someone sent by michael cohen. you know what the answer is? i know you're looking for the answer as to who sent that person. it's a figment of her imagination. that person doesn't exist. you know why? because when you're threatened with your daughter in a parking garage, what's the first thing that you think of? i got to go to my pilates class. that's the very first thing that i think of when someone comes up to me and threatens me with my daughter. anyone who has a daughter knows you go right to the police. it's complete nonsense. >> she says she didn't go to the police because she was scared and she walked into the room and -- to the notion that he's saying it's defamatory? >> file a lawsuit. look, the majority -- >> you got the letter yesterday. >> wait a minute. last time you didn't let me talk. this time you are going to let me talk. >> i let you -- >> otherwise, we're going to have to get the defibrillator. >> please go for it. >> i almost brought it today. look, the american people saw last night something t

michael cohen gave statements to jimmy kimmel. now she's saying i just want my truth to be out there. >> just because the president's been consistent in his denials doesn't make it credible. i think these women's stories that are very similar are much more credible than the president's. i'm sorry, but that's the reality of it. >> wow. >> with regard to the political -- >> has donald trump lied about his marriages before? >> his story has been completely -- >> jason, i know trump world lives in this comfortable bubble, but let me acquaint you with page 6 in "the new york post." donald trump has been a skirt-chasing hound his entire life. this is not a guy who goes home at night and sits with the little woman and watches tv. this is a guy who is a long-term philanderer, adulterer, whatever phrase you want to use. he has never taken any contract or vow, much less his marital vows, seriously. this is a guy who has a notorious reputation for this. it is a reputation he cultivated as part of his -- >> so you got the sound bite in, but t

we have never said that it is michael cohen. but, look -- >> you've been saying that all along. >> come on, let him finish. >> let him finish. >> look, it's very simple. my client sat down. she answered the questions. 90% of america found her credible. why hasn't michael cohen sat down -- forget two hours. i'll take 20 minutes. how about 10 minutes? and answered the questions. instead, he sends you. you're not even involved in the case. >> are you ever going to make an appearance in the case? >> i am never making an appearance in that case. i am his. >> you're a talking head. >> of course. that's what we're here for. >> let's let him answer now. >> first of all, michael cohen just wants you to keep running your mouth and your client running because every time you do, that it's going to cost your client another million dollars. i mean i hope you have a nice malpractice policy because you're advising your client to breach a contract. >> one of the things that certainly stormy daniels feels and michael avenatti has said is that the

. >> my client. >> your client, michael cohen. let me ask you this. if michael cohen is such a stand-up guy, where is he? >> i -- >> no, no. where is this guy? why won't he come and sit in this chair -- >> because obviously -- >> wait, let me finish. >> i want to answer that question. >> he's been invited numerous times. he won't come on the show. he's dodging the questions. >> he is not doning the questions. >> he's dodging the questions. where is this guy? where is this guy? >> there are other investigations going on. >> where is this guy? >> i was wondering what was in the brown envelope. >> where is he? >> believe me, he can't wait to come here. >> can't wait? >> and talk about this. >> he can give an interview, but he can't come on this show? >> bottom line is, this is an airtight contract -- >> michael cohen in "vanity fair," he did talk to "vanity fair," doesn't come on this program, but he did talk to "vanity fair," said he would have done this at any time, that this had nothing to do with the election. this thing was sign

. >> right, michael cohen does not. if there's delay getting the president to be deposed, you can always get michael cohen deposed, assuming he can get anyone deposed in this case. >> in both cases, think about it, in some ways michael cohen is a more potentially damage is witness in the sense that, as harry points out the facts of the stormy daniels case alone the politics are not particularly damaging to trump. suddenly find himself, if he's not -- to avoid perjury, will find himself telling stories that will lead to other questions. those other questions as you've been pointing out are though he's been very careful, very careful here, not to say it expressly. but you're right, he's now got three or four different individual courts where he could have this dreaded appointment with an actual testimony. and the important thing there is, whereas in the mueller probe the ultimate sort of arbiters or power brokers are the republicans in congress who don't seem to have much stomach for pushing back. here we'll have an indiv

michael cohen's attorney and friend david schwartz. michael, you mentioned this section 8.6 that says the agreement has to be signed by all parties to be enforceable. david points to this clause right before the line on the mda in which the pseudonym for donald trump is used. and it says and/or meaning i guess from your interpretation meaning not only does stormy daniels have to sign it but and/or donald trump and that line is not signed. and/or would seem to indicate either he can't sign it or not. >> and/or is a term of art under california law, and it's actually in the conjunkative. it's in the plural. if the intent was to allow for the or, then mr. cohen should have reversed it. the ec should have been second not first. that's actually the proper interpretation in the english language. but i want to go back to this argument. because in a nutshell here's the argument. their argument is a deal is a deal. that's the argument. a deal is only a deal if there was initially a deal. and our position is there was initially no deal. let me g

