Former US President Donald Trump is suing Michael Cohen for $500 million in damages for allegedly breaching his contract as Trump’s former personal attorney.
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida federal court on Wednesday, April 12 accuses Cohen of spreading false information about Trump and breaching his contractual obligations to the former president in Cohen’s public statements, published books, podcast series and other media appearances.
Cohen, known as Trump’s onetime “fixer,” recently came back to the spotlight after Trump pleaded not guilty last week to 34 charges of falsifying business records following an investigation into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The payments were coordinated by Cohen in the days before the 2016 election, with Cohen completely cooperating with federal prosecutors.
Trump’s ire over Cohen’s cooperation resulted in the new lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims Cohen breached attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself, among other allegations. Trump said that Cohen violated his attorney-client relationship with Trump by “spreading falsehoods” and revealing confidential information, according to court filings.
The filing attacks Cohen’s credibility as he is expected to be a key witness in Trump’s impending criminal trial in New York.
The lawsuit claims Cohen breached the terms of a confidentiality agreement he agreed to while working for Trump, saying he did so “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.”
The filing references statements Cohen made in his book, “Disloyal: A Memoir,” as well as on his podcast and through media appearances, calling these the “most egregious breaches” of his contract with Trump.