and michael cohen may not be done. cohen's attorney lanny davis was with us just moments ago here on "new day." he hinted cohen has information about the russian attack on the 2016 election and the president's knowledge of it. >> mr. cohen has knowledge that would be of interest to the special counsel about the issue of whether donald trump ahead of time knew about the hacking of e-mails, which is a computer crime that was the subject of the indictment of the 12 russians. >> it's a clear and deliberate tease from cohen's attorney lanny davis because davis would not tell us anything near about what that information allegedly is. davis says cohen is willing to testify without immunity publicly before congress and on top of all of this, the president's one-time campaign chair paul manafort was convicted on eight counts in his financial fraud trail. he faces years in prison. the president says he feels bad for him. but bad enough to pardon him? that's one of the questions. i want to bring in david cay johnston, former fede

last night on cnn, michael cohen's lawyer, lanny davis, suggested michael cohen has information to share that would be of interest to prosecutors that relates to the trump foundation, the charity. today, that made something happen in the world, the people investigating the trump foundation as a potential criminal matter subpoenaed michael cohen to give them whatever testimony he's got about the trump foundation. 'apparently sprinted right over. in addition last night is, lanny davis told us on this show that michael also has information about the president potentially having advance notice of the criminal hacking that happened during the campaign in which russian government hackers attacked democratic party computers to wreak havoc and steal information used to help trump win the election. we don't know what lanny davis meant by that carefully worded statement he made on the show last night. today, there has been a lot of focus on this reference on page 16 of the criminal information against cohen in which prosecutors say that when michael cohen got his reimbursement from the trump organ

today when michael cohen pleaded guilty, the prosecutor and the judge made it clear that michael cohen will have to pay restitution for the damage he has done with his crimes. but how can michael cohen pay restitution to the 65 million people who voted for hillary clinton for president? or to some, some of the 62 million people who voted for donald trump but would not have if they had heard stormy daniels story about donald trump telling her that she reminded him of his daughter before he had sex with stormy daniels. how do you pay restitution to the 330 million people who now live in a country where the president was accused today in federal court of conspiring to commit two crimes for the principal purpose of influencing the election? there is no campaign finance violation in history that comes close to the enormity of the crimes that michael cohen confessed to today and accused the president of the united states of ordering him to com t commit. leading off our discussion now, john heilemann, co-host and executive producer of showtime's "the host." jill wine-banks, former assistant p

>> you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> also, michael cohen's attorney lanny davis says he has information on the 2016 election and the president's knowledge of it. the president's one-time campaign chair was convicted of eight counts in his financial trial and could face decades in prison. the president says he felt bad for paul manafort. bad enough to pardon him, though? that's the question. >>> there are many questions. let's bring in cnn's senior political analyst, laura coats, and chad lew, a former attorney for rick gates. it is great to have you here on this important morning. laura, let me start with you. cohen, the defendant, caused and made the payments described herein in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. in so doing, he coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls about the fact, nature and timing of this. i'm curious, why did he have to go that far? why couldn't michael cohen say, yes, i did the payments. why did he say it was to influence the 2016 election and directed by trump? >> because the campaign finan

michael cohen. yes, your honor. have you read it? i have, sir. have you discussed with it your attorney? >> mr. cohen, i have, sir. >> the judge. mr. cohen, do you understand sir, that you are now under oath and if you answer any of my questions falsely, your false or untrue answers may later be used against you in another prosecution for perjury or making a facility statement? or making a false statement? michael cohen, i do, your honor. the judge, very well. for the record, what is your full name? michael cohen says, michael dean cohen. the judge, and at this time, mr. cohen, you may be seated and i would ask that you pull the microphone close to you. the defendant, thank you, your honor. >> mr. cohen, how old are you, sir? the defendant, in four days i'll be 52. the judge, how far did you go in school? >> law. >> the judge. are you able to read, white, speak and understand english. >> the defendant, yes, your honor. >> the judge. are you now or have you recently been under the care of a doctor or

michael cohen said the president wrote the law. and this could happen with the legal side of what could happen and the political side, jeffrey. and david eluded to this, too. this gets to the issue of what will congress do? what will congress do now before november? and what will he do after november? i don't know if the democrats will take over the house, maybe they will. then i assume likely there will be hearings, but there are two months to go before that happens, jeffrey. trey gowdy, bob goodlatt, republicans who can subpoena people, what will they do? >> well, if the past is prologue at all, the republicans in the house of representatives and the senate will do nothing at all. i mean, this has been a republican party in congress, completely devoted to protecting rather than investigating donald trump. and since there are only two months to go, i don't see any alternative, any alternative scenario developing while the house is in republican hands. if the democrats retake control, i think it's going to be a very different story

