OAN’s Abril Elfi
3:24 PM – Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-attorney, has lost an appeal to revive his claim that former President Donald Trump retaliated against him for promoting his tell-all book that criticized the former president.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Cohen’s case was null and void. He was attempting to revive the allegation that the 45th president “used his presidential powers to jail him” for promoting his book.
In a separate case, Cohen entered a guilty plea in 2018 to charges of tax evasion, lying to Congress, and violating campaign finance laws.
He first began writing the memoir about his interactions with the former president while he was in prison. However, in May 2020, he was released amidst the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the prisoner population.
A disagreement over whether he could talk to the media about his impending book while under home confinement led to his eventual return to prison, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Cohen complained that while he was spending nearly the entire day in a small cell at the federal prison, where temperatures “were above 100 degrees,” he experienced physical ailments such as headaches, shortness of breath, and anxiety.
Later, in July 2020, a federal judge ruled that Cohen could be put on house arrest instead.
When Cohen’s book “Disloyal: A Memoir” was first published, it peaked at number one on the Amazon best-seller list.
Cohen attempted to bring back the retaliation allegation against Trump, but the complaint was once more dismissed by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, an attorney Trump had previously appointed.
Liman reiterated in the most recent dismissal that Cohen lacked a good basis to allege that a federal officer had violated the Constitution on behalf of federal authority.
Trump attorney Aina Habba celebrated the court’s decision.
“We are very pleased with today’s ruling. Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit was doomed from its inception. We will continue to fight against any frivolous suit aimed at our client,” Habba said.
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