mr. weisselberg to mean? what does it represent? well, it means, first all, that mr. weisselberg himself had criminal liability. you don't need an immunity deal if you weren't involvedin potentiallommitting a crime. that's the first thing. second of all, it indicates that prosecutors believe that there is sething valuable that they were getting in exchange for his testimony. prosecutors don't just gie away immunity like candy. they have a specific reason for doing so. so, here, it appears mr. weisselberg's coopthation was, avery least, helpful to prosecutors in securing the conviction of michael cohen, who pled guilty earlier this week. i think the question is is there other potential lue in that testimony beyond that and i think that's an important question going fward. >> woodruff: that's what i wanted to ask you, staying with o you, renariotti, in the "wall street journal," reports of him testifying to the grand jury last month. the question is, is it just around the michael cohen paymts to these two women, or is it something broader? how do we read tht? >> well, it

mr. weisselberg is if they were looking beyond michael cohen.would need potentially his testimony and cooperation to look at someone else higher up the food chain if you will. there is only one person that that is likely to be, and that is donald trump. i think it is important for people to understand, immunity is not easily given by the government in connection with a case like this. that is a very big decision, they do not part with immunity lightly. and they only do it generally if they have a concrete reason for granting it. so both pecker's grant of immunity and weisselberg's grant of immunity tells me that there are a lot of fireworks ahead. >> somewhere you talked to your client, stormy daniels, in the last few days and how does she feel about this? >> i communicate with my client two or three times a day every day seven days a week and have done so for six months. i've spoken to her already twice this morning. and with each passing hour, she feels more and more vindicated. >> no kidding. michael, good to talk to you. thank you for joinin

mr. weisselberg makes it six who have been cooperating one way or another with the feds or michael cohen who has turned against the president. rick gets, cohen, george papadopoulos, david pecker and now allen weisselberg. joining us with more now is shim shimon procupez. >> he's named as an executive in the court documents. they don't name him by name, but in the charging documents that michael cohen, that the court filed in regards to michael cohen, he's in there. he's referred to as executive one, and it essentially says he reimbursed michael cohen for some of the hush money payment. it's understandable why the government would want to seek him at the very least as a witness. what's interesting is you have between weisselberg and pecker who apparently who also has been cooperating and given immunity, you have all these people who were around the president who either have been facing charges or perhaps could have faced charges in this deal. they have all had to worry about this. really one person and the ultimate person who would have had to benefits in all this, the president, goes unsc

mr. weisselberg learned that could be impunitive to president trump -- now president trump through mr. isselberg. and given the nature of the relationship as he described it, it could have been damaging to mr. trump. >> it didn't seem he'd protect the president at his own expense to you? >> to go so far as to be dishonest, no, i don't think so. i certainly think he would be reluctant. i do think he is very loyal to the president but i don't think he'd go so far as to lie. >> knowing the facts of the cohen plea, do you think prosecutors would have needed to grant the weisselberg immunity to security cohen's guilty plea? does it make sense he would be used in an expanded role beyond just the cohen investigation? >> there may have been a quiet race to the white house after that raid on cohen's hotel or office, what have you, and pecker might have been in there before cohen got in and given him enough information to solve their issues they're looking at. it's not clear who needed what to be immunized or prosecuted. it was resolved, of course, when cohen decided himself he would plead. >> jo

mr. weisselberg and mr.ohen as being the closest confidants to businessman donald trump and now president trump could have had, they are all cooperating. and it makes one wonder if one of the trump children will become a cooperator soon. it is almost hard to believe that these three are helping prosecutors in various injuries dick s -- jurisdictions, but they are. this has to be the worst week the president has faced since taking office. >> what do you think is going on behind the scenes with the trump children with this family, how might they all be reacting to it? >> i think that they are probably all trying to figure out what may be in mr. weisselberg's records to reveal and what michael cohen may have to tell as well. you have to keep in mind that there are 500 trump organization companies. there were all sorts of applications for loans made for different entities, there were claims to reduce taxes in one case to reduce your taxes you might say a property is worth a billion dollars and then the next day

