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

michael: yes. lisa: you have been actively maneuvering? michael: we like the front end. lisa: have you been adding? iain: i completely agree with michael on this. if you look at the front end, the breakeven is there. it is compelling. you can get yield spreads well above where you can get most other short data fixed income instruments across europe and particularly compared to where cash is. cash in europe is still negative. lisa: you did mention liquidity. i do have to wonder at what point is liquidity in european markets sufficient to max out these wagers? if everybody moves in one direction or an italian bank runs into trouble, how vulnerable are you? how is liquidity? iain: i think liquidity has been challenged. it has been challenged because we are in the summer holidays. and also because we are coming to the end of the ecb's bond buying program. what is a good sign for italy is we had one of the strongest five-year auctions on record. a huge interest in the market. that's why people are looking at these markets thinking if i want to get allegations to these markets

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

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

>> 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

i don't think the federal prosecutors would have offered michael cohen a plea deal u nless offered michael cohen a plea deal unless they do what he had to say was credible. maybe the president will have to speak on both because stormy daniels are going to try to get the president into court to swear on oath, his version of events ? swear on oath, his version of events? as i sit next to my constitutional law professor from law school, it is going to be difficult for mueller to get the president to testify under oath. don mcgann has set with mueller for 30 hours and they allowed a white house official to speak with the special counsel, said the notion we will have the president coming in any time soon, is a bit far—fetched. i am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at this juncture. am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at thisjuncture. thank am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at this juncture. thank you both very much. it is complicated. we are all agreed it is a significant moment but the trump presidency have spoken a lot about michael cohen and paul manafort. paul ma

>> michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. >> a few days later he acknowledged michael did represent him in the deal with daniels. >> he represents me like with this crazy stormy daniels deal, he represented me, and, you know, from what i see, he did absolutely nothing wrong. there were no campaign funds going into this. >> why is he pleading the fifth? >> on may 2nd, rudy giuliani took it one step further. >> no campaign finance violation. so they funneled it through a law firm. >> funneled it through a law firm and the president repaid it. but he did know about the general arrangement that michael would take care of things like this. >> the following morning, mr. trump added that cohen received a monthly retainer. then on july 24th, cohen's lawyer released a secret recording between cohen and mr. trump discussing the logistics of another payment. this time to former playboy model karen mcdougal. >> when it comes time for the financing, which will be -- >> what financing? >> i have to pay -- >> cash. >> no, no, no. >> on august 21st, cohen officially flipped on his for

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

number two, i can tell you that i don't believe michael did that tape because michael wanted to protect himself, or ever envisioned he would be prosecuted by a special counsel. one, he envisioned he would be in the white house. i think that if he did those tapes, as opposed to the phone calls, let's say you have an iphone, and you just take every phone call automatically, i don't have one of those. but if you walk in and you're essentially wearing a wire, to somebody where you've profesed you would take a bullet for him, internal politics, always the one that was closest to the president, the most loyal one, this or that, you know, maybe he really wasn't and that was very, very surprising to me. >> there's obviously a lot of speculation as to whether the president has also been loyal to his own associates and stuff. >> i'm not arguing that the president -- i've said the president did not treat me well. okay, with that -- water under the bridge for me. long time ago. i sympathize with the fact that michael did not get a job in the white house. wouldn't it have been better add they just g

michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> no, i don't know. >> did he lie to the american people when he talked about this on air force one. >> no. the president addressed this a number of times. >> well, it's all about the minds of trump voters now. can they watch the president lie on air force one and hear the white house press secretary say, no, he didn't lie and be okay with that? there are going to be fewer and fewer white house press briefings now because every one from now on will include questions that would be asked in an impeachment hearing in the judiciary committee in the house of representatives where the impeachment process beginning. in federal court yesterday the prosecutor described for the judge the evidence that proves michael cohen's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the crimes that he says he committed with donald trump. prosecutors said that that evidence includes, quote, records obtained from an april 9th, 2018 search, including hard copy documents seized electronic devices and audio r

