Aclu Files First Amendment Challenge Against Michael Cohen’s Retaliatory Imprisonment

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union and law firm Perry Guha LLP today filed a habeas petition on behalf of Michael Cohen seeking his immediate release to home confinement. The petition argues that the federal government’s incarceration of Michael Cohen in retaliation for his plans to publish a book critical of the president prior to the November election violates the First Amendment.

“This case is about a brazen assault on the First Amendment and the rule of law. We trust that our Constitution will prevail and that free speech will continue to be protected, for our client and for all others by extension,” said Danya Perry, founding partner of Perry Guha.

In May 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons released Cohen from prison and placed him on furlough due to underlying health conditions that placed him at higher risk of severe illness or even death from COVID-19. He was then supposed to transition to home confinement for the remainder of his sentence. On July 2, 2020, while on furlough, Cohen tweeted that he was putting finishing touches on what would be a tell-all book about his decade-long experience with Donald Trump.