Commit those crimes. If Michael Cohen were not connected to the president of the United States, he would not be in this situation today. Why would sending money to women be considered a crime. It not against the law to employ a bad lawyer. Cohen pleading guilty is not the same as trump pleading guilty. Howie whatever happened to the medias focus on socalled russian collusion. What about the National Enquirer. The president threatens a Government Shutdown in an extraordinary televised meeting with nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. President trump im proud to shut down the government for national security. I say oh, my gosh, nancy pelosi is a boss. He pulls the veil to show how petty and unreasonable the democrats have become. Howie dont feel sorry for us. Donald trump canceled the White House Holiday Party for the press. Do journalists deserve . Michael cohen has been dominating the headlines not just because he got a 36month prison sentence. But because he says he was doing trumps bidding. Trump disparaged the case with harris faulkner. Why did you hire Michael Cohen. President trump in retrospect i made a mistake. What he did was unrelated to me except for the Campaign Finance charges they put on to embarrass me. Howie cohen says trump directed him. He directed me to make the payments and become involved in these matters including the one with mcdougal which was between him and david pecker. And david peckers counsel. I gave loyalty to someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. Howie emily jashinsky, susan ferrechio, and capri cafaro, former Democratic Senate leader in ohio. Is the media embracing Michael Cohen as a truth teller . Emily obviously he has valuable information. But i dont understand why everyone is take what this man said with a massive grain of salt when he previously said he would take a bullet for trump. Howie its called flipping. How did Michael Cohen come off in the interview . I thought it was full of leading questions to implicate President Trump. Howie he asked, why should we believe you now. He did, but most of of it was leading questions. It felt like a slam dunk for cohen to trash the president. Howie how does the press deal with it . Hogan gidley said to give credence to an admitted liar is laughable. Capri for someone who admitted they are liars. There is a lot of love for other folks that have pled guilty in the white house like paul manafort, for example. So i think there is for hogan to say that, there are some questions there. Howie the president tweeting Michael Cohen became a rat after the fbi broke into his office. By the way the fbi had a legal search warrant for that entry. The president has shifted his denials. First he knew nothing about the hush money payments. Then he admitted rei am burgs the 130k. Then he says i knew about the payment. But my lawyer handled it. Have those shifting stories eroded the president s credibility with the Mainstream Media . Emily thats sloppy. There is no question about that. There is a serious conversation about whether this is a legitimate Campaign Violation i only saw in conservative outlets this week. But the conversation should be more widespread and the Mainstream Media should be asking questions about that as well. Howie there are dozens of prosecutors on other channels saying he helped cohen commit a felony. This this an overreaction given where we are in the investigation . Capri what frustrates me is there is no Investigative Journalism investigating this. You have two camps. One convicting trump by association with Michael Cohen who pled guilty, and the other camp saying co is a liar cohen is a liar and trump is being railroaded. The media decided to decide on their own. Howie some of the facts that have come out confirm some of the facts have been brought out by aggressive reporting. But what you are saying is the color the coverage is so partisan it colors it. Do you agree with that . Susan Campaign Finance laws are murky, peoples eyes glaze it over. Howie im not minimizing the importance of this case brought by the Attorneys Office in new york state. Not mueller. Susan cohen also was cooperating with mueller about contacting the russians about building property there. They are clinging to that. The media is hanging on to that saying there is collusion. But if you look at the language, it expanded to other problems had. They are fishing around look for more. The clinton administration, the whitewater administration dragged through his whole presidency. It became and i expansion to find any crime. Howie as un as unsavory as this is, the underlying problems, allegedly suppressing stories about sex, does it rise to the level much indicting or impeaching a president. Emrequires disappointing to me. Its not appropriate or acceptable behavior. I expect House Democrats to do it and i think it will be a mistake. Howie many in the press are doing that as well. Rudy giuliani told the daily beast and said nobody got killed. He also called cohen a pathological liar. Capri remember the bumper sticker, clinton lied, nobody died. Maybe there is a resurgence. I tend to agree with emily on this. Democrats in the house and senate would make a mistake to pursue impeachment because i think the American Public howie are they making the case or insinuating or suggesting either indictment or impeachment