Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, seeking $500 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday.
According to the court documents, the lawsuit alleges that Cohen breached a confidentiality agreement by publishing a tell-all book about his time working for Trump. The book, titled “Disloyal: A Memoir,” was released in September 2020 and contains numerous allegations against the former president.
The lawsuit claims that Cohen’s book contains “false and defamatory” statements about Trump and that Cohen violated the terms of a non-disclosure agreement by publishing the book without Trump’s permission. The lawsuit seeks $500 million in damages, as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting Cohen from publishing any further information about Trump.
“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 also says 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 former President 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.”
In a statement to Fox News, Trump’s attorney Charles Harder said, “We will not allow Michael Cohen to profit from his breach of duty and exploitation of his former client.”
Cohen, who served as Trump’s personal attorney for more than a decade, has become a vocal critic of the former president since pleading guilty to a number of crimes in 2018. He was sentenced to three years in prison but was released to home confinement in May 2020 due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a developing story and we will provide updates as they become available.
