with dowd specifically, the president had been complaining about him in recent days saying he didn't feel like he had the capacity to continue to lead the legal team that is handling the russia -- special counsel's investigation into russia, but it's not just dowd. dowd has been in the headlines a lot as the president's lawyer. you will remember he was the one who had lunch with another white house lawyer, ty cobb, in a public d.c. restaurant where he was overheard discussing the special counsel's investigation. he also took credit for crafting the trump tweet that blamed the firing of michael flynn on flynn lying to the fbi, which raised questions about what the president knew, and he also is the one who said during that interview with axios he didn't believe the president could ever be guilty of obstructing justice. a lot of contention surrounding john dowd. they are saying it was a mutual decision but the president's unhappiness with his legal team is not just related to john dowd here. though the president is saying he's perfectly happy with his legal team, that just doesn't seem to be true with the events we have seen recently. not only dowd's departure but outreach to several other lawyers, seeing if they would be willing to join the team. a lot of people who have actually turned that gig down. and the hiring of joe digenova, that high profile former federal prosecutor who believes the president is the target of an fbi conspiracy. so a lot of shake-up, lot of reshuffling happening with the president's legal team. but to be clear here, this does signal the president really taking the reins here and taking a more combative approach to this, and it does seem like the only person the president would be pleased with is a lawyer who could get him out of this russia investigation, but the million dollar question here in washington is who would be the lawyer to do that. certainly something the president would like to know. >> that's a biggy. one of many questions. thanks for the setup. i have two great voices here. gloria borger has been doing all this reporting. she talked to john dowd, got a statement from him today. bob bauer is with me, former white house counsel under president obama. he knows a lot of the attorneys involved here. good to be in your town. starting with you, you and pam and team were reporting last night that dowd was threatening to quit, wasn't thrilled with the notion of being co-counsel with joe digenova. today, boom. >> it's gone. yeah. look, that was obviously one of the reasons, he's been hammered by the president recently as i was told by a source. they did have different strategies. he was always telling the president be cooperative with mueller, hold your fire, let's see what happens. this investigation's going to be over. he and ty cobb have been saying that. didn't happen. they get this group of, these bundles of issues that special counsel wants to discuss with the president. they realize it's not going to be over. the president is very upset. that's one thing. the other thing is that the president decides, and make no mistake, the president is running his own legal strategy. >> we will get into that. >> that can be a problem. so he wants to bring in joe digenova, who he knows and admires. former u.s. attorney. smart guy. dowd had a problem with that, not only because he didn't want to be co-counsel but also because he believes, i was just speaking with another source, that he was conflicted. digenova is conflicted here because he represents a former spokesperson for the trump legal team who left the legal team in a not friendly way. his wife represents sam clovis, somebody else who has been part of this. i don't think dowd felt he could find his way around these conflicts for somebody who, you know, is representing the president. i think that's another layer to this that we are finding out. >> lot of layers. you know john dowd? >> i do not. no. >> putting yourself in his shoes, given what gloria just laid out, can you imagine being in his situation and feeling conflicted and not wanting to be co-counsel with this guy rolling in who peddles conspiracy theories? >> i assume he's relieved today. start with that. on the other hand, the other thing the reporting shows is not only does the president want to run his own legal team but he's constantly maneuvering behind his lawyers. >> not listening to his lawyers. >> not listening and telling them he's satisfied with them while at the same time interviewing their replacements. he's creating this environment in which it's very difficult for lawyers to do their jobs. >> what about team mueller? it's dowd who was the point of contact from the trump attorney team to the mueller team. i can't imagine the mueller team is actually thrilled with this news, either. >> i assume the mueller team reads into it, i don't know what they're reading into it, but clearly, there's a step in the direction of a more combative approach. so if you take the tweets along with the staff changes, it seems the president is at least, whether he intends to or not, communicating something to the special counsel about a conflict that lies ahead. whether that's a sensible thing for him to do, we can debate. but that's certainly one interpretation the special counsel is likely to put on these events. >> jay sekulow, who worked very closely with dowd, remains and he's in those meetings with the special counsel and john dowd. i have been told he can clearly, i don't know that he will take over, but he will continue those conversations and the big question is, will the president testify or won't he testify. we don't know the answer to that. >> could you play out a scenario, we don't know who would step into dowd's