Look, again, i think thats a ridiculous accusation. The president in this matter has done nothing wrong and there are no charges against him. Reporter today on twitter, the president falsely claimed that, quote, Michael Cohen pled guilty to two counts of Campaign Finance violations that are not a crime. They are, indeed, a crime, spelled out by federal prosecutors. And on fox news, the president floating another defense. Did you know about the payments . Later on i knew. Later on. But you have to understand, what he did, and they werent taken out of Campaign Finance, thats the big thing, thats a much bigger thing. Did they come out of the campaign . They didnt come out of the campaign. They came from me. Reporter but lawyers say that still doesnt make it legal if the money was never disclosed. And cohen has released a secretly recorded conversation with the president seeming to discuss another hush money arrangement weeks before the election. When it comes time for the financing, which will be listen. What financing . Well have to pay
no, no. I got no, no, no. Reporter the president now blasting his onetime righthand man, but publicly, he has nothing but love for his former Campaign ChairmanPaul Manafort, convicted of defrauding the federal government and now facing life behind bars. He is evaluating all of his options at this point. Reporter the president tweeting, feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to break. Make up stories in order to get a deal. Such respect for a brave man. Positive words there for Paul Manafort tonight. Cecilia vega joins us from the white house. And cecilia, President Trump refusing to rule out a pardon for manafort. Reporter david, so far, he says he is not thinking about a pardon for Paul Manafort, but in a matter of weeks, manafort goes back on trial, facing a second set of charges, potentially even more time behind bars. So, the pressure right now is on. Does he plead guilty as part of a deal for leniency, david, or does he hold out hope for a president ial pardon . We will soon find out. All right, cecilia vega leading us off tonight. Cecilia, thank you. As i mentioned at the top, Michael Cohen tonight is signaling hes ready to talk to the Special Counsel, and not just about those payments. Michael cohens attorney is now suggesting cohen is ready to talk about something else. Heres abcs chief National Affairs correspondent tom llamas tonight. Reporter leaving court, Michael Cohen was silent. Michael, whats your message to the president . Michael, whats your message to the president . Doing all the talking today, his lawyer, lanny davis, and he was asked if his client is ready to tell all to Special Counsel robert mueller. Yes. 100 . Reporter Michael Cohen claims that just before the election, President Trump himself directed an effort to silence two women who claimed to have had affairs with him. Prosecutors say they have a mountain of evidence about the hush money scheme. Documents, seized Electronic Devices and Audio Recordings made by cohen. Also, text messages, phone records, emails. All of this on top of witness testimony. Cohens lawyer says his client is ready to talk, and not just
about payoffs, but about russian hacking and what President Trump might have known. Russia, if youre listening, i hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. Reporter cohens attorney now suggesting his client has information about whether donald trump knew in advance about the russian hacking. When democrats emails were later distributed by wikileaks. I can tell you that mr. Cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to the Special Counsel. Knowledge about the Computer Crime of hacking and whether or not mr. Trump knew ahead of time about that crime and even cheered it on. Reporter cohen has pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, but there was no agreement to cooperate with the federal government. Hes hoping that Sharing Information with investigators now will help reduce his prison sentence. Would Michael Cohen accept a president ial pardon . Does he want one . He will not and does not want
anything from donald trump. After working for him all of those years, he came to the recognition that donald trump is a president unsuitable to have that office. So, lets get to tom llamas with us again tonight. And tom, Michael Cohen is scheduled to be sentenced on december 12th. It would appear tonight hes very eager to talk with state and federal investigators. And you have news this evening about a new subpoena . Reporter thats right. A new development there, david. This has to do with the donald j. Trump foundation. Youll remember, that was the president s charitable organization. In june, they were sued by the new York Attorney general, accused of selfdealing and illegally coordinating with the trump campaign. According to the new york times, Michael Cohen received that subpoena today and called State Investigators back, david, asking them when they were ready to talk. David . Tom llamas with us again tonight. Thank you, tom. Next this evening here, new developments in the murder of that College Student in iowa. The suspect was in court for the first time today. Prosecutors say he kidnapped and