michael cohen and others? and i think those are really the big issues right now. >> here's the one problem. i'll get to you, molly. the one problem if he issues a pardon, he could be subpoenaed -- we're talking about paul manafort -- testify before congress. he condition no longer plead the fifth if he has a pardon from the president of the united states? >> maybe, maybe not. some of them were tax fraud charges which may expose him to consequences -- criminal consequences in state court. and so his equivalent to the fifth amendment right is available in that context. and it's very rare for a judge to say, no, you can't invoke the fifth. you have to testify. i think as a practical matter he probably still could decline to testify. >> molly, how do you see this unfolding? >> with all due respect, there's a way to read it that is not just as a signal that trump is going to pardon cohen. if he did intend to pardon him -- >> sorry, to pardon manafort. he's had a lot time of when he could have done that and hasn't s

michael cohen might flip? >> look, i did nothing wrong. you have to understand, this stuff would have come out a long time ago. i did nothing wrong. >> is michael cohen still your friend? >> i haven't spoken to michael in a long time. >> is he still your lawyer? >> no, he's not my lawyer but -- >> personal lawyer, not anymore? >> i always liked michael and he's a good person. >> are you going to -- >> do you mind if i talk? >> i just want to know if you're worried he's going to cooperate with federal investigators. >> no, because i did nothing wrong. >> got it. >> again, that was donald trump reacting earlier this summer to the possibility of michael cohen turning on him. michael avenatti, i think we still have you with us. you were saying a few minutes ago you felt the president didn't treat -- didn't necessarily think things through given how he treated michael cohen. is there something the president could or should have been doing this summer that would have -- short of a pardon, that would have changed thi

not michael cohen. michael cohen wasn't running for president. the whole point of this illegal campaign contribution was to benefit donald trump. and now michael cohen is asserting that it was done at the direction of donald trump. so why would michael cohen be exclusively prosecuted and not donald trump? for a crime like this. but remember, he is president of the united states. and there is a justice department policy. it's a policy. it is not a law. not in the constitution. it doesn't necessarily have to be followed. but it is a policy that the president cannot be indicted. but what we have here and what went on in open court today is a very explicit statement by michael cohen in effect endorsed by the southern district of new york that donald trump also committed a federal crime in campaign finance violations. >> it's significant, mark preston, that the president when he walked down the stairs of air force one, he went over to reporters, made a strong statement in support of paul manafort, found guilty on eight counts, felony courts today in v

president, what about michael cohen? any comment on michael cohen? >> it doesn't involve me the president says. he cannot say that anymore about michael cohen. was released to do on a $500,000 bond. identified in those court documents as individual one. that is the current president of the united states right there in cohen's criminal information. according to cohen, he illegally conducted payment to two women. stormy daniels and karen mcdougal. at the direction of president donald j. trump. >> tom winter was in the courtroom. what did you see tonight? >> the first couple of hearings because arguments over several months about who should look at the evidence that was seized from michael cohen and how should that process go through and a tremendous amount of media attention, stormy daniels was in line. it felt more like a new york city nightclub than a hearing. today it was different. as soon as michael cohen entered the courtroom, the entire courtroom quieted down. no gasps or any sort of outburst from the crowd at all. the thing that was interesting

. >> i understood michael cohen very well. he -- well, it turned out he wasn't a very good lawyer, frankly. but he was somebody that was probably with me for about ten years. >> we will have more of what the president had to say to fox news later in the hour. but first, whatever happened to the best people? >> we're going to use our best people. >> the best people. >> i know guys that are so goo.s >> i know the best people. >> president trump's first thought today, which was expressed in his first tweet this morning was about one of those best people. he said, if anyone is looking for a good lawyer, i would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of michael cohen. like all donald trump tweets, that one was directed only at his most fervent supporters. the rest of us know how absurd that is on its face. and like all trump tweets, it is completely and indefensibly absurd. what are the remaining trump supporters supposed to do with that tweet? do they have a shelf in their brains where they can put that tweet right be

retain the services of michael cohen." later the president turned to the fact and law twisting portion of his morning, michael cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. probe had a big campaign violation and easily settled. on the second point, first, the president appears to be referring to a 2008 obama campaign which was fined $375,000 by the federal election commission for missing certain reporting deadlines. the matter didn't rise to the criminal level because there is no evidence that the misreporting was deliberate. by contrast, mr. cohen pleaded guilty to a pair of violation that's not only were deliberate but also according to cohen's statement were done and i quote, "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office." he bought the silence of stormy daniels and karen mcdougal right before the election. as for it not be a crime, perhaps mr. cohen should tell that to the judge at his sentencing. beyond this legal claim which we'll discuss shortly