position, where it's a more pugilistic approach toward this whole special counsel investigation, therefore, down the road, ultimately, again, we saw the president just today walking out of a room in the white house saying yes, yes, yes, i will speak with bob mueller, but says one thing and does something else. is it realistic to think that with the new, i don't want to say new team but with digenova and trump and whoever else, they may say forget it, we're not cooperating, not sitting in front of you, bob mueller? >> absolutely. he's had that possibility for some time. what's interesting about the dowd departure is that not too long ago, he tweeted out his desire to see the russia investigation shut down. he initially said he was speaking for the president, then said he wasn't speaking for the president. now, the president was annoyed he said he wasn't speaking for the president. so dowd actually may have previewed the direction this was going, but the president decided he was not the person he wanted carrying this. >> if they do fight it, could mueller and his team essentially say forget it, you're not complyi complying, not cooperating, see you in may for a grand jury? >> well, they will subpoena. >> absolutely. certainly. they are trying to work out a cooperative arrangement, but of course, mueller is not required to wait forever. >> i think also, what you are seeing is the political side of this play out. so you have the legal side, which you can talk about, but the political side is that the president, you see this going on and joe digenova has done this and the president is doing this, is to discredit the mueller investigation, discredit the fbi, discredit the department of justice, say it is corrupt, say it is -- has been contaminated, so if in the end while he's publicly saying i want to testify, if in the end he doesn't testify, he could say why would i, why would i testify before corrupt people who are only out to get me. that's the kind of -- that's the political argument that is proceeding apace and gives him an out if he decides -- and i don't know, would you have him testify? >> this client? >> yes. that client. >> that guy. the president. >> assuming i was ever in the position of representing someone like this, the answer is i don't see any advantage to his testifying. on one hand he's the president so it's very difficult for him to say he's not going to cooperate. on the other hand, based on what we know about how he operates, there are huge risks to him. the one other point i would like to quickly raise, the president is looking ahead to the difficult april in which james comey publishes his book, starts delivering interviews to the press and some of the pressure that's beginning to build inside the white house around these legal issues may be in part influenced by what he thinks is going to be turbulent period ahead here. >> don't forget, you also have the stormy daniels, karen mcdougal swirling as well. that's a whole other legal issue. >> absolutely. >> we will talk about it in just a second. bob and gloria, thank you so much. also breaking this afternoon, look at all the red on your screen. we are about 51 minutes away from the closing bell and the dow is down after president trump announces these new tariffs targeting china. might this be a sign that we could be heading into some sort of global trade war? how will china retaliate and how might this impact an every day american? also, president trump responding to joe biden. both men saying they could go toe to toe and physically beat up each other. is joe biden setting the stage for something bigger, perhaps? also, rex tillerson revealing how he really feels about washington as his tenure as secretary of state is coming to an end. to quote him, d.c. is one mean-spirited town. last years' ad campaign was a success for choicehotels.com badda book. badda boom. this year, we're taking it up a notch. so in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct at choicehotels.com". who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. nobody glows. he gets it. always the lowest price, guaranteed. book now at choicehotels.com - anncr: as you grow older, -your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is great... when i can keep up! - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. - she outsmarts me every single time. - checkmate! you wanna play again? - anncr: prevagen. healthier brain. better life. i'm the one clocking in when you're clocking out. sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. i can also help with this. does your bed do that? oh. i don't actually talk. though i'm smart enough to. i'm the new sleep number 360 smart bed. let's meet at a sleep number store. the dow is down in response to president trump living up to his america first promise. he just slapped tariffs on china, saying the move is in response to china's theft of american intellectual property. he also pointed out his antitrade platform likely helped him at the polls. >> we are doing things for this country that should have been done for many, many years. we've had this abuse by many other countries and groups of countries that were put together in order to take advantage of the united states. we don't want that to happen. we're not going to let that happen. it's probably one of the reasons i was elected, maybe one of the main reasons. >> so let's go to jim tinkersley, tax and economics reporter for "new york times." to be precise, we saw the president today talking about how he's going to, you know, slap these tariffs in the ballpark of $50 billion on chinese imports but what i want to know is for people watching, why do they care? how does this impact everyday americans? >> well, it's