pending against michael cohen. that's brent blakely's job out in los angeles. lanny davis was brought in for no purpose other than to effectively put a spin on the facts and the evidence and to be michael cohen's mouthpiece, if you will. and i have a lot of respect for lanny, but that's what he is in this context. on television and otherwise. lanny davis was brought in, people are asking, well, why would they release the tape and what is the strategy. it's clear as day to me. the strategy is for lanny to try to reset the narrative around michael cohen. and one of the ways to do that is to be the provider of information, to provide this tape to cnn tonight, get it out there, and put a spin on it. and that's exactly what he's trying to do. >> but michael, just quickly, how does that help michael cohen with the real problem that he has, which is with the fbi, which is with federal prosecutors in manhattan? federal prosecutors in manhattan don't care a word about what lanny davis has to say. >> well, they don't care ab

michael jackson michael cohen, i suspect, knows where a lot of the bodies are buried, so i suspect michael do trump will be sweating up a storm and tweeting about these allegations. >>> we'll be right back. who has the upper hand now? start winning today. book now at lq.com. well, esurance makes it simple and affordable. in fact, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of $412. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance. an allstate company. click or call. esurance. an allstate company. sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. stadium announcer: all military members stand and be recognized. no matter where or when you served, t-mobile stands ready to serve you. that's why we're providing half off family lines to all military. just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their dayr back to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the

michael's my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. >> i haven't spoken to michael in a long time. >> a long time. in a moment i'm going to speak to former federal prosecutor john flannery about this, as well another lawyer for donald trump jay goldberg. we have a lot to get to. but i begin with megan tuwey who has covered this extensively. we've gotten analysis by many cases which involve allegations by women who have had contact with russia. megan, this original allegation against trump, how did these women get us to this place, and why is michael cohen looking like he might be taking revenge out on the president? >> it's turned into a legal rat's nest for the president. what we know about what happened in 2016 toward the end of the presidential race was -- well, two things. one, that there were payments made to women who claimed consensual affairs with the president. one was made directly by michael cohen, the stormy daniels payment, another made through american media, inc., the parent company to the "national enquirer." trump has been insistent in the beginning saying he didn'

would it just be in the hands of michael cohen's legal team, and michael cohen's legal team shared it. or is this -- is there some exception that would make this also material that would be handed over to the prosecutors. >> we need more details, john, but it sounds on the surface like you could make a claim that this was attorney-client privilege ed material. however, there is an exception to the attorney client privilege, if you are discussing something of a criminal nature, it's called the crime fraud exception. in this discussion, it is perceived as a planned illegal payment, then there's no privilege. now one possibility of course would be if the payoff is being planned in order to protect donald trump's reputation in the election and part of the plan of course is not to report it to the federal election commission because obviously that would be revealing the secret that the payoff is designed to hide. that could be a crime. and if you make the argument that this could have been a discussion in pursuance of that crime, then it would never be revealed. but as you said, we don't h

it involves trump's former fixer, michael cohen, and stormy daniels' lawyer, michael avenatti. thank you so much for joining us. listen, cara, i understand that the trump organization has responded to the release of this tape. what are they saying about it? >> that's right, don. the trump organization has told us in a statement tonight that when there is reference to the word cash on the tape, which in itself is money, as you've explained, the reference is not to bags of cash, it's not to green currency. what the trump organization is saying is this would have been like a cash payment, not a financing scheme, but it still would have been followed through the proper protocol of heavy lawyer documents, lawyers on both sides negotiating the terms of this, not that there were bags of cash walking around. of course, lanny davis said the only people who use cash are drug dealers and mobsters. they're saying this is not what they're talking about. it doesn't explain why we hear or why rudy giuliani, another of trump's lawyers, uses the word "check." >> we're going to talk to michael a