is the remedy. Capri i think they are trying to convict the president on a pattern of conduct. Howie kellyanne conway, and minutes later her husband tweeted that trump repeatedly lied about these payments, he lies about everything and it got a lot of attention. Susan something people did not Pay Attention to is the exchange between nancy pelosi and the press. She said maybe you would have more readers and your ratings would improve if you asked about something other than Donald Trumps legal problems. Thats all you talk about. Lets talk about things Americans Care about. Howie in a way she agrees there is not enough focus on substance. So finally i mention the president has been tweeting this morning. Lets put it up on the screen. A real scandal is the onesided coverage, hour by hour with Networks Like nbc, and government spin machines like saturday night live. I think hes frustrated by the coverage and alec baldwin. But suggesting its not legal and should be reviewed by the courts. Emily he never seriously pursued anything, he just asks the questions. When he asks the questions, i never like it. I always think its going against conservatism, and i dont think its appropriate. Howie you have a remedy. You can file a libel suit. This is exactly what hes playing into the medias hand and lefts hand by saying they will point to this tweet and say see President Trump wants to silence the press. He wants to silence the First Amendment and present himself as king of america. Howie great discussion. Ahead. The pundits nancy and chuck outfox donald. Trump in a rare. Here comes the rain. [ 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. You dont have to say im your best friend. My mom washes the dishes. Before she puts them in the dishwasher. So what does the dishwasher do . Cascade platinum does the work for you, prewashing and removing stuckon foods, the first time. Wow, thats clean cascade platinum. But he has plans today. Ain. Hey dad. So he took aleve. If hed taken tylenol, hed be stopping for more pills right now. Only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. Aleve. All day strong. Howie Melania Trump rarely doesnt views. But she made news with sean hannity by take on her critics. Sean what is the worst you have to deal with. The opportunists and comedians, journalists, performers, book writers. Sean does it hurt . It doesnt hurt. The problem is they are writing history, and its not correct. Howie does she have a point even though she calls media opportunists peddling bogus stuff about her . Emily oh, yes. When you watch the full interview. People pulled some of the moments. She talked about when she met the president and what its like having come from her childhood to where she is now. It was a good interview. She comes across very well. She deserves better coverage. Howie dont they weigh in on every first lady. Susan michelle was on the front of a magazine cover 12 times by this point. January 2017, standing in the aisle of the Grocery Store in did you see melania . From everything that comes out of her mouth to comparing her and write being her as an accomplice to the president who the media has an angry relationship with. Howie cnn says her Approval Rating has gone down from 54 per where. They like to focus on the gossip, and i would like to focus on the substance and what we do. Not just about nonsense. Howie there is a lot of chatter about her marriage. Why didnt she take the trip with the president and why did she swat his hand around. Capri she is human. Unfortunately the press doesnt treat Public Officials as human. They analyze every movement and word that comes out of their mouth. I think she has a point. Not just her for people analyzed in that manner. Way noticed in the coverage of it, people werent necessarily talking about from a media perspective, her visit with military families. It was all about her appearance. People look at her, when she swats the president s hand they like her because she stands up to the president. They are more fixated on the fact that she had blond hair than anything that came out of her mouth. Howie usa today, melanias lighter hair shocks. What does melanias lighter hair mean . Emily they say is it a message to trump. She is very well dressed and i dont think she has any problem. I wouldnt have a problem with her clothing and hair being the news coverage. But they are putting her on the armchair saying she is conveying some message. Susan the press was mad when she wore high heels to a flood zone. Howie i think she should do more interviews because she is good at it. Doesnt she also just leave a vacuum thats partially filled by the critics . Emily why should she do more under views when the coverage is always going to be inherently unfair unless she criticizes her husband. She is in a nowin situation. She gives a lot of interviews and they talk about her hair, her coat. Howie thanks very much. Ahead, the National Enquirer avoid prosecution with a plea deal. The huge blowup when i reported the white house cancelled the White House Christmas party for the press. And while your pants struggle to support the heavier you, your roof struggles to support the heavier me. [laughter] whoo. [crash] and your cutrate insurance might not pay for this. So get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. Mayhem is everywhere. So get an allstate