as you may have seen on your screen, bob woodward is our special guest tonight. he has not done many interviews recently. he's not one to speak out much during an open news story, but he is our special guest tonight. you will hear from bob woodward, on the first president since nixon to have this level of legal problems and a conviction nixon never got. >>> next, my breakdown on now alvin bragg won and beat where so many others failed. that's in 90 seconds. >>> welcome back. we have the legendary pulitzer prize winner coming up, but there's something i haven't had time to do since the conviction came down, even with the hours of rachel and nicolle and michael cohen. that is a slightly deeper look at how we got here in this case versus all the others. there was nothing inevitable. federal prosecutors in the southern district did involve themselves with part of this case. they prosecuted cohen and declined to file any trump charges from that case. the first manhattan d.a. probed these charges for years and didn't make a move one way or the other. didn't charge, jus

her champion for decades starting i with no ordinary time and team of rivals, alice worked with bob woodward on all of his books and it was a true a true, respectful editorial. and i and in fact, when alice passed away, i think all three of those authors dedicated their books to her. she was a great editor and and we miss her. and for those of us in washington, she was informally known as the queen of. the beltway book books about, washington nonfiction books. so she was and she also refused to give an interview. and i and i beg begged her and i, you know, and i, i tried so hard, you know, the wall street journal was going to put her on the front page. she do it and, you know, so i, i really would like to pay homage to her. she she was just in she was the arena with author and had such incredible curiosity. i think that she started with i think, i believe the john dean's book blind ambition that actually her title she she also worked with augustus many taylor branch who we still publish his award winning his award winning series on martin king his trilogy. alice all those books and she was r

eyewitnesses and more than five decades american history, cnn, political analyst carl bernstein, and bob woodward, better known in the opposite order, woodward and bernstein. so carl can you put the gravity of this moment is some perspective it's momentous. we put former president of the united states is a convicted felon in a case in which the facts were evidenced. >> there's no question that the rule of law has prevailed here but it's still is incendiary in terms of where this country is right now it's like pouring gasoline on a fire that's already burning truncal response that we've heard already saying that this emanated with the president biden that he's responsible for this prosecution. i have to say i know of no one in the white house. bob might know if someone who wanted this prosecution to proceed. that in fact, the view and the white house was that this was not a good idea, that there is a very serious case of a january 6, the incitement of a sedition newest riot by the president of the united states. that's the case. that people in the white house would like to see go forward and ought

bob woodward. thank you.arl bernstein as well, just ahead, the catch and kill scheme at the heart of prosecutors case against the former for president. and the testimony that may have helped him as the jury to vote guilty on all counts. ronan farrow author of the bestseller detail, the scheme joins us next do you want to close out should i normally, i'd hold but taking the games as smart here, right? feel more competent. let's dog ratings from jpmorgan analysts in the chase app when you've got a decision to make, the answer is jp morgan wealth management? >> they say we should stop eating so much meat so we made meet out of plants because we aren't quitters impossible? we're solving the meat problem with more meat. >> ocd is more than what you see on tv. and in the movies, it comes with unrelenting intrusive images, thoughts, and urges. if you have ocd and need help, you can get better. who specialized treatment. got to know cd.com to learn more i actually have works for us makes it last contrast so you can r

this is how our legal system works at bob woodward's immediate response was this. >> maybe the country is not as divided as we think it is. that this jury was able to quite quickly reach a consensus and the consensus is that donald trump is a felony. and that changes politics. that changes the whole understanding of trump and the presidential election going on. >> sandra: that they made decisions based on politics? big i don't know if a manhattan jury represents america. this went 85% roughly in president biden so i think most americans would say that's not exactly representative of the rest of the country but a jury makes any decision based on politics but in some way is a political statement so i think that is the last thing they want and the biden-harris ticket they have tried to become careful about this because they don't want to give the appearance that this is political because that has been president trump's argument all along. >> john: as we mentioned a moment ago massive fund-raising hall after the verdict is what the chairman michael watley said about "more than 485,000 dono

