Trump Sues Michael Cohen for $500 Million for Allegedly Lying ‘With Malicious Intent’
“It claims Cohen has, in recent months, ‘increased the frequency and hostility of the illicit acts’ and ‘appears to have become emboldened and repeatedly continues to make wrongful and false statements…'”
President Donald Trump has sued his former attorney Michael Cohen for $500 million. He claims it has nothing to do with the Manhattan hush-money case.
Trump filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida – Miami Division.
The 32-page lawsuit (PDF) spells out all the allegations against Cohen.
“This is an action arising from [Cohen’s] multiple breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion and breaches of contract by virtue of [Cohen’s] past service as [Trump’s] employee and attorney,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges Cohen breached his attorney-client relationship by “spreading falsehoods” about Trump that were “likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and partook in other misconduct,” while also breaching contractual terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of employment with Trump.
The lawsuit alleges Cohen spread falsehoods about Trump “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.”
The lawsuit details Cohen’s “myriad of public statements, including the publication of two books, a podcast series, and innumerable mainstream media appearances,” while ignoring “cease and desist” orders.
It claims Cohen has, in recent months, “increased the frequency and hostility of the illicit acts” and “appears to have become emboldened and repeatedly continues to make wrongful and false statements” about Trump through various platforms.
“Such continuous and escalating improper conduct by [Cohen] has reached a proverbial crescendo and has left [Trump] with no alternative but to seek legal redress through this action,” the lawsuit states, adding that Trump has “suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of [Cohen’s] breaches.”
Trump wants Cohen hand over “actual, compensatory, incidental, and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but expected to substantially exceed $500,000,000.”
Trump has demanded “profits, payments, compensations, advances, royalties” Cohen has or will receive from books and podcasts.
More:
“[Cohen’s] improper, self-serving, and malicious statements about his former client, his family members, and his business constitute repeated and substantial violations of his continuing fiduciary obligations as an attorney,” the lawsuit states, “[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 [Trump] and his family members.”
The lawsuit adds that Cohen “must be held accountable.”
The lawsuit also mentions how Cohen lavished praise upon Trump when his employment started in 2006:
Among other innumerable positive statements made by [Cohen] about [Trump] and his role as [Trump’s] attorney, [Cohen] described his job as ‘very surreal,’ claiming he had ‘been admiring Donald Trump since high school,'” it asserts.
The lawsuit states that Cohen said Trump was a “‘wonderful man’ who would be ‘an amazing president,’ and someone [Cohen] thought ‘the world of’ as a ‘businessman’ and ‘a boss.'”
“[Cohen] stated that [Trump] was ‘smart’ and ‘the greatest negotiator on the planet,’ and described his own role as the one ‘who protects the President and the family,’ and strongly stated that he ‘would take a bullet’ for Trump,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit points to Cohen’s past statements that Trump “deserved” his “loyalty” because “one man who wants to do so much good with so many detractors against him needs support,” as well as Cohen’s comments calling Trump “an honorable guy.”
Trump says the lawsuit has nothing to do with the case in Manhattan, but you cannot ignore the fact that Cohen is at the center of it.
Cohen has told officials and the Manhattan grand jury that he paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 by order of Trump to stay quiet about a supposed affair. Trump allegedly paid Cohen back in monthly installments.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records. He has tried to make the charges a felony “by arguing that it was attached to a second crime.” He claimed the payment “amounted to an improper donation to Trump’s campaign because it kept the affair under wraps and benefited his candidacy.”
The grand jury indicted Trump on 34 counts.
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Comments
One lawyer, disbarred. Another lawyer, disbarred. Will Plan-“B”ragg be the Democrats’ trifecta? Karmic irony.
It’s the process…
Against normal people. Against a billionaire with a megaphone it doesnt work as well
It must be a deep pockets thing.
Cohen should get more of what he deserves, and this helps. Didn’t he plead guilty to a non-crime? If so, that could be an interesting issue in the criminal matter.
More interesting is the Trump interview. Love him or hate him, much of what he has said comes to be. Biden has fulfilled the Obama prophesy. He’s the perfect henchman for the movement. His pockets are lined by the CCP and they are the beneficiaries. The Ireland trip reinforces the view that Biden is shot. Along with his policies and corrupt behavior, he would pale in comparison in a head on contest with Trump, not the other way around.
The Democrats, however, have learned it’s easier to govern like the CCP. Tilt the field and make it painful to oppose. Maybe Trump is all bluster and crude, but he kept the peace and actually increased it. The things he says have the sound of truth. Transparency. That is appreciated in a public figure. Peace was a priority for Trump. That lends credence his words of late, love him or hate him.
The breaking point seems near, especially with such fools in power for far too long, the worst right now.
“The Democrats, however, have learned it’s easier to govern like the CCP. Tilt the field and make it painful to oppose.”
In other words, find a way to win “by any means necessary.” More bluntly, cheat if necessary.
Oh they cheat
As I recall, Cohen pled guilty to things that were not crimes in exchange for having the prosecution skip on serious felony charges, somewhat akin to pleading to illegal street-crossing at a crosswalk in exchange for evading prosecution on drug and gun charges. I’m presuming this gives the biased prosecutor *enormous* leverage over Cohen’s actions and words. And it shows.
Never trust a man with raccoon eyes.
Or woman with Betty Davis eyes
He better have a lot more proof than this press release.
I’m sorry to point this out, but at the end of the day, this does nothing to add any Ws to Trump’s record of hiring loyal team members. Especially lawyers. Both his AGs were backstabbers, and the Kraken lady was a pure loon. (Yeah, he threw her overboard early, but not soon enough.)
