Michael Cohen says Donald Trump told him if one of his kids had to go to prison to 'make sure' it was Donald Jr., not Ivanka
- Donald Trump's former lawyer claimed that Trump told him Donald Jr. should go to prison rather than Ivanka.
- Michael Cohen said his former boss gave the instruction when his children were on the verge of being indicted in 2012.
Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen claimed Trump said that if one of his kids had to go to prison over the family business to "make sure" it was Donald Jr., not Ivanka.
Speaking to MSNBC on Saturday, Cohen said Trump gave him the instruction when his children were on the verge of being indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 2012.
"You may recall that there was the district attorney's case here for Trump Soho where it was either Don or Ivanka was in very big trouble as a result of lying about the number of units that had been sold," Cohen told MSNBC's Alex Witt .
"And Donald said it to me – I mean I wouldn't say it if it wasn't said directly to me – he goes 'if one or the other has to go to prison, make sure that it's Don because Don would be able to handle it.'"
Cohen spoke to MSNBC about the mounting pressure on the Trump family amid the probes into the Trump Organization's financial dealings and the January 6 riot.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has said her investigation into the Trump Organization has uncovered "significant evidence" of fraudulent and misleading asset valuations.
James has taken legal action to enforce the subpoenas issued to Donald Trump and his children Donald Jr. and Ivanka, who she says were "closely involved in the transactions in question."
Meanwhile, the January 6 committee investigating the insurrection has asked Ivanka Trump to voluntarily cooperate with their probe.
Cohen said he believes there is "not a chance" that the former president would offer to cooperate with the investigations to shield his daughter from legal troubles.
"Donald cares only about Donald, more than he would care about his children," Cohen told MSNBC.
Trump's former lawyer also said that he believes the chances of the Trump children cooperating with either probe are "slim to none."
This week, Trump complained that the "vicious" January 6 committee and New York Attorney General are targeting his adult children as part of their investigations.
"It's a very unfair situation for my children. Very, very unfair," Trump told The Washington Examiner in an interview published Friday.
Cohen was formerly one of the most trusted members of Trump's inner circle and was jailed in 2019 for three years for lying to Congress and financial crimes relating to hush money payoffs to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.
He has turned on his former boss, and in his 2020 memoir, "Disloyal," alleged that Trump is a racist and conman who has committed tax and financial crimes. A Trump spokesperson denied Cohen's claims and said he was attempting "to profit off of lies."
Cohen has been cooperating with prosecutors in several investigations into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.