>> the george stephanopoulos exclusive interview. >> how does this end for donald trump? >>> plus striking a chord. ♪ dua lipa's electricity. the rise of one of the newest and most powerful voices. her breakup anthem creating new rules for bad boyfriends. ♪ one don't pick up the phone you know he's only calling because he's drunk and alone ♪ >> join the music star on a whirlwind worldwide tour. >> make sure that everyone leaves inspired and that they've had a workout. >> but first the "nightline 5." >>> thanks to move free ultra, i walk with this girl. ride with this crew. do the wave with these guys. and hang with this little one. that's because move free ultra is clinically proven to keep my joints moving better than glucosaminecondetroitin. i'm free to rock with this gang. move free ultra. i'm free to rock with this gang. move free ultra. movement keeps us connected. i'm free to rock with this gang. move free ultra. movement keep♪ ♪ connected. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ thank you for joining us. he was president trump's personal lawyer and fixer. now michael cohen is facing a three-y

. >> he's talking to george stephanopoulos. this is as nbc news confirms trump was in the room during the august 25th meeting with cohen and "national enquirer" chief executive and close trump friend david pecker during the hush money discussions. cohen said he is done being loyal to trump and done lying but the president is not done lying. let's listen. >> the special counsel did say that that he -- that you were doing your best to tell the truth about everything related to their investigation, everything related to russia. do you think president trump is telling the truth about that? >> no. >> and are you still cooperating? >> if they want me i'm here and willing to answer whatever additional questions they may have for me. >> so you are saying there are certain areas you can't get into because you are still cooperating with them. >> correct. and out of respect for process. >> and robert mueller issued a rebuke of another cooperating witness in his probe, former national security adviser michael flynn. he will be sentenced ne

but remember what he said when stephanopoulos asked him. we know about the audio recording because we have all heard it about the president talking with cohen about paying off concern mcdougal, et cetera. but just to remind everyone, here is that conversation on tape between the president and michael cohen. >> i have spoken to alan about how to set the whole thing up with -- >> so what are we going to do, pay? >> funding, yes. and it's all the stuff. >> coupling that tape together with what michael cohen said, where does that believe the president this morning? >> well, we don't quite know because the case is the case against cohen, not anything against the president. so we haven't seen whatever evidence there may be to that end. you know, the intent here is going to be crucial because a lot of what the president and his allies have been saying is that this was purely personal, that they have admitted the payment was made, admitted that there was an attempt to conceal this affair, but saying that it was only in order to protect his personal

he made that point this morning with stephanopoulos. it would seem with all the sitdowns he's had that would have been unpacked by now. >> that's the really interesting point here, laura. one of the reasons he got three years in jail is because at least the southern district of new york was not very complementary of him in that filing they made with the court. they said he had not been cooperative. the special counsel's filing was a little bit more generous. but you know, that brings us to the question of him as a potential witness which is something he discussed with stephanopoulos against any proceeding that might be brought up against president trump in terms of the campaign finance violations that people are talking about given that even the southern district didn't view him as a credible, trust worthy, helpful person. how good of a witness in such a case would he make? >> laura: a terrible witness. you and i put him on the stand, not hard to get him to wet his pants. sorry. he's not a hard guy to cross examine. i have to ask about

you know, i'm not surprised to see michael cohen do an interview with george stephanopoulos. there's a relationship there. i was a little surprised to see him do an interview with george stephanopoulos that aired this morning. what's that about? >> i think the timing is very interesting. from my reporting earlier this week, there was not really a media plan this soon. it was not long planned, supposed to happen. what we saw today is a pattern of behavior that has been playing out over the last eight months where michael cohen has been focused on his legal situation and then the president will tweet something that is incredibly upsetting to him. this happened, i remember one morning, the first morning michael cohen was due in court in the southern district of court was the first time the president did an interview on "fox & friends." it was a total surprise to him. in that interview, the president said for the first time, i think it was he did such little legal work for me and the trouble he's in is nothing to do with me. michael cohen was in the hotel room he was living in. t

some of you may have seen that i appeared on abc with george stephanopoulos. and that i said previously for the last two years many times on the public record that no matter what happened i wear or not they are false minutes - - witness against the president or make a false lies or stories to remove him in the next day a tweet from the president of the united states who lauded me for my guts. now some immediately to a host of all the liberal legal analyst that a tweet would constitute witness tampering. this is absurd on the basis of the fact i have been saying the exact same thing on the record on numerous forms for the last two years. in fact,, i denied yet again on abc that i had any advanced knowledge of the source or the content of the wikileaks disclosures or the e-mails or the stolen e-mails the exact same thing i said on meet the press almost one year ago that got no notice. i think most americans now understand that the russian collusion delusion is meant to be a distraction from the far more serious abuse of power in which the obama administration us

