wasn't michael cohen. michael cohen wasn't the one who was running for president.t was donald trump. so if you wanted to look at the way prosecutors generally view culpability, they look at who benefits. who made the money. who was at the top of the pyramid. here, there's not even close to a debate about that. this was something done for the benefit of donald trump, who, according to michael cohen, directed the entire illegal conspiracy. remember that phrase, at the direction of. cohen said this whole illegal activity, these illegal campaign contributions, was done -- were done at the direction of donald trump. now, we haven't heard from trump or his lawyers. perhaps they'll say michael cohen is lying. perhaps they're saying there was no crime here. but at least what went on in federal court today was a statement that donald trump directed an illegal conspiracy to commit felony campaign finance violations. that's pretty extraordinary. >> the president had a chance to speak about what michael cohen was alleging when he spoke with reporters upon his arrival in charle

and michael cohen may not be done. cohen's attorney lanny davis was with us just moments ago here on "new day." he hinted cohen has information about the russian attack on the 2016 election and the president's knowledge of it. >> mr. cohen has knowledge that would be of interest to the special counsel about the issue of whether donald trump ahead of time knew about the hacking of e-mails, which is a computer crime that was the subject of the indictment of the 12 russians. >> it's a clear and deliberate tease from cohen's attorney lanny davis because davis would not tell us anything near about what that information allegedly is. davis says cohen is willing to testify without immunity publicly before congress and on top of all of this, the president's one-time campaign chair paul manafort was convicted on eight counts in his financial fraud trail. he faces years in prison. the president says he feels bad for him. but bad enough to pardon him? that's one of the questions. i want to bring in david cay johnston, former fede

number two, i can tell you that i don't believe michael did that tape because michael wanted to protectoned he would be prosecuted by a special counsel. one, he envisioned he would be in the white house. i think that if he did those tapes, as opposed to the phone calls, let's say you have an iphone, and you just take every phone call automatically, i don't have one of those. but if you walk in and you're essentially wearing a wire, to somebody where you've profesed you would take a bullet for him, internal politics, always the one that was closest to the president, the most loyal one, this or that, you know, maybe he really wasn't and that was very, very surprising to me. >> there's obviously a lot of speculation as to whether the president has also been loyal to his own associates and stuff. >> i'm not arguing that the president -- i've said the president did not treat me well. okay, with that -- water under the bridge for me. long time ago. i sympathize with the fact that michael did not get a job in the white house. wouldn't it have been better add they just given michael a job in th

i've been told john doe is michael cohen. >> you've confirmed that joe doe is michael cohen. >> that's right. and robert could you zamy who has been leading this prosecution because the u.s. attorney, jeff berman, was recused from this case originally, he's going to make comments outside of court. so at this point we have a plea agreement involving michael cohen but the exact terms of this and what he's pleaing to, we don't have that. >> all the recording of discussions of a plea deal here and now the scheduling of this hearing, they're not saying in their plea deal but you have confirmed this would be for the purposes -- >> this is for the purpose of a plea agreement, that's correct. at that time or shortly the plea agreement will become unsealed in federal court here in manhattan and at that point we'll be able to look and see what this is all about. but we have it and we know that we're going to have a court proceeding at 4:00 today. >> tom dupree, you've been through working on that side of the law many plea deals. take us through what would be going right now between now and 4:00

today when michael cohen pleaded guilty, the prosecutor and the judge made it clear that michael cohen will have to pay restitution for the damage he has done with his crimes. but how can michael cohen pay restitution to the 65 million people who voted for hillary clinton for president? or to some, some of the 62 million people who voted for donald trump but would not have if they had heard stormy daniels story about donald trump telling her that she reminded him of his daughter before he had sex with stormy daniels. how do you pay restitution to the 330 million people who now live in a country where the president was accused today in federal court of conspiring to commit two crimes for the principal purpose of influencing the election? there is no campaign finance violation in history that comes close to the enormity of the crimes that michael cohen confessed to today and accused the president of the united states of ordering him to commit. leading off our discussion now, john heilemann, co-host and executive producer of showtime's "the host." jill wine-banks, former assistant prosecu

last night on cnn, michael cohen's lawyer, lanny davis, suggested michael cohen has information to share that would be of interest to prosecutors that relates to the trump foundation, the charity. today, that made something happen in the world, the people investigating the trump foundation as a potential criminal matter subpoenaed michael cohen to give them whatever testimony he's got about the trump foundation. 'apparently sprinted right over. in addition last night is, lanny davis told us on this show that michael also has information about the president potentially having advance notice of the criminal hacking that happened during the campaign in which russian government hackers attacked democratic party computers to wreak havoc and steal information used to help trump win the election. we don't know what lanny davis meant by that carefully worded statement he made on the show last night. today, there has been a lot of focus on this reference on page 16 of the criminal information against cohen in which prosecutors say that when michael cohen got his reimbursement from the trump organ

