thank you so much for hanging with me, i will be back tomorrow night, but now you get the greatest. laura coates sitting in for don lemon tonight. i know you're digging deeper on all the twists and turns happening with the former president, and that show begins right now. hey, laura. >> i want there to be a forever mean, sarah sidner, the actual greatest just referred to me that way. i can die happy now. thank you, sis, nice to see you,

as always, a great show. this is don lemon tonight, and i am laura coates sitting in for donovan. there are big developments on the fbi search for documents and former president donald trump's marlowe go home. the wall street journal reporting tonight that an informant tipped off federal investigators that they were more likely to have more classified documents at the property at the national archives. they took away 15 boxes of material earlier this year. an informant amar legault? cnn has not confirmed this part of the story, but we have reported investigators believe down trump has not returned all documents. they also believe that trump representatives are not being entirely honest with them. trump, meanwhile, since to be hiding behind a 5th amendment, which is his right to do, and he did so today during today's admission with new york attorney generals office, who is investigating the trump

organization. i will give you my take on that, a little later in the show. for now, let's remember that trump won said that only criminals took the fifth. >> you see the mob takes the fifth. if you are innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment. >> what a difference a few years makes. today, trump saying in a statement and said that, quote, when your family and company and all the people and your orbit have become the targets of and unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors and fake news media, we had no choice. also tonight, rumblings within that the doj. some officials say that the doj needs to be more public and make a statement about the unprecedented search of a former presidents home, especially now that trump is suggesting that the agents may

have planted incriminating evidence. of course, without offering one iota to put a point. the director of the fbi, chris wray, it swatting away that very accusation. >> as i am sure that you can appreciate, that is not something that i talked about outside, referring to the department. >> a lot to get to tonight. let's time right away to cnn senior justice correspondent, evan perez. evan, so nice to see you this evening. tell us a little more about the reporting from the wall street journal, and informed of some kind tipped off investigators about more documents at mara lago. what do you know about the? >> the extent of the general report is that there was someone familiar with the information that the fbi was looking for at the national archives, obviously, was looking for and informed the fbi that there was more than likely these additional documents being stored there in

mar-a-lago. we don't know who this person was. we don't know how they would have had that knowledge. there is something that appears helps drive the fbi decision, the justice department decision to conduct a search on monday. keep in mind, laura, that they have been having conversations with the trump team for months. there clearly was some decisions at some point that they were not getting the full story from the trump team, which is why they took this extraordinary step. we will take you back though, laura, to the fact that this goes back to may of 2021, when the archives first came to the trump team to tell them that they believed that there were documents -- information that they should have turned over, that were not turnover. this has been a long, long drawn up process before we got to monday. this is not something that just happened recently. >> that timeline is so important because for many

people who've heard about the search on monday being executed, their dot was, i thought they resolved the idea at the 15 boxes having come back to the national archives. the idea at thought trump already spoke to investigators at more lago. there was that month or more delay and then the unannounced search. there is something that makes sense in peoples minds about the prospect of an informant, even though we don't have the information quite yet. when it comes to the fbi search at mar-a-lago, evan, there is new reporting and information that you had some d adjei officials think that the justice department are to make a public statement about it. what are you learning? >> look, it is not uncommon for the fbi and u.s. attorneys to at least acknowledge that there was a search, a court authorized search that took place at a certain location, because often the public finds out about it, and it helps explain what the fbi was doing at the location. they don't have to explain what the investigation is, they

don't have to get into a lot of detail. that is where you will see some frustrations inside the justice department, because the fact that the justice department has said nothing -- the only reason we know about the search, laura, is because the former president put out a statement in which he attacked the agents. he said that there was a siege today. he added that it was possible that fbi agents were planting documents there. these are all accusations that have gone on and said from the gist of the parliament, and it has an impact, because you can see the number of threats now being sent to members of law enforcement, 2 fbi agents, as a result of some of this. so, that is where some at the frustration is going on at the justice department. i will note that everyone is a wear of the shadow of james comey and 2016, and the fact that the fbi and just department have not changed the

