Lawyer who sued Trump, Bannon for defamation claims in ‘Criminal Minds’ trial dies at 81

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Lawyer Paul Watson, who sued President Donald Trump and Bannon for publishing false stories about him in “Criminal Mentals,” has died at age 81, his attorney said.

Watson had been battling dementia for the past three years.

He was an attorney for former FBI Director James Comey, and had represented Trump during the 2016 presidential election.

He was also the chief deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, where Watson worked.

On Thursday, Watson, a longtime Trump ally, announced that he had passed away.

He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for the last three years, his attorneys said.

Watson, an African American who has represented a number of high-profile clients in the past, was the first person to file a defamation lawsuit against Trump in the book, “Criminals, Schemes and Scandals.”

In the book and subsequent legal documents, Watson accused Trump of defamation.

Watson was fired from his job by Trump in December after Watson accused the president of using racist and sexist language in a tweet.

In the defamation suit, Watson claimed that Trump had published a false story about him, including the allegation that he was an FBI informant for the CIA.

Trump has repeatedly denied Watson’s allegations.

Watson’s attorneys argued that his client was the target of a smear campaign by Trump’s political opponents.

“He was the one who wrote that story and he was fired by the president,” Watson’s attorney, Stephen Reichert, said.

“He was a man who had no place in the White House and the president knew that.”

In December, a judge granted a preliminary injunction in Watson’s defamation lawsuit to block Trump from publishing a second “Cimed” book.

The judge said Watson was entitled to “a fair and open trial, consistent with the First Amendment, without undue delay, in order to vindicate his right to a fair and unbiased trial.”

Watson also was a target of criticism from Trump during his presidential campaign, including during a televised debate in October, when Trump referred to Watson as “a white-supremacist, a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist.”

Trump’s campaign denied the claims.

The Trump campaign has also denied Watson had a role in the “Cimbrication” conspiracy theory, which accused the Trump campaign of having paid people to fabricate a fake story about Trump in order for it to go viral.

In a statement on Thursday, Trump said he was saddened to learn of Watson’s death.

In a letter to supporters, Watson wrote that he has “a great relationship” with President Trump, adding that the two men were “close friends” during the campaign.

“We had many close friends during the time that we were on the campaign trail and that relationship has lasted for many years,” he wrote.

“I am profoundly saddened to hear of Paul’s passing.

We have all known Paul and I am proud to call him a friend and I know he will be missed.”

Warrants filed against Trump and others in the case in January were dismissed by a federal judge on Wednesday.

Trump has said he plans to file another defamation lawsuit, alleging that the president had violated the Constitution by attacking the lawyer.