michael well. >> it's like the michael cohen friends, family and tormentoring table. >> michael cohen reportedly has a story to tell. nbc news confirmed cohen is willing to inform robert mueller that donald trump as a candidate knew about that 201 meeting between russians and his top campaign aides at trump tower. a knowledgeable source says the president's former attorney is willing to tell special counsel donald trump jr. told his father in advance of the meeting. cohen's plames first rors erepoy cnn, cohen doesn't have evidence to back up his story and cnn reporting a source familiar with cone's testimony to the house intelligence committee says cohen did not testify that trump had advance knowledge, nor does that claim appear in either of the committee's reports. delining comment, his attorney, lanny davis. i have to wonder why the trump people put that story out. it was not from us. rudy giuliani had this to say. >> i expected something from this from cohen. lying a week, two weeks. lying for years. i don't see how he has any credibility. if he had a trial, and there won't be, wh

more on the breaking news, michael michael -- wolf picks up right now. >>> hello, i'm wolf blitzer thank you for joining us. we start with a bombshell involving president trump and discussions about potential hush money for a former playboy play mate. outs one of the item -- it's involved a former playboy play mail karen mcdoogle who claims she had an affair with donald trump around 2006, around the same time that he allegedly had a relationship with stormy daniels. maggie, thanks very much for your excellent reporting. walk us through the information you're getting. >> this was a recording that was among the many, many documents and audio repocordings that wer seized from michael cohen, his hotel, his home and his office. and it is our understanding that it is a brief record iing, i thk it was early september, in which they can be heard discussing, it was a conversation between the two, they can be heard discussing the payments by ami to karen mcdoogle for the rights to her story where she claimed to have an affair with president trump before he ran for office. they never commented on t

if michael cohen is the source of this information coming out, then that's very bad for michael cohen's future as a cooperator. if he is the one putting it out there -- it is not just that it's out there. but if he's the one putting it out there, that is going to hurt his ability to be a cooperator because the government isn't going to trust him as easily. there is so many reasons why. however, if it is not coming from him and anyone associated with him, if he's not authorizing this information to come out, but it is coming from trump, giuliani and some weird plot to try and diminish cohen as a cooperator, it doesn't. it will not. in other words, the fact that the information is out there in the world in either does not take away as chuck said, does not take away the fact that the government needs to prove this. we all learn things and we think we know them. the government has to know it in a factual sense, in a provable sense. and the way to do that is through evidence and witnesses are one form of evidence. so they need a witness who can go into court or in an affidavit, whatever form

president, sir, is michael cohen lying? >> reporter: after news his former attorney, michael cohen, is prepared to tell authorities that mr. trump was aware that russians offered to bring dirt on hillary clinton to a trump tower meeting with donald trump jr. in 2016. >> mr. president, did you know about the meeting at trump tower? >> reporter: but his only response has come on twitter. i did not know of the meeting with my son, don junior. then suggests a motive for cohen under investigation. sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jab. amid the controversy, the white house is celebrating. new signs the economy is thriving. >> we're on track to hit the highest annual average growth rate in over 13 years. >> reporter: and, alex, sometimes there is just the unusual situation of two figures well known being in a space where you might not expect them and that happens from time to time at washington's reagan national airport and on friday politico captured an image showi

so michael avenatti weighing in. this is not of course his case, this is another case involving patricia mcdougal, one of the other instances that is so fraught with some embarrassment. danny cevallos, as you look at all of this, and the michael cohen tapes and the way those raids went down, do you think that he was signaling in his off-camera interview with abc that he was angling for some kind of a pardon, and of course a pardon could only cover a federal crime, potential federal crime, or sending a warning to the white house that he was about to cooperate with the prosecutors in the southern district of new york? what do you think his game is? >> for people in situations like michael cohen or other individuals like paul manafort, the question of will i or will i not receive a pardon has been a real gamble for any of these folks, because on one level, if president trump he ever plans--n ever plans on pardoning them, these people may cooperate with the federal government and then the cat is out of the bag. on the ot

