President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen was taken into federal custody this week after balking at the gag order placed on him that required the former fixer to stay away from the media.
Cohen was released early from prison in late May over coronavirus concerns.
Cohen’s attorney Jeffrey Levine, said of the arrest, “It’s totally unnecessary, it’s totally outrageous,” according to CNBC.
Levine added, “I’ve never seen any language like this in my life that would strip a person of their First Amendment rights to communicate with the media.”
Cohen’s lawyer said that the gag order requires that Cohen not speak with any reporters and that he avoid posting on social media and that he could not cooperate on any book or film.
But this week, as a judge ruled that Donald Trump’s niece could publish a tell-all, Cohen tweeted, “Favorable ruling yesterday by the Court as I am close to the completion of my book.”
He said that the book would be released in late September.
Favorable ruling yesterday by the Court as I am close to completion of my book…https://t.co/lprtpkdl7K
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) July 2, 2020
When he was released from prison in late May, Cohen said “There is so much I want to say and intend to say. But now is not the right time. Soon.”
Trump’s lawyers have demanded that Cohen stop writing a tell-all, according to The Daily Beast. But Trump tell-alls are a cottage industry and there’s no shortage of demand for them.
Cohen was sentenced to just under three years in federal prison for crimes related to Trump, including the hush money payoffs that he made to various women, most notably Stormy Daniels, on Trump’s behalf.
Cohen’s sentence stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. In addition to campaign finance laws, he was also charged with lying to Congress.
At the time, Trump’s former lawyer said that it was “my duty to cover up [Trump’s] dirty deeds.”
