Donald Trump drops huge lawsuit as Michael Cohen mocks "cowardly" move
Miami, Florida - Donald Trump voluntarily dismissed his $500 million lawsuit against his ex-attorney Michael Cohen on Thursday.
A current lawyer for the former president filed the motion in the Southern District of Florida without prejudice, leaving the possibility open to file the suit again in the future.
The ex-president – who's embroiled in multiple court proceedings – was scheduled to appear in the Southern District of New York next Monday to be deposed by Cohen's attorney Danya Perry after rescheduling the hearing three times.
Trump filed the multimillion-dollar lawsuit in April, accusing his once right-hand man of violating attorney-client privilege after publishing two books, producing a podcast and speaking with the media about the hush money payment Trump made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen said Thursday he and his legal team will turn their "full attention to holding Mr. Trump accountable for his latest abuse of the legal system."
"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 in a statement. "Mr. Trump's cowardly dismissal spells the end of this latest attempt to deter me from providing truthful testimony against him."
"More to come," Cohen added.
Cohen expected to be star witness in hush money trial
Cohen spent more than 13 months behind bars after pleading guilty in December 2018 to campaign finance charges and lying to congress about doling out payments to Daniels and model Karen McDougal in exchange for their silence about their relationships with Trump.
The ex-president has vehemently denied the allegations.
Cohen is expected to be the star witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case charging Trump with committing 34 felonies during his first year in the White House by reimbursing his then-lawyer for a $130,000 payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and is trying to get the case dismissed.
Cover photo: Collage: Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & REUTERS