News, analysis and interviews with politicians and observers. Mueller lately. Seems like every ten days or so, this whips back up. You have the manafort trial, as jeff mentioned. I also think he probably doesnt distinguish too much between what mueller is doing and what prosecutors in new york are looking into with cohen. You have that sort of implied threat from cohen over the trump tower meetings. And all this stuff is together. Also at a time when we know his team wants him to focus on what mueller is doing as far as election hacking. We know that trumps team wanted him to try to own this issue, to focus on what we have now, over two dozen russian nationals and companies that have been targeted by mueller. It seems like some real work is being done there to sort of unwind what happened during the 2016 elections, but its hard to for this administration to focus on that or do anything
of New Washington rules. So we dont Know If Mueller will abide by that traditional thinking. But people who know him say he is a traditionalist. He wants to do this by the book. That means, you know, labor day is creeping ever closer. We have about a month. The president s team is certainly aware of that, you know, traditional deadline. So they sense that the clock is ticking down to could be ticking down to something. And i was told this morning that it is what we have talked about so many times around this table and elsewhere, and that is the president , even as he says and is forced to say last week that Russia Meddled in americas election, that the minute he believes the minute he gives an inch on that, then the Conversation Shifts to the legitimacy of his presidency. He would rather have the public fight and the dialogue about meddling rather than the legitimacy of his presidency. So thats what a trump source said to me just this morning. Manu, i want to ask you about Something ElseRudy Giulianisaid on cnn with Alisyn Camerota this morning. The whole collusion was the reason for the mueller probe. Heres what he said. Youre saying that Paul Manafort did not have any power in the campaign . I didnt say that. I said he had a discreet, important area. What im saying is he was never involved in intimate Business Relationships with donald trump. Four months. Youre not going to be colluding about russians, which i dont even know if thats a crime, colluding about russians. You start analyzing the crime. The hacking is the crime. Okay. First of all, colluding im not a lawyer, but i guess i play one on tv. Colluding is not a crime, but the idea of collusion leads to criminal activity like conspiracy. Yeah, conspiracy to violate Election Laws is absolutely a crime. The word collusion, theres no specific statute that says thats a crime if youre simply colluding, but the action and
intent of colluding can lead to all sorts of things, conspireing to defraud the united states, false statements presumably if one of the witnesses said something that wasnt true. So theres a legal side about this, but theres also the political side. Look at the explanations that the trump team has given about collusion since 2016 and contacts with russians. Hope hicks initially said there was no contact whatsoever between anyone in the campaign and russians. Then it was, oh, well, no one actually colluded. Now its well, collusion is not a crime. So what does it mean . Maybe it means that they understand what bob mueller is looking into, they are Feeling Pressure from the mueller team, and the president may be moving the goalposts a little bit. Clearly theres a lot more that the trump team appears to be concerned about. Also, just embedded in that statement that Rudy Giuliani just made was a little bit of wiggle room on the notion that maybe collusion is something that could be entertained. Im guessing that the president
heard that and went, what . Did you see my big sharpie letters . There was no collusion. He also tried to make clear that trump was not at that Don Junior Trump Tower meeting with the russians. It was more of a narrow denial than theyve done in the past. I wonder if it has anything to do with the report from last week about the fact that trump may have known about this. And giuliani has said to me theyve been getting a lot of additional inquiries from reporters about various meetings that may or may not have happened. Anyway, we have a lot more to talk about on this subject. Everybody stand by. Up next, the president s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, weve been talking about him. Hes working overtime defending his client. Its already been an exhausting day. Remember when you said you would stay all day to talk about this . Okay. Ill stay one more time. But youve got to get me some coffee. When i found out i had agerelated macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. My doctor and i came up with a plan. It includes preservision. Only Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the National Eye Institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. Thats why i fight. Because its my vision. Preservision. Also, in a greattasting chewable. [ horn honking ] [ Engine Revving ] whats that, girl . [ Engine Revving ] flo needs help . [ Engine Revving ] take me to her coming, flo why arent we taking roads . flo. [ horn honking ] oh. You made it. Do you have change for a dollar . This was the emergency . [ Engine Revving ] yes, i was busy 24hour roadside assistance. From americas numberone motorcycle insurer. You know, i think youre my best friend. You dont have to say im your best friend. Thats okay. Come fly with me, lets fly, lets fly away. St friend. Visit cancercenter. Com breast sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. Stadium pa all military members stand and be recognized. Sometimes fans cheer for those who wear a different uniform. No matter where or when you served, tmobile stands ready to serve you. Thats why were providing half off family lines to all military. Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani is using today to describe the president s former lawyer Michael Cohen, a man he once called honorable. Giuliani says everything changed after the revelation that cohen secretly taped President Trump while he was a client. In a lengthy interview this morning with our Alisyn Camerota here on cnn, giuliani also said that tape of cohen talking about trump, about hush money, was doctored and he said the claim that trump authorized the trump tower meeting with russians is wrong. The rest of his argument was that cohen, under such scrutiny by the feds that they raided his home, office, and hotel room earlier this year, has nothing to lose and everything to gain at this point by hitting the president. Whats in it for Michael Cohen to say that the president knew about that meeting . Why is he lying about that . Youve got to be kidding me. How does that help . Hes the big fish. You dont give up what is cohen going to do . A couple taxicab drivers to get him out of jail . Okay. So lets talk about that. Youre a big fish. Im a huge fish. Yeah, i mean, hes obviously very concerned about what Michael Cohen may be saying, may be willing to tell the special counsel, what he may be willing to say to the Southern District of new york where cohen is under a lot of pressure, facing a criminal investigation, and the president does not know where this is going. It is also interesting that, you know, the reports of whether or not the president himself knew about that trump tower meeting in advance. If it is the case, then it could open up other people within the trump orbit to significant legal pressure, including donald trump jr. , who testified before the Senate Judiciary committee of not of saying his father did not know in advance about this meeting and according to our reports from last week, cohen is ready to say that donald trump jr. Did tell his father about that meeting. So Michael Cohen presents a significant threat to the president if he does go forward with any of these reports. Thats probably one reason why giuliani is saying what hes saying. Because you brought up your reporting, i want to skip to the whole question about whether or not Michael Cohen is required to or should go back to congress. Lindsey graham, republican of south carolina, says he should because he testified, as you said, answered questions, rather, for hours and hours and hours. Democrats are saying, well, we tried and we couldnt. Watch this. Michael cohen has already appeared before Congress Talking about a lot of things, and this idea that he told trump about the russian meeting before it happened is, to us, very much new news. So mr. Cohen, if you got something new to say, you need to come to congress and say it under oath. But at each time when we asked them, okay, make don junior answer, the republicans would say, were here under a voluntary interview scheme. Thats a voluntary scheme they set up because they didnt want to subpoena them and bring them in. So they protected them at every
single stop. And since they ended their investigation, weve learned about cambridge analytica. Weve learned about roger stones extensive contacts. Were learning more about Michael Cohen. As we discuss what we just heard, i want to tell our viewers were looking at the president at the white house waiting for the italian prime minister, who looks like he just drove up. Hes going to greet the prime minister. Theyre going to go in for a meeting in the oval office. Well hear from them hopefully then and more formally later this afternoon. I dont think we can hear anything. Somebodys try to ask a question. Hang on. Okay. So as were watching that, lets discuss the whole question about Michael Cohen and whether or not they tried to ask the questions about trump tower on capitol hill. Frankly, i think rudy
giuliani and lanny davis, Michael Cohens lawyer, are trying to confuse the American Public about what is going on. And they have a really good political reason to do that. Of course, this whole investigation could end up being a political process if it goes to impeachment. So theyre doing exactly politically what makes sense. But i think that congress has a responsibility to have these guys come up, have them testify in an open way, where the public can hear, like was done in watergate, so the American People can actually cut through some of the spin and hear whats happening. And i wonder if there will be an increasing amount of pressure on congress to do just that. Because its really hard for anyone, certainly for voters with midterms coming up, to understand what exactly is going on here and what is true and what isnt. Thats a great point. Im guessing that ship sailed a while ago. Real quick, Chuck Grassley would not say this morning whether or not Michael Cohen should come before his committee. Thats interesting. Before we go to break, though, i want to talk about the human drama here. Were talking understandably about the legal aspects, the