>> number. >> why did michael cohen make it? >> you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my -- an attorney. you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money? >> no. >> his lawyer said he did reimburse him for the daniels payoff and a few weeks ago michael cohen revealed the recording he made that shows mr. trump was also involved in the karen mcdougal arrangement, the david you'll hear in this tape is david pecker of ami. >> i need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that information regarding our friend david. so that i'm going to do that right away. i've spoken to allen about how to set the whole thing up with -- >> so what are we going to do? >> yes. and it's all the stuff, all the stuff. because you don't know what he's going to do. correct. so i'm all over that. and i spoke to allen about it. when it comes time for the financing which will be -- >> what financing? >> well, i have to pay you. >> pay the cash? >> no. no. no. >> how are you? >> when the recording first hit, many observers rashsaid it soun like a couple of cr

that's what michael cohen says. do the great debaters agree? and do they think that michael avenatti has a shot at advancing his case with the president being put under oath? look at who we got for you. cuomo's court is in session, next. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done! simply enter your destination and dates... and see all the hotels for your stay! tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites... to show you the lowest prices... so you can get the best deal on the right hotel for you. dates, deals, done! tripadvisor. visit tripadvisor.com i'm a small business, but i have... big dreams... and big plans. so how do i make the efforts of 8 employees... feel like 50? how can i share new plans virtually? how can i download an e-file? virtual tours? zip-file? really big files? in seconds, not minutes... just like that. like everything... the answer is simple. i'll do what i've always done... dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more p

wasn't michael cohen. michael cohen wasn't the one who was running for president. it was donald trump. so if you wanted to look at the way prosecutors generally view culpability, they look at who benefits. who made the money. who was at the top of the pyramid. here, there's not even close to a debate about that. this was something done for the benefit of donald trump, who, according to michael cohen, directed the entire illegal conspiracy. remember that phrase, at the direction of. cohen said this whole illegal activity, these illegal campaign contributions, was done -- were done at the direction of donald trump. now, we haven't heard from trump or his lawyers. perhaps they'll say michael cohen is lying. perhaps they're saying there was no crime here. but at least what went on in federal court today was a statement that donald trump directed an illegal conspiracy to commit felony campaign finance violations. that's pretty extraordinary. >> the president had a chance to speak about what michael cohen was alleging when he spoke with reporters upon his arrival in char

. >> used to defend michael cohen. you'll recall all the things david schwartz told the american people that have proved to be absolutely false. >> okay. so, you've made a lot of predictions and a lot of them have come true. i'm just wondering what this means -- and i'll get to that, the one important one i want to talk about. what does this amelia draper for yo -- mean for your case? does this mean you will possibly get to depose a sitting president? what are the chances that of? >> i think the likelihood of us being able to depose first michael cohen and second donald trump, i think those odds went through the roof today as a result of this plea, as a result of the language in the plea and the facts that michael cohen pled to. i think there's little question as to whether we're going to get a deposition of michael cohen and i'm going to be permitted to ask him specific questions about what happened and the level of communications and i'm going to get to the details relating to that. and then i am guessing -- i'm not

that's michael cohen. we have greg now, former fbi assistant director at the fbi office of congressional affairs. take me behind the scenes of when michael cohen is first taken into custody by the fbi, just in the last hour or two, what that even looks like. >> hi, brooke. i just left court myself and so i'm not up to speed on all of the details of the reporting. i understand that cohen does plan on entering a guilty plea although according to reporting i've seen, there's not a cooperation agreement per se. that's somewhat unique in and of itself. we'll see if that changes over time. needless to say, the process that cohen is about to undergo is a sobering one. he will be brought into the courthouse, processed. if this is a typical sort of initial appearance type of proceeding today, he'll appear before a magistrate judge. the government will put on the record that they've entered into a plea agreement with cohen. cohen will affirm that and it will go from there. >> and that walk into that federal courthou

