Michael Cohen moved to solitary confinement after ‘verbal altercation’ with inmate, lawyer says
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President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen has been placed in solitary confinement after a verbal altercation with another inmate, Fox News has learned.
“It is my understanding that a verbal altercation with another inmate prompted a transfer from general population to SHU [Special Housing Unit] pending the completion of a routine investigation,” Cohen’s attorney Roger Adler told Fox News.
Cohen, 53, was transferred on Wednesday to a Special Housing Unit at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution, a disciplinary section of the prison in New York state.
A source told Reuters that Cohen was placed in solitary confinement after another inmate complained about his Internet use.
Cohen has been active on social media recently as he called on President Trump to have the Federal Bureau of Prisons allow for non-violent federal offenders — prisoners like himself — to be moved to home confinement during the coronavirus outbreak.
MICHAEL COHEN’S REQUEST FOR HOME CONFINEMENT DENIED IN SCATHING ORDER
On March 24, a judge forcefully denied Cohen’s personal request to have his sentence shortened and be moved to home confinement.
«Apparently searching for a new argument to justify a modification of his sentence to home confinement, Cohen now raises the specter of COVID-19,» Judge William H. Pauley III wrote in the order. «That Cohen would seek to single himself out for release to home confinement appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle.»
“Cohen has not even attempted to argue that he is uniquely at risk as compared to other inmates. Nor could he: He is 53 years old and in good health,” the judge added.
The judge noted that the «fatal flaw» with Cohen’s motion for a reduced or modified sentence — made under Rule 35(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure — is that only the prosecution can file a motion of this nature.
«Ten months into his prison term, it’s time that Cohen accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far-reaching institutional harms,» Pauley wrote. «For these reasons, Cohen’s application to reduce or modify his sentence is denied.»
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Cohen began serving a three-year sentence on May 6, 2019, following a guilty plea to offenses including campaign finance violations, various financial crimes and providing false statements to Congress. He illegally directed hush payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claimed they had affairs with Trump. Trump has denied having the encounters.