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

when it comes to michael cohen. >> absolutely. you mean for michael flynn or michael cohen? >> 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

and why hasn't -- >> you have to have michael cohen, michael's my attorney. >> do you know where he got the money? >> i don't know. >> no, i don't know. that means someone is lying. cohen is currently free on $500,000 bond. and he's facing 46 to 64 months in prison for the sentencing hearing set for december. there is no agreement for him to cooperate against the president mentioned in this plea. but his lawyer, lanny davis said he's willing to share information that robert mueller might be interested in. >> i can tell you that mr. cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to the special counsel. and is more than happy to tell the special counsel all that he knows. >> now, as that drama played out in another federal courtroom, just minutes later, the jury sent a message to president trump. the mueller investigation, it ain't a witch hunt. the jury convicting former campaign manager paul manafort on eightfulny counts which include tax fraud, failing to disclose a foreign bank account and bank fraud. the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other ten counts.

to michael about it? >> no, i don't. >> have a seat right here. >> reporter: still, edmunds decided it was time to bring in michael for a second round of questioning. and this time, the investigator turned up the heat. >> michael, it's over, okay? i'm not playing games anymore. >> reporter: at first, michael said he didn't even know that becky and david were having an affair. >> i know about the affair with your mom and david. >> my mom and david? >> don't play stupid with me. don't play stupid with me. i'm telling you right now. it'll get ugly real quick, okay? this is your one and only chance to get yourself out of a whole load of trouble. >> it gets pretty hot and heavy in that interview room. >> listen to me. listen to me. i know what's going on, okay. i know your mom wanted kay dead, okay? do you want to go to prison for the rest of your life? >> no, sir. >> you need to start talking here and now. okay? >> i didn't know it was david. >> bull ---. >> i swear to you. >> bull [ bleep ]. >> reporter: the

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

michael: absolutely. i think whoever the nominee is, if they are able to ultimately beat donald trump, i think they will have a wide selection of competent and qualified people. i think the most important thing is not only that the legs -- the next president surround themselves with the right people, but listens to them. [indiscernible] we are going to get that seatback that was stolen. >> this is my story. president, i would like you to do away with statute of limitations on children who have been abused able to report. michael: i will look at it. thank you for coming out. [indiscernible] michael: thank you for coming out. thank you. [indiscernible] >> if you need any help, let me know. [indiscernible] >> one of my angles is legalization of cannabis. where are you? michael: i think it should be declassified as a schedule one. >> that's all i need here. no more schedule one. thank you, nice to meet you, thank you for all you are doing. michael: what your name? i like your shirt. >> my name is margaret. it

i've been told john doe is michael cohen. >> you've confirmed that joe doe is michael cohen. >> that's right. and robert could you zamy who has been leading this prosecution because the u.s. attorney, jeff berman, was recused from this case originally, he's going to make comments outside of court. so at this point we have a plea agreement involving michael cohen but the exact terms of this and what he's pleaing to, we don't have that. >> all the recording of discussions of a plea deal here and now the scheduling of this hearing, they're not saying in their plea deal but you have confirmed this would be for the purposes -- >> this is for the purpose of a plea agreement, that's correct. at that time or shortly the plea agreement will become unsealed in federal court here in manhattan and at that point we'll be able to look and see what this is all about. but we have it and we know that we're going to have a court proceeding at 4:00 today. >> tom dupree, you've been through working on that side of the law many plea deals. take us through what would be going right now between now and 4:00

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

we see michael cohen, trump's attorney. a very emotional day for michael, obviously. i spoke to him at length. the thing he was most emotional about and the most moved about is children. we forget people going through this, how this is affecting his children. he has a son that just started college. a daughter a year out of college and very, very emotional. this started last wednesday where they reached out to his attorney to start to talk and the talks went through the weekend. michael, i believe, and i've said this from the beginning, that michael cohen will be a pivotal, the "the" pivotal figure that will bring down the presidency. it started out. talked in the show about it, he was fiercely loyal. the kind of person he is, and obviously that changed over time, and i believe histories will look kindly on michael cohen. he obviously pled guilty to those counts and wants to focus on counts seven and eight. lanny davis mentioned yesterday, he really is looking forward to talking with mueller. mueller reaches out to him in corroborating stories that michael i believe wi