that michael cohen has? >> and speaking to chris earlier, chris said he has no reason to lie, it doesn't behoove him to lie, because then he's in more trouble than he's already in. does he have the proof? does he have the receipts? so first of all, yes, the wire transfer from the trump corporation to the account that michael cohen set up that then went to stormy daniels is recognizable and provable. let me repeat, the proof is president trump's own lawyers wrote the special council and used the word directed. there doesn't need to be proof when the lawyers have acknowledged that the client directed michael cohen to make an illegal payment. making the payment as guilty certainly as the lawyer, an in my judgment, more guilty because he was trying to cover up and hide his own role in the situation with ms. daniels by having cohen do the deed rather than himself. there is no dispute, there is no need for proof. his lawyers have admitted that fact. >> everyone knew that the president knew. and when he got aboard

>> why did michael cohen make it? >> you have to ask michael cohen. michael's my attorney and you have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know. no. >> it was -- david chalian, back do you. laura was speaking and i was thinking about this. the direct connection to the campaign. will you remind everyone the significance of that moment? >> well, it was not a believable moment as it occurred and then, of course, you will recall in the days after sarah sanders asked time and again in the briefings about it, she was unable to sort of shed additional light on it without getting herself twisted into knots. we know that right there in that question on april 5th that was he says michael cohen is my attorney. just remember, that's not that long ago, brooke, about how much this relationship has taken a turn. right? because it was not there long after michael cohen was not his attorney and in fact turning on him and you could see the president choosing his words so deliberately there in describing michael c

he laid into michael cohen in that interview with fox news and even tried to minimize michael cohen's role in his life. he at one point called cohen a part time employee but on the issue of paul manafort, the other legal issue on the outskirts of this situation, the president remained coy about a key question -- would he be willing to pardon manafort? listen. >> are you considering pardoning paul manafort? >> i have great respect for what he's done in terms of what he's gone through. you know he worked for ronald reagan for years. he worked for bob dole, i guess his firm worked for john mccain. he worked for many, many people. many, many years. and i would say what he did, some of the charges they threw against him, every consultant, every lobbyist in washington probably does. >> well, so much for draining the swamp. it seems very much that president trump is not at all concerned about those charges paul manafort was found guilty of. in fact he later told the fox news interviewer that one of the reasons he had respect for manafort was that he didn't flip like michael cohen did. this i

michael cohen isn't a credible witness. if what he was saying yesterday is true, then what he has been saying for the last year isa he has been saying for the last year is a lie. if he has some corroboration to what he said in that courtroom, we will look at something that will metastasise very quickly and something that will go badly. the republicans haven't been great in holding this administration to account, but these are very serious charges and they may amount to high crimes and misdemeanours, so what do the chairs of thejustice committee and the oversight committee, what do they do about this? the reaction on capitol hill has been very muted. ronald hatch, one of the most senior republicans has said it hasn't reached impeachment. we will see a lot of people take a look back and say, let's watch and wait and see what develops in the coming weeks. jonathan, i know you set in the camp that a sitting president can be indicted, andi that a sitting president can be indicted, and i think you are in the minority, but do you

so, michael cohen is not a credible person. and republicans will do everything they can to remind people of that to discredit him and his allegations. and that's what you're hearing right now. not just from republican lawmakers. but also in the conservative media that shaped so much of the public opinion. and i think that this is a case where for now at least, people do write off allegations around michael cohen. now, where that goes from here, what else has evan pointed out that could happen, the government shutdown that we could be fighting over in a few weeks it will contribute to even more perceptions of chaos. you just don't know where this is going. >> yes, and paul manafort and conservative media went after rick gates as a liar and adulterer. but a jury found paul manafort guilty on eight charges. i want to bring a moderator on pbs. you tweeted you had breakfast with a, quote, government trump player. what does that mean? >> it means people around the president, his longtime associates, advisers and friends are keeping a

