george h billy bush had difficulty pivoting to a domestic agenda. he was facing this charismatic younger politician. as young as his son. bill clinton. who was focused entirely on people's lives in america and anxiety they were feeling. .e was defeated for reelection that was a really painful defeat for him. it took him some time to get over it. in one of those remarkable turns he and bill clinton later became such good friends. of timeu has been a lot with the bush family. you have a book coming out soon about former first lady barbara bush. what role did barbara bush play during the george h w bush presidency? caller: it is interesting. i think barbara bush took pains to not make it clear how much influence she had. she had a divisional approach that he was the president and she was not. in that way, a great contrast to the equal partnership that we so publicly with the clintons. behind the scenes, she was enormously influential. she was influential in ways that we knew. her focus on adult illiteracy. the cause that she pushed for most of her adul

>> you have to remember at what point in time this came about, post the billy bush comments, yes, he was concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> michael cohen in his own words, the first time we have heard from him since his sentence. that interview with george stephanopoulos a lot to discuss because it hits on the major legal issues. let's bring informer house secretary, joe lockhart, and what michael cohen just said has a lot of legal importance. number one, he says the president directed me to make the hush money payments to stormy daniels and the payments to mcdoiugal, and he knew it wa wrong. >> we have the accusations, the suspicion the president did exactly what michael cohen said happened. which would be off the bat campaign finance, and now the evidence is starting to come in. the thing my mind goes to is the tape, remember the tape michael cohen secretly made that got out into the public, and those tapes, there's no better tie breaker than the tapes. you can't deny what is on a tape. remember, that tap

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> reporter: why should we believe you now? >> because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them was credible and helpful. there's a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that i am telling the truth. >> reporter: the special counsel did say that you were doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to their investigation, everything related to russia. do you think president trump is telling the truth about that? >> no. >> reporter: how does this end for donald trump? >> that sort of gets into the whole investigation right now between the special counsel's office, the attorney general's office, you also have the southern district of new york. i don't want to jeopardize any of their investigations -- >> reporter: are you still cooperating? >> if they want me, i'm here and i'm willing to answer whatever additional

in time you have to remember that this matter came about two weeks before the election post the billy bush comments. yes he was very concerned about how this would effect the election. >> cbsnews has confirmed the president was in the room with michael cohen and the national enquirer discussed hush money michael cohen paid them $280,000 which could be a campaign-finance violation. >>> still ahead the photos of millions of facebook users shared and why the company says they waited months to tell you a were shared without your permission. >>> how nasa's latest lander brought us this new image. this little home of mine, ♪ i'm gonna let it shine. ♪ it's energy saving time, ♪ i'm gonna reduce mine. ♪ californians all align ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ let it shine, ♪ the power's ours to let it shine! ♪ >>> some new photos of the mars are coming in and this one was stitched together from 11 images. before it did anything it had to take a selfie with a robotic arm. it will soon set up shop using scientific instruments to measure the conditions above and below the surface. >>> facebook has re

remember at what point in time this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments, so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> president trump, of course, denied directing cohen. let's discuss all of this with maggie haberman. maggie, we are waiting for more sound from cohen. he was always at the president's right hand. what do you see when you see michael cohen this morning? >> i think that michael cohen is certainly telling the version of reality of his experience with trump that i witnessed over years, and i think you did, too. i think he was donald trump's right-hand man. i think donald trump liked nothing more than to bark orders at michael cohen. i think cohen' statement that nothing happened at trump tower without trump knowing about it of this magnitude involving his money was certainly my experience in covering them over the years. i think what he is saying is certainly consistent with that. he also says plainly that the president was aware what he was doing w

post the billy bush comments.oncerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> you mentioned dirty deeds in your allocution. when you think about it, when you look back, did you know what you were doing -- >> i'm angry at myself. because i knew what i was doing was wrong. i should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions. >> so he's still lying? >> yes. >> do you know why you were loyal to him at the beginning? >> no. no, it was a blind loyalty. it was to a man i admired. but i -- i do not know the answer to it. >> the prosecutors seem to suggest it was -- southern district prosecutors, i should add, seem to suggest it was you were being driven by greed and ambition? >> no, that's inaccurate. i didn't make my money working for donald trump. i made a substantial amount of money years before working for donald trump. and anybody who knows me knows that to be the truth. >> so what do you say to people, and there are a lot of people who wou