>> why did michael cohen make it? >> you have to ask michael cohen.rney and you have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know. no. >> it was -- david chalian, back do you. laura was speaking and i was thinking about this. the direct connection to the campaign. will you remind everyone the significance of that moment? >> well, it was not a believable moment as it occurred and then, of course, you will recall in the days after sarah sanders asked time and again in the briefings about it, she was unable to sort of shed additional light on it without getting herself twisted into knots. we know that right there in that question on april 5th that was he says michael cohen is my attorney. just remember, that's not that long ago, brooke, about how much this relationship has taken a turn. right? because it was not there long after michael cohen was not his attorney and in fact turning on him and you could see the president choosing his words so deliberately there in describing michael cohen and the relat

we're back with attorney michael avenatti.player in what we learned today from michael cohen and what it means going forward. he stood in open court today and said, yes, i committed crimes. two of them, felonies. campaign finance. i did them at the direction of a candidate for federal office, also known as donald trump. what did you think when you heard that? >> well, i thought that we made a giant leap forward relating to our civil case in multiple ways. first of all, there's little doubt now that we're going to get a deposition of michael cohen in connection with our case. you know, on september 10th, we have a hearing where the judge is going to make a determination as to whether to lift the stay or the pause in the case that michael cohen had demanded while this criminal investigation played out. well, now it's basically been resolved. so we would expect the judge on the 10th of september to lift that pause, allow the case to proceed. and we have a pending motion to depose michael cohen and donald trump. i think there's ze

michael cohen said the president wrote the law. and this could happen with the legal side of what could happen and the political side, jeffrey. and david eluded to this, too. this gets to the issue of what will congress do? what will congress do now before november? and what will he do after november? i don't know if the democrats will take over the house, maybe they will. then i assume likely there will be hearings, but there are two months to go before that happens, jeffrey. trey gowdy, bob goodlatt, republicans who can subpoena people, what will they do? >> well, if the past is prologue at all, the republicans in the house of representatives and the senate will do nothing at all. i mean, this has been a republican party in congress, completely devoted to protecting rather than investigating donald trump. and since there are only two months to go, i don't see any alternative, any alternative scenario developing while the house is in republican hands. if the democrats retake control, i think it's going to be a very different story

michael: yes. lisa: you have been actively maneuvering? michael: we like the front end. have you been adding? iain: i completely agree with michael on this. if you look at the front end, the breakeven is there. it is compelling. you can get yield spreads well above where you can get most other short data fixed income instruments across europe and particularly compared to where cash is. cash in europe is still negative. lisa: you did mention liquidity. i do have to wonder at what point is liquidity in european markets sufficient to max out these wagers? if everybody moves in one direction or an italian bank runs into trouble, how vulnerable are you? how is liquidity? iain: i think liquidity has been challenged. it has been challenged because we are in the summer holidays. and also because we are coming to the end of the ecb's bond buying program. what is a good sign for italy is we had one of the strongest five-year auctions on record. a huge interest in the market. that's why people are looking at these markets thinking if i want to get allegations to these markets, you

michael cohen. yes, your honor. have you read it? i have, sir. have you discussed with it your attorney? >> mr. cohen, i have, sir. >> the judge. mr. cohen, do you understand sir, that you are now under oath and if you answer any of my questions falsely, your false or untrue answers may later be used against you in another prosecution for perjury or making a facility statement? or making a false statement? michael cohen, i do, your honor. the judge, very well. for the record, what is your full name? michael cohen says, michael dean cohen. the judge, and at this time, mr. cohen, you may be seated and i would ask that you pull the microphone close to you. the defendant, thank you, your honor. >> mr. cohen, how old are you, sir? the defendant, in four days i'll be 52. the judge, how far did you go in school? >> law. >> the judge. are you able to read, white, speak and understand english. >> the defendant, yes, your honor. >> the judge. are you now or have you recently been under the care of a doctor or

