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Trump Organization Urges Judge to Toss Cohen Suit for Legal Fees

Trump Organization Urges Judge to Toss Cohen Suit for Legal Fees

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump Organization asked a judge to throw out Michael Cohen’s lawsuit in which he seeks reimbursement for legal fees he incurred defending himself in numerous investigations, saying he’s hoping for a "payday" as he prepares to serve a three-year prison sentence.

The organization said in a filing Monday that it had no contract with Cohen, who suddenly claims a “self-serving” agreement requires his former employer to not only pay all his legal fees, but also pay all the underlying fines, restitution, and forfeiture resulting from his personal guilty pleas.

Cohen "alleges that a fictitious ‘contract’ bound Trump Org. to write him a blank check to cover every conceivable expense ad infinitum -- unlimited as to duration, scope, amount or condition -- in connection with his legal woes," the organization said. "Incredibly, this even includes, according to the complaint, paying his back taxes."

Cohen sued the organization last month in state court in New York, saying it promised to reimburse him for his legal costs and then stopped paying when he decided to cooperate with prosecutors.

Trump’s former self-professed "fixer" has pleaded guilty to nine felonies stemming from a federal probe into campaign violations and other crimes and turned on the president, accusing him of lying about his business interests in Russia and being a “con man.” Cohen is seeking at least $1.9 million in legal fees and another $1.9 million in penalties.

The case is Cohen v. Trump Organization LLC, 651377/2019, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.