President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was taken back into custody Thursday after violating the terms of his home confinement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.
“Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned to a BOP facility,” the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement.
Cohen was taken to a federal detention center in Brooklyn.The arrest comes days after the New York Post published photos of Cohen eating at a Manhattan restaurant while he was supposed to be under home confinement.
Cohen is serving a three-year sentence for crimes that include tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress as well as paying hush money to two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. His sentence began in May 2019.He was released from prison on May 20 to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement because of coronavirus concerns. The Post last week published photos of Cohen eating at an upscale French restaurant near his Park Avenue apartment, which likely violated the terms of his home confinement.
Cohen’s attorney, Jeffrey Levine, told NBC News he and his client met with probation officials in the U.S. District Court Thursday morning.
Officials presented Cohen with an agreement requiring him not to speak with reporters, cease cooperation with any film or book project, and avoid posting on social media during the rest of his sentence, Mr. Levine said.
Cohen is said to be writing a tell-all book criticizing the president.
The agreement also banned him from directing relatives and friends to post to social media on his behalf.
Mr. Levine said when he objected to the agreement, U.S. Marshals took Cohen into custody.
Mr. Levine also told NBC that before Cohen was taken into custody, authorities told him that his client would not agree to monitoring and he would be transferred to a secure institution.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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