>> so he was. so he is. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it is 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. iced out. could michael cohen threaten his presidency? >> mr. trump treated him pretty awfully during the time he worked for him. >> if there's no crime, there's no problem to flip on. the problem with michael cohen, there seems to be evidence of a crime already. >> trump's lawyer dedicated his career to him and now may become the president's undoing. playing nice, a new report says the deputy ag assured president trump he was not the target of a russia probe.

but is rod rosenstein putting them at risk? we begin with a live view of the white house and reported skepticism of north korea's plans to freeze nuclear testing. the "washington post" says behind the scenes they are warning that dictator kim jong-un could be setting a trap and promising not to back off a hard-line stance ahead of a potential leader summit. this comes ahead of the president voting in mike pomp pompeo's confirmation tomorrow. he's facing an unprecedented view and is expected to be confirmed once the vote goes to the senate. meanwhile, president trump is airing new grievances against james comey. saying, james comey's memos are classi classified, i did not declassify them. they belong to our government. therefore, he broke the law. additionally, he totally made up

many of the things he said i said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. president trump is also attacking a report that his lawyer might flip to avoid jail time. nbc's geoff bennett has more. >> reporter: president trump blasts "the new york times" after the paper ran a story suggesting the president's long-time personal attorney and fixer michael cohen might be willing to cooperate with federal investigators. the times says cohen's unwielding loyalty might be lagging after years of trump treating him poorly with gratuitous insults and twice threats of being fired. the president adds, most people will flip if the government lets them out of trouble. i don't see michael doing that despite the horrible witch hunt.

>> this limits the pros kulgs against himself. michael cohen could tell federal prosecutors whatever they want to hear. >> reporter: the fbi raided his residence and office earlier this month looking for evidence. the attorney for one of the women, stormy daniels, says he's certain cohen will turn on mr. trump. >> michael cohen knows where almost all the bodies are buried. and i think he's going to sing like a canary. >> reporter: cohen for his part has denied any wrongdoing. and multiple sourtss go else to mr. trump and michael cohen tell nbc news that if faced with significant criminal charges and the prospect of jail time, michael cohen will not remain loyal to the president. let's bring in liz goodwin,

political reporter for "the boston globe's" d.c. bureau. let's start with ali, most of this wait is inside the white house. do officials see this threat as sort of the broader russia investigation? >> i think the problem with michael cohen and the white house is facing is he's someone who has been in the presidency for a very long time. and he has been large ly in the media. but now you can be facing jail time and stakes are higher, they are not sure if the unwavering loyalty that got him so far in trump's orbit is going to continue. so that is probably why you see the president lashing out at people like maggie haverman.

he's had a close relationship throughout the years, but when she cuts to the core that michael cohen has not been that loyal to president trump, that may have him on edge today. >> and the report includes efforts to keep him from getting a job in the white house. among those opposed, trump associates said, were trump's daughter ivanka and son-in-law jared kushner. for his part, cohen had warned trump against giving ivanka trump and jared kushner jobs. saying the president would be hammered by complaints. is there a sense that the white house will start to distance the

president like michael cohen is. >> flaunts his pardon power this week, reminding people he has the power to pardon anyone in a criminal investigation. that's the behavior of someone who is nervous. and i think that white house advisers are saying very little about this. they don't want him litigating things on twitter, because it is more and more exhibits in a trial, perhaps. and there is an effort to calm down and stop tweeting about it. >> some say president twerump's tweets talk about what could happen if he doesn't cooperate. this seemed more personal than

attacks against journalists. >> donald trump is a new yorker. he's never stopping a new yorker. when the paper record in new york is -- he was attune to the media circles and that has followed him to washington. he may be a washington resident, but the new york roots are on display. someone like maggie has had a long relationship reporting on president trump and real estate mog mogul. she does know trump as well as anybody can at this point. when the truth is out there and you saw her story, there were several people speaking on the record in that story. so it is hard to say sources

don. i will say the fact that he's so attune to the media and what has been said about his presidency is consistent. if he sees headline he doesn't like, his advisers are just shows y shosho showing him how to ignore it. they may have to contend with this down the line looking at michael cohen, russia and all the other things. and he's tweeting about james comey this week. there's a lot jam-packed on the president's leader he is. >> how do these mat tore the political story?

