Michael Cohen's Warning to Jack Smith Over Trump Threats

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney for Donald Trump, warned special counsel Jack Smith on Saturday that he should take the former president's attempts to incite his MAGA base seriously when he makes threats against his rivals.

The former president has repeatedly come after Smith, who was chosen by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to oversee its probes into Trump, on Truth Social. On Thursday, Trump wrote: "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, LAWYERS, AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM ITSELF, ARE UNDER SIEGE...ALL A GIFT FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN, MERRICK GARLAND, AND DERANGED PROSECUTOR, JACK SMITH!!!"

Trump also called Smith a "terrorist" in an appearance on The Mark Levin Show in January and said, "The prosecutor [Smith] should resign, he's got a conflict. He is a terrorist. He is a Trump hater. His best friends are Weissmann and all of these characters, Lisa Monaco at the Justice Department, one of the top officials. This is a disgraceful situation. He should resign!"

Smith is reportedly on the verge of issuing another indictment against Trump, according to the former president who this week said he received a target letter from the DOJ regarding Smith's investigation into Trump's role in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Smith also led the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation that resulted in Trump being indicted on 37 felony counts by a grand jury, making him the first former president in American history to face federal criminal charges. Trump, meanwhile, pled not guilty and maintains his innocence.

While speaking on MSNBC's The Katie Phang Show on Saturday, Cohen was asked by host Katie Phang about Trump's history of making veiled threats against his political opponents and rivals.

"I see it a lot on television now, 'Oh Jack Smith, he shouldn't be worried or concerned about Donald Trump making these overt threats against him' and so on. I would say I disagree. I disagree wholeheartedly and I will tell you, I don't care what anybody says, it's sitting in the back of Jack Smith's head—because I know."

Cohen continued: "I consider myself to be pretty resilient and I can tell you it sits in the back of your head. Because you never know what one of these MAGA maniacs are going to do. You never know who is and who isn't. So, every time you walk on the street, every time you go to a restaurant you don't know if someone wants to come over to shake your hand or punch you in the back of the head—and that is what Donald wants."

Trump's former attorney said the former president "wants to create that chaos" and "this appearance of strength and power that he has over others."

"I say it all the time, he is truly a danger to our country and our democracy," Cohen added.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.

When asked about the seriousness of Trump's words towards Smith, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek on Saturday, "Jack Smith has security because of threats like this. He is clearly taking them seriously. If the threats continue, I expect the DOJ to request a partial gag order from the court, which should be granted."

On Saturday, Phang also noted in her interview with Cohen that Trump's motive operandi is "plausible deniability."

"He [Trump] lets other people do his dirty work for him," the MSNBC host said. "Hiring thousands of lawyers that he you know, doesn't pay...and then throws them under the bus. Calling MAGA rioters to storm the Capitol on 1/6, even this video that he reposts on Truth Social—its calls for violence. This is nothing new, but he likes to say the plausible deniability."