micha michael cohen paid her with personal funds. this is not something the president or the candidate actually did. that's why i'm saying he is not talking about this because it has nothing to do with him as a candidate or him personally as the president. >> i'm sorry, look. paris, i know you're a steadfast defender of this president. but most people don't just whack out $130,000 from their home equity loan to an adult film star a few days before an election to protect donald trump. this is not something that happened -- >> loyal friends. >> this is not something that happened in a random fashion. and occam's razor is michael cohen was engaged in a last-minute thing in the campaign to cover up something that was going to be embarrassing to the president and embarrassing to his candidacy because he is a guy who has for a long time gone out and chased down anything that was mammalian and susceptible to his limited charms. this is not a guy who was -- michael cohen was not a guy doing this because of a random set of circumstances. he w

now add go michael cohen by name in the suit. not just michael cohen, as the owner of the business that ended up being put together to pay stormy daniels. he is saying that michael cohen defamed his client back in february. just hours after the world watched, the white house today once again denying the allegations. >> the president himself hasn't directly talked about the daniels scandal. instead taking to twitter to decry what he called fake news. cryptically tweeting. so fake news. never more voluminous or more inaccurate. through it all our country is doing great. daniels' attorney michael avenatti making a vigorous defense. >> if she's not telling the truth, let the president take to the podium and call her a liar. >> one of the more troubling things she said was something that she said occurred in 2011 in las vegas. a short time after she gave an interview to in touch weekly. >> i was in a parking lot. going to a fitness class with my infant daughter. and a guy walked up on me and said to me, leave trump alone. forget the s

if michael cohen, why after michael cohen releases a statement saying the trump organization had nothing to do with this, i did this solely, you know, in my -- you know, because i'm a friend of donald trump, would he reach out to a trump organization attorney in los angeles to get involved in the arbitration? >> right. i mean, we have to make very clear the timeline here. so the timeline, as you said, was before the 2016 election when this whole contract was signed. the jill martin arbitration came way after. so this is -- this is a year, you know, more than a year later. so it doesn't matter what -- >> was it smart to reach out to a trump organization attorney if you're saying it has nothing to do with trump organization, there are plenty of lawyers in l.a. >> you know what, so what, though. so they reached out to jill martin because they needed a local attorney. so they reached out to jill martin. you know, it's a -- also the e-mails, anderson, michael cohen used that e-mail address for every single thing he did. now, a lot of people do that. a lot of people don't realize. on hindsight

cohen, part of why donald trump is in trouble with stormy daniels is michael cohen and how bad he is as a lawyer. the quote to the daily beast about rape was about donald trump's first lawyer accusing him of rape as she once did. and michael cohen went on television then and said it was impossible for a husband to rape a wife, which, of course, is contrary to law, but it's law known to everyone except donald trump's lawyer. >> and to donald trump because, of course, that is the sort of idea that the donald trumps of the world maintain. you can't rape your wife. and the thing, of course, that we're in the discussion of michael cohen and the hush money and all the rest. we're forgetting that donald trump, of course, has now put his name to this suit against stephanie clifford, even though he -- or there is denial that such sexual relationship ever existed, and he is not party to the agreement. so i think we should all -- if it's that easy to get 130 grand out of donald trump, i'm going to say i had sex with him. >> the question is how many of these nondisclosure agreements are out ther

out a bunch of times to michael cohen. to the lawyer that the lawyer has now retained and there has been no comment, for example, on this new reporting or in our reporting over the last couple of days. cohen was extremely careful in his wording saying he facilitated that payment. he was cautious in the language that he used to a degree, and he also didn't say that donald trump personally never reimbursed him for that payment. >> ken dilanian, to a lawyer these are obviously important distinctions. but to the general public, where i believe close to 70% of the public already disapprove of this president and the job he's doing as president, he runs the risk of adding to that number of humans that may just disapprove of the job he does as a husband. i mean, there is a human element to this story. stormy daniels is a compelling figure for three reasons. one, she's willing to give back the money to tell her story. she doesn't look like she's after any financial gain. two, her original account that she detailed in "in touch" mag

