Kate Bolduan gives a fresh take on todays top stories. Kate Bolduan gives a fresh take on todays top stories. I appreciate you pointing that out. Jeremy diamond for us. Good to have all of you with us. Mark, lets start off here first with the relationship between the president and Michael Cohen. The president trying to downplay this relationship. It sounds lu s like he is goinga George Papadopoulos coffee boy relationship when it comes to Michael Cohen. Its absurd were having to have this discussion. What we have seen from President Trump is that he is very effective, as is his allies, in trying to divert attention, create chaos, create doubt about everything. He could be holding up a piece of paper and say its black and its white. People will believe him. When are we going to say, you
know what . What he is saying is absurd. Its unrealistic. He has to come to some realization that he has to tell the truth. We have to know the truth in order for us to move forward. Right now, we are very much stalled. In terms of comments that are getting a lolt t of attention, cant ignore the president said flipping should, in his words, be almost illegal. Put this into perspective. This made a lot of people stop in their tracks as they heard those words. Why . Its really shocking. I can tell you when i was a federal prosecutor, i used to sit on wiretaps for days and weeks. These are conversations we would heard among criminals. Who is flipping and who needs to be silenced and who should get benefits. To hear the president of the United States make those comments is shocking. He sounds like he is talking like a person who is a target or defendant in a criminal case, not the president of the United States. Molly, to marks point about
about Michael Cohen, but what we saw and why it was a Turning Point in Michael Cohens plea was theres so much evidence in there that doesnt rely on just the word of Michael Cohen. Theres internal information from the trump organization. Theres tapes like the one we have heard. That is going to be harder to get away from than just insulting the character of someone who used to work with him. The president , too, in talking about the payments, he said, as we heard, the payments didnt come through Campaign Funds. Also, going on to say that cohen couldnt plead guilty to it because its not a crime. Which we know, seth, just be my legal voice of reason here, you cant plead guilty to something if its not an actual crime. The judge is never going to accept a plea unless theres a crime attached. Right. We had a federal article three federal judge accept a plea under oath with federal prosecutors in the room. That happens every day across
variable and quite capricious and how he feels about something is not necessarily a reflection of how dire his situation actually is. At this point, there have about so many departures from the white house that in a lot of ways it feels empty in there. A lot of people who are still there are so numb to these constant news cycles of outrage and controversy that they arent capable of Feeling Panic at this point, no matter how dire things appear to get. Thats why i think that thank you for showing our wonderful cover. Thats why i think theyre so evocative. Its more a sense of gradually rising waters than it is a single Turning Point that makes everything different. I think the cohen plea is a major milestone in the saga of this administration. But it is also the case that theres been a constant drip of people coming forward, information coming out. New implications that get closer and closer to the president. He is increasingly painted into a corner. Be interesting to see, based on this reporting of the wall street journal this morning, whether the next drip drip could come from david pecker at american media. We will watch for that. Appreciate it. Thanks to all of you. Coming up, the president defends Paul Manafort again. Could he be getting ready to pardon the convicted felon . Rudy giuliani discussing the potential fallout of that move with President Trump. Details ahead. The president slamming his Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions, even questioning his manhood. Could this impact the russia probe . Stay with us. With expedias addon advantage, booking a Flight Unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. Addon advantage. Only when you book with expedia. At the injection site; muscle pain; fatigue; headache; nausea; and joint pain. Bexsero may not protect all individuals. Tell your healthcare professional if youre pregnant or if you have received any other meningitis b vaccines. Ask your healthcare professional about the risks and benefits of bexsero and if vaccination with bexsero is right for your teen. Moms, we cant wait. Slonly remfresh useseep one in ionpowered melatonin ht. To deliver up to 7 hours of sleep support. Number one sleep doctor recommended remfresh your nightly sleep companion. To pardon or not to pardon, that could be the question the president is facing about Paul Manafort who could spend the rest of his Life In Prison after his fraud convictions that came down tuesday. Mr. Trump praised and defended him since the verdict, calling him brave, saying he didnt break like Michael Cohen. The president was asked about a potential pardon for manafort on fox news. That aired this morning. Here is his response. Are you considering pardoning Paul Manafort . I have Great Respect for what he has done in terms of what he has gone through. You know, he worked for Ronald Reagan for years. He worked for bob dole. I guess his firm worked for mccain. He worked for many, many people, many, many years. I would say what he did some of the charges they threw against him, every consultant, every lobbyist in washington probably does. No real answer there. Rudy giuliani did tell the new
