Trump's former divorce lawyer tells CNN why he believes Michael Cohen will flip on Trump

On Wednesday, President Trump's former divorce attorney Jay Goldberg told The Wall Street Journal he believed federal prosecutors would flip Trump's lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, and he elaborated on this concern on Thursday's evenings Out Front with Erin Burnett. Goldberg, a former federal prosecutor, explained that he believes Cohen might tell prosecutors things he thinks they want to hear about Trump, and maybe even wear a wire to generate incriminating evidence, to get lenient treatment, even though, he said, he believes Trump did not break the law.

Cohen is "of a type that I've recognized in the past as one not suited to stand up to the rigors of jail life," Goldberg said. He agreed with Burnett that Cohen is "of weak character," and he suggested that Cohen would be scared of sexual assault. "Prison has a racial overtone, and a person like Michael doesn't see himself walking down Broadway while people are clamoring, 'You're going to be my wife,'" Goldberg said.

Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who's suing Cohen and Trump, told Burnett he has "absolutely" no doubts that Cohen will flip "and I haven't had any doubts for weeks." Furthermore, he expressed confidence that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is trying to ensure that the state can prosecute Cohen if Trump pardons him, is working with federal prosecutors to "leave a window open" for state charges. "Michael Cohen is going to be indicted, it is a near certainty," Avenatti said, "and it is a near certainty that he is going to roll over on the president."

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On Wednesday morning, John Avlon expressed doubt that Cohen would flip, telling CNN's Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota that "everything we know about Cohen shows that, I mean, his loyalty to Trump takes on the level of religion. I mean it is a deep and personal and definitional thing for him." Watch below. Peter Weber