Michael Cohen says he may file countersuit to Trump’s $500m case: ‘I can’t believe how stupid he was’
Michael Cohen has suggested he will file a countersuit against Donald Trump, who he said should have listened to lawyers who told him that doing so would be “a mistake”.
The former president had slapped a $500m lawsuit on Wednesday against his former lawyer Mr Cohen alleging a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.
On Thursday’s Political Breakdown podcast, Mr Cohen weighed in on the lawsuit against him.
“It’s possibly one of the most important cases for our democracy. I can’t believe how stupid he was to have actually filed it,” Mr Cohen said.
“He should have listened to the lawyers that told him ‘it’s a mistake’. He’s now opened himself up to everything that he refuses.”
If Mr Trump ends up being asked for giving a deposition in the case, Mr Cohen argues, “he cannot take the fifth”.
“This will be a civil suit that’s brought by him, with a countersuit. So, could you imagine, in a case that you’re the plaintiff on, despite the fact that you’ll be technically a defendant in the countersuit, that you’re now not going to answer questions?”
“That’s fantastic,” Mr Cohen said sarcastically.
Mr Cohen also dubbed the former president’s lawyers “the clown show, crackerjack lawyers” and dubbed the new case as a “David and Goliath” story.
The lawyer referred to himself as David and “the big, 3,000 pound gorilla over there” as Goliath.
“At the end of the day, I’m gonna hit him again with another rock right in the forehead, because the documents are stupid. They don’t make any sense,” Mr Cohen said.
“He’s gonna get countersued, there’s no doubt about that one, for what he’s doing.”
Mr Trump’s lawsuit in Miami’s federal court, accusing Mr Cohen of failing to keep confidential attorney-client privileges quiet, was filed after Mr Cohen appeared on podcasts and talked about the one-time president’s stint at the White House.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Mr Cohen, told Reuters that the lawsuit is “frivolous”.
“Mr Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation against Michael Cohen,” Mr Davis said.
Mr Cohen had pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations regarding hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Mr Cohen had said he did so under the guidance of an “unnamed candidate” in the 2016 presidential election.
The Manhattan grand civil jury has since indicted Mr Trump over the hush money payments, making him the first president to face criminal charges.