i'm telling you what michael cohen says. we haven't been able to connect the dots to donald trump, that he definitively knew about it or directed it. >> he doesn't have to except for campaign finance purposes. the fec thing i thought is a little bit of a red herring. at the end of the day, it results in a fine. >> toothless. >> it's a crime. >> what's the exposure? that's why i keep saying the word exposure as opposed to consequence. if he pays a infoo, it doesn't change anything for him. but it does make him a really pronounced liar in a chain of events where there were lies and a pattern of tactics. >> but we're not there yet. >> i'm saying that's why it matters. he's saying the timing looks bad and, of course, it does. >> i understand. circumstantially i get it. i'm saying those dots haven't been connected yet, mark. >> there's two courts right now, the court of law and the court of public opinion. right now the court of public opinion is on donald trump's side. 51% of americans are saying it's okay for these women to bre

>> michael cohen, since this has become -- >> sorry. >> has he talked to michael cohen about it? >> i'm sorry? >> has he talked to michael cohen about that this week since this has become news? >> i don't know. i'm not sure. >> did you hear that? she's saying there is no case and it's been won in arbitration. stormy daniels' attorney says the arbitration is bogus because the nondisclosure agreement is boeing us because david denison the president never signed it. he calls it implausible on candidate trump's behalf in the waning days with donald trump even knowing about it. sarah sanders said in so many words this is old news. the president and the white house have addressed this already. she said the president has addressed this directly. that's a quote, addressed this directly. keeping him honest that is simply flat out not true. no tweets at all from the president trump since "the wall street journal" broke the story back in january. no answers from him to questions from reporters. the only response up until now, the only one has been this nonanswer. on february 22nd by spokesm

then we have michael cohen trying to get stormy daniels to go to arbitration to -- if michael cohen is not working for donald trump, who is his client? my question is it that simple and does this help him win or lose? because michael cohen's defense is that he's doing things on his own. >> it's quite that simple. and the fact of the matter is it gets even simpler than that. michael cohen is an attorney under the new york state legal -- there is a requirement in new york, meaning it's not optional. that an attorney inform his or her client of all material facts relating to a negotiation, a case, et cetera. so in this instance, if in fact mr. trump was mr. cohen's client, then there's no question that mr. trump knew all about this. because mr. cohen would have an ethical obligation, not optional to inform mr. trump if mr. trump was not mr. cohen's client, then who was mr. cohen working for? the answer cannot be himself, because he wasn't a party individually to any of this. so the options are, either mr. trump or the trump organization, or some other unknown party that we haven't heard a

does it seem like michael coh cohen's actions have boomeranged on his boss? >> i think a defamation lawsuit is a very complicated thing to file and defend. i don't know that i would agree with the boomerang, but defamation cases are hard to bring, especially after the trump dossier was published and given the way we all know the way the dossier was used. >> over time the view of the dossier has certainly been that it's more newsworthy. i don't see how anyone in the world, including people who hate the dossier at this point would say not newsworthy. but what about the fact that there are things in there that have not been proven, that have not been verified. we have discussed this on air before, i don't think your claim can be everything in there is true. what about people and critics who say, you still put something out that has not been pufully verified. >> that's something we reported on the dossier, we wrote a story on the document that had been briefed to two presidents that was of enormous public interest. and we also said that the facts had not been pub

cohen is trying to sell to the american public. >> so, david, michael cohen spheresly loyal to donald trump as we know. >> yes. >> has he done a good job representing his client here. >> no, don, i don't think he has. first of all, the idea that he would have -- look, jack -- congressman kingston is right that we haven't proven yet or no one has proven that this is a campaign finance violation. but it strains credulity first of all as joe and joan are saying to think he would have gone out and done this of his own volition without any motive. >> david stop there. you have a juris doctorate. >> i do. >> does that stand up in court even though it strains credulity. because michael cohen believes he has iron clad document that they violated. >> you know, i think that the contract stands. but the contract and the f.e.c. violation if there is one is two different issues. but don wait a second let me step out of the legal mode for a second and say it occurs to me at some point that stormy daniels at this point with all the attention could just go out there and tell her story and set up a go

it was not an accident that michael cohen used the word facilitated. so did the money come from president trump himself? did it despite michael cohen's statement come from the trump organization? did it come from someone else? i don't really have a huge interest in knowing what the president did or didn't do years ago with stormy daniels. but i do have an interest in knowing what his exposure to potential blackmail is from stormy daniels or anybody else and who is paying in his effort to make sure, didn't succeed very well, that their relationship or non-relationship, whatever it was, make sure that she did not go public with her allegations. >> ashley, what about the political fallout here, and so far, it has not become a big issue, but is it going to become increasingly difficult for the white house to try to claim that this is not something involving donald trump and a payment that has questionable origins? >> so far, it hasn't become a big political issue for two reasons. the first is that a lot of this, not the money stuff that ruth was addressing

