Lawyers for the Trump Organization and former Trump attorney and self-described “fixer” Michael Cohen have settled a lawsuit brought by Cohen against his former employer for a reported $990,000.
The settlement was reached just days before the case was set to go to trial, and less than two weeks after Cohen’s legal team had subpoenaed Trump Organization Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr., son of the former President, to testify.
Cohen had originally sued in 2019. He was seeking to have the Trump Organization pay for his defense of then-President Trump and himself in 2017 and 2018, along with expenses related to some 20 meetings Cohen undertook with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and a New York grand jury regarding Cohen’s role in role in paying “hush money” ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.
Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 for arranging a nondisclosure agreement for which he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000, a campaign contribution violation during the 2016 election cycle, since the payment was made in service of the Trump campaign and exceeded the federal limit.
In April Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy for his role in the payments of hush money to Daniels and another woman during the 2016 campaign season.
At a hearing Friday, Cohen attorney Hunter Winstead and Trump Organization attorney James D. Kiley said they had agreed on terms for a settlement, though it was not yet finalized and the details will be kept confidential. However, the reported sum of the settlement is $990,000.
A separate lawsuit that former President Trump filed against Cohen in Florida federal court remains active. Trump has accused his former attorney of revealing confidences and “spreading falsehoods” related to the Manhattan hush money case. Cohen is expected to be a star witness when that Manhattan case goes to trial.
