Michael Cohen says jail time for Trump could be ‘dangerous’

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen warned that it could be “dangerous” to have former President Donald Trump spend time in jail, contending he must be held liable, just in a different way.

“He needs to be held accountable, and do I believe if it was anyone else, that individual would already be in prison or jail? The answer is emphatically yes,” Mr. Cohen said on CNN Monday.

“But because he was president of the United States, and for four years he was debriefed on a daily basis on our national security secrets, I personally, as an American citizen, would be concerned,” he added, “because Donald is the kind of guy to sell any of that information for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps, and I do really mean that.”

Mr. Cohen was arrested in 2018 for his connection to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress after he helped arrange payouts during the 2016 presidential race to stop two women from revealing their alleged affairs with Mr. Trump. The longtime attorney and confidant of the former president spent 13 months in prison and the rest of his sentence in home confinement.

Since then, he has distanced himself from the former president and has served as a witness in Mr. Trump’s court cases.

The former president is facing four criminal cases in Washington, Florida, Georgia and New York and one civil case in New York. He wouldn’t face jail time for his New York civil case, but the rest are fair game.

“It’s dangerous for America to have somebody like Donald Trump in an environment where he can share the information,” Mr. Cohen said. “He’s already shared that information with members of Mar-a-Lago and others, so why would he not do it if it benefited him somehow, someway in a prison situation?”

He said a better alternative would be a “very significant home confinement scenario,” with not a lot of visitors and no golf time.

The Washington Times reached out to the Trump 2024 presidential campaign for comment.