Trump lawyer Michael Cohen withdraws defamation suits over Russia dossier
Michael Cohen./<a href=https://www.shutterstock.com/g/jstone”>JStone (Shutterstock.com).
President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has withdrawn defamation lawsuits against the company that created the Russia dossier and the website that published it.
Cohen’s lawyer, David Schwartz, said in a statement that the suits were withdrawn because Cohen no longer has time for them, report the Wall Street Journal, Politico and the Washington Post. The FBI raided Cohen’s office, home and hotel room on April 9.
Cohen had filed the suits against Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed News in January. The unverified dossier had claimed Cohen had traveled to Prague to meet with Russian officials and he had developed contingency plans to hide cash payments to Russian hackers. “None of the allegations are true in the slightest,” the suits had claimed.
Schwartz’s statement said he still believes Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed defamed Cohen. “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,” he said.
