is this a threat to cohen in effect to rudy giuliani saying he's going to pay the price? micha micha michael cohen is not worried of what rudy giuliani say on tv show as oppose to what prosecutors in new york is doing to his life right now. you can't make cases on a proven mark. i don't know where he's proven to be a liar. up until a month ago, he was donald trump's lawyer and donald trump was saying a great guy and a great lawyer. i don't know why he's proved to be a lawyer yet. >> michael, quickly. >> please. >> it is very true to me. he has lied in the past that was in service to donald trump. all of this just circles back on itself and starts to sound crazy because it raem is. we all know the truth here and we all know that donald trump is aware of this meeting and we know that michael cohen is trying to get some favor from the federal government and it is going to be hold onto your hat the next year and a half. >> are you sure you are aware of this meeting? he was not aware of stormy daniels or any of those things. >> i will tell you one thing that i remember. trump p

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believes michael cohen is a liar. rudy giulianilaims he didn't know michael cohen then like he does now. saturday evening he said everything changed when he found out about his recorded tapes. >> he not only taped lawyers but he -- he had a with one of your colleagues in which he made show of putting his phone in a drawer and said he will be off the record. no recording and then recorded two hours of the conversation. makes him a total liar. i didn't know that and now i listenerred to men -- listened to many hours of tapes. he is pathological liar. i didn't know that. >> reporter: we reached out to michael cohen's attorney and septa statement saturday and sunday -- sent a statement on saturday and sunday focused on rudy giuliani's warnings to stop talking and saying he is violating attorney client privilege. he said he is confused. he waved attorney client privilege. talked about the recording. abc news reports an and trump is now over. on the phone saturday rudy giuliani told us he is not sure if thegreement has been renowned but

cohen. rudy giuliani slamming cohen's reported claim that then-candidate trump knew about the infamous trump tower meeting in 2016 between campaign officials and a russian lawyer. >> if he taped everything else, why the heck didn't he tape this? it's not on tape. and he's capable, i think, unfortunately, of doctoring tapes. >> reporter: cohen turned over 12 secret recordings to prosecutors. one of those is a conversation with trump two months before the election. the two discussing how to pay "playboy" model karen mcdougal for her silence about an alleged affair with trump. >> when it comes time for the financing, which will be -- >> what financing? >> we'll have to pay -- >> cash? >> no, no, no, no, no. i got -- no, no, no. >> check. >> reporter: the tape cuts off at that point. giuliani telling abc news that they've hired experts to analyze the recordings. >> the man is a pathological manipulator, liar. >> tara, are congressional sources telling you they were surprised and confused by the president's tweet? >> reporter: that's right. the source said they were shocked by the tweet because r

rudy giuliani goes after the president's former personal lawyer, michael cohen. orded. and michael cohen's attorney has launched his own attack on rudy giuliani. war on the press. president trump tweets about a meeting he had with the publish her of "the new york times" during which the publisher says he raise c

cohen. rudy giuliani slamming cohen's claim that trump knew about the 2016 meeting with a russian lawyer. >> if he taped everything else, why the heck didn't he tape this? it's not on tape. he's capable of doctoring tapes. >> reporter: cohen turned over conversations to prosecutors. the two discussing how to pay playboy model karen mcdougal for her silence about an alleged affair with trump. >> when it comes to the financing -- >> what financing? >> we'll have to pay -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: rudy giuliani saying they've hired experts to examine the recordings. >> the man is a liar. >> reporter: they were shocked and confused by the president's tweet because republican leaders met with the president this past week and agreed they would delay controversial spending measures like funding the border wall until after the midterm elections to avoid a government shutdown. tear with a tara palmeri, abc news. >>> in the meantime, the president is taking aim at robert mueller, renewing claims that the special prosecutor has multiple conflicts of interest that should bar him from leading the inves

the new lawyer representing michael cohen tweeted this. did rudy giuliani really say on sunday shows that michael cohen should cooperate with prosecutors and tell the truth? seriously? it's oxymoron. stay tuned. the word stay tuned sounds ominous if you're the president or his supporters. >> it does. it goes to i think the role that lanny davis will play and probably similar to the role that rudy giuliani is playing. basically, spinning the public narrative. tweeting, being on television and talking about cohen talking about this case. because so far cohen isn't out there and somewhat out there. given some interviews so he needs someone out there publicly -- >> you know -- >> we'll see what he does. >> can i ask a question? what is the point of that tweet? what is the point of, you know, picking these fights and getting all this publicity? the prosecutors in the southern district, the prosecutors in mueller's office, they don't care about lanny davis' tweets. and to -- you know, make like a sort of macho posturing against the president, it just doesn't matt

