President Donald Trump’s former lawyer-turned-enemy, Michael Cohen, has called on the Supreme Court to request permission to sue his former boss for alleged government “retaliation.”
The disgraced former attorney claims he was targetted out of “revenge” during the Trump administration.
Cohen claims that he served part of his federal prison sentence in solitary confinement because he criticized Trump in a tell-all book.
In 2018, Cohen pled guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance charges, and lying to Congress.
He was sentenced to three years in prison.
He served just over a year in jail before getting released to home confinement during Covid.
But Cohen wasn’t out long before he was returned to prison and sent to solitary confinement, where he spent 16 days.
The government accused Cohen of rejecting the terms of his release.
However, Cohen has accused the Trump administration of political persecution.
A federal judge ruled that Cohen faced “retaliation” and ordered him released.
Since then, Cohen continued to press the matter, suing Trump and his Justice Department for damages.
In January, an appeals court found that Cohen could not claim damages under the law.
The rejection led him to petition the Supreme Court.
In a Supreme Court brief, Cohen’s lawyer, Jon-Michael Dougherty, wrote:
“The issue is whether the government can revoke a prisoner’s approved release to home confinement as punishment for his speech criticizing the president and to prevent further such speech.”
Cohen has accused Trump of weaponizing the government against him.
The claims echo a charge Trump has levied at Democrats amid a host of politically motivated criminal and civil cases.
“It is about the exercise of a type of power with which the Founders were well-acquainted and against which they fought a war for independence,” Cohen’s lawyer wrote.
“It involves the sitting President personally and unlawfully intervening to hold a United States citizen in prison for criticizing him.”
Despite his criminal past, Cohen resurfaced as the “star witness” in Trump’s “hush money” criminal trial this year.
Trump was convicted of “falsifying business records” over payments made by Cohen to Stormy Daniels.
During the trial, Trump’s lawyers painted Cohen as an aggrieved witness.
They noted that Cohen has a financial stake in Trump’s destruction.
He faced scrutiny at the time for blasting Trump in paid TikTok videos.
Cohen celebrated the verdict, which Trump has sought to overturn, citing the Supreme Court’s historic immunity ruling.
Trump’s sentencing in the case has been delayed until after the presidential election.
