Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, dropped state and federal defamation lawsuits against Buzzfeed and the political research firm Fusion GPS over the publication of a dossier compiled by a former British spy that claimed connections between Cohen and Russian government agents, his attorney confirmed Thursday.

“The decision to voluntarily discontinue these cases was a difficult one,” Gerstman Schwartz name attorney David Schwartz said in a statement. “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.”