Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump Organization, saying it breached a contract by not paying his legal fees.
Cohen filed the suit in a state court in Manhattan, claiming the organization agreed to repay him for his legal fees, but stopped doing so in June 2018.
He alleges that Mr. Trump’s company owes him at least $1.9 million in attorney fees.
“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 lawsuit said. “These matters included multiple congressional hearings, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, and others.”
This lawsuit will most likely further divide Cohen and Mr. Trump as the former attorney begins a three-year prison sentence in May. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Mr. Trump.
In his statement to the House Oversight and Reform Committee last week, Cohen said he was “ashamed” that he worked for Mr. Trump and regretted “all the help and support I gave him along the way.”
Cohen also outlined several potentially damaging claims, including that Trump confidant Roger Stone told the president that WikiLeaks would release hacked emails from 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and that Mr. Trump was aware of the Trump Tower meetings with Russian officials while he was campaigning.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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