recognized matt cohen for off the grid for s.b.a. businessperson of the year. and also tomaso's as the s.b.a. northern california family owned businesses of the year and they're one of our legacy businesses. so that was exciting. i also want to give acknowledgement to carol chang in our office, who did an exceptional job assisting with the board of supervisors and helping with the mayor's honoree ceremony and did a tremendous amount of back-end work on the legacy business -- i mean, on the small business week. rea aldonado provided additional support and i want to give a shoutout to marc marianne thomp connecting with the mayor's office and also working with the council district merchants for shop and dine and saturday events. so definitely a collaborative event. and then lastly -- what did i do with my notes? a couple of items i want to bring to your attention. so supervisor tang and supervisor safai have introduced legislation and i believe i may have forwarded it on to you, where they're streamlining zoning controls for neighborhood districts. working with t

we started out the week with inspire sf, with three businesses, matt cohen, with off the grid, who ishe s.b.a. small business person of the year for 2018. sam

matt miller. david frum, the michael cohen saga is but one window into what has truly become an unprecedented size that the trump swamp now is. >> the question i think you have been asking the past half hour and that rachel was asking for the last hour before that, is a variant of an episode from the old sew soprano show. the thing that got you into the most trouble was not kicking up, you got the fat envelope full of cash, you took your piece of it, and then delivered the thicker envelope to the next ranking person in the organization. that's the thing everyone is struggling with. donald trump hates people making money off him without sharing. michael cohen made a lot of money very fast, did he kick up? >> and that's exactly what michael avenatti has been suggesting in our discussions. matt miller here's a president who creates opportunities for lobbyists unlike anything we have ever seen, even when he apparently randomly decides to attack a company on twitter for whatever its legal business is on the united states. what happens for the lobbying bills for that company the day the president launch

cohen. >> i want to bring in matt lewis and steve hall. you just saw him in drew's story there. steve, you're in a story in this report. why is this issue of domain names of interest? >> the domain names are of interest, don, because what we're talking about again if you recall back to the russian's influence operation in the attack on our 2016 presidential election here in the united states, one of the goals of that operation was to sew dissent and open up fissures in u.s. policy and politics. of course the alt right issue is a big hot button issue. so the russians would have been interested in having access to those domain names, and that's probably why that was done. >> so, matt, within two days of hillary clinton using the phrase alt-right in a speech frederick intrater entered the domain names using alt-right. you have written a lot about the rise of the alt-right. what do you make of the timing of all of this? >> well, so, you know, the alt-right was known for a month, i think i mentioned the alt-right on your show months before hillary clinton brought it up during the cam

matt, some trump supporters point out that maybe what michael cohen did was just wrong and dumb, butresident's not connected to it. do you think the president can separate himself from his right hand man and fixer selling access to the white house? >> it's definitely -- i don't know. the political maneuver actually might be harder to pull off than the reality. it's entirely plausible that michael cohen was, at least implicitly selling access and that donald trump didn't know it. i don't know donald trump personally but what i've observed about him is i don't think he would be happy with knowing that someone else was selling access to him. i think he would resent that. michael cohen's making money off selling access to me no. way. it might be actually the optics are problem worse than the actual reality in terms of donald trump specifically. >> there are some sticky issues like the fact that he had dinner with the novartis executive after he paid michael cohen $1.2 million. >>> former prisoner of war calling president trump's pick for cia director disturbing. why he says he cannot sup

matt miller, speak to that larger point, which does relate to the criminal culpability, and you can think of jurisdictioning that the president trump could interfere and pardon and those where he can't. michael cohen is now facing an individual that will cooperate again him. matt miller, also speak to if there is a fusion here, if there is a stormy danielsification of that's ha product to commingle these funds. and now to have a lot of folks digging into all of that? matt? >> i think that's exactly right. look, on the first point i've always been somewhat skeptical that it would be a joint investigation. and whether any persons took part. whether there's a joint investigation would produce state charges seems to me for the most part that is not within the state attorney general's man dade. this separate matter is an entirely different question. when you look at the exposure, you can see po templeal fraud and tax charges and at the state left charge of violating stay laws. so this is a different area where i think you can't see, you know, very robust cooperation by state and federal investigators, where state investigators bring charge when it's appropriate, or even vice versa. you can't see the so

matt lewis and samantha vinograd, thank you. >>> all righty. cnn has learned that president trump's lawyer michael cohen met with a russian oligarch back in january 2017 during the transition period and just before his inauguration. this is according to a source. and this video reviewed by cnn. >> special counsel robert mueller questioned the russian oligarch victor vekselberg about the meeting at trump tower. in the video, you can see vekselberg wearing the hat waiting to go up to cohen's office in trump tower. the aim of this meeting was to improve u.s./russia relations. >> a firm connected to vekselberg paid cohen more than $500,000 for consulting work. last month the u.s. imposed sanctions on the oligarch for election interference. >>> a teacher in indiana is being called a hero because he helped stop a school shooter. students who were in that room explain how that terrifying scene unfolded and how that teacher took the shooter down. >>> families in hawaii -- look at this. they just had to watch this as the lava crept closer and closer to their homes. nothing they could do. you'll see more of this.

