and you created it for making the payment to ms clifford? amongst other things, your.n't use a —— you used a line of credit to fund this? yes. you then wide $130,000 to the attorney ripper representing ms clifford at the time and wrote the words retainer? correct. can you tell us why you decided to use this complicated process to make this payment? starting an llc is not a four sister catered means. you call up a company, you pay for it, they open it for you. the reason i use the home equity line of credit as opposed to cash i had in the same exact bank was i didn't want my wife to know about it because she handles all of the banking, and i didn't wa nt to all of the banking, and i didn't want to coming to me and asking me what was the $130,000 for. then i was going to be able to move money from one account to the other and pay it off because i didn't want to have to explain to her what that payment was about. i sent it to the interest lawyers account to stormy daniels's attorneys. he would hold it until such time i receive the executed nondisclosure agreement. did mrt

ms. clifford. in his 2017 financial disclosure form he said he never owed money to reimburse you for those payments. yet in your testimony, mr. cohen, you said that you met with the president in the oval office in february of 2017 and discussed his plans to reimburse you for money you paid. you say he told you, and i quote, don't worry, michael, your january and february reimbursement checks are coming. is that accurate? and was that in the oval office? >> the statement is accurate, but the discussions regarding the reimbursement occurred long before he became president. >> would you explain that? >> back in 2017 when -- actually, i apologize -- in 2016, prior to the election, i was contacted by keith davidson who is the attorney -- or was the attorney for ms. clifford, for stormy daniels. and after several rounds of conversations with him about purchasing her life rights for $130,000, what i did each and every time is go straight into mr. trump's office and discuss the issue with him. when it was

ms. clifford. or it was going to end up being sold to television and that would have em bbarrassed the president and interfered the election. >> the president has never amended his 2017 form to this day and while you're facing the consequences of going to jail, he is not. >> well, i believe they amended a financial disclosure form and there's a footnote buried somewhere. >> can you describe, michael, to the american people catch and kill? >> catch and kill is a method that exists when you're working with a news outlet and in this specific case it was ami, national enquirer, david picker and others, where they would contact me or mr. trump or someone and state therestorhas d in and then what you do is you contact that individual and you purchase the rights to that story from them. >> you practiced this for the president? >> i was involved in several of these catch and kill episodes. but these catch and kill scenarios existed between david picker and mr. trump long before i started working for him in

ms. clifford. and his 2017 financial disclosure form said he never owed money to reimburse you for those payments. yet, in your testimony, mr. cohen, you said that you met with the president in the oval office in february of 2017 and discussed his plans to reimburse you for money you paid. you say he told you, and i quote, "don't worry, michael, your january and february reimbursement checks are coming." is that accurate? and was that in the oval office? >> the statement is accurate, but the discussions regarding the reimbursement occurred long before he became president. >> would you explain that? >> back in 2017 -- actually lly apologize. in 2016 prior to the election, i was contacted by keith davidson, who was the attorney for ms. clifford, for stormy daniels. and after several rounds of conversations with him about purchasing her life rights for $130,000, what i did each and every time is go straight into mr. trump's office and discuss the issue with him. when it was ultimately determined -- an

ms. clifford. and his 2017 financial disclosure form said he never owed money to reimburse you for those payments. yet in your testimony, mr. cohen, you said that you met with the president in the oval office in february of 2017 and discussed his plans to reimburse you for money you paid. you say he told you, and i quote, don't worry, michael. your january and february reimbursement checks are coming. is that accurate? and was that in the oval office? >> the statement is accurate, but the discussions regarding the reimbursement occurred long before he became president. >> would you explain that? >> back in 2017 -- i apologize, in 2016 prior to the election, i was contacted by keith davidson who is the attorney or was the attorney for ms. clifford, for stormy daniels. and after several rounds of conversations with him about purchasing her life rights for $130,000, what i did each and every time is go straight into mr. trump's office and discuss the issue with him. when it was ultimately determined,

