Former Trump Lawyer's Suit To Stop A Rogue President From 'Weaponizing' Justice Department Dismissed By Appeals Court

A federal appeals court dismissed Donald Trump‘s erstwhile lawyer, Michael Cohen‘s retaliation lawsuit against the former president on Tuesday.

What Happened: Cohen had sued Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and several Justice Department officials, claiming that they violated his constitutional rights by sending him back to prison after he publicly criticized Trump, CNN reported.

Directly echoing a previous lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained that Supreme Court precedent does not allow Cohen to seek damages as a remedy.

Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, argued that Cohen’s remedy was his release from prison, and the court’s decision to grant this release would serve as a deterrent.

"The complaint itself does not have facts that Trump did it. It's a Michael Cohen assumption," she said.

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Meanwhile, Cohen’s lawyer, Jon Dougherty, maintained that the lawsuit was necessary to hold Trump and future presidents accountable. Dougherty told the court that "remedy of damages provides necessary deterrence so presidents cannot use prisons as a threat against their critics."

Despite the dismissal, Cohen announced his intentions to take his case to the Supreme Court. Habba, in response, branded the lawsuit as “frivolous” and expressed satisfaction over the court’s decision.

"The outcome is wrong if democracy is to prevail," Cohen said.

"A writ of habeas corpus cannot be the only consequence to stop a rogue president from weaponizing the Department of Justice from locking up his/her critics in prison because they refuse to waive their first amendment right. We will be filing a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court," he added.

Why It Matters: This lawsuit is the latest chapter in a fraught history between Trump and Cohen. In December, Cohen publicly accused Trump of making racist and antisemitic remarks. “He is playing to the lowest denominator of Americans that exist in this country.”

Cohen also suggested that Trump is capitalizing on his indictments to both provoke his base and generate income.

Last week, Cohen admitted to using Google Bard to cite non-existent legal cases to his legal counsel, David M. Schwartz, who then relayed these cases in submissions to a federal court.

Photo Courtesy: Evan El-Amin On Shutterstock.com

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