matt bradley in gaza for us. >>> at&t issued a mea culpa about hiring michael cohen. they released a letter to employees saying that hiring michael cohen as a political consultant was a big mistake. they paid cohen thousands of dollars for help in dealing with the trump administration on a number of matters including the acquisition of time warner that donald trump said he didn't want to see happen when he was president. the "washington post" reports that internal documents from at&t detail the $600,000 they paid to cohen and describes his contract, which highlights how he is to quote creatively address political and communications issues and advise the company on matters before the federal communications commission. i'm joined by tom handberger. tom, it's not clear to me, i'm not a lawyer. it's not clear what if anything michael cohen did may have been illegal. it seems he is involved in questionable ethical stuff. but at&t, a company that has business before the administration, paying the personal lawyer of president trump through a company that he established in th

matt miller, your reaction to that. >> i think he was talking about the campaign finance case against michael cohen and potentially againstdonald trump. a couple things about that. first of all it's not at all clear that case is dead. obviously the prosecutors for the southern district of new york are pursuing it aggressively. but i think it would be a mistake to assume they are only investigating campaign finance. there's no way those prosecutors and fbi agents would have raided the president's personal attorney's office if they weren't looking for something more than campaign finance. is it michael cohen's personal dealings and nothing to do with donald trump or is it something to do with dealings with donald trump back before he was president of the united states. so to now ask the attorney general -- who by the way, if it was campaign finance issues should be recused because he was a member of the campaign, to ask him to step in and kill a lawful investigation is rudy giuliani asking jeff sessions to obstruct justice only he's not doing it in secret, he's doing it in the open just like the president does when he tweet

cohen's legal bills. here megan tooey. msnbc little analyst paul butler, a former federal prosecutor. matt welch of reason magazine.r. what is that relationship between trump world and that publication? >> well, it's been very close. in fact, several months ago when several of my colleagues were zooming in on michael cohen and some of the things he has done related to ami trump during the campaign, ami released a statement acknowledging owning the close personal relationship that david packer, the head of ami had not just with trump, but also cohen. >> that's what is so crazy about this. it's not just trump. michael cohen knows pecker and has been involved in some of these sort of what's called catch and kill stories, right? >> yeah, absolutely. so this was a real turn-about. this was a very -- the ami is completely changing its tune in terms of now not just going on the attack, but going on the attack viciously against cohen. >> how do you interpret that? >> they're in the same business, right? they are the print version of michael cohen. they have been running interference for donald trump. to the extent of payin

cohen. we know $130,000 went to stormy daniels. does that raise the question, if you're an investigator, matt miller, where did the rest of the money go? and we know michael avenatti has said there are other women who have come to him with stories that could potentially also be believable. >> raises the question. that money the "wall street journal report"ed michael cohen has withdrawn could be settlements on behalf of the president, money used for other antiveties being investigated. includes whatever he did on behalf of the president and his own problems that are his uniquely. we don't know the answer to that. to this point with rudy giuliani, when you're the president's lawyer, not a real lawyer but play lawyer on tv as peter posits you're supposed to put out fires not create new ones. he told maggie haberman of the "new york times" that donald trump paid michael cohen somewhere between $450,000 and $460,000. obviously, only $130,000 went to stormy daniels. was the rest of it for other women? and se said might have occurred on television yesterday or for some other purpose for donald trump? we don't know the answer bought new fa

matt rivers for us in seoul. thank you very much. >>> cnn has also learned this morning that president trump's lawyer, michael cohen, melt with a russianet with a russian oligarch in join of 2017. >> this happened during the presidential transition period before trump's inauguration. this is the cnn exclusive. matthew chance found that oligarch, victor vekselberg, and tried to ask about the meeting. >> reporter: quick question from cnn -- >> no -- >> reporter: why did your company pay hundreds of thousands to mr. trump's lawyer? >> not now. >> reporter: he is another media-shy russian billionaire linked with the kremlin and mired in connection with the trump team. the fbi questioned vekselberg about payments to trump attorney michael cohen by his company's u.s. affiliate. they say it was for consulting work. we asked about the payments, too. >> appreciate -- just later, okay? >> reporter: access -- >> no, no. please. >> reporter: to get access to the president -- >> please leave that. >> reporter: we know that vekselberg met cohen even before president trump was inaugurated. these recently unearthed forrest images in the -- unearthed v