ms. clifford. is that what you are telling the american people today? >> yes, mr. chairman. >> one final question. the president claimed he knew nothing about these payments. his ethics filings said he owed nothing to you. based on your conversations with him, is there any doubt in your mind that president trump knew exactly what he was paying for? >> there is no doubt in my mind and i believe there's no doubt in the mind of the people of the united states of america. >> these documents appear to corroborate what you just told us. with that i'll yield. >> i will make sure you and i meet one day while we're in the courthouse and i'll take you for every penny you still don't have and i will come after your daily beast and everybody else that you possibly know. so i'm warning you, tread very f-ing lightly because what i'm going to do to you is going to be f-ing disgusting. mr. cohen, who said that? >> i did. >> did you say that in your testimony on page 2, you said you did things for mr. trump in an effort to protect him. was that statement that i just read that you a

ms. clifford and others? >> if you pay $130,000 and you live in new york where you have a 50% tax bracket, in order to get your 130 back you have to have 260, otherwise -- if he gave me back 130, then i'd be out 65,000. >> what was the purpose of spreading the reimbursements to

ms. clifford. t is that what yling the american people today? >> yes, mr. chairman. >>ne final question. the president claimed he knew nothing about these payments. his ethics filing said he owed nothing to you. baseon your conversations wi him, is there any doubt in your mind tesident trump knew exactly what he was paying for? >> there is no doubt in my mind and i truly believe there is no doubt in the mind of the people of the united states of america. >> and these new documents appear to corroborate what you just told us. with that i will yield to e gentleman. >> i want to make sure that youe and one day while we are in the courthouse and take you for every penny you still don't have and cter your daily beast and everybody else that you possibly know. so i'm warning you, tread very effing lightly because what i'm going to do to you is going to be effing disgusting. do you understand me? who said that? >> i did. >> and did you say that, mr. cohen, in your testimony on page two, you said you did things for mr. trump in an effort to protect him. was that statement th

ms. clifford. is that what you are telling the american people today? >> yes, mr. chairman. >> one final question. the president claimed he knew nothing about these payments. his ethics filing said he owed nothing to you. based on your conversations with him, is there any doubt in your mind that president trump knew exactly what he was paying for? >> there is no doubt in my mind and i truly believe there's no doubt in the people of the united states of america. >> these new documents appear to corroborate what you just told us. with that, i'll yield to the gentleman and ranking member. >> i will make sure that you and i meet one day while we're in the courthouse andly take you for every penny you still don't have and i will come after your daily beast and everybody else that you possibly know. so i'm warning you, tread very efing lightly because what i'm going to do to you is going to be efing disgusting, you understand me? mr. cohen, who said that? >> i did. >> and did you say that, mr. cohen, in your testimony on page two, you said you did things for mr. trump in

ms. clifford's attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by ms. to maintain her silence about her affair with mr. trump. and this is exhibit 4 to my. testimony. mr. trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a home equity line of credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. i am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that president trump personally signed from his personal bank account on august 1st of 2017 when he was president of the united states. pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea to reimburse me, the word used by mr. trump's tv lawyer for the illegal hush money i paid on his behalf. this $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was president. >> the president is in vietnam meeting with north korea's dictator. cnn's jim acosta is there in hanoi, joins us now. so has the president responded to all this at all? >> anderson, surprisingly, no. if they have a war room for dealing with michael cohen's testimony, we hav

ms. clifford's attorney during the closing days of the campaign demanded by mr.d to keep her silence about her affair with mr. trump and this is exhibit 4 of my testimony. and he directed me to use my own home equity funds to avoid money be traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign and i did that too without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family or the public. i'm going to jail in part because of my decision to help hide that from the american people before they voted a few days later. as exhibit 5a to my testimony shows, i am providing a copy of a $35,000 check mr. trump signed from his personal bank account august of 2017 when he was president of the united states pursuant to my guilty plea toy -- to reimburse me for the hush money. the check was one of 11 check installments paid throughout the year while he was president. other checks to reimburse me for the hush money as were signed by donald trump jr. and mr. eisenberg. see exhibit 5b. the presid

