But the legal dispute over Mary Trump’s book was good to her. Simon &amp; Schuster has said that her sales shattered company records, reaching nearly 1 million copies sold on publication day. The renewed controversy surrounding Cohen’s story could work in his favor too, as people familiar with the situation say interest from publishers had been reignited, and conversations are ongoing.More Great Stories From Vanity Fair— As Chaos Engulfs Trump Campaign, — In Mary Trump’s New Book, a Conclusive — For Some on Wall Street Than Money— Factory at Justice— Bari Weiss Makes Her Bid for — , His Rallies Are Church and He Is the Gospel﻿— From the Archive: of Donald Trump and Roy CohnLooking for more? for our daily Hive newsletter and never miss a story.Most Popular is a national correspondent at Vanity Fair and a cohost of the podcast **. She is the best-selling author of Born Trump and a chronicler of characters from Washington to Manhattan to Hollywood (and sometimes other places too—you never know where characters will reveal... The freshest-and most essential-updates from Washington, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley.

Michael Cohen’s newest attorney didn’t have to do much talking during her client’s hearing Thursday morning. For much of the short discussion, which, in a sign of the times, took place over the phone, Federal District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein peppered the attorney for the U.S. government—which Cohen , along with Attorney General William Barr—with a version of the same question: How could the order to return Cohen to prison, carried out after he refused to sign documents setting the terms of his home confinement, be anything but retaliation for his plan to write a book critical of...

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Emily Jane Fox

Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.  The first version of Vanity Fair was published from 1913 to 1936. The imprint was revived in 1983 and currently includes five international editions of the magazine. As of 2018, the Editor-in-Chief is Radhika Jones.

Michael Cohen Is Out of Jail and Manifesting a Book Deal

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