Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen has petitioned the Supreme Court to reinstate his lawsuit against the ex-president, claiming retaliation over his tell-all book.
Cohen’s 2021 lawsuit targeted Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and other federal officials for alleged reprisals linked to his public remarks in the book, according to CNN.
After refusing to sign an agreement that would bar him from media interactions, Cohen was re-incarcerated and spent over two weeks in solitary confinement, according to court documents.
However, a U.S. District Court dismissed Cohen’s damages suit, a decision upheld by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in January.
“When Cohen, who was writing a book critical of Trump, did not agree immediately to waive his right to free speech, he was summarily sent back to prison and thrown into solitary confinement,” Cohen’s lawyer argued in a Supreme Court appeal filed Wednesday.
“As it stands, this case represents the principle that presidents and their subordinates can lock away critics of the executive without consequence.”
To proceed, Cohen must overcome stringent legal precedents that complicate lawsuits against federal law enforcement officials.
The 1971 Supreme Court ruling in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents allows individuals to sue federal agents for rights violations, but subsequent rulings have restricted this right to specific situations.
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday, Cohen likened himself to a “political prisoner” detained for not relinquishing a constitutional right.
“I believe that it’s incumbent upon the Supreme Court of the United States to hear this case,” Cohen said on “The Source.”
The top court may decide in the fall whether to hear arguments in Cohen’s appeal.
He urged caution in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity, which critics argue could protect illegal actions by a president, such as targeting political adversaries, from prosecution.
Cohen, who pleaded guilty to nine charges including campaign finance violations related to payments during the 2016 campaign, was serving a three-year sentence. He was furloughed from prison in 2020 during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Later that year, probation officers presented Cohen with an agreement prohibiting media and social media engagement.
After Cohen attempted to amend this agreement, he was re-incarcerated and spent 16 days in solitary confinement, court records show.
Trump’s legal team dismissed Cohen’s allegations as “meritless,” arguing he failed to demonstrate any link between Trump and the agreement.
A federal court subsequently ordered Cohen’s release.
