Donald Trump's former lawyer-turned-enemy, Michael Cohen, wants the Supreme Court to let him sue Trump for alleged government retaliation during the Trump administration.
Cohen claims that he served part of his federal prison sentence in solitary confinement because he criticized Trump in a tell-all book.
In 2018, Cohen pled guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance charges, and lying to Congress. He was sentenced to three years in prison, serving over a year in jail before getting released to home confinement during COVID.
But Cohen wasn't out long before he was brought to solitary confinement, where he spent 16 days.
The government accused Cohen of rejecting terms of his release, but Cohen has accused the Trump administration of political persecution.
A federal judge ruled that Cohen faced "retaliation" and ordered him released, but Cohen continued to press the matter, suing Trump and his Justice Department for damages. An appeals court in January found that Cohen could not claim damages under the law, leading him to petition the Supreme Court.
"The issue is whether the government can revoke a prisoner's approved release to home confinement as punishment for his speech criticizing the president and to prevent further such speech," his lawyer, Jon-Michael Dougherty, wrote in a Supreme Court brief.
Cohen has accused Trump of weaponizing the government against him, echoing a charge Trump has levied at Democrats in a host of criminal and civil cases.
"It is about the exercise of a type of power with which the Founders were well-acquainted and against which they fought a war for independence," Cohen's lawyer wrote. "It involves the sitting President personally and unlawfully intervening to hold a United States citizen in prison for criticizing him."
Despite his criminal past, Cohen resurfaced as the star witness in Trump's "hush money" criminal trial this year. Trump was convicted of "falsifying business records" for labeling reimbursement checks to Cohen - who paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels - as legal fees.
During the trial, Trump's lawyers painted Cohen as an aggrieved witness with a financial stake in Trump's destruction. Cohen faced scrutiny at the time for blasting Trump in paid TikTok videos.
Cohen celebrated the verdict, which Trump has sought to overturn, citing the Supreme Court's historic immunity ruling. Trump's sentencing in the case has been delayed until after the presidential election.
