Judge rejects early end to probation for Michael Cohen, suggests he perjured himself

Furman in June of last year rejected a separate bid from Cohen to end his probation early.

By Ben Whedon

Published: March 20, 2024 5:44pm

Federal Judge Jesse M. Furman on Wednesday denied former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's request for an early end to his supervised release, highlighting testimony in which he admitted to lying under oath.

Cohen received three years in prison and supervised release after pleading guilty in 2018 to a litany of charges, including lying to Congress. The former Trump attorney is expected to be a star witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution of Trump over a 2016 payment to Stormy Daniels.

During New York Attorney General Letitia James's civil fraud trial against Trump, Cohen testified under oath that he was not guilty of the crimes to which he pleaded guilty and that he had lied to the judge when making the plea. Furman highlighted that testimony in rejecting his request, saying "Cohen repeatedly and unambiguously testified at the state court trial that he was not guilty of tax evasion and that he had lied under oath," the Associated Press reported.

That testimony, he added, "gives rise to two possibilities: one, Cohen committed perjury when he pleaded guilty before Judge Pauley or, two, Cohen committed perjury in his October 2023 testimony." Furman went on to assert the need for "specific deterrence" in light of Cohen's walking back his past admission of guilty.

Furman in June of last year rejected a separate bid from Cohen to end his probation early.

Trump's attorneys, for his part, sought to block Cohen's testimony in the Bragg case, arguing that "[h]e recently committed perjury, on the stand and under oath, at a civil trial involving President Trump. If his public statements are any indication, he plans to do so again at this criminal trial. The Court should preclude Cohen’s testimony in order to protect the integrity of this Court and the process of justice."

Judge Juan Merchan on Monday denied the Trump legal team's request.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.