A morning newscast featuring breaking news and weather reports. Reporter good morning, martin. Thats right, President Trump is spending the week at new jersey amid the stwirl of Unanswered Questions surrounding that now infamous meeting at trump tower and his son and a russian lawyer, leaving the twhous yesterday, President Trump refused to take questions of his former Attorney Michael Cohen that cohen had advanced knowledge. Trump and his legal team denied. They say trump is privately furious about the legal scrutiny facing him and his circle. Trump is trying to fire off a series of tweets attacking democrats and making remarks yesterday at the white house about the economy because this is all coming at a backdrop for the successful trade talks and what was able to taught strong
growth in the Second Quarter of this year after the numbers came out on friday. Russia has continued to pull focus from the president s economic message, washington was fixated yesterday on an incredibles coincidence. Donald trump jr. Was spotted waiting at the gate in this photo him despite the social media frenzy. A spokesperson for mueller says the two men didnt speak to each other. Thank you very much for that. Cnn politics reporter, cnn political analyst josh rogan and cnn legal analyst paul cowan with us here. Paul also a former New York City prosecutor. Thank you gentleman for being with us. We certainly appreciate it. Paul i want to go to you first, so if trump u President Trump did know about the trump tower
meeting in 2016, has there been a crime committed . Its an interesting question. You would think is president having, its true if he knew hes publicly lied about it on previous occasions. However, we now have information from Michael Cohen his personal lawyer who says the president did, in fact, know about the trump tower meeting. Now i think that puts the president in a difficult meeting. He was lying about it. It puts his son don, jr. In a worse decision. He testified before congress that the president knew nothing about the meeting before it took place. If that is true, it is possible that don junior has committed the crime of perjury by lying before a Congressional Committee under oath. So don junior has the big problem here that was created by the president , really. When you talk about cohen the thing is, he has no Corroborating Evidence of this,
the allegation that President Trump knew and approved of this meeting. There are no recordings, no documentation as far as we know. But we do know that the meeting hammond. With that said,otalk to me about the importance of the intention of that meeting, whether it was known or not the intention is also in question here. Right. We know from donald trump juniors revealed communications he expressed an interest about receiving dirt about Hillary Clinton from these russian nationals who had links to the russian government. We also know that this proffer turned out to be largely false the information they actually had wasnt true. It was related to their overall lobbying campaign against russia sanctions in exchange for a push to release russian reinstructions on american adoptions. So whatever you want to call. That can you call that attempted
cohen once on Abc On May 6th and then with chris cuomo just this week. The man is an honest, honorable lawyer. I expected Something Like this from comey, hes been lying all week. He has been lying for years. The two completely different sides of the spectrum here on con. What do you make, first of all, how how much credence anybody can put into cohen at this point . I think what this shows is that there are problems with the Nar Raters On All Sides of this rudy guiliani, he is praising cohen. He will tell the truth. All is fine. We hear him this week, he is a lierk everything he says is a lie. You put on the flipside, though, dont forget, Michael Cohen is saying donald trump knew about this meeting. I was there when donald trump junior told him about it. Go back to his testimony before the house and Senate Intelligence committee, which
again is a lie to congress. We know he didnt say anything about donald trump knowing. So he is also as much of an unreliable nar rater in this story as the president is. Now, someone here is lying. We dont i dont think yet know who that is. But thats going to be without that, you know without a tape or some other Corroborating Evidence, its going to be hard to figure out who that is. Paul, what kinded of evidence would they have to have to prove intention or to prove that President Trump did, indeed, know and approve of this meeting and how much does it matter at the end of the day . Well, if you focus back on don juniors testimony before congress, few wanted to prove he committed perjury in saying the president didnt know about it. You would need Corroborating Evidence. Its called the two witness ruchl it doesnt have to be live or circumstancele evidence suggesting cohens new testimony is, in fact, accurate about don junior. I think getting back to a
