Michael Cohen sues Donald Trump, saying jail stint was retaliation for tell-all book
- The ex-US president’s former lawyer says his abrupt return to prison last year endangered his life and amounted to punishment for criticising Trump
- Cohen was moved from jail to home confinement over coronavirus concerns, but ordered back behind bars weeks later before a judge had him released again
Michael Cohen claimed in a new lawsuit on Thursday that Donald Trump retaliated against him for writing a tell-all memoir, saying his abrupt return to federal prison last year endangered his life and amounted to punishment for criticising the president.
Trump’s former personal lawyer recently completed a three-year sentence for crimes including tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
He reported to prison in May 2019 but was released to home confinement after about a year as authorities sought to contain the coronavirus outbreak in federal prisons.
Federal authorities abruptly ordered him back to prison weeks later, claiming he failed to accept certain terms of his release. Cohen, however, said he had merely sought clarification on a condition forbidding him from speaking with the media and publishing his book.
He said his second stint behind bars began with 16 harrowing days in solitary confinement. Cohen says he suffered shortness of breath, severe headaches and anxiety inside a small cell he left just 30 minutes a day at the federal prison in Otisville, New York.