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> he's talking to george stephanopoulos. this is as nbc news confirms trump was in the room during the august 25th meeting with cohen and "national enquirer" chief executive and close trump friend david pecker during the hush money discussions. cohen said he is done being loyal to trump and done lying but the president is not done lying. let's listen. >> the special counsel did say that you were doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to their investigation, everything related to russia. do you think president trump is telling the truth about that? >> no. >> and are you still cooperating? >> if they want me i'm here and willing to answer whatever additional questions they may have for me. >> so you are saying there are certain areas you can't get into because you are still cooperating with them. >> correct. and out of respect

post the billy bush comments. so yes.ncerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> if it is true that president trump directed these payments be made with the intention of influencing the presidential election, and then he tried to hide them, that could amount to a felony. >> the

interesting cohen would choose to frame this as the timeline as post billy bush weekend, as it's known in sort of the trump world during that campaign time where those comments were recorded about the president's wecomment said he would approach women in a vulgar matter, and again, the president denies he had sexual relationships stormy daniels or mcdoi mcdougal, both women with the payments. >> nbc news confirmed trump was in the room during the discussions over those hush money payments. back in august of 2015, michael cohen was there, and "national enquirer," david pecker on the right side of the room was there. in their agreement, pecker offered to deal with negative stories about that candidate's relationship with women by assisting the campaign and identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. with me now, ken delan. to me this is a huge deal because donald trump has been so consistently inconsistent in his comments about what he knew or didn't know about the payments to the women. the idea that he was in the room in august of 2015 i think is

all those women came forward at that time, that tape with billy bush and all that. it's all part of the same thing. i know what he was concerned about. i can produce 20 witnesses to tell you what he was concerned about. >> two weeks before the campaign? >> damn right. he was concerned about all it. >> he never made payments like that in the past? >> in the past i can't speak to. i wasn't his lawyer in the past. at that point, these are the only two asking for money. the amount of money is consistent with harassment, not truth. i've been involved in cases like this. when it's true and you have the kind of money the president has, it's a $1 million settlement. when it's not true, you give them $130,000. they went away with so little, it indicates their case was weak. now stormy daniels has to pay the president's legal fees. it'sry kick -- it's ridiculous. they're going to look for the president's unpaid parking tickets. >> the southern district said this strikes at the heart of our democratic system. >> oh, right. give me a break. obama paid $2 million in fines for ca

remember at what point in time this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post-billy bushnts. yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. jon: butonald trump says cohen is a proven liar, and his only regret is ever employing him. pres. trump: i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did he did on itsat is own. he is a lawyer.wy a who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. thaty you paid a lot of money, etc. jon: donald t changed consistently, first denying he knew about a payment to stormy daniels, then that he did, and that it had nothing to do with campaign finance, itatas a personalr, and then saying, well, yes, campaign finance but that is not against the law. now his lawyer is saying nobody got killed, this is not a big crime. t other words, it didn'tter what donald trump had done. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. laura: for more on the war of words and what the legal implications could be, i spoke a brief time ago with a former u.s. attorney. michael cohen is saying that the president knew it was wrong to pay hus

post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> reporter: the white house says cohen is an admitted liar who can't be trusted -- after all, he pleaded guilty to lying to congress. >> so why should we believe you now? >> because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them is credible and helpful. there is a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that i am telling the truth. >> the special counsel did say that you were doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to the investigation, everything related to russia. do you think president trump is telling the truth about that? >> no. >> george stephanopoulos with michael cohen. i want to bring in jon karl live from the white house. we haven't heard from the president today regarding this new interview. he tweeted about the job he's been trying to fill. his chief of staff? >> reporter: that's right. we have a new acting ch