ms. clifford and others? >> because if you pay 130,000 dollars, and you live in new york, we have a 50% tax bracket, and in order to get your 130 back, you have to have 260, otherwise if he gave me back 130, i would only then, i would be out 65,000. >> what was the purpose of spreading the reimbursements to you over the 12 monthly installments? >> that was in order to hide what the payment was. i obviously wanted the money in one shot, i would have preferred it that way, but in order to be able to put it on to the books, allen weisselberg made the decision that it should be paid over the 12 months so that it would look like a retainer. >> and did mr. trump knew about this reimbursement method? >> he knew about everything, yes. >> thank you mr. cohen. so the president not only knew about the payments, he knew and helped to hide the payments and the reimbursements to you? >> we discussed it. everything had to go through mr. trump and it had to be approved by mr. trump. >> and now, you're going to prison -- >> a

ms. clifford's attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by ms. silence about her affair with mr. trump. this is exhibit 4 in my testimony." >> he's got receipts. >> exhibit 5 of the testimony shows i am providing a copy of the $35,000 check that president trump personally signed from his personal bank account on august 1, 2017, when he was president of the united states, pursuant to the cover-up which was the basis of my guilty plea to reimburse me. the words used by mr. trump's tv lawyer for the illegal hush money i paid on his behalf. this $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was president. the president of the united states thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. you can find the details of that scheme directed by mr. trump in the pleadings in the u.s. district court of the southern district of new york." >> yeah. so this is going to be devastating. >> wow. >> to say the least. here's more even that goes to the

ms. clifford in or around february 2018? >> yes. >> congresswoman katie hill, california democrat you just saw there questioning cohen, will join us later in this hour. tomorrow michael cohen will see his final day of testimony on the hill when he appears before the house intelligence committee, unlike today, no live coverage of tomorrow's closed-door event. it's been a lot, and with that in mind let's bring in our lead-off panel on a wednesday night. barbara mcquade, former federal prosecutor, for the eastern district of michigan frank figliuzzi, former assistant fbi director for countar intelligence. and ken vogel, former reporter for the "new york times." good evening to you tall. and welcome. frank, i'm curious. your mind trained in counterintelligence starting with the reported phone call from roger stone which we point out mr. stone denies. what got your attention today? >> that jumped out at me, brian, as perhaps the most crucial piece of information coming from cohen today. but then the investigator hat goes on and.

ms. clifford in or around february of 2018? >> mr. cohen: yes. >> what did he ask or suggest that you say about the payments or reimbursements? >> mr. cohen: he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements. he was not knowledgeable of my actions. >> he ask you to say that? >> mr. cohen: yes, ma'am. >> great. in addition to the personal check for $35,000 in july of 2017, is there additional corroborating evidence that mr. trump, while a sitting president of the united states, directly reimburse to hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws? >> mr. cohen: there are 11 checks that i received for the year. the reason why there are 11 is because, as i stated before, one of them had two checks. >> i do have copies of all those? >> mr. cohen: i could get copies, i would have to go to the bank. >> so we can get copies of all the checks mr. term provided to you as part of the scheme? >> mr. cohen: it's either from his personal account, as was demonstrated in the exhibit, or from the donald j. trump account. the t

ms. clifford and others? >> if you pay $130,000 and you live in new york where you have a 50% tax bracket, in order to get your 130 back you have to have 260, otherwise -- if he gave me back 130, then i'd be out 65,000. >> what was the purpose of spreading the reimbursements to you over the 12 monthly installments? >> that was in order to hide what the payment was. i obviously wanted the money in one shot. i would have prefer it had that way but in order to be able to put it on to the books, alan weisselberg made the decision that it should be paid over the 12 months so that it would look like a retainer. >> and did mr. trump know about this reimbursement method? >> oh, he knew about everything, yes. >> thank you, mr. cohen. so the president now only knew about the payments, he knew and hope to hide the payments and the reimbursement to you? >> we discussed it. everything had to go through mr. trump and it had to be approved by mr. trump. >> and now you're going to prison and he's -- >> i'm going to prison, y