so according to michael cohen's lawyer, michael cohen is not the one who leaked this story. and cnn and nbc news now confirming the claim donald trump knew in advance of the trump tower meeting and in fact that he approved going ahead with that meeting, knowing it was an offer of dirt on hillary clinton from the russian government to help him in his campaign. michael cohen claims that, according to this reporting, and is willing to discuss that with the special counsel, but that claim is not being leaked by michael cohen. it is being leaked by michael cohen. joining me now, the reporter from vand"vanity fair." >> let me ask you, i've been reporting this as breaking news, as it is coming across, as i'm getting little pieces of payment across my desk on this. have i said anything that does not comport with your understanding? >> reporter: no. and i will say cynic the time was released on friday, people in cohen's camp had believed exactly as you were saying right now. that part of these leaks were coming from somewhere in trump's orbit. whether it was from his personal attorne

michael avenatti joins me with more. the white house is making clear it doesn't like this news at all and trump saying he didn't know he was being recorded while his lawyers are probing what other potential tapes could be revealed. and also putting out wording that any other tapes that might be revealed are quote, not substantive. these leaks make cohen look like something of a threat to donald trump. as michael cohen relies on his own lawyers to defend himself and a top hillary clinton aide. but it was only three months ago in this lightening warp speed era we're living in that president trump was telling reporters on air force one that cohen was still his attorney, meaning on his side, and that cohen could take all the tough questions on trump's behalf. >> michael's my attorney and you'll have to ask michael. i haven't spoken to michael in a long time. >> in a moment i'm going to speak to former prosecutor flannery about this as well as another lawyer for donald trump his long time litigator jay goldberg who's joined m

i sympathize with michael. i understand the way michael feels. i have felt like that. with that said, chuck, with somebody like me who has defended michael publicly, when he takes lanny davis out of the clinton crypt and decides to start talking about watergate releasing these tapes, it's a bridge too far. >> are you saying you no longer count yourself as a friend of michael cohen? you did just a couple of days ago? >> no, he is a friend of mine. i like him personally. once again, i feel bad for what his family is going through. but vis-a-vis his professional relationship with the president, it's highly unethical, if not -- if not getting disbarred for what he did. >> who's telling the truth? >> in terms of? >> who's telling the truth here? whose word should we take here, michael cohen intimating what the president knew about these various payments or the president's word that he knew very little about it all? >> but there was no payment. but let's say we hear this conversation, but ultimately if you're asking me who do i believe, the president or michael cohen with wh

michael cohen is not reliable.his is the guy that one of the ways he gotten in trump's world is he did whatever it took to get problems to go away. donald trump is not terribly reliable. the washington post said that he lied more than 3,000 times of his first 266 days in office. simone? >> well, don, this makes a bigger point. if we can't believe the president and his allies and his family about something as small or as big depending on how you look at it as a meeting, what can we believe them about? >> what the president said matters and who the president matters. we have found that none of these folks are credible. we can't believe anything that's being said. for instance, when the president said he's giving $12 billion bail out quote on quote to farmers and he's going to do something about this, can we believe him? the president says i did not discuss x, y, and z, can we believe him? we can't believe the president of the united states. >> the only person who have said anything about this under oath that we know

>> no. >> then why did michael cohen make those -- >> you have to ask michael cohen. 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. >> so he denied that and then referenced michael cohen, saying you'll have to ask his attorney michael cohen. so, do you think that this new recording, does it to you show that he did have an affair and he tried to cover it up or that he knew about it? >> i think it is certainly circumstantial evidence donald trump knew about each of these payments and knew what was going on in the months prior to the election day of what payments were being made and how they were being structured and michael cohen was consulting with him. i don't know how you reconcile this tape, don, with michael cohen's denials and others acting on his behalf when we first filed this case in march, april and may. how many times did we hear michael cohen and people on his behalf claim that the allegations were false and that hm and donald trump, that he and donald trump were innocen

