(CNN) - A federal judge ordered Michael Cohen released and placed in house confinement after discovering that the government had sent him back to prison in retaliation for a revealing book he was writing about President Donald Trump.
During a telephone hearing Thursday, Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the prosecutors' argument that they did not customize a release form that prohibits Cohen from interacting with the media. Hellerstein said there was no "inference" other than the retaliation for which Cohen was placed in federal custody after being paroled.
"The purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from the permit and the house arrest is retaliation, and it is retaliation because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and discuss anything about the book or anything else you want on social media, ”Hellerstein said in the ruling.
"In 21 years of being a judge and sentencing people and observing the terms and conditions of supervised release, I have never seen such a clause," Hellerstein said.
Cohen sued the Justice Department on Monday, alleging that he was detained on July 9 to block publication of his book, which is scheduled to be released in September, two months before the presidential election.