(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump is taking former jailbird and disgraced attorney Michael Cohen to court in a battle of titanic financial proportions, as a legal team filed a 30-page federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.
Trump is charging his former attorney with “breaching of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion and breaches of contract” and is seeking $500 million in damages for unjust enrichment, Fox News Digital reported.
“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 stated.
The “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,” Trump’s lawyer wrote.
“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 noted. Adding, Trump “suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of [Cohen’s] breaches.”
The lawsuit comes after a 34-count indictment was lodged against the former president last week. Trump is accused of making hush-money payments before the 2016 presidential election, which Cohen testified in March before a Manhattan grand jury. Statement of facts gathered by New York prosecutors alleged Trump made payments to Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman, who said Trump had a child out of wedlock. Trump has maintained his innocence of the matters.
A statement released by Lanny J. Davis in response to the lawsuit against Cohen claimed Trump is using intimidation tactics in an effort to control those cooperating with the prosecution against him through fear and bullying.
“It appears he is terrified by his looming legal perils and is attempting to send a message to other potential witnesses who are cooperating with prosecutors against him,” Davis said. “Mr. Cohen will not be deterred and is confident that the suit will fail based on the facts and the law.”
It’s unclear why Trump would be quacking in his legal boots. The politically-weaponized indictment brought by Bragg has been roundly dismissed by legal analysts as grossly flawed.
According to Fox News, a source close to Trump’s legal team says the complaint against Cohen “has nothing to do with the Manhattan DA’s lawless and fact-less case and is a totally separate matter.”
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges connected to tax evasion, as well as to giving false testimony to the United States Congress during its probe into the phony Russian involvement in the 2016 election. He was sentenced to three years in prison and his sentence was reduced through good behavior, serving over a year. He was on house arrest for 18 months starting in 2020.