michael's numbers were off by $700,000. michael: it was a mistake.ut it's a mistake with my money. michael: i know that. it is never gonna happen again. lemonis: it was a hard lesson for all of us. but a few weeks ago, i saw the new facility, and i was blown away. are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi.? a more powerful way to stay connected. it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. i saw mr. green tea's new facility, and i was blown away. the building was almost unrecognizable. inside, we exposed the ceiling to reference the building's history, but the floors are polished concrete, which gives it a modern and sleek look. the walls, not my first choice. but this is mr. green tea, so it all makes sense. hey! how are you? lori: oh, my god. do you believe this? -lemonis: it looks fantastic. -lori: unbelievable. and the color is not -- it's not bad. lori: yeah,

all he was doing tonight was really trying to just destroy michael cohen and i think michael cohen would have been better served to have these conversations with the prosecutors. that's in the court of the public opinion. i don't know how that would play out in the courtroom. david, i will give you the last word. the reporting also says there were other in the room. they can do whatever they want with michael cohen. i do think there is some tipping with these stories. all the stories are for the people who's keeping quiet. meaning that we kind of know something abts yout you. >> david, how do you think it is going to play out? >> forecasting down the road. whether it is deputy attorney rosenstein, congress, or the court, will have to decide whether cohen is credible. the issue that jim was saying is that mayor rudy giuliani went on tonight and chum the waters and not really directing attack the under line feedbacks but more so trying to attack michael cohen's credibility. the challenge that he's running up against and i really with what jack was saying that maybe this is not the typical

president, is michael cohen telling the truth? is michael cohen telling the truth? mr.ohen telling the truth? >> and that from a president who usually loves shouting questions and scrums with the media. but this week the typical chatty president hasn't answer aid single question. it's been a rough few days for the president. the start of the week we found out federal investigators have 12 audio tapes from trump's former fixer michael cohen and a new poll found that a majority of americans believe russia has compromising information on donald trump. on wednesday one of the cohen audio tapes was released and the public heard then candidate trump talking about buying the rights to a former playboy play mate story about an alleged affair. then a federal judge rejected the president's effort to stop a lawsuit alleging he violated laws regarding conflicts of interest with foreign governments. we also learned the trump organization cfo who has deep ties to the trump family was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the cohen criminal case. and last night, michael cohen c

michael cohen is all over the dossier. quote, a kremlin insider with direct access to the russian leadership confirmed that a key role in the trump campaign-kremlin relationship was being laid by the republican candidate's personal lawyer michael cohen. the dossier says that michael cohen had secret, a secret meeting or meetings with kremlin officials in august 2016. the agenda comprised how deniable cash payments were to be made to hackers who worked in europe under kremlin direction. quote, kremlin now engaged in a cover-up and heavily engaged in a damaged operation. again, the christopher steele dossier is super controversial. but the former director of national intelligence during the time that the dossier was written, james clapper told us here this show not long ago, as far as he's aware, nothing in the dossier has ever been disproven despite the political controversy around it. michael cohen is all over the dossier named as a key player in the collusion between russian government and the trump campaign. for his part

michael cohen has not been charged with anything. there's not even an indication that he has met with prosecutors. but two and a half weeks ago, june 13th, abc news was first to report that michael cohen is, quote, likely to cooperate with federal investigators. whether or not that story from june 13 is true, michael cohen does not appear to have been upset about that reporting. there was a single byline on june 13. it was george stephanopoulos. michael cohen does not appear to be holding a grudge against george stephanopoulos because this weekend he gave george stephanopoulos his first interview. the first interview in which he has gone on at length about this investigation he's embroiled in. i know this sounds like a little inside baseball but this is worth noting at pivot points in the news. george stephanopoulos was the first person who reported that michael cohen would flip. he also just got the first interview with michael cohen about this case and in his interview, mr. cohen strongly hints that he is looking to cooperate with