killed Mollie Tibbetts while she was jogging, dumping her body in a corn field. Authorities say he was in the u. S. Illegally, and that he used a false i. D. To get work. Abcs alex perez from iowa again tonight. Mr. Rivera, did you kill Mollie Tibbetts . Reporter tonight, the man accused of murdering Mollie Tibbetts arriving in an iowa courthouse, shackled and escorted by deputies, 24yearold Cristhian Rivera facing a judge. Mr. Rivera, you have been charged with murder in the first degree. Reporter rivera listening to the charges through a translator. His girlfriend and family in the courtroom. Authorities say rivera confessed to abducting and killing Mollie Tibbetts while she was out for a jog, dumping her body in a corn field. Investigators say they cracked the case using Surveillance Footage showing the suspects car near mollie during her run. Frame by frame and in realtime motion and eventually saw mollie on the video, led us to mr. Rivera, identifying the vehicle. Reporter according to investigators, rivera, who is
from mexico, was in the country illegally. Tonight, the owner of the farm where he worked saying rivera lied. What we learned in the last 24 hours is that our employee was not who he said he was. Reporter the farm now says when they hired rivera four years ago, they screened him through an older system instead of homeland securitys everify. And alex perez back with us tonight. And alex, tonight, Cristhian Rivera remains behind bars . Reporter thats right, david. The judge ordered he be held on 5 million cash bond. We are also hearing from mollies family tonight. They issued a statement thanking the public for their love and saying their hearts are broken. David . Alex perez with us again tonight. Thank you, alex. Were going to move on here this evening and to that monster hurricane now closing in on hawaii. The State Of Emergency already in effect at this hour. Hurricane lane as seen from space, now a massive category 4 storm. Winds up to 155 miles per hour. More than 1. 5 million families and tourists there now bracing for this storm. And abcs gio benitez is right there in hawaii. Reporter tonight, residents rushing to stores and gas stations, loading up on food, water and gas, as lane, a major category 4 hurricane, barrels towards hawaii. Right now, forecast to stay close to the entire state. Reporter Hurricane Hunters flying inside lanes eye as the storm reached category 5 strength. Schools closed. This Search And Rescue team from san diego flying in to help. This Hurricane Lane is a dangerous storm. And we got to take it very, very seriously. Reporter many tourists in the middle of vacations here caught offguard. We are not prepared for this. We are going to go to the airport and hopefully get on a flight to maui tomorrow. And gio benitez is live from honolulu. A sunny day there, but dont be fooled by that, because officials are warning people to prepare and theyre warning them to Pay Attention to the hours on this thing, the timing, because time is running out. Reporter thats right, david. The big island will start feeling those Tropical Storm conditions in just a few hours. Were talking about the possibility of 20foot waves,
devastating flooding and perhaps even some landslides. David . Gio benitez with us tonight from hawaii. Lets get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee. Youve been tracking this storm all day. Where is it right now . Reporter this is a hurricane, david, by the way, that has already made history. It is the closest a category 5 hurricane has ever made it to hawaii. So, thats a big news. But it is also a category 4 that is right near it. You can see, nearly dwarfing those islands at this point. Moving westnorthwest at 8 miles per hour. It still has max sustained winds of easily 155 miles per hour. Now, gusts, these are impacts, right, of 75plus. Rain in the 10 to 20inch range and waves 10 to 20 feet. The path takes it very close to honolulu. Friday into saturday, thats when well see the heaviest impacts on the islands farthest west. David . All right, ginger zee with us tonight. And well be tracking this through the coming hours. Ginger, thank you. We do turn overseas tonight, and to afghanistan, and the new front in americas longest war. Our team learning weeks ago of initial u. S. Talks with the taliban now. Tonight, our senior Foreign Correspondent ian pannell takes
us inside one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, right there in afghanistan, filled with taliban prisoners. And right through those prison bars, telling ian their message for the u. S. Reporter tonight, we get exclusive access inside the most notorious jail in afghanistan. Pole charkhi prison is dangerous, overcrowded, home to thousands of death row terrorists. Home to americas sworn enemy for the last 17 years, the taliban. You can see the prisoners shackled to one another. Were heading into one of the main prisons in afghanistan today that houses 4,000 convicted terrorists. Were going here to try to talk to the taliban, but the Prison Guards are worried. Theyve told us its not safe inside. The inmates approach us from the other side of the bars. Men who have attacked and killed u. S. And Afghan Soldiers and civilians. Among them, this man, a quiet, englishspeaking doctor from afghanistan, also a hard core taliban fighter. What would you like to say to the american people, to the fathers and mothers of soldiers who have been killed, to the American Government . American soldiers should leave our country. We have the ability to fight up to 30 years. Reporter you wont stop . No. We will not stop the fight against american soldiers. Reporter other prisoners are eager to talk. This man says he has no problem with other afghans, just the foreigners who invaded, The Americans. These exclusive pictures were taken for abc news from inside taliban territory. They now have control or influence over more than half the country, with their own government, police, courts. And this is the man in charge of trying to beat them. Commander of all u. S. And foreign troops here, fourstar general john nicholson. We fly over land the taliban often attacks. Its where the 9 11 originated from. Reporter weve been given details of a secret meeting once