way they do things to make sure that something like that does not happen again. where you go out and say a lot of things about and charged conduct against somebody, in that case, it was hillary clinton. i think everyone is aware that there are limitations, but right now, the silence is deafening. laura? >> it is quite a catch 22, right? you can see people walking into a sort of the trap being more vocal and transparent, and you can imagine the talking points to come from that. the catch 22 if you are silent and have it linger out there. we will see what happens. evan, thank you so much. i want to bring in senior law enforcement analyst andrew mccabe, the former fbi director. he's also the author of the threat, how the fbi protects america in the age of terror and trump. also elliott williams, former deputy attorney general under president obama. great to have both of you here. i got the fbi component, i got the grumbling to t. j.. let me begin with you, andrew. look, i have to be honest with

you. when the wall street journal reported this, the idea of having an informant there was not the shock of the century. there must have been some reason to go back, who might be, if there is actually a person there. do you have questions about the particular notion. we have the same sort of instinctive vibe that says somebody must have picked up a phone or done something to say, he did not look over here. >> absolutely, laura, for many reasons. first and foremost, the sequence of events here did not make sense, that both sides were meeting at monologue o as recently as june, discussing the documents, reviewing things in the basement and then a month and a half later, we have a search warrant. it seems clear to me that something happened in between that time that caused the fbi and department of justice to be much more concerned about what

might be on the premises, and their ability to recover documents that may create some sort of national security concern. so, always in the situations you wonder whether or not someone has come forward to provide additional information to the bureau that changes the way that they think about these things. it is very common, as you know, from your history in the department of justice. people reach out to the bureau, and thankfully they do, with information about that sort. it is not hard to imagine that that happened in this case. >> of course, if that were to be the case, and we don't have the information that that is it is, the informant could be some willy-nilly no one has access who is this person. it had to be the same reason we talk about getting a warrant actually approved by a judge in the home of the former president. i would expect if there is an informant, don't have good evidence to support it. another good point, elliott, i

want to bring you in here, and you, as little stun and taken aback by christopher wray's response to the suggestion about having evidence planted. i would expect there to be a more for sufferers purpose happened front to the dj. we'll have to say about the idea -- i know you mentioned the idea is absurd, but would you say but the idea that there is even a suggestion that the fbi is doing the arm i am done that? it does not bode well for public confidence in the fbi, does it? >> no, it doesn't, and at a time when fbi agents are under attack, literally being threatened by people online over the kind of kerfuffle that has come up over this whole search warrant. i will say, look, laura, the director of the fbi does not have to talk about the specifics of an ongoing case to stand up for the integrity of the men and women who work for him.

to accuse law enforcement officers planting evidence, that is the most serious and defamatory thing you can say about any law enforcement officer. and in this case, without any basis whatsoever, if there are facts or evidence of that sort of behavior, they should be bringing that to the attention of the fbi and other authorities immediately. i am sure it will be taken with all seriousness. the fact is that the 37,000 men and women of the fbi put their lives on the line every day for the american public, it is despicable to see people on twitter, in social media or places like on other news outlets, i am referring to lindsey graham or the fbi director himself, to kind of these allegations without actually challenging them and standing up for the integrity of the men and women of the fbi. i think it is disgusting. >> as i said, i was taken aback by the fact it was not more gusto. i, i want to bring you in here.

of course, let's be clear. the fbi has not suddenly been under the microscope and scrutiny at the public. criticism has been brewing, and a combination of mistress. let me ask you about the potential for that to be a informant. somebody who may have known trump or in his inner circle. we don't know that, but i want about the motivation here because who would be, in your mind, motivated to give and investigated to put this. is it a moral compulsion. is it a save my own hide? what would be the motivation? >> it could be any number of factors, laura. it could be number one, like you said, someone safe in their own hide, someone who could have been notified to have been the subject of an investigation or the target of an investigation and became in their interests in court to step up. sometimes, people just do the right thing, and you wish to

say morally just are correcting to do to come forth with evidence or formation. there could've been an ax to grind. there's all kinds of reasons why people would has stepped forward and testify. it is hard to know what might have motivated this year. >> of course, to the point, andrew, because there is that possibility that elliott spoke about, there is the what makes me smile that people might do the right thing, then there is the idea at the c y a. you had to vet the potential source of information because your credibility stick the way about how much you might be motivated by an ax to grind, because there might be something more nefarious and less stressful about what you're saying. but there is one thing that does not seem to be likely to lose credibility, and that is surveillance video, with the i can actually see and what is captured. we know the fbi has previously subpoenaed surveillance tapes and they have received them. agents focused on trump opposites, personal supporters,