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy busherned about how this would affect the election. but donald trump says cohen is a proven liar and his only regret is ever employing him. i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. he's a lawyer. a lawyer who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money, et cetera, et cetera. donald trump's account of what happened has changed consistently. first of all, denying that he knew anything at all about a payment to stormy daniels. then admitting he did. then saying it had nothing to do with campaign finance, it was a personal matter. and then saying, "well, yes, campaignfinances, but that's not against the law." and finally his lawyer saying, "nobody got killed, no one was robbed, this is not a big crime." in other words, it didn't really matter what donald trump had done. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. there have been sporadic clashes on the outskirts of the yemeni port of hudaydah, despite a un—brokered ce

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> most recently president trump called the payments a "simple private transaction." cohen was sentenced wednesday to three years in federal prison for his part, lying to congress, tax evasion and campaign finance violations. >>> late today the president tapped budget director mick mulvaney to be the next chief of staff. the president said mulvaney's title will be acting chief of staff when he takes over for john kelly in january, not clear how long he will serve. >>> let's take a live look at san jose where there has been a buzz all day because of a visit by former first lady michelle obama. tonight she's speaking at the s.a.p. center and our len ramirez says she's also here to support a project that is close to her heart. len? >> reporter: that's right. long before she was the first lady of the united states michelle obama was the co- founder of a nonprofit group on the south side of chicago called pub

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy busherned about how this would affect the election. but donald trump says cohen is a proven liar and his only regret is ever employing him. i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. he's a lawyer. a lawyer who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money, et cetera, et cetera. donald trump's account of what happened has changed consistently. first of all, denying that he knew anything at all about a payment to stormy daniels. then admitting he did. then saying it had nothing to do with campaign finance, it was a personal matter. and then saying, "well, yes, campaign finances, but that's not against the law." and finally his lawyer saying, "nobody got killed, no one was robbed, this is not a big crime." in other words, it didn't really matter what donald trump had done. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. a 16—year—old boy has been convicted of raping and murdering a 14—year—old girl in a wolverhampton park.

post billy bush comments. so, yes. he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> now cohen says he was showing blind loyalty to mr. trump. president trump says he never directed cohen to do anything wrong. cohen's response to that. >> i don't think anybody believes that. nothing in the trump organization is done unless it's run through mr. trump. he directed me to make the payments. he directed me to become involved in the matters. >> been a busy week. the senate view after cohen was sented to three years in prison. this is connection to the hush money deal to two women. stormy daniels and karen mcdougal. president trump continues to push back against the accusations say they're being made to make him look bad. michael cohen saying he won't be the villain of his story. >> dana: thank you for that. let's bring in james, former doj prosecutor and law partner. i want to start with coy en and end with flynn. let's start with cohen. you wrote to me this morning there are two things president trump maybe

post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how the would affec the election. >> in that interview with abc news, he said that he would continue to cooperate with the special counsel and new york's southern district. >> a facility that helps people withhe mentath problems destroyed by flames. tracee wilkins is learning new details about the possible motive. >> john kincaid is movin out of his office in this burned out strip mall. he said 31-year-old paul willis became a problem for all the businesses here. it reach its peak yesterday afternoon. >> they tookim out to the hospital. when he got out of hospital, did he this. >> willis admitted to it. what is left is a hollow shell. people who know willis say he would come to the central for say this and they alleged arson may have been the result of an argument he had with someone he was dating here. matthew who works here says it is a loss sore so many. >> to take away a resrce for people, to gut a facility that welcomed evyone. i don't have wor

post billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> you'll remember the billy bush comments reference there were between the access hollywood host and citizen trump in 2005. mr. trump is heard bragging about kissing and groping women. cohen said trump personally directed him to make the hush money payments to two women former playmate mcdougal and storm star stormy daniels who claimed to have affairs with mr. trump before he ran for office which he denied and cohen said he was showing blind loyalty to mr. trump as he arranged the payoffs. he was sentenced to three years in prison on tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to congress about what he knew about president trump's intentions to complete a real estate deal in russia. cohen was asked why anyone should believe him now since he already has admitted to lying. >> the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to the

post the billy bush comments.o, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> let me tell you, i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. >> reporter: president trump said when it comes to breaking campaign finance laws, the only thing he did wrong was trust a bad attorney. >> and you know what, in retrospect, i made a mistake because i hire usually good people. >> reporter: mr. trump attended an august 2015 meet with cohen and national enquirer publisher david pecker where the hush money payments were discussed. >> it's not a campaign expense. it's a personal expense. >> reporter: last night counselor to the president, kellyanne conway, disputed that. >> people say we did this in furtherance of the election. there is just no proof of that. that is somebody's opinion. >> reporter: president trump's statement on the matter has evolved from being unaware in april. >> did you know about the $130,000 payment to stormy daniels? >> no. >> reporter: now he say

