The Highest Court dismisses Michael Cohen's appeal, alleging retribution from Trump.
Without making any statements, the judges chose not to entertain the case, maintaining the judgments from lower courts that dismissed Cohen's lawsuit.
In 2021, Cohen filed a lawsuit against Trump, Barr, and other government officials, accusing them of retaliation due to public comments he made about a book. After refusing to sign an order prohibiting media interactions, Cohen was re-incarcerated - following an initial release during the pandemic - and subjected to solitary confinement for over two weeks, as court records indicate.
A US District Court dismissed Cohen's lawsuit seeking damages, and in January, the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this ruling.
Facing an arduous task, both Trump and the Biden administration urged the Supreme Court to reject Cohen's appeal. Trump's legal team labeled the case "completely devoid of merit." The Department of Justice argued that Cohen failed to convincingly demonstrate that the legal issues in question recurred in other cases, making his claim unconventional and outside the typical scope of the court's role.
Moreover, Cohen confronted a significant challenge presented by the Supreme Court, which makes it challenging for any American to file a lawsuit against federal law enforcement. The 1971 Supreme Court decision, Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, allowed individuals to sue federal agents for violations of their rights. However, the court has been reluctant to expand this privilege beyond a narrow set of situations.
Cohen admitted guilt to nine charges, including those related to campaign finance violations related to payments made or arranged to women during the 2016 election campaign, and was serving a three-year sentence in prison. He was granted temporary release from prison in 2020 during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a meeting with probation officials later that year, Cohen claimed they offered him an agreement that prohibited him from engaging with the media and using social media. After Cohen attempted to alter the terms of this agreement, he was taken back to prison and held in solitary confinement for 16 days, as documented by court records.
Eventually, a federal court ordered Cohen's release a few days following his interaction with corrections officials.
Contribution by CNN's Kara Scannell to this report.
Despite the ongoing legal battles, Cohen's interest in politics didn't wane. He continued to make public comments, often criticizing the Trump administration, which led to further implications in his case.
Regardless of the political landscape, the Supreme Court's stance on allowing lawsuits against federal law enforcement remains a significant barrier in such cases like Cohen's.
