Situations like this, then gets paid for them, sometimes. Gets paid for them sometimes. It is reimbursed in another way, depends if it is business or personal. What Rudy Giuliani had to say about when the president knew about the payment to Stormy Daniels. Going dark, Robert Muellers time could be running out and his investigation may have to take a hiatus for the midterms. Live from new york, it is Stormy Daniels. Okay, michael, i can take it from here. Okay, but as your attorney, i highly advise against you so what up, girl . Hello, donald. The porn star takes on the president during saturday night live. Lets get right to new reaction from Rudy Giuliani, appearing to waver a bit on what he initially said about President Trumps knowledge of the Stormy Daniels payment and when he found out about it. So here is what giuliani said earlier. So the president did know about this after the campaign . Cant say that. I mean, at some point, yes, but it could have been recently, could have been a while back, those are the facts that were still working on and that, you know, maybe in a little bit of dispute. This is more rumor than anything else. You said that to buzzfeed. Well, yeah, i mean, thats one of the possibilities and one of the rumors. The reality is you stated it as fact. Well, maybe i did, but right now im at the point where im learning and i can only i cant prove that. I can just say it is rumor. I can prove it is rumor, cant prove it is fact yet. Maybe we will. All right. Meanwhile, giuliani appearing to suggest that Michael Cohen paid other women on behalf of the president. There were other things involved that had nothing to do with Stormy Daniels. In other words, other amounts of money. This was not uncommon for him to do that. Did Michael Cohen make payments to other women for the president . I have no knowledge of that. But i would think if it was necessary, yes. Michael avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, strong words for giuliani today as a result of his apparent missteps. He now expects the American People to believe he doesnt really know the facts, that as to every key question you asked, he hasnt communicated with the president about it. This guy is all over the map, over the last 72 hours on some very simple facts that should be very straightforward. I think it is obvious, george, to the American People that this is a coverup, that they are making it up as they go along, they dont know what to say because they lost track of the truth. Well, despite giulianis repeated tv appearances, the white house is making it another attempt to distance itself from him. Here is what Kellyanne Conway said in an interview earlier. I had limited visibility into what mayor giuliani is talking about because politely he is the president s counsel. Im the president s counselor. I will tell you, though, in speaking with the president just yesterday when the president said no on air force one, he was talking about he didnt know when the payment occurred. Hes saying he didnt know about it when the payment occurred, he found out about it after the fact. Kelly odonnell is joining us now. All right, kelly, lets get to what more you know about now this white house response to the daniels payment. Reporter well, good afternoon, alex. Clearly mayor giuliani realizes that for whatever reason and the reason is not entirely clear, what he had said on wednesday evening that the president had learned about this payment in the preceding ten days to two weeks is no longer something his client wants said publicly. We have evidence of that based on the president saying no story has changed. And since that time, Rudy Giuliani will no longer speak to when the president had specific knowledge about this. Why thats an issue, legally he may be exposed in a few different ways, but it is also a case of the president not wanting to acknowledge this. Except for the fact he tweeted that this kind of payment through reimbursement was made. When you see Kellyanne Conway, an employee of the white house, and you see for example sarah sanders, an employee of the white house, they have not been getting into this, in part because giuliani represents the president outside the gates here and personally. The president could inform them more directly of some of these issues if he has not done so. And it would appear based on their comments he has not. Giuliani doesnt have an obligation to tell them, so in some ways, they are learning as were all watching. It is not easy because apparently there are thorny things they dont want to talk about, and Kellyanne Conway was also asked about this issue and she was hard pressed to say more. Heres a clip of that. Im going to relay to you what the president told me. He didnt know it at the time the payment occurred. I was not made aware of this whatsoever. Do you believe he did not have an affair with Stormy Daniels . I believe, yes, he denied it. I have no reason to believe otherwise. I dont know he said he hasnt. But thats got nothing to do with my job in the white house, his job in the white house, or frankly the campaign. Reporter and thats what we typically hear from white house officials, that theyre trying to focus on the business of the Trump Administration agenda, and to stay away from some of these issues, that has not been easy to do, they have been asked about these matters day after day. There are discrepancies between what white house officials have said and what giuliani and his capacity as the president