political aspects, but this guy, Michael Cohen, was the person who famously infamously said he would take a bullet for the president. Now hes turning them metaphorically on the president. Listen to what Rudy Giuliani said. We dont hear a lot of allusions to history or literature, but we did this morning. He turned out to have a close friend betray him like brutus put the last knife into cesar. Take me into the president s sort of emotional and mental state on the notion of this guy who was so loyal to him that he did his dirty work, frankly, and now hes in a public spat with him and a legal spat. I mean, there are few things that infuriate donald trump more than somebody who he believes is supposed to protect him who does not have his back. You heard him for weeks and weeks say, you know, michael
cohens a good guy, hes going to do the right thing. He was outraged when the prosecutors broke into his office and said this was beyond the pail. Now that he realized he actually he knows he has the information. Hes known that for a long time, that he has whatever he might need to possibly potentially damage the president in a very profound way. Now that he realizes hes willing to do that and that Michael Cohen feels he has a big enough legal problem that hes entertaining that possibility, he is just he couldnt be more infuriated with him. I think this is part of the larger Public Relations effort that giuliani is trying to paint him in the eyes of the public as a desperate person whos willing to lie to bring down the president. The public and the prosecutors. Those are two key things. He admitted it this morning. Everybody stand by. Coming up, what a difference a few days makes, especially when it comes to negotiating with the president of the united states. So youre not worried about a government shutdown. Well, thats not going to happen. Duncan just protected his family with a 500,000 Life Insurance policy. How much do you think it cost him . 100 a month . 75 . 50 . Actually, duncan got his 500,000 for under 28 a month. Less than a dollar a day. His secret . Selectquote. In just minutes, a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highlyrated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans Wife Cassie Got A 750,000 policy for under 22 a month. Give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. Oh oh ozempic® vo people with type 2 diabetes
are excited about the potential of onceweekly ozempic®. In a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. Oh under seven . vo and you may lose weight. In the same oneyear study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. Oh up to 12 pounds . vo a twoyear study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. Oh no increased risk . Ozempic® ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with Type 1 Diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not share needles or pens. Dont reuse needles. Do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. Stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. Serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. Tell your doctor if you have Diabetic Retinopathy or vision changes. Taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase the risk for low blood sugar. Common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. Some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. I discovered the potential with ozempic®. Oh oh oh ozempic® vo ask your Healthcare Provider if ozempic® is right for you. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go online today. A gop congressional candidate told me recently he lives in fear that his campaign will be one president ial tweet away from chaos at any moment. Well, that just happened with the republican leaderships entire Government Funding Strategy for the fall. Republican lawmakers are still scratching their heads after the president threatened another government shutdown, something
gop leaders thought they had all agreed they would take off the table ahead of the Midterm Elections. Listen. Im told based on people who were briefed on the meeting the president was amenable to the suggestion, agreed he would be patient on things like wall funding and agreed he didnt want to step on the cabinet nomination. Now everything can change based on a tweet, based on how the president feels. Things are kind of on a good path at the moment. Oh, he was so right to be skeptical and use every kind of condition in that sentence as possible. Someone maybe should have knocked on wood. 20 minutes later, the president tweeted. Heres what he said. I would be willing to shut down government if the democrats do not give us the votes for border security, which includes the wall. You can sum up the republican sentiment this way. One senior gop aide tells cnn the president was just, quote, letting off some steam at our expense, per kwususual. Talk about expenses. Phil mattingly joins me live from the hill. I have to say, phil, im starting to think maybe the president was trolling you. Reporter yeah, i mean, look, to say that on Live Television and then 20 minutes later have the president try and undercut the entire point and all of your reporting, it hurt a little bit, to be completely honest with you. But as you noted, the evergreen caveat of there could be a tweet. So smart. Reporter the issue, dana, is that this is