Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said he believes Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner may be a "cooperating witness" in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations.
Cohen made the suggestion during an interview on CNN following Tuesday's indictment of the former president as part of Smith's probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Kushner, who is married to Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka Trump, was a key figure during his father-in-law's administration and is not named in the 45-page indictment.
Newsweek has reached out to Kushner Companies via email for comment.
A grand jury indicted Trump on four charges in the Capitol riot probe, namely, conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
Trump denies all wrongdoing and has repeatedly criticized the special counsel's probe, claiming it is politically motivated. In a social media post on Tuesday, he accused Smith of "Prosecutorial Misconduct."
On Wednesday, Cohen discussed the indictment and the six unnamed co-conspirators cited in it. None of the six have been officially named or charged but media outlets have been able to identify five of them from details in the document.
There has been significant speculation about who the sixth alleged co-conspirator could be.
Cohen said all six are "in the honeymoon stage" where they may not believe they'll be indicted.
"That's a foolish way to think because the government, especially Jack Smith, is not allowing anybody to escape," Cohen said, adding that the individuals in question may already have had their attorneys reach out to Smith's team.
"I'm a firm believer that Rudy Giuliani has already spoken," Cohen said, referring to the former New York mayor who has been identified by media outlets as the alleged Co-Conspirator 1.
"Rudy has no interest in spending his remaining days on this planet behind bars for Donald Trump," Cohen added.
"In fact, I think the more important thing in this indictment to look at, are not who the six co-conspirators are, but rather who is missing from this indictment," he went on, noting that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows isn't mentioned.
"You see nothing of Jared Kushner," Cohen said. "Jared Kushner was the secretary of everything. How is it possible that he is not listed here? He was there, he was on Donald's lap, the entire time, from the day Donald entered the White House to the day that he left."
When Cohen was asked how he explained Kushner's absence, he said: "I believe he is probably a cooperating witness."
Cohen went on to say that Kushner would cooperate "in a heartbeat."
"Do you think Jared is any different than Donald?" Cohen asked. "Do you think Donald wouldn't throw Jared under the bus in order to save himself. The answer is an emphatic yes."
In 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in jail for campaign finance violations relating to the 2016 presidential election. He told the court his "weakness was a blind loyalty to Donald Trump."
Cohen has since become a vocal critic of the former president, as well as those working close to Trump.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
