Donald Trump is suing his former lawyer Michael Cohen for more than $500m (£400m), according to a Florida court filing.
The former American president is filing a lawsuit against Mr Cohen after he testified before a grand jury which later charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The 76-year-old, who is the first current or former US president to be charged with a crime, pleaded not guilty to the counts.
He also denied any involvement in a conspiracy for his alleged role in hush money payments to two women towards the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Mr Cohen, who was Trump’s “fixer”, is now facing a lawsuit which accuses him of violating his attorney-client privilege with the former president.
It claims Mr Cohen spread “falsehoods” and revealed “confidences” in media appearances, podcasts and books including wrongfully calling Trump “racist” in Disloyal – his 2020 memoir reflecting on his time under Trump as his lawyer.
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Cohen was loyal to Trump until 2019 when he testified before a US congressional committee.
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He said: “I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.”
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Mr Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating federal election law by paying $130,000 (£104,000) to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election, was sentenced to three years in prison, for that and other crimes.
He is set to be the key witness in the Stormy Daniels case should it come to trial.
