Former President Trump filed to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit against Michael Cohen on Thursday evening, court documents show.
The sudden twist comes just days before Trump was set to sit for a deposition in the case.
Trump sued Cohen, his longtime attorney and fixer, in April for $500 million over accusations that Cohen maliciously worked to acquire attention and wealth at Trump’s expense, in particular taking aim at his book, podcast and many media appearances.
“Trump didn’t want no smoke,” Benjamin Brodsky, Cohen’s attorney, told The Hill.
The lawsuit was filed just days after Trump was indicted in New York on 34 criminal counts over reimbursements he made to Cohen for a 2016 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Trump pleaded not guilty.
Cohen is expected to be a key witness in the prosecutors’ case, which is set to go to trial in late March. Trump this week filed a motion to dismiss the charges; he also faces three other criminal indictments.
Trump in the lawsuit claimed Cohen breached his contract, among other claims, alleging he has regularly revealed information that was deemed confidential by the nature of their attorney-client relationship, with Trump further claiming that significant portions of Cohen’s claims were false.
Cohen has turned against his former boss, regularly attacking him on the airwaves and social media.
Though the lawsuit did not mention Trump’s New York indictment directly, the claims include Cohen’s statements about the hush payment arrangement at the center of that case.
Cohen is also a potential witness in Trump’s ongoing New York civil fraud trial.
Trump was scheduled to sit for a deposition in his lawsuit against Cohen on Monday. It was originally slated for this week but was delayed so Trump could travel to Manhattan for the fraud trial.
Cohen in July had settled for an undisclosed amount in his lawsuit with the Trump Organization over accusations that they owed Cohen $1.3 million in legal fees.
In a statement to The Hill, a Trump spokesperson said the pause is temporary and is a result of the former president’s busy schedule.
“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 D.C., Florida, and Georgia, as well as continuing his winning campaign, where he is leading the Republicans by 60 points and Crooked Joe Biden by 11 points, to serve as our next President of the United States, President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen.”
The statement continued, “Once President 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.”
Updated at 9:58 p.m. ET