agent. Are you in good hands . And i found out that ima from the big toe lian. Of that sexy italian boot so this Holiday Season its ancestrydna per tutti order your kit now at ancestry. Com i am not for just treating my symptoms. ahchoo i am for shortening colds when im sick. With zicam. Zicam is completely different. Unlike most other cold medicines. Zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. I am a zifan for zicam. Oral or nasal. Howie there was a media eruption after i broke the story the president had canceled the White House Party for the press. The story was picked up just about everywhere. Sadly, john, some people arent having a holly, jolly christmas. The White House Press corps. President trump canceled the White House Christmas party for the press. Howie some you said there is no way the president should invite to his home a bunch of vipers who have been so mean to him. Its a tradition that stretches back decade. The great perk is the president and first lady pose for pictures with the press. Also its nice to be able to roam around the decorated mansion with your spouse or guests and the food is pretty good. No one has feel sorry for them. But the parties were useful as a way of building relationships with top officials. I chatted with chief of staff john kelly and soon other reporters joined in and we learned some things. But some reporters sympathetic to trump have been included. Trump has every right not to hold a party with a press corps he views as fundamentally unfair to him. Ahead on mediabuzz, the demise of the Weekly Standard. Is it folding because of its antitrump stance . The press portrays the choosing of the new chief of staff as ouchaotic. But isrn that true . D then shele his boo forever. Oh. There are multiples on the table one is cash, three are fha, one is. A 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 8 minutes by americas largest mortgage lender. Howie just as the media was declaring nobody wanted the job of white house chief of staff, President Trump gave it to his budget director as acting chief of staff. Jim geraghty and adrienne elrod. Reporters said Chris Christie was the leading candidate. An hour later he dropped out. Here is what the Washington Post said. Trump was deeply disappointed nobody of high value wanted to be his white house chief of staff. Jim when you have a couple of names floated its like the president wants an apprentice setup. Everybody is leaning forward to see who the next person is going to be. But there is a lot of turn in his administration. You get the idea maybe this president is tough to work for, a little erratic. Howie it took the press 9 seconds to dig up that Mick Mulvaney had called President Trump a terrible human being. The Washington Post said he wasnt under consideration. I was getting whiplash. Adrienne i think the criticism is fair. A lot of it has to do with the fact that oftentimes and as we have seen with highlevel members of the trump administration, they come in with stellar reputations, john kelly led the Southern Command for the United States of america, and they come out of the administration and their reputations are in shambles. I can understand why somebody like nick ayers who made it clear he wants a future political career in his native state would have trepidations about being the chief of staff. Howie let me go to the chuck and nancy and donald show that extraordinary televised confrontation in the oval office about border funding for the wall. 0 times you said you will shut down the government if you dont get your way. You said it. President trump i will take it. I will say yes, if we dont get what we want one way or the other, whether its through you, or military or anything you want to call, i will shut down the government. He got outplayed by pelosi and schumer. He was cutting them off. Holding off pieces of paper. Nancy, nancy, nancy. There was an extraordinary physical performance. Howie a deep divide. Those 17 minutes. The consensus was the two democrats had the president. Jim President Trump put out his red line. He said its so important i am willing to shut down the government. This feels like the was a year ago it was one of the better moments for the president kind of overtaken by the Michael Cohen interview and the chief of extra drama. Howie it happens every week. But look, donald trump proudly said he would shut down the government to get the 5 billion in funding he wants for that border wall. And even straight news stories point out usually you try to pin the shutdown on the other guys. Usually you dont want to be the one who declared in front of people on national television, i wont blame. I think we have to look at the broader picture. This has become a reality show. This is a lot at stake. There is a lot of policy at stake. A lot of important policies that have resorted to a Reality Television show. Howie its valuable and refreshing to see political leaders debating substance while the cameras are rolling. Adrienne i dont think that was a substantive debate. Give and take. But it exposed the government a little bit more, sort of like makes it something you can understand. Jim you can score trump with having a win when nancy pelosi said well make a deal when the cameras arent here in was a time on gun control and the first budget fight. Trump loves these oval office