Cohen told MSNBC on Monday that by pardoning these allies, Trump could be unintentionally giving prosecutors the power to force these close associates to testify against him.
Cohen suggested that the people Trump pardoned would no longer be able to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and therefore must comply with investigations into Trump.
Trump faces multiple lawsuits and criminal investigations when he leaves the White House.
Speaking with MSNBC on Monday, Cohen suggested that by pardoning former associates such as Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, Trump was giving prosecutors the power to force them to testify against him.
In his MSNBC interview, Cohen said he probably would have gotten a pardon if he had not turned on the president.
"I would have received one had I agreed not to come out, not to speak truth to power," Cohen said.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018 for campaign-finance violations tied to the 2016 election and for lying to Congress. »