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments, so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> you mentioned dirty deeds in your allocution yesterday. when you think about it, when you look back, did you know what you were doing -- >> i'm angry at myself. because i knew what i was doing was wrong. i stood up before the world yesterday, and i accepted the responsibility for my actions, the actions that i gave to a man who, as i also said in my allocution i was loyal to. i should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions. >> so he's still lying? >> yes. >> do you know why you were loyal to him at the beginning? >> no. no. it was a blind loyalty. it was to a man i admired but i -- i do not know the answer to it. and i'm angry at myself. my family is disappointed that they have taught me, my mother, father, right from wrong and i didn't display good judgment. >> you call it blind loyalty. the prosecutors seem to suggest it w

at one point in time that this matter came about two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bushomments. yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help the campaign? >> to help them in the campaign. >> president trump saying cohen is lying about what happened. >> i never directed him to do anything incorrect or wrong and he understands that. look, he did some bad things unrelated to me. may be related to his other clients. i wasn't his only client. michael: pled guilty to something that isn't even a crime wait a minute. nobody, except for me, would be looked at like this. what about congress where they have a slush fund and millions and millions of dollars are paid out each year? >> breaking today, the special counsel or turning documents over to a judge in a michael lynn case, after arguing they encourage the national security advisor to do an interview with agents without agents present. lawyers, excuse me. robert mueller's team claims flynn should've known it was a crime to lie to the fbi, but the documents say they never warned him beforehand.

at the point of time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> it is that last part when reminded of the chronology, a lot of people used the john edwards defense. forget about it. the "access hollywood" tape came out and the president said things that amount to felony sexual assault and stormy daniels comes up and they make it go away. that part is where you get damning not only about michael cohen's testimony, he knew it was wrong and illegal and connected the dots to what make it a campaign finance violation. this was not about saving melania or the president from embarrassment. >> he makes a good point. remember the moment where he said he had no knowledge of the payments whatsoever and all of the movements of the explanations that we see, that's why it's so much more difficult for -- especially people on capitol hill. the democrats never bought it anyway, but they are having a difficult time accepting the explanations. i had a lot of interesting conversation

post the billy bush comments.e was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> cohen insists he's done lying but not cooperating with the special counsel. he might have given us a clue to what the cooperation is about. >> the special counsel did say you're doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to their investigation. do you think president trump is telling the truth about that? >> no. >> this has sources confirm that then candidate donald trump was in the room during an august 2015 meeting with michael cohen and national enquirer chief david pecker during which the men agreed to plan to silence women who allege they had affairs with donald trump. the big question we're asking today is what else does michael cohen know and what might he be telling investigators. joining me now, nbc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, tom winter. white house supporter for the daily beast and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york and distinguished fellow

at what point in time this matter came about the, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments, so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> cohen was sentenced to three year in prison for this week payments that were not reported to the federal election commission. joining me now is congressman david sicilini. a good friend to us. let's get right into it here. the president says, as you know, this was not a crime. is that how you and your colleagues see it? >> it is a crime, a serious crime. it's kind of -- if you remember in that intervie, he said, it's not a violation, if it is a violation, it's a civil case. if it's a civil case, i didn't know anything about it it was a report and now for the firth time in our history, at least. we have a court saying that the president directed the commission of two felonies. that's significant. >> we've got at least six investigations swirling in the president's orbit right now. we have the mueller investigation, the payments to women, the spending business hi inaugural committee, foundations, busin

two weeks or so before the election post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help him and the campaign. >> when you think about it and look back, did you know what you were doing? >> i'm angry at myself. i knew what i was doing was wrong and i stood up before the world yesterday and i accepted the responsibility for my actions. >> why should we believe you now? >> because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them was credible and helpful. there is a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that i am telling the truth. >> you are done with the lying? >> i'm done with the lying and done being loyal to president trump and my first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son, and this country. >> i want to bring in senior white house correspondent, pamela brown. michael cohen is going downswinging saying the president is not telling the truth. have we heard a response from the president? >> we haven't heard

