New York (Trends Wide) – Michael Cohen is about to be a free man. This Monday morning, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and self-described repairman will be officially released from his three-year prison sentence, the last year he has served from his posh Park Avenue apartment.
Cohen has been literally counting the days on your Twitter account with a blackboard and numbers that are counting down.
“Three and FREE! On Monday morning I head to 500 Pearl Street, sign my release papers and then we celebrate together on @instagram,” he tweeted Thursday to his more than 500,000 followers.
Cohen’s case
Cohen’s release after pleading guilty to nine federal crimes marks a renaissance for a man who once reprimanded and intimidated anyone he perceived to be critical of Trump.
Cohen remained loyal during the special counsel’s investigation into the 2016 presidential election, sticking to the idea that he would take a bullet for Trump. But all that changed after the April 2018 FBI raid on his home, office and room at the Regency Hotel in New York.
Cohen pleaded guilty to nine federal crimes, including tax fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations for helping pay two women who threatened to go public with their alleged affairs with Trump just before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the charges.
Michael Cohen leaves his Park Avenue apartment on May 6, 2019 to begin serving a three-year sentence in federal prison in Otisville, New York. (Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
During his guilty plea in a midtown Manhattan courtroom, Cohen pointed a finger directly at Trump, solidifying his division, saying he facilitated payments “in coordination with and under the direction of” Trump. He then pleaded guilty a second time, several months later, to lying to House committees investigating election interference, which he also said he did under Trump’s direction.
Cohen sought to remake his image as a new man, one who had finally freed himself from the spell Trump had on him. He set a course to exact his rebirth and revenge, testified before Congress, claiming that Trump and the Trump Organization manipulated the value of their assets to obtain better loans and insurance and minimize their taxes.
Following his testimony, civil and criminal investigations were launched in Manhattan. Cohen met multiple times with New York district attorneys. In July, the Trump Organization was indicted on state charges for a 15-year tax fraud scheme. The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty and the investigation continues.
Cohen, from prison to house arrest
Cohen, who always courted the media, encountered a crowd of reporters before reporting that he would serve his sentence in the Otisville prison camp, which had been named one of the “10 most comfortable prisons in America.” And as a last word, he promised Trump that he would not remain silent.
In Otisville, Cohen worked on the prison’s HVAC systems and established a good relationship with other inmates, including Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino from MTV’s “Jersey Shore.”
After several attempts, Cohen was released from prison in May 2020 due to the pandemic, but that was reversed when he appeared in court to finalize his transition to home confinement. When he objected to many of the conditions, he was arrested.
Cohen sued, alleging that the Justice Department, under the direction of Attorney General William Barr, had retaliated against him because he planned to write a revealing book on Trump. A federal judge agreed and Cohen was placed in home confinement in July 2020.
Since then, Cohen has published his book, launched a podcast and appears frequently on cable television from his apartment to criticize the former president.
Cohen declined to comment with Trends Wide. But as he charts his next moves, the tabloids are likely to follow suit. Twice last month, The New York Post’s Page Six saw him having coffee with Kayne West at the Regency Hotel.
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