mr. weisselberg immunity. and there's one other thing to keep in mind with all of this news today, that this top executive at the trump organization, essentially donald trump's right-hand officer at his business, has been given immunity by federal prosecutors. and it's this, david pecker, this guy, the "national enquirer" chief who was the keeper of donald trump's tabloid secrets, well, he's flipped and given information to prosecutors. michael cohen, the keeper of donald trump's personal secrets, he's pleaded guilty to crimes he says he committed with trump and now allen weisselberg, the keeper of donald trump's financial and business secrets, he's been given immunity. donald trump is running out of hiding places. the other two executives who run the trump organization with allen weisselberg and who run the trump trust from which allen weisselberg ordered the cohen reimbursements be paid, they're both named trump. where are prosecutors going to go next? joining us now is david fahrenthold, "washington post" r

mr. weisselberg knows from the money and where it's gone and for what purpose. so remains to be seen there as well. >> rudy giuliani, another of the president's attorneys, says special counsel robert mueller needs to ramp up the investigation, falsely implying there's a low prohibiting investigations in the 60 days before the election. what do you think of that pressure, though, being put on mueller? will it affect him at all? >> zero, zip, nada. ana, if you look back over the course of bob mueller's entire career, it has been nothing but a progressive assumption of increased responsibilities because of the professionalism with which he's undertaken every job he's had, beginning way back when he was a young marine officer serving in vietnam where he earned the purple heart and was decorated. this is the highest caliber of professional. in bob mueller i trust. and i think the best thing that could happen for our constitutional form of government is for him to be allowed to complete his investigation. and until such time, until such time as the mueller investigati

mr. weisselberg, the revelation that the cfo had been granted immunity surprised many executives.e indeed is the man referred to as executive 1 in the michael cohen court documents and that weisselberg is the one who arranged to reimburse cohen for his payments to stormy daniels. weisselberg is the latest trump associate to get immunity. yesterday we learned david pecker, publisher of "the national enquirer" and a long-time trump ally, obtained that privilege for getting prosecutors information about mr. cohen. it was only this tuesday when cohen pleaded guilty, remember, to campaign finance violations related to those payments, which he told the court were at trump's direction. weisselberg goes back to when trump's father ran the company. he is the long-time keeper of the books, who even appeared with trump on season two of "the apprentice." >> replacing george this week is my chief financial officer, allen weisselberg. you think george is tough. wait until you see allen. >> weisselberg was also part of the team put in charge of trump's finances after he won the 2016 election. >>

>> funding. >> my chief financial officer allen weisselberg. >> tonight, why this immunity deal could be the biggest catch yet. >> mr. president, what does weisselberg know? >> then, just how many different investigations are looking at the president? plus, everything else that's been happening while the presidency is in crisis. >> we're canceling obama's illegal anti-coal destroying regulations. >> when "all in" starts right now. >> allen.

mr. trump's top accountant has been granted immunity by federal prosecutors, the man you see here, allen weisselbergthe chief financial officer of theied all of mr. tr money for many years. this follows the deal given to david pecker. pecker used his position on to kill negative stories about mr. trump and knows all of the worst secrets about the president's life. jim acosta kicks off our coverage. >> reporter: president trump remained silent as he left with the first lady for a speech in ohio with a growing list of legal worries hot on his tail. >> my chief financial officer, allen weisselberg. >> reporter: the latest concern, federal prosecutors granted immunity to allen weisselberg. he is the long time chief financial officer of the trump organization. the president's private company whose secrecy. a source on the president's legal team down played weisselberg's cooperation which could be crucial for prosecutors. the attorney for one of the women, stormy daniels, michael avenatti, believes that more may be at stake. >> the only reason then that they would give immunity to mr. weisselberg is that

mr. weisselberg. he's the longtime chief financial officer of the trump organization, the president's private companies whose finances are cloaked in secrecy. prosecutors unravel the plot held by michael cohen to funnel hush money to women alleging affairs with the president. the attorney for one of those women, michael avenatti, believes more could be at stake. >> the only reason for give immunity is they were looking beyond michael cohen. there's only one person that is likely to be, and that is donald trump. >> are you a hero? do you think you're a hero now? >> reporter: cohen can be heard on an audiotape tiking about weisselberg, the apparent subject, making payments to cover up the president's past behavior. >> i have spoken about how to set the whole thing up with funding --. >> reporter: the big question is how does the president decide to respond in he once tolls "new york times" that an investigation creeping into his family finances would cross a line. >> reporter: looking into your family's