when you arranged a payment to ms clifford, you're your testimony," without bothering to consider whetherconsider whether it was legal. how could you give your client to legal advice when you're not even considering whether it is legal?” did what i knew mr trump wanted. this conversation with mr trump started... i didn't ask if you are a good fixer, i asked if you are a good fixer, i asked if you are a good lawyer. sometimes you have to meld both together and i needed to at that time ensure and protect mr trump, and if i put... which i am clearly suffering the penalty of, i clearly suffering the penalty of, i clearly erred on the side of wrong. so, you feel like without bothering to consider whether it was proper, much less whether it was the right thing to do, by ignoring any conscience, if you have one, that you are protecting mr trump? i'm sorry, sir, i don't understand. as his lawyer, you feel that you did a good job? you said you're a good lawyer, wright? that's right. is that being a good lawyer, to not consider whether or not it is legal? ididn't consider whether or not it is legal

ms. clifford? is that what you are telling the american people today? >> yes mr. chairman. >> one final question. the president claims he knew nothing about these statements. they say he owed nothing to. based on your conversation with them, is there any doubt in your mind that president trump knew exactly what he was paying for? >> there is no doubt in my mind and i truly believe there is no doubt the people of the united states of america. >> these new documents appear to cooperate what you just told us. >> i will make sure you and i meet one day while we were in the courthouse and i will pick you for every penny you still do not have and come after your daily beef and everybody else you possibly know. i am warning you, very tread very lightly because what i'm going to do due will be disgusting. mr. cohen, who said that? but i did. >> did you say that, mr. cohen your testimony on page 2, you say you did things for mr. trump in an effort to protect them? that statement i just read, you admitted to sing, is that to protect donald trump? >> i did it to protect mr.

ms. stephanie clifford and nor the trump campaign was involved in the transaction. was the statement false? >> the statement is not false. i purposefully left out mr. trump individually from that statement. >> okay. why did you say it that way? >> because that's what was discussed to do between myself, mr. trump, and alan weisselberg. >> so it was carefully worded. >> yes. >> a reporter said she interviewed you the next day about the payment and reimbursement and she wrote last february 14th i interviewed cohen in his office about the statement he gave the fec which were he said trump didn't recall the payment. i couldn't hear much but he wanted to go over what the public messaging would be. is that accurate? >> it is. >> did the president call you to coordinate on public messaging about the payments to ms. clifford's in or around 2018? >> yes. >> what did the president ask you to say? >> he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. >> he asked you to say that? >> yes, ma'am. >> great. in addition to the personal check

ms. clifford. and his 2017 financial disclosure form said he never owed money to reimburse you for those payments. yet, in your testimony, mr. cohen, you said that you met with the president in the oval office in february of 2017 and discussed his plans to reimburse you for money you paid. you say he told you, and i quote, don't worry, michael. your january and february reimbursement checks are coming. is that accurate? and was that in the oval office? >> the statement is accurate. but the discussions regarding the reimbursement occurred long before he became president. sg >> would you explain that? >> back in 2017, when -- actually i apologize, in 2016, prior to the election, i was contacted by keith davidson, who is the attorney -- was the attorney for mr. clifford, for stormy daniels. and after several rounds of conversations with him about purchasing per life rights for $130,000, what i did each and every time is go straight into mr. trump's office and discuss the issue with him. when it was ul

ms. cliffords in or around february 2018? >> yes. >> what did the president ask or suggest that you say about the payments or reimbursements? >> he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements, and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. >> he asked you to say that? >> yes, ma'am. >> great. in addition to the personal check for $35,000 in july 2017, is there additional corroborating evidence that mr. trump while a sitting president of the united states directly reimbursed you hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws? >> there are 11 checks that i received for the year. the reason why 11, because, as i stated before, one had two checks. >> and you have copies of all of those? >> i can get copies. i'd have to go to the bank. >> so we will be able to get copies of all 11 checks that mr. trump provided to you as part of this criminal scheme? >> it's either from his personal account as what was demonstrated in the exhibit, or it would come from the donald j. trump account, the trust account. >> than