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign? >> to help him and the campaign. >> in a string of tweets on a fox news interview on thursday, trump repeatedly insisted he broke no campaign finance laws, calling it a civil matter, not criminal. of course that's not true. in a "washington post" op-ed today, our guest last night, the former acting solicitor general neal katyal along with former fec commission chairman trevor potter and lawyer george conway, husband of kellyanne all say trump's denials are weak and dangerous in their words. they write, quote, trump has offered up three defenses, first was to repeatedly lie for quite some time he flatly denied knowledge of those $130,000 payment to stormy daniels, but now he seems to be acknowledging that he knew. now trump and his acolytes have pointed to an earlier case involving former senator john edwardsed to arguing that what trump did wasn't a crime and they say even if it

have to remember at what point in time that this matter came about two weeks efthonor post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >>> most recently president trump called the payments a "simple private transaction" cohen was sentenced to 3 years for campaign finance violation. >>> melissa kain asked former san francisco mayor willie brown about michael cohen's credibility and if this is going to be damaging? >> this guy has so little credibility. even the prosecutors can't accept any of his stories and that's unfortunate because when you plead guilty you would hope that establishes you as a truthful source. he is not yet a truthful source and that's whhethree years in jail for doing almost nothing. >> we will have more tomorrow morning right here on kpix 5. >>> former first lady michelle obama was on downtown stage san jose talking about her new biography. some paid thousands to meet ms. obama face to face, 12, 600 tickets sold on the first day they were made available. >>> michelle robinson obama! >> in the first few minutes form

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bushments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> there, michael cohen is talking about late 2016 campaign payments to buy the cleanse of an adult film actress and playboy centerfold. the president says it's cohen's fault, bad legal advice if they violated campaign finance laws. >> they put those two charges on to embarrass me. they're not criminal charges. >> this is important. they are criminal charges. publishers of the national enquirer is cooperating and backs up cohen's take that payments were made to, quote, make sure that a woman did not publicize damaging allegations about that candidate before the 2016 presidential electin and thereby influence that election. cohen lied to congress about candidate trump's russian business dealings and that cohen discussed the status and progress of the moscow project with individual one, that's the president, on more than three occasions. and those are just two. hush money payments, russia business dealings. l

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> okay, hans, how does that factor in to your analysis of it? >> it doesn't really factor into it. neither the federal elections commission nor former chairs of the commission believe that paying hush money is a campaign-related expense. it's a personal expense. it's the same as a business expense o of a business owner. it's not related to the campaign. that was certainly the attitude of the fec towards john edwards when his contributors actually paid a million dollars to his mistress. so it's not a campaign-related expense, no matter what the u.s. attorney in new york has persuaded him to plead guilty to. >> here's what lindsey graham had to say about that point. >> from trump's point of view he's done non-disclosure agreements before to protect his family and his brand. >> how do we assess that? if this is about the president saying, i don't want my wife to find out or i don't want to hurt the trump

post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned.would affect the election. >> reporter: cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for a tax evasion, bank fraud and helping with those hush money payments. former san francisco mayor willie brown says if the government does go after the president for those payoffs, they're going to need a lot more than just cohen's testimony. >> this guy has so little credibility. even the prosecutors cannot accept any of his stories as being authentic. >> reporter: if the president did direct payments, so he could get elected, it may be a crime but will people care? >> believe me, paying somebody not to talk in a political campaign, are you kidding me? that's not much of a crime. >> reporter: melissa kane, kpix 5. >>> a partial shutdown looms at the end of the week unless congress and the white house can reach a compromise. so far the players are not budging from that position, democrats and some republicans disagree with the president over funding for a border wall. mr. trump wants $5 billion to b

