Michael Cohen can't hold Donald Trump liable for retaliatory imprisonment, appeals court says

[useapen]

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen can’t hold his former boss, ex-president
Donald Trump, liable because he was jailed for what he claimed was
retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir, an appeals court said Tuesday.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said in an order that
it would not revive a lawsuit that a lower-court judge had tossed out
because the law did not seem to provide a damages remedy for most claims
that someone was jailed in retaliation for their criticisms of a
president.

A three-judge panel concluded Cohen already obtained relief by getting a
judge to order his release from imprisonment to home confinement several
weeks after he was abruptly put behind bars when the government claimed he
violated severe restrictions on his public communications. It said the law
did not provide an outlet for more relief than that.

Cohen served over a year of a three-year sentence in federal prison after
pleading guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, campaign finance charges and lying
to Congress, saying Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush
money to a porn actor to fend off damage to his 2016 presidential bid.

Freed early to home confinement as authorities worked to contain the
coronavirus outbreak in federal prisons, Cohen was returned to prison
weeks later when authorities claimed he failed to accept certain terms of
his release.

At the time, Cohen said he had merely sought clarification on a condition
forbidding him from speaking with the media and publishing his book.

After serving 16 days in solitary confinement that Cohen said left him
with shortness of breath, severe headaches and anxiety, he was eventually
freed on the orders of a judge who said he'd been jailed in retaliation
for his desire to publish a book critical of the president and to discuss
it on social media.

Cohen sued Trump and then Attorney General William P. Barr, along with
various prison and probation officials.

In a statement, Cohen said Tuesday that he'll appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court.

“The outcome is wrong if democracy is to prevail. A writ of habeas corpus
cannot be the only consequence to stop a rogue president from weaponizing
the Department of Justice from locking up his/her critics in prison
because they refuse to waive their First Amendment right,” he said.

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, said in a statement: “We are very pleased
with today’s ruling. Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit was doomed from its inception. We
will continue to fight against any frivolous suits aimed at our client.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/appeals-court-michael-cohen-cant-190548139.html