ms. cliffords in or around february 2018?about the payments or reimbursements? >> he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. >> he asked you to say that? >> yes, ma'am. >> of course based on cohen's testimony and evidence we have seen, that's a lie. joining us now, katie hill of california who asked those questions. she's a member of the house oversight committee. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> what did that moment tell you? >> really it told us there is a good probability and pretty strong evidence the president lied while in office and committed campaign finance law violations while in office as the president of the united states. >> we have seen the video of the president on air force one. it's pretty clear the president lied about payments to stormy daniels. pretty clear if that moment that michael cohen was testifying and emily jane fox said it, too, if that happened donald trump was telling michael cohen to lie. >> right. >> but lying to the public and lyin

ms. clifford. what he said, he didn't consider whether it was right or wrong or proper thing to do. he didn't care. he just did it. i said how you can you advising your client of the legality of this when you didn't care what the legality was? he tried to say, he was -- >> i understand you're saying. is there anything you heard from michael cohen, especially some of these transactions and statementstatements that the prt was making after he was president. lot of it has to do what candidate trump was doing. this is now according to his personal lawyer what he was doing as president of the united states. you republican colleagues in particular take on the substance of those remarks. i didn't watch the whole thing. i didn't hear lot of that. >> it didn't feel like there was any news here. he produced a copy of the check. mr. cohen did. that's what he had. everybody knew that already. other than that, if it wasn't written down, this guy is the least credible witness we've ever had. he's going to jail in two months for lying to congress. it was sort of a charade and theater today. >> nei

ms. cliffords in or around february 2018?>> yes. >> what did the president ask or suggest you say about the payments or reimbursements? >> he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements, and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. >> he asked you to say that? >> yes, ma'am. >> are you telling us, mr. cohen, that the president directed transactions in conspiracy with allen weisselberg and his son, donald trump jr., as part of a civil -- as part of a criminal conspiracy of financial fraud? is that your testimony today? >> yes. >> quite an allegation. trump's former fixer also told lawmakers that mr. trump knew that his longtime adviser, roger stone, reached out to wikileaks and that they were planning to release hacked e-mails from hillary clinton stolen by russia, we should note, and that the president was aware in advance. >> it was a short conversation, and he said, mr. trump, i just want to let you know that i just got off the phone with julian assange, and in a couple of days, there's going to be a massive dump of e-mails

ms. clifford in or around february 28? >> yes. >> what did the presask or suggest that you say about the leyments or reimbursements. >> he was not kneable of these reimbursements and he was not knowledge of my actions. he asked you to say that? >> yes.n >>dition to the personal check for $35,000 in july 2017, is there additionalin corroborevidence that mr. trump while a sitting president of the united states directly reimbursed you hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance law? >> there are 11 checks that i reived for the year. >> woodruff: cen also accused e president of inflating his own financial assets. here's his exchange with missouri democrat lacy clay.e >> i'm giving mmittee today three years of president trump's personal financial anatements, from 2011, 201 2013, which he gave to deutsche bank to inquire about a loan to buy the buffalo bills and to forbes. >> can you explain why you had financial statements and what you used them for? >> these statements were used by me for two purposes:

ms. clifford's in or around february 2018? >> yes. >> what did the president ask or suggest you say about the reimbursements? >> he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements, and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. >> he asked you to say that? >> yes, ma'am. >> cohen said the president reimbursed him in multiple payments rather than a lump sum. >> the president of the united states thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. so picture this scene. in february of 2017, one month into his presidency, i'm visiting president trump in the oval office for the first time. and it's truly awe-inspiring. he's showing me all around and pointing to different paintings. and he says to me something to the effect of, don't worry, michael. your january and february reimbursement checks are coming. >> and cohen said the president directed payments in conspiracy with others. >> are you telling us, mr. cohen, that the president directed transactions in conspiracy