mr. weisselberger's thinking said he did not know that money was meant to pay stormy daniels when he agreed in january 2017 to a $35,000 monthly retainer from mr. cohen. john, does that strike you as odd in any way? do you have the same reaction as renato does? >> it's more than odd. it kcontradicts the tape conversation when you have mr. cohen telling mr. trump that i've already gone over this with weisselberger. so that's september of 2016. and by how i understand calendars, that's somewhat before january of 2017. so i wonder if they gave him immunity to tell that story that you have just referred to. so i find it very difficult to believe. and i don't know how a chief financial officer decides to pay out $420,000 or 35 payments a month in 2017 for services rendered that are invisible. and i wonder who that second executive is that they referred to as well because the second executive in the trump organization could be a trump family member. one of the three half-siblings, if you will. don jr. so i get the feeling that the immunity is created because they are going after the family. as we

mr. weisselberg is that they were looking beyond michael cohen. they would need potentially his testimony in cooperation to look at someone else higher up the food chain, if you will. there's only one person that that is likely to be, and that is donald trump. >> all right. this comes right after a "new york times" bombshell report that the manhattan district attorney's office is considering pursuing criminal charges against the trump organization. and two senior company officials in connection with hush money payments made by cohen along with another report from the associated press that says the "national enquirer," at least the boss of the "national enquirer" kept a safe containing documents on hush-money payments and other damaging stories that it didn't run leading up to the 2016 presidential election. the president did not answer any questions on these breaking stories as he headed to ohio to spend the night with his supporters. let's start the hour with nbc news investigations reporter tom winter. a lot of developments here and we have to t

mr. weisselberg is looking beyond michael cohen. they would need potentially his testimony and cooperation to look at someone else higher up the food chain if you will. there's only one person that that is likely to be and that is donald trump. >> do you think you're a -- >> reporter: cohen can be heard on a radio tape obtained by cnn talking to mr. trump about weisselberg, the apparent subject, making payments to cover up the past behavior. >> i've spoken to allen weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up with -- >> what are we going to do? >> with funding. yes. and it's all the stuff. >> reporter: a big question is how the president decides to respond. he once told "the new york times" an investigation in the family's finances would cross a red line. >> mueller's looking at your finances and family's finances unrelated to russia, is that a red line? >> that would be a breach of the actual -- i would say yes. >> i would say yes. >> the president sources say has fumed for months to fire attorney general jeff sessions. one day

mr. weisselberg said he didn't know that was money was to pay miss clifford. let's bring in the panel.post" columnist and mark. a lot to digest. another immunity deal. the prosecutors in the southern district of new york were trying to get all of their eyes dotted and t's crossed. >> it has nothing to do with the russianclusion. it would be ironic if the democrats tried to impeach donald trump to extra-marital relations. during the monica lewinsky scandal, the democrats said it had nothing to do with asmt. -- impeachment. >> this payment happened days before the election. >> and they wrote in the "washington post" they don't think this is illegal. he could say i didn't want my wife and kids to know. there are lots of reasons why he could do it. even in the democrats take back the house and senate in this election, donald trump won't be removed from office and convicted by two-thirds of the united states senate for making a payment to a porn star it's not going to happen, period. >> bret: here's what rush limbaugh says about this. >> they are making a beline for trump's tax returns. don

mr. weisselberg and cohen. this is a huge play up and towards the president. >> jon meacham, it is quite a week and hard to fathom that cohen was indicted earlier this week. you got cohen and pecker and weisselberg. what, jon meacham, do you make of all the president's closest advisers. >> for more than two years and almost three years now, we have talked about the political sign post that we are all accustom to that donald trump blew passed or ran over or ignored. he got away with it and saying things tho mainstream politicians can get away with. he got away with defining political gravity again and again. what we are seeing now is no one can define legal gravity. politics is more fluid and it is about the disposition of heart and mind and temperament of a given number of people at a given moment. the law is the law. i think that as frustrating as it is for those of us who are engaged in the arena to think that all this moves so slowly, the legal wheels have always moved more slowly than the political ones. i

mr. weisselberg was likely granted. assume it's something that's limited but when we hear that he was cooperating on the michael cohen aspect of things what does that mean beyond michael cohen's investigation. >> you can see the southern district is circling now. you just ran through the things we have seen this week. michael cohen pleading guilty to the campaign finance violation. now seeking immunity granted to these two new witnesses. immunity is never lightly handed out. what it means sufficient a witness you're interested enough to talk to that has invoked the fifth amendment, meaning they have some exposure and the prosecutors make the determination, "a," this person has information and b, we are willing to give them a break to get it. it's a lengthy difficult process. prosecutors don't like to do it. you have to go to main in d.c. you have to go to a judge for approval. it's thoroughly vetted. >> is there any way weisselberg could have done this with the president's permission or even acknowledgement meaning, hey