it feels like they knew right were to go and what they were asking for. does this make more sense about who disinformation was coming from, and why the footage? >> it really does. you can only imagine the level of specificity and the level of confidence in the information that the bureau and the department of justice must have had before they took the affidavit to a federal judge to even consider. in this case, you would actually lee that any individual bringing -- you have absolutely had to vet the information and let the judge know exactly what you knew about the source, and what their motivations might be and where this might be coming from? there is all kinds of way that the source could confirm the veracity of what they are telling you. maybe they provided photographs of information or specific information that could not have been essentially presented by anybody else who was outside the situation.

so, we can only imagine that there was a high degree of vetting and confirmation and in what they presented to the judge, because as we know, the judge read that affidavit and signed the search warrant indicating that he found it credible, that there is was probable cause of -- crime in the premises. that, ultimately, is the only standard we need to worry about. >> looking at the screen, we can probably all confirm, you are looking at three skeptics. three walk skeptics walk into a bar, and we will all think to ourselves, why should i trust you, give me a reason to do so. then there is the idea, and i want to rely on you here, elliott, because you have been a deputy assistant attorney general in the department of justice. and let me tell you, we are hearing, from evans reporting, that that seems to be some disagreement, shall we say, about whether to be public or not. some want to go public and make a statement about the search. do you think that is the right

thing to do? or is this kind of in the year of 2022, the time of catch 22? darned if you do, darned if you don't? >> i think if you do, and if you don't, is the right way to say. i understand, lori, in 2022, the public has a hunger for information. just look at the availability of news and so on. so, again, cracking the door to provide any information rather than any -- ongoing investigation is only fraught with peril for the justice department because anything the attorney general says would lead to follow questions that could ultimately end up jeopardizing sources or evidence or information that they're working on. look, i remember back when i was deputy assistant attorney general, fielding calls from members of congress and people in the white house who would ask, why did you guys not give us a heads up about x, y, or z, stuff, you are taking. they take it very personally.

we did not tell you because we would run the risk of jeopardizing the investigation, if we did. we are kind of glad we did not. if you don't like it, come work at the justice department. but at the end of the day, it's incredibly risky, even said this, publicly by information, it's incredibly risky to start going down that road. so, really, i think i am with the attorney general has been on this. that even despite the knocks that the justice department appears to be taking from some in the public, and just not is a good idea to go down that road. >> we will see whatever they eventually pursue. andrew, elliott, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> speaking of road that is not really traveled, how about taking the fifth for somebody like donald trump, after saying previously that only mobsters do that? and now, the report that an informant may have tipped off the fed that there were more classified documents at mar-a-lago. up next, we have trump's former fixer michael cohen on why the

president who once said only the mob pleads the fifth said, you've got to plead the fifth today.

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questions to the new york ags investigation of the trump organization's business dealings. this is the wall street journal reports that informants told investigators that they still have been classified documents at mar-a-lago, even after the initial removal of those 15 boxes earlier this year from the national archives. joining me now to discuss, trump's former attorney, michael cohen, the host of the podcast mea culpa, with michael cohen, and principle of crisis x. michael, thank you for joining us tonight. >> good evening, laura. >> nice to see you. i have been eager to ask you in particular about what is going on because you are intimately aware of not only would it is like to have had your home searched, the idea of what donald trump might think about this, but also you were around -- and the case anyone forgot about this -- i want to remind our viewers about what you are old biles had to say about people who take the fifth. listen to this. >> have you seen what is going on in front of congress? fifth amendment, fifth

amendment, fifth amendment. horrible, horrible. the mob takes the fifth. if you are innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment? >> when you have your staff taking the fifth amendment, taking the fifth so they are not prosecuted, i think it's disgraceful. >> i want to let you make of him taking the fifth for literally hours today, michael? >> yeah, it's one of the first times i am going to agree with him in a long time, only gangsters, mobsters and guilty people take the fifth, right? remember, when he was going after hillary clinton, when he was going after congress, he will say anything, so long as it benefits him. and that is exactly what he was doing. he was using the fact that they were taking the fifth because, in his mind, it benefited. well, right now, it's not benefiting him, so he is going to do what he wants to do and plead the fifth, despite the fact that he is for many years now gone on the attack against