s lawyer is now saying. It has been a very murky week since giuliani became a public face of the trump personal defense. And although hes adding some new information today, there are some of these unresolved questions that seem like they would be knowable, like how could it be a rumor when the president learned that his payment to Michael Cohen did cover Stormy Daniels and yet thats what giulianis asserting today, saying we dont yet know when the president had this knowledge. The president could tell us he has not. Alex . Michael avenatti asking that exact question you posed. Thank you so much from the white house. Joining me now, sabrina sadiki and alex sitzwald. Lets start with the white house messaging today on the daniels payment. Alex, to you first, Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, either of them offer any clarity on this . Not really. They said more things, but it just raised more questions and muddled the picture more. I think for Kellyanne Conway and the white house staff as kelly indicated, theyre in a difficult position because theyre dont know the facts of the story theyre trying to spin. Theyre not really talking to each other. So it is very difficult to understand. And it is important because the standard, the legal question here related to the Stormy Daniels payment is did somebody willfully and knowingly violate Campaign Finance law. If that is true, that kicks you into a whole New Territory of criminal violations, than just a misreporting on an fec reform. Thats the key question. And well get back to the old watergate question, what did the president know and when did he know it with this payment. To your point and the point that Kelly Odonnell made clearly in terms of outlining who does what for whom and in what regard at the white house, giuliani conceded again he doesnt have all the facts. He is still sorting through the president s legal documents. Thats fine. Why is he out on the media tour . Some sort of strategy to put him out there . I dont think there is a strategy. Giuliani is someone who has in the past been very aggressive both as a prosecutor and as a politician. But i think that the fact of the matter is hes undermined the white houses message and added even less clarity around what the president knew and when he knew it. As alex pointed out, how could it be a rumor when the president learned about this payment when giuliani asserted it as fact, just days ago, and now trying it walk that back. I think most people interpreted the president s comments aboard air force one as saying he knew nothing about this payment, and now whether it was in the past or in the present. So now were learning that that may not be the case, and i think that what people there is part of this that is potential Campaign Finance violation, but there is another theme where this is a story about people close to the president , seeking to pay and intimidate women into silence and it was also a very striking that giuliani suggested that there could also be more payments that have been made. Thats going to be another aspect of this story to watch moving forward, not just what the president knew about Stormy Daniels, but also whether or not there were more women who were paid and what the president may have known about that. I want to get both of your reaction to the wall street journal article. Mueller probe might have to doe dark for midterm election, which says with six months to go until novembers midterm elections, the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 president ial campaign will soon run into a dead zone of sorts in which former prosecutors say they expect him either to wrap up or lie low and take no visible steps until after the election. So alex, to you first off, how much do you think of an impact does the Mueller Investigation have on the upcoming midterms . I think it is baked into the cake already. I dont think if you go out on the campaign trail and look at candidates, no one is talking about this, no one is campaigning on it. It contributes to the larger sense of scandal, of potential corruption even, and circling the white house and washington. And the kind of general frustration that people are having, it is helping to excite the Democratic Base and get them to turn out at the polls. I dont see any individual development in this investigation really playing a role, just because we get something new, you know, virtually every day, and people just kind of have already absorbed it or making their political decisions about it. I think thats right, the department of justice has long maintained you should not make a big move that could influence an election. Mueller is playing this very much by the books. I think we wont hear much from him in the next few months. You think hell feel pressure to wrap things up before the midterms or at least lay low . I think he will most likely lay low. It is not so much pressure as a desire to maintain as much credibility for the probe as possible. I dont suspect it is wrapping up. Seems there is more work left to do. Sabrina, your thoughts on this, is any of this good news for the white house . Well, no. I think that the russia investigation has been the biggest cloud over the trump presidency. And the whole appointment of Robert Mueller was, in fact, the selfinflicted wound. If he had not fired fbi director james comey, he may not have not had the special counsel investigation and i think that the president s own fixation with the russia probe is what