unthinkable. American diplomats with the State Department quietly initiating talks with the taliban. How would you feel about sitting down and talking to the taliban . We want to end this war. We want to end it on terms that protect our nation, our homelands and provide a lower level of violence for the afghans. So, if that were necessary, then absolutely. Reporter but the taliban get a say, too, and back at the prison tonight, theyre firm. No peace until The Americans leave. Ian pannell, abc news, kabul, afghanistan. Ian pannell, our thanks to you again tonight. And there is still much more ahead on World News Tonight this wednesday. The congressman and his wife indicted. Authorities say they spent thousands in your money. 11,000 at costco and a trip to italy. Also, the new Alligator Attack tonight. What weve now learned. The engine of a Passenger Plane sparking and then igniting. You can see it in the air. And the inferno in l. A. Firefighters suddenly warned they needed to get off the roof. A lot more news ahead. Evere pla. Im ready. With tremfya®, you can get clearer. And stay clearer. In fact, most patients who saw 90 clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. Tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin, and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. Tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. Ask your doctor about tremfya®. Tremfya®. Because you deserve to stay clearer. Janssen wants to help you explore cost support options. At t provides edgetoedge intelligence, covering virtually every part of your healthcare business. So that if she has a Heart Problem the staff needs to know, they will theyll drop everything can you take a look at her vitals . Share the data with other specialists yeah, im looking at them now. Theyll drop everything hey. Take care of this baby yeah, that procedure seems right. That one too. At t provides edge to edge intelligence. It can do so much for your business, the list goes on and on. Thats the power of. When your patients tests come back. You wouldnt accept from any one else. Why accept it from an allergy pill . Flonase relieves sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose, plus nasal congestion, which most pills dont. Its more complete allergy relief. Flonase. When you barely clip a tpassing car. Minor accident no big deal, right . Wrong. Your Insurance Company is gonna raise your rate after the other car got a scratch so small you coulda fixed it with a pen. Maybe you should take that pen and use it to sign up with a different Insurance Company. For drivers with Accident ForgivenessLiberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty
next tonight here, the stunning time indictments of california congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife. Prosecutors now accusing them of spending campaign funds, your money, at costco, tuition for their kids, a trip to italy. Tonight, the congressman now responding, and heres linsey davis. Reporter the california congressman accused of using Campaign Money as a personal piggy bank, tonight, defiant. This is the new department of justice. This is the democrats arm of law enforcement. Thats whats happening right now. Its happening with trump and its happening with me. Reporter but in a 47page indictment, prosecutors allege Duncan Hunter and his wife used a quarter Million Dollars in Campaign Money and falsified documents to pay for personal expenses they could not otherwise afford. Including more than 11,000 at costco, 6,000 for their kids tuition and more than 14,000 for a family thanksgiving vacation to italy. In that instance, prosecutors
say, in an attempt to legitimize the spending, the marine vet attempted to set up a tour of a u. S. Naval facility in italy. When Navy Officials couldnt offer one on that date, prosecutors say hunter subsequently told his chief of staff, tell the navy to go expletive themselves. Prosecutors say the spending happened when their accounts were overdrawn, racking up 27,000 insufficient funds fees in seven years. Tonight, hunter, who was among the first members of congress to endorse donald trump, is refusing calls to step down, calling the allegations politically motivated. And hunter is also refusing to give up his committee duties, so, the republicans will then have to vote in september to have him removed. Now, remember, this is the second indictment of a House Republican and an early trump endorser this month alone. Democrats now think that both seats could now be in play for the midterms. David . Linsey, thank you. When we come back here tonight, the newest Alligator Attack. And more on that Emergency Landing after the engine of a Passenger Plane ignites. Well be right back. If you feel like you spend too much time in the bathroom with recurring constipation and belly pain talk to your doctor and say yesss to linzess. Yesss linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. Linzess can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. Linzess is not a laxative. It works differently to help you get ahead