mr. weisselberg, this is not looking good at all for donald trump. the walls are closing in and it is only a matter of time before additional information surfaces and none of it is going to be good for mr. trump. >> michael avenatti, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >>> just ahead, will president trump fight a subpoena from robert mueller if it comes to that. we'll talk about mr. trump's new remarks about the russia probe. >>> and we're also digging deeper now. new reporting that the trump administration is refusing to give passports to perhaps thousands of hispanic american citizens. stay with us. you're still here? we're voya! we stay with you to and through retirement. i get that voya is with me through retirement, i'm just surprised it means in my kitchen. so, that means no breakfast? voya. helping you to and through retirement. chicken! that's right, chicken?! candace-- new chicken creations from starkist. buffalo style chicken in a pouch-- bold choice, charlie! just tear, eat... mmmmm. and go! try all of my chicken creations! chicken! you a

mr. weisselberg had either betrayed him or put him in legal jeopardy by this arrangement? utely not. he said 100% his friend, alan weisselberg had not, he's a very good friend and whatever his discussions were, had been very short, in terms of anything he would have told the prosecutors. so the president seemed to be saying he didn't feel that weisselberg was doing anything to hurt him or to try to hurt him. >> interesting. jeffrey. so the president seems to have some knowledge or at least claimed to have some knowledge of the weisselberg testimony right there. could the president be right it's limited to a very specific period of time? or should he be concerned weisselberg could say more? >> i would not be surprised if weisselberg's attorney spoke to trump's attorneys and told him what he was asked about and what he answered. one of the great unanswered questions, i don't know the answer to it, is, is the southern district which obtained the guilty plea for michael cohen, where michael cohen said i did these illegal acts at the direction of president trump, then candidate

mr. weisselberg, they both have now immunity in this investigation into cohen. these are very close confidantes of the president's for a long time. the president, does he see this as a betrayal? how is the white house responding? >> reporter: well, the white house really isn't talking at all about these specific deals that have been struck by these people that were very close associates with president trump, but it's hard to ignore the significance of it. you're talking about three men, michael cohen, david pecker, and allen weisselberg, who all understand the inner workings of the trump organization and could potentially have a lot of information that could be of need to robert mueller and the special counsel investigation. but it's important to point out, victor and christi, we do not know the scope of these immunity agreements. they could have just been to be a part of this investigation into michael cohen and they're now complete, and it could mean that it's not going to mean anything more for president trump. so at this point, the president and his legal te

mr. weisselberg who's been cfo and accountant for the trump operation for decades. now cooperating. michael cohen. and there is word of another trump tower executive who's been seeking a deal with the southern district. so he's got to be very concerned that all of the secrets that he's kept hidden for so long are going to be revealed. >> yeah, he said he's not worried about weisselberg, said he cooperated for just over a period of time. there was a certain period of time. he said he's not concerned about it. he doesn't think he said anything derogatory about the president. thank you, all. appreciate it. >>> when we come back, the president threatening tonight that he'll get involved if the fbi and justice department don't, in his words, straighten out. wonder what robert mueller thinks of statements like that. >>> breaking news, president trump slamming the justice department and the fbi tonight and threatening to get involved. the president didn't specifically mention the russia investigation, but it's pretty clear what he was talking about. here's what he said. just a little while

mr. weisselberg, has immunity. that means the justice department, the justice system is working. for the president to say i need to get involved, he is sending a signal he wants to somehow stop this process. that's an obstruction of justice. >> would pardoning of paul manafort if the president decides that, would that qualify on its own as potential obstruction of justice? >> it depends. well, now we're treading into legal waters, but two things, victor. one, it is going to send a signal that certain crimes are pardonable. mr. manafort cheated on his taxes. mr. manafort engaged in wire fraud. it sends a very bad signal. the second issue is does mr. manafort have more things to tell federal prosecutors. if he does, pardoning him would prevent him, obviously would mean he wouldn't tell that. if that's the case, then the president is engaging in obstruction of justice because he is basically saying to mr. manafort stay quiet, don't say anything. i will reward you. >> so there have been analysts say this has been the worst week of the trump administration, but there's been a lot of w

