'Pure retaliation': Michael Cohen torches Trump’s 'vindictive' $500 million lawsuit against him

Former President Donald Trump's previous lawyer is criticizing a massive lawsuit filed against him by the former president's current legal team.

According to Reuters, Michael Cohen — now facing a staggering $500 million lawsuit — is asking a federal judge to dismiss the suit arguing that it is an "abusive act of pure retaliation and witness intimidation."

On Monday, May 8, Cohen's legal team filed a motion in a Miami federal court insisting that the former president's lawsuit was the "worst of Mr. Trump's vindictive impulses." It was also argued that the timing of his legal move was not coincidental.

Trump's lawsuit, which was filed on April 12, was "eight days after pleading not guilty to 34 criminal charges from the Manhattan district attorney's office over a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election," the news outlet reports.

Since Cohen was working as Trump's attorney at the time and made payments to Daniels on his behalf, he is expected to be a key witness in the upcoming case.

Attorneys have insisted that the six-figure payout to Daniels was intended to silence her about the alleged affair she'd had with the former president, an allegation he still denies.

The latest development follows numerous reports about Trump's entanglement with Daniels and the role Cohen played in diffusing discussions about the alleged affair. Although Cohen was initially a supporter of the former president, they ultimately severed ties as a result of the ongoing legal battles they've faced in the aftermath of the case involving Daniels.