Michael Cohen's retaliation suit against Trump rejected at Supreme Court

• The lawsuit was the latest twist in the acrimonious relationship between Trump and Cohen, who was a key witness in the hush money case that saw Trump convicted on 34 felony counts.

Catch up quick: Cohen was serving a three-year prison sentence from home confinement during the pandemic in 2020, but he claims he was returned to prison and placed in solitary confinement after announcing plans to write a book about Trump.

• A federal judge later ordered his release and criticized the Trump administration for taking "retaliatory" action, per the New York Times.
• Cohen consequently sued Trump and other federal officials, but the case was quickly dismissed by lower courts, per the Times.

The big picture: In July, Cohen asked the Supreme Court to allow him to sue Trump and others for allegedly violating his rights and retaliating against him for writing a tell-all book about the former president.

• On Monday, the justices declined to take the case, meaning the lower court's ruling will stand.

What they're saying: "This ruling signals a dangerous moment in American democracy. The Supreme Court has stated that the courts will not provide any deterrent for an executive intent on incarcerating its critics in retaliation for their speech," Cohen's lawyer, Jon-Michael Dougherty, said in a statement Monday.

• The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: Michael Cohen asks Supreme Court to let him sue Trump