is undermined his ability to carry out his agenda, it has been a deep source of frustration for republicans on capitol hill. And he still has not taken, of course, off the table the that he may at some point fire either Rod Rosenstein or Robert Mueller, which, of course, many people including republicans say would be a red line that he absolutely should not cross. The question is whether or not he can stay focused on campaigning for republicans in midterms. I know you both want to have a good excuse to play an snl clip of Stormy Daniels cameo last night. Here it is. Take a listen. Just tell me what do you need for this to all go away . A resignation. Yeah, right. I solved north and south korea, why cant i solve us . Sorry, donald, it is too late for that. I know you dont believe in climate change, but a storms a coming, baby. For both of you, different perspectives. Alex, to you. Smart strategy by Stormy Daniels to come on and play this part, play herself . Sure, i mean, this is the strategy she and her lawyer have been deploying maximum exposure, maximum media attention. Shes broken through from politics to culture. Shes a phenomenon that is much bigger, which is tough for trump to contain at this point. That said, giuliani, sabrina, suggested this wasnt necessarily a smart move if they want the case to be taken seriously. Is that a fair point . Not necessarily. I think the president redefined how the public reacts to politics and muddied the waters between politics and entertainment and showmanship and stormy is one of the few people who has been able to meet the president on his own turf and play by his rules. And i think it has been remarkable she and her attorney have been able to keep this story alive for as long as they have. She has not shown herself to be intimidated by the president or the people around him who have attempted to silence her and thats whats remarkable about this entire case. That is pretty remarkable when you say it like that. Sabrina and alex good to see you both. Thank you so much. Calling for the possible closure of the u. S. Border with mexico. What else is President Trump demanding to fulfill an old Campaign Promise . Legendary jockey Victor Espinoza is insatiable when it comes to competing. So is his horse. When it comes to snacking. Thats why he uses the chase mobile app, to pay practically anyone, at any bank. Life, lived victors way. Chase. Make more of whats yours. If you have a garden, you know. Weeds are lowdown little scoundrels. Draw the line with roundup. 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Youre going to recall he made some more comments four days ago, catching the white house completely off guard, although President Trump told reporters to, quote, stay tuned on the matter. Joining me now, John Garamendi of california, a member of the Armed Services committee and frequent guest. Nice to see you again, sir. Thank you for joining me. Good to be with you, alex. Your reaction to Rudy Giuliani wading into this sensitive territory as it relates to north korea, not once, but twice now. Rudy giuliani is a loose cannon. Rolling around the oval office with another loose cannon, namely the president. Chaos is developing. He really needs to stay out of the north korea issue. It is very sensitive, it is extremely important. We hope and indeed are prayerful that the president would have a good negotiating session with kim jongun, perhaps coming up within a month. Also keep in mind that south korea is the major player here. South korea, north korea are the two leaders in putting together this dialogue. And who knows what might happen from some comment from giuliani or from the president that could derail this entire and very, very important avenue that were traveling down, hopefully towards a much more peaceful korea. Absolutely. But you know, the president on friday pushed back a bit on that New York Times report saying hes considering reducing troops. Do you believe the president when he says that particular option is not on the table . And then how risky of a move would it be, say the pentagon were going to follow through, especially during these negotiations . Well, one thing you can count on the pentagon doing and that is war games. Theyre planning every concei conceivable scenario into the future. Not only in the korea peninsula, but really around the world, is theyre prepared. I dont think there is any possibility in the near term for the reduction of American Forces in on the korea peninsula or in that entire region. Were going to maintain those forces there. The real question is is there a peace deal between north korea and south korea in the months, year ahead perhaps. In if there is, and if it is real in a reduction of the military on both sides, then in that scenario quite possibly there would be a reduction in the american presence. But that say long, long way off. Okay, lets take a look at the deadline on the iran deal. That is this coming saturday, six short days from now on the 12th. Based on everything you heard from the president in recent days, do you have a sense of what hes going to do, which way hes going to go on this, whether to reup or pull out of it . We used to say on tuesday hell do one thing and on thursday another. This is extremely important. We have to stay in the deal. If the United States pulls out of that deal, then we are out there all by ourselves, the other five participants, the other five countries presumably are going to stay in the deal. Were the