Current Events > Trump drops $500 million Lawsuit against Micheal Cohen out of fear of deposition

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Former President Donald Trump late on Thursday abruptly dropped a lawsuit against his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen as a conflict loomed between the litigation and Trumps campaign to win back the White House.

A federal magistrate judge had ordered Trump to sit for a deposition in the Cohen suit starting Monday morning in New York. Earlier this week, however, the former president scheduled a campaign rally in New Hampshire for Monday at noon.

Trump had already delayed the deposition twice, and his lawyers had tried to have it scheduled for Sunday. But at a hearing last week, the judge declined to grant that date and insisted on Monday.

Trump aides and lawyers rebuffed questions about the conflicting demands over the past couple of days, but in a court filing around 8 p.m. on Thursday, a Florida-based attorney for Trump, Alejandro Brito, announced that his client was dropping the case.

The one-line filing offered no explanation for the rare courtroom retreat by Trump but said the termination of the suit was without prejudice, meaning he was reserving the right to re-file it.

Trump decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen, a Trump spokesperson said in a statement. Once President Trump has prevailed in dealing with the witch hunts against him, he will continue to pursue his claims against Michael Cohen, who rightfully deserves to, and will be held accountable for his unlawful words and actions just as the Southern District of New York held him accountable for numerous non-Trump related acts and crimes, making Cohen a very proud felon.

Cohen said in a statement that the move indicated Trump feared the prospect of a deposition where he would be required to answer questions from Cohens attorney under oath.

As I have said from the beginning: this case was nothing more than a retaliatory intimidation tactic, and his attempt to hide from routine discovery procedures confirms as much, Cohen said. Mr. Trumps cowardly dismissal spells the end of this latest attempt to deter me from providing truthful testimony against him. My legal team and I now look forward to turning our full attention to holding Mr. Trump accountable for his latest abuse of the legal system.

Cohens lead attorney, Danya Perry, filed a motion to dismiss the case in May. However, it had not yet been ruled on. As a result, Trump can dismiss the case and reserve his right to re-file it. However, if he does so, hed again be subject to deposition.

Cohen is expected to be a key witness in one of the four criminal cases Trump facesallegations he falsified business records in connection with hush money payments Cohen arranged to porn star Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2020 presidential election. Trump pleaded not guilty in the case and has denied Daniels claims of an affair. Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to a campaign finance felony related to those events and was sentenced to three years in prison.

An ongoing civil suit against Trump brought by New York Attorney General Tish James was triggered in part by Cohens allegations that Trump and his businesses routinely inflated real estate values when seeking loans and understated them for tax and insurance purposes. Trump has also denied those allegations, but a New York state court judge found Trumps businesses engaged in pervasive fraud related to the valuations. A trial on other aspects of the case is currently underway.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/05/trump-drops-michael-cohen-00120297

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Trump has been evading depositions in this case for months. His lawyer openly argued that Trump shouldn't have to be deposed since it will cause great shame and embarrasment for him before a 2024 election campaign

Trump's latest excuse was that he couldn't possibly take a deposition as he was in court In New York.... Except he fled New York and returned to Florida because the Judge told him to stop lying.

So that excuse died and he either had to be deposed or drop the case. He immediately dropped the case.

I'm not fan of Cohen but there really has to be a punishment for this sort of thing. You can't just bully and harras people like this with stunt lawsuits. Cohen taken it because he has money but for average joes, months of legal fees, headaches, frustration, dragged through the mud publicity, interference in day to day to life etc, this would ruin them.

Well, I mean he could just plead the 5th again 400 more times couldn't he?

ejolson posted...

Well, I mean he could just plead the 5th again 400 more times couldn't he?

No he can't.

You can't take the 5th in your own lawsuit where you are suing someone else.

UnfairRepresent posted...

No he can't.

You can't take the 5th in your own lawsuit where you are suing someone else.

He pleads the fifth on this statement