Michael Cohen said that people should fear “loose-lipped” former President Trump being jailed after his Thursday conviction because he could spill U.S. “secrets” that could jeopardize national security.
Cohen, who is Trump’s former fixer and was the prosecution’s star witness, said he is not concerned about the former president’s safety if he goes to prison, but is worried about Trump leaking classified information for financial benefits or “bragging rights.”
“You now have a Republican leading candidate, who’s a felon, who’s going to be debriefed on national security issues knowing how loose-lipped he is,” Cohen said during his Saturday appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
“How he’s willing to give away America’s secrets to Vladimir Putin, or to anybody for money or just simply for bragging rights,” he continued. “He did it with the Australian billionaire at Mar-a-Lago. He sat there in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin talking about national security issues but nobody was around except for Vladimir Putin’s translator.”
Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts in Manhattan on Thursday, with the New York jury finding him guilty on all counts of falsifying business records to hide his alleged affairs during the 2016 presidential race. The former president’s sentencing was set for July 11, only four days before the Republican National Convention (RNC) is set to take place where Trump is expected to be officially crowned as the party’s nominee.
Cohen, who is a vocal Trump critic, said Trump would give away secrets since he does not care about the country,
“I mean these are not normal things,” Cohen said. “You do not allow somebody like Donald Trump to be declassified, especially now as a felon. So, my concern is, in a prison situation, he is willing to give away these secrets, as I always say, for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps. He will do it because he does not care.”
“If America turns against him, he’d rather see America burned to the ground,” he said. “And that’s who Donald Trump is.”