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

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

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

michael, thanks. new questions in the murder of 20-year-old mollie tibbetts as a suspect is arraigned in iowa. the present republican leaders are focusing on the case, trying to further their immigration agenda. we'll have the details, the latest on the case ahead. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thou

we're back with attorney michael avenatti. he is a main player in what we learned today from michael cohen and what it means going forward. he stood in open court today and said, yes, i committed crimes. two of them, felonies. campaign finance. i did them at the direction of a candidate for federal office, also known as donald trump. what did you think when you heard that? >> well, i thought that we made a giant leap forward relating to our civil case in multiple ways. first of all, there's little doubt now that we're going to get a deposition of michael cohen in connection with our case. you know, on september 10th, we have a hearing where the judge is going to make a determination as to whether to lift the stay or the pause in the case that michael cohen had demanded while this criminal investigation played out. well, now it's basically been resolved. so we would expect the judge on the 10th of september to lift that pause, allow the case to proceed. and we have a pending motion to depose michael cohen and donald trump. i th

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.

that's where the subpoena came for michael colen. t -- michael cohen. the tax department subpoenaed him. i said he had a response in "the daily news." here's how that went down. the state tax department investigating president trump's charitable foundation today issued a subpoena to trump's former personal lawyer, michael cohen and it received a direct immediate response. a source with knowledge tells "the daily news" shortly after the subpoena went out michael cohen personally contacted the tax department to talk. the source would not say what the response was from the tax department but typically in such cases where someone has a lawyer, investigators deal with their counsel and not directly with the person. in new york state, barbara underwood and the tax department are the ones that brought these devastating charges against gene friedman, the "taxi king" all these movement felony, put that pressure on him and flipped him. it appears that cooperation deal probably led to the charges michael cohen just pled to. boom. now the same dynamic duo, new york

>> 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

michael: ok. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] coming up later, join a discussion on cyber threats. we will have that live starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern. presidentarks by trump in west virginia at up make america great again rally. and theused on jobs economy, live on c-span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. saturday, the democratic national committee will hold its summer meeting in chicago with sessions on potential changes to residential nominating process including the role of superdelegates. you can watch that live saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern. join us this evening at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span three for a special call in addition of an american history tv feature, lectures and history. our topic is the presidency of andrew jackson with arizona state university professor leading theth conversation and answering your questions. watch lectures in

michael joins us now. michael, first of all, what went through your mind when you heard president trump today that he didn't know about the payments until after they occurred. >> well, it's absurd. we've heard every story from donald trump and michael cohen for that matter. welcome to the alice in wonderland presidency. here truth is not truth, a crime is not a crime and alan dershowitz is not on television to defend donald trump. someone defending michael cohen and his friend david schwartz, you were on with him multiple times. schwartz repeatedly said all the things michael cohen was saying, which we know was lying. we reached out to david schwartz to ask him to come on but he declined. he said he was "merely repeating the public positions that were in the public domain at the time. "was michael cohen, you think, lying to his own attorney back then? >> well, i don't know, anderson s. but that statement from schwartz is absolutely false. he made numerous statements on your show and others where he stated

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

ask michael. michael my attorney. you'll have to ask michael. >> do you know where he got the money? no, i don't know. >> michael would represent me and represent me on some things. rereprese represents me with this crazy stormy daniels deal. >> did you know about the payments. >> later on i knew. later on. you have to understand, what he did and they weren't taken out of campaign finance. that's a big thing. much bigger thing. did that the come out of campaign. didn't come out of campaign. they came from me. >> well, "the washington post" fact checker has been hesitant to call trump's misleading statements lies. now concludes the statement on stormy daniels was a lie. what do we make of the he handled the stormy daniels thing for me? i didn't hear that until later. it's messy. >> the reason "the washington post" changed the wording on this, they're saying the president knowingly told these m m mistruths. critics of the press have said the press has been far too -- will always say when it comes to

here to discuss, michael avenatti. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> you say you believe lanny davis dropped a bombshell. explain. >> i was watching that interview and lanny davis just made an admission that has never been made before, it's the first i've ever heard of this. lanny davis just stated on your show moments ago, you asked him about receipts, you asked if michael cohen had receipts, related to the stormy daniels payment vis-a-vis donald trump's involvement and lanny davis just stated that there was a wire transfer from the trump organization directly into the account that michael cohen had established -- this was the essential consultants account -- in order to pay my client the $130,000 payment. now, if that, in fact, is true, that is a huge problem for the president because it would be direct conduct by the trump organization to reimburse that payment. that would constitute campaign finance violation and would basically make donald trump aiko conspirator, no question about that. and i'll also add