going to depend on where the tariffs are actually applied because it depends on whether or not you buy the products that are going to have the tax put on them. that's what a tariff is, a tax. the white house has said they are going to try to tailor these tariffs so they don't hit things that you and i buy most of the time, so probably not shoes or other apparel, but it's really possible that it's going to raise consumer prices in some way. we're just not sure how until we see the list. >> so the last time we were talking tariffs was, of course, the white house's steel and aluminum tariffs that also took aim at china. i was talking to rick newman last hour of yahoo! finance. he called them toothless tariffs. my phrase, much ado about not as much, right? i'm wondering might this go that same way? how might china retaliate? >> well, the retaliation is something that could escalate and it could get ugly. in particular, we saw today, administration officials were testifying on capitol hill and there was a lot of concern from representatives and senators from farm states about the ways in which china could, for example, put tariffs on u.s. so wrsh soybean exports, which is a big deal. >> that's trump voters. >> yes. it is. absolutely. and the administration acknowledges this. agriculture always gets hit back because we export a lot of agricultural goods. that's a big concern. if we respond to that and it escalates, that's the trade war scenario people are worried about. >> yep. yep. we will keep a close eye on the dow. jim, thank you so much. appreciate that. i want to get back to our breaking news. president trump's lead attorney for the special counsel investigation is resigning. cnn has learned several high profile lawyers have already turned down offers to take his place. more on that. also, stormy daniels' attorney demanding the trump organization preserve documents and e-mails relating to her payment to stay quiet. this as cnn has new insight into what stormy daniels is telling her closest friends about this whole scandal. whoooo. going somewhere? here's some advice. tripadvisor now searches more... ...than 200 booking sites - to find the hotel you want and save you up to 30%. trust this bird's words. tripadvisor. almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. with liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey! oh, that's my robe. is it? when you switch to liberty mutual, you could save $782 on auto and home insurance. and still get great coverage for you and your family. call for a free quote today. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. at crowne plaza, we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what we do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly. crowne plaza. he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know. internet providers promise business owners a lot. let's see who delivers more. comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. at&t doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g wireless network backup. at&t, no way. we offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. at&t, not so much. we give you 75 mbps for $59.95. that's more speed than at&t's comparable bundle, for less. call today. we're back. you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. back to the breaking news. john dowd, president trump's lead lawyer in this whole russia investigation and his main point of contact with special counsel robert mueller and his team, he quit today. dowd's resignation could signal a change in how the president deals with mueller's russia investigation. dowd's legal advice was for the president to negotiate. now the white house is expected to take on a more confrontational tone. with me, cnn chief political correspondent dana bash. dana, in addition to that, now we also know that at least four other attorneys, this isn't today, this is overall, four attorneys have been approached to join trump's legal team and they have all essentially said thanks but no thanks. >> brooke, this has been the issue from the get-go with the president on this investigation. the people in and around the president have been trying to get lawyers sort of in a steady way, at least i should say they first were, when marc kasowitz was on the team. he has been one of the president's personal lawyers for a long time. he was on this russia team, then left, but he helped to get the team built that we see today. it wasn't easy. we have been reporting on this for a long time. either because people didn't want to do it, or more likely than not, lawyers were conflicted meaning they were working for firms that were already representing somebody with a stake in or being questioned by the mueller investigation. and so that has been the case all along and that is why we saw some sort of old hands who hadn't been at it for awhile brought back in the form of ty cobb and john dowd. now we are seeing, as you said, the president not happy, obviously, with his legal strategy the way it is going, and they are trying to find others and it hasn't been easy for the same reasons that they had problems just at the beginning when they built this team. >> speaking of things not being easy, you are in my town, i'm in your town today and in this town, it's a tough gig. it's a tough town. it was put pretty eloquently by the outgoing secretary of state, rex tillerson, in his farewell speech. listen to this. >> what advice would you give to the 25-year-old donald trump knowing what you know today? >> don't run for president. >> we're glad you did. >> you know, i was talking to mercedes and sarah walking off, you know, the oval office is right across the street. and i said all my life