michael joins me with more. and the white house is making it clear, it doesn't like this news at all. it was caught off guard. trump didn't know he was being recorded a source says. and they are trying to put word out, that any other recordings that may exist are not substantialive. this story has moved fast. these leaks make cohen look like a threat to donald trump. as michael cohen relies on his lawyers to defend himself, and a top hillary clinton aide. this lightning speed era we are living with, trump was telling on air force one that coehne could take all the tough questions on trump's behalf. >> i always liked michael. i haven't spoken to him in a long time. >> i will speak to john flanery about the legalities of all this another lawyer, jay goldberg who joined me before. i begin with an investigative reporter for the new york times, and liz blank, a senior producer giving us reporting and analysis, by women who say they have had contact with donald trump. when you look at the original version, how did the

i have michael avenatti, michael cohen on the brain. has been a doozy of a week. >> we're all feeling it. anyway that they didn't need that payment because they had already given the payment. so that's number one on the sort of substance on it. one thing i want to clarify here is what i was told regarding other recordings between michael cohen and donald trump, what i was told is that others exist but that they're not consequential, that this one that we're discussing which is about two minutes long apparently according to people who have seen the crypt, and about this and about a couple of other topics, but that other recordings were things like call me back, i'll see you later today, things like that, that those are not consequential. that's what we're told. we'll see. i think it is interesting, i would love to know what mark geragos who is an attorney thinks, if this establishes a pattern of michael cohen recording his client, donald trump. one more thing i want to say is that i was told in addition to donald trump there are recordin

michael cohen was trusted by president trump for a long period of time. sure he often tells the truth. he kept recordings of a lot of conversations and corroborations, but when you're squeezing someone sometimes you not only make them sing, but you make them exaggerate the story. that's the risk involved here. >> to me the big issue is corroboration. are there e-mails? texts? recordings that corroborate what he says. are there other people rent at these meetings where donald trump senior knew about the purpose of this meeting. what do they say? gentleman, thank you very much for being with us and it it was an illuminating discussion. >> we have a update on the massive wild fire. it has turned deadly. it is live where neighborhoods are being evacuated. -meg! there you are. did you take a picture of the cake to put on our website? i mean i would have but i'm a commercial vehicle so i don't have hands... or a camera...or a website. should we franchise? is the market ready for that? can we franchise? how do you do that? meg! oh meg! we should do that thing wh

so according to michael cohen's lawyer, michael cohen is not the one who leaked the story. first to cmn nbc news confirming the claim from michael cohen that donald trump knew in advance of the trump tower ming in and in fact, that he approved going ahead with that meeting knowing it was an offer of dirt on hillary clinton from the russian government to help him in his campaign. michael cohen claims that according to this reporting tonight and is willing to discuss that with the special counsel. but that claim is not being leaked by michael cohen. it's being leaked about michael cohen. joining us now is emily jane fox from "vanity fair" who follows the michael cohen story more closely than closely. thank you very much for being with us on short notice. i appreciate you getting on the phone with us. >> of course. >> so let me ask you if i've been reporting in as breaking news as i'm getting pieces of paper across my desk about this. have i said anything that strikes you as wrong or that does not comport with your understanding of the story thus far in. >> no, and i will tell

tonight, michael flipping cohen. plus, stephen welcomes... anthony scaramucci and michael avenatti. musical guest chromeo, featuring dram. with jon batiste and stay human. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: oh! ow!eers ause) hey! wow! how are you? please, sit down, everybody. thank you very much. well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. donald trump is back from his face-to-face with kim jong-un, and that's a lot of face. ( laughter ) but now he's got to deal with an even greater threat: robert mueller. and i'll tell you all about it in tonight's "cohen corner." ( sad trombone ) tonight, the corner is crowded, because there is huge news in the mueller investigation. sources say that ex-trump lawyer michael cohen is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors. yes, michael cohen is going to sing like a canary. which is ironic, because it's trump that actually looks like one. ( laughter and applause ) >> jon: woo! ( cheers and app

