WASHINGTON: Michael Cohen, a former attorney for former President Donald Trump and a longtime repairman, will be released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement amid the coronavirus pandemic, said a person familiar with the matter to The Associated Press.
Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. He will remain in quarantine for 14 days before being released. Federal statistics show that 14 inmates and seven prison staff have tested positive for coronavirus.
After being released, Cohen will serve the rest of his sentence at home, according to the person, who was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Cohen's release comes as prison advocates and congressional leaders have been lobbying the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates before a possible outbreak, arguing that the public health guide to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is almost impossible behind bars
Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons earlier this month to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, starting at three prisons identified as coronavirus hotspots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.
As of Thursday, 473 federal inmates and 279 prison office staff had tested positive for coronavirus at facilities across the United States. Eighteen inmates have died since the end of March.
Many federal inmates have been seeking home confinement as the number of coronavirus cases in the federal prison system increases, but advocates have accused the Bureau of Prisons of moving too slowly to release inmates.
The Bureau of Prisons said it had transferred more than 1,000 inmates to home confinement since March 26, when Barr first issued a directive to increase its use in late March.
The agency said it is a "tremendous logistical breakthrough that was accomplished by organizing all of BOP's resources."
A federal judge denied Cohen's attempt at an early release to home confinement after serving 10 months in prison and said in a ruling earlier this month that "it appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle." .
But the Bureau of Prisons can take steps to move you home without a court order.
Cohen began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.
Other high-profile inmates have also been released as the number of coronavirus cases increases. Last week, a judge ordered that Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who rose to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Trump, be temporarily released from federal prison in New York City and stay in the house. from a friend in Los Angeles.
Avenatti had said he was at high risk of contracting the coronavirus because he had a recent episode of pneumonia and his cellmate at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center was removed due to flu-like symptoms.
Former New York State Senate Leader Dean Skelos, 72, who was also serving a sentence in Otisville, is also expected to be released from prison to home confinement soon after testing positive for the coronavirus, the researchers said. prosecutors to a judge on Wednesday.
CNN first reported that Cohen was released from the home. A spokesman for the US attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. He will remain in quarantine for 14 days before being released. Federal statistics show that 14 inmates and seven prison staff have tested positive for coronavirus.
After being released, Cohen will serve the rest of his sentence at home, according to the person, who was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Cohen's release comes as prison advocates and congressional leaders have been lobbying the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates before a possible outbreak, arguing that the public health guide to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is almost impossible behind bars
Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons earlier this month to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, starting at three prisons identified as coronavirus hotspots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.
As of Thursday, 473 federal inmates and 279 prison office staff had tested positive for coronavirus at facilities across the United States. Eighteen inmates have died since the end of March.
Many federal inmates have been seeking home confinement as the number of coronavirus cases in the federal prison system increases, but advocates have accused the Bureau of Prisons of moving too slowly to release inmates.
The Bureau of Prisons said it had transferred more than 1,000 inmates to home confinement since March 26, when Barr first issued a directive to increase its use in late March.
The agency said it is a "tremendous logistical breakthrough that was accomplished by organizing all of BOP's resources."
A federal judge denied Cohen's attempt at an early release to home confinement after serving 10 months in prison and said in a ruling earlier this month that "it appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle." .
But the Bureau of Prisons can take steps to move you home without a court order.
Cohen began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.
Other high-profile inmates have also been released as the number of coronavirus cases increases. Last week, a judge ordered that Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who rose to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Trump, be temporarily released from federal prison in New York City and stay in the house. from a friend in Los Angeles.
Avenatti had said he was at high risk of contracting the coronavirus because he had a recent episode of pneumonia and his cellmate at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center was removed due to flu-like symptoms.
Former New York State Senate Leader Dean Skelos, 72, who was also serving a sentence in Otisville, is also expected to be released from prison to home confinement soon after testing positive for the coronavirus, the researchers said. prosecutors to a judge on Wednesday.
CNN first reported that Cohen was released from the home. A spokesman for the US attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment.
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