Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Michael Cohen claims Trump will get Seal Team 6 to ‘round up critics or opponents’ if he wins 2024 race

‘I suspect that there’s going to be many, many more people that will be incarcerated at simply Donald’s whim,’ former Trump fixer says

Gustaf Kilander
Washington DC
Monday 07 October 2024 18:16 BST
Comments
Related video: Trump gets distracted by fly during campaign rally, then compares himself to one

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Michael Cohen has suggested that former President Donald Trump will order Seal Team 6 to “round up his critics or his opponents” if he wins in November.

The former Trump fixer and lawyer turned critic appeared on former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s MSNBC Sunday program, blasting Republicans for attempting to show their loyalty to Trump by claiming he didn’t lose the 2020 election.

Psaki suggested that Trump wants to replicate “some of the things that happened in 2020,” asking Cohen if there’s any reason to doubt that Trump would again attempt to overturn the election if he loses.

“The Republicans that are demonstrating their fealty to Donald have something that they want as a result, if, God forbid, Trump ends up winning the election,” Cohen told Psaki. “But there are also a slew of Republicans that are not asking for the same thing, that they do not want to just put this thing in the past. They want to see unity in the United States and start getting rid of the chaos and the divisiveness so that we can all work together for mutual benefits.”

“This is very different than what Donald Trump is saying. Donald Trump continues with that bombastic ... rhetoric of divisiveness and hate,” he added.

Cohen then shared what he called a “big warning.”

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, suggested the former president will use the military to “round up” his critics if he wins in November
Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, suggested the former president will use the military to “round up” his critics if he wins in November (Getty Images)

“When Donald Trump says something, stop sane washing it, stop trying to make it into something which has some normalcy to it,” he said.

“What he says he intends to do and when he turns around and says ... the head of this network or other people who are critics, that he intends to use Seal Team 6 or the military ... to round up his critics or his opponents, he intends to do it! And I say that with firsthand experience,” Cohen added.

Cohen claimed that his imprisonment after pleading guilty in November 2018 to lying to Congress was the “unconstitutional remand of a United States citizen” pushed by Trump and Bill Barr, who became attorney general the following year.

The former fixer suggested that he was “the first political prisoner in this country to be held by my own country because I wouldn't waive my First Amendment constitutional right.”

“What that was for Trump ... that was a practice play and now that he knows exactly how to get away with it, I suspect that there's going to be many, many more people that will be incarcerated at simply Donald's whim and simply because he deems them to be a critic,” Cohen said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in