WASHINGTON — Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday against his former lawyer Michael Cohen — who has emerged as a key witness in the criminal case against the former president — seeking more than $500 million in damages for alleged “breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and breaches of contract.”
Cohen was the key witness to testify last month before a Manhattan grand jury, which then approved a 34-count indictment against Trump. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
The complaint accuses Cohen of violating his attorney-client relationship with Trump by publicly disclosing information about the former president and “spreading falsehoods about [Trump], likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and partook in other misconduct in violation of New York Rules of Professional Conduct.”
The former president has “suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of Defendant’s breaches,” Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito wrote in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Trump’s attorney said that Cohen did those things with “malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.”
Cohen committed the breaches by “disparaging” Trump “through myriad public statements, including the publication of two books, a podcast series, and innumerable mainstream media appearances,” the complaint said.
“Defendant has engaged in such wrongful conduct over a period of time and, despite being demanded in writing to cease and desist such unacceptable actions, has instead in recent months increased the frequency and hostility of the illicit acts toward Plaintiff,” Trump’s lawyer wrote.
Trump wants “compensatory, incidental, and punitive damages” in an amount that would be determined at a trial and would “substantially exceed” $500 million, the complaint said. He also wants any profits or compensation Cohen receives from his books, podcast or other products.
Trump has railed against Cohen, the former president’s previous longtime attorney, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to a host of charges tied to tax evasion, as well as lying to Congress in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his role in funneling payments to silence two women who alleged that they had affairs with Trump.
Cohen completed his resulting prison sentence in November 2021. Trump has denied the affairs and any wrongdoing connected to the hush money payments.
Last week, the former president was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his alleged role in those hush money payments toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
