Michael Cohen, former United States President Donald Trump's former lawyer, and fixer claimed that the Republican businessman told him that if his kids had to go to prison over their family business and to make sure that it was Donald Jr., and not Ivanka.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Cohen said that the former president gave him the instruction of his children were on the verge of being indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 2012. Cohen recalled the details of the case where the district attorney was investigating Donald Jr., and Ivanka after the two allegedly lied about the number of units that had been sold.
Trump in Prison
The Republican businessman's former lawyer said that Trump told him about the arrangement directly and chose Donald Jr., over Ivanka because his son would be able to "handle it." Cohen talked about the increasing pressure on the Trump family due to the ongoing investigations into the Trump Organization's financial dealings and the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot.
Previously, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that her investigations of the Trump family's business have already uncovered "significant evidence" of fraudulent and misleading asset valuations. She has taken legal action to enforce subpoenas issued to Trump and his children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka due to their close work in the transactions, Business Insider reported.
Cohen said that Trump made the remarks years before he became the president of the United States. The situation comes as the House Select Committee is investigating the details of the events leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot. The panel has also requested the voluntary cooperation of Ivanka in the case.
The Republican businessman's former lawyer said that he believed there was no chance the former president would step in to protect either of his children from the investigations. Cohen said that the only person that Trump cared about was himself.
The lawyer said that there was nearly no chance that either Donald Jr. or Ivanka will be cooperating with the investigations. Cohen previously worked as the former president's personal lawyer and fixer for more than 10 years before becoming involved in a federal investigation into hush-money payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Trump in the 2000s, Independent reported.
Ongoing Investigations
In a separate investigation involving the Trump Organization, Eric Trump and Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg invoked their Fifth Amendment rights. The two have done the process more than 500 times after being questioned by the New York attorney general's office related to its investigation into the company's finances.
Furthermore, the House Select Committee's request of Ivanka involves talking about her reported pleas to the former president to do something about the Capitol Hill riot. Cohen added that, similar to her father, Ivanka would most likely not shield her father amid the investigations, citing that she cared more about herself.
While Ivanka has not yet publicly responded to the panel's request for her voluntary cooperation, a spokesperson has noted that she appealed to Trump supporters on Jan. 6 to end the violence. However, she also initially referred to rioters in a Twitter post as "American patriots" before quickly deleting the message, HuffPost reported.
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