of your recurring constipation and belly pain. Do not give linzess to children less than 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to less than 18. It may harm them. Do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. Get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. The most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. If its severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. Other side effects include gas, stomach area pain, and swelling. So say yesss to help for recurring constipation. Yesss to help for belly pain. Talk to your doctor and say yesss linzess. Its the Ford Summer Sales event and now is the best time to buy. You ready for this, junior . Yeah, i think i can handle it. No pressure. Thats just my favorite boat. Boom. laughs make summer go right with ford, americas bestselling brand. And get our best deal of the summer zero percent financing for sixty months on f150. Get zero percent financing for 60 months plus 2,800 bonus cash on a 2018 f150 xlt equipped with 2. 7l ecoboost. That skills like teamwork, attention to detail, and Customer Service are critical to business success. Like the ones we teach here, every day. And Customer Service are critical to business success. Youll earn unlimited double camiles on every purchase,. Every day. Not just airline purchases. Think about all the double miles you could be earning. loud holy moley thats a lot of miles
shhhhh whats in your wallet . Shhhhh Little Things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. Its a pill that treats moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Otezla is associated with. An increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts,. Or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. To the index. And a new photo raising questions about actress asia argento and allegations involving sex with a teenage actor. The actress and girlfriend of the late Anthony Bourdain denying she had sex with the actor when he was just 17. An image obtained by tmz of her with the actor, jimmy bennett. She allegedly texted a friend saying she didnt know he was a minor. A swimmer attacked by an alligator in florida. The gator dragging the woman under water. She was able to break free and call for help. This after another woman was killed by an alligator earlier this week in hilton head, south carolina. Overseas tonight, the Passenger Plane engine bursting into flames moments after takeoff. Video inside the cabin showing the engine sparking, then igniting. The plane bound for sochi making an Emergency Landing. All 204 passengers and crew were safely evacuated. And in l. A. , more than 100 firefighters battling the flames, the Fire Exploding in size. They had to get off the roof immediately. No one was hurt. When we come back here tonight, america strong. And a very powerful moment for a hero and his widow today. Theres little rest for a single dad, and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. Then i found aleve pm. The only one to combine a safe sleep aid, plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Hundred roads named park in the u. S. Its americas most popular street name. But Allstate Agents know thats where the similarity stops. If youre on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the Washoe Zephyr could damage your siding. And thats very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. But no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local Allstate Agents knows yours. Now that you know the truth, are you in good hands . nathan Secondhand Smoke caused measthma attacks,
infections and lung damage. And i never smoked. announcer if you or someone you know wants free help to quit smoking, call 1800quitnow. To and practice. Kidlots of practice. Tion. Get them started right with Carnation Breakfast essentials. It has protein plus vitamins and minerals to help kids be their best. Carnation breakfast essentials. Before collapsing. And today, at the white house, President Trump describing what Technical Sergeant chapman did even in those final moments. Even though he was mortally wounded, john regained consciousness and continued to fight on, and he really fought. Reporter continuing to fire at the enemy while members of his own team could be rescued. His wife valerie was there to receive the Medal Of Honor on behalf of her late husband. Blowing a kiss to the sky. And this is what she said in washington about her husband. He was such a genuine, goodhearted person. He lived his life team before self, the whole way. The girls and i meant everything to him. And just an amazing man. We all salute Technical Sergeant chapman. And we thank you for watching here on a wednesday night. Im david muir. Go. Major questions tonight,
verizon admits to throttling data speed for firefighters in fire zones. Hundreds gather in iowa to remember Mollie Tibbetts. This as the man accused of killing her appears in court for the first time. And new details arise. Live doppler 7 tracking Hurricane Lane and the category four storm bears down on the island. Announcer now live Breaking News. That Breaking News is a manhunt in san jose late this afternoon. Police received a report that a San Jose State Student was kidnapped and robbed. This is according to the mercury news. The man was taken from a 7eleven and forced to withdraw money from several different atms after being released the person called called police. Well bring you more details as they become available. Im dan ashley. And im kristen zse