In order to fund his legal defense against a lawsuit from Mr. Trump that alleges he violated contractual obligations connected to their commercial and legal relationship, former president Donald Trump's attorney Michael Cohen requested donations from his Twitter followers to a GoFundMe campaign.
A day after Mr. Trump's lawsuit against him was filed in federal court, Cohen said on Thursday, "Donald and acolytes continue to disparage me as a way of deflection from his looming legal troubles."
"I won't stop speaking the truth to authority any time soon. In order to do this, I need your assistance, Cohen stated while offering a link to the crowdsourcing initiative.
By Thursday afternoon, "Michael Cohen's American Patriot Legal Firewall" had raised more than $20,000 of its $100,000 target.
On Wednesday, the former president filed a lawsuit for more than $500 million against his former attorney, alleging that the latter had broken their contract and contributed to the fabrication of false information about Mr. Trump in a New York criminal investigation.
In a federal court filing in the Southern District of Florida, Mr. Trump's attorneys claimed that Cohen released his debut book, "Disloyal," soon before the 2020 election in an effort to profit financially from the timing.
They contend that in order to capitalize on his previous relationship with Mr. Trump, he went on to publish a second book and start a podcast about it, frequently featuring guests like former porn star Stormy Daniels.
The criminal case against Ms. Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Mr. Trump, is focused on hush-money payments made to her through Cohen.
The main image for the book "Revenge," which also focuses on Mr. Trump and is scheduled for release on October 11th, is now being promoted on Cohen's Twitter account.
The complaint filed by Mr. Trump also claims that Cohen should be compensated financially for providing inside knowledge about their business dealings.
According to the 34-page complaint, "Defendant engaged in other misconduct in violation of New York Rules of Professional Conduct by both disclosing Plaintiff's confidences and spreading falsehoods about Plaintiff, likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and breached his fiduciary duties owed to Plaintiff by virtue of their attorney-client relationship."
Beginning in 1996, Cohen served as Mr. Trump's personal attorney. Cohen continued to serve as a lawyer and consultant after Mr. Trump was elected president, earning around $500,000 annually, according to the lawsuit.
In order to prevent Ms. Daniels from disclosing publicly about her relationship with the billionaire during his presidential campaign, Cohen paid her $130,000 in hush money in 2016.
Trump disputes both the affair and the claim that he received the funds for personal gain and political ambitions.
After pleading guilty to counts of tax fraud, lying to federal agents in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and a campaign finance violation, Cohen was sentenced to jail in 2019.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against the former president, who he indicted last week on 34 counts of falsifying corporate documents, also includes the campaign finance violation connected to the payment to Ms. Daniels.
In 2019 Cohen lost his right to practice law, and he was eventually freed from jail in 2021. He was given a three-year prison sentence, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served the majority of it at home.
A day after Mr. Trump's lawsuit against him was filed in federal court, Cohen said on Thursday, "Donald and acolytes continue to disparage me as a way of deflection from his looming legal troubles."
"I won't stop speaking the truth to authority any time soon. In order to do this, I need your assistance, Cohen stated while offering a link to the crowdsourcing initiative.
By Thursday afternoon, "Michael Cohen's American Patriot Legal Firewall" had raised more than $20,000 of its $100,000 target.
On Wednesday, the former president filed a lawsuit for more than $500 million against his former attorney, alleging that the latter had broken their contract and contributed to the fabrication of false information about Mr. Trump in a New York criminal investigation.
In a federal court filing in the Southern District of Florida, Mr. Trump's attorneys claimed that Cohen released his debut book, "Disloyal," soon before the 2020 election in an effort to profit financially from the timing.
They contend that in order to capitalize on his previous relationship with Mr. Trump, he went on to publish a second book and start a podcast about it, frequently featuring guests like former porn star Stormy Daniels.
The criminal case against Ms. Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Mr. Trump, is focused on hush-money payments made to her through Cohen.
The main image for the book "Revenge," which also focuses on Mr. Trump and is scheduled for release on October 11th, is now being promoted on Cohen's Twitter account.
The complaint filed by Mr. Trump also claims that Cohen should be compensated financially for providing inside knowledge about their business dealings.
According to the 34-page complaint, "Defendant engaged in other misconduct in violation of New York Rules of Professional Conduct by both disclosing Plaintiff's confidences and spreading falsehoods about Plaintiff, likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and breached his fiduciary duties owed to Plaintiff by virtue of their attorney-client relationship."
Beginning in 1996, Cohen served as Mr. Trump's personal attorney. Cohen continued to serve as a lawyer and consultant after Mr. Trump was elected president, earning around $500,000 annually, according to the lawsuit.
In order to prevent Ms. Daniels from disclosing publicly about her relationship with the billionaire during his presidential campaign, Cohen paid her $130,000 in hush money in 2016.
Trump disputes both the affair and the claim that he received the funds for personal gain and political ambitions.
After pleading guilty to counts of tax fraud, lying to federal agents in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and a campaign finance violation, Cohen was sentenced to jail in 2019.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against the former president, who he indicted last week on 34 counts of falsifying corporate documents, also includes the campaign finance violation connected to the payment to Ms. Daniels.
In 2019 Cohen lost his right to practice law, and he was eventually freed from jail in 2021. He was given a three-year prison sentence, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served the majority of it at home.