. >> matt miller, john heilemann, jesse wegman, thanks for starting us off tonight. really appreciate it. >>> coming up, we have breaking news. michael cohen'sorn business partner in the new york city taxi business pleaded guilty today and is cooperating with prosecutors. what that could mean for robert mueller's investigation. that's next. [music playing] (vo) from day one, we always came through for our customers. it's how we earned your trust. until... we lost it. today, we're renewing our commitment to you. fixing what went wrong. and ending product sales goals for branch bankers. so we can focus on your satisfaction. it's a new day at wells fargo. but it's a lot like our first day. wells fargo. established 1852. re-established 2018. then you might have a dcondition called dry mouth.? biotène is clinically proven to soothe and moisturize a dry mouth. plus, it freshens breath. biotène. immediate and long lasting dry mouth symptom relief. >>> a dear, dear personal friend of donald trump's former lawyer michael cohen is insisting tonight that his guilty plea today in new york state court has nothing to do with his dear, dear friend michael

. >> matt miller, john heilemann, jesse wegman, thanks for starting us off tonight. really appreciate it. >>> coming up, we have breaking news. michael cohen'ssian-born business partner in the new york city taxi business pleaded guilty today and is cooperating with prosecutors. what that could mean for robert mueller's investigation. that's next. yogi is a bear. when it comes to hibernating, nobody does it better. he also loves swiping picnic baskets. hee, hee, hee yoooogiiiiiii!! but when it comes to mortgages, he's less confident. here, yogi. thank you boo boo. fortunately, there's rocket mortgage hmmm. hey. by quicken loans. it's simple, so he can understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes. my kind of pic-a-nic basket. apply simply. mmm-hmmm. hee, hee. understand fully. mortgage confidently. rocket mortgage by quicken loans. miracle-gro guarantees results >> vo: these neighbors are starting right. with rich potting mix and essential plant food for three times the blooms. success is sweet. miracle-gro. three times the beauty. one powerful guarantee. come hok., babe. nasty nighttime heartburn? try new alka-seltzer pm

matt miller, thank you both. >>> coming up, president trump's lawyer accused of approaching another company with access to the president. the latest on michael cohen's sales job and his fears about being cut off by donald trump, after this. what if your skin could light up the room? new aveeno® positively radiant sheer daily moisturizer. lightweight hydration for positively radiant skin that lasts. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results® i we worked with pg&eof to save energy because wenie. wanted to help the school. they would put these signs on the door to let the teacher know you didn't cut off the light. the teachers, they would call us the energy patrol. so they would be like, here they come, turn off your lights! those three young ladies were teaching the whole school about energy efficiency. we actually saved $50,000. and that's just one school, two semesters, three girls. together, we're building a better california. >>> every day we learn more about michael cohen's efforts to cash in on his number one client after the 2016 election. "wall street journal" reporting he aggressively pitched his relationship to the new president. according to one

matt miller, thank you both. >>> coming up, president trump's lawyer accused of approaching another company with access to the president. the latest on michael cohen'sales job and his fears about being cut off by donald trump, after this. fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. i thought after sandy hook, where 20 six and seven year olds were slain, this would never happen again. it has happened more than 200 times in 5 years. dianne feinstein and a new generation are leading the fight to pass a new assault weapons ban. say no to the nra and yes to common-sense gun laws. california values senator dianne feinstein say no to the nra and yes to common-sense gun laws. to keep our community safe. before you do any project big or small, pg&e will come out and mark your gas and electric lines so you don't hi

that his long time lawyer michael cohen took large sums of money from companies like at&t after trump's election, a lot to discuss here. i want to bring in my panel, matt welch editor at large at reason magazine anddown yell goldman and fellow at new york university's mcsilver institute, a plus panel i have today. thank you for joining me on this mother's day. i want to start with you on this one, why haven't we really heard from the white house with regard to sadler's comments? >> what about donald trum map o his white house lead you or -- >> this is a war hero. >> he said he's not a war hero -- >> he said he got caught. >> john mccain said he would not endorse trump during the 2016 until -- not only did he apologize to them to him and other veterans because that was a bad thing to say for their service. trump didn't care and didn't apologize for even that sense of it. i doubt there's any expectation that they'll apologize. maybe the individual will herself because she apparently promised as such to megan mccain, but i would see nothing, this is the way the white house and person in donald trump is. >> megan mccain was telling abc that when i had a co

matt apuzzo, will join us in just a moment. he and his colleagues writing tonight, quote, president trump knew about a six-figure payment that michael d. cohen, his personal lawyer, made to a pornographic film actress several months before he denied any knowledge of it to reporters aboard air force one in april according to two people familiar with the arrangement. it was not immediately clear when mr. trump learned of the payment, which mr. cohen made in october 2016 at a time when news media outlets were poised to pay her for her story about an alleged affair with mr. trump in 2006. but three people close to the matter said mr. trump knew that mr. cohen had succeeded in keeping the allegations from becoming public at the time the president denied it. the president has spent the last several hours speaking out, in particular going into damage control mode trying to clean up comments that rudy giuliani made this week about trump reimbursing michael cohen. >> i'll tell you what. rudy is a great guy, but he just started a day ago. but he really has his heart into it. he's working hard. he's learning the subject matter, and he's going to be iss