we have all the people whether it's cohen, allen who is just rudy giuliani. everyone. everyone who touched by donald trump is disgraced by him. >> you have set up a the sound bite i want to play. this is giuliani now describing michael cohen. >> that's part of the human condition. we make mistakes. people turn out to be disloyal. benedict around was disloyal to george washington. go back to ancient classical literature. you find people you think you trust. i saw the president when he found out he had been taped. and the president was completely shocked. >> i believe that. >> he wasn't angry. president trump can get angry. he was disappointed. like a father betrayed by his son. >> that is some dramatic language there. is this a threat to cohen in effect saying he's fwoing to pay a price? >> a threat. michael cohen is not worried about rudy giuliani. opposed to what federal prosecutors in new york are doing to his life. it's not a threat. and to hear rudy giuliani say that you can't make cases on a proven liar. i don't know where he's been proven to be a liar. until a mon

cohen now appears irreversible. one of mr. trump's lawyers rudy giulianis the president's legal team and cohen's legal team have stopped sharing information. and that includes documents and witness interviews. >> that is important. in the meantime, the president is spending the weekend away from the white hot glare of washington. boris sanchez explains it all. >> reporter: this was supposed to be a positive week for the white house following the president's announcement on friday of strong economic numbers, symbolizing the growth of america's economy and his announcement of a recent trade deal struck with the european union. instead, the focus as it often has been is on the russia investigation and the president and his team's dramatic shift on his former attorney michael cohen, after reporting that cohen was preparing to tell robert mueller and other investigators that the president was aware of a meeting between his son and other campaign officials and russians promising dirt on hillary clinton at trump tower during july 2016. early on, after the fbi rai

move on to the issue we just heard from ellison barber of god as it relates to rudy giuliani in his standoff with michael cohen. rudy giuliani may and july talk about the same man. take a listen. >> he doesn't have any incriminating evidence about the president for himself. >> if he's backed up against the wall, you will live because despite all his life. >> rudy giuliani and michael coen. is this going to be a problem if the white house wants to keep going a pathological liar couple months ago they said he's an honest, honorable lawyer. >> things have changed since then. the other things mr. giuliani said changed a lot of things. he was a trusted advisor for a while. taping a client is hardly what i see as being honest. things have changed their president trump didn't realize he was being taped. time will tell on this. when does the lawyer tv client? that is the issue i think is a real problem. time will tell them the public decide what is right and wrong in this case in the meeting that they're talking about what is the big problem they are saying the russians were looking for on hillary clinton. they have n

. >>> rudy giuliani backed off a former statement that president trump's former personal lawyer michael cohen is an honest lawyer. rudy giuliani said everything changed for him when he learned about a secretly taped conversation between michael cohen and president trump. now speaking on fox news sunday rudy giuliani said he believes michael cohen is a pathological liar. >> i listened to many hours of tapes and the man is a pathological liar. i didn't know that. >> an attorney for michael cohen declined to comment. this comes as reports of michael cohen and president trump's agreement is over with rudy giuliani claiming they are not sharing any information. >>> republicans are calling president trump to declassify documents as part of the gop effort to discredit the russian investigate. >> reporter: pushing president trump to declassify documents. last week the fbi released more than 400 pages of classified documents. most of the documents were redacted particularly sections details why the fbi believes carter paige was a russian agent. democrats argue the redacted sessions show there was more

it, they didn't bring privileged articles of impeachment to the floor. >> okay, so michael cohen, rudy giuliani is loaded now on michael cohen who of course was the president's long time fixer, confidant, personal attorney, you know, often constant side kick. here is how he felt two years ago versus today. >> he he feels it is best to cooperate, god bless him. don't think he will lie, i think he will tell the truth as best he can. >> the man is a liar, a proven liar, there is no way you're going to bring down the president of the united states on the testimony, uncorroborated of a proven liar. i guarantee you she a prov-- he proven liar. >> it is important that we keep his statements in context. he is the president's public face of his public and legal defense. there are other lawyers working on the nuts and bolts issues they are facing, so now they determined based on his public activity, that he will perhaps not stay in alignment with the president and this is just spin. >> the new information is that michael cohen was taping these conversations, but these are trump's top cguy in is like deci