michael: ok. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] coming up later, join a discussion on cyber threats. we will have that live starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern. presidentarks by trump in west virginia at up make america great again rally. and theused on jobs economy, live on c-span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. saturday, the democratic national committee will hold its summer meeting in chicago with sessions on potential changes to residential nominating process including the role of superdelegates. you can watch that live saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern. join us this evening at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span three for a special call in addition of an american history tv feature, lectures and history. our topic is the presidency of andrew jackson with arizona state university professor leading theth conversation and answering your questions. watch lectures in

not michael cohen. michael cohen wasn't running for president. the whole point of this illegal campaign contribution was to benefit donald trump. and now michael cohen is asserting that it was done at the direction of donald trump. so why would michael cohen be exclusively prosecuted and not donald trump? for a crime like this. but remember, he is president of the united states. and there is a justice department policy. it's a policy. it is not a law. not in the constitution. it doesn't necessarily have to be followed. but it is a policy that the president cannot be indicted. but what we have here and what went on in open court today is a very explicit statement by michael cohen in effect endorsed by the southern district of new york that donald trump also committed a federal crime in campaign finance violations. >> it's significant, mark preston, that the president when he walked down the stairs of air force one, he went over to reporters, made a strong statement in support of paul manafort, found guilty on eight counts, felony courts today in v

here to discuss, michael avenatti.ou for joining us. >> thank you. >> you say you believe lanny davis dropped a bombshell. explain. >> i was watching that interview and lanny davis just made an admission that has never been made before, it's the first i've ever heard of this. lanny davis just stated on your show moments ago, you asked him about receipts, you asked if michael cohen had receipts, related to the stormy daniels payment vis-a-vis donald trump's involvement and lanny davis just stated that there was a wire transfer from the trump organization directly into the account that michael cohen had established -- this was the essential consultants account -- in order to pay my client the $130,000 payment. now, if that, in fact, is true, that is a huge problem for the president because it would be direct conduct by the trump organization to reimburse that payment. that would constitute campaign finance violation and would basically make donald trump aiko conspirator, no question about that. and i'll also add that tha

>> you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> also, michael cohen's attorney lanny davis says he has information on the 2016 election and the president's knowledge of it. the president's one-time campaign chair was convicted of eight counts in his financial trial and could face decades in prison. the president says he felt bad for paul manafort. bad enough to pardon him, though? that's the question. >>> there are many questions. let's bring in cnn's senior political analyst, laura coats, and chad lew, a former attorney for rick gates. it is great to have you here on this important morning. laura, let me start with you. cohen, the defendant, caused and made the payments described herein in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. in so doing, he coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls about the fact, nature and timing of this. i'm curious, why did he have to go that far? why couldn't michael cohen say, yes, i did the payments. why did he say it was to influence the 2016 election and directed by trump? >> because the campaign finan

that michael cohen has? >> and speaking to chris earlier, chris said he has no reason to lie, it doesn't behoove him to lie, because then he's in more trouble than he's already in. does he have the proof? does he have the receipts? so first of all, yes, the wire transfer from the trump corporation to the account that michael cohen set up that then went to stormy daniels is recognizable and provable. let me repeat, the proof is president trump's own lawyers wrote the special council and used the word directed. there doesn't need to be proof when the lawyers have acknowledged that the client directed michael cohen to make an illegal payment. making the payment as guilty certainly as the lawyer, an in my judgment, more guilty because he was trying to cover up and hide his own role in the situation with ms. daniels by having cohen do the deed rather than himself. there is no dispute, there is no need for proof. his lawyers have admitted that fact. >> everyone knew that the president knew. and when he got aboard

