Michael Cohen, who once served as former President Trump’s fixer, said the only way for his ex-boss to evade fines and incarceration is to win the 2024 presidential election in November.
“Donald’s theory right now, the only out for him, both financially, as well as criminally, regarding incarceration, is if he wins the election,” Cohen said Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House.”
“He’s not running for the presidency of the United States to do good for the United States, he wants to do – and the only way he can do good – for himself, is to win the presidency,” Cohen continued. “This is all about running for the purpose of saving himself.
His comments come after Trump was ordered by Judge Arthur Engoron to pay nearly $355 million in penalties, after being found liable for fraud last September. The verdict capped a months-long civil fraud trial, after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued Trump and his business for deflating and inflating assets in order to obtain tax and insurance benefits.
The ruling also bars him from doing business in the Empire State for three years.
When asked if Trump would be able to afford to pay the fines, Cohen didn’t seem optimistic.
“This is a staggering amount of money for virtually anybody,” he said in Friday. “There’s maybe a handful of people in the country who can write a check for half a billion dollars. Donald is not one of them.”
He added that the ban would be a “big problem” for the former president, agreeing with the host that “he’s stuck.”
Cohen, who called Engoron’s verdict “just and fair,” also lauded the judge’s remarks that his testimony in the trial was “credible.”
“I think the ruling was just and fair. I think Judge Engoron lays out everything in this 90-plus page decision — especially on page 41, which references me, in the fact that I told the truth,” he said, arguing Trump and his team wanted to “impugn my credibility” to avoid this ruling.
“I actually thought the amount would be, and should be, higher,” the former attorney added. “But, I defer to Judge Engoron.”