i did nothing wrong. >> is michael still your frien?s >> i have not spoken to him. >> is he still your lawyer? no, he's not my lawyer. >> you are asking me a question. >> i want to know if you are worried if he's going to cooperate with federal agents? >> no, i am not wored becauried i did not do anything wrong. >> just behind where i am standing, craig, that question of whether he thought michael cohen would flip, he said i did nothing wrong and he went onto say he's no longer my lawyer and i have not spoken to him in quite sometime. we are going to try to get an update of reaction. this changes the page significantly but it is another controversy that he has to deal with. >> michael schmidt. when it was revealed that this post-ga payment happens days before the election, what was the response of the administration? >> the campaign says trump did not know anything about this. we know it is a false statement. this story ran on november 4th, four days before the election and he laid out how this payment had been made. there was a lot goi

for them michael cohen's liability is a huge liability. we don't expect to see the attacks on michael cohen's credibility coming from current white house officials. they'll try to keep their hands clean with things coming out of there. you heard giuliani say michael cohen actually had done many bad things. of course those bad things likely would be presumably at the behest of giuliani's current client, the president. that hasn't kept giuliani from dredging up michael cohen's past to benefit other witnesses. >> we certainly see giuliani, he's gotten quite the media blitz this week going after cohen, really casting doubt on his credibility and going back and forth on lanny davis. is there a palpable strategy, one you can figure out, jill? >> yeah, the strategy here very clearly seems to be that they are trying to throw as much negative material at the wall as possible, seeing what sticks so that they can muddy up whatever conclusion is reached here. i thought the back and forth this week over the meeting at trump tower was absolutely fascina

ellen's son michael was using them.lowed in mike's shoes and had become a mechanic, as well. on those rare occasions when ellen would come by the shop where mike had once worked, his old colleague dave would ask -- >> have you heard from mike and she would say no. there seemed to be no concern for mike and she would just, to no, i haven't seen mieng. >> it is often said the happiness and saddest of occasions bring families together. and when they gathered to mourn the death of mike's father, any hope of return evaporated. >> that was the final straw. we were on board that my brother would have definitely shown up for his own father's funeral. >> but ellen and their children showed up. they no longer kept in touch with the family but seen the death announcement in the newspaper and came to pay their respects. >> we weren't expecting them. so it was a little strange, kind of caught us off guard but once again we are in a state of mourning. we don't want to create issues. we weren't going to have them escorted out. >> afte

president trump or michael cohen? >> well it depends on who you support, but look, i think in terms of credibility for the purposes of the investigation, bob mueller isn't going to look at that. he's going to look at what the facts are. and what's interesting here about this is that there is no recording of this particular incident like there was with other incidents. now, michael cohen's attorney, a former clintonite has really pushed out that michael cohen is now fully cooperating with -- with the investigation and with investigators. what's interesting is that yesterday at the white house, and all week at the white house has hallie just alluded to, the president has not issued any type of direct comment on these latest allegations. that's unique. and until he does about whether or not he did in fact, have knowledge of that june 2016 meeting, you know, these questions are only going to continue. >> and from a political perspective, how damning is this allegation? >> well, we'll have to see how this really plays out,

did michael cohen betray you, mr. president? did michael cohen betray you? mr. president you worried about what michael cohen is going to say to prosecutors? are you worried about what is on the other tapes, mr. president? donald trump's answer to each of these questions today was thank you. when he was being bombarded by questions about the tape of his conversation with michael cohen as reporters were being ushered out of the president's oval office meeting with the president of the european commission. and in classic trump white house style, the cnn reporter who yelled those questions to the president was banned from the president's next appearance in the rose garden where another cnn reporter was allowed to cover that event for the network. but it didn't meater because the president immediately turned and left before reporters could shout their questions across the grass. if you are one of those people who thinks that donald trump does not have a good answer to any one of those questions that were yelled at him today, you are not alone. you are not alone toni

that doesn't mean that what michael cohen -- that doesn't corroborate what michael cohen is saying.ut to simone's point, it does suggest that there is a lot of mistruth, untruth, that has already happened around that. >> lies. just say lies. i'm going to keep you guys for another segment here, but i just have to say, this is me in the role of rudy giuliani, and i read this, i played this at the top, so he says, gosh almighty, why didn't he tape it? he taped everything else, he's got a hundred tapes, why didn't he tape it, maybe he did, maybe he's got a tape that he erased. did you ever think of that? no. you don't think that he would erase a tape? maybe he would. i don't know. again, if you're saying the meeting never happened, and then you're conceding that he taped the meeting that never happened, what sense does that make? we'll be right back. what will you discover with a lens made by essilor? sharper vision, without limits. days that go from sun up to sun down. a whole world in all its beauty. three innovative technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. to

