Michael Cohen believes Trump’s accountant will turn to him to save his family from jail

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, said he believed the Manhattan district attorney would be successful in convincing the former president’s accountant to cooperate if prosecutors threatened him or his family with indictments.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. pressured longtime Trump accountant Allen Weisselberg, 73, to mock him in the 18-month investigation into whether the The former president and the Trump organization have committed financial crimes by manipulating the value of assets for loans and tax gains.

In a recent interview with the New Yorker, released Friday, Cohen predicted that Weisselberg will eventually cooperate with prosecutors to protect his own family from jail time.

“He won’t let his boys go to jail,” Cohen said. “And I don’t think he wants to spend his golden years in a correctional facility either.”

Weisselberg’s involvement in the finances of the Trump family dates back to 1973, when he started working for Fred Trump, the father of the former president.

In 2007, Donald Trump testified in a libel lawsuit he filed against a journalist to find out if he had inflated the value of his properties. Asked by lawyers to reveal who valued his real estate empire, he said: “I ultimately think probably Mr. Weisselberg … I never got too involved, other than giving my opinion.”

A source close to the criminal investigation told The Associated Press last week that prosecutors were working to convince Weisselberg to cooperate with the Manhattan investigation.

“They want him to turn around,” said an anonymous person familiar with the investigation. Anonymity was granted to the source as she was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.

The source also said prosecutors were scrutinizing Weisselberg’s sons.

Jack Weisselberg is a director of Ladder Capital, a real estate investment firm that loaned Trump money for four properties, and Barry Weisselberg previously ran New York rinks with ties to the former president.

The Supreme Court had previously authorized Trump’s request to block subpoenas for his tax returns on two occasions. But the court ruled against the former president last month. And in late February, a spokesperson for Vance said the tax records had been turned over to his team.

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a civilian investigation into Trump and his company, which also focuses on some of the same issues as the criminal investigation, as well as tax deductions. The Trump Organization waived roughly $ 1 million in consulting fees, part of which went to former President Ivanka Trump’s daughter.

Newsweek has contacted Trump officials for comment.