>> number. >> why did michael cohen make it? >> you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my -- an attorney. you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money? >> no. >> his lawyer said he did reimburse him for the daniels payoff and a few weeks ago michael cohen revealed the recording he made that shows mr. trump was also involved in the karen mcdougal arrangement, the david you'll hear in this tape is david pecker of ami. >> i need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that information regarding our friend david. so that i'm going to do that right away. i've spoken to allen about how to set the whole thing up with -- >> so what are we going to do? >> yes. and it's all the stuff, all the stuff. because you don't know what he's going to do. correct. so i'm all over that. and i spoke to allen about it. when it comes time for the financing which will be -- >> what financing? >> well, i have to pay you. >> pay the cash? >> no. no. no. >> how are you? >> when the recording first hit, many observers rashsaid it soun like a couple of cr

michael agreed to tell the truth.about lenient sentences or anything else. michael cohen's decision to take responsibility and come true. sarah sanders, he said i challenge her to come on the show. we're not on the press podium, we're on the don lemon show where you have to tell the truth. that was on the record. manny told me i could use that. >> sarah sanders is saying so many ridiculous things i wonder why we talked to her. i wonder why people going to briefings anywhere. what she said is irrelevant and diversionary. he is sending a thousand signals that michael cohen knowns things useful to robert mueller. that chapter isn't on. i get the impression kind of ready reading the tea leaves there may be something michael coen wants to talk to mueller about. we might not know about some things. they do suggested there might be some trades. >> speaking of conversations we don't know. omarosa afarptly recorded a lot of them. we'll discuss that when we come back. i'm captain obvious and hotels.com rewards me basically ever

>> michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. >> a few days later he acknowledged michael represent him in the deal with daniels. >> he represents me like with this crazy stormy daniels deal, he represented me, and, you know, from what i see, he did absolutely nothing wrong. there were no campaign funds going into this. >> why is he pleading the fifth? >> on may 2nd, rudy giuliani took it one step further. >> no campaign finance violation. so they funneled it through a law firm. >> funneled it through a law firm and the president repaid it. but he did know about the general arrangement that michael would take care of things like this. >> the following morning, mr. trump added that cohen received a monthly retainer. then on july 24th, cohen's lawyer released a secret recording between cohen and mr. trump discussing the logistics of another payment. this time to former playboy model karen mcdougal. >> when it comes time for the financing, which will be -- >> what financing? >> i have to pay -- >> cash. >> no, no, no. >> on august 21st, cohen officially flipped on his former

i don't think the federal prosecutors would have offered michael cohen a plea deal u nless offered michael unless they do what he had to say was credible. maybe the president will have to speak on both because stormy daniels are going to try to get the president into court to swear on oath, his version of events ? swear on oath, his version of events? as i sit next to my constitutional law professor from law school, it is going to be difficult for mueller to get the president to testify under oath. don mcgann has set with mueller for 30 hours and they allowed a white house official to speak with the special counsel, said the notion we will have the president coming in any time soon, is a bit far—fetched. i am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at this juncture. am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at thisjuncture. thank am not saying it is impossible but unlikely at this juncture. thank you both very much. it is complicated. we are all agreed it is a significant moment but the trump presidency have spoken a lot about michael cohen and paul manafort. paul manafort was hired by

no. >> why did michael cohen say this? >> well, you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my attorney, and you have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know. >> all right, so that was a lie. in fact, back in may, his tv lawyer, rudy giuliani, revealed that was untrue, saying he did reimburse cohen for the daniels payoff, and he revealed a recording he made that showed mr. trump was also involved in the karen mcdougal arrangement. the david you're going to hear is likely david picker of the national enquirer's parent company. allen is the chief financial officer. >> i need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend david. so that i'm going to do that right away. i have come up -- i have spoken to allen about how to set the whole thing up with funding. yes. and it's all the stuff, all the stuff. because you never know where that company, what he's going to be. >> if he gets hit by a truck. >> correct, so i'm all over that. i spoke to allen about it. when it comes time for

michael: absolutely. i think whoever the nominee is, if they are able to ultimately beat donald trump, i think they will have a wide selection of competent and qualified people. i think the most important thing is not only that the legs -- the next president surround themselves with the right people, but listens to them. [indiscernible] we are going to get that seatback that was stolen. >> this is my story. president, i would like you to do away with statute of limitations on children who have been abused able to report. michael: i will look at it. thank you for coming out. [indiscernible] michael: thank you for coming out. thank you. [indiscernible] >> if you need any help, let me know. [indiscernible] >> one of my angles is legalization of cannabis. where are you? michael: i think it should be declassified as a schedule one. >> that's all i need here. no more schedule one. thank you, nice to meet you, thank you for all you are doing. michael: what your name? i like your shirt. >> my name is margaret. it

michael: ok.captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] as your primary source for campaign 2018, we have live coverage this week of the nebraska u.s. senate debate. that is live tomorrow from the nebraska state fair at 10:00 eastern on c-span. announcer: join us for book tv's live coverage of the 18th annual library of congress national book festival next saturday starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern. doris kearns goodwin, ron sure need --ryan kill killmeade.