anyone who took the fifth. look, eric trump didn't take the fifth. he took the fifth a couple hundred times. don jr. didn't take the fifth. and neither did ivanka trump. so, why donald is doing what he is doing because in his mind someone told him that this is going to benefit him. and the reason is going to benefit him is because he is really stupid, to very honest with you. if you've ever read any of his depositions, he lies with impunity. and at the end of the day, they would end up getting a second charge on him, which of course would be lying to the authorities. > so, the idea of the stupidity on that point, it sounds for many, if you think about the strategy here -- if the idea is to, on the one hand, convince your supporters and your base that it is wrong to take the fifth, although it is your right to do, so it's the government's burden to prove it, and then to be able to turn it around, there has been a lot of support and people saying, that is a good decision because everyone is

against you -- and you are not going to have a fair shot. there is no due process whatsoever. you cannot comply with the system. what do you make of that sort of thought process of, well, it's appropriate, as he thought, for him, because everyone is against, him everyone is trying to attack, and he wouldn't get a fair shot? he's a victim. >> except -- that's the point i was going to make. he always cries the victim when he knows he is going to lose. the problem for donald and whoever it is that provides him the information, as you are well aware, pleading the fifth does nothing for you in a civil matter. this is not a criminal matter where you can take the fifth and you cannot make an inference that taking the fifth sort of puts you in the guilty position. in a civil matter, it is exactly that. they now have the ability, which is what the attorney general wanted anyway -- she has now the ability to go ahead and to presume that by not answering the questions that he is guilty of it.

that's just how it works in a civil matter. >> that's an important point because many people who may have thought, michael, if hold on, if he pled and took the fifth, why would this go on for hours? why would you? you have to ask every single question because then you can raise that adverse inference for every single question. it doesn't have to be, hey, i'm not going to answer questions, let's all go home. part of the point is to lock in that answer, to draw that negative adverse inference. speaking of information, i want to what you make of this wall street journal reporting tonight that somebody may have tipped off investigators about they're still being more classified documents at mar-a-lago. we played a lot of the montage is all throughout the day, of the idea, remember this comment about the fifth amendment? but i also remember lot of comments about those who might be leakers, the idea of snitches, the idea of people in forming and the problem with that. what do you think his reaction is going to be to the reporting if that is in fact the case? >> well, it's definitely the case. how did they know?

look, as you stated accurately, when i received the knock on the door from the fbi, from the agents with the warrant, i opened up the door, i agreed to them, despite what donald said in my specific case. and of course, he is parroting it now, that they ransacked the place, they destroyed, that they were unprofessional. it's absolutely not true. the fbi is always professional, they are courteous and they are respectful. and i'm sure they treated mar-a-lago exactly the same. so, rest assured. it's once again dump of playing the victim. but as it relates to what is going on here, donald knows that there are leakers or people who are, i like to say, doing the right thing for the right reason. i don't believe so. but whatever it is, every single person that he comes in contact with, and that includes his own children, he has to be wondering, who is it that provides provided the

information to the government for them to be able to obtain this warrant? because you can bet your bottom dollar, in order to get the warrant, this thing was scrutinized and significantly. >> i also would assume that even if somebody were to tip off, there had to have been some level of collaboration. because unlike, say, the average person, we know full well that part of the absurdity of the idea, if this could happen to trump, it could happen to anyone, is that, it happens to every day civilians all the time. i mean, the idea of the executing of a search warrant, it happens all of the time. the idea, the novelty that it would happen to a former president here, but on the idea of your own personal experience, of being at the receiving end of this federal search warrant. i mean, i want to, how do you think that trump is personally reacting to having mar-a-lago in particular, searched by fbi agents? he is even suggesting that the fda might have planted, and there's no evidence whatsoever

about that. and aren't they supposed to be the party that protects blue wall? to make a statement like that, it is so reckless and so despicable, i truly don't want to give it any airtime because it is just wrong on every sense. one thing for certain, donald is not so much concerned that the fbi came to mar-a-lago. he's not. what he's concerned about is, he knows what information exists in the boxes that were taken. and that's what's concerning. him that coupled with who was it that was providing the information, because right now, he feels trapped. he feels all alone, and he should. he should feel this way, rest assured, whatever the person that provided the feds with the information, they are willing to provide more, they will continue to do so, until, ultimately, and one thing you know, when the feds raid, usual comes at the data is indictment

