Republican Congressman Deletes Tweet Targeting Michael Cohen’s Family

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a news conference in front of the Capitol December 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images
A Republican congressman accused former President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen of adultery on Tuesday, on the eve of Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee, in a Twitter message that seemed an attempt to frighten the onetime Trump consigliere.
“Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat,” tweeted Matt Gaetz, a Republican congressman from Florida. “I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…”
Gaetz deleted the tweet and apologized late Tuesday night, claiming he had not meant to threaten Cohen.
The tweets targeted Cohen’s father-in-law, Fima Shusterman, whose reported loans to the largest taxi cab operator in Chicago were reportedly cited in warrants used to search Cohen’s office.
Trump himself has previously tweeted insinuating claims about Shusterman.
Kevin Corke, @FoxNews “Don’t forget, Michael Cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud, and as recently as this week, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that he may have stolen tens of thousands of dollars….” Lying to reduce his jail time! Watch father-in-law!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2019
Shusterman emigrated from the Ukraine in 1975, working as a taxi driver and eventually amassing a number of taxi medallions in New York City, according to the New York Times. Shusterman helped Cohen enter the taxi medallion industry, according to the Times report.
An article in Slate collected tweets from legal experts arguing that Gaetz’s tweets amounted to witness tampering.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Fast Forward Jewish Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky reportedly to retire after 26 years in office
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.