ill argue in front of the cameras. We are now two years into this presidency. This isnt new and surprising. They were ready for this. Howie then democrats leaked to reporters that privately nancy pelosi told her fellow democrats this is a manhood issue for trump. Thats a trumpian tactic. Leaving aside this moment that will probably fade into history. The president is history because he broadcasted to his base that he cares about illegal immigration. And hell fight for this wall and hes willing to shut down. From his point of view it might have been a win. Adrienne from his point of view it is a win, because if you are trump you are trying to play to your base. But the problem is, this is not expanding his base. What hurt in the mid terms and what will hurt him in 2020 unless he finds a way to bring in independents and swing voters. There is not going to be a shutdown. Nobody wants a shutdown. Both parties want to leave this town and go home for christmas. I could be wrong but in the end they find some kind of compromise. So a lot of this could be flying their respective bases. The National Enquirer avoids prosecution but admits it tries to cover up trumps allegations by two women. Women. Hey yeah . I switched to geico and got more more savings on Car Insurance . They helped with homeowners, too ok plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance geicos got you covered like a blanket houston . You seeing this . Geico. Expect great savings and a whole lot more. To severe Rheumatoid Arthritis was intense. My moms pain from moderate i wondered if she could do the stuff she does for us, which is kind of, a lot. And if that pain could mean something worse . Joint pain could mean joint damage. Enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop irreversible joint damage. 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 some place 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, my moms back to being my mom. Visit enbrel. Com and use the joint damage simulator to see how joint damage could progress. Ask about enbrel. Enbrel. Fda approved for over 19 years. Howie Michael Cohen will be spending time behind bars. Prosecutors let the Parent Company off the hook overpayment to Karen Mcdougal. You are saying ami suddenly came back to you. Yes. Why do you think it was after donald trump was the republican nominee that they came back . They wanted to squash the story. Howie American Media inc said they couldnt corroborate the affair and paid her for cover shots. Now they say they acted in concert with Trumps Campaign to buy and bury mcdoudoug mcdoudougals story. How much damage is there to david pecker or ami. A couple decade ago you would have said very little. Because 10 years ago it was next to the magazines talking about all stories nobody else chased. You should not put that much faith in what you see in the National Enquirer. Its antijournalism. Its the one place you know you will not read stories if people reach out and write a check. Its journalism for sale. Howie it sound funny to say a supermarket tabloid and chequebook journalism. But the stories with john edwards and his love child. I take the enquirer seriously in those kinds of stories. Can the enquirer rebuild trust with its readers . I think some people do believe space aliens and whatever else they put howie edwards denied it for months. Adrienne there have been a handful of stories the enquirer has broken. How do we consider this . I dont know what trust they ever had with their viewers or readers. Im sure there are plenty of people who want to buy it because its juicy and fun. Howie the media angle is this implicates trump because its not just michael cone saying these things about the hush money payments, its his pals at the National Enquirer who say he was in the room when we talked about Karen Mcdougal and stormy daniels. Jim its unethical but possibly accurate. It is worth noting the jury question did not come back with john edwards nailing him for using money from a wealthy donor. A wealthy backer said i will throw money around to make sure it goes away. Howie edward did this while he was a president ial candidate. But trump did this in 2006. Cone said he would reimburse the enquirer rsh. Enquirer. So when you get into the dirty details it doesnt sounds like a news operation. It sounds like a bunch of guys doing Donald Trumps bidding. That practice in the tabloid world didnt originate with donald trump. Adrienne it didnt. But this could be a Campaign Finance violation. If the story had come out it would have influenced the decision of the voters whether to support donald trump. But thats a hard thing to prove. Is this legal, is it illegal . Thats whats hard to prove. But the optics look terrible. The president of the United States as a candidate had his cronies paying off stories that would have negatively affected him. Howie after the break. One of americas most of influential publication is shutting down. Thats next. With all the selection youll find at Bass Pro Shops and cabelas, deciding on the perfect gift can be challenging. [instrumental oh christmas tree] thats why weve made it easy with a selection of gift cards for everyone on your holiday list. This is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. Howie the Weekly Standard is shutting down. The current editorinchief steve hayes goss the word