mr. weisselberg had been granted

mr. weisselberg. tom: 60% was the argentinian seven-day rate yesterday. shutdown in washington toward the midterms. would you explain how a president shuts down washington as a political tool? gregory: i think he is so insistent he will make that. the more likely scenario is that republican leaders in congress will dissuade him. they will convince them that is a bad idea one month before the election. nejra: the other thing kevin mentioned in that interview with president trump was how he doubled down on the trade rhetoric heard -- rhetoric. u.s. stocks closing lower yesterday. are we getting to a crunch point in this conflict? gregory: with canada, there is a chance we will get something later today. and aory is china deterioration in relations between the u.s. and china is imminent, with the u.s. imposing stiffer tariffs. if we look at the u.s. trade representative, the role he played a nafta, there was something this morning about him playing a bigger role in negotiations with china, what would that mean in terms of the prospect of china backing down?

mr. weisselberg and mr. pecker are cooperating with the government.is friends have betrayed him or because he knows what they know and that that will put him into even greater legal jeopardy. we don't know that yet. >> that's right. even after the wild week the republicans continue to stand by president trump. here they are. >> naturally it makes you very concerned. but you know, the president shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of people that he has trusted. >> what about michael cohen? he is -- he has pled guilty and that's the way the constitution works. so what else -- so what else -- what is there about him to worry about? >> i don't see a deeper meaning in this other than you have to pay your taxes and you can't lie on a loan application. >> when you think back to watergate, republicans also hung in for nixon until the end when the tapes were released. and then he lost the public. are quotes like the ones we just heard a sign of undying loyalty or a sign that we're not at the end yet? >> no, i want to make a different point, ana, about

mr. weisselberg having an immunity deal, mr. bargain deal and turning over evidence to the prosecutor. now the possibility of a second trump organization kbhemployee. this accounts, i think, for the president and his decision to have mr. mcgahn depart and completely reorganizing the white house for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to defend himself personally against the mueller investigation. i think he forgets that the job thoo don mcgahn held, the title for which was white house counsel, not donald j. trump personal attorney. >> as you mentioned, president trump announcing today that don mcgahn will be leaving sometime in the fall. as you remember, it was mcgahn who reportedly refused to follow trump's order to fire mueller. in your view is the special counsel in greater danger of being -- following mcgahn's departure. >> as i've said all along that would precipitate a constitutional crisis. we are, after all, dealing with an occupant of the white house who is probably and arguably the most thin-skinned occupant o

mr. weisselberg, and we don't want to be as reckless with the facts as he is, and doing thorough investigationsnd putting forth an impenetrable case to the american people, and doing it in a bipartisan way is the proper way to do this, but we're not there yet, and we want to talk about the issues people care about, and if we're given the subpoena power and the gavels, we can assure the american people we will do our job. >> professor dershowitz, you wrote your book before this. what you saw in the michael cohen case and that guilty plea, does it weaken your case? >> first of all, i agree with everything that congressman said. i think it would be great to have the democrats in control of one branch and being able to conduct investigations. i think we have to get to the bottom of this. i fully understand why so many people want, hope that president trump has committed crimes and impeachable offenses, but the evidence isn't there. the president or a candidate is entitled to contribute anything he wants to his own campaign. the only thing here is whether or not there was a failure to report a contr

mr. weisselberg has probably been brought in to testify whether or not mr.s known yet exactly what evidence he gave and if it goes to that. but, this seems to be the new focus of the special counsel. we have jumped from russian collusion and then maybe even obstruction of justice. not to the question of campaign finance violations. and one thing i would note as well, too. even that is a bit odd because in 96, 97 pierce of the cases. campaign finance violations are treated as civil matters, not criminal violations. >> jon: the country has watched the fbi treat one presidential campaign with kid's gloves and the other with informants, warrants and eavesdropping. >> and this is, begin, i don't thin-again i don'tthink ad that a special counsel is looking into questions of russian collusion. that, to me, was an important question to have answered. but, again, you can't just look at that question and then when you find nothing, and so far there has been no public evidence that there was any collusion there, to then not ask the question well, if that was all phoney