. >> rudy giuliani was on fox news and he was explaining why he believes that michael cohen is saying that there is a premeeting a strategy session before the infamous june 2016 trump tower meeting where a bunch of senior trump officials met with the russians. rudy giuliani says michael cohen is now saying that some of the participants including donald trump jr. and jared kushner got together and talked about their strategy for the meeting. that would be significant if true because it would suggest that they view the meeting as great import. donald trump jr. testified that they did not know what the subject of the meeting would be. where did rudy giuliani get that information because we have not heard it before. now, rudy giuliani is saying he got it from other reporters who are prepared to publish a story about it. we have not seen a story like that. other participants are not responding to our inquiries. chris, we have this dually narrative of this trump tour meeting. stick with us if you can, ken. >> let me go to the white house, geoff bennett. >> reporter: you can see why rudy giu

just a few months ago rudy giuliani was saying what a stand up man michael cohen is. s is all theater. that's the only way i know how to describe it. one day you're in. one day you're out. it just depends on the day and what's happening. >> you have rudy giuliani raiding questions about why the release recording by cohen's lawyer. >> the fact he's out there constantly -- i'm shocked that an attorney for the president of the united states is out there speaking as much as he is. it leaves the door open for cohen and his team or supporters to weaponize whatever information that they have. we still have a couple of weeks left for the mid term elections. who knows what else is going to come out between now and then. is rudy giuliani going to be constantly on the air waves defending his client. that doesn't bode well for the president or the administration. we're starting to see that in polls. minnesota, michigan and wisconsin you're starting to see fluctuations in support for democrats. it helps us but it can't be helpful for the president. >> what about the past comment fr

rudy giuliani and lanny davis using the airways to snipe at each other. >> whatever spin rudy giuliani is trying to spin it says cash. why is giuliani dips marriaging michael cohen? because they fear him. >> i don't see how he has any credibility. which lie do you want to pick. the first lie, the second lie or the third lie? howie: joining us is guy benson. sara fischer, a media report for axios. and adrienne elrod. we'll drill down to the details in a minute. does this warrant the intensity of media coverage? guy: i think the president's trusted flipper and lawyer apparently flipping on him is a big story. him telling mueller something, is that a big story? we have to see evidence. if it's michael cohen making a claim about something he thinks mueller wants to hear now that he's in the cross-hairs and he has skin to save. cohen has always been loyal to trump so for him to say this about trump is important. howie: sara, the media loves this particular story because it's sex, lies, and audiotape. sara: the concept of betrayal is something that's always going to grip viewers. but could there be more to come. every time something new comes out from a tape the media

cohen was his confidant, his fixer, this relationship has turned dramatically here. >> yes. i'm most interested in how this plies with voters. i'm seeing a parallel to what rudy giuliani said this summer. michael cohen was honest with the utmost of credibility. i would hear the same thing from house sources in particular, today talking to people, what is kind of the read on your members after this week, ahead of midterms. they say, you know what, michael cohen has always had credibility issues, at this point swrees vis-a-vis the don junior meeting -- until the senate committee subpoenas him to come back and testify once more, to say under oath that liz father did not know about this meeting. i don't see the political implications of this at this moment. >> we have seen this play out with flair and flourish this week. starting with the playing of that tape on national television. realtime. lanny davis, michael cohen's lawyer there we listen to it with him, with chris cuomo and lanny davis in realtime. to elena's point there, there have been points of real drama here this week, what's your sense of the effect that's having politically. >> certainly, those in the preside

and also, the secretly recorded meeting of trump and cohen, and rudy giuliani said that he wants everybody all of the tapes even as he railed against cohen. >> you call ed him an honorable honor. >> how would i know? i have not had a bad deal with mi michael, and i did not know that he had taped conversations sur rep tisch shousely and grossly violate the attorney/client privilege and por tetend to the recordings without letting the other person know. >> and how much of his place of work and residence relates to the president beyond the tapes? >> well, i will see about if i can make it as clear as possible. we know of something like 183 unique conversations on tape. one of those were the president of the united states after three involving the mcdougal payment and maybe 11 or 1 others out of the 183 in which the president is discussed at any length. by cohen. mostly with the reporters and all clearly corroborating what the president has said in detail on many of the tweets. in other words, that he didn't know about the payments to the either one when it happen and that he only found out la

cohen. his version of the truth is nt t the president's version of the truth or rudy giuliani's version which not based in facts at all. i think according to friends as well, michael cohen, is tired of rudy giuliani going out in television and lying about him and telling things that are not based in facts at all. >> what is this about cohen feeling like okay, hindsight is 20/20. >> that was really interesting to me and when i brought it up with some of the sources and friends, they say that's the most important thing from the stephanopoulos' interview. he believe he did things that were best of his judgment. >> back in the day. >> looking back in it, hindsight is 20/20. that's self explanatory, maybe those were not in the best judgment and maybe they were not the right things to do and he'll do differently if he had to do it all over again. who knows what he knows. he's not prosecuted or charged but we don't know what he knows. one quote out of that. he's telling the truth and the source says he's hitting the reset button and letting the chip falls where they make. if that teams as a smoking

