New York (CNN) A federal judge ordered Michael Cohen to be released into home confinement after finding the government had sent him back to prison in retaliation for a tell-book he was writing about President Donald Trump. During a phone hearing on Thursday, Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected prosecutors' argument that they didn't customize a release form prohibiting Cohen from engaging with the media. Hellerstein said there was no other "inference" to take than retaliation for why Cohen was brought back into federal custody after he had been released on furlough. "In 21 years of being a judge and sentencing people and looking at terms and conditions of supervised release, I've never seen such a clause," Hellerstein said. Cohen sued the Department of Justice on Monday, alleging he was taken back into custody on July 9 to block the release of his book, which is slated for a September release, two months before the presidential election.

Source: CNN July 23, 2020 16:06 UTC