mr. weisselberg -- >> do you think he should be impeached? >> it's not my call to make. >> but cnn and msnbc said the word 222 times yesterday for an average of 3.5 -- once every 3.5 minutes -- >> you think we should tell the truth to the american people? do you think he should tell the truth to the american people? >> yes. and i think you should too. and here's -- >> do you think he should be impeached if he's been shown to be lying to the american people consistently about criminal conduct? >> going back to north korea again because you're trying to -- >> is he going there before or after he goes to south africa to help out those white farmers? >> chris, be serious. >> that he mistakenly told people are being hunted down and killed -- >> do you think that's a smart thing? >> you don't want to talk about that? the south africa tweeted last night. >> i want to talk about what matters to americans because i actually talk to them every day. i'm not perched in some anchor's lair, i mean chair, telling everybody, pontificating about what's import

mr. weisselberg and mr. pecker to interview them. is. i think having thorough investigations, putting firth an inpenetrable case to the american people is the proper way to do this. but we're not there yet. >> could you envision a scenario where donald trump's real jeopardy is not because he gets impeached because democrats are are reluctant to hand him that, but the real threat is his businesses go down the drain because the southern district of new york and new york prosecutors go after him including after he's out of office? >> absolutely. the most dangerous thing for donald trump, i think even more so than michael cohen was the immunity deal with the cfo, who is going to unlock the mystery of donald trump's company. remember we don't have his tax returns. all of this fluff, all of this hype, we really don't know what has gone on inside the company. and we're going to find out pretty soon, i think. i would also say this about allen dershowitz. he's so wrong, so misguided. i don't know why he does this other than to get on televisi

mr. weisselberg earlier this year was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury in the michael cohen probed immunity he is the long time trump organization cfo guys, i'll send it back to you. >> another interesting development. what a week. thank you, sue herera. doesn't look like it is having market impact. we were watching, mike, for potential reaction of the president's legal troubles >> often points. we'll see. >> up higher on powell, lower on this news. jim stewart joining the conversation "new york times" pulitzer prize winning author, columnist, reporter welcome back good to see you. >> thank you good to be here. >> we're seeing the other melt up in stocks nasdaq at a record, index of small caps set a record. chairman jay powell says the economy looks pretty good. that's set to continue gradual pace of interest rate increases. what do you make of it all >> and we also passed a milestone that this is the longest bull market ever, with an asterisk depending how you measure. a lot of people would ask me how are you reacting to this while the milestones are interesting, i don't think th

mr. weisselberg has worked for the trump organization for 40 years. did bank fraud get committed by him, the trump organization, and who knew about it? that's going to be the question. arthel: what charges might the manhattan district attorney's office bring up? >> well, the manhattan district attorney's office could bring up state charges with regards to the falsified financial records because you have to remember, cohen pled guilty to eight felonies; right, including campaign finance violations in connection to the payments to the two women who he also said was in coordination and at the direction of trump for the purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential election. now, how does that relate to -- why is that important? how does that relate? weisenberg was in charge of the reimbursements to cohen, and that was in disguising the reimbursements as invoices, and if that is the case, they may have falsified the documents. the state attorney's office could charge them with state charges. it could be felonies for that very purpose and so you also look a

mr. wie weisselberg. these are decisions they make every day in every major case. i assume instruct the right balance by giving them immunity to benefit from the information these men have to provide. >> i guess my next question is to what end you have pecker, weisselberg, they've got immunity. you've got michael cohen who is agreeing to work with the special prosecutor who has michael flynn, george papadopoulos, rick gates cooperating f. the president cannot billion indicted because he is a sitting president, what is the goal of mueller securing all these people. >> great question, alex. all of these men are in slightly different categories, but let me just take a step back and say, i do believe there is a narrow pathway to indictment. the code of federal regulations are the rules that governor how to department of justice operates provide that special counsel can request an exception to doj policy. that's will be decided by rod rosenstein. i think that remains as question. more as a policy matter and legal matter. going back to different circumstances that these

mr. weisselberg has been associated with donald trump and the trump organization for at least that long.paign policy director, and we also have swan street strategy partner erin mcpike. what do you make of this? >> we have been hearing this name for a couple of months now. i think it just means we are getting closer to the money and obviously, what weisselberg was discussing with cohen. it doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to know everything about donald trump's finances as he has been worried about. it really just relates to the payments made to these two women. we are obviously getting closer on what president trump knew and when he knew it. neil: all right, is it your sense that this investigation is veering off course or going in a different direction? that might not even involve issues of collusion or potential collusion, but just financial transactions in some cases that date back years? >> yeah. i think the short answer is we're not really sure where this is going to go, in part because mueller has such a broad mandate. yes, he is there to investigate russia-related activ

