Michael Cohen, President-elect Donald Trump's ex-lawyer, on Saturday during an appearance on MSNBC said he asked President Joe Biden for a pardon "because I believe that Joe Biden has the same responsibility to me that he had to his own son."
"And I would expect that the same exact pardon that he gave his son has to go to me and to anybody else that's on that enemies list," he added.
Cohen turned on Trump and testified as a star witness for the prosecution in the New York business records trial earlier this year. The president-elect was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case, which centered on a payment Cohen maintains was made at Trump's direction to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
A report published by The New York Times in September laid out Trump's plans to prosecute his political enemies if he returned to office. Cohen is on that list.
MSNBC host Symone Sanders agreed with Cohen regarding his concerns on being on Trump's "enemies list" but said she didn't think bringing up Hunter Biden was "the best way to go get a pardon."
"I mean, Hunter Biden is the president's last surviving son," Sanders said.
"I'm somebody's son also, by the way," Cohen responded.
"Agreed. You are somebody's son," Sanders said. "But I mean, to be very clear, you're not the president's son. And he pardoned Hunter primarily because that is his son, I think."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.