>> house republicans who were pushing for their release, threatening to subpoena rod rosenstein for them, thought this was going to be a big story in the president's favor. i thought that the 15 pages of memos backs up comey what he told congress what happened between him and the president. if anything, they are a little embarrassing to the president because they go into detail about just how interested he was in the salacious allegations in the dossier. he brought them up multiple times with the fbi director saying, you know, the hookers is not true. and that he had a conversation with president putin about hookers, even though he denied all the allegations in the dossier. so i think, in a way, it's kind of backfired. i do think that the white house

of the memos to argue that james comey is a leaker and because two of them were classified after he released them, there's inpropriety there. that's part of the larger campaign to credit the republicans like they were hoping for. >> one surface reports evidence that includes a picture taken by an msnbc producer on that friday night and video of a sit-down interview between a former msnbc anchor and mr. trump on saturday, the day of the miss universe pageant. how significant is this? >> it is notable, but the president has a track record to say things easily proven false. this is just another instance of that. carrie ann thomas, she is in

firsthand notion as well as where it is easily proven. the facts are there and speak for themselves. nbc as the firsthand knowledge, but it is important when you're playing the president or i guess wasn't president the at the time, but you were -- pulling out the stops to save his job. is he going too far?

managing blood sugar is not a marathon. it's a series of smart choices. and when you replace one meal or snack a day with glucerna made with carbsteady to help minimize blood sugar spikes you can really feel it. glucerna. everyday progress. copdso to breathe better,athe. i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night.

anoro is not for asthma . it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. these may worsen with anoro. call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. ask your doctor about anoro. ♪go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro.com.

president trump once again this weekend is taking to twitter to attack the former fbi director. the president tweeting, james

comey's memos are classified. i did not declassify them. they belong to our government. therefore, he broke the law! additionally, he totally made up many lies -- of the things he said i said. and he is already a proven liar and leaker. where are memos on clinton, lynch and others? danny vevallos is here with more. >> we have the presumptive view of anything created by a justice official related to something that is official business is presumptively classified or at least sensitive or stuff that should not be revealed. on the other hand, you can't presumptively classify anything, so i don't think that trump is taking an overly strict view of

the classification process. of course, you can take in the other side and view that no, no, it's a reasonable view that virtually everything created by someone in comey's position is presumptively sensitive. >> interesting. well, there's a new article in "the new york times" suggesting as rod rosenstein battles to protect mueller that his tactics could cost the justice department. mr. rosenstein has risked eroding the justice department's historic independence from political meddling. as a former attorney, what is your assessment on how rosenstein is handling the situation? >> rosenstein is in a difficult position. because, on the one hand, the department of justice is historically independent and above the fray of politics. but, on the other hand, as he responds to demands for documents and cooperation, he is, in a way, risking that independence by maybe showing

that he's willing to listen to their demands and willing to capitulate. on the other hand, that could just be a valid response to congressional requests for information. congress has considerable power to conduct investigations and subpoena documents. so that could equally be seen as rosenstein attempting to comply with congress' incredible power to subpoena and conduct investigations. but the risk for him and the challenge for rosenstein is to do so without threatening the independence of the department of justice. >> and sources tell "the wall street journal" that on april 12th rod rosenstein told the president that he was not a target of the russia investigation. and during that meeting, mr. rosenstein left the meeting that the president was not in jeopardy. >> with rosenstein making a

statement like that, keep in mind that the special counsel is conducting an independent investigation. there are things conceivably that rosenstein may not be aware of or be briefed on. but if rosenstein is making public statements to the effect that donald trump or somebody or anybody is not a subject of the mueller investigation or any investigation. >> danny, i want to ask you about stormy daniels. her lawyer spoke to my colleague joy reed yesterday. let's take a listen. >> there's no question he's going to be charged eventually with some very serious crimes. and i think there's no question in an effort to save himself and his family and a lot of heartache, he's going to turn on the president. >> talking about collin there. >> i was on that segment. and i said that i agreed with avinotti, only because my experience as a federal criminal

defense attorney shows that when people are confronted with the oppressive federal sentences that in you can get through the sentencing schemes in federal court, even the staunchest defenders of friends, family, relatives, cohorts, colleagues, they will almost universally turn against people. there's a common saying, snitches get stitches. but the reality is there are a lot of snitches out there. and if michael cohen has information that could be verified by the u.s. and if he spends a long time in federal prison, it is highly likely that michael cohen will turn against the president or anyone in order to secure a favorable deal. it is not anyone against hum and

the prosecution. >> danny cevallos, thank you for your insight. an inflated net worth. what donald trump did to get on the "forbes 500" list back in 1984. that's next. for all the noses that stuff up around pets. there's flonase sensimist. it relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel.

