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[Confirmed]

# Trump says the DOJ warned a leader of a big AI company to 'get ready to go to jail'

He told 60 Minutes the person 'totally changed everything' but would not name them or the company. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately comment.

Published 09 Nov 2026, 12:23 UTC

![Leakly rendering of @KobeissiLetter's X post: BREAKING: President Trump says he and the Department of Justice had a situation with "a leader of a major AI company" and were about to "sen](https://leakly.com/assets/images/trump-doj-warned-ai-leader-jail-hero.jpg)

Screenshot of @KobeissiLetter's post, rendered by Leakly from X API data captured 09 Nov 2026 12:22 UTC. [Live post on X](https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2119731656214839642)

President Trump said his Justice Department once warned the leader of one of the biggest AI companies to prepare for prison, according to the transcript [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/read-the-full-transcript-of-ross-douthats-interview-with-president-trump/) published of his 60 Minutes interview with Ross Douthat, which aired on November 8. @KobeissiLetter flagged the remark on X at 09:59 UTC on November 9.

> **The Kobeissi Letter** @KobeissiLetter
>
> BREAKING: President Trump says he and the Department of Justice had a situation with "a leader of a major AI company" and were about to "send him to jail for doing something bad with AI."
> "We said get ready to go to jail. See your wife and children because tomorrow morning you're going to jail," Trump said.
> Trump says this person then "totally changed everything" and was not sent to jail.
> Trump refuses to specify who this individual was.
>
> 4,796 likes · 296 reposts · counts as of 09 Nov 2026, 12:22 UTC
>
> — The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) [November 9, 2026](https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2119731656214839642)

[Leakly track record](https://leakly.com/leakers/kobeissiletter/)

"We had a situation where somebody was reported to us to be doing something bad with AI. We called them very strongly and said, 'Get ready to go to jail. Please give your wife a kiss good night,'" Trump said, according to the transcript.

Asked who the person was, Trump said, "I can't tell you." Asked whether it was a leader of a major AI company, he answered: "One of the big ones. Yeah." He said the person "totally changed everything" afterward, and added that he didn't think it was done maliciously, "but it coulda been malicious."

Trump told the story while arguing that AI risk can be managed by the Justice Department. Asked about guardrails on AI safety, he said: "I don't mind guardrails. But I don't wanna put us in a deep second position." [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administration-jail-leader-big-ai-company-2026-11) reported that representatives for the White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.

The CBS News transcript confirms Trump said it. He gave no name, company, date or description of the conduct, and neither CBS News nor Business Insider has identified who he meant.

## What we know

* Trump said the DOJ warned an unnamed AI leader to 'get ready to go to jail.'
* He said it was 'one of the big ones' and refused to name the person or company.

## What we don't know

* Who the person or company is.
* When it happened or what the conduct was.

## What would confirm it

A Justice Department statement or record of the warning.

## Sources

* [Original X post by @KobeissiLetter](https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2119731656214839642)
* [Read the full transcript of Ross Douthat's interview with President Trump - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/read-the-full-transcript-of-ross-douthats-interview-with-president-trump/)
* [Trump Says His Team Threatened the Leader of an AI Firm With Jail Time - Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administration-jail-leader-big-ai-company-2026-11)

[Confirmed]

## What happened later

The CBS News transcript confirms Trump said it. He gave no name, company, date or description of the conduct, and neither CBS News nor Business Insider has identified who he meant.

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