President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen on Thursday sued the Trump Organization in a Manhattan court, accusing the company of breaching a contract that ensured Cohen’s legal expenses related to the ongoing special counsel investigation would be paid.
Bloomberg News reports that court documents filed by Cohen state that the Trump Organization ceased payments to Cohen’s legal defense effort in 2018, which he calls a breach of his contract. Cohen is reportedly seeking $1.9 million in disputed legal fees.
{mosads}“The Trump Organization agreed to indemnify Mr. Cohen and to pay attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Mr. Cohen in connection with various matters arising from Mr. Cohen’s work with and on behalf of the Organization,” the court filings reportedly read. “These matters included multiple congressional hearings, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, and others.”
The lawsuit comes just days after the former attorney trashed the president in a public hearing in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, during which Cohen accused Trump of being a “racist” and a “con man” and accused him of financial misconduct including improperly overestimating the value of properties to insurance companies.
Cohen is awaiting the start of a three-year prison sentence for financial crimes and charges related to his hush money payments to women in 2016 who threatened to come forward and detail alleged past affairs with then-candidate Trump.
Cohen was back on Capitol Hill this week for closed-door testimony with congressional investigators, after which he pledged to continue cooperating.