Michael Cohen’s former lawyer has been asked to explain cases cited in his client’s request for early termination of supervised release, with a judge saying that as far as he can tell, “none of these cases exist.”
Judge Jesse Furman ordered David Schwartz to provide the court with copies of the court decisions cited by 19 December.
The lawyer must also explain what role, if any, Donald Trump’s former fixer had in drafting or reviewing the motion that was filed.
If the attorney is unable to do so then he must explain to the judge why he should not be sanctioned, reported CNN.
“As far as the Court can tell, none of these cases exist,” the judge wrote.
“Moreover, the Court contacted the Clerk of the Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, who found no record of any of the three decisions and reported that the one listed docket number (for Ortiz) is not a valid docket number.”
Cohen’s new lawyer, Danya Perry, also told the court that she could not find the court cases cited.
Cohen is subject to supervised release following the completion of his prison sentence but applied to have it ended early.
He was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to nine criminal charges, including campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and tax-related charges.
In his motion, his lawyer cited his cooperation with law enforcement and ongoing assistance with “various government investigations.”
Prosecutors with the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York have opposed an early termination.
“His renewed request for early termination should be denied because Cohen has failed to identify any new extraordinary or sufficiently compelling reasons for his request, has continued to deny responsibility for his own criminal conduct, and appears to have lied under oath in a court proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in court documents earlier this month.
