The US President Donald Trump's former personal attorney was notified that he will be released from the prison after several in the federal facility in which he is placed tested positive for the coronavirus. The federal prison in Otisville, NY, had around 14 inmates and seven staff members test positive for COVID-19.
Micheal Cohen was serving a three-year prison sentence in the federal facility. He was scheduled to be released in November of 2021. He is said to be serving the rest of the sentence from his home. Before the release, he will undergo a 14-day quarantine at the camp. The authorities have been thinning out the prison population as there is a pressure on the Bureau of Prisons to ensure the inmates' safety during the pandemic.
Cohen's pending release came after his request for the release was rejected by the court last month. He said that the federal judges were not treating him fairly and later raised his concern about the virus.
Tax frauds and campaign finance violation
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty for charges placed against him. He was sent to the prison after he pleaded guilty for 2018 to tax fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He also admitted paying two women who had affairs with the US President. But, Trump has denied his affairs with these women.
Cohen was notified of his release on Thursday, April 16, and his attorney Roger Adler confirmed the information to CNN. The Justice Department has been pressurized by the advocates and congressional leaders to release the at-risk inmates with arguments that the 6-foot rule needs to be applied during this situation.
The prison officials were releasing nonviolent and medically vulnerable inmates by putting them under home confinement or shortening their sentences in order to stop the disease from spreading inside the prisons. According to data, 473 federal inmates and 279 Bureau of Prisons staff members had tested positive for coronavirus and so far 18 inmates have died because of the coronavirus.
