To fund his legal defense against a lawsuit by Mr. Trump alleging he breached contractual obligations related to their business and legal relationship, former President Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen has asked for donations to his Twitter followers for a GoFundMe campaign.
A day after Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against him was filed in federal court, Cohen said Thursday, “Donald and his cronies continue to vilify me as a way to deflect his impending legal troubles.”
“I won’t stop telling the authorities the truth anytime soon. To do that, I need your help,” Cohen said while offering a link to the crowdsourcing initiative.
As of Thursday afternoon, “Michael Cohen’s American Patriot Legal Firewall” had raised over $20,000 of its $100,000 goal.
On Wednesday, the former president filed a lawsuit worth more than $500 million against his former lawyer, alleging the latter breached their contract and helped fabricate false information about Mr Trump in a criminal investigation in New York.
In a filing in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, Mr. Trump’s lawyers claimed that Cohen published his first book, ‘Disloyal,’ shortly before the 2020 election for the purpose of financial gain. from the moment.
They argue that to capitalize on his previous relationship with Mr Trump, he later published a second book and started a podcast about it, often featuring guests like former porn star Stormy Daniels.
The criminal case against Ms Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Mr Trump, centers on cash payments made to her through Cohen.
The lead image from the “Revenge” book, which also focuses on Mr. Trump and is slated for release Oct. 11, is now being promoted on Cohen’s Twitter account.
The lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump also claims that Cohen should be financially compensated for providing inside information about their business dealings.
According to the 34-page complaint, “Defendant engaged in other misconduct in violation of New York Rules of Professional Conduct by disclosing Plaintiff’s confidences and spreading lies about Plaintiff that were likely to be embarrassing or prejudicial. , and breached his fiduciary duties to plaintiff under their attorney-client relationship.”
From 1996, Cohen served as Mr. Trump’s personal attorney. Cohen continued to practice as a lawyer and consultant after Mr. Trump was elected president, earning around $500,000 a year, according to the lawsuit.
In order to prevent Ms Daniels from publicly disclosing her relationship with the billionaire during his presidential campaign, Cohen paid her $130,000 in secret money in 2016.
Trump disputes both the case and the claim that he received the funds for personal gain and political ambitions.
After pleading guilty to counts of tax evasion, lying to federal agents as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and a violation of the campaign finance, Cohen was sentenced to prison in 2019.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against the former president, whom he charged last week with 34 counts of falsifying corporate documents, also includes the campaign finance violation related to the payment to Ms. Daniels.
In 2019, Cohen lost his right to practice law and he was finally released from prison in 2021. He was sentenced to a three-year prison term, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was sentenced to prison. served the majority at home.