one in october and 2016 come on the billy bush tape.m to be any question in the minds of the prosecutors, the federal judge that these payments were made to help the campaign that weren't reported. they came from corporations, they were far beyond what individual contribution could be. there is a least three crimes there. >> bret: not to ignore the seriousness of any of this. prosecutors have laid out the case. there is pushback. the president is tapping into that. >> at this point, i don't have the legal mastery here, my understanding is that the justice department cannot -- there can be a trying sitting presidents. it is a political matter. if the democrats believe this is impeachable, please go ahead. a look in view, it will be deliciously ironic because of course many democrats defended bill clinton when he was impeached for lying about sex. the echo here is too much. i think it also puts republicans in the same hot seat for hypocrisy. i don't think this will be what you can impeach him for. for two years we were talking about collu

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> and that's not all michael cohen had to say, not even close. he also had a lot to say about the notion of loyalty. >> the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them was credible and helpful. there is a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that i am telling the truth. >> so you're done with the lying? >> i am done with the lying. i am done being loyal to president trump. >> all right. let's bring in our phenomenal panel. we have cnn political commentator s.e. cupp unfilters, phil mud and former federal prosecutor. well, we're out of time, guys. thanks so much. >>> s.e., it is remarkable to hear michael cohen on every level of watching this down fall play out. on a legal level, what do you hear when he is speaking out publically now. >> it is a tragedy. it is a shakes pe

two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> so what do you say to people and, you know, there are a lot of people who are watching who are going to be thinking, wait a second, he lied for so long. what is the answer now? >> lied about what? what did we lie about? it's new york real estate. yes, it is the greatest product ever created. is that a lie? >> but you pleaded guilty to lying to congress. >> yes. >> so why should we believe you now? >> because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them was credible and helpful. there is a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroboratines the fact th i am telling the truth. >> that statement right there should concern the president. he said that it's not just his word, that the prosecutors have information, evidence, to back it up. you work for the president for more than ten years. we have laura

at what point in time that this matter came about two weeks or so before the election post the billy bush comments, so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> here's what michael cohen said in that interview about why federal prosecutors believe him now after he has pleaded guilty to lying to congress. >> the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that i gave to them was credible and helpful. there's a substantial amount of information that they possess that kraubcorroborates the fact telling the truth. >> president trump has to be worrying what that corroborating information is. did michael cohen make tapes of candidate donald trump saying that the payments to silence the women had to be made to help his presidential campaign? nbc news reports that candidate donald trump was in the room with cohen and david pecker when they were planning to use the national enquirer to help counter negative stories about donald trump's relationships with women. special prosecutor robert mueller fi

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> in a string of tweets and a fox news interview on thursday, trump repeatedly insisted he broke no campaign finance laws calling it a civil matter, not criminal. of course that's not true in a "washington post" op-ed last night, neal katyal and trevor potter and george conway, husband of kellyanne say trump's denials are weak and dangerous. he's offered up three defenses. his first was to repeatedly deny. he flatly denied knowledge of the payments to stormy daniels. now he says he knew. now trump has turned to other excuses. they turn to another case of john edwards to say it was wasn't a crime. even if it was it wasn't a biggie. there are plenty of crimes so what, who cares? the former is a very week legal argument and the scary. let's me bring in my panel. donna edwards. brian bennet. harry litman. former u.s. attorney, deputy assistant attorn

post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> this morning, the president's lawyer rudy giuliani called cohen a liar repeatedly and insisted the hush money payments were not illegal. >> it's not a crime. it's not a crime, george. paying $130,000 to stormy whatever and paying $130,000 to the is not a crime. the edwards case determined that. >> the edwards case is the precedent. it's the only time they've ever prosecuted campaign finance under this theory and john edwards was acquitted, but the judge did rule this is a crime, can be a crime, and the fact -- >> they just said he didn't commit it. >> the jury said he didn't commit it. the facts in this case were stronger. in the edwards case, there were no witnesses who said we paid this money to influence the election. in the trump case we had two witnesses now saying that. michael cohen and david pecker. mark's got a point. if donald trump wasn't the president, if he was just donald trump the businessman, h