>> no. >> george stephanopoulos with michael cohen. i want to bring in jon karl live from the white house. we haven't heard from the president today regarding this new interview. he tweeted about the job he's been trying to fill. his chief of staff? >> reporter: that's right. we have a new acting chief of staff. mick mulvaney. he's currently the director of the office of management and budget. he comes to this job with real political experience. six years as a member of congress from south carolina. a very conservative one. a founding member of the freedom caucus. there were several other candidates interrued, including chris christie, who pulled himself out of the running earlier today. it's important to note here that mulvaney will be the acting chief of staff. officials say he could be replaced sometime early in the year. or, if things work out, i'm told, he could be named the permanent chief of staff. david. >> thank you, jon. >>> we're following a dangerous storm system hitting tonight and into the weekend. record rained a flash f

this is the point michael made to george stephanopoulos about not understanding the system he is in. he doesn't understand that there are real-world repercussions of what you say, and you are not just spinning a story to the "new york post" or "page six" or whatever. your words matter at a different level, including tweeting about a private citizen that has been sentenced in a case and tweeting about his family. >> maggie, stand by. listen. >> the special counsel stated infi emphatically that the information i gave to them was creditable and helpful. there's a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that i am telling the truth. >> you are done with the lying? >> i am done with lying and i am done being loyal to president trump. >> i am done being loyal to president trump. i think that much is clear, maggie. >> i don't think that's a mystery. i think you will probably see him say additional things going forward. he has a window of time until early march before he is supposed to report to federal custody and start serving a three year prison sente

and i think that these political operatives -- i think george stephanopoulos had an interview and called them dirty tricks and what not. i mean, i don't think anyone really takes too seriously these -- stone and corsi as somebody that are going to be fantastically credible people in the world of politics. >> but certainly having roger stone on with stephanopoulos saying to him, oh, you know, this is just -- this is just politics. >> no. >> what they're saying is -- it's not just dirty politics, it's to some people's minds, could be treason. >> yes. this is not politics as usual. and i think that's why george stephanopoulos stepped in and said, nope, these are pretty much dirty tricks, what you're doing. so i think he clarified that. so you're right. >> right. and matt, in the 90 seconds we have left, let me get you in here and talk about roger stone and jerome corsi and their furious back-pedaling. >> it's quite obvious that stone has enormous criminal exposure. in the draft plea agreement for jerome corsi, that corsi made public this week, it's clear that jerome corsi and roger stone co

. >> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos sponsored by ibm. ibm. the engine management systems coordinate with autonomous vehicles. financial data, so now we can predict the future. our new flexible propeller design. by collaborating with public schools on a program called p-tech, ibm is helping students build the skills they'll need for tomorrow. revolutionizing. aerospace industry. it's an entirely sustainable approach. any questions? when you rethink education, everyone can put smart to work. from the first loving touch pampers diapers are the #1 choice of hospitals, and have been for over 40 years pampers swaddlers the #1 choice of hospitals, nurses & parents this winter, a hero will fight... superhero: [coughs] his cold. what do ya think? sidekick material? eh? superhero: i seriously can't deal with you today. mucinex cold & flu all-in-one. fights... oh no. no-no-no. sore throat, fever, cough, sinus pressure, chest congestion, headache, nasal congestion, body pain... all in one did you really need the caps lock? superhero: hold this. finally,

>> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. >>> battle over the border. >> we're going to have a wall. we're going to have safety. >> president trump digging in on his demand for a border wall as the government shutdown goes into its second week. >> i can't tell you when the government is going to be open. i can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall a fence whatever. >> the president threatening to close the southern border. u.s. officials conceding a humanitarian crisis. what's needed to protect the border and respond to the influx of migrants and how will the new congress respond? we speak exclusively with the commissioner of customs and border protections. plus the incoming chair of the house democratic caucus responds and -- >> we're no longer the suckers, folks. >> president trump makes a surprise visit to troops in iraq delivering a defense of his domestic agenda and foreign policy. did the president politicize the military during his trip? is trump's america first approach in america's best interest? retired four-star general stanley

and some of you may have seen that i appeared on abc with george stephanopoulos this past sunday. and i said in that interview something that i have said previously for the last two years, many times on the public record. and that is, no matter what happens, i will not bear false witness against this president. i will not make up stories and lies in the effort to remove him. the next day i was proud to see a tweet from the president of the united states who lauded me for my guts. now some in the mainstream media went immediately to a host of all liberal legal analysts who said that the president's tweet could constitute witness tampering. absurd on the basis of the fact that i have said the exact same thing on the record on numerous forums for the last two years. [applause] >> in fact, i denied yet again on abc that i had any advance knowledge of the source or the content of the wikileaks disclosures, be they alleged hacked e-mails or alleged stolen e-mails. the as a matter of fact same they think i said on meet the press with chuck todd almost a year ago, which got virtually no n

george stephanopoulos scored an exclusive interview with cohen just days after he was sentenced for aber of crimes. george, good morning to you. cohen was involved in hush money payments to two women who say they had affairs with donald trump. i want to play a key moment from your interview. >> he directed me to make the payments. he directed me to become involved in these matters including the one with mcdougal. that was really between him and david pecker and david pecker's counsel. i just reviewed the documents in order to protect him. i gave loyalty to someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. >> he was trying to hide what you were doing, correct? >> correct. >> he knew it was wrong? >> of course. >> he directed me to make the payments. he knew it was wrong. why is that such a key allegation? >> because michael cohen is going to prison for those felonies, those campaign finance felonies. he's saying president trump directed him to commit those crimes. he's saying the president knew it was wrong and he knew the payments were connected to the campaign. if the president knew t

come on, during an interview with george stephanopoulos, pointed the finger back at the president. watch it. >> i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. >> he directed me to make the payments. he directed me to become involved in these matters, including the one with mcdougall, which is really between him and david packer. i give loyalty to somebody who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. >> harris: president trump also told me yesterday that he be don mike believes cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations to embarrass him. cohen disputes that. watch. >> i wasn't his only client, he had other clients. he did some bad things. he made a deal to embarrass me. >> i didn't do it to embarrass the president. he knows the truth. i know the truth. many people know the truth. under no circumstances do i want to embarrass the president of the united states of america. >> harris: meanwhile, some lawmakers on capitol hill want to get cohen die before their committees as he pleaded guilty to lying to congress. they will have some time to do that.

advisor george stephanopoulos and he offered a rather patriotic christmas hope. >> the country has never been more divisive and one of the hopes that i have out of the punishment that i have received as well as the cooperation that i have given, i will be remembered in history as helping to bring this country back together. >> he wants to know exactly how he's going to do it. i think he's in a lot of pain. >> laura: right, all of his motives are entirely patriotic. he's doing this all for america, for our children and our grandchildren. it has nothing to do with the fact that cohen wants to have his jail time shaved off in exchange for more cooperation. >> are you still cooperating? >> if they want me, i'm here. and willing to answer whatever additional questions they may have for me. >> there are certain areas you can't get into because you're still cooperating. >> laura: did he lay it on thick, he's kind of a new man, he feels liberated. i like the turtle neck, it was an anti-williams christmas special feel to it all. he wants you to know that donald trump is bad but his heart is as pu

the president's former lawyer sat down with george stephanopoulos. cohen said president trump knew the hush money was wrong. you can watch the full interview on abc7news.com. >>> president trump has tapped mick mulvaney as acting white house chief of staff. the current manager of the office of budget will replace john kelly. abc's tara palmieri has the details. >> reporter: the president tweeted, quote, i'm pleaseted to announce that mick mulvaney will be acting white house chief of staff, adding, i will be looking forward to working with him in this capacity, making america great again. mulvaney said in a tweet, this will be a pleasure. it's going to be a great 2019, the announcement coming hours after former new jersey governor chris christie declined the job in a statement saying, quote, it's an honor having the president consider me, but now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment. among the possible names being mentioned as permanent replacements, one-time deputy campaign manager david bossy and white house

