Trump, Barr hit with retaliation suit for sending Michael Cohen back to prison

MANHATTAN (CN) — As two investigations into the former president's business dealing appear to be closing in, Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge from his longtime ex-attorney.

Michael Cohen filed suit Thursday against Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and federal prison officials for putting a gag order on him and sending him back to jail after Cohen criticized Trump and promoted his tell-all book while under home confinement.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and campaign violations at Trump’s direction, had served one-third of his three-year sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville, in Orange County, New York when he was transferred to home confinement. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Bureau of Prisons determined Cohen was at high risk for serious illness and death from the novel virus.

No longer in prison, Cohen took to social media in June and July of 2020 to plug his upcoming book about working with Trump. Just a week after he used the hashtag #WillSpeakSoon, the former attorney was hit with a gag order banning him from speaking to the media or posting on social media.