but the biggest question haunting michael cohen is the most obvious. if donald trump was not his client in this matter, who was? thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me, good to see you. >> you have been in the eye of this storm this week, and today we see new developments in this story. if michael cohen was doing all of this of his own volition and not for donald trump, then who is his client? >> it's a very good question, and it's a question that has not been answered by either mr. cohen or by the administration. and quite honestly, the entire story makes no sense. you don't have to be an attorney to conclude this does not add up. >> this is the weirdest thing. because in a lot of cases there's a debate about are you right, is michael right, is stormy right, is trump right? and these are the players. i have been reporting on this story as well. the latest development seems to be the idea that maybe michael cohen is just a rogue agent. i want to walk through this for the audience. you don't need to be a lawyer. we'll put up on the screen

>> michael cohen is an astute and smart attorney. he knew very well if he talked to the president or then candidate trump about this or ask him for money for this, that would have opened up a host of issues for the candidate now president. he is smart not to do. that he acted on his own volition which is what a smart attorney does. i hope to have friends like that. he knows in the long run, he will be okay, he will be fine because he did something that he felt was the right thing to do outside of the fact that donald trump is a billionaire. >> i appreciate it. thank you. next, the man stormy daniels attorney called a thug. later, his murder became a right wing conspiracy theory. how seth rich's brother is fighting back in court. ♪ a wealth of information. a wealth of perspective. ♪ a wealth of opportunities. that's the clarity you get from fidelity wealth management. straightforward advice, tailored recommendations, tax-efficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. fidelity weal

out a bunch of times to michael cohen. to the lawyer that the lawyer has now retained and there has been no comment, for example, on this new reporting or in our reporting over the last couple of days. cohen was extremely careful in his wording saying he facilitated that payment. he was cautious in the language that he used to a degree, and he also didn't say that donald trump personally never reimbursed him for that payment. >> ken dilanian, to a lawyer these are obviously important distinctions. but to the general public, where i believe close to 70% of the public already disapprove of this president and the job he's doing as president, he runs the risk of adding to that number of humans that may just disapprove of the job he does as a husband. i mean, there is a human element to this story. stormy daniels is a compelling figure for three reasons. one, she's willing to give back the money to tell her story. she doesn't look like she's after any financial gain. two, her original account that she detailed in in touch magaz

michael cohen claims defy credulity. the fact that he had dinner with the president on the eve of the stormy daniels interview, one that's been anticipated for days if not weeks, raises a lot of questions. that's a startling coincidence if that's all it was. speculation of they are trying to get their story straight. cohen said he's done this on his own volition, so on, so on, which, of course, most lawyers believe is just two farfetched to be believed. >> there's also from stormy daniels not just that physical threat which we played up top, but also the other threats that she says she has faced, the reason why she signed documents saying that she did not have an affair even though she is saying that she did have an affair. take a listen to the other thing she told anderson cooper. >> you signed and released a statement that said i'm not denying this affair because i was paid in hush money, i'm denying it because it never happened. that's a lie? >> yes. >> if it was untruthful, why did you sign it? >> because they made i

michael cohen says the money came from him. he facilitated the payment directly, didn't come from the trump organization, didn't come from the trump campaign, but to negotiate the deal, he used his trump organization e-mail account. >> really, it's unbelievable the way that this, one, the hush agreement is the one that won't shut up, and also how sloppily this has been done and executed. to have this paper trail is completely nonsen sirknonsensic. the whole purpose of having a nondisclosure agreement is to not have a paper trail. talking about finance distribution and expenditure laws. it doesn't matter that it didn't come from trump directly. most of the time when you have a campaign contribution, it's not coming from the candidate, it's coming from other people, and you have to report that as well. for him to try and say -- not a trump organization, because if it did come from my pocket, that's not the requirement for reporting and distribution. what is a requirement, if there is something made in furtherance of the campaign,