in an exclusive interview, george stephanopoulos, he is done covering up for the president.the villain any more. he was sentenced to three years in federal prison for finance violations in connection with paying two women to keep quiet about past affairs with president trump. he said of course the president knew it was wrong to make hush money payments. >> did you know what you were doing? >> i'm angry at myself because i knew what i was doing was wrong. i stood up before the world yesterday and i accepted the responsibility for my actions. the actions that i man, whoeudz i was loy i said i. i should not be the only one taking action for his lying. >> those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much produced prison sentence. cohen said that is not true. he did not do it to embarrass the president. he said he believes the president is lying about the russia investigation. i have been watching his twitter page this morning. he has not responded to this interview. >>> amy, thank you for the preview. michael has a lot more to sa you can

stephanopoulos: "that's a big statement." says -- he's not done talking.cohen:"if they want me, i am here and i am willing to answer whatever additional questions that they may have for me."cohen says the person in the white house now, is not the trump he once admired. cohen:"i think the pressure of the job is much more than what he thought it was going to be." cohen reports to prison in march, and will pay more than $1 million in restitution a stunning fall from grace for a man who says he was loyal to trump, for too long.cohen:"the man doesn't tell the truth. and it is sad that i should take responsibility for his dirty deeds."m-j lee, cnn, new york. (justine) president trump has not commented on cohen's statments. (justine) in other national news tonight.... interior secretary ryan zinke will be stepping down from his position..... zinke is the subject of multiple ethics investigations and the news came through a tweet from the president. this morning, president donald trump tweeted: "secretary of the interior ryan zinke w

>> correct. >> neil: that was michael: with george stephanopoulos on "good morning america."t saying he never told michael cohen to do anything wrong or certainly do any of this. where does all this go with this, these ongoing investigations with general flynn and his ultimate sentencing? house chairman devin nunes joined me on the phone. essentially what was going on here was something directed, approved, endorsed by donald trump? >> neil, as you know, it's impossible to know what the actual truth is because you are dealing with two individuals who have two very different points of view. the way i look at this is if all that happened, even if what cohen said happened, people do this all the time. they do settlements out of court. it happens. i don't know what the big deal is. you have people trying to turn this into some sort of chance for campaign finance violations which even if that was it should be handled at the civil level and it's a fine. it just seems like you have the media making a big deal about this and i'll finish with this on the topic, neil. you have the first

in an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos, the president's so-called fixer says mr.new it was wrong to make hush money payments during his campaign. >> number two, back-to-back storms the first one today through tomorrow on the stkorpl impact scale. stronger storm arriving sunday afternoon, lasting through monday morning. a 2, moderate. >> number three, a fire at a san francisco apartment building. the red cross is helping 20 people who were displaced last night. the fire on baker street burned one apartment and damaged six others. >> number four, lime is fighting for its scooters in san francisco. it was unfairly denied a permit for the scooter pilot program, it says. >> number five, chp cracking down on carpool cheaters. officers handed out more than 31,000 hov violations. >> number six, so far so did good for the friday morning commute. bay bridge metering lights on 5:22. once you get through those, 10 minutes to san francisco. >> a royal christmas. kensington palace that will be on the duke and duchess's holiday card. will and kate and all three kids. my favorite

cohen cut a deal with prosecutors to, quote, embarrass me.ni on "good morning america," george stephanopoulosrst interview since being sentenced. >>> jared kushner is reportedly pushing himself to be president trump's next chief of staf you heard me right. kushnef.r is an official white house adviser as well as being, of course, the presidential son-in-law. now, "the huffington post" says wednesday about the job but another report says kushner believes he can serve the president best in his current position or positions. he has several roles. now, trump says that he's down to five finalists. there is no timeframe, though, for an announcement. >>> senator jeff flake used his farewell address on capitol hill to issue warnings about the future. flake has been one of the president's most vocal republican critics. on the senate floor yesterday he warned that threats to our democracy from within and without are real. flake said the u.s. is testing the institutions of liberty in ways none of us ever imagined but he also looked to the future. >> we will note that we have confronted and survived more