and incarceration. nobody knows that better than i. one thing also, when it comes to donald, i love how he is playing victim for the weaponization of the justice department. i have a book and will be making an announcement tomorrow regarding a new book of mind that there is exactly with this issue. this is donald trump's weaponization of the justice department now coming back to bite him in his extremely large backside, right? i constantly put my twitter feed, hashtag karma boomerang. he is the one that created this. what he is doing is that he is using exactly what he did to myself and others, in order to put the victim on. it is really an amazing way of deflecting. >> either you know how to routinely -- you already have a book ready to go about the topic, michael, i got to tell you, it is fascinating to think about, in many respects, that for some,

as you articulated, there is not the surprise about playbook that is happening right now, there are remnants and bread crumbs leading up to how we have seen this play out in the past. i do wonder how it would play a politically going forward. really important here insight, thank you so much. >> you know, one quick statement -- >> share. >> i am not nostradamus, why am is familiar with the man, and i was with him for over a decade. how donald trump acted as the trump organization is identical to how he acts or acted when he was president in the oval office. it is exactly how he continues to act post-his presidency. nothing with this man changes. he is exactly the same today as he was 10 years ago. that is why i am able to provide the inset that i do. and so accurately because the man will never change. things he did at the trump or

he's exactly how he is aiming today. >> can i ask you, michael, i know we are out of time -- it that is the truth, and i don't doubt it is, why did you not see it sooner? >> because i was blinded by the hold of donald trump. it was also not as relevant as it is today. it's one thing when it is the president of the united states making a braces, sexist, misogynists, xenophobic, homophobic, islamophobia, antisemitic comment, it's different when it's the president of a small real estate company in new york. everybody always knew the kind of person he was, but there was also a lot of good things going on at the trump organization. somehow or another, myself and all of my colleagues, we were all in this cult of donald j trump and the trump organization.

when he ultimately left that role and became the president, there were things that i was unable to contend with. that's really also not walk out of the court. what's really got me out of the court was the incarceration. >> michael cohen, thank you for your honesty. now speaking to. >> good to see you, laura. >> investigations are in new york and in georgia and d. c.. there is the dj, there is the general 6 committee -- if you are confused about all the trump allegations, maybe you are not alone. i will make my case for why that confusion just might be the former president secret weapon, next.

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all right, i know everyone is talking about the decision at the former president to invoke the 5th amendment as a form of hypocrisy. i hear just like you to, well, well, well moments. i see the memes, and i get it. but there is something else that we should really address. it is a tool that can be more effective weapon than being a hypocrite. that is called conflation. the former president is playing at the ability that public cannot distinguish all the investigations of puffing himself. it does help him play the role of the victim. case in point, i bet many of you have been hearing the news that trump's home had been searched by the fbi had to pause for a 2nd and figure out which investigation it even related to.

maybe when you heard he took the fifth, i bet you had that same head cocked to decide, which one is 4 again moment after. there are investigations in georgia. there are investigations in new york, at the national archives, involving his taxes the doj investigation january 6, all seems to be circling around him as well. i agree that there is connective tissue, and the name trump might be that continue start, but the fact of the matter is that these investigations are not an identical. that is where completion comes in, and we're language explaining his decision to plead the 5th is, frankly, instructive. remember that he says, quote, when your family, your company and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated witch hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors and the fake news media, you have no

choice. notice there was not a plural word of which hunt. it was all under one big umbrella, lumped together. it's just that there are no clear boundaries, and everyone is in cahoots, regardless of the timeline. even though, for example, you recall the new york ag investigation is about 3 years old. but still completion makes you think that there is no coincidence, only protects. it wants you to feel naive, if you don't automatically buy into the theory that everyone is in on it, and it is him against the world. it is politics. false narratives work best when they complete everything. when i had to get something, like oh yeah, i remember something like that. this is that done, right? it's whataboutisms cousin, and they both operate at trying to keep you from seeing both the

