NEW YORK _ Longtime Trump fixer Michael Cohen is ready to bite the hand that wouldn't cover his legal costs.
Cohen, in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing, charged Thursday that the Trump Organization reneged on a July 2017 agreement to cover his multimillion-dollar attorneys' fees and costs in connection with investigations of President Donald Trump.
He's seeking close to $4 million from the president's business operation.
The lengthy legal filing maintains the deal remains in effect even through Trump and his associate of 13 years are now on opposite sides of the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
"The indemnification agreement imposes on each party a duty of good faith and fair dealing in its performance and enforcement," the court papers state.
"After it became clear that Mr. Cohen would cooperate ... the Trump Organization took steps to thwart Mr. Cohen's ability to receive amounts he was entitled to."
Cohen pleaded guilty in August to tax crimes, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Cohen maintains the agreement should cover an estimated $1.9 million in legal fees and another $1.9 million in forfeitures or payments as part of his criminal sentence in the probe.
"All of these amounts were subject to the Trump Organization's indemnification agreement," Cohen's papers state. "By failing to pay ... the Trump Organization has breached the agreement."
The complaint was filed after the Trump Organization ignored a Jan. 25 letter from Cohen asking for reimbursement owed under the deal.
While Cohen's initial legal costs of $1.7 million were covered through June 2018, things changed once the longtime Trump lawyer flipped and became a cooperating witness.
At about the same time, "the Trump Organization ceased to pay (the legal fees and costs) without notice of justification," the court papers alleged.
Cohen's legal representation by the firm of McDermott Will & Emery disappeared along with the Trump money, according to the court documents. The firm is still owed just over $1 million for its efforts on Cohen's behalf.
The 22-page filing acknowledges the deal was signed when "the Trump Organization and Mr. Cohen were pursuing pursuant to a 'joint defense' with respect to the investigation and other matters."
But Cohen maintains the now-adversarial relationship doesn't affect the pre-existing legal agreement.
Both Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric assured Cohen in December 2017 that the deal remained in effect despite the Trump Organization's repeated delays in paying his attorneys' fees and expenses," the court papers charge.
Cohen is seeking reimbursement for his costs along with unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
