Michael Cohen accuses Trump of ongoing intimidation campaign after latest subpoena

The latest subpoena from Donald Trump's legal team demanding witness and the former president's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen turn over phones and other equipment is part of a pattern of attacks designed to use the legal system to intimidate, Cohen said Thursday.

The Daily Beast reported that Trump's team had demanded Cohen turn over "documents and communications [regarding aspects of the case] ...that are stored on any medium under your possession or control, including but not limited to phones (including encrypted messaging applications), tablets, computers, and hard copy,"

Cohen responded that the lawyers should be punished for filing such a wide-ranging and frivolous subpoeana.

"The subpoena duces tecum, filed by Donald, is nothing less than the continuation of his abusive use of the Courts and his relentless pursuit of harassment and intimidation against me," he said.

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"Along with the District Attorney, my counsel Danya Perry, Esquire will be filing a motion to quash which we expect to be granted expeditiously. Donald and his counsel need to be sanctioned and fined for their, yet again, frivolous action.”

But he said the latest filing is just the latest in a long list of legal actions Trump has taken against him.

Most notably, Trump had filed a $500 million lawsuit against Cohen in Florida, claiming "multiple breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and breaches of contract by virtue of Defendant’s past service as Plaintiff’s employee and attorney."

Trump was set to appear for a deposition in that case on Oct. 9, after dodging it three times. When it was time to appear on Oct. 9, his lawyers told the judge that he couldn't make it because his New York fraud trial needed his in-person attention.

"The interesting part of the scenario is that Donald is the plaintiff. Who ever heard of a defendant having to try to force a plaintiff to proceed with a lawsuit? Especially one for $500 million!" Cohen told MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Oct. 1.

In the New York case, Trump did appear in court for a few hours — but then left, neglecting the rest of the week of proceedings.

It put Trump at odds with the Florida judge. Cohen called Trump out for the reason he wasn't present at his case, saying it could cause him legal trouble. The lawsuit was soon after dropped.

While on trial in the New York fraud case, Trump has spent time sending social media posts attacking Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron — and prosecution witness Cohen. According to Trump, he's proved that Cohen "lied" in court because Cohen said he pleaded guilty to crimes in a confession he now says was forced upon him.

Cohen tells a tale of being given just 48 hours to plead guilty otherwise he was told the Department of Justice would come after his wife with a lawsuit against her.

When asked on the stand during the New York Trial if he lied during his plea deal, Cohen said he did. He said, however, that he didn't lie to Congress when he gave testimony to members about Trump's business dealings.

Cohen's testimony to the House Oversight Committee was consistent with what he said in court — and Trump ally, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) this week used the opportunity to demand a criminal investigation into Cohen for "lying to Congress."

“Michael D. Cohen appears to have committed perjury,” Stefanik's letter, dated Nov. 14, reads. "That Mr. Cohen was willing to openly and brazenly state at trial that he lied to Congress on this specific issue is startling.”

Just two days later, Trump is coming after Cohen again.

A subpoena to appear before the New York County Supreme Court was revealed Thursday. Trump's lawyers demanded that Cohen appear to turn over documents, data, and communication as part of the lawsuit from New York County against Trump personally. The info Trump wants includes a time when Cohen wasn't working for Trump. While this could be requested as part of his civil suit against Cohen, it is something New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg called another attempt to harass a witness.

In Fulton County, District Attorney Fani Willis asked for bail to be revoked for Harrison Floyd after he went on the attack against some of the co-defendants in the case, who made plea deals already. Floyd railed against them during a podcast. He then promoted the podcast online.

Attacking potential witnesses is a violation of the bail agreement for Floyd, as well as for Trump, in Fulton County, Georgia. Witnesses in Trump's New York trials have not been given the same protections.

It's unclear if Bragg is willing to step up and request simpler protections being used by Fulton County. In the meantime, Cohen told Raw Story that Trump's legal filings against him add up in legal fees.

Over the decades, dragging perceived enemies into court has been a frequently used tactic of Trump's. After biographer Tim O'Brien wrote a book that downplayed Trump's net worth, he launched a lawsuit for $5 billion against the author and publisher. Trump claimed that O'Brien's low estimate destroyed his reputation and cost business deals. The suit was dismissed, but not without O'Brien paying legal fees for his side.

Trump has sued CNN for Defamation (for $475 million). He sued Hillary Clinton and about 30 other defendants for $24 million in damages, claiming the "fake Russia" scandal and investigation defamed him.

Both suits were dismissed, and in the second case, Trump and his lawyer were charged nearly $1 million for filing a frivolous lawsuit.