Name one way Bill Barr was a back stabber.
How about a few dozen?
(Ignore the ones about Bob Barr, I can’t find a search term that filters them out.)
SCOTUS’ Sullivan ruling created a two-tiered system of injustice. Reverses the burden of proof in these cases.
If you are deemed a “public figure”, the burden of proof is on you, the plaintiff, and you have a much higher bar needed to win – you have to prove “malicious intent”. Which is virtually impossible. Unless the person/corporation that slandered/libeled you was stupid enough to actually document their intentions (who does that?) AND is stupid enough to produce those documents during discovery, you have no chance.
For everyone else, False and Defamatory is the bar, no need to prove malice. The person/corp. that made the statement has to be able to show that they had reason to believe their statement was true when it was made.
14th Amendment requires that we all be treated equally under the law. With Sullivan, anyone that any lawyer can claim is a “public figure” does not get the same protections as everyone else. And, the definition of who qualifies as a “public figure” expands every year.
I agree with everything you are saying, however, the lawsuit isn’t just defamation it is also breach of contract and attorney-client privilege. Since I think it would be impossible for Cohen to argue that he didn’t breach attorney-client privilege, his only defense was that it was justified in some way. Which is going to be challenging since he’ll be a convicted and disbarred lawyer trying to argue that he acted legally and ethically.
Convicted on one count of making a false statement. So, no matter what he argues, he has a credibility problem.
Thanks for your response, good information.
In March 2022, Trump sued Hillary, the Democratic National Committee and 26 other people and entities that he claimed conspired to undermine his 2016 campaign by falsely tying him to Russia.
By September, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks tossed out Trump’s suit against his 2016 presidential opponent, calling it a “political manifesto” with no legal standing
In January 2023 filing, Middlebrooks accused Trump of a “pattern of abuse of the courts” for filing frivolous lawsuits for political purposes, which he said “undermines the rule of law” and “amounts to obstruction of justice.”
“Here, we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose,” he wrote.
Citing Trump’s recent legal action against the Pulitzer Prize board, New York’s attorney general, big tech companies and CNN, he described Trump as “a prolific and sophisticated litigant” who uses the courts “to seek revenge on political adversaries.”
“He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process,” he wrote.
The ruling required Trump and his attorney, Alina Habba, to pay nearly $938,000 to the defendants in the case.
Question: Were the sanctions you mention ever paid, reversed, on appeal? Just asking?
Last I checked, Trump’s attorney filed an appeal and that’s all I have heard.
Not sure what your point is, but when Middlebrooks accused Trump of a “pattern of abuse of the courts” for filing frivolous lawsuits for political purposes, which he said “undermines the rule of law” and “amounts to obstruction of justice.” he apparently overlooked all of Trump’s inquisitors.
The double standard and the left’s use of lawfare are precisely my point., Trump excluded.. The likelihood of this latest suit getting tossed is high too.
This is a lawsuit with a zero percent chance of success because of zero merit.
Trump reimburse Cohen for what a normal person is a lot of money and I don’t for a second believe Trump is a stereotype Byzantine Emperor who casually writes checks for over 130k without asking what it is for.
Of course reminding people of Bragg helps Trump bigly in the primaries which is Alvin Bragg’s goal so well done Mr. Trump and Mr. Bragg.
I tried to find the answer to this question before asking it but could not with a light research effort.
Does anyone admitted in NY know if the state allow a recovery of general damages for a breach of fiduciary?
In Georgia, a plaintiff can recover of general damages, special damages, and punitive damages on a claim for breach of fiduciary duty. It is a dangerous tort for a defendant.
I recently taught some stupid defendants some important lessons in a courtroom on breach of fiduciary duty after they refused to make anything resembling a reasonable settlement offer prior to trial. It is dangerous for a defendant that actually did what is alleged to roll the dice and let a jury decide.
I am really curious whether Trump will be able to establish personal jurisdiction over Cohen in Florida. In the federal court, personal jurisdiction is not presumed and the burden of establishing PJ is on the plaintiff. In contrast, in our state courts, PJ over a defendant is presumed and the burden is on moving defendant presenting the challenge. Further, Trump is relying on 28 USC Sec. 1332 which turns on the diversity of citizenship, not residence. It is nuts that experienced attorneys do not know to plead “citizen” rather than “resident” as Trump’s attorneys erroneously did in the complaint.
Further, they should know better than to incorporate by reference all the previous allegations in the complaint under the precedent of the 11th Circuit. They should instead state the claim in addition to or the alternative to in the first paragraph of each claim for relief and they should plead the facts in some detail showing each element of the tort is established. After Nino Scalia’s butchery of Fed. R. Civ. P. in Twombly and Iqbal, the attorney should focus on pleading more detail under each claim for relief and can actually be more general in the statement of facts. For some reason, a lot of attorneys cannot plead well under the claim for relief and make them vague and general instead putting the focus there. I have not seen a claim fail on a motion when there is attention to detail under the cause of action. The complaint is not a great one in terms of pleading but still could survive a motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6).
Trump clearly does not want to be in a federal or state court that sits in NY state.
I wonder if this civil action is a warning shot to back Cohen down and try to shut him up. I don’t know that depositions and a lot of disclosure in discovery plus the investment in time is in Donnie’s interest.
However, an injunction against Cohen against further disclosure of confidential and privileged information obtained while representing Donnie and his company might be a goal and would be useful for Donnie during his campaign.