Donald Trump sued his former lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday seeking at least $500 million in damages as the former US president stepped up his attacks on the former “confidant” after the latter testified before a grand jury him indicted on the charge of Stormy. The Daniels case.

Cohen testified before a Manhattan grand jury that later indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business documents. In his lawsuit, Trump accuses Cohen of violating attorney-client confidentiality by disclosing “confidential” information and “spreading false information.”

Cohen was a senior executive at Trump’s real estate firm and later served as his personal lawyer when he became president in 2017. Once known for his fierce loyalty to the former president, Cohen became a fierce critic of him and helped law enforcement and lawmakers investigate his former boss.

Where is Cohen involved?

In 2016, adult film actress Stormy Daniels contacted the media and offered to sell information about her relationship with Donald Trump in 2006. This fact attracted the attention of Trump’s associates and his lawyer Michael Cohen, who gave Daniels $130,000 to hush up the case.

Prior to this incident, Cohen settled another similar case in which he allegedly paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to retract her affair with Trump in controversial The National Enquirer to prevent a possible scandal that could affect on his image a few months before the election.

This in itself is not illegal. But when Trump reimbursed Cohen, the payout report showed legal fees. According to prosecutors, this means that Trump falsified business documents, which in New York is considered a misdemeanor and, therefore, a felony.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty.

The criminal case is one of several legal escapades Trump has faced, including an investigation into his efforts to undo his 2020 election defeat and the removal of government documents from the White House after he left office.

Last year, New York State Attorney General Leticia James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his three adult children, accusing them of falsely reporting the value of their property in order to obtain preferential loans and tax breaks. Trump also sued James after filing this case.

According to Reuters