cohen. he turns out to be almost an instinctual liar. >> reporter: rudy giuliani says investigators have 183 of cohen's recordings, of which roughly a dozen include discussions related to mr. trump. the only recording featuring the president has already been released. rudy giuliani was asked why he describes cohen as honest a few weeks ago. >> i didn't know that he taped conversations digitally or grossly violate the attorney- client privilege. >> reporter: this comes as president trump prepares to campaign to boost republican prospects in the midterm elections, now 100 days away. a new cbs poll found 43% of americans approve of the president's handling of trade issues. almost half of republicans say the russian probe investigation makes them want to defend the president. the president also tweeted about a meeting he had with the publisher of the new york times, saying the two discussed fake news. >>> time now 4:41. a second wildfire has been killed while battling a fire near yosemite. when some sections are expected to reopen. driver who rammed a patrol car in benicia and got away. officers

cohen's credibility. so we are going to see the president's outside allies do everything in their power to undermine him. >> we saw yesterday, rudy giuliani saying michael cohen has been a liar his whole life. which is hilarious because rudy giuliani called him honest just a few months ago. you reported on trump for years, and what do you make of it? >> well, michael cohen clearly has done as betsy has done it, a complete break here and he is a terrible threat to donald. because donald tears up his documents. this guy kept records. audio recordings and memos to the files, those are powerful information to juries. and the fact that you have lied about something, i bet you have told your children that yes, there is an easter bunny or a santa clause or whatever. >> i am not michael cohen, though, david. >> okay. >> i want to be clear about the credibility issues of this individual who i am not prepared to take at safe value. >> no less than all sorts of criminals who rudy giuliani used to convict other criminals. because michael cohen has been lying and hiding things for trump, that that is going to reduce his credibility, maybe in the court

>>> if michael cohen tells the truth we are home free. that's how rudy giuliani urged him to cooperate with government investigators. cohen's team said they intend to do that and warned team trump, quote, the truth is not your friend. good afternoon. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper a. monumental day in the politics lead. two sources telling cnn president trump has now made his choice for the u.s. supreme court and in just hours the president will reveal who it is. and perhaps one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency. one which will almost certainly tip the high court in a more conservative direction for decades to come. this nominee if confirmed will replace justice anthony who has at times a pivotal swing vote on the high court. a more conservative justice in that seat could result in rulings against same-sex marriage, against affirmative action, against abortion rights changing the laws and our lives. conservatives believe for the better. liberals believe for the worst. pending announcement ignited what cnn operatives tells us all-out wa

cohen. in a new interview rudy giuliani is claiming the recording released last week by cohen's lawyer may haveuptly ended that recording as soon as the president said the word check. we are now -- what we're investigating is why did -- how did that happen? what actually did happen? what was eliminated, and then how many of them are -- did he play around with? i mean the guy has like 180 tapes? >> let's bring in bill press, also the author of "from the left, a life in the cross fire." and msnbc contributor chris whipple, author of "the gate keepers." gentlemen, a good sunday to all three of you. i'm going to begin with you, bill. let's listen together to a portion of that recording. it's a short one but here it is. >> i spoke to allen about it. when it comes time for the financing -- >> what financing? >> we'll have to pay -- >> pay cash? >> no, no, no. i got -- no, no, no. >> i want to make sure i start with you, bill. what are your thoughts on that? >> look, i think michael cohen is trump's greatest threat right now number one because he's under investigation up there in the second district o

>> look, i think that michael cohen has decided to fight back against rudy giuliani and his client, donaldrces are telling me that he said that the truth is not you or your client's friend. now, these sources say what cohen has decided to do is effectively hit the reset button here and is that he is continuing his commitment to tell the truth. now, a source familiar with cohen's thinking tells me that he feels that he's getting a strong signal from the president and from rudy giuliani that if his version of the truth doesn't coincide with their version of the truth, then they will continue their attacks on him. so, you know, you see this as a game going back and forth. i should also say that my sources will not reveal what it is exactly that cohen knows, for example. and refer us to his attorney, who is not speaking publicly at al all. >> but is there signal then, that cohen is cooperating with prosecutors at this point? >> well, we do not know that he is. we do not -- his -- my sources will not comment on whether there have been any conversations with prosecutors. it seems to me that cohe

michael cohen has other recordings in his records that were seized by the fbi according to giuliani and a course with knowledge of cohen's tapes. let me stop there. rudyliani saying there are other recordings and he also says in this that the fbi has a recording and his personal attorney discussing this payment. is this kept as somehow privileged? rudy giuliani at least telling gloria borger and dana bash that the dpib has it. and i think there are more, and you made the point earlier that i cannot believe michael would do this with me. >> as katelynn noted earlier, the angriest we have seen him, the most sort of out of control inside the white house is when michael cohen's office was raided and he, i think, he presented it at the time that this man was loyal to me and i'm outraged on his behalf, but i think we can all see in speaking to people around donald trump understood that part of the reason he was so angry was because he recognized what the implications could be for him. and now these prosecutors, the fbi had in their possession possibly all this damaging information. clearly it seems like there are other recordings a and it obviously raised t

