WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Donald Trump sued his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday seeking at least $500 million in damages, as the former U.S. president steps up attacks on his onetime loyal "fixer" after Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Miami, Trump accused Cohen of failing to keep confidential attorney-client communications private and profiting by "spreading falsehoods" about him in books and podcasts.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen, called Trump's lawsuit "frivolous." Trump often over the years has filed suits against various adversaries.
"Mr. Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation against Michael Cohen," Davis said.
The lawsuit comes as Cohen, who once said he would "do anything" to protect Trump, appears poised to become a star witness against him at a possible criminal trial in New York on the charges unsealed last week. Trump, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. It marked the first time a former U.S. president was charged with a crime.
Prosecutors led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, have said Trump covered up his reimbursement of Cohen for $130,000 in hush money paid before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, who has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denies that any such relationship occurred.
Trump's lawsuit said Cohen wrongfully called Trump "racist" in the disbarred lawyer's 2020 book, entitled "Disloyal," and fabricated conversations with Trump from when he served as his attorney.
"The timing of Disloyal's release, just prior to the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election, suggests that (Cohen) intended to improperly disclose (Trump's) confidences when it would be most lucrative to do so - and while Disloyal would be sure to have the most damaging reputational effect," the lawsuit said.
Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
