Trump ‘temporarily’ drops lawsuit against his former lawyer

Donald Trump has dropped his 500 million dollar (£410 million) lawsuit against Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who is now a key witness in a criminal case against him.

Mr Cohen and a spokesperson for the former president confirmed the move on Thursday, but Mr Trump did not waive his right to sue again.

Mr Trump had accused Mr Cohen of “spreading falsehoods… with malicious intent” and causing “vast reputational harm” for talking publicly about hush-money payments, made to women during the 2016 campaign, which are at the heart of criminal charges he faces in New York.

He has also accused Mr Cohen of breaking a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of his employment.

The former president and Republican front-runner’s decision comes days before he was set to give a deposition in the suit brought in April in Florida.

That testimony was originally set for Tuesday, but Mr Trump rescheduled so he could attend the first three days of a civil fraud trial against him in New York.

Mr Cohen is likely to testify in that trial next week.

A spokesperson said Mr Trump had decided “to temporarily pause” the suit against Mr Cohen as he mounts another campaign for the White House and fights criminal charges in four separate jurisdictions, but said he would refile at a later date.

A statement said: “Given that President Trump is required to sit for deposition in a civil matter on Columbus Day, when he is scheduled to be in the Great State of New Hampshire, and while the president is fighting against the meritless claims that have been lodged against him in New York, Washington DC, Florida, and Georgia, as well as continuing his winning campaign… President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen.”

The spokesperson added that once Mr Trump “has prevailed in dealing with the witch hunts against him, he will continue to pursue his claims against Michael Cohen, who rightfully deserves to, and will be held accountable for his unlawful words and actions just as the Southern District of New York held him accountable for numerous non-Trump related acts and crimes, making Cohen a very ‘proud’ felon.”

Mr Cohen celebrated the decision, calling the suit “nothing more than a retaliatory intimidation tactic.”

“Mr Trump’s cowardly dismissal spells the end of this latest attempt to deter me from providing truthful testimony against him,” he said in a statement.

“My legal team and I now look forward to turning our full attention to holding Mr Trump accountable for his latest abuse of the legal system. More to come.”

The lawsuit, filed in Miami, had offered a preview of arguments that are sure to be featured in Mr Trump’s defence against charges that he falsified internal business records to disguise payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters.

Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing.