Anderson Cooper takes viewers beyond the headlines with indepth reporting and investigations. Out of millions of dollars. The president says he is a friend of ours, as they used to stay in the mob. Jim acosta joins us. I understand youre learning more about the advice the president is getting about issuing pardons related to the russian investigation. Reporter thats right, anderson. I have been told by a source inside the president s legal team he has been advised for months now to avoid any pardons in the russia investigation including Paul Manafort. Interesting to point out earlier this evening the Washington Post was reporting Rudy Guiliani told them in just the last several weeks, Rudy Guiliani had to talk the president out of pardoning Paul Manafort until it is over. Whats interesting here about all of that is that at the white house secretary, sarah sanders, apparently was giving us a false or incomplete information that did not add up when she said that a pardon was not under discussion, has not been under discussion. This evening, she put out a
statement saying this pardon is not something being discussed in the white house. The president has not made a decision on pardoning Paul Manafort or anyone else. Just because the discussion is not happening at the white house doesnt mean it isnt happening at other places, At Bedminster or anywhere else. Interesting to see the white house parsing its words over this issue. Clearly, anderson, this is something under discussion, something been on the president s mind and appears its been on the president s mind lately, as well. To hear the president yet again go after Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions, going after him in that interview, we will talk to him more about it later. Where do things stand on that . You heard him earlier on fox, What Kind Of Man is this, once again seizing on this recusal Jeff Sessions decided to go with early on in the administration to stay out of the russian investigation. That has obviously been under the president s skin ever since
then and he went after Jeff Sessions. What changed, a watershed moment often this Punching Bag Relationship the president constantly beating up on Jeff Sessions, Jeff Sessions fired back showing what a lot of people in washington have been waiting for a long time, some independence what the Justice Department should have from this white house and says what he decides to do will be independent from Political Considerations at the white house, something a lot of people have been waiting a lot of people have been waiting a long time. Thank you. David gergen, access tvs dan rather, and investigative reporter, carl bernstein. Dan, ive been reading some of your tweets today, suggesting Martin Scorsese should direct the movie of the Trump Presidency with goodfellas. What do you make of this . We move into the political
happening these last few days and hear what the president is saying, trying to move us to believe truth is not truth, crime is not crime, facts are not facts. The American People have a lot of common sense. It may be a long time coming. I myself think its far too early to talk about impeachment as long as the republicans control at least the senate and have effective control of the Supreme Court i dont think there will be any impeachment. This story is yet to unfold. David, to dans point, the president of the united states, truth is not truth and crime is not crime, the president is saying people who confess to crimes are flippers and almost ought to be outlawed because its not fair and people who stay silent and fight and go through trial and get convicted as felons, theyre standup people. I think, anderson, all four
of us agree tonight its deeply offensive to have a president who is the guardian of the justice system, protector of the law in our country so blatantly disagree what we believe, undermine much of what we believe. I agree very much with dans analysis the dynamics have been changed. Donald trump is a Control Freak in many ways. He wants to control everything he controlled this Epic Battle Against Mueller month after month. He alone had the platform and mueller couldnt speak. We talked about that before. Mueller had a chance to speak in courtrooms. Trump is losing control of the narrative and mueller is taking it away from him. You can see it in a fox poll that came out today, which was fascinating. In july, you ask americans if
they approve or disapprove . In fox poll, 48 approve, 40 disapprove. Today, this week, 59 approve, its gone from 48 to 59. The disapprove has gone from 40 to 37. I think you can see the power of the courtroom can change the dynamics. Mueller is holding a lot of cards. We dont know what they are. Trump himself must be panicked because he doesnt know what the cards are and he has lost control. How many times have we been at points we said this is an Inflection Point in the presidency, tipping point, turning point, whatever the phrase you want to use yet it just continues on . Heres whats different. We have now seen in its naked ugliness the instinctive lawlessness of this president of the united states. The sewage, the stench of the Sewage Seeping from the white
house swamp is starting to waft across the country. Its becoming tangible. There has been a change. I think people are now getting a look at the real donald trump in a way that is taking the blinders off some eye, not enough eyes on republicans in congress, his enablers and protectors through the awful months of his presidency. Were also seeing great examples of his incompetence. The rails are starting to come off visibly. You hear it in the rails of congress discussing it in private in ways they have not. Were into a new era of the Trump Presidency in which he is not only not in control in the way of his authoritarian
instincts, his authoritarian instincts are starting to fail him because too many people are on to those authoritarian instincts, and they frighten people, they frighten what he is trying to do to this country and its traditions and institutions of justice. In every despotic tyranical country that the leader has tried to seize the institutions of justice and undermine the press as the real means of controlling through authoritarianism. People are starting to realize that. Dan, just the lies, whether something is against the law or not, we had good people on either sides arguing good law. Just the lies, the swamp, at the heart of the swamp, the number of lies is overwhelming. This is a good example how much has changed in the american political landscape. The word lies has been used for much of what donald trump has said quite a while now. This is something new. Previously people were reluctant to say somebody told a lie especially the president of the united states. President trump has so clearly adopted the attitude, if i donald trump say it no matter how big a lie, the word is just, no matter how big a lie it is, it isnt going to matter. There have been books written about authoritarian technique in history. Much of what the president has been doing is aversion of a big lie, tell a lie, know its untrue, but given the bully pulpit that is the presidency repeat it over and over. Repeat it over and over. One reason he tweets so much, bombards it and counts on the power of the presidency to persuade and influence. He feels and i wonder if he still feels given the last couple of days, he was invincible and he could say any damn thing he pleased, if he said it often enough people would believe it. I would guess using a poker phrase hes checking his hold cards and is called to account on these lies. David of ami, American Media incorporated that owns the National Enquirer and tabloid like magazines. He in Donald Trumps terms, flipped and cooperating with federal prosecutors like Michael Cohen. Thats stunning. David pekker, theres no telling how many files he has on the man who is now the president of the united states. No telling how many catch and kill stories or sleazy things david pekker has access to he has on the president. Thats absolutely right, anderson and why i think the president is so upset and panicked. We hear continual reports from the white house to that effect and he has lost control. One of the harsh lessons in life is loyalty runs both ways. Donald trump is only loyal to himself and cuts people loose. Now, people are turning it on him and disclaiming their loyalty to him, breaking their bonds with him to save themselves. That has made it particularly dangerous. Let me emphasize one other thing. He can still cling onto office a lot longer than people think. I dont think hes down and out yet. Hes down but not out. A lot still will depend ultimately what mueller has on the collusion question. We will discuss this when we come back. We have to take a quick break. We have never seen donald trump truly cornered with his back against the wall and truly down. We have no idea what he is capable of for better or for worse, when truly cornered. Thats something obviously we may come to witness and may not. Coming up next we talk more about the Attorney General and how much longer he might be the Attorney General and one of the president s earliest congressional supporters and latest alleged felon, Duncan Hunter and well tell you about his day in court. Of gasoline up in the air. That amounts to about 10 pounds of Carbon Dioxide every week malo hutson growth is good, but when it starts impacting our quality of air and quality of life, thats a problem. So forwardthinking cities like sacramento
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a Flying Machine . Impossible a personal computer . ha smart neighborhoods running on a microgrid. A stadium powered with solar. A hospital that doesnt lose power. Amazing. I like it. Never gonna happen. Department. Its an incredible thing. The president also said the only reason he appointed Jeff Sessions because he supported him during the campaign. The two have been at odds ever since jeff recused himself. He put out a statement saying, while i am Attorney General the actions of the department of justice will not be improperly influenced by Political Considerations. I demand the highest standards and where they are not met i take action. How long he remains in the job is an open question. It is incredible, Jeff Sessions has probably done more than anyone else in this administration to execute the president s agenda, getting judges through confirmation process, the fact he is the person the president is focused on with such mockery is extraordinary. Its the ultimate irony, youre right. Sessions has done more to advance the trump agenda, not
only judges but in other ways than anybody i can think of in the administration. The fact President Trump does this tells us a lot because it raises the view, if President Trump is not guilty of anything, why does he act like hes guilty by doing such things by saying if sessions had told me he would recuse himself about the russian probe. This is erie. Im prepared to say theres never been anything quite like it in the history of the american presidency. My friend, david gergen, a president ial scholar and served in all sorts of white houses would know, theres been nothing like this. I would like to hear your thoughts on it. Dan tweeted, the question is we enter the next chapter and the
fate of this nation lies not in the acts of the president but gop leaders and Party Faithful who seem determined to explain away criminality for their own cynical grip on power. In watergate, it was republicans who ultimately turned the tide. Other than republicans saying things and whispering, you still dont hear an awful lot of folks going on the record, even speaker ryans response to the Michael Cohen guilty plea was, oh, well, we need more information. Ryan is a great example of the most crazy leadership of a Political Party i think ive ever seen, in all the years ive been covering politics. The fact is two things are going on at once, running on parallel tracks. Republicans in washington who have shown no inclination and probably wont show any inclination to have a spine until after the midterm
elections. Also, we have to look at who trumps constituency is. He still commands 80 , 90 approval of those people in this country who call themselves republicans. Thats a huge difference between now and watergate. In watergate when nixon left office, perhaps 52 of republicans according to the polls approved of nixon still. Disapproval rating of trumps is extraordinary. And he is the president of his base during a Cold Civil War in this country. He has brought that Cold Civil War to the point of ignition. When we talk about the danger during the next few months, thatCold Civil War is fraught because he is intent on doing whatever he has to do to hold onto these powers, to hold on to his presidency, and his followers are indeed many of them ready to stand behind anything that he does. Thats the extraordinary difference between one of the extraordinary differences between a period of watergate and now because the behavior and conduct as demonstrated by donald trump is so far beyond what would have been approved in 1974 by republicans, voters and representatives in congress alike, thats the real difference. We have to wait for the midterms to see if anything changes. David, do you agree with that . Yes. I agree with most of that. I think for all of us here, this Republican Party is increasingly unrecognizable. It has become the trump party. Because of what many consider the cowardice of the republican leaders, if trump goes down, this party may go down with him. Their values setting forth and not facing reality and unwillingness to see climate change, the tax bill presented, a whole range of things that will leave this party in serious, serious trouble with minorities and women and millennials. They will pay a price for this. If they dont change soon and start drawing clear red lines, i think the consensus what is happening with Jeff Sessions on the hill and the senate, he may well be removed from office after the midterms. Were building towards a climax after the midterms, a real Danger Sessions will be out and Trump Will Fire Mueller and put
somebody in to close the Mueller Investigation. Republicans have to move to protect Special Counsel now. If he gets fired without republicans making that protection they will be jointly responsible for dismantling this investigation. David gergen, carl bernstein, dan rather, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good to have you all. Thank you. We touched on this reporting long time trump friend, david pecker, was given immunity and weigh in on the possible significance of this in a moment. So you have, your headphones, chair, new laptop, 24 7 tech support. Yep, thanks guys. I think he might need some support. Yes. Start them off right, with the School Supplies they need at low prices all summer long. Like these for only 2 or less at office depot officemax. With the right steps, hasnt left my side. Like these for only 2 or less 80 of Recurrent Ischemic strokes could be prevented. A bayer Aspirin Regimen is one step to help prevent another stroke. So, im doing all i can to stay in his life. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an Aspirin Regimen. A book that youre ready to share with the world . Get published now, call for your free publisher kit today we mentioned at the top the man who kept some of Donald Trumps secrets and other secrets as well cut a deal with the feds. David pecker, the head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer was granted immunity. He says, i am the ceo of the company and they squelched stories implicating trump himself. David pecker, it now seems clear is the david on the tape that Michael Cohen made just before the election discussing t