york times, he has spoken with the president about the political repercussions of a pardon. Joining me now to discuss, senior Political Correspondent for the washingtushington exami david drucker. David, we heard from Rudy Giuliani saying he spoke with the president about the political ramifications. We havent heard a lot from lawmakers. We heard from senator lindsey graham. Take a listen. Pardons are normally given for somebody who has reformed themselves. Mr. Manafort hasnt even been sentenced yet. A pardon would be viewed by a lot of people as selfserving to the president. I would advise against it. Is that the main issue for the president , politically, this would be seen as selfserving, david . I think that the issue for the president is that he has pardoned others that are friends of his or allies of his. I think the manafort pardon
would be part and parcel of that. It would open him up in a 2020 campaign to charges of political corruption. In other words, its not corrupt in that he can use the power of his office to pardon whomever he wants. If the perception is he looks out for his friends and doesnt do enough to treat this power fairly and circumspect, then it creates a problem for him. I dont think it necessarily creates a problem for republicans run for senate in a Midterm Election scenario. It doesnt create a problem for house republicans, because they are running in Battleground Districts that dont necessarily like the president. Even though they usually vote republican in Midterm Elections. So we have to look at this politically in many different ways. I think the president would be best served to let this entire process play out. If he really gets to the end of the road here with the mueller
investigation and it plays well for him, i think he is in a better position to look at a pardon at that point. If he does it in the middle of the game, it starts to look like he is trying to manipulate the game. Then he has to answer more questions. In terms of answering questions, correct me if im wrong here, if a pardon were granted, then this would mean that Paul Manafort is waiving his Fifth Amendment right. Hello, Robert Mueller . He would not be able to invoke it. The Fifth Amendment right against selfincrimination only applies if you have the threat of a criminal prosecution. Its your right not to incriminate yourself. Timing is key here, if President Trump were to pardon right now both retrospectively and pro specci i prospeccive prospeccively, he would have to testify against the president potentially. If you look at the groundwork
that the president has laid, you mentioned joe arpaio, look at the desuzza pardon. De he didnt argue he didnt commit the crime. He argued he was selectively prosecuted, vindictively prosecuted by the government because there was a bunch of democrats who didnt like his political views. That sounds like what President Trump is talking about Paul Manafort. He is saying, these crimes are crimes for sure, but theyre not worse than the crimes that anyone in the Clinton Administration committed. We heard from a juror on the jury for Paul Manafort who told fox news they were one juror away from guilty convictions on all 18 counts, not just eight. As much as she didnt want Paul Manafort to be guilty, she couldnt deny the overwhelming, in her words, evidence. What it does that say about not only the mueller case here but what we could be looking at next month . Just to remind everybody, the
jury pool in d. C. Is much less sympathetic, going to be much less sympathetic to conservative values as they were in the Eastern District of virginia. This was about as good of a jury pool as there could have been. I think its a warning sign to the government. I dont think theyre going to retry the ten counts they were hung on. I think this was a victory in all sense of the word. It just goes to show you, you roll the dice when you go to trial. You never know what kind of jury you are going to get. This is a perfect example. It only takes one, just one holdout to get a hung jury. Its fascinating, as we watch this play out. Theres all this reporting this morning about the president feeling increasingly cornered. N he president feels cornered, he lashes out. Is there a concern that lashing out in this case could mean a pardon which could come back to
bite the president . I think with the president , he is always walking on a knifes edge. He is always right on the edge of doing something crooked or not or appearing to do something crooked or not. Then when he gets nailed for it or when he gets attacked for it, he fights back. He finds himself in a controversy. Even the president he kind of admitted this in the interview. He talked about this, that his life has been surrounded by controversy. Its where he has always found himself. I think its where he is most comfortable. What i like to caution against after 18 months or so of the Trump Presidency is that every couple of weeks or every month and a half or so, there is some new controversy or theres some new situation the president creates or finds himself in that leaves us all wondering if he is finally gone too far, if he is in a corner. Maggies description is apt, to the point where he will do something he will regret that will damage his presidency. We havent ever reached that point. I fully expect that in another three weeks from now, six weeks from now, especially in the heat of a Midterm Election, theres going to be more the president is dealing with, more that republicans are dealing with. The president always seems to climb out of this and find a way out. We saw that during his campaign. We have seen it during his presidency. People close to him are not so lucky. Republicans running in the Midterm Elections, theyre not going to be so lucky. The president so far has managed to roll. So i am always caution about deciding, this is the time when its finally over, he has gone too far. We have all learned in the last year and a half plus that predictions can be a very dicey road. Appreciate it. Thank you both. We want to get to breaking news. Secretary of state mike pompeo says he will be making another trip to north korea. That will happen next week. Michelle kosinski is at the State Department for us. What else do we know about this trip . He Just Announced this. He would not take any questions
from reporters who were assem y assembly they were assembled there for this. Did not go well last time. We know from our sources the u. S. Has presented north korea with specific proposals for starting the process towards realdenuclearization. All of them have been rejected by kim jongun. The fact that he now has not only a trip scheduled for next week we dont know the exact timing he has just appointed a new Special Representative to north korea. The last one resigned in february because there were differences of opinion in the approach. Now they have a new person who will be devoted to this issue. Theyre go together. Thats a good sign. It means talks will continue. A lot of Big Questions still remain, will kim jongun be
meeting again with mike pompeo after last trip did not go well . Does this mean that theres Real Progress behind the scenes . All of that, we will have to wait and see. We will be watching for those details. Appreciate it. Thank you. The president questions the manhood of Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions. In a new attack on his recusal from the russia probe. Why not just fire him . Thats next. Its the sears labor day event . Where you can shop with confidence and convenience plus get these 4 benefits from kenmore at sears. Up to fifty percent off appliances with your sears card. Like this washer and dryer for 539. 99 each. And this refrigerator for 899. 99. Hurry in to sears today. Our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition. For strength and energy whoohoo greattasting ensure. With nine grams of protein and twentysix vitamins and minerals. Ensure. Now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy these are the specialists were proud to call our own. Experts from all over the world, working closely together to deliver truly personalized cancer care. Expert medicine works here. Learn more at cancercenter. Com what i just introduced you worto my parents. G . Psst craig and sheila broke up. What, really . Craig and shelia broke up . No, craig . What happened . I dont know. Is she okay . Craig and sheila broke up craig and sheila . As long as Office Gossip travels fast, you can count on geico saving folks money. Craig and sheila broke up what . Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Now tmobile has unlimited for the rest of us. Unlimited ways to be you. Unlimited ways share with others. Unlimited ways to live for the moment. All for as low as 30 bucks a line. Unlimited for you. For them. For all. Get unlimited for as low at 30 bucks per line for four lines at tmobile. President trump launching an attack on Jeff Sessions, focusing on sessions decision to recuse himself from the russia investigation, something the president has said repeatedly and slammed repeatedly as an act of disloyalty and what he views as weakness. Jeff sessions, never took control of the Justice Department. Its an incredible thing. When everybody sees whats going on in the Justice Department i put justice now with quotes. Its a very, very sad day. Jeff sessions recused himself, which he shouldnt have done. Even my enemies say Jeff Sessions should have told you that he was going to recuse himself. Then you wouldnt have put him in. He took the job and then he said, im going to recuse myself. I said, what kind of a man is
this . Joining me now, National Security analyst and former fbi special agent, asha regatta. What kind of man is this, i dont know if thats Questioning Manhood or character. Its the same message. Its a constant drumbeat. Is it starting to have an impact on the Rank And File at the Justice Department or even with your former colleagues at the fbi . I dont think so, erica. You are right, this is groundhog day. Every day he tweets about the witch hunt. At some point he complains about sessions. Then he or Rudy GiulianiGo On Fox And Friends and confess to a federal crime. I think its actually being tuned out. I think the charges that you have seen from the Southern District of new york, which is a part of the Justice Department, obviously, show that people, prosecutors and fbi agents are keeping their heads down, following the evidence where it leads a