ms. clifford wanted. rep. norton: you finally 28pleted the deal on october , days before the election. what happened in the interim? michael: i contemplated whether or not to do it. i was not sure if she would go public. there were communications back and forth between myself and keith davidson, and ultimately it came to either, do it or don't. at which time i had gone to mr. trump and his office after each and every conversation, and he told me he had spoken to friends , and $130,000 is not a lot of money, and we should just do it. go ahead and do it. whos with allen weisselberg directed us to go back to his office and figure this out. rep. norton: thank you, mr. chairman. rep. nadler: mr. meadows. rep. meadows: do you know when pat? -- do you know lynn patton. michael: yes, i do. rep. norton: how long have you known her? forael: i am responsible her joining the trump organization and the job she holds. rep. norton: i am glad you acknowledge that. you made demeaning comments about the president that she does not agree with. it has to do with your claim of racism. of a manas a daughter

ms. clifford, you stay in your testimony, i'm going to quote from your testimony, that you did so, quote, without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do. you said that. unquote. that's your testimony today. you said you didn't even consider whether it would be legal. how could you give your client legal advice when you're not even considering whether it's legal? >> i did what i knew mr. trump wanted. this conversation with mr. trump -- >> i didn't ask whether you were a good fixer. i asked whether you awere a goo lawyer. >> sometimes you have to meld both together. i needed to at that time ensure and protect mr. trump, and if i put my -- which i'm clearly, clearly suffering the penalty of, i clearly erred on the side of wrong. >> so you feel like, without bothering to consider whether it was proper much less whether it was the right thing to do, by ignoring any conscience, if you have one, that you were protecting mr. trump? >> i'm sorry, sir. i don't understand. >> you feel that was how to proba protect -- as his lawyer, you feel y

ms. clifford wanted. >> you finally completed that deal, as it were, on october the 25th. >> 28th. >> days before the election. what happened in the interim? >> contemplated whether or not to do it. wasn't sure if she was really going to go public. again, some communications back and forth between myself and keith davidson. and ultimately it came to either do it or don't, at which time again i had gone into mr. trump's office as i did after each and every conversation. and he had told me that he had spoken to a couple of friends and it's $130,000. it's not a lot of money. and we should just do it. so go ahead and do it. i was at the time with allen weisselberg where he directed us to go back to mr. weisselberg's office and figure this all out. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. cohen, do you know -- i'm right here. do you know lynn patton? >> yes, i do. >> i asked lynn to come today in her personal capacity to actually shed some light. how long have you known her? >> i'm responsible for lynn patton joining the trump organization and the job that she currently holds. >> well, i'm glad you a

it was told to me by keith davidson that this is a number that ms clifford wanted. that he had spoken to a couple of friends, hundred 30,000, is not a lot of money, and that we should just do it, go ahead and do it -- 130,000. we should just do it, go ahead and do it —— 130,000. we were directed to go back to mr weisberg's office and figure this out. mr cohen, do you know len patton? yes, i do. i asked him to go —— come here today and shed some light. i responsible for her joining shed some light. i responsible for herjoining the shed some light. i responsible for her joining the trump shed some light. i responsible for herjoining the trump organisation and thejob herjoining the trump organisation and the job she currently holds. i'm glad you acknowledge that. you made some very demeaning comments about the president that she did not agree with. it has to do with your claim of racism. she says that as a daughter of a man born in birmingham, alabama, that there is no way she would work for a an individual who was racist, how do you reconcile that? neither should i co

ms. clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with mr maintain her silence about her affairwith mrtrumps bring in gary 0'donoghue in washington. how damning is what we heard from michael cohen on the hush money payments? a lot of the detail we have heard before just because of the court cases and what came out when he was convicted. bear mike, he is a convicted. bear mike, he is a convicted liar and is going to prison pretty shortly. but seeing him as it were in the flesh saying it out loud does have a certain impact. and we have learned one or two things extra, particularly this idea that he says that donald trump definitely knew about the planned leak of those hacked e—mails from the democratic party ahead of time, just in the 2016 general election. that is a very important statement for him to make. he has asserted it, there is no proof of such at this stage other than his word. we also learn from him that he says investigators are looking and other illegal acts committed by the president that we do not know about at this stage and that he cannot talk about because they are subject t