legitimate point that josh ra raises. The meeting is important not because they colluded with the russians. They got dirt on Hillary Clinton in the meeting. It would show an intent to cooperate with russian sources to sabotage the Hillary Clinton campaign. Now, if there were other acts later on, this would be the intent and the other acts would fill out the collusion theory. So you cant rule this out as evidence of collusion. It could be the start of collusion the there is other evidence. Josh, the president tweeted this yesterday, i did not know of the meeting with my son don junior. It sounds like someone is making up stories to get himself out of an unrelated jam. That does not sound like someone who can count on a pardon anymore. Is there a risk for the are the there . There are a lot of people saying, he will pardon cohen. Cohen will not cooperate. This does thought sound like that pardon could happen. Is there a risk for President Trump in kind of making that known in. Well, i would say yeah he issing a only inning the risk that already exists. He didnt make the risk. The risk started when Michael Cohen decided to turn on the president. Its a race to the bottom between, you know, all of these guys and theyre all losing. Okay. The whole idea that his most closest personal fixer and lawyer for all of these years is leaking horrendous details true or not to the press as bait to get him out from his own legal troubles. Its a disaster for the president legally and he is lashing occupant. So, yes, i think the pardon is off the table for Michael Cohen. He is clearly pursuing a different strategy now. I heard paul say on tv and lots of other cnn lawyers, it doesnt
seem like Michael Cohens strategy is that good. The he was looking for a deal, he wouldnt be leaking to the press. Its not really the best way to gain the trust of all of these prosecutors, envelopes, theyre all desperate and failing from i have 15 second left, palm said the real legal risk comes for donald trump jr. How strongly, what do you think President Trump is willing to do to come down to it . Its a good question. We seen trump lash out more and more and more as this investigation comes closer to his inner circle. If it gets to donald trump jr. Thats as close as it gets. I dont think we should see should it come to that down the road. Always so grateful to have the three of you on with us. Thank you. Thank you. The car fire in Northern California has already claimed two lives. Now a family in Northern California is calling hospitals,
archbishop of newark, new jersey and washington, d. C. In washington, he became probably the Premiere Broker between america and the nations political establishment. He played an incredible Important Role in the late years in the john paul ii Tape UnseedingPope Benedict xxviing and he was instrumental in getting pope francis elected in 2013. The accusations is that he is guilty of a variety of acts, Sexual Misconduct and abuse including in at least one case with a minor. Of course, pope francis has pushed himself to a strong policy on sexual abuse. Today the vatican announced that i have accepted his resignation from the college of cardinals. As of today he is no longer a cardinal and the pope has
suspended him, which moons theas not able to act as a priest. He cannot celebrate mass. He cannot do confirmations. So on. While a Church Investigation against him is unfolding. So what we have is fairly dramatic and rapid papal action against the highest rung of the catholic power structure. This kind of thing is really unprecedented since the early 20th century. We should point out he is innocent. The 88yearold cardinal is one of the highest ranking american leaders to be removed because of sex abuse charges. All right. There was a number that everybody was buzzing ability. This 4 ontario 1 really strong Economic Growth number for the u. S. The strongest in four
years, in fact, it fulfills one of the president s big campaign promises. The question is what is it telling us about u. S. Economy and Where Do We Go From Here . Mark, kristi, the Economic Growth, there are details, top line, it grew, 4. 1 . That is the strongest increase in 2016. President trump took no time holding a Press Conference to tout the numbers. This is only one report. His predecessors hit high remar remarks. The president said on friday
growth is sustainable and the hes right and strong growth remains, it can mark a high point. Right now, economists are predicting a slower growth. In part because of one time factors in the Second Quarter, like a boom in exports, which surged . Some of that driven by orderers for soybeans. Business investment was also a bright spot. Many executives i talked to were feeling good, because of reduced tax cuts and concerns over trade and geopolitics could threaten that optimism. Consumer spending and Government Spending increased as well, bottom line, these numbers are ro bust and will be a Talking Point tore republicans headed in midterms. Its not guaranteed the year will be strong. Especially with the ongoing trade negotiations. Thank you. A family in Northern California this morning, theyre calling hospitals, theyre calling shellers, because theyre svenlg for two children and their great grandmother who had been missing the challenges ahead for the fear fighters working to gain an upper hand on this fire in california. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in Clinical Trials to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. buzzer sound holiday inn express. Be the readiest. Welcome to saturday. Its just about 28 minutes past the hour. Im krischristi paul. Firefighters are battling a car fire in Northern California. It has destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. There are two firefighters who have died trying to stop the flames. This morning its 5 contained. Its in that area and i cant help but look at whats behind you, what is left behind you, palm, for this family. Yes, and its heart breaking and let me just show you a little of thisle it tells the story the Corona Family lived here almost 30 years. We were speaking with chris