michael cohen has been saying this was just me. the trump -- the candidate trump, the trump organization had nothing to do with it. these documents -- they don't prove, but they certainly suggest that the trump organization has been intimately involved in the effort to keep stormy daniels quiet from the beginning. >> but you still don't know where the money came from, where the $130,000 came from. michael cohen says it's from his home equity line of credit. >> not yet. but thus far when we have attempted to test the veracity of the statements of michael cohen, he's failed each time. and i'm highly confident he's going to fail that one too. >> appreciate it. more to come on that no doubt. >>> next, the latest on the too close to call congressional race election in western pennsylvania and white house efforts to paint a democratic victory as actually a victory for president trump. and later, waves of kids walk out of their sculls in a nationwide effort to bring attention to gun violence and school safety. we'll show you where it happ

and then on top of that, you bring in michael cohen. michael cohen could wind up being squeezed like a lemon to flip, just to get information. so this is a whole new wrinkle in this very complicated russia investigation that could go into stormy daniels. and when we talk about michael cohen, remember this, no lawyer worth his salt or worth his degree will actually do what he did. $130,000 equity line of credit for his friend/client to give to -- to pay off to someone, to keep her quiet, just days before an election. and no one has done this. and there could be a complaint to the bar about what he did. so this has got a lot of tentacles that could still continue to unfurl in the middle of this. the president is being smart by being quiet. >> well, you know, sometimes he'll walk over to the rope line when he's getting off the plane or the helicopter and come over and talk. >> but he hasn't. >> he really hasn't had a full press conference, let's see, in how long? 404 days since the president, his last real -- >> over a year. >> -- his last

trump's attorney michael cohen. in return for signing this non- disclosure agreement, cohen would pay her $130,000 through a delaware-based limited liability corporation he had established in mid-october 2016 called essential consultants. daniels says the agreement was appealing because it meant she would receive some money but also not have to worry about the affect the revelation of the affair would have on her child who was now old enough to watch the news. she signed the agreement 11 days before the election. was it hush money to stay silent? >> daniels: yes. the story was coming out again. i was concerned for my family and their safety. >> cooper: i think some people watching this are going to doubt that you entered into this negotiation because you feared for your safety. they're going to think that you saw an opportunity. >> daniels: i think the fact that i didn't even negotiate, i just quickly said, "yes" to this very, you know, strict contract. and what most people will agree with me extremely low number. i

that raises a whole host of additional issues for michael cohen. these guys just can't get it straight, wolf. >> does stor-- did stormy danie lawyer reach out to keith davidson about that payment? >> that's what they say, they approached keith davidson, keith davidson came up with the $130,000 payment and michael cohen paid it. >> no. that's not true. that assertion is just as accurate as michael cohen paying the $130,000 from his own money and never talking to the president about it and the president knowing nothing about it. it's patently false. >> will your client, stormy daniels, release keith davidson, her first lawyer, from what he describes as attorney-client privilege that prevents him from discussing all this publicly? >> i don't know, wolf. we haven't discussed it. that's far more important in many instances than this particular finite issue. she may consider it and she'll make a determination, ultimately. >> but if your goal is for the american people, the american public, to know the entire truth and you're simply seeking transparency -

stormy daniels now suing michael cohen for defamation. does she have a case? >> well, let me say this, like millions of americans, karen watched ms. daniels on "60 minutes" and believed her just like millions of americans last week watched karen's conversation with anderson and believed her and i think it's important as a starting point -- and i tweeted about this for that reason -- to make sure that these women are not pitted against one another, particularly at this public moment. because to do that is to do a tremendous disservice to any other women that nave signed similar contracts and frankly a tremendous disservice to our democracy. >> so you think stormy daniels had a case against michael cohen? >> from our perspective, the most important thing is that people in a circumstance like this are able to tell their story. i don't mean to dodge that question at all. i've been focused 24/7 almost on my client karen mcdougal and i know she has a case and the reason is simple. she was tricked into signing a bogus contract with a quarter billion dollar company th

i think my first choice of a witness at a public hearing would be michael cohen because michael cohen is the president's go-to money man. of course we've heard a lot of rumors over the last few days about his involvements with various people that the american people are pretty curious about. but the bottom line for me is the key issues are what are called the "follow the money" questions, and the republican leadership in neither the house nor the senate are getting into it. that's why i put michael cohen as my first public witness in the senate. >> "the new york times" happens to be reporting tonight -- actually it's "the washington post." i'm getting my big breaking news confused here because there is so much of it. "the washington post" is reporting that the special counsel is now asking questions about michael cohen, specifically some deals having to do with russia, one that happened just after the campaign and one that happened before the campaign. what specifically do you want to ask michael cohen? >> i want to ask him about a host of issues. as you know, there are published repo