>> well, because right now michael cohen could be very damaging to the president's case, and that's why you see rudy giuliani suddenly attacking him. a month or two ago, rudy was saying michael cohen was an honorable attorney who had done years of work for donald trump. and so, you know, you're right. credibility, it's all very relative. i am not sure either donald trump or michael cohen has impeccable credibility in this matter. i think prosecutors will, as joyce said, be looking for evidence. they are not going to be taking either party just at their word here. and the president, we often say as much as we can, catalog the things that are untrue, that are false. we also often acknowledge that there is some element of truth in the things that he is saying. in the tweet this morning he pointed to michael cohen's motivations, that he needs to protect himself because he is facing an investigation himself. that is true. he is pointing out the fact that cohen recently hired lanny davis, the attorney formerly for the clintons, a democrat. that is also true. so in the court of public opinion, donald trump is tryin

cohen at one point said i would take a bullet for president trump, julian. when you look at these two people, rudy giuliani and michael cohen, who is more credible? >> neither is particularly credible. president trump surrounds himself with many figures who say many things, who are not truthful in front of the public, or even behind the scenes. and so you have this chaotic moment where people without credibility are making all kinds of accusations. that said, cohen has tapes and tapes are very different in that you can actually hear the principle special and i think that has the trump team so scared. it's not a surprise they are going to go after his credibility. this is what president trump and his allies do to everyone who is antagonistic to them. >> i want to ask you, joey, about some news out this morning also from rudy giuliani who confirmed that the joint defense agreement that president trump's legal team had with cohen's legal team apparently has been dissolved. what do you make that have? >> i make of that that it's a very public and very bitter and very nasty divorce and the fact is that, you kno

but a course with knowledge of michael cohen's thinking is now telling me that cohen viewed those comments from rudy giuliani as effectively a threatening message, telling me "be a good boy, tell what we define as the truth, and if we don't, we're going to destroy y you." the source says michael cohen would no longer be a silent punching bag, that he's hit the reset button and will continue to speak the truth. he said this is his fourth of july, his declaration of independence. it comes as rudy giuliani is under heightened scrutiny for this, showing up at last night's announcement of the supreme court pick, even though as trump's personal attorney, he holds no administration position and there he was side by side with rod rosenstein. our guests are back with us right now. matt, just your reaction to rudy giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, being in the room having what sefkttiis effe having a private conversation with a man running the investigation into his client. >> i don't have a problem with him talking to rod rosenstein. he's the attorney for donald trump. the justice department's job is to talk

cohen, the president's personal attorney is prepared to tell robert mueller that donald trump knew and approved of the infamous trump tower meeting with russians in june of 2016. his attorney, rudy giulianin with chris, challenging cohen's credibility in that interview a short time ago. thank you for that, my friend. let's talk about credibility. who do you believe? who does the special prosecutor believe? mueller and his team? for all these years, michael cohen has been a fixer for donald trump. he has his issues with credibility,

michael cohen is saying there is such a meeting and we were wondering where rudy giuliani got that information's telling fox news that he got it from reporters. he's expecting to make the allegation that this is michael cohen's story. the bottom line is if in fact these people jeb bush near and paul manafort and don jr. did have a meeting to prepare this other meeting with the russians, it sort of suggestis that this meeting is less of a nothing burger that they are making it out to be. they are prepared for it and ready to have it. we'll see if michael cohen can corroborate his story. if this can be the case certainly increase the significance of an significant meeting and this mysterious meeting and involved in a lot of testimonies. we do have that tape of rudy giuliani trying to plea a reporter story that he's not quite familiar with that he's trying to get ahead out of, perhaps? >> this is fox news. >> why do you feel it is necessary to get on the record of things that have not been asked yet. what's coming? >> well, when i thought it was going to be published, i want to get out in front o