flonase sensimist. and it's also a story mail aabout people and while we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget... that your business is our business the united states postal service. priority: you now that we have your attention... capri sun has four updated drinks. now with only the good stuff. do you know how to use those? nope. get those kids some capri sun! [ drum roll ] ...emily lapier from ames, iowa. this is emily's third nomination and first win.

um...so, just...wow! um, first of all, to my fellow nominees, it is an honor sharing the road with you. and of course, to the progressive snapshot app for giving good drivers the discounts -- no, i have to say it -- for giving good drivers the discounts they deserve. safe driving! what do i want to berivers the discounts they deserve. when i grow up? i want to be someone who ... makes the world beautiful ... and builds up my neighborhood. i want to be someone who helps others ... and teaches them new things.

every year, comcast employees and their families come together on comcast cares day to give back. it's a celebration of their year-long commitment to their communities. what do i want to be? i want to be someone who cares. countdown to the midterms. voters go to the polls 198 days from today. no smooth sailing for mitt romney failing to secure the nomination, so he has to run in the june primary. and the latest polling in texas shows problems for senator ted cruz tied with his democratic challenger. and the latest on the betting odds, the republicans are given a 60% chance of controlling the senate. and the democrats have a wedge

over winning the house. and the reporter who released the recordings of his interview that he now believes were was donald trump, explains why he thinks the president was so eager to get on the forbes list back in 1984. >> he used the forbes 400 and the statement of inflated as sets to borrow millions and billions of dollars, which he used to build atlantic city and overleveraged himself. i think the reason he's not releasing his tax returns is because he'll show he's not a at the level of success he claims. >> ali, why do you think we have not heard back yet from donald trump? >> part of me wonders if this rises to the part of parties and stuff. clearly, he took lots of steps to mislead people into thinking his fortune was a lot larger than it was, especially in the

'80s. the reporter in the article talks about putting value in the number of buildings and property he owns in new york. we have seen this before. the president really going to a lot of great lengths to tell people just exactly how successful he is. and i think that this is just another instance of that. we saw it pop up during the 2016 election, so this is just another instance of the president trying to make it clear in the '80s just exactly how successful he was. >> liz, let me play part of the recording. let's listen. >> okay, what's your first name, by the way? >> john. >> john. >> john barron, let me tell you what the deal is just so you understand. mr. trump first of all, most of

the assets have been consolidated to mr. trump, you know, because you have down fred trump. and i'd like to talk to you off the record if i can, just to make your thing easier. >> and i think this is pretty crazy. he had $5 million at the time and claiming he was a billionaire. and he went to such lengths to further that falsehood that he made up a personna. he has kind of this funny accent he's putting on the it is him. and i think that just kind of shows the lengths to which truth is not a hurdle for this president. >> that is an interesting way of putting it. lisz goodwin, thank you so much. ali vitalli, always good to have you. thank you for being here. that will do it for me. i'm dara brown. at the top of the hour, "politics nation" with rev aeer

al sharpton. but right now, it's time for "your business" with jj ramberg. stay with us. we may be one of the world's most familiar companies, but we make more than our name suggests. we're an organic tea company. a premium juice company. a coconut water company. we've got drinks for long days. for birthdays. for turning over new leaves. and we make them for every moment in every corner of the country. we are the coca-cola company, and we're proud to offer so much more. (burke) seen it. covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ are made with smarttrack®igners material

to precisely move your teeth to your best smile. see how invisalign® treatment can shape your smile up to 50% faster today at invisalign.com delivcrisp leaves of lettuce,s. freshly-made dressing. clean food that looks this good, eaten at your desk. panera. food as it should be. now delivered. with a class leading 31mpgs nx combined estimate. lease the 2018 nx 300 and nx 300 all wheel drive for these terms. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not,

fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. swho live within five miles of custyour business?-54, like these two... and that guy. or maybe you want to reach women, ages 18 to 34, who are interested in fitness... namaste. whichever audience you're looking for, we'll find them we're the finders. we work here at comcast spotlight, and we have the best tools for getting your advertising message out there. anywhere, any way your audience watches. consider them found. what do i want to be when i grow up? i want to be someone who ... makes the world beautiful ... and builds up my neighborhood. i want to be someone who helps others ... and teaches them new things. every year, comcast employees and their families come together on comcast cares day to give back.

it's a celebration of their year-long commitment to their communities. what do i want to be? i want to be someone who cares. good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc's "your business," these two college dropouts built their watch brand on social media. and are now doing more than $80 million in ref new. want to do the same? how to boost your business by using the power of instagram. and will the creator of this cover for ipad tablets get the chance to sell her product live on hsn? we'll see what the judges think. we've got your back, so let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business."