michael, thanks.the murder of 20-year-old mollie tibbetts as a suspect is arraigned in iowa. the present republican leaders are focusing on the case, trying to further their immigration agenda. we'll have the details, the latest on the case ahead. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these

michael cohen, paul manafort, rick gates, michael flynn and george papadopoulos. headlines around the world shouting trump hell hour, a dark day for trump, the darkest day for the presidency since watergate. cohen pleads guilty. trump's former lawyer happy to testify. the president implicated. the president's campaign manager, let's walk over here with me was found guilty in alexandria, virginia, courtroom within minutes of the president's personal lawyer pleading guilty in a new york city courtroom implicating the president in his crimes. all of it bringing impeachment back to the forefront. let's take a look at the process of impeachment. the house of representatives let's do that -- let's open that up. there we go. first of all, the house of representatives draws up articles of impeachment. think of the house as the prosecutor, the document details any, quote, high crimes and merchandise that the president is believed to be guilty of. only the house can bring charges against a president but any individual congress person can start this process. next, the house

we see michael cohen, trump's attorney. a very emotional day for michael, obviously. i spoke to him at length. the thing he was most emotional about and the most moved about is children. we forget people going through this, how this is affecting his children. he has a son that just started college. a daughter a year out of college and very, very emotional. this started last wednesday where they reached out to his attorney to start to talk and the talks went through the weekend. michael, i believe, and i've said this from the beginning, that michael cohen will be a pivotal, the "the" pivotal figure that will bring down the presidency. it started out. talked in the show about it, he was fiercely loyal. the kind of person he is, and obviously that changed over time, and i believe histories will look kindly on michael cohen. he obviously pled guilty to those counts and wants to focus on counts seven and eight. lanny davis mentioned yesterday, he really is looking forward to talking with mueller. mueller reaches out to him in corroborating stories that michael i believe wi

michael joins us now.all, what went through your mind when you heard president trump today that he didn't know about the payments until after they occurred. >> well, it's absurd. we've heard every story from donald trump and michael cohen for that matter. welcome to the alice in wonderland presidency. here truth is not truth, a crime is not a crime and alan dershowitz is not on television to defend donald trump. someone defending michael cohen and his friend david schwartz, you were on with him multiple times. schwartz repeatedly said all the things michael cohen was saying, which we know was lying. we reached out to david schwartz to ask him to come on but he declined. he said he was "merely repeating the public positions that were in the public domain at the time. "was michael cohen, you think, lying to his own attorney back then? >> well, i don't know, anderson s. but that statement from schwartz is absolutely false. he made numerous statements on your show and others where he stated he had discussions

michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> no, i don't know. >> did he lie to the american people when he talked about this on air force one. >> no. the president addressed this a number of times. >> well, it's all about the minds of trump voters now. can they watch the president lie on air force one and hear the white house press secretary say, no, he didn't lie and be okay with that? there are going to be fewer and fewer white house press briefings now because every one from now on will include questions that would be asked in an impeachment hearing in the judiciary committee in the house of representatives where the impeachment process beginning. in federal court yesterday the prosecutor described for the judge the evidence that proves michael cohen's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the crimes that he says he committed with donald trump. prosecutors said that that evidence includes, quote, records obtained from an april 9th, 2018 search, including hard copy documents seized electronic devices and audio r

michael cohen has now stated this under oath.audiotape that appears to corroborate his story. this notion that michael cohen was acting on behalf of the president to bind him in these non-disclosure agreements without his knowledge or consent strained belief from the outset. i think at this point we're beyond the breaking point. >> april. april ryan is with us. you were there at the white house today when the press secretary, sarah sanders, she kept repeating the words "no charges against the president, he did nothing wrong." what's going through your mind as you hear repeatedly time -- in almost response to every question on this subject she said no charges? >> well, what's going through my mind is the fact they had tried to work on a message that they worked since yesterday on. and i wanted to see how, one, how they were handling it. they tried to operate from a stance of strength. but it didn't work so well. granted, the president is not charged. but this man who was in his inner circle has evidence that could be damaging and

