Michael Cohen Can Talk to Media During House Arrest

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen will be able to talk to the press while serving out his remaining prison sentence in home confinement, after the U.S. government backed down on the restriction.

Under an agreement filed in federal court Thursday in Manhattan, the Justice Department dropped its earlier demand that Cohen not communicate with the media, including through books, as part of his release from prison during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cohen, who says he is writing a tell-all memoir about Trump, had been thrown back in prison July 9 after he balked at the original terms of his home confinement.

The effort to restrict Cohen fell apart last week after a judge ruled the lawyer had been returned to prison in retaliation over the planned book, violating his First Amendment rights. Cohen was ordered returned to home confinement on July 24 and told to renegotiate the terms of his press contacts.

“The parties agree that a specific provision regarding petitioner’s contact with the media is not necessary,” the government said in a letter Thursday to the judge, who must approve the deal. The U.S. also said it doesn’t plan to appeal last week’s court loss.

Cohen’s lawyer, Danya Perry, declined to comment on the agreement.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for campaign-finance crimes tied to his work for Trump and will serve the rest of his term confined to his home. He’s due to be released in November 2021. The Justice Department denies that it was retaliating and told the judge that Cohen was argumentative.

Under the new agreement, Cohen would still need approval on any job he takes while confined to his home. At a hearing last week, the judge noted Cohen might want to host TV crews in his apartment or appear as a political consultant.

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