. >> why did michael cohen -- >> you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know, no. >> there you go. today we do know because michael cohen answered that question. you'll have to ask michael cohen, in court today. said it was at the behefts of the president. giuliani said in may on another network, yeah, he knew about these payments and he paid him back. how does the white house handle this? what does sarah sanders say at the podium when you and other journalists ask her? >> well, let's not even go to sarah. that would be tomorrow. let's talk about tonight. the white house from what i'm understanding from our republican sources are -- white house staffers are very upset and very concerned about what the president could say tonight in west virginia. so that's the first step. and then tomorrow you know, we always hear sarah sanders do prez-splaining. this president and michael cohen are polar opposites on the truth as it relates

i think the fact that michael cohen was being asked, you were being asked questions about michael cohen, you previously have talked about how many questions you got about roger stone, and there's no question we might see indictments on roger stone coming down the pike. but even if michael cohen hadn't committed any crimes, i think he would have been someone who was significant to the mueller investigation to understand what he knew and what he had. what we see here is mueller kicked it out to the southern district because it made sense. michael cohen was in new york. the crimes related to this were -- happened in new york. it is part of the justice department. and they have the ability to actually leverage that evidence in the mueller investigation. >> so let me ask you, you know the mind-set of the president, you're working closely with steve bannon who also knows the mind-set of the president. there's reporting that there's great concern inside the white house after the developments yesterday involving paul manafort and michael cohen, what is your assessment of the president's mind-se

michael cohen still is facing jail time. michael cohen does not have immunity from anything. michael cohen has other things. what deal did you cut? explain what the deal is when i heard the words deal. what makes it a deal? >> i have no idea. he pled guilty in a corroborative statement. the word that the prosecutors and michael cohen agreed he would say to the judge under oath, at the direction and coordination of the candidate. >> and what did he get in return, a promise of a lesser sentence? >> no. >> what did he get in return? >> nothing. he has said i will tell the truth to whoever asks me to appear. but he hasn't done that in return for anything. that's why he called me. >> let me ask you this. is this a deal in order to make a deal? >> no. >> is he hoping to get something in the future -- >> no. >> -- from the feds? is he hoping that he has more information that will help him get less jail time? >> no. he said in court under oath using words provided and corroborated by prosecutors that the president of the united states committed a felony. that's exactly what he said.

i understood michael cohen very well. he turned out not to be a very good lawyer. >> he did represent the president for ten years. just to remind you, here is what trump said about cohen over last few months before turning on his old boss. >> one of my personal attorneys, good man. >> i can tell you, he's a good guy. >> i always liked michael cohen. i have not talked to michael in a long time. >> is he your lawyer? >> he's my lawyer. he's a good person. >> the white house is short on answers as the contradictions mount. the president himself seems unfazed. even 1:10 a.m. tweeting no collusion. we have kaitlan collins with more. >> reporter: christine and dave, the president is now facing enormous political and legal pressure. in the middle of that, he is trying to change his story of the payments michael cohen made to the two women who allege they had an affair with trump. what he knew and when. the president saying with fox news he did in the know about the payments until later on. he did not specify a date. >> did you k

michael cohen. tell me about your relationship with him. >> well, he was a lawyer for me for -- one of many. they always say the lawyer and they like to add the fixer. well i don't know if he was a fixer. i don't know where that term came from. he was a lawyer for me, didn't do big deals, did small deals. they make it sound like i didn't live without him. it turned out michael cohen wasn't a very good lawyer but he was probably with me for ten years and i would see him sometimes. >> barely knew the guy. >> who is this michael cohen of whom you speak? mitchell cohen? >> i always like he was probably with me for about ten years. as if he doesn't know the history. >> and also ten years? that strikes me as not a short time. we are only on this earth for so ma many. if you are an adult, ten years is a substantial chunk of your life. >> it's important for people to understand. michael cohen was integral to president trump's personal operation, part of the family essentially. he was not only his lawyer but

we have the michael cohen. that deserves -- so much fact checking in that i don't have three hours to do when it comes to the 33,000 e-mails and the crimes that have already been discussed. there were hearings held on all of this stuff. hillary clinton is the president in his head. and probably in the head of the folks who work for fox news. he's talking as inin ining abou by him saying, susan, it's something every lobbyist in washington has done, that's not true, either. >> i think it's not true and there has been some confusion about sort of the scope of fora. this is a man who stood up in front of the united states of america and swore an oath to take care that the laws be faithfully executed and now we have him in an interview, one, implying that breaking the law is not a big deal, it's something that everybody does and shouldn't be held responsible for it. the same time, we have him tweeting, actually praising someone for failing to cooperate and provide information with federal investigators. so, you know

