Former President Donald Trump is suing his ex-attorney Michael Cohen for $500 million, claiming "multiple breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and breaches of contract by virtue of Defendant’s past service as Plaintiff’s employee and attorney."
Cohen was disbarred in 2019 after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations concerning payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
According to the lawsuit, Trump claims that Cohen both lied about him and revealed his secrets despite their attorney-client privilege. Trump also alleges a breach of contract.
Cohen is likely to be among the star witnesses in the Manhattan district attorney's case against Trump after a grand jury voted to indict the former resident in the Daniels hush money case.
The 32-page lawsuit demands the $74,000 Trump claims he paid Cohen for a "business expenditure" that he said was "fraudulently misrepresented" and then claims $500 million in damages.
Despite the two men being located in New York at the time, and the services rendered were in New York, Trump still filed the suit in Florida, using Florida state statutes to sue Cohen. Trump's suit argues that it makes sense to file in Florida because Cohen's actions "occurred in this District and also because Defendant is subject to this Court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to this action."
Trump only became a Florida resident in 2021. Cohen's two books were published before Trump moved to Florida. He didn't begin speaking out publicly until after being released to home confinement on May 21, 2020.
The statement of facts cites all of the legal requirements for a lawyer in New York and how Cohen allegedly broke those rules. Both of Cohen's books were published after he was disbarred in 2019.
Trump also uses several interviews with Cohen to cite glowing things he said in the past. In many of those glowing comments, he was explaining how much he "admired" Trump before he was ultimately let down and deceived.
The report also brings up many accusations that lawyer Robert Costello made about his meetings with Cohen when Cohen was searching for a lawyer. Costello appeared before the grand jury to attempt to strike down Cohen's credibility as a witness. As Cohen later explained, D.A. Alvin Bragg isn't simply relying on Cohen's comments but a myriad of people giving testimony and stacks of documents confirming Cohen's statements.
Costello goes on to claim that Cohen told him that he never had anything on Trump. The case doesn't appear to be a defamation case against Cohen, as it doesn't make the charge against Cohen.
The suit also says, "According to Mr. Costello, Defendant [Cohen] was clear that the resulting payment [to Stormy Daniels] was his 'idea.'" The payment to Daniels came after there were two other payments made before then by AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer.
A statement from Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis to Raw Story alleges that the lawsuit is another of Trump's attempts to use the legal system to attack those he perceives as foes.
“Mr. Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation against Michael Cohen," said Davis. "It appears he is terrified by his looming legal perils and is attempting to send a message to other potential witnesses who are cooperating with prosecutors against him. Mr. Cohen will not be deterred and is confident that the suit will fail based on the facts and the law. Is there anyone in America, aside from a shrinking minority base of believers, who takes Mr. Trump seriously when he files these frivolous lawsuits?”