michael cohen has now stated this under oath. he has audiotape that appears to corroborate his story. this notion that michael cohen was acting on behalf of the president to bind him in these non-disclosure agreements without his knowledge or consent strained belief from the outset. i think at this point we're beyond the breaking point. >> april. april ryan is with us. you were there at the white house today when the press secretary, sarah sanders, she kept repeating the words "no charges against the president, he did nothing wrong." what's going through your mind as you hear repeatedly time -- in almost response to every question on this subject she said no charges? >> well, what's going through my mind is the fact they had tried to work on a message that they worked since yesterday on. and i wanted to see how, one, how they were handling it. they tried to operate from a stance of strength. but it didn't work so well. granted, the president is not charged. but this man who was in his inner circle has evidence that could be damag

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

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

>> 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 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

. >> 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

the investigation of michael: and campaign financing -- michael cohen and campaign financing, mueller handed it over to the prosecutors in manhattan. that is an appointee of president trump. this is an investigation that is essentially beyond his control. he cannot fire everyone in the office. he can appoint the u.s. attorneys but here is a federal probe going into the records of his own business that does not mueller related. he cannot just fire someone and put a stop to this. vonnie: after mr. trump was elected, he handed over control of the business to his sons and allen weisselberg. is there any smoking gun? greg: absolutely. he probably knows more than the sons how things work. he was granted immunity so does that mean he wanted to give information? greg: we can only infer, but the fact that his lawyer thought it fit to ask for immunity and the fact that prosecutors decided, yes, we are willing to give you immunity to get factual information suggests he knows a lot of stuff. this is a significant development. romaine: has the red line been crossed? it is not necessarily mueller's

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

it becks the question whether the three are cooperating against michael cohen or michael cohen and/or donald trump. and if it's the latter, it has to be for non-russia activities given that is mueller's turf, not the southern district itself. even so, this level of immunity seems excessive if the only thing you are investigates conspiracy of election fraud, impoliticking the president that paid off a playmate and a porn star. what it all supths at least to me -- suggests at least to me they are circling the legal wagons around the president. joining me is ross gar ber the "new york times" calls him the leading impeachment lawyer, he teaches political investigations law at tulane law school. ross, what do you make of what i just said? >> good to be with you. honestly, i agree with you. you know i view the finance piece of that as a broken taillight. the presidency doesn't immunize you completely from prosecution. doj policy right now is a sitting president can't be prosecuted. it doesn't mean a former president can't be prosecuted. it doesn't mean a president's company can't be investi

i haven't spoken to michael in a long time. >> always liked michael, until last night, apparentl lapparent. contributor joist van contributor joyce vance. and dan, now an msnbc legal analyst who was in the courtroom during the trial. joyce, i'll start with you. the president comparing michael cohen unfavorably to manafort, suggesting manafort didn't, quote, unquote, break, right? what does that say to you about the possibility that paul manafort may end up getting a green light on a pardon from the president? >> this isn't subtle. the president doesn't make any effort to hide what he's saying here. he's saying that people who remain loyal have some chance maybe of pardon. people who break from the herd are no longer part of his inner circle, are no longer people he considers friends. you have to wonder about this tweet, where he sort of discredits michael cohen as a lawyer, since he's the one who hired him in the first place. it is clear that paul manafort is in pardon territory in this president's mind. the only question is how congress will view that, if it actually happens. it would hav

-lemonis: michael! michael! gina: i'm the wrong [bleep] one. i'm the wrong one. i'm the wrong [bleep] one. it takes one phone call... -sal: gina. gina. -gina: ...and i'll end you, bro. -sal: gina, please. -gina: [ shouting indistinctly ] -michael: you have no respect. -gina: sit the [bleep] down. -michael: no respect. -gina: not when you get in my face and try to talk to me like that! fabio: do me a favor, babe, please? just calm down. i know. just calm down. lemonis: gina is going bananas because she's scared that she's gonna lose her job. this is how she provides for her family. what i was worried about is this thing was gonna get totally out of hand. woman #2: he's the one starting the problem -- him. -sal: honestly -- -michael: i haven't been paid for three years, and i'm no good? i've let it slide for three freakin' years! lemonis: okay, okay. gina, please don't go out there. michael: i'm closing you down first, because i got to get paid! -sal: gina. gina. -michael: that's the facts! all right?! lemonis: you know, as i'm watching this go down, i'm pissed off

>> 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