case or theafort michael cohen case? >> the fact that this is a logical question i think shows just how severe this is. this is the president's longtime fixer, michael cohen, who is just at the trump hotel with members of his family talking to members of the inner circle. just to see the complete reversal in that. scarlet: kevin, let me jump in because we are getting details on the charges michael cohen has been charged with. he is being charged with evading personal income tax, unlawful corporate campaign contribution, and a false statement to financial institutions. ofknew there was some realm bank fraud, tax fraud, and campaign finance. specifically the charges are evading personal income tax, unlawful corporation campaign contribution, and a full statement of financial institutions. and, excessive campaign contribution in october 2016? does that unlike a payment to you, kevin? >> that particular charge, yes. i'm getting these details just as you are. that charge relates -- could relate, i want to be clear here with r

that being a turning point for michael cohen. i've always noticed that donald trump deflects sometimes with foreign policy news of his own. just to get the headlines to go in a different direction. is michael cohen at this point worried that this president will do something unbelievably idiotic to deflect from these headlines? >> are you asking me? >> yeah. >> the answer is of course. everybody in america who isn't a hard core doesn't care whether he lies, doesn't care whether he aligns with putin, doesn't care at all and we're probably down to below 40%, everybody else in america is worried about a president of the united states who acts recklessly, sometimes acts without the ability that you would want to have a president mentally and denies his own intelligence community's unanimous assessment, including dan coats and mike pompeo and everybody else that putin interfered to help him get elected. that is a simple fact. and it's very scary that we have a president of the united states aligning with putin and i think after helicis

cohen -- excuse me, michael cohen facts fund.com. or truth fund.com. excuse me. michael cohen truth fund.com as a way of asking people who supported his commitment to tell the truth, especially about mr. trump. he does need the help. >> but you understand that by not saying whether or not he's already met with mueller and his team you're leaving open the possibility that he already has met with them. >> i am leaving open that possibility. >> so we have to assume that it's likely that they did meet. >> possibility isn't likely. but i have to say i'm leaving open the possibility. >> but you can't tell us? is that what you're saying? because of what, attorney-client privilege? is that what you're saying? >> both that and the confidentiality understandings when we're dealing with people making investigations we don't talk about any meetings, yes or no. because there are a lot of other people who have met with the special counsel and done extensive q&a. they've already announced it. it isn't a secret if you go ahead and answer questions f

>> michael cohen. >> for michael cohen. michael cohen, yes. cooperation is an ongoing evaluation. just because we didn't see any evidence of a cooperation agreement it's very common. in my cases you don't want to mention a cooperation agreement in open court unless you absolutely have to. there are two major reasons why, number one, you could compromise an ongoing investigation but number two your clients could be at risk if people out there, bad actors, know that he is cooperating. as they say, unfortunately, snitches get stitches. that's a saying that's thrown around the courthouses for a reason. it's dangerous to be a snitch. it's not uncommon even at sentencing to go to sidebar and say, hey, judge, we have a motion here which is a signal that there's cooperation, then go back in open court and proceed with sentencing. >> danny cevallos, i am sure it is going to be another busy day for you. >> we haven't even talked about manafort yet. >> i will save that for later. >>> still ahead, the white house economic adviser larry kudlow speaking out over hosting the publisher of a white

michael, remember this investigation of michael cohen. it grew out of a referral from the mueller investigation. his team referred it to the southern district of new york. you know, the president and his folks like to say it's not connected to the president at all, but that's important. it's all connected. >> it's all connected, and it was clearly not a good day for the president. you've got to the remember there are two distinct investigations going on at this time. the southern district of new york which received the investigation because of bob mueller's referral. and mueller, i think was mindful of his authority under the memo and he was basically looking at all things russian. i think that's really today there's been a lot of talk on the news about the whole idea of whether or not cohen is going to cooperate with the government, and i would suggest to you that what it tells me tonight is that in fact this is well planned by bob mueller to not have a cooperation angle in the southern district of new york, in fact, to keep the cases se

>> you have to ask michael cohen. >> you'll have to ask michael cohen. yesterday word that long-time trump friend and "national enquirer" publisher david pecker had been granted immunity for information about michael cohen. we learned the manhattan d.a.'s office is considering pursuing criminal charges against the trump organization in connection with the payments and then today we learned the trump organizations cfo was granted immunity, as well and the new "time magazine" cover illustrates trump is in deep as they put it. here to talk about all of it, the aforementioned catherine lucy, white house reporter for the "associated press," phil elliott white house correspondent for "time" magazine" and brian bennett also with "time" magazine". there was your exchange, i feel bad for those listening on xm satellite radio because with the help of the wording on the screen, you can hear him say no, he gives that simple answer at first. remind us how that answer migrated just over the course of this week. >> yeah, he said no. that's right. that was back in april

