Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Settles Lawsuit With Trump Org Right Before Trial

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, leaves federal court after his sentencing in New York on Dec. 12, 2018. (Craig Ruttle/AP Photo)

Michael Cohen, a personal lawyer of Donald Trump’s for over a decade, is settling a lawsuit he brought against the Trump Organization in 2019.

Jurors were already sworn in and the trial was set to begin Monday, but lawyers for both parties agreed in court on Friday to a settlement.

In a statement on Friday, Mr. Cohen said “this matter has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.”

The Trump Organization and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Mr. Cohen had brought the case over $1.9 million in fees he says he was owed and another $1.9 million he said he was ordered to give up over a criminal case.

Court filings show the fees were partially paid (pdf). The Trump Organization maintained it covered the legitimate invoices but not the ones related to some of Mr. Cohen’s own crimes, according to the filings.

The settlement takes one of Mr. Trump’s many legal battles off his plate as he continues to campaign for a second term as president.

Mr. Cohen is still also facing a $500 million lawsuit from Mr. Trump over revealing “confidences” and “spreading falsehoods,” which he has raised over $230,000 for through crowdfunding to cover legal fees.

Mr. Cohen is also expected to be a witness in a criminal case Mr. Trump faces in Manhattan.

Loyalist-Turned-Detractor

“Time and time again, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds,” Mr. Cohen said in 2018 as he pleaded guilty to a number of crimes he said he committed for Mr. Trump as he was running for office.

The crimes included making illegal payments to two women in exchange for not speaking publicly about affairs they claimed to have with Mr. Trump, which is now the subject of another lawsuit in which Mr. Cohen is expected to testify.

In April, Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts, including falsifying business records related to hush money payments.

Mr. Cohen’s 2018 testimony marked a solid break from Mr. Trump. That year, federal investigations into Mr. Trump led to the search of Mr. Cohen’s home, which he’s noted as just one of many events that led to his change of heart.

Former President Donald Trump visits the Versailles restaurant in the Little Havana neighborhood after being arraigned at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Federal Courthouse in Miami, Fla., on June 13, 2023. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

In 2019, he testified for seven hours before Congress about Mr. Trump and alleged business dealings with Russia, and was later investigated for perjury.

Mr. Cohen has since been a vocal opponent of Mr. Trump’s, writing a memoir and making media appearances to speak against Mr. Trump and his supporters. On CBS in April, he said Republicans following Trump were “in the cult, and I know what it’s like to be in the cult.” On MSNBC last month, he said Mr. Trump would “throw anyone and everyone under the bus in order to preserve his own freedom, in order to benefit himself.”

Legal Battles Mounting

Mr. Trump is currently embroiled in several other cases.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump revealed on social media that he was sent a letter from special counsel Jack Smith, stating he was a target of the investigation into the events of Jan. 6. Hundreds have already been indicted in the ongoing case.

Also this week, a judge refused his request to shift his New York criminal case to federal court on Wednesday, the same day another federal judge gave Mr. Trump an unfavorable ruling in a civil case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. On Tuesday, a federal judge heard pre-trial arguments in Florida regarding the classified documents case. Mr. Trump had been arraigned on June 13, where he pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges.

Mr. Trump has decried these actions as “election interference” on the part of the Biden administration. Notably, many legal challenges were timed as President Joe Biden’s approval ratings stagnated and Mr. Trump’s popularity rose, but the indictments themselves also correlated with upticks in the polls.

Many Republicans and supporters of Mr. Trump have repeated the “election interference” reasoning, and cast doubt on the legality of the charges brought against Mr. Trump.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday he doesn’t see how former President Donald Trump could be found criminally responsible for the Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I don’t see how he could be found criminally responsible,” Mr. McCarthy said. “What criminal activity did he do? He told people to be peaceful.”

Reuters contributed to this report.