CNN —
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by former Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen. He accused the former president of retaliating against Trump for promoting a major exposé.
The justices declined to hear the case without comment, leaving in place a lower court’s ruling dismissing Cohen’s case.
In 2021, Cohen sued Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and other federal officials for allegedly retaliating against him for public comments he made about the book. After initially being released during the pandemic, Cohen was remanded in solitary confinement for more than two weeks after he refused to sign an agreement barring him from speaking to the media, according to court records.
A U.S. district court dismissed Mr. Cohen’s suit for damages, and the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in January.
Underscoring the uphill battle Cohen faced, both the Trump and Biden administrations asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Cohen’s appeal. Trump’s lawyers said the lawsuit is “absolutely without merit.” The Justice Department said Cohen has not made a “meaningful effort to show that the legal issues raised in this case recur in other cases,” and that Cohen’s claims therefore negate the court’s role. “It’s outside the mainstream,” he said.
Mr. Cohen also faced high hurdles set by the Supreme Court that make it difficult for Americans to sue federal law enforcement. The 1971 Supreme Court decision, Bivens v. Six Unknowns, established that people could sue federal officials if their rights were violated. But courts are reluctant to extend that right beyond very limited circumstances.
Cohen was serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to nine charges, including campaign finance violations related to payments he made or orchestrated to women during his 2016 campaign. He was released from prison on furlough in 2020 during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cohen said that when he met with his probation officers later that year, he was presented with an agreement requiring him to refrain from interacting with the media and using social media. After Cohen asked for changes to the terms of the agreement, he was returned to prison and held in solitary confinement for 16 days, according to court records.
A federal court ultimately ordered Cohen’s release several days after his interaction with correctional staff.
CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.