chief financial officer allen weisselberg who's now been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury. >> i'm guessing, and i don't know that the invoices were sent to mr. weselberg. >> weisselberg. >> weisselberg. i always have a problem with -- >> you suggest your client michael cohen has information that will be very useful to the special counsel, robert mueller. what is that information? >> well, i pick my words carefully. i'm not quibbling. i said would be of interest. that i believe that he observed and saw mr. trump being aware of the use of e-mails to damage hillary clinton's campaign. that could only have been derives through illegal hacking from a russian agency called wick rae wikileaks. i believe there is some information mr. cohen could provide to mr. mueller that would be of interest to mr. mueller. i don't know if it's a smoking gun or how decisive it is. what i'm suggesting is that mr. cohen was an observer and was a witness to mr. trump's awareness of those e-mails before they were dropped, and it would pertain to the hacking of the e-mail accounts. >> has your client, michael cohen, already sat down with robert mueller or his special

weisselberg. >> tonight, why this immunity deal could be the biggest catch yet. >> mr. president, what does weisselberg know? >> then, just how many different investigations are looking at the president? plus, everything else that's been happening while the presidency is in crisis. >> we're canceling obama's illegal anti-coal destroying regulations. >> when "all in" starts right now. >> allen. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. the president of the united states began this week with a two-day tweetstorm attacking robert mueller and anyone even seemingly tangentially connected with the russia investigation. but as the weekends it is trump and seemingly anyone tangentially connected to him who find themselves in deep trouble. and the thing of it is mueller may be the least of their worries. trump's campaign chairman has been convicted of multiple felonies. just a few days ago. seems like a while. his long-time personal lawyer pleaded guilty to felonies and directly implicated the president in federal crimes. his 23re7bd at the "national enquirer" has an immun

now weisselberg and mr. pecker being granted immunity. and the sociuthern district smes blood and they go to get it. immuneity means that the southern district has looked at these two individuals and they both invoked the fifth amendment. and the southern district made the judgment that they have something valuable that we want, and we're willing to give them a pass via immunity to get it. >> so immunity is big. do you think this could signal this goes beyond cohen? >> not really because the type of immunity he was given, and granted related to cohen, it doesn't sound like it was carte blanche i believe community for anything he may have done ever, but it sounds like that it receded the plea that ultimately came forward with cohen. in other words, he spoke about cohen, maybe cohen and his attorney knowing this was out there it is part of what prompted them to enter the plea that they did. >> i'll respectfully disagree. it is not just limited to cohen. anyone who is involved in these payments, the information lists individual one, individu

weisselberg. he worked for mr. trump's father. this is a guy that knows a lot about donald trump. >> look, if you had to name the people whose last name isn't trump who are the closest to donald trump, allen weisselberg is the first person on that list. honestly is the number two person is probably michael cohen. these are people who were entrusted with the most delicate pieces of donald trump's world. not just his business dealings, but we know in cohen's case, the payoff of two women making allegations about affairs with weisselberg has handled the financial transactions, not just of the trump organization, of donald trump. that's to michael's point. if this is an immunity going forward to help going forward, it's beyond problematic. >> we do have to pause for some breaking news. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we turn to breaking news. it's a grim update on the failing health of u.s. senator john mccain. the one-time republican nominee for president has been battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. we now have an update fr

up on that point, a really interesting question, weisselberg knowing about what the payments were necessarily for. the wall street journal reports that mr. trump was known for being meticulous on payments made. weisselberg would bring checks to sign for the company on a daily basis. is it at all plausible that any of the cohen reimbursements that were made were, "a," maybe not necessarily aware to weisselberg what they were for, in fact, if they were just told these are reimbursements, he would just process them as such, or could it be possible the other way around, trump did not necessarily know, and weisselberg knew. >> trump was a real micromanager, he signed every check, they all went in front of him. sometimes he wouldn't pay them as the journal reported. sometimes he'd put off payment, squeeze this guy a little bit more, don't pay the full amount. he was a guy who knew what he was doing. so the idea that he ever signed a check and didn't know what it was for, i think that's a non-starter. >> for trump. >> for trump. >> and weisselberg? >> and weisselberg, that guy was on top of it. he was central. the staff, there was hardly anybo