corona, he and his wife. They were reflecting on the times he has here. To give you a sense of what its like to return to a house like this, extremely thrilled, relieved his parents mad it out, evacuated. Still you look at whats left of the laundry room, for example, you can help but have your heart go out to a homeowner and someone who lived here. Lets listen. Its unbelievable. You know, my parent bought this house when they moved up from san jose when i was born. Then everyone else that put so much work into this house. I cant believe its gone. You tow. All those memories, you know, childhood memories. You know, all the stuff that parents say that, you know you build it for your mom. Im glad we got, my mom got all
the valuable stuff she wanted out. Also, Something Else found in all this, chris pointed out that there was one green spot left of this entire piece of property. That was a bush and inside it they found the family cat missing and they were euphoric over that. Burning down this house tells the larger tale. We have several major wildfires in california right now. In the over arching picture. Some 89 large fires, most of them burning in the west. More than 900,000 acres. This is strapping resources, because you cant put all the crews, of course, this one or two places. Firefighters are really up against it with this so far menacing fire season. Thank you so much. A great point to make of how thin the resources are, for those people out there. As we said, two firefight verse already died, meteorologist Alisyn Chinchar is here. Weather plays a role to some degree . We were helping, there was some good indication for the firefighters out there. Martin, i wish i had good news for you, the forecast maintains that hot dry conditions for not just, but for much of the west. Thats the key here, california is thought the only state dealing. 13 to be compact are dealing with large fires. Nearly 90 of them. This is just the large fires. This does not include the smaller fires spread out throughout these estates. Car fires, 5 contained, ferguson fear 29 contained. Those numbers are important the Containment Numbers you want as close to if not at 100 . Unfortunately, we havent seen
much movement in the past few days. Again, because you have those hot and dry conditions. What you are looking at. You are actually seeing those Pyrocumulus Clouds form and take off. Its a fire cloud as its often called is a cloud performed because of that fire, sometimes even volcanos can produce the same thing the key this inc. To note here is that the forecast is allowing these fires they have in the mast and will continue in the future to allow them the perfect conditions to spread. We have already have low humidities. Strong winds and localized spots. Again those temperatures will remain in triple digits for at least the next threetofive days. Allison, thank you so much. We will tell you russia is hosting International War games, dozens of countries, including china, is showing off the military might. The president met to discussCyber Security. Yet there isnt a concrete plan to combat the russian threat. More on that add. Please dont, im saving those for later. At least you dont have to worry about renters insurance. Just go to geico. Com. Geico helps with renters insurance . Good to know. Been doing it for years. Thats really good to know. Ill check em out. Get to know geico. And see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. Three are fha, one is va. E so what can you do . Shes saying a whole lotta people want to buy this house. But you got this Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans makes the complex simple. Understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes. By americas largest mortgage lender. Booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. To me, hes, phil micwell, dad. O golfer. So when his joint pain from Psoriatic Arthritis got really bad, it scared me. And what could that pain mean . Joint pain could mean joint damage. Enbrel helps relieve joint pain, helps stop irreversible joint damage, and helps skin get clearer. Enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. Serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, Nervous System and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. Tell your doctor if youve been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Since enbrel, dads back to being dad. Visit enbrel. Com and use the joint Damage Simulator to see how your joint damage could be progressing. Ask about enbrel. Enbrel. Fda approved for over 15 years. Vladimir putin is reciprocateing President Trumps invitation the russian president says he is not only willing to visit washington after President Trump invi