Michael Cohen wants Trump and his family deposed in lawsuit over legal costs

Michael Cohen wants to see Donald Trump in court after he has left office to testify as part of a lawsuit he filed against the Trump Organisation in 2019.

The president’s former personal lawyer and “fixer” is suing his ex-boss for almost $2m in legal bills he accrued through his involvement in the probes by special counsel Robert Mueller and the congressional investigations into Mr Trump.

Court papers seen by The New York Post show that the president will be deposed as a witness in the case in which Cohen claims that Mr Trump’s company agreed to indemnify him for all legal costs.

Eric Trump, the president’s second son and executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, was due to testify on Monday in the case.

Cohen “has not sought Mr Trump’s deposition while he is serving as President of the United States, but believes his deposition will be appropriate when he is no longer serving in that office (especially if he returns to a position at the Trump Organisation),” papers filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday said.

Lawyers for the company believe that deposing Mr Trump is “unnecessary and excessive” and would require a subpoena as he is not a defendant in the case.

Mr Trump leaves office on 20 January and faces a potential slew of legal difficulties in New York’s courts including investigations into his financial dealings and a defamation case brought against him by writer E Jean Carroll.

Cohen is currently serving a three-year sentence for lying to Congress, tax evasion, and campaign finance violations.

He is under home confinement after being allowed out of prison because of concerns regarding coronavirus.

Since parting company with his former boss, Cohen has released an explosive book about his time with the Trumps and an accompanying podcast in which he and former administration figures talk candidly about their time in the White House.

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