>> reporter: michael cohen breaking his silence.n an interview with abc, trump's self-proclaimed fxer, a man who has said he'd take a bullet for donald trump -- >> i'll do anything to protect mr. trump. >> reporter: is now making clear who his allegiance is to. to be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son and this country have my first loyalty. in a 45-minute off-camera interview, abc says not once did cohen praise his former boss. instead he signaled that if he faces federal criminal charges, he would cooperate. possibly offering information on the president. something trump told reporters he wasn't worried about just weeks ago. >> want to know if you're worried if he's going to cooperate with federal -- >> no, i'm not worried because i did nothing wrong. >> reporter: after an fbi raid earlier this year which seized more than 4 million documents from cohen, cnn has learned that u.s. attorneys in manhattan are interested in his $130,000 payment to porn star stormy daniels before the 2016 election. daniels claims she had an a

but if it did occur, i think michael has to do some explaining. >> michael?me say this. you keep saying you don't want the get personal with me, and you keep getting personal with me, including on fox the other night. >> the question. >> i'm going to tell you, i don't appreciate it. i'm willing to put up my track record over the last six months in this case up against yours in day of the week. i have been very, very accurate in my predictions, in the statements that i've made, and the fax. and the fact of the matter is on sunday, you expressed considerable doubt as to whether i knew what i was talking about, and within 48 hours -- let me finish -- within 48 hours i was proven right. >> i said it was true. i said it was true what you were talking about. and that's why it needs some explanation. you did guarantee the american public back in may that president trump would resign. we're watching our watches and waiting to see if that prediction comes true. that's the one prediction that you really staked your reputation on. so your reputation will turn on whether

it is not michael cohen's words. the most important line is this: once petrillo fully assumes his role, a joint defense agreement cohen shared with the president, which allowed their lawyers to share information and documents with each other will come to an end, abc news has learned. if that happens, that will be the bitter end of the michael cohen-donald trump relationship. and it will mean that donald trump has even more reason to fear michael cohen. the rest of the report is michael cohen saying perfectly normal things that make sense. but for michael cohen, that itself is unusual. michael cohen used to say that he was, quote, the guy who would take a bullet for donald trump. now he's saying my wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always is. and there is no husband or father in the world who should think any differently. but michael cohen had that same wife and that same daughter and that same son when he said that he would take a bullet for donald trump and leave his wife a widow and leave his c

this sunday michael and liz plank are joining me for a beat podcast extra, including michael avenattis a potential presidential candidate. download it at apple podcast. out this weekend. >>> up ahead, we have the impact of crushing legal pressure on trump's state of mind, the co-author of the art of the deal is here, and if it's friday, it's time to fall back. we have a very special one later this evening. proof of less joint pain... woman 2: ...and clearer skin. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic re

the latest, of course, michael cohen. the development where he is now alleging that president trump, then candidate trump, knew about that trump tower meeting in june of 2016. of course, president trump has denied that. said he did not know. so many developments on that front with michael cohen, the white house watching that carefully. last night i was told the president's mood was growing increasingly more worried about this investigation. certainly, the strong economic news, good news here. the administration would be off to a great start if it was not for the self-inflicted wounds of the investigations. >> all those russia headlines. jeff zeleny at white house, thank you. >>> let's find out what moscow is saying about this possible upcoming summit. matthew chance joins us from russia. what are you hearing there? >> reporter: all this, of course, stems from a press conference that was being given by vladimir putin, the russian president in south africa. he is attending a summit there with world leaders from emerging mar

