A former attorney for former President Donald Trump expressed concern for placing him behind bars, pointing out that he was entrusted with “national security secrets.”
During an interview on Monday on CNN’s “The Lead” with host Jake Tapper, Michael Cohen argued that Trump absolutely “needs to be held accountable” and floated the idea of placing him on house arrest instead.
“He needs to be held accountable,” Cohen told Tapper. “And, do I believe if it was anyone else, that that individual would already be in prison or jail? The answer is emphatically yes.”
Michael Cohen on if he thinks Donald Trump should go to jail pic.twitter.com/StX6v4VXJT
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) November 14, 2023
Cohen added that because Trump is the former president, who spent four years being “debriefed on a daily basis, our national security secrets” he would “be concerned” with Trump in a prison or jail-like setting.
“Donald is the kind of guy that would sell any of that information for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps, and I do really mean that,” Cohen added.
The former attorney for Trump who once said he would “take a bullet” for the former president, was arrested in 2018 for charges relating to campaign financial charges and paying two women, pornographic film star Stormy Daniels, and Playboy model Karen McDougal, to keep quiet about their alleged affairs with Trump. The former president has denied these accusations.
Cohen was released early from prison during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. He had been scheduled to be released in November 2021.
In Cohen’s book, “Disloyal: A Memoir,” he talks about how Trump allegedly made disparaging comments about women and certain groups. Cohen has also spoken out regarding Trump’s fear about his tax returns being made public and criticized the former president.
“It’s dangerous for America to have somebody like Donald Trump in an environment where he can share the information,” Cohen continued. “Look, he’s already shared it already with members of Mar-a-Lago as well as other individuals that came to visit. So, why would he not do it if it would benefit him somehow, in some way in a prison situation?”
When asked what accountability for Trump would look like, Cohen explained he would be placed in a “home-confinement scenario.”
Cohen explained during this home confinement, Trump would not have “people coming and going at leisure.”
“He’s certainly not going to be playing golf,” Cohen added. “He’s going to have to fund the, uh, we’ll call the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that there’s a guard that’s there watching the property. His phones would be monitored, there wouldn’t be computer access. The same exact life, other than the fact that he’s not sharing a cell with somebody, he’s sharing the house by himself.”
