Donald Trump Sues Michael Cohen for $500 Million for Breach of Contract
Former President Donald Trump has sued Michael Cohen for $500 million in damages for allegedly breaching his contract as Trump's ex-attorney.
CNN reported that the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in a federal court in Florida accused Trump's ex-lawyer of spreading lies about the former president and violating his contractual obligations to him through his public speeches, published books, podcast series, and other media appearances.
A new probe into the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels has brought Trump's former "fixer" back into the public eye.
Cohen arranged the payment days leading up to the 2016 election, and the former president was allegedly furious with Cohen for cooperating with authorities.
"Mr. Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as harassment and intimidation against Michael Cohen," Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, said in a statement.
"Mr. Cohen will not be deterred and is confident that the suit will fail based on the facts and the law," he added.
According to Trump's legal team, their client has no other option but to seek legal retribution by filing this case in response to Cohen's escalation of false comments about his previous boss.
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Donald Trump's Ex-Attorney, Michael Cohen
Before Donald Trump was elected president in 2017, Michael Cohen was a top executive at Trump's real estate firm and his lawyer, Reuters reports.
Cohen, formerly known for his unwavering loyalty to Trump, has since turned his back on his former boss, helping investigators and lawmakers investigating the former president.
"I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is," Cohen told a U.S. congressional committee in 2019. "He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat."
Trump's ex-attorney admitted in 2018 that he had violated federal election law when she paid Stormy Daniels $130,000.
He received a three-year prison term for this and other offenses, including tax evasion and lying under oath to Congress about Trump Organization's abandoning working on a proposed building project in Russia.
Trump's lawyers said their former president paid Daniels "to protect his family from the malicious and false claims" made by the porn star.
Trump faces several legal challenges, including criminal prosecution and inquiries into his removal of federal files from the White House after serving as president and attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
Last week, Trump claimed that Cohen had failed to show up for a deposition by his legal team concerning the fraud lawsuit filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James last year. That lawsuit is set to go to trial on October 2.
Justice Arthur Engoron has scheduled a hearing for April 21 to decide whether to order Cohen to testify.
Donald Trump Case in Manhattan
Donald Trump turned himself in last Tuesday to authorities in New York, where he was arraigned on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors claimed that Trump had illegally altered company documents to hide $130,000 in reimbursements to Michael Cohen for paying the porn star before the 2016 election.
Daniels was reportedly paid to keep quiet about their alleged romance. The ex-president has maintained his innocence by denying it.
A former doorman at Trump Tower has also come forward, saying he was bribed to keep quiet about his knowledge of Trump's illegitimate child with Daniels.
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal was also given $150,000 after admitting her relationship with Trump.
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Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Donald Trump Hits Former Fixer Michael Cohen With $500M Lawsuit - From WGN News