Ex-President Trump is taking legal action against his former attorney Michael Cohen, seeking over $500 million in damages due to alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and contract violations. The 30-page federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida's U.S. District Court on Wednesday.
The suit accuses Cohen of compromising his attorney-client relationship by disseminating misleading information about Trump and engaging in other misconduct. It asserts that Cohen violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as part of his employment with Trump.
According to the lawsuit, Cohen's falsehoods about Trump were driven by malicious intent and served his own interests. The suit highlights Cohen's numerous public statements, two published books, a podcast series, and countless media appearances, during which he disregarded cease and desist orders.
The lawsuit argues that Cohen has recently intensified the frequency and aggression of his illicit actions, prompting Trump to seek legal recourse. As a direct consequence of Cohen's alleged breaches, the suit claims that Trump has experienced significant reputational damage.
The legal action against Cohen comes a week after Trump pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to supposed hush money payments made before the 2016 presidential election. However, a source close to Trump's legal team maintains that the lawsuit against Cohen is unrelated to the Manhattan DA's case and is a separate matter altogether.
Cohen had pleaded guilty in 2018 to arranging hush money payments for adult film actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, along with other federal charges. He claimed Trump directed these payments. Cohen was also found guilty of making false statements to financial institutions and Congress, as well as tax evasion, leading to a three-year prison sentence.
The Southern District of New York's federal prosecutors chose not to charge Trump in connection to the alleged hush money payments in 2019, and the Federal Election Commission dropped the case in 2021.
The lawsuit against Cohen details his employment with the Trump Organization since 2006 and his past statements about his role working for Trump. It also alleges that Cohen unlawfully converted Trump's business property by fraudulently misrepresenting a business expenditure and claiming an extra $74,000.
Trump is demanding that Cohen compensate him for actual, incidental, and punitive damages amounting to more than $500 million, with the final sum to be determined at trial.