this week with george stephanopoulos tuck those shirts in, fellas. come on.sive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. -whoa! the club is rockin'! but we can protect your home and auto ♪thisi'm gonna let it shine. ♪ it's energy saving time, ♪ i'm gonna reduce mine. ♪ californians all align ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ let it shine, ♪ the power's ours to let it shine! ♪ >>> "this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. >>> george h.w. bush. >> i want a kinder and gentler nation. >> america's 41st president dies at 94. >> a higher purpose to life beyond oneself. i speak of duty, honor, country. >> those words defined his life. a man of courage, decency, and accomplishment. from world war ii fighter pilot to gulf war commander in chief, a lifetime of service leavened with humor and humility. this morning, general colin powell and secretary james baker remember the president they called friend.

earlier, stephanopoulos said those conversations stopped in january. i don't, i mean, the date, i mean, until you actually sit down and you look at the questions from mueller, which they've actually had since at least january of 2017, and you go back and look at the papers -- i'm guessing he thinks mueller has some of their papers and you look at the -- the, you'll not know what's happened. that's why lawyers, you know, prepare the answers. where are we? >> so, i mean, two points. first, we're in this very serious point of the so-called political synergy where you have trump's commercial fortunes and his political fortunes intertwine. he drew the red line, but he's obliterated it himself because the crime and criminal conduct he's being investigated for has precisely to do with his mixing of his business motivations. but i have to go back to combine this answer with what he told george stephanopoulos and just underscore. we laughed in disbelief but the contempt it shows for the notion of the truth. remember, he kept trump from answering anything except

>> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. >> i am done with the lying. i'm done being loyal to president trump. >> cohen targets trump. >> he knows the truth. i know the truth. many people know the truth. >> accusing the president of orchestrating the campaign finance felonies sending cohen to prison. in the first interview since his sentencing, trump's former lawyer adds that the prosecutors have evidence to corroborate his charges. he states the president is lying about russia as multiple investigations confront trump. here to respond, rudy giuliani. and -- >> if don't have border security, we'll shut down the government. >> bracing for a shut down after that oval office meltdown. >> we shouldn't shut down the government over a dispute. you want to shut it down. >> the last time chuck you shut it down. >> no. >> will the president make good on his threat? will his party back him up? is this a preview of what's to come? plus -- >> it was a big ruling, a great ruling. >> the latest blow to obamacare. a federal judge strikes down the law hours before the

in an exclusive interview, george stephanopoulos, he is angry at himself, that he knew what he was doing was wrong. he said he will not be the villain anymore. he was sentenced to three years in federal prison for finance violations in connection with paying two women to keep quiet about past affairs with president trump. he said of course the the president knew it was wrong to make hush money payments. >> he knows the truth. i know the truth. others know the truth. and here's the truth. people of the united states of america, the people of the world don't believe what he is saying. the man doesn't tell the truth. and it's sad that i should take responsibility for his dirty deeds. >> you lied for him for a long time. >> more than 10 years. >> why? >> out of loyalty. >> the president said in a tweet after the sentencing, those charges were just agreed to by him to embarrass the president and get a much produced prison sentence. cohen says this is not true. i have been watching the president's twitter page this morning. he has not responded to this interview. of course you can hear much mo

>> i think, look, michael cohen described a different donald trp in an interview with george stephanopouloser today. he talked about trump being di herent than the mane knew. i personally think this is the same man that we saw i new york over many years. but it reveals this incredibly, you know, unusual, certainly for what we see from president relationship where you have a person who is talking about his blind loyalty in terms that we don't normally hear, even in thr ible of politics, by michael cohen, talking about that he was essentially, you know, brainwashed. that's not his word. but he was devoted and devout in the service of donald trump. and that that him to commit all sorts of dirty deeds, ae put it. the president, you know, insisted michael cohen should have known what he was doing was the law. and i think you have a relationship -- in the case of what michaelohen is saying, that donald trump certainly knew about it. nothing happened at trump tower without his knowledge, that is definitely the experience for those of us who have covered h and his business and his relationship with

