Michael Cohen, formerly the personal lawyer and repairman of former US President Donald Trump, walked out of federal court as a free man on Monday when he was sentenced to three years in prison for campaign financial violations and other crimes.
Cohen, 55, told reporters outside the U.S. District Court in Manhattan that he will still be released under supervision within three years and intends to cooperate with law enforcement to “ensure that others are responsible for their dirty actions and that no one is considered Above the law”.
A few minutes later, he posted on Twitter a photo of himself grinning while showing the published document.
“This is what freedom ultimately looks like!” Cohen said on Twitter, next to a photo of himself with gray hair, wearing a black winter jacket and blue jeans. He is sitting behind the steering wheel of a car.
Cohen, who represented himself throughout the criminal proceedings, pleaded guilty in December 2018 on charges of campaign financial misconduct, tax evasion and other irregularities.
The devastating impact of Covid-19 on the American prison population led to Cohen’s early release from federal agencies in New York State. He spent a little more than a year in the prison in Otisville, New York, and was then sent back to his luxury apartment on Park Avenue to serve the rest of his term.
He tried to end his home confinement on May 29 (about six months in advance) and stated that he had completed hundreds of hours of work and courses while being held in the northwest of his apartment with many other white-collar prisoners in Otisville. About 120 kilometers away.
But a federal judge rejected his request and ordered him to stay at home until November 22, which reflects more than five months of good behavior.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