—— rudy giuliani. michael cohen'sed a statement saying there is an ongoing investigation, michael cohen is currently being investigated by the fbi, no charges have been brought against him, but he is being investigated for tax fraud. when the recording is heard, it will not hurt mr cohen, any attempt of spin cannot change what is on the tape. that leaves the question is, if it will not hurt mr cohen, at will it hurt somebody else? and secondly, what is on that tape? let's get some of the day's other news: the israeli army has launched a number of bombardments on what it describes as military targets across the gaza strip in responseto what it says was gunfire aimed at israeli troops. health officials in gaza say four palestinians have been killed in the latest violence. the new escalation of fighting comes as palestinians have been holding another friday of protests on the gaza side of the fence with israel. a man who became seriously ill after being exposed to the nerve agent, novichok, in the uk last month has been

now rudy giuliani is looking at what cohen is saying is changing the president's story. rudy giuliani is saying there may be dozens of tape bus they all say call me back, meet me for coffee. is that what you're hearing? >> i'm hearing the tapes are still in the evidence that the federal investigators and prosecutors, they're still getting that evidence. just on friday the government got an additional 950 items of evidence released from the special master. those were items that michael cohen and she says cohen in the filing that michael cohen and his team determined to be or they asserted that were attorney/client privileged. she said of the 1600 items, 952 are going to investigators. i can tell you that when "the new york times" story came out it was matched by this news organization and others there was a tape that occurred that we've been able to listen to. federal prosecutors had no idea it existed. it was still under consideration by the special master. so it's a little bit premature from the law enforcement end of things to be able to say okay, yes, the totality of t

rudy giuliani insisted michael cohen was suggesting paying in cash. here is what giuliani send a short time ago. >> the transcript makes it clear at the end that donald trump says, quote, don't pay with cash. :interrupts and says no, no, 6 think we, slow it down, check. then:followed with no, no, no, that quickly cuts off the tape. >> reporter: giuliani mister trump is trying to keep this on the up and up. lanny davis provided the tape to cnn, amused by giuliani's statement saying the truth is on michael cohen's side and only drug dealers and mobsters pay with cash but alan dershowitz said regardless what was said on the tape there's nothing necessary us here. >> the big picture is there is nothing on the tape that suggests any crime. and what is strongly suggested by the prior interview by lanny davis is cohen made his decision and he will cooperate across the others and try to get immunity and testify against donald trump, anything incriminating is the question. >> the lawyer for the trump organization denied he was offering to pay cash because ther

cohen's newest attorney cautioned trump lawyer rudy giuliani with this tweet. let me read it. did rudy giuliani really say on sunday shows that michael cohen should cooperate with prosecutors and tell the truth? seriously? is that trump and giuliani definition of truth? trump/giuliani next to the word truth, equals, oxymoron. stay tuned. is let's discuss this and more with our chief legal analyst jeffr jeffrey toobin and gloria borger. the addition of davis, who we all know going back to the bill clinton impeachment process, to his strong support for hillary clinton, that's really a significant message that cohen is sending. >> it is. and the message from my sources is i'm no longer going to be the punching back for anyone else's defense strategy. and that they are upset at what rudy giuliani has been saying. and that michael cohen believes that giuliani and the president are trying to send him a message. they think that message is that if he differs with them on his recollections, then they will continue their attacks on his character and will say he's lying. so he's decided,

but i would take him off the list. >> rudy giuliani saying in that statement exculpatory, i want to read from lanny davis representing michael cohen. the strategy of donald trump and rudy giuliani is flawed just as trump false twitter statement made against michael cohen this morning ruddy claims the tape is exculpatory. why so angry? you say he's a good lawyer. in terms of how this is played out, are there problems the way it's fought? >> i'd have to know long time strategy before i could critique it. i know lanny davis, who is a terrific lawyer. you have really terrific lawyers coming up against each other. unless we understand each of their strategies, it's just too easy to critique what they did in the short-term. i want to wait and withhold judgment until i see what the longview is. this is going to be a long process. it's not anything today or my view before midterm elections. >> i want to ask you just about how worried the president might be. if you were representing the president and saw a tweet like this morning, if you learned of the existence of these tapes, one of these tapes had been made public, how much concern woul

trump is going to be done in by the truth. >> michael cohen's attorney davis lays down the gauntlet as his client goes to war. trump attorney rudy giulianiays michael cohen is not credible and trump jr.'s attorney dismissed the report as false. here with more is msnbc legal analy analyst. good morning. >> good morning. >> this looks like a amped up defense while discrediting the president. what's your take on how this will work and could this backfire on cohen? >> it's interesting because these developments challenge some of my basic assumptions. first it's very reasonably possible that coenh is going to cooperate or already has cooperated. it's also a strong possibility that mueller's team or the southern district of new york would not want a cooperating witness leaking information or putting information out there. so it seems one of our assumptions may be wrong. but if this strategy is part of the cohen team's plan to minimize or improve cohen's image, it's not all that helpful, because it shows cohen complicit in all these activities. it doesn't make him a -- an unappetizing cooperating witness per se, but it is a step in the directio