friday along with his staff. The Parent Company says it was a business decision. Circumstance st. Louis kept going down. But lets put some of the standard covers up on the screen. Bill kristol is a wellknown never trumper and steve hayes a critic of trump. How much did that hurt among its conservative readership . Emily probably very little in terms of why it shutdown. I dont think it had much to do with the business decision to shutter the Weekly Standard. Thats been echoed by david brooks. Howie both of whom used to work there. Emily i think a lot of conservatives took issue with the coverage of the president. I dont think that necessarily ended the magazine. Howie circulation was down 10 in the first year of trump. Another person who apparently agrees is President Trump. He tweeted yesterday, the pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard run by pathetic bill kristol is flat broke. A lot of people didnt like that he was dancing on the grave of this publication. Emily people losing their jobs. I am use this time to mourn and remember some of the incredible and beautiful journalism the Weekly Standard produced the last decayed. I had a problem with the coverage the last two years. Howie one of the founding editors with it was launched by rupert murdoch. He calls it an intellectual crime. They shut down efforts to sell the magazine. It was given pretty coldly. Staffers were given until 5 00 friday to clean out their desks. I know they are revamping the washington examiner. They are revamping that magazine. You can see as a business decision, you can see where they would be able to justify that to grow their list for the new magazine they are launching. Howie occasionally they took on newt gingrich. Some big conservative intellectual names over the years. But i thought the website was an afterthought. There wasnt much content there. Its tough to compete in the trump era if you are conservatives and not on the trump train in the digital era. Emily i disagree with that. People who are supportive of trump, i dont know the standard always nailed that. Howie the National Review criticizes the president. Emily i encourage people who are looking for fair criticism or support of the president to check out those outlets. I think the standard may have struggled to move into this era, but its sad to see it go. Howie i hate to see any publication go under. Still to come, Mika Brzezinskis apology for slurring mike pompeo. Lets be honest. Every Insurance Company tells you they can save you money. Save up to 10 when you bundle with esurance. Including me, esurance spokesperson dennis quaid. Hes a pretty good spokesperson. Ehhh. So when i say, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of 412, you probably wont believe me. Hey, actor lady whose scene was cut. Hi. But you can believe this esurance employee, nancy abraham. Seriously, send her an email and ask her yourself. No emails. No emails. When insurance is affordable, its surprisingly painless. But he has plans today. Ain. Hey dad. So he took aleve. If hed taken tylenol, hed be stopping for more pills right now. Only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. Aleve. All day strong. Howie Mika Brzezinski stepped in it on morning joe. She was talking about a fox interview with mike pompeo when she went off on the secretary of state about the khashoggi killing. Why doesnt mike pompeo care. Are the pathetic deflections we just heard on fox and friends. Is that a patriot speak for a wannabe dictators butt boy. Howie she a. Jieds on twitter for her super bad choice of word. But cons wouldnt let it pass. If a conservative made the slur, that person would have been banned from television. The term is crass and offensive and i apologize to everyone, especially the Lgbtq Community and my colleagues for using it. It was a mistake. My father would have found it so you be becoming and disrespectful. And he would have told me, i will work hard to be better. But i wanted to say on camera, im really, really sorry. Howie it was a mistake. It would have been better if she included pompeo in her apology. I think she didnt consider the implications of that rather gross phrase. Hours after tyler murray won College Footballs heisman trophy, a paper decided to ruin the celebration by digging. You homophobic tweets when he was 14 and 15 years old. But he was a teenager. This was way out of bounds. A mean spirited case of gotcha journalism. This is exactly why people hate the media. Big celebration, the biggest day of his life. It gets picked up everywhere. It made me ill. Im howard kurtz. Hopefully you will check out my podcast. We kick around the days most of interesting reports. You can subscribe at apple itunes or google play or tune in at foxnewspodcasts. Com. Everything is moving to the net, right . We had a lot of interesting discussions about the coverage of these investigations and the way the president and Michael Cohen portrayed the media. I would love to hear from you. Well see you then, 11 00 eastern with the latest buzz. Arthel the clock is ticking on capitol hill. Lawmakers coming up on a deadline. The funding of President Trumps border wall. Welcome to americas news headquarters. Im arthel neville. Eric nice to see you. Im eric shawn. President trump threatened to shut down the government if lawmakers dont allocate 5 billion for h