Trump vs. Cohen U.S. Southern District of FL

[RTH10260]

old article to start new thread

Trump sues his former fixer Michael Cohen for over $500 million
The lawsuit, alleging a breach of attorney-client privilege, comes as the former president faces 34 felony charges related to payments Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

By KELLY GARRITY
04/12/2023 03:38 PM EDT

Donald Trump is suing his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen just over a week after the former president was arraigned on 34 felony charges related to payments Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump is suing Cohen for more than $500 million in damages, alleging that he violated his attorney-client relationship with Trump by “spreading falsehoods” and revealing confidential information, according to the court filing.

The filing attacks Cohen’s credibility as he is expected to be a key witness in Trump’s impending criminal trial in New York. Going after political or legal adversaries through lawsuits is not a new move for Trump and his legal team, though it is one that has had negative consequences in the past. In January, a Florida-based federal judge ordered nearly $1 million in sanctions against Trump and his attorney Alina Habba for a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton that the judge described as “completely frivolous.”

In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers claim Cohen breached the terms of a confidentiality agreement he agreed to while working for Trump, saying he did so “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.” The filing references statements Cohen made in his book, “Disloyal: A Memoir,” as well as on his podcast and through media appearances, calling these the “most egregious breaches” of his contract with Trump.

Fox News was the first to report on the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Cohen lives in New York.



https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/1 ... n-00091735

[RTH10260]

carry over

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/2 ... 3l64IcvEl0

A magistrate judge on Thursday placed a protective order over a forthcoming deposition by former President Donald Trump in his $500 million lawsuit against his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen in a dispute with implications for the former president’s criminal case in New York.

The judge, Edwin Torres, ordered both the transcript and video from the deposition be kept confidential — at a minimum until he finishes setting the parameters for what evidence in the case will be made public or kept from the public. The civil lawsuit in question, which Trump filed in April, alleges that Cohen violated attorney-client confidentiality.

Trump is seeking $500 million in damages, alleging Cohen violated their agreements through his book, media appearances and podcast discussions. Thursday’s court proceedings centered on what evidence should be made public in the lawsuit, which has garnered much less publicity than Trump’s two high profile criminal cases or the sexual abuse and defamation civil suit he lost in May.


While the case against Cohen has gone under the radar, the hearing at the courthouse showed how evidence presented in the dispute could affect Trump’s other legal entanglements. It also demonstrated that Trump’s penchant for filing lawsuits against people he regards as enemies opens Trump to the possibility of his nemeses essentially rummaging through many of his highly personal records.

[RTH10260]

Trump receives deposition notice in his $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen
Trump alleges that his former lawyer turned critic spread falsehoods, violated attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself.

Aug. 1, 2023, 2:15 AM CEST / Updated Aug. 1, 2023, 2:56 AM CEST
By Adam Reiss and Zoë Richards

Former President Donald Trump has been called to sit for a deposition in September as part of his lawsuit seeking $500 million from his former attorney Michael Cohen.

In a filing Monday, Cohen's attorneys scheduled the deposition for Sept. 6 at a law office in Miami.

“I look forward to Donald’s deposition under oath and proving the frivolous nature of the lawsuit,” Cohen told NBC News in a statement.

The deposition notice comes after Trump sued Cohen in April, alleging that his former lawyer turned critic spread falsehoods, violated attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself.

In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida, Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito had argued that his client has “suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of Defendant’s breaches," and suggested that Cohen took part in other misconduct that violated New York's Rules of Professional Conduct.

When reached for comment on Monday, Cohen's attorney, Ben Brodsky, said the deposition notice "functions like a subpoena."

"He can’t avoid it, though he could dismiss the case," Brodsky said of Trump.




https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald ... -rcna97432

[RTH10260]

Trump sued Michael Cohen for $500 million. Now he's worried he's at "risk of self-incrimination"
"This is what happens when you don't think through your lawsuit before you file it," one attorney said

By TATYANA TANDANPOLIE
PUBLISHED AUGUST 3, 2023 2:16PM (EDT)

Former President Donald Trump expressed concern that evidence his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, sought in the $500 million lawsuit he filed against Cohen could potentially incriminate him in any of his other ongoing cases.

