Federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected Michael Cohen’s attempt to resurrect a lawsuit asserting that former President Donald Trump had retaliated against him for publicizing a book that portrayed Trump negatively.
Cohen, once a legal counsel for Trump, commenced writing a revealing book about his tenure with the former president while incarcerated. Following his return to prison in July 2020 after a brief period of home confinement, Cohen alleged that his re-imprisonment was in response to his public comments on the book.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, stating, “Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit was doomed from its inception. We will continue to fight against any frivolous suits aimed at our client.”
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The Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Cohen’s claims, emphasizing his success in seeking alternative legal remedies. The court highlighted, “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.”
Following 16 days in solitary confinement, Cohen returned to home confinement. In December 2018, he received a three-year prison sentence for various offenses, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and making false statements.
Cohen has emerged as a key witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump, focusing on hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen orchestrated a $130,000 payment to Daniels in 2016 to prevent the disclosure of her alleged affair with Trump.
In a recent development, Cohen acknowledged using the artificial intelligence program Google Bard to aid him in a court filing after discrepancies were found in cited cases by the court’s clerk.
