President Donald Trump‘s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is no longer suing BuzzFeed and FusionGPS for defamation, a case he filed just four months ago.
In his lawsuit and on Twitter, Cohen called the Steele dossier a lie-filled document that brought “harm to his personal and professional reputation [and] current business interests.”
Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier. Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 10, 2018
But a recent report from McClatchy cast doubt on Cohen’s ardent stance that the dossier was inaccurate, especially its claim that Cohen went to Prague to meet with Russian officials in the runup to the 2016 election. McClatchy said Special Counsel Robert Mueller has evidence that Cohen traveled to Prague through Germany.
McClatchy’s reporting has not been confirmed by any other news organizations.
Cohen vehemently denied it when the report came out, tweeting a picture of his passport, which he said would prove he’d never been to Prague.
I have never been to Prague in my life. #fakenews pic.twitter.com/CMil9Rha3D
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 11, 2017
Cohen’s lawyer David Schwartz told Politico that the decision to withdraw the lawsuit did not change Cohen’s stance that the dossier defames him.
“We believe the defendants defamed my client and vindicating Mr. Cohen’s rights was—and still remains—important. But given the events that have unfolded, and the time, attention, and resources needed to prosecute these matters, we have dismissed the matters, despite their merits,” Schwartz said.
H/T Politico