Cohen has been after the official documents from the DOJ and the Treasury Department from the moment he was released from prison.
"First, FOIA stated that after a lengthy search, there were no documents found responsive to the request," wrote Cohen on Thursday. "After presenting documents in my possession via attorney Mark Zaid, miraculously, an apology was offered along with an acknowledgment that there are documents responsive to the request…in fact, more than 480,000."
He wrote that the government then said they could limit the searches further to navigate the volume. Given the government is extremely understaffed, they explained that they could only process up to 500 documents per month.
"After removing certain search terms including grand jury document requests, the number of responsive documents was reduced to approximately 49,000," said Cohen. Pursuant to the Court’s directive, processing of said documents was to begin August 23, 2022. Despite more than 14 months since the Court’s directive, not a single FOIA document has been turned over."
Adam Pakula, a probation officer with the United States Probation and Pretrial Services (“PTS”), told Cohen in 2020 that he was taking over the release. Cohen was called down to the office under the guise that he must "sign paperwork," but the contract forced Cohen to swear he wouldn't speak to the media or write a book about Trump.
[Signatory agrees that there will be] [n]o engagement of any kind with the media, including print, tv, film, books, or any other form of media/news. Prohibition from all social media platforms. No posting on social media and a requirement that you communicate with friends and family to exercise discretion in not posting on your behalf or posting an information about you. The purpose is to avoid glamorizing or bringing publicity to your status as a sentenced inmate serving a custodial term in the community.
According to Cohen's previous lawsuit, this isn't in the language for any other agreement for release issued by the Bureau of Prisons. The two-page Federal Location Monitoring Program Participant Agreement (FLM) also "contained grammatical and typographical errors," the suit adds. "And had no legend identifying its federal form designation. It was clear to Mr. Cohen and his counsel that Defendants were hastily attempting to unlawfully restrict his right to free speech."
In April, Cohen went to court to demand to know who was ordering his silence. It failed. He appealed, only for it to fail again.
Since then, Cohen has been fighting to find any information about his imprisonment and the kind of non-publishing agreement that he would be required to sign.
In 2018, American Oversight filed its own Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking about details involving Cohen's case. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General on July 24, 2020, asking for information on the decision to try and restrict Cohen's movements.
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, in July 2022, also asked for answers from the inspector general of the Treasury Department, who was exploring if Trump weaponized the IRS against his foes. Former Trump chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, outed Trump to The New York Times that the former president asked the IRS to audit Cohen, along with many others.
"In light of the revelations that two prominent officials who President Donald Trump openly wanted prosecuted were both subjected to rare and rigorous audits by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), I would appreciate your office also reviewing the procedure by which Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Trump, was selected for investigation," says the letter Cohen gave to Raw Story at the time.
Cohen wrote the importance of transparency, but the documents would also prove Trump's use of the government to target him unfairly after Cohen flipped.
"The lack of transparency in my FOIA case reflects broader challenges faced by citizens in accessing government documents," wrote Cohen. "A renewed commitment to transparency is necessary, as an informed citizenry is vital for a functioning democracy. By fostering openness, the US government can rebuild trust and ensure the accountability that citizens deserve. Government must immediately stop pretending that transparency exists and actually do something to ensure it does."