recordings that have been presented as evidence from the fbi raids of michael cohen's home and his hotel room and his office. so rudy giuliani probably does know whether or not there is a recording with this information on it. there could be other recordings in which michael cohen is talking to someone else at a later date who was in that room or michael cohen's in effect trying to reconstruct that moment, remember when donald jr. told donald about the russian meeting. there could be maybe something like that, which could be presumably of less evidentiary value than the recording of what actually happened in that room before the meeting. >> well, sure. it wouldn't be as good as having donald trump on tape saying go have that meeting. but it would be strong corroborating evidence. i know we keep using that word and the congressman used it. there is nothing more important to a prosecutor than having a great piece of evidence, as jennifer said, but also having corroborating evidence. look, the congressman just sort of somewhat off the top of his head did a great argument right there that would be almost a closing argument. i'm

. >> the president's lawyer, rudy giuliani, told nbc news tonight that michael cohen is not credible and can't be believed. rudy giuliani added he spoke to the president about this at length before as well as other witnesses and he says it's not true. here is rudy giuliani talking about michael cohen on cnn tonight where the story first broke. >> number one, he lied to people about taping them. both the president and other people and not only that, he went to subterfuge in order to do it like a whole little game. >> there's new reporting about the president's prefer mode of messaging. robert mueller is examining the president's twitter postings. michael schmidt writes that mueller is scrutinizing tweets about jeff session and james comey. mueller is examining whether the actions add up to attempts to obstruct the investigation by intimidating witnesses and pressuring senior law enforcement officials to tamp down the inquiry. mueller wants to question the president about the tweets. trump has been prolific in his attacks on both sessions and comey on twitter and in public comments and

cohen. rudy giuliani said cohen is lying. >> i think it's a big deal.al cohen represents a legal threat to the president. you know, there is one area. we have one key person we tell all of our life stories too. in the president's case he was his fixer for many years. >> meameanwhile paul manaford's trial will start in a few days. witnesses there will also be asked about the meeting. >> thank you very much. the fallout is at a time when people are trying to understand. let's say the president did know about the meeting. does that mean anything? democratic strategy ann and mercedes. you are a lawyer. >> yep. >> is there anything wrong with the president having to reverse himself and say i did know. outside of misrepresent senting to the press. >> there is nothing under oath. he hasn't come forward and said i had nothing to do with the meeting. >> he tweeted it again. >> there is nothing under oath. if he does turn around and says by the way, i recalled and i did know something about the meeting. it wasn't clear. someone told me about the meeting. it's fin

cohen's side. what about on the president's side? his attorney, rudy giuliani, is here next. ♪ it is such a good time to kiss ♪ ♪ it is such a good time to dance ♪ ♪ it is such a good time to [ laughing ] ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo [ goose honking ] ♪ [ laughing ] a bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. ♪ progressive helps keep you out there. ♪ booking a flight doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceline. it's the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40%. just tap and go... for the best savings on flights, go to priceline. but behr premium stain y can weather any weather. overall #1 rated, weathers it all. find our most advanced formula exclusively at the home depot. man: we hold these truths to be self-evident. woman: that all of us are created equal. woman: until we became one nation under trump. man: these truths are self-evident. woman: brett kavanaugh on the supreme court endangers protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. woman: puts a woman's right to choose gravel

cohen for a moment. afterward, after rudy giuliani's media bonanza this week, he encouraged cohen to cooperate with investigators and said tell the truth. guess who weighed in. coh cohen's new lawyer. quote, did rudy giuliani really say on sunday shows that michael cohen should cooperate with prosecutors and tell the truth? seriously? trump/giuliani next to the word "truth" equals oxymoron. stay tuned. #thetruthmatterings. michael cohen is a guy who for years has put trump before all else. this is a guy who on his fixer, on his guy, i'll do everything. suddenly taking a shot at trump and giuliani. what gives? >> you talk about mike flynn's lawyer saying we have a story to tell. it's very clear that michael cohen, now his attorney on twitter, are sending a message that michael cohen also has a story to tell. one of the things rudy giuliani said in response to this tweet or this message from cohen's team is the truth shall set you free. that may be true for michael cohen. if he comes in and cooperates with the president. but if rudy giuliani really believes the truth will set you free, then why isn't his client, w

rudy giuliani goes after the president's former personal lawyer, michael cohen. at issue a conversation he secretly recorded. and michael cohen's attorney has launched his own attack on rudy giuliani. war on the press. president trump tweets about a meeting he had with the publish her of "the new york times" during which the publisher says he raised concerns about the president's rhetoric against the media. it took place before the president said this to a group of veterans. >> don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news. >> and bromance. how far will president trump go to get along with russia and its president? we begin with president trump's lawyer on the attack. rudy giuliani accusing president trump's now former attorney and fixer michael cohen of tampering with the recording of a conversation between michael cohen and donald trump about a payment to playboy model karen mcdougal. a conversation that took place right before the 2016 election. >> this could be a recording of a recording. we are not sure yet. that they can probably determine.