he actually was with michael cohen every day. what maggie haberman of "the new york times" reported. and above and beyond that, he also can help them understand the way the trump organization worked. where the books and records are. who are the right people to i a subpoena. he can be a guide post to a proce prosecutor looking at a case. >> areva, this one is involving, you know information about this, one of trump's sexual harassment accusers. according to court documents, zervos wants evidence from other women who have reported similar account of sexual misconduct. she says that trump made his defamatory statements with common law malice. how do you see this case playing out? >> this is a very significant case, don, because a judge has already ruled this case can go forward. we should step back and remember that donald trump and his team tried to get this case dismissed. they argued that a sitting president shouldn't be bothered with a civil lawsuit and this case should be stayed for all purposes until he was out of office but a

president, what about michael cohen? any comment on michael cohen? >> it doesn't involve me the president says. he cannot say that anymore about michael cohen. was released to do on a $500,000 bond. identified in those court documents as individual one. that is the current president of the united states right there in cohen's criminal information. according to cohen, he illegally conducted payment to two women. stormy daniels and karen mcdougal. at the direction of president donald j. trump. >> tom winter was in the courtroom. what did you see tonight? >> the first couple of hearings because arguments over several months about who should look at the evidence that was seized from michael cohen and how should that process go through and a tremendous amount of media attention, stormy daniels was in line. it felt more like a new york city nightclub than a hearing. today it was different. as soon as michael cohen entered the courtroom, the entire courtroom quieted down. no gasps or any sort of outburst from the crowd at all. the thing that was interesting

michael cohen dealt with the issue from what we heard with the tapes and michael cohen paid off this play boy play mate of the year. also paid off a porpb star. now he introduced the president to at least 1 pwhrapbg praoefrp. michael cohen has his hand in a lot of different pots. it's not beyond the realm of possibility he could have stheupblg something to do with conversations and close to the kremlin. it. >> they want to discredit him as a liar, as a noncredible witness. this is president trump tonight and he is playing down that relationship. >> michael cohen, tell me about your relationship with him. >> he was lawyer for me -- one of many. they like to the add the fixer. i don't know where that term came from but he's been a lawyer for me. did small deals. not somebody that was with me that much. i understood michael co well. he wasn't a lawyer, frankly. but he was probably with me for about 10 years and i would see staoeubgs. >> so will that strategy work? down play thing relationship. >> and the reason is because donald trump basically was a family endeavor. tprrbsz when you're

michael cohen is turning himself in. if he has done so, safe assumption he is planning to enter a plea or additionally a plea and a cooperation agreement with prosecutors. very telling will be what crimes he admits to, if he pleads guilty. in the course of entering the plea, the judge will state on the record that he committed those crimes and entering into this plea of his own free will and that nobody forced him or threatened him to enter into this plea. that is a standard practice in taking any plea. it's a requirement and in going towards what michael cohen may have been thinking about, you look at what the potential charges are if he is going to plea and cooperate, a very high likelihood he is going to. given the millions of dollars put him in the stratosphere. >> what a plea deal means as distinct from cooperation. what we don't have confirmation on is whether he is cooperating. some have told me you have to draw a distinction from a plea deal which saves the government the trial but cooperation agreement can, ulti

to michael about it? >> have a seat right here. >> reporter: still, edmunds decided it was time to bring in michael for a second round of questioning. and this time, the investigator turned up the heat. >> michael, it's over, okay? i'm not playing games anymore. >> reporter: at first, michael said he didn't even know that becky and david were having an affair. >> i know about the affair with your mom and david. >> my mom and david? >> don't play stupid with me. don't play stupid with me. i'm telling you right now. it'll get ugly real quick, okay? this is your one and only chance to get yourself out of a whole load of trouble. >> it gets pretty hot and heavy in that interview room. >> listen to me. listen to me. i know what's going on, okay. i know your mom wanted kay dead, okay? do you want to go to prison for the rest of your life? >> no, sir. >> you need to start talking here and now. okay? >> i didn't know it was david. >> bull ---. >> i swear to you. >> bull [ bleep ]. >> reporter: then edmunds moved