i have gotten really, you know, look, we all get, every once in awhile, but i get the greatest publicity. i was getting such great until i ran for office. >> all right. we are going to get to tillerson in a second. that was the president a little while ago. >> by the way, they're related. >> tell me why. >> what tillerson. if you are going to play it, i don't want to give too much away. >> we will, but this is the president saying -- okay. i'm being told we will run the tillerson sound. here we go. >> in closing, i would like to ask that each of you undertake to ensure one act of kindness each day towards another person. this can be a very mean-spirited town. but you don't have to choose to participate in that. >> wow. it's what he didn't say. go ahead, dana. what was your point? >> first of all, he's right. it is a mean-spirited town. it didn't start as a mean-spirited town with donald trump. it has been a mean-spirited town for a very long time. the difference between the trump administration and rex tillerson's situation in particular is that he not only didn't have the backing of the president, the president went after him publicly over and over again. combine that with the fact that tillerson really never got his sea legs in the town. that made it very difficult for him. but it also speaks to the larger point that the president was saying, without saying what he says he would have told his 25-year-old self not to run for president, which is to me just a reminder of frankly how accidental this moment is for all of us, including donald trump. he said he had great press beforehand and you know, by all accounts, that was part of his m.o. at the beginning of his campaign, before it really took off, to continue that, to continue to get great press and then all of a sudden, he not only got, you know, it wasn't about the press, it was about the followers. he got people behind him, people who believed in the message that he was sending, then poof, he's in the oval office and i think -- >> poof is right. >> i think the difference we are seeing now, brooke, there is a bit of a difference in the way the president is operating, versus, you know, the first 14 months, is that the shock has worn off a little bit and he's trying to figure out -- he feels like, this is according to sources i have talked to who speak to him, he feels like he is better understanding of how the job is done, not that he understands, you know, that he can execute it effectively, he thinks he can, but he has a better understanding of the process and is less scared. he would never, ever admit with all that bravado that he was freaked out but again, by sources who are close to him, he was. >> to use your phrase, getting his sea legs about a year in. dana, thank you. good to see you. coming up next, president trump and former vice president joe biden in this whole war of words about -- basically about beating each other up. these two 70-something-year-old grown men. this is the state of our politics today. we will discuss what motive the former vice president might have for this mudslinging. also, stormy daniels' close friends speaking about her and how she's dealing with all of this behind the scenes. this as her attorneys make a big move, next. she's nationally recognized for her compassion and care. he spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. but to help others, they first had to protect themselves. i have afib. even for a nurse, it's complicated... and it puts me at higher risk of stroke. that would be devastating. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. xarelto®... to help keep me protected. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner... ...significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. it has similar effectiveness to warfarin. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least 6 blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. for afib patients well-managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures... ...and before starting xarelto®-about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. it's important to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from a stroke. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know™. the president of the united states and a former vice president joe biden, both in their 70s, both american leaders, yet talking about beating each other up. in an official statement, president trump called former vice president joe biden, quoting him, weak both mentally and physically, he tweeted that if he had a fight with biden, biden would go down hard quote, crying all the way. now, trump didn't start this. biden sounded off first, claiming he would have beaten up trump if they had gone to high school together. >> when a guy who ended up becoming our national leader says i can grab a woman anywhere he likes, they asked me [ inaudible ]. i said no, if we were in high school i would take the guy behind the gym. i have been around locker rooms my whole life. any guy who talked that way was usually the fattest, ugliest s.o.b. in the room. >> jake tapper is with me, host of "the lead" and "state of the union." good to see you. >> yeah. >> it's like, you have these two talking about bodily harm against one another. you have little kids, you are trying to teach them -- >> i'm trying to teach my 8-year-old don't hit your sister just because you're mad at her. >> when they turn on your show -- >> we don't watch the news during this era when i'm around my kids. i don't want them asking me daddy, what's a porn star, what's a playmate, what's sexual assault and certainly, i don't want this as an example from either one of these gentlemen. this is not how leaders are supposed to