4 million. Filing false statements to a bank in order to obtain a loan, and the real stunner, two counts of Campaign Finance violations. The reasons those were such a stunner, because Michael Cohen detailed in a little bit exactly what those Campaign Finance violations were. One, 150,000 payment to the ceo of a Media Company for a contract which we know from our previous reporting has to do with karen mcdougal, who accuses President Trump of an affair, which he, of course, has denied. And then the second, 130,000 payment, which he facilitated, which we know again from previous reporting has to do with Stormy Daniels, a porn star that alleges an affair with the president. Again, their names not mentioned in court, but we know who they were talking about, and then we got a little bit more detail when the u. S. Deputy attorney came out of court after these guilty pleas and talked about all of the charges in general. Take a listen real quickly. A look at breaking news, politics and reports from around the world. Thats something that is very rare in american history. I mean, this has not happened very often. And the fact that we now have on the record in Federal Court the president of the United States declared by a confessed felon to be a fellow conspirator is a pretty extraordinary thing. What its implications are legally, politically, i dont know. I mean, i think theres a lot that needs to be sorted out. But the mere fact of this of the fact that the president has been accused by a confessed felon as another felon is a pretty extraordinary piece of news. Its truly extraordinary. Michael cohen says he made that payment, facilitated that payment to karen mcdougal, quote, for the purpose of influencing the election. That was all done through
american media. The Parent Company of the national enquirer. And cohen says President Trump repaid him for the Stormy Daniels 130,000 payment, as well. Those comments from inside this Federal Courtroom today about the president of the United States. Go ahead and give us your reaction. Well, and remember, who has benefited from all of this . Who benefited from the fact that these two women were silenced . Wasnt Michael Cohen. Michael cohen wasnt the one who was running for president. It was donald trump. So if you wanted to look at the way prosecutors generally view culpability, they look at who benefits. Who made the money. Who was at the top of the pyramid. Here, theres not even close to a debate about that. This was something done for the benefit of donald trump, who, according to Michael Cohen, directed the entire illegal
conspiracy. Remember that phrase, at the direction of. Cohen said this whole illegal activity, these Illegal Campaign contributions, was done were done at the direction of donald trump. Now, We Havent Heard from trump or his lawyers. Perhaps theyll say Michael Cohen is lying. Perhaps theyre saying there was no crime here. But at least what went on in Federal Court today was a statement that donald trump directed an illegal conspiracy to commit felony Campaign Finance violations. Thats pretty extraordinary. The president had a chance to speak about what Michael Cohen was alleging when he spoke with reporters upon his arrival in charleston, west virginia, decided not to do so. And just to be precise, i want to read the words of what Michael Cohen said in this Federal Courtroom today. He said that the payments to these two women were done, quote, in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for
federal office. This was done only days before the president ial election in november of 2016. That candidate being donald trump. And it was all done, quote, to influence the president ial election. Thats also a quote. You know, when you think about this, could Michael Cohen still cooperate with the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, and does mueller want cohens cooperation right now . Well, i certainly, he could. There is apparently no formal Cooperation Agreement. But Michael Cohen is going to want as low a sentence as possible. The way convicted felons in our system get points from judges and thus lower sentences is by cooperating. And that certainly seems to be a possibility for Michael Cohen to cooperate with Robert Mueller. However, now that he has pleaded guilty, there is also the possibility that Robert Mueller will simply give him whats
called use immunity, which means he will have to testify in the grand jury or go to jail for contempt. Same thing with congress. If there is a democratic majority in the house of representatives, as there may be and there may not be after the midterm elections, the House Judiciary Committee could vote to give Michael Cohen immunity and force him to testify in public about what went on in this campaign and whether donald trump did, in fact, coordinate or direct these Illegal Campaign contributions. So i think the important point is, we have almost certainly not heard the last from Michael Cohen. What forum that statement, that testimony takes is, i think, uncertain at this moment. But i suspect one way or another, we are going to hear Michael Cohen elaborate on what he said in court today. Yes, we certainly will. I totally agree with you. Were just getting in a statement from Rudy Guiliani, the president s personal attorney. Let me read it to you. Get your reaction, jeffrey. Quote, there is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the governments charges against mr. Cohen. It is clear that as the prosecutor noted, mr. Cohens actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time. What do you think of those words . Well, theres a key word in that statement, which is charges. He said, the governments didnt charge any illegal activity by the president. But what Rudy Guiliani does not say is that Michael Cohen, In Open Court, implicated the president. So it is true in a narrow technical sense that the charges themselves did not implicate the
president. What Michael Cohen said in pleading guilty to those charges, very much did implicate the president. Were all people can draw their own conclusions about that. Were also getting a statement from lanny davis, who is one of the attorneys representing Michael Cohen. Hes just tweeted this. Let me put it up on the screen there. Today he stood up and testified under oath that donald trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principle purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldnt they be a crime for donald trump . Well, whats your reaction to the statement from lanny davis . Good question. Why wouldnt they be a crime for donald trump . I mean, this is such an unusual situation. Because you have an underling pleading guilty to a crime where he implicates the higher up. The higher up is the real beneficiary of the crime, but because hes president of theUnited States, at least according to Justice Department policy, he cant be charged with a crime. Its an unusual situation. Lanny davis tweet i think makes very clearly the peculiarity of the situation. I assume were going to be getting a lot more reaction coming in from all of the principles on this historic day. Jeffrey, i want you to stand by. Were going to be speaking with Stormy Daniels attorney, by the way, michael avenatti. There you see him in. Michael. Stand by. I want to go to jessica schneider. Shes got more on the verdict against Campaign Chairman, Paul Manafort. Jessica, tell us more about the verdict. Reporter yeah, wolf, it took four days, two notes and several questions from this jury. But their partial guilty verdict will now send Paul Manafort to prison for what could be up to 80 years. Now to be clear, this jury deadlocked on ten counts. In that deadlock, prosecutors will now have to determine by
