Eric Schneiderman's alleged victims are bizarrely linked to Trump, Michael Cohen, and the Russia probe

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On Monday, The New Yorker published a bombshell report alleging New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) physically and verbally abused four women while they were in romantic relationships with him. The report seemed to oddly confirm a tweet by President Trump from September 2013, when he said: "[Anthony] Weiner is gone, [Eliot] Spitzer is gone — next will be lightweight A.G. Eric Schneiderman. Is he a crook? Wait and see, worse than Spitzer or Weiner." On Friday, a strange court filing surfaced that appeared to explain how Trump evidently knew of the allegations against Schneiderman.

Lawyer Peter J. Gleason claims in the letter dated Friday that "some years ago," his law office was approached "by two unrelated women who at two separate times (approximately one year apart) claimed that Mr. Schneiderman was sexually inappropriate with them." Gleason told the women that "the very entities that were established to protect [them] would ultimately turn on [them] to protect the power elite," but adds that "at a minimum, I wanted these women to realize that somebody believed them."

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[Dunleavy] suggested and offered to discuss the matter with Donald Trump. Mr. Dunleavy did indeed discuss this very matter with Trump as evidenced by a phone call I received from attorney Michael Cohen. During my communications with Mr. Cohen I shared with him certain details of Schneiderman's vile attacks on these two women.

Gleason's filing specifically asks that "the court issue a protective order and seal any and all correspondence that Mr. Cohen may have memorialized regarding our communications" about the two women. Cohen's office and home were raided in early April, an indirect consequence of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing Russia investigation. Read the full filing here.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.