no. >> why did michael cohen say this? >> well, you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my attorney, and you have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know. >> all right, so that was a lie. in fact, back in may, his tv lawyer, rudy giuliani, revealed that was untrue, saying he did reimburse cohen for the daniels payoff, and he revealed a recording he made that showed mr. trump was also involved in the karen mcdougal arrangement. the david you're going to hear is likely david picker of the national enquirer's parent company. allen is the chief financial officer. >> i need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend david. so that i'm going to do that right away. i have come up -- i have spoken to allen about how to set the whole thing up with funding. yes. and it's all the stuff, all the stuff. because you never know where that company, what he's going to be. >> if he gets hit by a truck. >> correct, so i'm all over that. i spoke to allen about it. when it comes time for

betrayed by michael cohen? is he concerned about what he might say to robert mueller? >> i don't think the president is concerned at all of he knows that he did nothing wrong and there was no collusion and we'll continue focusing on the things that americans care about and that we can have an impact on. >> so the white house says the president isn't concerned that what michael cohen might tell mueller but cohen might have a lot more to say. >> of course he has a lot more to say. we keep calling him the fixer. for the a decade he was doing the dirty work on donald trump. that includes the russia deal, it includes that he's made tapes. we've heard one of them and it has been very damming to it. he's been there with the trump foundation where it is just potentially ripe with iillegali. when you have your closest attorney flip out like this, i don't know how donald trump sleeps at night. then you have lanny davis, the lawyer famous for the clintons, orchestrating all of this. the president must be just horrified to

this is an investigation right now about michael cohen. donald trump cannot be indicted by the process kurt tore tsecup. so that raises a lot of questions. and the u.s. attorney in the southern district appears to be reduced from this investigation, but all these people ultimately work for the president. so at what point will there be calls for a special counsel to look into this matter of whether donald trump violated the campaign laws or committed other crimes? will there be a congressional committee that investigates this? because right now the senate intelligence committee is not touching the michael cohen stuff at all my sources tell me. that is beyond their mandate. so where is this going, if there is accountability needed to be brought to the president over this scheme, how will that happen? we don't know yet. and then the other question is, if weisselberg has other information to give about donald trump, he has been the long time bookkeeper, he knows where all the bodies are buried, where will that go? how will that be extracted an

paul manafort and michael cohen. joining me from washington is tarini parti, buzzfeed's white house reporter. we are calling it a bit of a nightmare david donald trump. what do you make of it? weasel two cases, one in virginia and one in new york where two former associates of donald trump face legal trouble. we saw paul manafort getting convicted of eight different counts and we sort michael cohen in new york pleading guilty to eight separate counts, and while all this is going on the president is currently speaking in west virginia and telling his supporters to vote for republicans, as his former close associates continue to deal with this legal battle. what is, in your assessment and we look at these two cases, we will talk about paul ma nafort cases, we will talk about paul manafort first because donald trump responded to the case today, saying that it was a witch—hunt and that there was nothing to do with russian collision during the presidential election. is that something that you think is very clear to dist

michael is my attorney, you will have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know. >> trump's statement today is also completely inconsistent with the fact that the president was recorded on tape with michael cohen discussing whether to buy the rights to mcdougal's story of an alleged affair. listen. >> when it comes time to the financing which will be -- >> what, if anything? >> we'll have to pay. >> pay the cash. >> no, no, no. >> yet despite the tapes, the white house claims trump did nothing wrong. >> how do you explain that? >> once again i commented on this pretty extensively. what i can tell you about this is that the president did nothing wrong. there are no charges against him. there is no collusion. >> the president said today on the grounds at the white house contradicts a video of the president saying that. >> once again, i have addressed this a number of times. just because you continue to ask the same question over and over, i am not giving a different answer. the president has done nothing wrong, there are no charge

for michael cohen. the president's former fixer and lawyer in connection with a probe of the trump foundation. more on this and the rest of the day's legal news, vinu is here, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, his specialties include federal white collar crime, financial crimes, and national security issues. nice to have you. thank you. >> thank you. >> shepard: what is your take on the issuing of this subpoena for michael cohen in new york state? >> well, the first thing to understand is that his plea agreement actually says that it does not bind any other agency or law enforcement agency. so this isn't surprising that the new york state tax division is looking at this. also, his plea agreement calls for him to file amended tax returns. new york state officials look at those amended tax returns as evidence of criminal action. if he didn't pay the federal taxes he didn't pay the state taxes. >> shepard: if he was, for instance, making payments for services rendered or anything else, from the