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> president trump denies ordering those payments but cohen says he's lying and prosecutors have evidence supporting his claims. >>> meanwhile, president trump has picked an acting white house chief of staff. there he is. he announced mick mulvaney will take the job at the end of the year after current chief of staff john kelly leaves. a senior administration official says there's no time limit for mulvaney to remain as chief of staff. cnn political commentator and republican strategist alice stuart joins me now. she's also the former communications director for ted cruz who ran against donald trump in 2016 and more recently against beto o'rourke for a senate seat in texas. that will become relevant later on in this conversation. let's start with mick mulvaney. he'll be the acting chief of staff now for donald trump. do you think this changes anything to the trump presidency? >> not really, cyril. i thi

two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> now, honestly, that's not only jarring to hear from a man who once said he would take a bullet for donald trump, but it's also directly contradicting what the president says. here's president trump just yesterday. >> let me tell you, i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. he's a lawyer. a lawyer who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money, et cetera, et cetera. he's a lawyer. he represents a client. i never directed him to do anything incorrect or wrong. and he understands that. >> well, let's get to what we understand right now. cnn crime and justice reporter shimon prokupecz is joining me now. what else is michael cohen saying? >> i think when you look at everything that michael cohen has said this morning, he basically paints a picture where he explains how f

post the billy bush comments. so yes. he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> if it is true that president trump directed these payments be made with the intention of influencing the presidential election, and then he tried to hide them, that could amount to a felony. >> the president's inaugural committee is being investigated by federal prosecutors here in new york. >> the inaugural committee raised an eye-popping $107 million. that is a record. >> inaugural committee, that doesn't have anything to do with the president or the first lady. the biggest thing the president did in his engagement was to come here and raise his hand and take the oath of office. >> i think there are potential implications. but the devil's in the details. we have to see how intimately involved donald trump may have been. >> in the room where it happened. nbc news has officially confirmed that president trump was in the room when his former lawyer and fixer mich

two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would effect the election. >> yeah, that's absolutely right. i mean, as one of the reporters who was covering trump's treatment of women, even before the "access hollywood" tape was released, it was a bubbling issue. it was something that cohen himself was working to swat away every time it surfaced. as early as 2015, when people were showing up with sort of incriminating story, he was directing them to ami or trying to hush them up on his own. october 7th, i believe, when the "access hollywood" tape was released, it took it other level. people wondered if he'd survive the weekend. >> that was the question at the time. >> he had been denying that any time there were allegations of groping or sexual misconduct, he denied. he denied. he denied. then here comes this tape in which he was recorded in his own words bragging about it. it wasn't just that he was recorded in his own records bragging about it. it basically was a rallying cry for wom

at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post-the billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> reporter: despite all of the investigations now touching the trump organization, foundation, campaign, inauguration, transition and administration, the white house is brushing off cohen's comments saying that they shouldn't be taken seriously. >> a self-admitted liar. and for him to say i'm going to stop lying now, starting now, is somewhat silly. >> reporter: but cracks may be starting to form under the president's feet. senator warren hatch on cnn -- >> the democrats will do anything to hurt this president. >> but this is the southern district of new york. >> i don't care. all i can say is he is doing a good job at president. >> reporter: hatch released a statement adding he regretted those remarks adding i made comments that were in-responsib irresponsible. as for the other reality show unfolding at the white house, the president selected his budget direct are tore mick mulvaney as his new acting

remember at what point in time that this matter came about two weeks or so before the election, post billy bush comments. so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> do you think that donald trump and jared kushner, to the extent he was involved, would be act thing that way knowingly? >> i think it would be hard to make an argument that jared would have no exposure or knowledge of what was happening, particularly if he was managing that relationship directly. who else on the trump team would have nope about it? cohen wasn't going to be chief of staff at that point. that's the entire reason why jared ended up being the conduit at the white house. so i think it's strange to make an argument that jared would have had no knowledge of that transaction. >> jerry, what do you think? >> i definitely think that once michael stepped aside, there was foot traffic between people in the trump organization, including jared, into the american media organization. >> and when you say another shoe to drop, can you give us any more insight on what you're talking about? >> i think t