Michael Cohen is asking the Supreme Court to take on former President Donald Trump after a federal appeals court rejected his attempt to seek damages for an arrest that another judge called an act of retaliation.
In Wednesday’s filing, Cohen sought review of a Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that denied Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other Justice Department officials charges of kicking him. in jail because he refused to write a book criticizing Trump.
“It’s a business of first impressions,” Cohen said. “No president should ever be allowed to arm the Justice Department through a willing and complicit attorney general to unconstitutionally incarcerate a citizen (in solitary confinement). They refused to waive their First Amendment rights. This is a situation ripe for SCOTUS.
Cohen is asking the Supreme Court to appeal Bivens precedent that allowed some lawsuits against federal officials. Bivens’ claims have been nearly impossible to obtain since recent Supreme Court decisions overturned an earlier decision. An NBC News investigation found.
Cohen’s lawsuit claims that his case should be treated as a Bivens lawsuit because of “a federal judge’s decision that found that the president’s most public critic was imprisoned in retaliation for attempting to speak and write about the president.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor extended Cohen’s filing deadline from June to July 10.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York found that Cohen was arrested in retaliation for trying to speak out and publish his book. He ordered Cohen’s release and ordered the government not to arrest him again.
A district judge ruled against Cohen’s attempt to sue Trump and other officials, finding that Supreme Court precedent did not allow him to pursue damages, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ruling that his recent release was sufficient to satisfy his claims. Circuit Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Cohen’s lawsuit, acknowledging that his rights were violated, but said Supreme Court precedent did not allow him to move forward with the case.
“This case represents the principle that presidents and their subordinates can shut down critics of the executive branch without consequence,” Cohen said on MSNBC’s “Deadline: The White House.” He threw off the yoke of the monarch who arrested Wilkes.”
Cohen served as the star witness in Trump’s hush money trial in New York, during which a jury convicted the former president of falsifying 34 case documents related to hush money payments to a porn actress in the run-up to the 2016 election.
Cohen paints a grim picture of what he expects to happen in Trump’s second term. “He’s absolutely capable of anything and everything, regardless of what he tells you, he’s going to have unlimited power,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “You’re taking your mind to the furthest level of dystopia and then finally getting a little glimpse of how far he’s going to take it.”
Cohen’s attorney, Jon Michael Dougherty, says Trump and other presidents should be held accountable. “This is one of the most un-American acts of executive abuse imaginable. The reason we need such a tool is to ensure that every official at every level of government can order the arrest and detention of critics for refusing to remain silent.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba called the lawsuit frivolous: “We are very pleased with today’s decision.” “Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit has failed since its inception. We will continue to fight any frivolous claims against our client.”