By Rebecca Shabad and Daniel Barnes -
NBC News
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against his former attorney Michael Cohen — a key witness in the criminal case against him — seeking more than $500 million in damages and alleging “violations of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion and breaches of contract".
Cohen was the lead witness testifying before a Manhattan grand jury last month, which later approved a 34-count indictment against Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing.
[Stormy Daniels, payment to a doorman and a possible trial in 2024: the keys to the accusation against Trump]
The complaint accuses Cohen of violating his attorney-client relationship with Trump by publicly disclosing information about him and "spreading falsehoods about [Trump] that are likely to be embarrassing or damaging, and engaged in other misconduct in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct." from New York".
Trump has “suffered extensive reputational damage as a direct result of defendant's violations,” Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, wrote in the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for South Florida.
Trump's lawyer said Cohen did those things with "malicious intent and for entirely self-serving ends."
Cohen committed the violations by “disparging” Trump “through countless public statements, including the publication of two books, a series of podcasts, and countless appearances in major media outlets,” the lawsuit says.
Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in New York on March 15, 2023. Mary Altaffer / AP
“Respondent has engaged in such unlawful conduct over a period of time and, despite being required in writing to cease and desist from such unacceptable actions, instead in recent months the frequency and hostility of the offenders has increased. wrongful acts toward plaintiff," Trump's attorney wrote.
Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, responded by saying that Trump "appears once again to be using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation."
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“It appears that he is terrified of his imminent legal dangers and is trying to send a message to other potential witnesses that they are cooperating with prosecutors against him,” Davis said in a statement.
"Mr. Cohen will not be deterred and is confident that the lawsuit will fail based on the facts and the law," he added.
Trump wants “compensatory, incidental, and punitive damages” in an amount to be determined at trial that would “substantially exceed” $500 million, according to the lawsuit.
He also wants any benefits or compensation Cohen receives from his books, podcasts or other products.
The lawsuit tried to thread a difficult thread — arguing that Cohen violated the attorney-client relationship by disclosing confidential information, but also that Cohen has repeatedly lied.
And while the filing attacks Cohen as dishonest, he noted that he, too, has made many positive statements about Trump, such as this: "The defendant viewed the plaintiff as a 'wonderful man' who would make 'an incredible president.'
Trump's million-dollar lawsuit and the tears he alleges were in court of which there is no record
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Trump has attacked Cohen, his historic former lawyer, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to a series of charges related to tax evasion, as well as lying to Congress in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections and its role in the channeling payments to silence two women who reported having affairs with Trump.
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Cohen served his prison term in November 2021. Trump has denied the skirt liaisons and any wrongdoing related to the payments to silence women.
Last week, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his role in hush money payments toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump's lawsuit offers its own case about paying adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election — appearing to argue that Cohen didn't disclose the payments to another Trump lawyer, Robert Costello, until February 2018.
In the lawsuit, Trump cites newspaper articles about Costello's grand jury testimony to say that Cohen told Costello that he had "negotiated a $130,000 non-disclosure agreement" and expressly stated that the payment did not come from Trump.
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In May 2018, Trump filed an amended financial statement acknowledging payments to reimburse Cohen that were made in 2017.
The statement of facts that prosecutors presented in the Manhattan case detailed how Cohen oversaw hush money payments to three people: Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman who had claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.