Michael Cohen Drops His Libel Suits Over The Steele Dossier

Trump attorney Michael Cohen was suing Fusion GPS and Buzzfeed for libel over the Steele Dossier, but after the FBI raid, he dropped his lawsuits.

Read the biggest developments from Michael Cohen's testimony.

Politico reported:
Cohen abandoned the suits late Wednesday as he continues to fight to recover documents and electronic files seized from his home, office and hotel room last week by federal authorities as part of what appears to be a broad criminal investigation into his conduct.

“The decision to voluntarily discontinue these cases was a difficult one,” Cohen’s attorney David Schwartz said. “We believe the defendants defamed my client, and vindicating Mr. Cohen’s rights was — and still remains — important. But given the events that have unfolded, and the time, attention, and resources needed to prosecute these matters, we have dismissed the matters, despite their merits.”

Cohen had to drop the lawsuits, or he would risk being questioned and having to turn over evidence that might undercut his defense in the criminal investigation of his activities. If Cohen had moved forward with the libel suit, he would have made it even easier for investigators to gather more evidence of his criminal activities.

Trump’s fixer has been neutralized and is boxed in. Michael Cohen is probably going to get charged with a laundry list of crimes which could send the president’s lawyer to prison for a very long time. Libel has a high legal threshold, so it is unlikely that Cohen would have won his lawsuit, even if he would have moved forward with them. The Trump crowd has used nuisance litigation for decades as a way to bully and silence those around them, but with the bully’s fixer looking at potentially spending the rest of his life in prison, Trump increasingly has less of an organization and more a collection of inmates.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association