. >>> and just moments ago, george stephanopoulos sitting down for an interview with michael cohen. that interview airs tomorrow morning, right here on "good morning america." >>> in the meantime tonight, new details about that russian woman we have reported on here before, maria butina. she was in court today, pleading guilty to conspiring to act as a russian agent here in the u.s., and now agreeing to cooperate with u.s. prosecutors in any investigation here. so, why was she really here? abc's kyra phillips again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, maria butina pleading guilty to conspiracy, admitting she was sent here by russia to build back channel connections with prominent american conservatives as part of a covert influence operation. butina, a russian gun rights activist, says her boyfriend, gop operative paul erickson, introduced her to top officials in the nra. >> in russia, i'm founder and now i'm the board member of the right to bear arms. >> reporter: she also says she even brought powerful former nra leaders to moscow to meet with top russian officials. she told a russian c

and michael cohen is talking to george stephanopoulos. the exclusive one-on-one interview breaks this morning on "good morning america" at 7:00 a.m. >>> turning now to the bomb scares that have caused havoc across the u.s. and canada, they're the focus of a nationwide investigation. threats were emailed in more than a dozen cities forcing the evacuation of schools and other buildings. the fbi says the threats were not credible and were designed to create chaos. some messages had the subject line, think twice. they were sent from spoofed addresses. >>> authorities in france are questioning the family of the man accused of attacking the christmas market in strasbourg killing three people. police shot and killed the 29-year-old suspect after getting a tip that he was hiding in a warehouse in his neighborhood about a mile from the attack site. they believe he became an islamic extremist during his time in prison. the strasbourg christmas market re-opens today. >>> well, the mother of an american student murdered in the netherlands says she ca

. >> reporter: today, stone told george stephanopoulos there's no proof he collaborated with wikileaks, the site that released thousands of democratic e-mails stolen by russian hackers. but a series of e-mails suggests stone did make efforts to contact the wikileaks founder, julian assange, and admitted as much in 2016. >> i actually have communicated with assange. i believe the next tranche of his documents pertain to the clinton foundation. >> reporter: today, stone insisted curiosity is not the same as conspiracy. >> like every political reporter, i was interested in knowing what exactly they had. but there was no response to that. >> you're saying you never spoke to julian assange, never contacted wikileaks, never spoke about any of that to president trump or his kids? >> that is absolutely correct. >> did you find his answers credible? >> no, i didn't. not at all. >> reporter: the top democrat on the house intelligence committee said today the very existence of those e-mails contradicts stone's testimony before his committee. >> that testimony really needs to be provided to the sp

he talks to george stephanopoulos about hot the president has been saying about him and his recent sentencing. tomorrow, 7:00 a.m., here on abc 7. right now, ama is here with a look at abc 7 news at 6:00. >> we're finally hearing from a man entangled in a high profire murder case. he tells why he agreed to dump the body and why he's desperate to go to vegas. >> also, it may not look like much, but this building will become ground zero for activity following the next major bay area shoe you what will happen inside. and not so fast on the proposed texting tax in california. that's all coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00. >> see you in a half hour. >> it was raining money today in new jersey this morning. >> oh, my god. look at all the money. >> the back door of a brinks armored truck malfunctioned causing cash to fly out on a highway in east rutherford. >> look at all these people out of their cars. >> they're braving the snow, and i guess the traffic, the cars, and they just kind of ran out to pick up whatever they could. no word how much money ended up on the road. >> police say they're looking w

directed michael cohen to break the law, but in an exclusive interview with abc news' george stephanopoulos trump organisation is done without the president knowing. he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters. including the one with mcdougal, which was really between him and david pecker, and then david pecker‘s council. ijust reviewed the documents. in order to protect him. i gave loyalty to someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. he was trying to hide what you were doing, correct? correct. and he knew it was wrong? of course. did you know what you're doing? i'm angry at myself because i knew what i was doing was wrong. i stood up before the world yesterday and accepted the responsibility for my actions. the actions that i gave to a man who — as i also said in my elocution — i was loyal to. i should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions. so he's still lying? let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: a 7—year—old guatemalan girl who illegally crossed the us—mexico border with herfather has died h