next week whether or not they want to go to a retrial of those ten counts for Paul Manafort. But this jury finding Paul Manafort guilty of eight counts. And they break down as follows. Five counts of tax fraud, carrying three years for each count. One count of hiding Foreign Bank Accounts and two counts of bank fraud. Now, the judge told Paul Manafort of his guilty as Paul Manafort stood before him. Paul manafort showing no emotion, not smiling, and flanked by his defense attorney, Kevin Downing. After the proceedings were over, the jurors released, Kevin Downing came outside the courthouse and said mr. Manafort was disappointed he didnt get an acquittal on all counts and he said mr. Manafort is considering his options moving forward. Of course, that relating to any possible appeal this defense team might file. As it stands now, wolf, the Paul Manafort, former Campaign Chairman for president donald trump, has been found guilty on eight counts. He now faces many years, if not
decades, in prison. Wolf . Jessica, i want you to stand by, as well. Jessica schneider, over at the Federal Courthouse in alexandria, virginia, just outside of washington. I want to get back to the Bombshell News of Michael Cohens plea deal today. Joining us now, the attorney, michael avenatti, you represent Stormy Daniels in her legal battle against Michael Cohen and President Trump, for that matter. Michael, thank you so much for joining us. How do you and your client, Stormy Daniels, feel today . Whats your reaction when you hear Michael Cohen plead guilty and hear him say he committed Campaign Finance violations in coordination and at the direction of President Trump . Well, i spoke to my client about an hour ago. We feel incredibly vindicated, wolf. Theres a lot of people like one of your next guests, Richard Blumenthal, who have taken unnecessary shots at me and my client about our legal strategy and how we have gone about this. We have been absolutely vindicated. People like Richard Blumenthal and others have proven to be wrong. We have proven to be right, which is always a good thing. But more importantly, wolf, weve got a lot of work to do. Were going to get to the bottom of what this president knew and when he knew it and what he did about it. And the details of this coverup. On september 10th, the court is going to lift the stay, i anticipate, in the civil case. Were going to march forward with our efforts to place the president under oath and get a deposition, where im going to be able to ask him questions and hes going to be forced to answer those questions under oath about his own conduct. Were also going to get a chance to depose Michael Cohen and get to the details of this. So im very much looking forward to those moments, and im very much looking forward to uncovering the evidence and the facts so we can demonstrate them to the American People. So what do you think this means, legally and politically, for that matter, for the president right now . The president is in a lot of trouble, wolf. And were coming for him. Im telling you, flat out, were going to come for him. Were going to get this
deposition. You know, the president has created an Alternative Universe on many, many fronts. He thinks that he can lie his way out of situations and create this universe and everyone else is going to live in it. Well, guess what, that Alternative Universe sooner or later is going to come crumbling down. And i think were on the precipice of that happening. The president s lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, he just issued a written statement, and ill read it to you once again. There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president and the governments charges against mr. Cohen. It is clear as the prosecutor noted, mr. Cohens actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time. Whats your reaction to guilianis statement . Rudy guiliani has absolutely zero credibility, wolf. Just the other day he said truth doesnt mean truth, which is one of the most bizarre and ridiculous statements ive seen on television in a long time. That statement that you just read has absolutely no credibility. Its clear as day, if you read the Charging Documents from theSouthern District this afternoon who theyre referring to. Donald trumps fingerprints are all over the crime scene in connection with this, wolf. Were going to prove it. Its clear as day. And im going to say it again. The president is in trouble. Do you think this is an Impeachable Offense . Will you call on congress to begin Impeachment Proceedings . I think Congress Needs to seriously consider it. But ill say this. You know, the gop and the Republican Party has shown absolutely zero backbone. They have been spineless as it relates to keeping this president in check. They have placed party over country, which i think is a disgrace. So i dont have a lot of confidence in their ability to get the job done. You say that you have zero doubt, your words, zero doubt, that Michael Cohen is cooperating in all of this. But this deal doesnt include cooperation as far as we know. Weve gone through the documents, Robert Mueller handed this off to the u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york in the first place. Is it possible mueller doesnt need cohens cooperation . Well, thats possible, wolf. But i want to be really clear about something. All because these documents dont state a Cooperation Agreement or a requirement for cooperation does not in any way, shape or form mean that there is not already been cooperation, and i know for a fact that there has been, by the way. Or that there will be additional cooperation in the future. Very often, youll have an agreement such as this that will not include a written cooperation requirement, and yet the defendant will cooperate because, as jeffrey noted, the defendant wants to limit the sentence, wants to cooperate, and wants to remain in the good graces of prosecutors up through and including sentencing. So just elaborate on what you mean when you say that this cooperation is already taking place. Well, i know for a fact theyve been in discussions for a number of weeks relating to how to resolve the potential criminal charges against Michael Cohen, and i know for a fact
that theres been information provided by Michael Cohen to prosecutors in the Southern District of new york. Now, what those prosecutors determined should be done with that information, thats an entirely different question. Were you surprised when you heard he could face lets say five years in prison, Michael Cohen, right now and a half Million Dollar fine . No, i wasnt surprised in the least bit. Ive been saying for five or six months now, wolf, i said it before the warrants were executed, too much faith and confidence had been put on the shoulders of Michael Cohen by donald trump and others. And that ultimately, he would be charged with serious crimes. And ultimately, he would roll over on the pres