you heard michael cohen say what? no, no, no, no, no. >> and you're saying he wasn't saying, no, no, i would never pay with cash. i'll only pay with a check? >> he was saying, no, no, new york -- no, you don't pay with cash. and that's why what you heard, no matter the spin, is about truth versus falsehood. this is what this hole thing is about. mr. trump used the word cash and he lied about it by having giuliani accuse cohen saying the word cash. now we've put the tape out, and you decide whether i'm telling you the truth because the tape says what it says. but this is about the big topic in america today. a president of the united states who consistently lies. now he has giuliani lying about the lie. remember, he lied about what he said on air force one, openly lied. he said, no, i had nothing to do with stormy daniels. then giuliani said, oh, yes, he did. then he lied about the statement in trump tower, that he had nothing to do with it. it wasn't misleading. he in fact was involved in the writing of a definitely m

what is michael cohen thinking? >> our understanding from people who speak to michael cohen is it's two things. 1, as you said alysn, he feels hung out to dry. now he feels the president is abandoning him. in addition to that we're told michael cohen wants to do the right thing now, he wants to show he values country over anything else, including his former boss. there's a positive motivation there as well. whether you believe that or not that is what people close to him say explains his change from being one of the president's defenders to saying, listen, i know what really happened here. and i'm willing to say that to investigators. the other thing i would say is this, someone is lying here, right? >> yeah. >> and that's the question and the question for investigators, perhaps juries and the american public to decide. but we also know -- we know that the president and his allies have given misleading accounts of this prior, right? because remember their initial -- first of all, they said there were no meetings wit

you ran into michael cohen. >> i ran into michael cohen by happenstance. you know, stephanie, that was not the first communication i'd had related to potentially sitting down with michael cohen and resolving things. this has been in the works for a number of weeks. but it was contingent on michael cohen coming 100% clean and disclosing what he knew about the president and the president's culpability as it relates to potential criminal conduct. on sunday, we had a meeting actually set up on monday, meaning two days ago, 4:00 p.m. in new york. i canceled that meeting on sunday because it became clear to me after speaking with lanny davis that morning that michael was not prepared to do the right thing and wanted to basically have it both ways. we're not going to participate in something like that. so my issue is as follows. our issues is as follows. there's a number of other tapes. there's a lot of additional damaging information, and michael cohen doesn't want to provide that information to the american public and doesn't want to come clean. he's playing, a

those prosecutors are investigating michael cohen.o there is no privilege here because the president and his legal team waived it. but, wolf, there's a lot of confusion regarding this tape, what was being discussed, what the president was saying to michael cohen. but what's clear here is that we're seeing a dramatic new change in the relationship between president trump and michael cohen. once considered his longtime fixer, but now someone who can certainly be a pain in the side for president trump. >> i suspect this war between president trump and his team and michael cohen, his team, is only just beginning. kaitlan collins, thanks very much for that report. >>> so what does this secret audio recording between president trump and michael cohen confirm? and what doesn't it confirm? it suggests the president knew about playboy model karen mcdougal's claims of an affair and efforts to keep the story quiet. listen to what cohen tells then candidate donald trump about efforts to buy the rights to mcdougal's story. >> i need to open up a c

michael cohen, giuliani's right. michael cohen lies. he's a liar. so is giuliani.dent. lanny davis looking at the tape, listening to the tape, you can't believe any of these people. can't believe the president, giuliani, my client, but you can believe the tape. he's getting people to shift their attention from all of these people who are professional prevaricators saying, look at the evidence and then decide. it's simple and in that respect pretty smart. >> can i ask quickly about the 2016 trump tower meeting with the source telling nbc news cohen is willing to tell special counsel mueller then candidate trump knew about that meeting. of course, the president responded denying this, blasting michael cohen on twitter. how does this change the equation for the president? >> politically? >> uh-huh. >> not a lot. look, it's all baked in. his supporters are baked in. the problem with trump's future candidacy in the republican party in 2018 is -- is that trump has failed to expand his base in any meaningful way whatsoever. looking at a poll earlier beforal segment starte