Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen is suing the Trump Organisation for breaking a promise to pay his legal bills.
By Associated Press Reporters
March 7 2019 8:01 PM
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen is suing the Trump Organisation for breaking a promise to pay his legal bills.
A lawsuit filed in New York says the organisation owes at least 1.9 million dollars (£1.45m) to cover his defence costs.
The lawsuit claims the Trump Organisation stopped paying Cohen’s legal fees after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors in their investigations related to Mr Trump’s business dealings in Russia and attempts to silence women with embarrassing stories about his personal life.
It alleges breach of contract and seeks damages on Cohen’s behalf.
The lawsuit says the company stopped paying for his legal defence about two months after the FBI raided Cohen’s home and office last year.
It says that was around the time Cohen began discussing privately with friends and family that he was considering cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors in New York.
Cohen pleaded guilty in August to tax crimes, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He is expected to begin serving a three-year prison term in May.
The lawsuit said that as part of his work for Mr Trump, the company agreed to indemnify him for his company-related work. It said the Trump Organisation initially lived up to that promise, footing the bill for more than 1.7 million dollars (£1.3m) in Cohen’s legal fees.
Cohen hired the law firm McDermott Will & Emery in spring 2017 after it became clear he was a “person of interest” in Mr Mueller’s investigation.