felony counts, very serious counts indeed, i want to bring in the author and legendary journalist, bob woodward right now, bob, thanks very much for joining us. give us your reaction as someone who together with carl bernstein, did all the lead reporting on the watergate scandal many years ago. what, what what is your reaction to this historic moment? >> well first of all, maybe the country's not, is divided as we think it is that this jury was able to quite quickly reach a consensus and the consensus is that donald trump is a felon and that changes politics, that changes the whole understanding of trump in the presidential election. that's going on. so this is one of these moments that changes history and defines history. now, we're going to have to hear from what the jurors said and how they did this so quickly, but i was quite surprised. i expected there would be some very vocal trump's supporters on that jury and would kind of have another point of view here. but there has been one point of view, and that is that donald trump is felon that's something i think it will go through another appe

washington post has been living off of bob woodward and colonel birds. and for the years who had a whistle blower like mark felt. but they haven't been kind at all to whistle blowers and they've been very critical of people like cali rally. and edward snowden and chelsea mat in very nasty the column. this were considered liberal like lou ruth marcus is considered a liberal. the late michael gerson went after whistle blowers, david ignatius, of course, who is a power just for the c? i. anyway, and i've been writing about that for years when after the whistle blowers, so whistle blowers better. realize that when they're out there and they turn around to see who's behind them, they're not gonna see a lot of people. and they're not gonna see a lot of institutions. and they're not always going to see the press even though you can have. and as you know, you can have investigative reporting, you can have congressional investigations, you can have oversight without whistle blowers and that history is clear in that regard. in your own experience, in my experience

i wonder what someone would think when someone like bob woodward is on the same pedestal as someone reporting the american public is grappling with how to deal with that, and it is coming at a rapid clip. the more we're aware of that, it is really important, especially as it reflects so many numbers. >> my mother-in-law lives in cincinnati, ohio. i see how they're consuming things. >> sometimes what cuts through in the beltway doesn't cut in the heartland. you have to be conscious of that. the late david broder used to say, voters are smart. they get things. the more they listen, the better off we are. >> it is an important point. sometimes they're talking about issues we're not talking about in the beltway, and that's important to pay attention to, too. you sometimes miss what the actual story in the country is. >> inflation, inflation, inflation. >> yes, cost of living, cost of eggs, cost of housing. people care about it. luke russert, happy to talk to you. great to have you as a colleague. >> thank you. >> it is an amazing book. i highly recommend it, "look for me there." >> joe burrow's b

a couple of intrepid reporters, carl bernstein and bob woodward, began making connections between those burglars who had been arrested and the nixon administration as committee to reelect the president. it was 1972, was a presidential election year. and the connections between the burglars and the president's committee to reelect became ever more clear over the course of that late summer in 1972. nixon won in a landslide reelection win in november of that year, but the senate members of the senate remained unsatisfied that about the information they had, about that burglary and its connections to the president's reelection campaign. and so in january of 1973, the senate formally created a special committee to investigate presidential campaign activities. of that 1972 year. and the official name of the watergate hearings committee was a select committee on presidential campaign activities. it was created with a 77 to 0 vote in the u.s. senate. but was there a controversy about creating this committee? there wasn't so much a controversy as there was a concern that this investigation may b

a couple of intrepid reporters, carl bernstein and bob woodward, began making connections between those burglars who had been arrested and the nixon administration as committee to reelect the president. it was 1972, was a presidential election year. and the connections between the burglars and the president's committee to reelect became ever more clear over the course of that late summer in 1972. nixon won in a landslide reelection win in november of that year, but the senate members of the senate remained unsatisfied that about the information they had, about that burglary and its connections to the president's reelection campaign. and so in january of 1973, the senate formally created a special committee to investigate presidential campaign activities. of that 1972 year. and the official name of the watergate hearings committee was a select committee on presidential campaign activities. it was created with a 77 to 0 vote in the u.s. senate. but was there a controversy about creating this committee? there wasn't so much a controversy as there was a concern that this investigation may b

so i think about what my father with ink when bob woodward is on the same pedestal as someone who is their basement. that is a problem and the american public is grappling with how to deal with that. is just technology coming at a rapid clip. the more we talk about that, the more we are aware of that, it is important as it reflects the polling numbers. >> it is important to stay in touch with. i call it my mother-in-law test to lives in zanetti, ohio. i check with her and my father- in-law about how they digest things and consume things. >> what comes through in the beltway or new york, a lot of times may not cut through it all in the heartland and you have to be conscious of that. and my other thing my father told me, -- boaters are smart. voters are smarter than people give them credit for. the more we listen, the better off we are. >> it is such an important point. sometimes they are talking about issues we are not talking about in the beltway and it is important to pay attention because you miss with the actual story in the country is. >> inflation, inflation, inflation. >> the c