george stephanopoulos? >> he said he never directed you to do anything wrong. >> nothing at the trump organization was ever done unless it was run through mr. trump. >> he was trying to height hide it and he knew it was wrong? >> of course. >> he was doing it for his election? >> you have to look at the point of time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments. so yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> it is that last part when reminded of the chronology, a lot of people used the john edwards defense. forget about it. the "access hollywood" tape came out and the president said things that amount to felony sexual assault and stormy daniels comes up and they make it go away. that part is where you get damning not only about michael cohen's testimony, he knew it was wrong and illegal and connected the dots to what make it a campaign finance violation. this was not about saving melania or the president from embarrassment. >> he

he also said to george step none lou -- stephanopoulos that he didn't want to say more because he didn't want to hurt the investigation into russia. >> you can still say more but not compromise the investigation. if he had gone out and said here's exactly why i think donald trump is lying about the russia probe, here are all the examples, that would seriously compromise the investigation and that's something cohen would not want to do, regardless of his decision on further cooperation. >> m.j., we know in the sdny filing they don't see cohen as being fully cooperative with his investigation because they gave him three years, he was sentenced to three years. that was a signal to him, punishment, like you haven' been fully cooperative. not like flynn and coming out early and laying it all on the line there. why won't he cooperate fully? >> his lawyers didn't pursue the full traditional cooperation deal where he could have gotten sentenced after the investigation was done and they actually explained very clearly why he did that. he simply said that who wanted the sentencing to go on when it

now reporting, george stephanopoul stephanopoulos. >>> good morning and welcome to our celebration of.w. bush, four days of tributes and honors for our 41st president. that is the scene in houston, texas this morning, the george h. lewis funeral home, the bush family gathering now to escort their father, their grandfather to the motorcade that will take him to ellington air force base outside of houston, flying to the u.s. capitol for the last time. and there we see the casket carrying president bush. draped of course in the american flag, a fighter pilot, shot down at the age of 20 during world war ii, the defining experience of his life. now beginning a journey to the u.s. capitol where he will lie in state. a national day of mourning on wednesday and the funeral at the national cathedral. the president will be accompanied as well not only by his family but also by his service dog, sully. we want to show you the scene inside that funeral home this weekend. there you see the service dog named after of course that famous pilot, with the man he served for so long. service will continue

when the memorable sound bite from the sound bite with george stephanopoulos hey, i'm done lying now, is the memorable sound bite. you had a bad intersue. throw that out there. that should not be the take-away. now i'm really done lying. he is not a credible witness. every side agrees he is not a good valuable guy to testify on their behalf. go away and take the punishment. >> he is hapless. not clever enough to be sinister. it's great to see you. have the best weekend. >> you too, buddy. take care. >> tucker: the mexican citizens are increasingly upset with the migrant caravan settled in the major cities. do they have a right to be upset? we talk to a progressive about that next. ♪ bring all the gifts for under the tree and while you're at it... bring the tree. ford f-150 best-in-class payload. best-in-class towing. built for the holidays. bring home the f-150 with zero percent financing for 72 months. only at your ford dealer. ♪ the new capital one savor card. earn 4% cash back on dining and 4% on entertainment. now when you go out, you cash in. what's in your wallet? now when you g

." >> coming up on "this morning with george stephanopoulos" guests will discuss the life and legacy of president bush. you can watch that at 8:00 right here on a bshbc 7 news. if you want to see more tributes we haved em our website at abc7news.com. >>> we are looking at a chp investigationf h a greyhound bus caught on fire and closed down lanes of traffic. one passenger said that bus lunged in the air before catching on fire. >> reporter: black smoke billowing from this the bus on hi highway 880. cameras show how far this fire could be shown from in the darkness. chp closed down all five lanes. firefighters tried to extinguish the flames. we caught up with the passengers who were taken to the oakland bus station, and some are still inside filling out paperwork. this man was riding the bus that left san francisco shortly after 5:00. >> there was a loud bang, and then we were like, whoa, what happened. >> reporter: chp is investigating, but saying that the cause is lel mechanical. and he believes a popped tire or broken axel. >> we went up in the air about three feet, and we had just

