Katy Tur hosts coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. Interest the sdny. It does seem odd that there is no Cooperation Agreement already in place. So when you are on the outside and you are a former prosecutor, it certainly does seem odd. When you are on the inside and there are a lot of moving parts, it doesnt seem odd at all. Thats about the best i can do. Is this more like a pr campaign to alert mueller or alert the sdny that, hey no. Cohen has information . No. Its about a serious set of moving parts before the word Cooperation Agreement is used by either party. But what i have been told to say is that Michael Cohen is going to tell the truth whoever asks him to. The word cooperation as far as we are concerned on that front is irrelevant. What sort of information does he have specifically . What would be of interest to the Special Prosecutor . Again what do i do when im not allowed to tell you what sort of information that he is going to tell katy tur before he
funds. That is completely false under the law. And Rudy Giuliani said the same thing. So im repeating that happened yesterday. Historically, is a sitting president accused by a u. S. Attorney and a group of prosecutors with one person taking responsibility and pleading guilty of being a fell op. I want some clarify here. A moment ago you seemed to imply prosecutors wrote what cohen said. Did prosecutors right what Michael Cohen said in approximate court yesterday . Its a collaborative exercise. Obviously, nothing Michael Cohen said could have happened without the approval of the prosecutors. The information filed by the prosecutors wasnt Michael Cohens information. It was a statement by the prosecutors of the case, including mentioning anonymously Campaign Officials who were involved this this transaction. We dont know who they are yet. So its a collaborative process, katy. Certainly the prosecutors would have to agree with every word said by Michael Cohen as part of
the negotiations to plead guilty. Does that mean prosecutors have more evidence than just what Michael Cohen is saying about the president being involved in this, directing this, more than just Michael Cohens word . For sure. They stated in their information that other people in the campaign were involved in the direction and coordination of this crime. And that was donald trump that they were referring to. This wasnt a document why is it not in the Plea Agreement . Why is it only what Michael Cohen said in court . I am not sure what you mean by the Plea Agreement. His allocution where he tells the judge what he did wrong and pleads guilty and explains what he did i mean the Charging Document. Why is it not in the Charging Document . I dont know. I know what the allocution is supposed to be about, and thats a collaborative exercise that the u. S. Attorneys involved have to approve. One other question for you. One other reaction for you. The president sat down for an
interview with fox news and said he only knew about the payments later on. In case the viewers havent seen it, lets take a look. Did you know about the payments . Later on i knew. Later on. You have to understand, what he did, and they werent taken out of campaign finance. Thats a 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. I tweeted about it. I dont know if you know, but i tweeted about the payments. But they didnt come out of the campaign. In fact, my first question when i heard about it was did they come out of the campaign . Because that could be a little dicey. And they didnt come out of the campaign. And thats big. But they werent thats not a its not even a campaign violation. If you look at president obama, he had a Massive Campaign violation. But he had a different Attorney General and they viewed it a lot differently. Earlier today he also said what Michael Cohen did was not a crime. Lanny, whats your response . First of all, did you just witness the president of the United States misstating the law . It doesnt matter whether its a Campaign Contribution or whether its a corporate contribution or whether its a personal contribution. The Campaign Limits apply whether its personal money or campaign money. Rudy giuliani misstated the law. You just heard the president of the United States and the interviewer didnt say, wait a minute, mr. President , it doesnt matter whether its a Campaign Contribution, which you said is dicey, or whether you write a personal check. The Campaign Limitations under the law apply the same. You committed a felony if you knew about it afterwards and didnt take that money back and say you cant write a 130,000 that were going to repay you. You loaned me the money. Paid for the silence of miss mcdaniels and i have to pay you back. Thats called a felony. Its about a political contribution exceeding the limits, whether its personal or campaign, corrupting an election, and its a felony. And he has no clue that what he just said was wrong as a matter of law, that you followed the advice of Rudy Giuliani, who also got it wrong. Where do you see this going . You were by bill clintons side during his impeachment proceedings. Do you consider what Michael Cohen is alleging, and if the doj can substantiate it or the prosecution can substantiate it, a high crime and misdemeanor . I do. If the prosecutors in the southern district, Michael Cohen, other evidence adds up to the president of the United States knowing, whether before or after the fact, that 130,000 of illegal money, illegal
meaning above the Campaign Donation limits, were donated to influence an election as was stated in the document, that is a felony. We have heard republicans in the Clinton Impeachment say it doesnt have to be a crime for it to be an impeachable offense. I agree with that. But if it is a crime, it certainly is an impeachable offense. And here we have i think for the first time in American History a president of the United States accused by prosecutors of committing a felony. And he doesnt even have the law right by saying, well, it would be dicey if it was Campaign Contributions, but it isnt a crime. Who told you there is a difference between Campaign Contributions and personal donations with respect to the limits on donations and the disclosure of the donations . So this an historic moment. I dont think the Trump White House or mr. Trump get it. But this Isnt The First Time i
have seen they dont get it. One other question. Thank you so much for your time again. Last week i had omarosa on and she was alleging that the president knew about the wikileaks leaks before wikileaks released them. Knew about the emails before wikileaks released them. An explosive alleges. She couldnt give me any evidence to back that up, but she seemed to imply that any evidence she had, she has handed over to robert mueller. It sounded like what you were saying on Rachel Maddow last night. Lets listen to 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. And we know he publicly cheered it on. Did he also have private information . Lanny, can you elaborate on that . I was asking questions without being certain that i know the facts. But i am saying that, and i do agree with your comment about what omarosa said, if he did know that the hacking of john podesta, say emails, had occurred and was about to drop, that is knowledge of a felony of a Computer Crime by a foreign power. You dont know if Michael Cohen knows that . Knows about that . Excuse me in. You dont know if Michael Cohen has information about that . I very carefully used words last night, because its going to be mr. Mueller who hears information first. Let me read your words. I am a little confused. Mr. Cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that would 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. Are you saying you dont know i said whether or not. Whether or not. Im not sure
okay. The level of his knowledge. But i did say its my observation that what he knows will be of interest. And i said whether or not mr. Trump new ahead of time will remain to be seen. Lanny davis. Lanny, thank you so much for your time. We do appreciate it. Thank you. Wish i could answer your questions a little more directly. Maybe soon. Come on when you can. Thank you. And how will the white house respond the day after . We are moments away from a press briefing. We will bring it to you live. We know what gop lawmakers on capitol hill are saying in the meantime. They are mimicking the president. No collusion. And coming up, video games, tequila shots, trips to italy, a plane ticket for his pet bunny. Some in the gop are worried their party looks more like a criminal enterprise. So you have, your headphones, chair, new laptop, 24 7 tech support. Yep, thanks guys. I think he might need some support. Yes. Start them off right, with the School Supplies they need at low prices all summer long. Like these for only 2 or less at office depot officemax. Mom okay we need to get all your School Supplies today. School. Grade. Done. Done. Hit the Snooze Button and get low prices on School Supplies all summer long. Like these for only 2 or less at office depot officemax. Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now, from 899, during sleep numbers biggest sale of the year. It senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. It even helps with this. So you wake up ready to put your pedal to the metal. And now, all beds are on sale. Save 50 on the new sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus, 24month financing and free home delivery