Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against his ex-attorney Michael Cohen for allegedly breaching his duties and violating his attorney-client relationship.
In the $500 million dollar-plus lawsuit, Trump claims Cohen breached their contract by "spreading falsehoods" about him that was "likely to be embarrassing or detrimental and partook in other misconduct." The former lawyer also allegedly violated the contractual terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of employment with 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 reads.
The 30-page federal lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday on behalf of Trump's legal team.
Cohen, who once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump, has attacked Trump "with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends," with the suit citing his "tell-all" book published by the attorney, as well as numerous mainstream media appearances bashing his client.
According to the lawsuit, he admitted he "'lied' about the money he was owed in reimbursement for an expense he made on [Trump's] behalf, instead 'loading up' and 'sneakily upping [his] bonus' in order to 'counter screw' [Trump]."
"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," according to the lawsuit, adding that Trump has "suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of [Cohen's] breaches."
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A source close to the president's legal team assures the lawsuit has nothing to do with Trump's recent "lawless and fact-less" arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly paying Stormy Daniels hush money during the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen has a lot of nerve for attacking Trump when he pleaded guilty to arranging those so-called hush money payments, along with several other federal charges in 2018. He was also found guilty of making false statements to a financial institution and Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Trump is demanding Cohen to pay "actual, compensatory, incidental, and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial, but expected to substantially exceed $500,000,000," adding that Cohen "chose to capitalize on his confidential relationship with [Trump] to pursue financial gain and repair a reputation shattered by his repeated misrepresentations and deceptive acts, fueled by his animus toward [Trump] and his family members."
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