my point about michael cohen is that michael cohen does not sit across this line from the president and look like a credible witness. he gave an interview this summer where he said my top priority is saving my tail and protecting my family and how you structure a plea deal can be part of doing exactly that just as alan dershowitz wrote about earlier this week. >> kim, if a sitting president can't be indicted, what are the options? charges after office? >> i think there's ambiguity whether a sitting president can't be indicted. it is not clear one way or the other in the constitution, there are competing experts on this. i view the constitution is about accountability, there's no one branch above the law, including the president of the united states. one possibility theoretically would be indictment under seal that would hold. on one hand, the president gets a pass because of the question on indictment in terms of criminal liability. on the other hand, he should be held to a higher standard, for purposes of impeachment, you don't need a crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jur

that's what michael cohen says. do the great debaters agree? and do they think that michael avenatti has a shot at advancing his case with the president being put under oath? look at who we got for you. cuomo's court is in session, next. ♪ applebee's to go. order online and get $5 off $25. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. man: are unpredictable crohn's symptoms following you everywhere? it's time to take back control with stelara®. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission with dosing every 8 weeks. woman: stelara® may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before or during treatment, always tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop any new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a v

michael cohen's encrypted black berry. she said she never got and its contents on review because apparently they don't have the password to the black berry. so the special master said in this filing, if down the road the government does manage to crack it open, they'll to have use a filter team at the u.s. attorney's office and check to it see if any of the stuff is privileged. and she hopes that's okay. because she's done now. she's wrapped up her work so that's the one outstanding matter. that still hand been taken care of. you'll to have deal with it some other way. here my question. nearly five months into the michael cohen saga, prosecutors still don't have the password to his blackberry? why have i read 5,000 articles in which michael cohen has given every conceivable signal that he wants to cooperate. that all this gossip and spin he is desperate to help prosecutors any way he can. if so, shouldn't michael cohen be sky writing his blackberry password over sdny headquarters? if they need that password, that's the one

it's also michael cohen. when you have a credible claim and i think you have laid out, multiple other reasons why someone would pay this money, this is a very, very hard case to prove that he's broken campaign finance laws. >> do you think it makes a difference, a difference in the midterm elections, a difference in the trump presidency or is everybody just in their corners and it is going to remain as it has been? >> two different things. midterm elections you saw democrats came out today and they really didn't want to talk about impeachment or ruffling the feathers before the midterm elections. they don't want to energize trump's voters. republicans won't move to impeachment where they want trump voters supporting them and they don't need to at this point. in the midterms, no. yesterday should be and i think could be a turning point as we look back six months from now as to when democrats may want to lay the case and after the outcome of the mueller investigation. it is true that this isn't linked to russia

michael cohen is turning himself in. if he has done so, safe assumption he is planning to enter a plea or additionally a plea and a cooperation agreement with prosecutors. very telling will be what crimes he admits to, if he pleads guilty. in the course of entering the plea, the judge will state on the record that he committed those crimes and entering into this plea of his own free will and that nobody forced him or threatened him to enter into this plea. that is a standard practice in taking any plea. it's a requirement and in going towards what michael cohen may have been thinking about, you look at what the potential charges are if he is going to plea and cooperate, a very high likelihood he is going to. given the millions of dollars put him in the stratosphere. >> what a plea deal means as distinct from cooperation. what we don't have confirmation on is whether he is cooperating. some have told me you have to draw a distinction from a plea deal which saves the government the trial but cooperation agreement can, ulti

this is what michael cohen said. i'll read it very carefully. as to count number seven, on or about the summer of 2016 in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office, i and the ceo of a media company at the request of the candidate worked together to keep an individual with information that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign from publicly disclosing this information. after a number of discussions, we eventually accomplished the goal by the media company entering into a contract with the individual under which she received compensation of $150,000. i participated in this conduct which on my part took place in manhattan for the principal purpose of influencing the election. now we've learned since that statement from michael cohen that david pecker received immunity in exchange for his cooperation. >> this is truly stunning. reading from that, you can make it very obvious that david pecker probably made a beeline to the u.s. attorney's office in new york to say, excuse me, i know i've been implicated