Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Michael Cohen says he may file countersuit to Trump’s $500m case: ‘I can’t believe how stupid he was’

‘This is a David and Goliath story’

Sebastian Miño-Bucheli
San Francisco
Friday 14 April 2023 06:30 BST
Comments
Donald Trump Files Charges Against Michael Cohen, His Former Lawyer

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Michael Cohen has suggested he will file a countersuit against Donald Trump, who he said should have listened to lawyers who told him that doing so would be “a mistake”.

The former president had slapped a $500m lawsuit on Wednesday against his former lawyer Mr Cohen alleging a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

On Thursday’s Political Breakdown podcast, Mr Cohen weighed in on the lawsuit against him.

“It’s possibly one of the most important cases for our democracy. I can’t believe how stupid he was to have actually filed it,” Mr Cohen said.

“He should have listened to the lawyers that told him ‘it’s a mistake’. He’s now opened himself up to everything that he refuses.”

If Mr Trump ends up being asked for giving a deposition in the case, Mr Cohen argues, “he cannot take the fifth”.

“This will be a civil suit that’s brought by him, with a countersuit. So, could you imagine, in a case that you’re the plaintiff on, despite the fact that you’ll be technically a defendant in the countersuit, that you’re now not going to answer questions?”

“That’s fantastic,” Mr Cohen said sarcastically.

Mr Cohen also dubbed the former president’s lawyers “the clown show, crackerjack lawyers” and dubbed the new case as a “David and Goliath” story.

Trump calls Michael Cohen a liar following televised testimony

The lawyer referred to himself as David and “the big, 3,000 pound gorilla over there” as Goliath.

“At the end of the day, I’m gonna hit him again with another rock right in the forehead, because the documents are stupid. They don’t make any sense,” Mr Cohen said.

“He’s gonna get countersued, there’s no doubt about that one, for what he’s doing.”

Mr Trump’s lawsuit in Miami’s federal court, accusing Mr Cohen of failing to keep confidential attorney-client privileges quiet, was filed after Mr Cohen appeared on podcasts and talked about the one-time president’s stint at the White House.

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Mr Cohen, told Reuters that the lawsuit is “frivolous”.

“Mr Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation against Michael Cohen,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Cohen had pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations regarding hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Mr Cohen had said he did so under the guidance of an “unnamed candidate” in the 2016 presidential election.

The Manhattan grand civil jury has since indicted Mr Trump over the hush money payments, making him the first president to face criminal charges.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in