where he talks about michael cohen's relationship with donald trump if it takes me the better part of the next hour. but we're going to do it. still, that was illustrative, matt, because you watch in real time, sean hannity is trying to help him out there. >> look. so maybe i've spent too long in the swamp here, but i actually can see somewhat the logic here tonight. >> oh, boy. i want to hear this. >> stay with me. so look, if you operate under the theory that eventually we're going to figure this out, right? somebody was going to figure this out and blow the whole thing open, phil is absolutely right that this does sort of put the lie to the white house. but, you know, when has that really ever stopped anybody from saying something at the white house? so if it's going to come out, framing it as there's no campaign finance violation and, you know, if we start hearing tomorrow this was an effort to protect his family or protect his privacy or whatever we started to hear, framing it as this isn't an illegal thing, this is a personal thing, stay out of my business, stay out of my personal life, then we're in sort of the bill clinton territory of what do we want

. >> and, matt apuzzo, you got the facts straight before rudy did, breaking the news friday night that president trump knew about a six-figure payment that michael cohen, his personal lawyer made to a pornographic film actress several months before he denied any knowledge of it to reporters aboard air force one in april according to two people familiar with the arrangement. take us through your reporting and your understanding of what the president knew and when he knew it. >> well, this feels like an advancement of the story, you're right. if this feels like a regression of the story, you're right. it advances our understanding and takes us back to where we were in january when "the wall street journal" first revealed the exist ennis of the payment. i don't think anybody who read this story the first time, i wonder if donald trump knew about the payment made by his personal lawyer to get a nondisclosure agreement on his behalf. i mean, i think everybody just sort of assumed that was being done on donald trump's behalf and with his knowledge. it got fuzzy because the president said on air force one that he didn't know anything about it, and then giuli

cohen's office wasn't raided. it was searched pursuant to a search warrant signed by a federal judge. there is not a spy in the trump camp. there is somebody, to matt miller's point, that saw something that bothered them and reported it to law enforcement. then these are not spies and raids. words matter. >> thank you for placing that. we sit here every day. you're hired. when we come back, a firsthand account of the president's state of mind in the first hours after learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate him. and michael cohen at a breaking point with news this morning that there may be more women who were paid more hush money by donald trump. cohen announces he will not rollover. stay with us. ♪[upbeat music] ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller ♪i'm gonna follow the sun♪ ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller ♪i'm gonna follow the sun transitions™ light under control™ transitions™ at&t provides edge-to-edge intelligence, covering virtually every part of your manufacturing business. & so this won't happen. because you've made sure this sensor and this machine are integrated. & she can talk to h

matt miller, guys, thank you very much. >>> next up, the taxi king of new york and the fixer. no, it's not a tv show. did the special counsel just figure out how to flip michael cohen. the sun comes up, the sun goes down. you run those miles, squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom and floss to set a good example. you fine tune the proposal, change the water jug so no one else has to, get home for dinner and feed the cat. you did a million things for your family today but speaking to pnc to help handle all your investments was a very important million and one. pnc. make today the day. >>> a business partner of president trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen, has agreed to cooperate with the government as a potential witness, according to a source with direct knowledge of the proceedings. the news was first reported by "the new york times." the partner in question is -- i don't know how to say this first name -- evgeny friedman, also known as the taxi king of new york. you know you read things and suddenly have to say them outloud. anyway, he and michael cohen managed a fleet of cabs. authorities have accused friedman of tax fraud pocketing more than $5 million in f

matt, despite your comments, stay with us. still ahead on moej, buzzfeed has public published some big scoops. the editor-in-chief is here with new reporting on the timeline of michael cohen'sgs in russia on behalf of donald trump. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. why did i want a crest 3d white smile? dinner date...meeting his parents dinner date. so i used crest. crest 3d white removes... ...95% of surface stains in just 3 days... ...for a whiter smile... that will win them over. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort, your sleep number setting. does your bed do that? it's the lowest price ever on the queen c4 mattress, only $1099 - save $500. ends soon. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you. ♪ tired of wrestling with seemingly impossible cleaning tasks? sprays in the bathroom can be ineffective. try mr. clean magic eraser with durafoam. simply add water, to remove soap scum. try mr. clean magic eraser with durafoam. no one thought much of itm at all.l people said it just made a mess until exxonmobil scientists put it to the test. they thought someday it could become fuel and powe