>> i wondered the same thing when he said something to george stephanopoulos, if i heard him correctly, he seemed to expand the timeline during which the trump administration -- pardon me, the trump organization was having conversations about building that tower in moscow. rudy guiliani seemed to say those conversations seemed to extend all the way through november of 2016. i listened to those words in tandem with tubin's recent piece with his sit-down with adam schiff, and he was wondering out loud, did donald trump in his heart of hearts think he was not going to win this race, but he would say kind things about russia, make a friend in vladimir putin and when it was all said and done be able to build that tower? that's how i interpreted the events of the weekend. >> that's what adam schiff was saying in my new yorker piece. he was saying, look, this is an issue of compromise. was the president compromised by his relationship with russia? is he -- was he during the campaign and is he now acting in the interest of the country, or is he acting in his commercial interests? it applies in

james baker and colin powell both worked with the former president, and they spoke with george stephanopoulosut his character. >> he served this wonderful country of ours at a time when his presidency from a foreign policy standpoint, george, it was a consequential president. >> he did not let the emotions get on top of him, and frankly, a product of his parents who told him, don't show off, george, and always remember that you are humble. you work for people. you serve people. he was a perfect president. >> and colin powell says that everything that president bush did was directed at helping t is patriot. the bay area is also remembering the former president especially those who considered george h.w. bush not only a colleague, because friend. abc 7 news cornell bernard has that story. >> you can see the campanale on the berkeley campus from here. >> former secretary of state george schultz enjoys the view from his san francisco home where he has pictures of his time in the rigan presidency and his are relationship with george h.w. bush. >> what did we learn from him? we learned about patrio

that interview with george stephanopoulos a lot to discuss because it hits on the major legal issues. let's bring informer house secretary, joe lockhart, and what michael cohen just said has a lot of legal importance. number one, he says the president directed me to make the hush money payments to stormy daniels and the payments to mcdoiugal, and he knew it wa wrong. >> we have the accusations, the suspicion the president did exactly what michael cohen said happened. which would be off the bat campaign finance, and now the evidence is starting to come in. the thing my mind goes to is the tape, remember the tape michael cohen secretly made that got out into the public, and those tapes, there's no better tie breaker than the tapes. you can't deny what is on a tape. remember, that tape is almost entirely consistent with what we just heard from michael cohen. you hear him over the table with trump, discussing the payment and what the amount will be and what the form of payment will be. i don't now how the president -- he can say michael cohen is a liar all he wants, and tapes don't lie. >

advisor george stephanopoulos and he offered a rather patriotic christmas hope. >> the country has never

you can watch the u full interviews "this week with george stephanopoulos" right here on a bshgs krshbc 7. if you want to see more of the tributes pouring in, we have compiled them on abc7news.com. >>> the chp is investigating how a fire started on a greyhound bus. it happened in 580 and oakland causing all five lanes southbound closed. katy euless said the bus in the air before catching on fire. >> reporter: the black smoke bill e lowed from are the bus on interstate 580. passing motorists shot video around 5:30, and cameras showed how far the fire could be seen in the darkness. chp shutdown all five lanes of highway 24 west as the firefighters tried to extinguish the flames. we caught up with the passengers who were taken to the bus station and some inside still filling out paperwork. this woman was there on the bus. >> it was a loud bang and then people hit the roof of the bus and it was like, whoa, what happened. >> reporter: chp is investigating, but she believes it is a tire or broken axel. >> there was enough time for us to evacuate. >> reporter: she says seven passengers and a b

you see this guy sitting with george stephanopoulos. how do you take the fact that he might have fallen short cooperating with team usa and he's out telling his story publicly, perhaps going further than he did behind closed doors, we don't know. >> you're never happy when your witness is out there making statements in the public. you're never happy when they're doing it in a setting where you're not in control, where you can't control the presentation, where you can't go over carefully the lines of questioning and attack. every time that cohen opens his mouth from now on, he is creating possible inconsistencies in any story, anytime human beings retell stories, there can be things that differ from time to time. a prosecutor always wants to be able to limit the occasions on which one of his critical witnesses is putting information out on the record. cohen has shown he's not very controllable in that way. >> brian, you get to be our closer. i have a dual question for you. first of all, is it us or did this week pick up speed and become