Trump Private Lawyer Sues Buzzfeed Over Russian Dossier
United States President Donald J. Trump's private lawyer, Michael Cohen, is suing BuzzFeed for publishing the Russian dossier which defamed him.
Cohen filed a defamation lawsuit against Buzzfeed and the research firm that produced the Russian dossier — Fusion GPS and founder Glenn Simpson — for releasing the 35-page document which he claims made false allegations against him, CNN reports.
In the lawsuit filed last Tuesday in the New York state court, Cohen states that even though Buzzfeed claimed that the dossier had unverified information, they failed to clarify the reports with him.
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Cohen also claimed that Fusion GPS was reckless with the Russian dossier by allowing the media, who had the intention of creating breaking news about President Trump's candidacy, to have access to it.
Aside from the Fusion GPS and its founder, the state-level lawsuit has filed Buzzfeed editor in chief Ben Smith, reporter Ken Bensinger, and editors Miriam Elder and Mark Schoofs as the defendants.
Cohen stated in his lawsuit that the dossier made false claims about his family ties to Russia, also denying that he flew over there to meet with certain government officials. These allegations have affected Cohen's career.
"Although no amount of money can ever remedy the damage that has been sustained by Mr. Cohen, we will be seeking maximum damages for the lies contained in the so-called dossier," David Schwartz, the lawyer representing Cohen, said in a statement.
Schwartz is also confident that the court will rule by his client once the facts have been collected. Cohen shares his lawyer's statement.
"It will be proven that I had no involvement in this Russian collusion conspiracy. My name was included only because of my proximity to the president," Cohen revealed in an interview with Bloomberg.
However, Buzzfeed remains strong in battling with Cohen in court in regards to the Russian dossier.
"This is not the first time Trump's personal lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court," Buzzfeed spokesperson Matt Mittenthal said.