believe me, michael cohen got calls 3:00 in the morning. mick alan i would be at dinner and boss calling him all the time. so always problems, in any business always problems. >> thanks. >> thank you. >> and we'll talking about this. >>> and are they testing the faith that evangelical has on this president. and maybe politicians are just like us. and the picture everyone is talking about. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a medication, this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further irreversible damage. this is humira helping me reach for more. humira has been clinically studied for over 20 years. humira works for many adults. it targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious alle

did he reimburse michael cohen? as some show that michael cohen expected. and were there other women who received these types of payments. it is a little incredible this would be a one-time thing when you think about donald trump and his personality and all the other allegations from other he said about we heard during the campaign. >> if you look at the agreement, it looks like a form. like something that has been used more than once. and one reason michael cohen might be trying on keep stormy daniels silent, he is worried about the flood gates. if there are others who have received compensation in return for their silence, if stormy daniels can break with impugnity, perhaps they feel they can too. let me say that i don't know that there are other agreements. but it raises the possibility. and remember that michael cohen as recently as february 27th, was seeking to keep stormy daniels quiet through other means. the restraining order over arbitration that she did not know about. i think stormy daniels and her lawyer are playing the media game. that doesn't

. >> right, michael cohen does not. if there's delay getting the president to be deposed, you can always get michael cohen deposed, assuming he can get anyone deposed in this case. >> in both cases, think about it, in some ways michael cohen is a more potentially damage is witness in the sense that, as harry points out the facts of the stormy daniels case alone the politics are not particularly damaging to trump. as everybody believes trump had an affair with an adult film actress. people believe bill clinton had affairs with multiple women. the american people are forgiving of extra plarlgts affairs among politicians, especially presidents. his support will not diminish by admitting that. the question of how many of these documents are out there how much is this a form nda, when you start to widen and have questions about the pattern of behavior here, you start to get out into the very deep weeds. and michael cohen will be suddenly find himself, if he's not -- to avoid perjury, will find himself telling stories that wi

michael cohen orchestrated the payout that may become of interest to mueller. it has nothing to do with her but may have something to do -- is this how they move money in the trump world. >> that is exactly right. and an investigation like that, you would want to know -- and michael cohen is hugely important in that. because he's so close and involved in all of the president's dealings. and -- >> and now there is some reporting that he's -- that he had a letter of in tent on a moscow deal. >> right. >> so there is some connectivity. >> and he is in those things. so if you wanted to know how the president would have moved money around and what michael cohen -- and what different -- for lack of a better word schemes he had going, if there was something nefarious going on to get money into different places, this is an easy way to track that. >> alfonso, what is the political impact. there is this -- the ick factor and the drama people are tired of. is there any real impact here. >> ironically and surprising this and on this i may agree with ruth and i'm anticipati

michael cohen is saying it was his personal money. lots of people doubt it. michael cohen -- people are also saying, look, the president didn't know about this. it's hard to believe that 11 days before the election, the president did not know what his close friend and personal attorney was doing on his behalf. >> and if the president or his attorney did, indeed, laura, break the law here, that is really the important question. some people may not care about a tawdry affair with a porn star. that's their business. others will. especially someone who is running for president and his personal attorney broke the law, that is indeed a big question. >> it's huge here. and remember, not only did sarah huckabee sanders expose the arbitration happening in court, she also confirmed for the first time that david denison was donald trump, and he was actually a party to all this. that's why it's trending about david denison. but you're right, don, the large story here is not about whether a porn star was involved in the then-private citizen after the birth of his child. t

you know, up until that point, he was leading us to believe it was michael cohen that michael cohen was the one threatening. what did we learn from that interview, mierk al cohen didn't make one threat or spoken to stormy daniels. what this guy says is a threat is a complete fiction. i don't know where he's from. but you're from queens, i'm from brooklyn. that ain't a threat where we're from. where two lawyers speak to each other about a damages clause in a contract and somehow he interprets that as a threat. >> let's look at the different avenues of legale -- exposure for cohen. by saying this is a lie, none of this happened that way, it's defamatory, you hurt her reputation. >> that's not the statement. >> calling her -- >> defamation is a very -- you have to look at the statement itself. what's one of the elements of defamation? a false statement. >> right. >> all he said was, the only statement in question is it doesn't matter whether something is true or not, it can still hurt a person. i will do anything to defend mr. trump. that's the statement at hand. one of the elements that h

