- Michael Cohen will be deposed Monday in a lawsuit alleging Donald Trump sicced security on Trump Tower protesters.
- Trump swore under oath he had nothing to do with the protest; Cohen now says he'll rebut that claim.
- The dueling depositions — Trump's and Cohen's — will be played at trial next month in the Bronx.
Donald Trump fixer-turned critic Michael Cohen will tape a video deposition Monday rebutting the former president's sworn account of a violent, 2015 protest outside Trump Tower, according to a new court filing.
As part of an upcoming, New York City civil trial, Trump had sworn in a deposition saying he had nothing to do with his security getting rough with protesters back in September 2015.
But on Wednesday, Cohen filed a letter with the judge in the case, confirming that he is a witness to Trump's actions that day and that he will tape his own deposition on Monday.
Cohen's letter takes a swipe at Trump's years-long failure to tell the protesters' lawyers that Cohen was there with Trump on the day of the protest, as the protesters' side has only recently learned.
And court filings reveal that Cohen plans to refute Trump's account of having nothing to do with his security personnel punching protesters and taking their signs.
Cohen was at Trump's side upstairs in Trump Tower and saw Trump order his top security guard, Keith Schiller, to "get rid" of the protesters, their lawyer has alleged in court documents.
Both Trump's deposition and Cohen's opposing deposition will be played for a Bronx jury — in lieu of their in-person testimony — at a trial now scheduled to begin June 20.
Four protesters and the estate of a fifth, all of Mexican heritage, allege in the lawsuit that Trump is personally responsible for their being attacked by security as they held parody "Make America Racist Again" signs to protest the then-presidential candidate calling immigrants from Mexico drug dealers and rapists.
"It is noteworthy that the defendants were aware of my presence at, during, and after the incident," Cohen wrote in the letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez, who sits in the Bronx, "and their decision not to exchange my name as a witness (likely because what I witnessed was adverse to their interest) ... should not be endorsed."
Cohen also used the letter to take a swipe at Trump's attorney, Alina Habba. As Insider first reported, Cohen had blown off what he called a "defective" subpoena from Habba compelling him to sit for a deposition on May 2.
In his letter, Cohen noted that Habba's subpoena failed to say what he would be questioned about.
"I have no legal obligation to comply with a subpoena when there is no clarification as to why I am being asked to participate," Cohen told Insider Wednesday.
He declined to describe the details of what he will be testifying to on Monday, but he has previously told Insider that during his time as Trump's "fixer," Trump, "was involved in every aspect of the Trump Organization, regardless of how big or small the matter."
In the letter, Cohen also mocked another filing in which Habba "outrageously" signed her own name at the bottom, in the space where the judge's signature should be.
Habba, meanwhile, has called Cohen "a former disgruntled employee of the Trump Organization" with "a long and well-documented disdain for Mr. Trump." She could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night.
Portions of Trump's own deposition were released last week by the protesters' lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, as part of a filing describing why Cohen's deposition is necessary to the case.
It included Trump's strange musings on the threat that "dangerous" fruits could be thrown at him by protesters.
"Mr. Cohen's letter to the court confirms what we have suspected — that Defendants failed to identify Mr. Cohen as a witness with information adverse to their defenses," Dictor said Wednesday night when asked for comment.
"This is a serious violation of Defendant Trump's discovery obligations. We look forward to examining Mr. Cohen for trial."