when things don't go his way, he lashes out at his legal teams once telling journalist and author bob woodwardi've got a bunch of lawyers who are not aggressive, who are weak and who don't have my best interest in mind, who aren't loyal. it's just a disaster in a deposition at mar-a-lago and opposing lawyers and trump stormed away after flinging papers across the table and there's more, donald trump doesn't like when his lawyers take notes, there was a meeting that he had at trump tower many, many years ago where he swooped in behind a junior lawyer at his conference table and crumpled up the notes. the guy was taking. >> there is also legal jeopardy involved. >> the legal expense that we was put down as legal expense. >> the whole hush money case centers on a former trump attorney taking illegal action allegedly at trump's behest and trump supposedly falsifying records to hide it. >> we've also seen defense attorneys and trial attorneys that represented trump charged with crimes. and there isn't really a retainer big enough to risk your law license and ultimately, your liberty it's all added

. >> i love american history as you know, on cnn last night, the legendary journalist bob woodward, pointed out the 50th anniversary of nixon's resignation is coming this august. how do you think these moments in history compare 50 years apart this is one of those moments when i think it's so important to remember history, because think of what happened and how the republican party came around to protect the rule of law the supreme court ruled that his plane claim for executive privilege could not be met and the tapes had to be turned over. >> the impeachment process was going forward. senator goldwater scion of the republican party, house minority leader, senate minority went to president nixon and told him that he would be convicted and republicans would be behind it if he did not resign and he resigned. so that meant that every institution really came forward and thought for that rule of law so different from today, so different from today, the, your fellow presidential history and tim naftali, a frequent guest here on cnn, thinks this verdict will create and i'm quoting him now, a torre

. >> you listen to bob woodward. people died. >> talk about the lies.e courts, mika.rt they say he is a rarapist. you have 12 people in a civil n court, not a criminal court, saying he is a rapist. i'd be talking about thing likei that. the lying, he h aas been define as a enrapist by a civil jury. those are the things i'd be bringing up over and over againa i think the deaths, i think, are something that i think they're probably trying to beat careful of. the lg ying, no question. the other facts about him, no question. pound him every day on those y n facts. >> i think the problem here, gene probinson, is, you know, k can say theno campaign needs toe wake up, or why aren't they w talking about covid four hyyear ago, or why aren't they -- you could go on for a thousand time with lists of things to bring up. >> yeah. >> that's the firehose of fire disinformation, of lies, of damage that, some would argue, trumpd has sort of put forwardo this country. >> right. >> that's, by the way, if you look at how fascism begins, it is chaos. it isit overload.s ther

he made it clear to bob woodward he was going to hold back on telling them about it, which is crazy.died of covid. >> they have the tapes, yeah. >> causing violence. the day he held the bible upside down or january 6th. there's some, you know, definite involvement on his part that you can debate, but, at the same time, he is calling the people who were arrested for storming the capitol hostages. i mean, he has now proven that he means what he says, and it is only going to get worse. this isn't fear mongering or, you know, left versus right. this is reality. >> it is actually -- >> this is where we're at. >> it's actually reading -- >> i'm not sure what bill barr is doing. >> reading his words. >> maybe it's at the behest of trump. don't understand what mitch mcconnell is doing. i don't get it. probably on the wrong side of history. safe to say. >> definitely on the wrong side of history. these guys who were once traditional conservatives, traditional republicans, sitting there saying, yes, i'm going to support the guy who loves kim jong-un. i'm going to support the guy who talks abou

not to testify and it reminds me of that passage towards the end of bob's first book on the administration where he has, where woodwardawyer as saying the reason why he couldn't testify is he is a effingham liar. and you can't, he would be torn to shreds in about three minutes. but he never listens to his lawyers pick it is not going to be because he all of a sudden decided to follow legal advice. the cross-examination of stormy and the miscues the other day he doesn't listen to his lawyers pick if he doesn't testify it is because he is scared donald, you are scared. you like to go out and stand out there in the hallway and say all the things that you say because nobody it's to ask you questions. if they ask you questions you just turn around and walk away. you, donald, i hope you're listening to me. you are a . you are scared of doing what stormy daniels had to do and what michael cohen had to do and what every other person who has called you can't call these people liars, donald, unless you go on the stand and tell your truth. let's hear it, let's see how you do. are you afraid, donald? i think you are. >> this has