Michael Cohen’s Attempt To Revive His Retaliatory Imprisonment Lawsuit Against Trump Denied By Court

A federal appeals court denied Michael Cohen‘s attempt to revive the lawsuit he filed against his former client, ex-President Donald Trump. Cohen claimed that Trump retaliated against him for promoting a tell-all book criticizing the former president.

The former fixer sued Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other official Justice Department members. He claimed they had interfered with his constitutional rights when he had been imprisoned again after making criticisms against the 45th U.S. President.

Cohen was ruled against by a lower court judge who declared that Supreme Court precedent does not give him the right to pursue damages to remedy his claims.

On January 2, the second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with this decision.

Cohen announced that he was planning on appealing the issue to the Supreme Court.

According to the appeals court, Cohen had been able to get an injunction right away during the time he had been transitioned from prison to home confinement. This action was sufficient to meet his claims.

During a hearing in December 2023, Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, argued that Cohen’s solution was being let out of prison. She also insisted that the judge’s abruptly delivered decision, which allowed Cohen’s release at the time, would work as a deterrent. 

Trump’s attorney even made the argument that, despite his claims, Cohen has yet to offer evidence of Trump being directly involved in the decision to send Cohen back to prison.

“The complaint itself does not have facts that Trump did it. It’s a Michael Cohen assumption,” Habba declared.

Jon Dougherty, Cohen’s lawyer, argued that the lawsuit was required to hold Trump and other presidents accountable.

Cohen’s lawyer told the court, that the fixing of damages provides the requisite deterrence so that presidents cannot use prisons as a threat against their critics.

“We are that most unusual circumstance,” Dougherty stated to the court.

“The outcome is wrong if democracy is to prevail,” Cohen claimed. “A writ of habeas corpus cannot be the only consequence to stop a rogue president from weaponizing the Department of Justice from locking up his/her critics in prison because they refuse to waive their First Amendment right. We will be filing a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court.”

“We are very pleased with today’s ruling,” Habba mentioned. “Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit was doomed from its inception. We will continue to fight against any frivolous suits aimed at our client.”

Back in early October 2023, Trump dropped the $500 million lawsuit against Cohen four days before his planned deposition as part of the case as he had to face four criminal cases. In April, Trump filed another lawsuit against Cohen, asserting that he violated professional obligations by appearing in the media to talk about the former president’s finances.