Donald Trump Sues Michael Cohen, Accuses Ex-Attorney of Breach of Contract & 'Spreading Falsehoods'

Previously, Donald Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to his alleged involvement in a hush money payment and cover-up involving a purported affair with porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential elections. Trump's ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, is expected to serve as a witness in the case.

Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against his one-time attorney Michael Cohen.

The former US President is seeking $500 million in damages, according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida on April 12 and cited by media reports.

The legal team representing Trump stated in the suit that Cohen divulged confidential, prior-attorney-client information during media interviews pertaining to the Manhattan District Attorney’s grand jury investigation that resulted in the indictment of the 45th POTUS.

“During one such appearance, for example, Defendant discussed that he testified in front of the Manhattan District Attorney’s grand jury, and suggested that Plaintiff was, by virtue of Defendant’s knowledge of confidential information, criminally exposed,” the lawsuit is cited as stating.

Furthermore, Trump’s ex- backroom “fixer” is accused of breaching an employee confidentiality agreement he signed with The Trump Organization when he published his two books about his former boss.

Michael Cohen “chose to capitalize on his confidential relationship with (Trump) to pursue financial gain and repair a reputation shattered by his repeated misrepresentations and deceptive acts, fueled by his animus toward the Plaintiff and his family members,” according to the text of the filing.

The suit states that Cohen churned out “inflammatory, misleading, or outright false” information in his podcast “Mea Culpa.”

In response to the lawsuit, Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said in a statement on Wednesday:

"Mr. Trump appears once again to be using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation."

He added that the ex-POTUS seemed “terrified by his looming legal perils and is attempting to send a message to other potential witnesses who are cooperating with prosecutors against him.”

According to Davis, Cohen, "will not be deterred and is confident that the suit will fail based on the facts and the law.”

The suit comes as Michael Cohen is likely to be a key witness in the court case against Donald Trump. On April 4, Trump flew from his Florida home to New York for an arraignment hearing on 34 felony charges brought by Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Earlier, a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree before and after the 2016 presidential elections. The charges are connected with Trump's alleged involvement in a $130,000 hush money payment and subsequent cover-up involving a purported affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels, among others. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment. The Republican ex-president denounced the charges as a political witch-hunt.

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty back in 2018 to campaign finance violations for arranging the hush money in question, as well as a variety of other charges. Cohen also rolled out his book, "Disloyal", described at the time as "the inside story of the real President Trump by his former attorney and personal adviser - the man who helped him to get into the Oval office".