Ex-Donald Trump ‘fixer’ Michael Cohen could be sent BACK to prison after snaps show him out at NY restaurants
DONALD Trump’s former lawyer who is serving a three-year jail sentence could go BACK to prison after being spotted eating at a restaurant in New York.
Michael Cohen was released from prison due to the coronavirus outbreak – but officials believe he may have violated his furlough conditions by eating at Le Bilboquet in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The 53-year-old was jailed for crimes including tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress, but the federal Bureau of Prisons released Cohen on May 20 because of the global pandemic.
Photos show President Trump’s former personal lawyer seated at a sidewalk table outside the French restaurant with his wife, Laura, and another couple.
The foursome spent an hour chatting before they became the last patrons to leave around 11:30pm.
Michael and Laura Cohen then both put on face masks before changing hugs with the other couple and walking off, the New York Post revealed.
However, the meal in New York could land Cohen back in prison, according to legal experts.
At the time of Cohen’s release in May, his lawyer, Jeffrey K. Levine, told The New York Times, “He’s glad to be home in a safer and healthier environment.”
“It’s still his prison until his sentence is over,” Levine added.
‘VIOLATING’ FURLOUGH
Ex-BOP official Cameron Lindsay, a former warden at the federal lockup in Brooklyn, said Cohen’s restaurant visit “doesn’t look right” and could be considered a violation of his furlough conditions.
“I find it unusual that he’s out to dinner,” said Lindsay, who now works as a consultant and expert witness.
“I don’t know that I ever remember furloughs being approved for social reasons.”
After being papped at the restaurant, Levine defended Cohen’s evening out, saying that he “is currently on furlough” and that he “did not violate any of the terms and conditions of his release … and any assertion or suggestion to the contrary would be wholly inaccurate and untrue.”
The BOP form for furlough applications requires that an inmate provide a furlough address and acknowledge by signature that “I am authorized to be only in the area of the destination shown above and at ordinary stopovers or points on a direct route to or from that destination.”
A prominent Manhattan defence attorney also called Cohen’s actions “something that I’ve never seen before” and said it was “common sense” that “he shouldn’t be dining at restaurants.”
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“It’s a privilege to furloughed as a result of the coronavirus,” the lawyer said.
“His furlough should be revisited by the warden and it should be revoked.”
