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Cohen Sues Trump Organization, Saying He Was Denied $1.9 Million in Legal Fees After Cooperating With Prosecutors Cohen Sues the Trump Organization, Saying He Was Denied $1.9 Million in Legal Fees After Cooperating With Prosecutors
(32 minutes later)
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Michael D. Cohen, the former personal lawyer and one-time fixer for President Trump, filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the Trump Organization of breaking a contract and refusing to pay about $1.9 million in legal fees after Mr. Cohen began cooperating with federal prosecutors. Michael D. Cohen, the former personal lawyer and fixer for President Trump, sued the Trump Organization on Thursday, accusing the company of breaking a contract by refusing to pay about $1.9 million in legal costs after Mr. Cohen began cooperating with federal prosecutors.
The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, said that the Trump Organization had agreed to pay Mr. Cohen attorney’s fees or related costs connected to his work with the Trump Organization but had failed to live up to that promise. The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said that the Trump Organization had failed to live up to an agreement to pay for Mr. Cohen’s legal fees or related costs connected to his work with the Trump Organization.
Mr. Cohen is also seeking reimbursement for an additional $1.9 million he was ordered to pay in fines, forfeitures and restitution after he pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress, the lawsuit said. Mr. Cohen is also seeking reimbursement for an additional $1.9 million he was ordered to pay in fines, forfeiture and restitution after he pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, evading taxes and lying to Congress, the lawsuit said.
The complaint said that around July 2017, Mr. Cohen and the Trump Organization entered an agreement under which the company would pay for Mr. Cohen’s legal fees and costs connected to investigations being conducted by Congress and Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump Organization lived up to the deal until sometime last May, according to the lawsuit. Then, in June, as Mr. Cohen began telling people close to him that he would be willing to cooperate with Mr. Mueller’s investigation, the Trump Organization stopped paying Mr. Cohen’s lawyers. The lawsuit was the latest salvo in an escalating feud between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, who represented Mr. Trump for close to a decade and once said that he would “take a bullet” for his client.
As a result, Mr. Cohen parted ways with his attorneys, the lawsuit said. Shortly after, Mr. Cohen hinted to “Good Morning America” that he was considering striking a deal with the New York prosecutors who were investigating him. Last week, in a dramatic hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Mr. Cohen accused Mr. Trump of deceptive, criminal behavior and called the president a “cheat,” a “racist” and a “con man.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Cohen also provided documents to a House committee that he said supported his claim that he had made false statements to Congress in July 2017 at the request of Mr. Trump’s lawyers.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday said Mr. Cohen and the Trump Organization had entered an agreement under which the company would pay for Mr. Cohen’s legal fees and costs arising from investigations being conducted by Congress and by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who is examining Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Trump Organization initially honored the deal, paying a portion of Mr. Cohen’s legal fees and promising to pay more, according to the lawsuit.
Then, last June, as Mr. Cohen began telling people close to him that he would be willing to cooperate with Mr. Mueller’s investigation, the Trump Organization stopped paying Mr. Cohen’s lawyers, according to the lawsuit.
As a result, Mr. Cohen parted ways with his attorneys, the lawsuit said, which “prejudiced” his ability to respond to the federal investigations.
Shortly after, Mr. Cohen hinted to “Good Morning America” that he was considering striking a deal with the New York prosecutors who were investigating him.
In the complaint, Mr. Cohen listed 11 separate cases in which he was involved, including multiple House and Senate hearings; lawsuits involving a hush money payment made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels; a lawsuit from New York’s attorney general against the Donald J. Trump Foundation; and Mr. Mueller’s investigation.
Mr. Cohen is expected to begin serving a three-year sentence in federal prison in May.