Ex-Trump lawyer leaves prison over Covid-19 fears

NEW YORK: Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, was released from a

federal prison

into home confinement in New York amid concerns he could be exposed to

COVID-19

.


Cohen, 53, who once proclaimed he "would take a bullet for the President", was sentenced in 2018 to a three-year federal prison term following guilty pleas to a number of financial and political crimes, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, reports Xinhua news agency.Coronavirus lockdown: Latest updatesVideo posted by NBC News on Thursday showed Cohen walking into his New York apartment wearing a white shirt, a dark blazer, a ball cap and a white mask.

His early release was first reported in April, but it was delayed, the BBC reported.

Cohen said on Twitter on Thursday, following his release, that he was "so glad to be home and back with my family".

"There is so much I want to say and intend to say. But now is not the right time. Soon. Thank you to all my friends and supporters."

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Earlier this month, another former Trump aide, former campaign chairman

Paul Manafort

, was released from prison to serve the remainder of his custodial term at home due to COVID-19 fears.

Manafort, who was convicted of conspiracy and fraud charges, had served a little over a year of his seven-and-a-half year sentence.

According to the federal Bureau of Prisons , 2,265 inmates and 188 staff have tested positive for COVID-19 across the US.

There have been 58 inmate deaths due to the virus.