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so the justice department is keeping silent about its search of former president donald trump's mar-a-lago home. the fbi executing a search as part of a criminal investigation into the handle handling of classified information, we are told. a source telling cnn authorities believe that the documents actually have national security applications. joining me now is national

security attorney bradley moss. bradley, i'm glad you are here, because everyone is talking about the idea of classified documents. and that phrase keeps being used. but my mind, i'm sure yours does as well, it goes to the idea of, what could possibly be in these classified documents? if they actually had national security implications, that's a very big deal. so, what kind of risks are we talking about? >> sure, and that's one of the unknown's here. we don't know quite how sensitive records we are talking about. we have media reporting indicating that some of the records that were treated in the past from mar-a-lago were classified as top secret. that's virtually the highest level of classification you can have. there's a serious risk to national security if they are stored in an unsecured manner. that's what's really got donald trump into trouble here. if this is just about archive

records not being properly stored, this wouldn't be a criminal inquiry. this wouldn't be a criminal matter. this would be a civil matter at most. the problem he had if he took properly marked classified documents to mar-a-lago after he left the presidency, when he no longer had any authorized access or control over them and did not probably turn them over to the feds when they first came asking about a month ago. >> what do you make of the idea that there's a possibility that he may have sort of verbally declassified -- first, i want to be clear, once you are no longer the president, you don't kind of grandfather in the authority to classify ordeal with classified materials, right? >> correct, the moment joe biden took the oath of office, donald trump lost any and all constitutional thought he had for four years under article two of the constitution as president. but up until that moment, he had unlimited, unfettered discretion to declassified documents while he was president. but there is a process. you get pointed a box and say,

i declassify everything in that box, but the documents themselves still had to be processed for the classification. there is markings on every classified page on the header and footer of every document, indicating the level of classification. there is classification markings on each document, indicating when it was classified, by whom, under 30. that has to all be addressed. that'll has to be marked out and written to be declassified by donald trump on the [inaudible] and until that happened, it doesn't appear that it never did, those documents they'll have to be handled and treated and stored as if still classified. >> that's really important point. and there's also this point, bradley. back in january 2018, then president trump, he signed a national security bill into law, that included, harsher punishments for those who mishandle classified information. if what you are saying is true, that could very much come back to bite, him right? >> oh yes, oh, sweet, sweet, irony. he upgraded what was a

misdemeanor into a felony. this was the aftermath of the hillary clinton saga, when you are in complaints. -- 18 usc, section 1924. it was a misdemeanor. so that was a big push to upgrade it to a felony. and if that provision is just one of -- here to prosecute, him is ultimately in place, that would be a felony. we will see. >> we already know that part of the miranda warning, anything you say or can will be used against you in a court of law. who knew referred to legislation as well when? day we will see. we don't yet know. thank you, bradley. >> have a good night. >> you want to know who got a standing ovation at the white house today? i will tell you who did next. and at the top of the hour, an informant at mar-a-lago. that's with the wall street journal's reporting. are they right? bubbles bubbles so many bubbles!

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>> today, president biden

signing into law a bill that expands health care benefits to millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during the military service. burn pits were commonly used to burn waste, including trash and munitions, hazardous material and chemical compounds at military sites throughout iraq and afghanistan until about 2010. and this is personal to the president. he has said that he believes there may have been a connection between the brain cancer that killed his 46 year old son beau biden and the burn pits but was exposed to during his military service. and there's been a cause for comedian jon stewart. the president taking a moment today to honor him. >> and what you've done, john, matters. and you know it does. i think you should know, it really, really matters. he refused to let anybody forget, refused to let them

forget. and we owe you big, man. we owe you big. [applause] [applause] >> and next, new details of what or maybe who tipped off investigators before they their search of mar-a-lago.

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and a big loophole says, costs to promote betting reduce money for the tribes, so they get less. hidden agendas. fine print. loopholes. prop 27. they didn't write it for the tribes or the homeless. they wrote it for themselves. these new developments tonight about what led the fbi to searchwere more

classified documents. cnn has not confirmed "the washington post"'s reporting. kim whaley, the author of how to think like a lawyer and why, and stuart kaplan. we've got the heavy hitters. i'm so glad to have you here. lead the game with you, evan, because i want to know the possibility that the investigators got the help of an informant. what do you know? >> there were discussions ongoing between the trump team and the investigators, the fbi, and the prosecutors doing this investigation. something happened in the last couple of months that altered what these conversations were about, and "the wall street journal" is suggesting that thing that happened was an informant or somebody who was a witnes