The former attorney for President-elect Donald Trump was so shocked by the “unconditional discharge” verdict in the hush money case involving his previous employer that he sought assistance from ChatGPT for legal clarification.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes on Friday evening, Michael Cohen expressed to the host his inability to recollect anyone else in history who had been found as guilty as Trump yet faced such minimal repercussions for their actions.
Last year, Trump was convicted on 34 counts connected to his attempts to conceal his extramarital affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels from 2006 ahead of the 2016 presidential election. However, on Friday, New York Judge Juan Merchan stated that Trump would not serve prison time, pay a fine, or endure even probation for his offenses.
On the other hand, Cohen was also found guilty in 2018 for similar charges linked to those payments and received a prison sentence before his release in 2021.
Cohen remarked to Hayes that night, “I’m certainly conflicted regarding what I had hoped to see transpires. Keep in mind, I was handed a six-year sentence—three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.”
He continued, “Throughout my legal career, I’ve never come across an unconditional discharge. It baffled me so much that I turned to ChatGPT [and] attempted to find any historical precedent for an unconditional discharge, but I was unsuccessful.”
Moreover, Cohen expressed that while he believed Judge Merchan acted “judiciously” in his ruling, he felt that the recent decision weakened the foundational arguments made against the soon-to-be president.
He spoke to Hayes, saying, “If there’s no accountability or deterrent effects, there are no consequences for the 34 criminal charges; I question the validity of having the conviction. Perhaps the case should have been dismissed altogether.”
Cohen also stated, “I understand many people might wonder why I would say that, and it may not seem logical. I don’t find any comfort in the fact that Donald Trump will be the first president, or former president, in U.S. history to be a convicted felon.”
He went on to clarify, “If it makes people feel better to label him as the felon president, then that is their choice. I hold the office of the presidency in high regard and firmly believe that committing a crime without facing any punishment, accountability, or deterrence makes no sense at all.”
