NEW YORK _ A "smiling" Michael Cohen has left prison and is going back into home confinement thanks to a judge's ruling that the feds locked him in retaliation for his plans to write a tell-all book about President Donald Trump.
Cohen attorney Jeff Levine confirmed Friday he had departed FCI Otisville, in Orange County, N.Y.
"He was smiling," said Levine, who spoke over FaceTime with Cohen en route back to Manhattan. "Last time I saw him, it was the opposite. It's a relief to him and frankly to me to see that he's in a better place now, and there's so much to do."
Cohen's exit was ordered by Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ruled Thursday that the Department of Justice threw him back behind bars in "retaliation" for promoting the book that will detail his work as Trump's personal attorney.
Cohen was taken back into custody on July 9 after he and Levine were presented with an unusual gag order during a check-in with a probation officer in lower Manhattan. Cohen had been on a form of home confinement due to the risk of catching coronavirus behind bars.
He is serving a three-year sentence for campaign finance violations, tax fraud, lying to Congress and other crimes.
