HV lawyer alerted Trump’s attorney to alleged Schneiderman abuse

<p>A Hudson Valley lawyer says he told President Donald Trump's attorney years ago that former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was abusing women.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 11, 2018, 9:26 PM

Updated 2,185 days ago

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A Hudson Valley lawyer says he told President Donald Trump's attorney years ago that former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was abusing women.
Schneiderman resigned this week amid allegations that he physically and verbally abused four women.
Putnam County attorney Peter Gleason says two of his alleged victims sought him out for legal advice in 2013. Their cases stalled because Gleason insists his clients were too afraid to take on the top law enforcement agent in the state.
“I can only do what the client allows me to do. I can give advice and counseling, but I can only do what the client allows,” he told News 12.
What Gleason did do was contact Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen. Gleason insists, with his clients' blessings, he told Cohen about their claims of abuse by Schneiderman. Days later, Trump, who at the time was being sued by Schneiderman over Trump University, tweeted about Schneiderman - saying he would be the next politician to fall from grace.
“Sometimes you need to get your message out by any means necessary,” says Gleason.
Gleason sent a letter to the judge in Michael Cohen's federal case asking her to seal any correspondence he had with Cohen to protect the identities of his clients. All these years later, Gleason admits he doesn't regret going to Trump about Schneiderman because he believes Trump's tweet was the first chink in Schneiderman’s armor.
“I think it raised awareness to what Schneiderman was all about and ultimately that tweet turned out to be true,” said Gleason.
Gleason says he doesn't know for sure if Cohen kept any other their communications, adding that they haven't spoken in five years.


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