Michael Cohen case and others have judges second-guessing Trump's DOJ
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/trump-doj-cohen-stone-barr-flynn/
(CNN)Minutes into a hearing to determine whebther the Trump administration had retaliated against Michael Cohen in sending him back to prison, federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he didn't believe prosecutors' version of events.
Two government officials signed sworn declarations stating they had no knowledge that Cohen was writing a tell-all book about President Donald Trump when they asked him to agree to a condition that would prohibit him from engaging with the media. The officials said they had copied language used with another high-profile inmate and there was no input from senior Justice Department officials.
Hellerstein shot down the argument.
"How can I take any other inference other than it was retaliatory?" Hellerstein asked, adding that he had never seen the no-media condition in 21 years on the bench. "Nor is it feasible to believe that [the probation officer] was not asking for something like this because he had some instruction," he added, suggesting a top official had intervened in the case.
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