and private lawyer michael cohen discussing a payment to a former playboy model who has alleged an affair with mr. trump. that according to the president's attorney rudy giuliani and another source who say cohen had other recordings of the president seized by the fbi. i'll speak with congressman sicilyny. and our n't correspondents and specialists are standing by with full coverage. but first, let's get straight to cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. jessica, truly a stunning development today. walk us through the latest information. >> it is, wolf. the existence of the tapes could be a revelation that rocks the fbi's investigation into the president's former fixer michael cohen in new york but perhaps the larger question is, will this impact the special counsel's probe, especially since one source with knowledge of the tape told cnn it is not exculpatory as rudy giuliani says it is. instead, the source saying it is not good for the president. michael cohen secretly recorded multiple conversations with donald trump, sources tell cnn, and those tapes are now in the hands of the federal investigators. two months before the election, cohen recorded a con

cohen. >> the president's new attorney, rudy giuliani, issuing a warning. but cohen's camp fighting back. abc's white house correspondent tara palmeri, is in new jersey where president trump is spending the weekend at his golf resort. tara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit and diane. the relationship between the two has really deteriorated since michael cohen started dropping hints last month that he's willing to cooperate with prosecutors. giuliani told me last night that they've ended their joint legal defense agreement, meaning that they don't share information anymore. and the trump campaign won't cover cohen's legal bills. overnight, the president's legal team breaking ties with trump's long-time fixer michael cohen, while sending him a strong message to keep quiet. the president's lawyer, rudy giuliani, telling abc news by phone -- >> we have complained to them that he's violating the attorney/client privilege publicly and privately. he's in grave jeopardy of being disbarred. >> reporter: after more than a decade, trump and cohen's relatio

cohen is sending to the president. new reporting, next. >>> welcome back. rudy giulianiys that michael cohen should tell the truth, but multiple sources tell cnn that michael cohen has a clear message for the president and for giuliani. the truth isn't your friend. this as his attorney, lanny davis, this morning just fired back at giuliani's comments yesterday that cohen should tell the feds the truth. listen to what giuliani said first. >> if he believes it's in his best interest to cooperate, god bless him. he should cooperate. i think the man has been horribly treated by the people he's going to cooperate, but that, you know, sometimes you have no other choice. i do not expect that michael cohen is going to lie. i think he's going to tell the truth, as best he can, given his recollection. and if he does that, we're home free. >> so here is the biting response to that from cohen's attorney, lanny davis, who writes this morning, quote, did rudy giuliani really say on the sunday shows that michael cohen should cooperate with prosecutors and tell the truth? seriously, tha

cohen? i find that interesting, because it's not exactly denying it, but it is saying, it will be hard to prove. >> you know, rudy giulianiising cohen at one point. the president praising cohen. now going on the attack against him. do you think they're just trying to goad michael cohen now into saying something, or i guess appealing to, as you've written about, this heightened emotions that he has? >> i think in trump world, everyone would like michael cohen to simmer down rather than be goaded, and, remember, rudy giuliani essentially created a bit of an opening for this dramatic weekend and turn of events, because rudy described the tape recording that was ultimately just first described and then released, but rudy, after the existence of the recording was made public, rudy went on television to say it was entirely exculpatory and showed the president absolutely had no advance knowledge. now, when we actually got the transcript and cnn got the recording, you heard that it did seem as though the president did have advance knowledge. he didn't seem surprised at all about the idea that karen mcdougal was claiming he'd had

cohen. if he turns out to be almost an instinctual liar. >> reporter: but the president's current lawyer rudy giuliani war of words with cohen over his recordings of a conversation with trump in which payments to a play boy model alleging an affair were discussed. giuliani says federal investigators have 183 of cohen's recordings, of which roughly a dozen include discussions related to mr. trump. the only recording featuring the president, giuliani says, has already been released. giuliani was asked why he described cohen as honest just weeks ago. >> i didn't know that he taped conversations surreptitiously. i didn't know he would grossly violate the attorney/client privilege. >> reporter: the pushback comes as president trump prepares to campaign almost daily, he says, to boost republican prospects in the midterm elections. now 100 days away. a new cbs news battle ground tracker poll finds 43% of americans approve of the president's handling of trade issues and 50% support his stewardship of the economy. but the russia probe is divisive. almost half of republicans say the investigation makes them wan