According to Bloomberg, Trump, who is expected to appear in court Thursday in connection to his latest indictment, argued in a Wednesday court filing that the documents Cohen requested, particularly the financial records of the Trump organization, should be protected with a confidentiality order as his other criminal cases progress.

Cohen "has already requested documents that interfere with and/or relate to the pending criminal proceedings and the underlying facts that form the basis of such criminal proceedings," Trump attorney Alejandro Brito wrote in the Miami filing. "The existence of the criminal proceedings currently ongoing against the Plaintiff establishes 'good cause' for the entry of the confidentiality order due to the risk of self-incrimination."

Cohen, however, has countered that the evidence should be public regardless of any prosecutions. He told Bloomberg that every document his attorneys have sought is integral to his defense against the "frivolous and retaliatory" lawsuit.

"If Donald was concerned that release of this information could or will cause him damage in the ongoing criminal investigations, he should have thought twice about bringing the lawsuit in the first place," Cohen said. "You can't have it both ways."

Trump filed the suit against Cohen in April, claiming that his former lawyer violated their attorney-client bond and spread "embarrassing or detrimental" lies. He also accused Cohen of violating their non-disclosure agreement and fraudulently misrepresenting a $74,000 business expenditure.



https://www.salon.com/2023/08/03/sued-m ... imination/

[RTH10260]

looks like the former guy attempted to sneak out of a deposition by Cohen.

Ben Meiselas longwinded story and interview with Cohen

[MN-Skeptic]

Adam Klasfeld
@KlasfeldReports

BREAKING:

Trump filed this notice to voluntarily dismiss his $500M suit against Michael Cohen.

[Volkonski]

Guess Trump really doesn't want to be deposed.

[p0rtia]

Now he can be sued by Cohen for legal fees and I think Cohen once said for filing a harrassing??? intimidating??? suit? Malicious prosecution; sanctions.

This is a bad, bad week for everyone's "favorite" president.

ETA : MTN is saying Cohen will object to the withdrawal and insist on "with prejudice."

[Kendra]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-drops-5 ... 3xRUWlGmSg

Former President Donald Trump has dropped a $500 million lawsuit he had filed against his former attorney Michael Cohen that alleged Cohen breached his fiduciary duty to keep Trump's confidences.

Trump had been scheduled to sit for a deposition in the case, but delayed it until next week because, he told the judge, he would be attending his civil fraud trial in New York.

Trump announced he was dismissing the suit in a one-page court filing Thursday.

[Suranis]

Its almost like he couldn't figure out another way to avoid getting Deposed.

Its almost like he was frustrated that Cohen wasn't getting scared off by his big awesome phenomenal lawsuit.

[raison de arizona]

He says it’s only “temporarily” dismissed.

"Given that President Trump is required to sit for deposition in a civil matter on Columbus Day, when he is scheduled to be in the Great State of New Hampshire, and while the President is fighting against the meritless claims that have been lodged against him in New York, Washington D.C., Florida, and Georgia, as well as continuing his winning campaign, where he is leading the Republicans by 60 points and Crooked Joe Biden by 11 points, to serve as our next President of the United States, President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen," his campaign said in a statement.

https://apple.news/AhLFtEy4XTjq5PpbJXI4FDw

[NewMexGirl]

He says it’s only “temporarily” dismissed.

"Given that President Trump is required to sit for deposition in a civil matter on Columbus Day, when he is scheduled to be in the Great State of New Hampshire, and while the President is fighting against the meritless claims that have been lodged against him in New York, Washington D.C., Florida, and Georgia, as well as continuing his winning campaign, where he is leading the Republicans by 60 points and Crooked Joe Biden by 11 points, to serve as our next President of the United States, President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen," his campaign said in a statement.

https://apple.news/AhLFtEy4XTjq5PpbJXI4FDw

That sentence does run on and on and on. Like diarrhea.

[RTH10260]

He says it’s only “temporarily” dismissed.

https://apple.news/AhLFtEy4XTjq5PpbJXI4FDw

That's why Cohen is requesting the case be dismissed "with prejudice", the issue should not be raised again at a later time, eg nothing temporary. It's my guess that the judge will grant this detail cause thr former guy evaded deposition.