- Former President Donald Trump’s attorney and broker Michael Cohen said the president’s pardons and sentence commutations for close associates like Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone could be a big mistake.
- Cohen said MSNBC on Monday that by forgiving these allies, Trump could unintentionally be giving prosecutors the power to force these close associates to testify against him.
- Cohen suggested that people forgiven by Trump will no longer be able to plead the Fifth Amendment’s right against self-incrimination and therefore must comply with the Trump investigations.
- “So all of these people can be his downfall, because they will testify against him, either before a court or before a court,” said Cohen.
- Trump faces several criminal cases and investigations when he leaves the White House.
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Former President Donald Trump fixator Michael Cohen has pointed out a potential problem in the president’s pardon and commuting windfall that could bother him again after he leaves the White House.
Speaking for MSNBC on Monday, Cohen suggested that by forgiving former associates like Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, Trump was giving prosecutors the power to force them to testify against himself.
“This produces a very significant problem for Donald Trump, in that, once you receive that forgiving power, once you get that forgiveness, you can no longer invoke the Fifth Amendment – the right against self-incrimination – because you can’t be charged, “said Cohen.
“So all of these people could end up being his downfall because they will testify against him, either before a court or before a court,” added Cohen.
—MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 28, 2020
The Fifth Amendment allows a person not to answer questions from an investigator or prosecutor if what they can say is used against them in a criminal case.
Cohen suggested that now that some of Trump’s associates have been pardoned, they would no longer need to invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect themselves – thereby opening the door for prosecutors to use these people as witnesses to build a criminal case against the president.
Trump issued dozens of pardons and commutations last month, when his first and only term came to an end. But there have been reports that Trump is considering even more pardons in his final days, including preventive pardons for his children or close allies like his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
While presidential pardons are generally awarded to people who have already been convicted of a crime, power extends to anyone who has been charged or could be charged with a crime, according to Reuters. However, this power only applies to actions that have already taken place.
Several criminal cases and investigations are already awaiting Trump when he leaves office on January 20.
Criminal cases include an investigation by public prosecutor Cyrus Vance into the Trump Organization. Separately, New York Attorney General Letitia James is also leading a tax fraud investigation into Trump and the family business.
In his interview with MSNBC, Cohen said he probably would have obtained forgiveness had he not turned against the president.
“I would have received one if I had agreed not to show up, not to speak the truth to power,” said Cohen.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018 for campaign funding violations linked to the 2016 election and for lying to Congress.