Michael Cohen says he thinks Jared Kushner has already flipped on Trump
- Michael Cohen said he thought Jared Kushner had flipped on his father-in-law, Donald Trump.
- New York prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation into Trump's business empire.
- Cohen said it was noteworthy that Kushner's name had been absent in proceedings so far.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney, said he thought Jared Kushner had already flipped on his father-in-law as the criminal investigation into Trump's business empire intensifies.
Cohen did not offer any evidence but said he thought that was the case because of how little Kushner had been mentioned.
Cohen tweeted on Wednesday that Kushner's name had been absent from "all the controversy, indictments and arrests" related to the investigation. He speculated that this was because Kushner was already cooperating with prosecutors.
"Interesting how @jaredkushner (#SecretaryOfEverything) name appears to be absent from all the controversy, indictments and arrests," Cohen tweeted. "Is he next to fall or a cooperating witness? Knowing what a snake he is, I bet the latter!"
Cohen was one of Trump's most trusted confidantes but the pair's relationship deteriorated in 2017. It came after federal prosecutors investigated Cohen over hush-money payments to women who said they had affairs with Trump, and for lying to Congress about Trump's business dealings in Russia.
Cohen subsequently pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including lying to Congress, tax evasion, and bank fraud. After his sentence he became one of Trump's most vocal critics and he is currently serving his sentence under house arrest.
Cohen has cooperated with prosecutors and provided evidence against his former boss since at least 2019, CNBC previously reported, in a bid to make his sentence more lenient.
Representatives for Kushner did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
On July 1, the Manhattan district attorney's office issued a 15-count indictment against the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its chief financial officer, including charges of grand larceny and tax fraud. Prosecutors described a years-long scheme by executives at the company to avoid taxes.
The indictment against Weisselberg twice listed an unnamed co-conspirator, leading to speculation that one of Trump's immediate family members could be the next to face charges.
Weisselberg, one of Trump's most trusted staffers, had told prosecutors that he would not flip on his boss, The Washington Post reported in June.
Commentators have since speculated that the prospect of criminal charges and prison time could tempt members of Trump's family to turn on him.
Cohen alleged in June that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, had been involved in creating false documentary evidence on Donald Trump's behalf. No evidence of that has emerged.
Mary Trump, the former president's estranged niece, has speculated that Ivanka could be persuaded to provide evidence against her father.
"As counterintuitive as this might sound, I think Ivanka has, one, more to lose, and, two, more to hang on to. Her husband's family is legitimately very wealthy," she told The Daily Beast earlier in July.