people that pleaded guilty, michael cohen, michael flynn, rick gates, george papadopoulos. we'll get a verdict today with paul manafort. and indicted his first endorser in congress, chris collins. so this is the best people for you. >> this is what you elect donald trump as president of the united states. this is who he is -- >> a criminal enterprise? >> this is the kind of people he surrounded himself with. you know, paul manafort is on trial for tax fraud, bank fraud. everybody around this table knew about paul manafort, knew about his reputation. you know, and so this wasn't -- this is not at all far-fetched. >> it was an open secret in washington. he had a dirty book of business. sman th explain that. >> that was an open secret. he represented a string of bad guys. he was that kind of lobbyist and influence peddler for bad people basically. that was well known. and you could -- it's not a leap to wonder about suspicious financial transactions. people kind of -- he was buying and selling a lot of real estate. we should be cautious since we don't know what the verdict is.

when it comes to michael cohen. >> absolutely. you mean for michael flynn or michael cohen?en. >> for michael cohen. michael cohen, yes. cooperation is an ongoing evaluation. just because we didn't see any evidence of a cooperation agreement it's very common. in my cases you don't want to mention a cooperation agreement in open court unless you absolutely have to. there are two major reasons why, number one, you could compromise an ongoing investigation but number two your clients could be at risk if people out there, bad actors, know that he is cooperating. as they say, unfortunately, snitches get stitches. that's a saying that's thrown around the courthouses for a reason. it's dangerous to be a snitch. it's not uncommon even at sentencing to go to sidebar and say, hey, judge, we have a motion here which is a signal that there's cooperation, then go back in open court and proceed with sentencing. >> danny cevallos, i am sure it is going to be another busy day for you. >> we haven't even talked about manafort yet. >> i will save that for later. >>> still ahead, the white hou

and why hasn't -- >> you have to have michael cohen, michael's my attorney. >> do you know where he got the money? >> i don't know. >> no, i don't know. that means someone is lying. cohen is currently free on $500,000 bond. and he's facing 46 to 64 months in prison for the sentencing hearing set for december. there is no agreement for him to cooperate against the president mentioned in this plea. but his lawyer, lanny davis said he's willing to share information that robert mueller might be interested in. >> i can tell you that mr. cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to the special counsel. and is more than happy to tell the special counsel all that he knows. >> now, as that drama played out in another federal courtroom, just minutes later, the jury sent a message to president trump. the mueller investigation, it ain't a witch hunt. the jury convicting former campaign manager paul manafort on eightfulny counts which include tax fraud, failing to disclose a foreign bank account and bank fraud. the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other ten counts.

that's michael cohen.greg now, former fbi assistant director at the fbi office of congressional affairs. take me behind the scenes of when michael cohen is first taken into custody by the fbi, just in the last hour or two, what that even looks like. >> hi, brooke. i just left court myself and so i'm not up to speed on all of the details of the reporting. i understand that cohen does plan on entering a guilty plea although according to reporting i've seen, there's not a cooperation agreement per se. that's somewhat unique in and of itself. we'll see if that changes over time. needless to say, the process that cohen is about to undergo is a sobering one. he will be brought into the courthouse, processed. if this is a typical sort of initial appearance type of proceeding today, he'll appear before a magistrate judge. the government will put on the record that they've entered into a plea agreement with cohen. cohen will affirm that and it will go from there. >> and that walk into that federal courthouse, will

>> no, no. >> why did michael cohen -- >> you have to ask michael cohen. michael is my attorney and you'll have to ask michael cohen. >> do you know where he got the money to make that payment? >> i don't know, no. >> there you go. today we do know because michael cohen answered that question. you'll have to ask michael cohen, in court today. said it was at the behefts of the president. giuliani said in may on another network, yeah, he knew about these payments and he paid him back. how does the white house handle this? what does sarah sanders say at the podium when you and other journalists ask her? >> well, let's not even go to sarah. that would be tomorrow. let's talk about tonight. the white house from what i'm understanding from our republican sources are -- white house staffers are very upset and very concerned about what the president could say tonight in west virginia. so that's the first step. and then tomorrow you know, we always hear sarah sanders do prez-splaining. this president and michael cohen are polar opposites on the truth as it relates