they were drafted by michael cohen, so if donald trump has consistently used michael cohen to do his dirty work or deeds, then i think you could actually reasonably challenge those nondisclosure provisions in the other ndas that have been executed. but maria is right. what are they trying to hide? i'm not very interested in knowing the specific details. daniels definitely had something on donald trump that he didn't want the public to know. >> michael cohen might say that zpaerpt if it's true or false, the mere allegations could hurt the president and that's why the money needed to be paid at that time. who knows? maria and katy fang, ladies, thank you very much. >>> this hour at the white house, the president is rehashing a decades old debate on video games. up next, we'll talk about the real action that is or is not being taken on guns. over the years, paul and i have met regularly with our ameriprise advisor. we plan for everything from retirement to college savings. giving us the ability to add on for an important member of our family. welcome home mom. with the right financial a

in exchange, trump's attorney, michael cohen, wired daniels $130,000 and clifford's new attorney, michael avenatti told nbc's "today" show he has no doubt the president knew. >> there's no question the president knew about it at the time. the idea that an attorney would go off on his own without his client's knowledge and engage in this type of negotiation and enter into this type of agreement quite honestly i think is ludicrous. >> reporter: the real damning information if true is what happened little more than a week ago. the president's attorney tried yet again to silence clifford. on or about february 27th, 2018, mr. trump's attorney, mr. cohen, surreptitiously initiated a bogus arbitration proceeding against ms. clifford in los angeles, the lawsuit says, in an attempt to intimidate ms. clifford into silence and shut her up. clifford's lawyer included this so-called hush agreement in the lawsuit saying it was written by michael cohen. it refers to donald trump under an alias, david dennison and clifford under the name peggy peterson. according to the hush agreement, stephanie clifford

>> the major question is why would michael cohen -- what is michael cohen's role here? why is he using an e-mail associated with the trump administration? he's a colorful character. he's been donald trump's personal fixer and consulary going back more than a decade. there was talk he had been sidelined because he's never had a job in the trump administration. but one of his longtime roles has been to deal with women who have alleged affairs with mr. trump. more than one of these cases. and that has risen him to prominence again. even though he's been a registered democrat who said he voted for barack obama in 2008, he's been a loyal and fierce defender of the president and what exactly was his role here and did he pay this with his own money? did somebody else pay the settlement? that's the crucial question. >> back to the significance of the difference between a trump organization e-mail address and a gmail account, for folks who may not understand why that would be so important? >> because if it is a trump e-mail address, that is one factor that tends to show that mic

. >> but michael cohen faces criticism for his handling of the stormy daniels case. daniels attorney says the agreement michael cohen drew up was quote sloppy. >> the way this was handled and the documentation, quite honestly, this was amateur hour. >> michael cohen recently said he used own personal funds to, quote, facilitate payment to the porn star before the 2016 election something without his knowledge, which some people say is unheard of. >> i would say 99.9 lawyers in america would never even contemplate doing this. >> in response, cohen tells cnn legal arguments and documents in the daniels case are air tight. and that he believes it's daniels liable for millions in damages based on her conduct. but cohen being criticized from pure public relations standpoint. >> i think the entire thing was reckless, naive, or completely incompetent. >> crisis specialist was a bad idea to pay off would make her go away. >> what would he should have told trump? >> tell him it won't work work. so dealing with it honestly only choice they have. >> thanks for that report. story

trump and his attorney, michael cohen, under oath. i spoke with stormy daniels' lawyer, michael avenatti, he insists this is just a temporary setback. this round apparently goes to the president. >> reporter: hi, wolf, that's right. the president and his personal attorney, michael cohen, won a legal victory in federal court today. a judge ruling they will not have to sit and answer questions under oath from stormy daniels' attorney, michael avenatti, at least not yet. a federal judge in california is denying a move by stormy daniels' lawyer, michael avenatti, to question president trump and his personal attorney, michael cohen, under oath about a $130,000 deal reached with daniels before the 2016 election to keep her quiet. the judge calling the request premature. avenatti playing down the ruling. >> this is just a procedural ruling. it really means nothing. basically what the court has said is that we have to wait until the president and mr. cohen file their motion to compel arbitration, and as soon as we do that or as soon as they d

but in terms of the jury trial, why is it only michael cohen who needs to be deposed. well, they say whatever michael cohen said about whether or not this matter may be truthful, which is what the cause of defamation is about, where would he have gotten his information? he would have gotten his information, if it's truthful or not, from the president. so then did the president know that there was going to be this hutch agreement as it's been called or the nondisclosure agreement, when did he know it? the old watergate questions, what did you know, when did you know it. then we have did he know where the money came from? did he have anything to do with ordering the hush agreement? ordering the money? so it's backtracking all the way as to how this came about. remember, this is 11 days, this signature, before the 2016 election. >> right. and timing is very, very key here. rikki klieman, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> ahead, we'll talk with michael avenatti, stormy's new attorney,er about this new motion to depose the pretty and what if given the chance he would a