weisselberg. at least about cohen. and perhaps about others. it is clear from the criminal information to which mr. nization were deeply involved in criminal activity. prosecutors obviously decided that what weisselberg did and what pecker did didn't wriz ris level where they wanted to prosecute him, but they did have information that was helpful and damning. so here we are, fascinating development. i don't know that it means anything for the president necessarily, but clearly they knew of wrongdoing and they participated and they needed immunity in order to tell their story. >> chuck, i'll ask you to stay in that chair because i imagine ali velshi may want to chat with you about all of this. david, thanks for rolling with the punches there. and same tamara and zeke. that does it for us on what was a fast friday hour. ali velshi, i'm happy to hand it over to you because i have to race back to the white house. >> that could be the title of your autobiography, i wasn't expecting to talk about that. we'll see you at the white house. have a great rest of your morning. good morning, i'm ali velshi, it is

the trump organization, allen weisselberg, has reportedly been given legal immunity, meaning he won't bpre ecuted for helping in the investigation of michael cohen.. hen, mr. trump's former lawyer, paded guilty this week to breakin fg campaigance laws. ourorth america editor explains who these men are and their connection to the president. reporter: he is theublisher of the "national enquirer" magazine, published a series of sensationalistic articles, all hostile to hillarriy clinton the election campaign but he did one other thingou when karen ml, a playmate who alleges she had an affair with donald trump, wanted to sell her story, he bought the exclusive routes for -- rights for it but never published it, called a catch-and-kill operation. according to a north american news agency, he has in his office a safe full of other stories that have been bought and neversh publied. he'sow cut a deal with the feds and is cooperating with them. is the chief financial officer for the trumpon organiza the treasurer of the trump foundation, a of the blind trust that donald trump set up when he became president andou could putt like this. he's the most senior person i

weisselberg. he is totally loyal. he uses the phrase, yes, mr. trump 1,000% that he agrees with him on things. and now that he is forced to testify, he will be able to tell about the many, many crimes i'm absolutely certain donald has committed. and his immunity is only federal. that means that if cy vance, the manhattan district attorney and the new york attorney general pursue criminal cases against the trumps, the trump organization and the trump children, as i think they should, his testimony can be used against him as well. >> and, harry, you have been in these situations where you're working on a prosecution, an investigation, and at some point you get the accountant on your side. what does that open up? >> maybe everything and at least in the case of allen weisselberg, as david says, he's more than an accountant here. he's more than the number cruncher. he has been not just with trump, he's been with his father. he's sort of robert duvall to al pacino here. he was with the old man in the '80s, he was with trump in the '90s when he almost went bankrupt. he knows how things are done, and

the trump organisation, allen weisselberg, has reportedly been given legal immunity — meaning he won't be prosecuted for helping with the investigation into michael cohen. mrrump's former lawyer — pleaded guilty on tuesday to breaking campaign finance laws. earlier this week, immunity was also given to david pecker — the boss of the firm that publishes the national enquirer tabloid. here's our north america editor, jon sopel, to explain who these men are and their connection to the president. he is the publisher of the national enquirer magazine, published a whole series of sensationalist articles, all of them really hostile to hillary clinton during the election campaign, but he did one other thing. when karen macdougall, a playmate who alleges that she had an affair with donald trump wanted to sell her story, he bought the exclusive rights to it for $150,000 but never published it, it's called a catch and kill operation, and according to an american news agency, he has in his office, quite literally, a safe of other stories he bought and have never published. he has now cut a deal with the feds and is now cooperating with them. he is the chief financial

mr. trump was elected, he handed over control of the business to his sons and allen weisselberg. is there any smoking gun? greg: absolutely. he probably knows more than the sons how things work. he was granted immunity so does that mean he wanted to give information? greg: we can only infer, but the fact that his lawyer thought it fit to ask for immunity and the fact that prosecutors decided, yes, we are willing to give you immunity to get factual information suggests he knows a lot of stuff. this is a significant development. romaine: has the red line been crossed? it is not necessarily mueller's investigation that this is directly into his personal life. greg: that is exactly the red line the president spoke about july of last year. under certain circumstances, trump cannot fire mueller but he could get rid of the attorney general and the deputy attorney general. here in new york, he cannot do that. he could get rid of the u.s. attorney but it would be impossible to put someone in who would quash an investigation like this. it is a bad development for the president. typically i