A federal appeals court on Tuesday dismissed Michael Cohen’s appeal to revive a lawsuit claiming former President Donald Trump retaliated against him for promoting a book casting him in a negative light.
Cohen, previously a lawyer for Trump, began writing a tell-all book while in prison about his experiences working for the former president. He filed a lawsuit after he was sent back to prison in July 2020 after being released on home confinement, alleging the decision was retaliation for speaking publicly about the book.
“We are very pleased with today’s ruling,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement. “Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit was doomed from its inception. We will continue to fight against any frivolous suits aimed at our client.” (RELATED: Star Witness In Alvin Bragg’s Case Against Trump Used AI To Write Legal Briefs, Cited Fake Court Cases)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 27: Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals found Cohen’s claims were not valid, noting he was “successful in pursuing other forms of judicial relief.”
“Indeed, Cohen filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and a motion for an emergency TRO, and the district court issued an injunction within a matter of days releasing Cohen from imprisonment to home confinement,” the court wrote.
Cohen was released back to home confinement after 16 days in solitary confinement, according to the ruling. He was sentenced in December 2018 to three years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including campaign-finance violations, tax-evasion and making false statements.
Cohen is a star witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump stemming from hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels in 2016 to prevent her from disclosing claims of an affair with Trump.
Last week, Cohen admitted to using the artificial intelligence-program Google Bard to help him with a recent court filing after the court’s clerk found some of the cited cases did not exist.
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