Donald Trump will need more than monetary fines to decide not to violate court-imposed gag orders, Michael Cohen said on MSNBC on Saturday.
Trump has been fined a total of $15,000 for violating a civil court's gag order by repeatedly attacking the judge's law clerk in a case alleging corporate fraud. At the last hearing at which the former president appeared, he stormed out of court when the judge determined he had lied when he claimed under oath that his second comments about the law clerk were actually about Cohen.
Cohen appeared on MSNBC's PoliticsNation on Saturday, and was asked about that moment by the host.
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"Could he have been talking about you?" the host asked.
Cohen responded that Trump and the judge both knew the former president was referencing the law clerk.
"Let me be clear about this. This was the most limited gag order that I've ever seen. It was so limited it was almost impossible to actually violate it if you're anyone other than Donald Trump... he can't help himself."
Cohen added that Trump is "like a petulant child."
"You tell the child, you can go to the candy store that has 10,000 items. You have a peanut allergy, so you can't eat peanut M&Ms. That's all the kid wants, and he's going to fight you, tooth and nail, until he gets what he wants. He doesn't care about what the judge says. $10,000? He doesn't care."
As far as what could get Trump to listen to a gag order, Cohen had this to say:
"The only thing that's going to stop him is if they actually say to him, you know what, next time you're going to stay downstairs in the cell for the entire night. Don't do it again. Because what the judge said to him, you are not only creating a hassle but what you're doing is dangerous to my staff. And I won't allow it."
