Donald Trump on Wednesday filed a $500 million lawsuit against his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, a week after the former president was indicted over a hush money payment Cohen facilitated to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump on 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records and may be a key witness in the criminal trial. Trump, who pleaded not guilty, has denied involvement in the scheme.
In the suit, Trump alleges Cohen violated attorney-client privilege by sharing confidential information and spread lies about him “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.”
“Plaintiff has suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of Defendant’s breaches,” the lawsuit filed by Trump attorney Alejandro Brito in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida states.
The suit claims the most “egregious breaches of fiduciary duty” involve two books authored by Cohen, his podcast, and other public statements about Trump.
“Defendant derived a significant benefit, to Plaintiff’s detriment and at Plaintiff’s
expense, as a direct result of his breach of fiduciary duty, including, without limitation, realization of substantial monetary gain in the form of compensation, advances, royalties, proceeds and/or profits received for his role in the writing, publication, promotion, and/or sale of the Books,” the suit says.
Trump is requesting over $500 million in “actual, compensatory, incidental, and punitive damages” from Cohen, and any profits he made through his books and podcast.
Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, predicted Trump’s lawsuit would fail. In a statement, the lawyer characterized the lawsuit as an effort by Trump “to send a message to other potential witnesses who are cooperating with prosecutors against him.”
Cohen, who arranged the payoff of Daniels and served prison time for campaign finance violations, has vowed to continue fighting for the truth.
“Despite Trump’s attempts to intimidate and harass me, I will NEVER stop fighting and holding him accountable for his dirty deeds,” Cohen wrote on Twitter Wednesday, linking to a GoFundMe page raising money for his legal defense.
Manhattan prosecutors alleged Cohen handled three hush money payments for Trump involving Daniels, model Karen McDougal, and a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had had a child out of wedlock.
Trump has a long history of attacking perceived enemies in court. Earlier this year, a Florida judge ordered Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba to pay just under $1 million for bringing a “completely frivolous” lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other defendants.