Michael Cohen Raises Alarm About Donald Trump Going to Jail

Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen raised concern on Saturday about national security issues if the former president is sentenced to jail following his guilty verdict in his criminal hush money case.

In a case brought forward by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a New York jury on Thursday found Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by Cohen shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. Trump has maintained his innocence and says the case is politically motivated. His legal team says they will fight the case, which will include an appeal if necessary.

"This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt," Trump said outside the courtroom following the verdict.

Each count is a class E felony, which under New York state law is punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison. Judge Juan Merchan who presided over the case is scheduled to issue Trump's sentencing on July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention begins its process of officially nominating its 2024 choice.

During a Saturday interview with MSNBC's The Weekend, Cohen, who served as a key witness for the prosecution in the case and is a Trump critic, spoke on the possibility of a jail sentence for Trump, adding that he is concerned that if the former president is sentenced to jail he will "give away" America's secrets.

"I'm afraid of him going to jail, not for him, not for his safety, that's on him. I'm more concerned for you and for all of us and our families and for the American people because this clown had four years of being debriefed on national security issues. On top of that, if he becomes the Republican nominee he gets debriefed again, starting now, think about this," Cohen said.

He added: "You have now a Republican-leading candidate who is a felon who is going to be debriefed on national security issues knowing how loosely lipped he is...My concern is, in a prison situation, he's willing to give away these secrets for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps and he will do it because he doesn't care. If America turns against him he rather see America burn to the ground and that's who Donald Trump is."

Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to eight criminal counts, including campaign finance violations related to the alleged hush money scheme. In addition, Cohen plead guilty in federal court in November 2018 to lying to Congress in relation to false statements he made to lawmakers about Trump's reported business dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Newsweek has reached out to Cohen and Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

It has become a yearslong tradition with major-party presidential candidates being offered intel briefings during their respective campaigns since 1952. However, it is not a law as it's considered just a courtesy for presidential candidates.

Meanwhile, legal experts believe it's unlikely that Trump could face a prison sentence for his verdict.

Syracuse University law professor Gregory Germain previously told Newsweek that imprisoning the leading presidential candidate of a major political party would be "very hard for the judge to justify."

"I think a prison sentence is unlikely for a first time nonviolent Class E felony. Any other defendant would be given probation, and I think it will be very hard for the judge to justify a prison sentence over a records violation," Germain said, adding it would also "create a constitutional crisis, and I would expect emergency motions to stay the sentence pending appeal."

New York-based attorney Bradley Moss, a frequent critic of Trump, agreed that there was "virtually zero chance" that Trump would go to prison "immediately" given that his charges are non-violent.

Moss added: "No one knows for certain how to handle incarcerating a former president," although for "a short-term stay of nothing more than a few months, it is likely prison authorities could section off a part of a prison facility."