what michael cohen has come forward with is that michael was trump do this.igned the checks from the company paid to mcdougal as well as to stormy daniels. kevin: does he have tapes or emails or other evidence that will come out? lanny: i don't know the answer to that. kevin: you don't know? lanny: i don't know what evidence he has, but the information document states that there were campaign officials that we don't know the identities of. the prosecutors have not told us all that they have that led to this statement by michael. kevin: reportedly your client, michael cohen, who pleaded , did notesterday reach a cooperation deal with the prosecution. why not? lanny: i'm not sure i know the answer to that. if it seems like i don't know a lot, it's because the criminal lawyer negotiated with the prosecutors and not myself. to me is a distinction without a difference because he has authorized me to say that he is 100% going to tell the truth to whoever asks him. that is the functional equivalent of cooperation. i'm not sure what the distinction is between coopera

that's where the subpoena came for michael colen. t -- michael cohen. the tax department subpoenaed him. i said he had a response in "the daily news." here's how that went down. the state tax department investigating president trump's charitable foundation today issued a subpoena to trump's former personal lawyer, michael cohen and it received a direct immediate response. a source with knowledge tells "the daily news" shortly after the subpoena went out michael cohen personally contacted the tax department to talk. the source would not say what the response was from the tax department but typically in such cases where someone has a lawyer, investigators deal with their counsel and not directly with the person. in new york state, barbara underwood and the tax department are the ones that brought these devastating charges against gene friedman, the "taxi king" all these movement felony, put that pressure on him and flipped him. it appears that cooperation deal probably led to the charges michael cohen just pled to. boom. now the same dynamic duo, new york

president, what about michael cohen? any comment on michael cohen? >> no comments at all about his old friend michael cohen. the list of trump associates found or pleading guilty grew. the danger for him has increased exponentially and the scandal is now right at the doorstep of the white house. joining me now from outside the courthouse is nbc news tom winter who first broke the story of cohen's talks of a plea deal. former watergate prosecutor nick ackerman, former fbi special agent clint watts and the "the new york times" megan twoey. tom, let's start with you. i have something you haven't had a chance to get your hands on yet. you said it to me, it's the information that details everything that he said, everything that michael cohen has told them he knows. it's a lot. >> yeah, it is a lot. we had a full allocution from michael cohen. the proceedings took place nearly an hour and a half. michael cohen appeared to be anxious to speak. once he got up, he told the judge he wrote down some notes. he said that he was going to tell the judge exactly wha

do you believe michael cohen?> i think he's -- yesterday he's under oath and his whole life was on the line. he's aware of what the investigators have after the raid on his office and what hundreds of thousands of documents that were put together during the raid. so clearly, with his back against the wall and all the circumstances already out, i'm far more likely to believe mr. cohen yesterday than the president today. >> congressman quigley, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. any time. >>> still ahead, the political fallout of the president's latest version of the story about the hush money payments to stormy daniels and karen mcdougall. >>> will republicans in congress investigate anything? and will democrats talk of impeachment gain any traction? the first survivor of alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you. join the fight with the alzheimer's association. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll good at that

michael cohen. tell me about your relationship with him. >> well, he was a lawyer for me for -- one of many. they always say the lawyer and they like to add the fixer. well i don't know if he was a fixer. i don't know where that term came from. he was a lawyer for me, didn't do big deals, did small deals. they make it sound like i didn't live without him. it turned out michael cohen wasn't a very good lawyer but he was probably with me for ten years and i would see him sometimes. >> barely knew the guy. >> who is this michael cohen of whom you speak? mitchell cohen? >> i always like he was probably with me for about ten years. as if he doesn't know the history. >> and also ten years? that strikes me as not a short time. we are only on this earth for so ma many. if you are an adult, ten years is a substantial chunk of your life. >> it's important for people to understand. michael cohen was integral to president trump's personal operation, part of the family essentially. he was not only his lawyer but

michael, remember this investigation of michael cohen. it grew out of a referral from the mueller investigation. his team referred it to the southern district of new york. you know, the president and his folks like to say it's not connected to the president at all, but that's important. it's all connected. >> it's all connected, and it was clearly not a good day for the president. you've got to the remember there are two distinct investigations going on at this time. the southern district of new york which received the investigation because of bob mueller's referral. and mueller, i think was mindful of his authority under the memo and he was basically looking at all things russian. i think that's really today there's been a lot of talk on the news about the whole idea of whether or not cohen is going to cooperate with the government, and i would suggest to you that what it tells me tonight is that in fact this is well planned by bob mueller to not have a cooperation angle in the southern district of new york, in fact, to keep the cases se