May 21, 2020

Michael Cohen has been sent home from prison amid coronavirus concerns

WATCH: Who is Michael Cohen?

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, arrived at his midtown Manhattan apartment Thursday morning after being released from Otisville Correctional Facility. Cohen will spend the remainder of his three-year sentence in home confinement.

Cohen was released as part of the Justice Department's push to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among inmates, his lawyer said. 
The lawyer, Jeffrey Levine, is expected to issue a statement later in the day.

MORE: DOJ clarifies federal inmate release guidance after confusion plagues process

Cohen, 53, was originally scheduled for release in November 2021. He pleaded guilty in 2018 in two separate criminal cases. Cohen admitted to campaign finance violations spawning from payments made to women who alleged having affairs with Trump years prior to his 2016 presidential campaign.

John Minchillo/AP
Michael Cohen arrives at his Manhattan apartment, May 21, 2020, in New York.

The former attorney's return home marks the end of a long and confusing endeavor. His lawyers requested the remainder of his sentence be served at home due to the pandemic in March — which was swiftly rejected. His attorneys submitted another request in mid April. Although this request was reportedly granted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the BOP backtracked and rescinded its approval on May 1.

John Minchillo/AP
Personal belongings delivered from the vehicle Michael Cohen arrived in are brought into his Manhattan apartment building, May 21, 2020, in New York.

Cohen's attorney, however, was notified Wednesday that the latest BOP order was, in fact, rescinded — Cohen would be allowed to return home Thursday morning.

MORE: Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison, blames President Trump for his 'path of darkness'

In another charge, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project Trump and his company pursued while Trump was trying to secure the Republican nomination to become president.

John Minchillo/AP
Michael Cohen arrives at his Manhattan apartment, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in New York.

Thousands of federal inmates have contracted coronavirus, and more than 50 have died, according to the BOP's own data. 


Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was also released from prison last week without having served even half of his more than seven-year term. He was jailed in 2018 convicted for witness tampering while awaiting trial on bank and tax fraud charges. He also later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice related to his undisclosed lobbying for a pro-Russian politician and political party in Ukraine.