Court filing claims Trump already knew about 2 women's allegations against Eric Schneiderman - which we now know because of the Michael Cohen case

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Donald Trump.

• President Donald Trump allegedly knew about sexual misconduct claims against disgraced former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman back in 2013.
• That information has come to light as part of the federal investigation into Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen.
• It could help explain a cryptic 2013 Trump tweet.

An attorney claimed in a federal court filing Friday that President Donald Trump knew of allegations of sexual misconduct against disgraced former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in 2013.

The attorney's allegation has come to light as part of the case against Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen.

The attorney, Peter Gleason, wrote a request for a protective order on any records that had to do with Gleason's discussions with Cohen regarding two women who said they were sexually abused by Schneiderman. Gleason's request came in a letter to US District Judge Kimba Wood.

Earlier this week, The New Yorker reported that four women with whom Schneiderman was romantically involved accused him of abuse. Schneiderman denied the allegations but resigned from his position just hours after the story broke Monday evening.

Gleason wrote that his office was contacted "some years ago" by two unrelated women who claimed that Schneiderman was "sexually inappropriate" with them. A third women contacted his office in 2013, he said, describing a similar story of abuse at the hands of Schneiderman. Gleason advised that woman against reporting the incident to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office because, he said, such claims were routinely ignored.

Gleason said he discussed the matter with Steve Dunleavy, a retired New York Post columnist. Dunleavy, Gleason said, discussed the allegations with Trump. Gleason found that out in a discussion with Cohen.

"During my communications with Mr. Cohen. I shared with him certain details of Schneiderman's vile attacks on these two women," Gleason wrote. "The extent of Mr. Cohen memorializing any of our communications is unknown. However, these two women's confidentiality, as victims of a sexual assault, should be superior to that of any unrelated subpoena."

Gleason's information could help explain a cryptic, September 2013 tweet from Trump that read: "[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."

Cohen did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider. He is under criminal investigation in the Southern District of New York for possible campaign finance violations and bank fraud.