michael cohen. >> first of all, lawyers do not pay settlements for clients. >> you don't know michael cohen. there's nobody more loyal to the president than michael cohen. >> loyalty gets you locked up. ask john edwards. >> i get that. >> then it's about michael cohen then, right? >> you're throwing michael cohen understand the bus? >> i'm not throwing him under the bus. he knew exactly what he was doing and he's going to have to discuss this. >> this is the problem with what sarah sanders said at the white house today. she has no acknowledged that this is not just michael cohen. she said that the arbitration was settled favorably to the president. she made it clear that there is a connection here between the president that if it was michael cohen, fine, it was michael cohen, but he was acting at president trump's behest. regardless of whether you think stormy daniels as credibility issues or some sort of agenda, the fact is she is alleging some conduct. the white house cannot rule out that conduct.

this is michael cohen february 13. in a private transaction in 2016, i used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to ms. stephanie clifford neither the trump organization, and it goes on. >> now, what i assume jill martin would say was i wasn't really involved in the litigation. she uses the phrase pro hoc which refers to, the act of allowing an out of town lawyer to appear in your state. she will say, and that is implied in her statement, i wasn't involved in the litigation. i was helping mr. rosen the real lawyer appear here because he is not a california lawyer. and out of all the lawyers in california to help you get your point across, why too you pick someone in the trump organization unless this is a trump organization initiative. >> i suppose mr. cohen could also say and again we reached out to him and not heard back, that because he wanted this to remain confidential, that is why he did it. >> maintain the confidences of those clients. so the idea that this was the only attorney in the entir

. >> not true according to michael cohen. who said only his signature was required. what was also required under the nondisclosure agreement was for stormy daniels to turn over all video images, still images, e mail, text message she's had regarding mr. trump. >> did you do that? >> i can't anser thwer that. >> you don't want to say if you have text messages or items. >> my attorney recommended i don't discuss those things. >> you seem to be saying she has some sort of -- text message or individually or, or photographs, or you could just be bluffing. >> you should ask some of the other people in my career when they have bet on me bluffing. >> you can s harry's meeting clients... ...from far away. but they only see his wrinkles. if only harry used some... ...bounce, to dry. he would be a less wrinkly, winning guy. >>> gra tffiti artists, leaving their mark, things have changed. a lot of wall paintings are seen as art or advertising. don dahler has the the story. >> reporter: in cities around the country. street art attracts th

he brokered the deal for daniels with trump's personal attorney michael cohen to pay $130,000 as part of this confidentiality agreement. and both women say they were later intimidated to keep from talking. in mcdougal's case she says it's by the parent company of the national inquirer who she sold her story to. >> they put out statement saying you can talk to the media, that you're free. >> yeah, i saw that statement, too. but according to their attorney i can't. there'll be financial ruin. >> trump, cohen and ami have all disputed the affairs. he says he doesn't remember any e-mails coming from ami to him in mcdougal's case and denies intimidating anyone. ami denied the allegation there was a coordinated campaign to convince mcdougal that she would be sued her reputation would be besmirched if she told the truth. they say that's not true. in fact, shoe sued us. now that keith davidson, we heard from a spokesperson, he was the attorney back then for stormy daniels and the attorney for karen mcdougal unbeknownst to mcdougal as well. we heard from a spokesperson saying he would like to

believe me, michael cohen got calls at 3 in the morning. michael and i would be at dinner. boss could be calling him all the time. >> i'm sure. >> so there were always problems. any business always problems. >> you buy it? >> well, no, i actually believe it. i bloo eve there were a ton of porn stars and a ton of playmates. i do believe that. because that's what he's saying. this isn't unusual. evidently there were all kinds of women that would come out of the woodwork due to their prior relationships with the president, and that's why he had mr. cohen on speed dial, his fixer. if you don't have a lot of problems and shouldn't be doing things you shouldn't be doing, you don't need a full-time 24 hour a day fixer. >> you said eight additional women come to you. two had ndas but you haven't vetted them all. >> correct. >> do you know some of them will be legitimate? any sense how many are or aren't? >> we are further down that process but i'm not willing to stake my reputation. but what we are doing is put our reputation between this client miss daniels. >> before we go any fu