Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is predicting the recipients of his pardons will testify against him.
MSNBC’s Ari Melber asked Cohen on Monday if he believes Trump has more “pardon surprises” before he leaves office.
“I think there’s more pardon surprises,” Cohen said.
He argued recipients of his pardons will have to testify against him because they do not have protection under the Fifth Amendment.
“Once you get that pardon, you’re no longer able to invoke the Fifth Amendment, your right against self-incrimination, because you cannot be charged. All of these people may ultimately be his downfall simply because they’ll be testifying against him,” Cohen added.
Check out his remarks below:
“Once you get that pardon, you’re no longer able to invoke the Fifth Amendment … All of these people may ultimately be his downfall simply because they’ll be testifying against him,” Michael Cohen says about the implications Pres. Trump may face from pardoning political allies. pic.twitter.com/3d1kW5IHIZ
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 28, 2020
After Trump revealed his new round of pardons, Cohen claimed his recipients would ultimately suffer from his decision, as IJR previously reported.
“I was not interested in Trump’s pardons before, nor am I interested in it now because I truly believe that those who are accepting Trump’s filth will have the stench of corruption following their name and their families’ names for decades to come,” Cohen said during an interview with CBS News.
He continued, “I think what he has done here by ignoring the way the process works, by ignoring the pardon office completely in order to feed his need and the needs of his supporters who have done wrong to this country for so long now, for the last four years, it’s just a disgraceful… it’s just another disgraceful Trump act.”
Since taking office, Trump has granted 70 pardons, as IJR previously reported.
According to The New York Times, the president reportedly discussed with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani about pardoning him.
The publication also said Trump has talked to advisers about “preemptively” pardoning his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump.