talk. >> we have a clipbecause it's important also to remind people this goes back, some of this tough biden talk goes back to 2016. he was saying to trump, i will take you out behind a gym or by a dumpster and beat you up. >> we did a cartoon on "state of the union." >> watch this. >> don't i wish i were debating him. no, i wish we were in high school, i could take him behind the gym. >> this week we contemplated a modern day duel with biden as burr and hamilton, trump. perhaps as high school students instead of, you know, grown men. >> i would like to take him behind the gym if i were in high school. i used to have a temper. i don't have a temper anymore. >> did you see where biden wants to take me to the back of the barn. me. >> perhaps the man invited to the duel gets to choose the venue. >> i would love that. i would love that. mr. tough guy. >> all right. so that was two years ago. the fact that he's still saying this, he being the former vice president, what's up? is he just chomping at the bit to potentially challenge trump in 2020? what's your read? >> well, yeah. i think he's chomping at the bit not just to challenge trump in 2020. i think he's chomping at the bit to challenge him in 2016. i think he wishes he could go back in time and run and obviously hillary clinton was a big obstacle. he probably almost certainly could not have defeated her for the democratic nomination. i think he thinks he could have won if he had run against trump. and look, it's hard to imagine joe biden losing pennsylvania. so he has an argument to be made there although you could argue about different states hillary clinton won that maybe he wouldn't have. plus, i should point out joe biden has run for president twice before and not even made it to iowa. that said, yeah, he's chomping at the bit. i don't know that there is a better democrat out there in terms of who has a better chance of defeating donald trump. he will be 78, but donald trump will be 74, 75 at the time of the next president taking office in 2020 -- 2021. they will both be pretty old. whoever wins in 2020 will be the oldest person ever elected. it's just a question of joe biden being three or four years older than donald trump. >> see you at the top of the hour. thank you. >> let me just say to my son, do not act like the vice president and the president. that's not appropriate. i do not condone that. >> thanks, dad. appreciate it. we are, speaking of porn stars and playmates, we are hours away from former playmate karen mcdougal breaking her silence about this alleged affair with donald trump. she's talking to anderson tonight, even though this interview could get her into legal trouble. we will talk to a former editor for the company accused of trying to silence her, coming up next. looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. morning on the beach until... it... wasn't. don't let type 2 diabetes get between you and your heart. because your risk of heart attack or stroke is up to four times greater. but there are steps you can take to lower your cardiovascular risk. talk to your health care provider today about diabetic heart disease. and find out more at heartoftype2.com. your heart and type 2 diabetes. make the connection. for her compassion and care. he spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. but to help others, they first had to protect themselves. i have afib. even for a nurse, it's complicated... and it puts me at higher risk of stroke. that would be devastating. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. xarelto®... to help keep me protected. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner... ...significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. it has similar effectiveness to warfarin. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least 6 blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. for afib patients well-managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures... ...and before starting xarelto®-about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. it's important to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from a stroke. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know™. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. the dual adjustability of the sleep number bed allows each of you to adjust to your ideal level of firmness, comfort and support... your sleep number setting... for your best. sleep. ever. in the morning, you'll discover the amazing effects the bed is having on your sleep quality... your sleepiq score. and snoring? does your bed do that? only at a sleep number store where queen mattresses start at just $899. and, it's the last chance for clearance savings up to $800 on our most popular beds. ends saturday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you. tonight a cnn exclusive. former playboy playmate karen mcdougal finally break her silence on this alleged affair of hers with donald trump. cnn's anderson cooper interviewing her. mcdougal claims she had this ten-month affair with trump starting back in 2006. the white house has said trump denies this alleged affair. mcdougal is suing the national enquirer's parent company which is controlled by a man by the name of david pecker, friend and supporter of president trump's. mcdougal claims this catch and kill technique was used to protect trump and prevent her story from ever appearing in the tabloids. so i have maxine page with me, former executive editor for american media inc., the national enquirer's parent company and radar online, who can speak to this catch and kill. maxine, thank you for being with me. for people not in your world, walk me through, how does catch and kill work? >> you can get accidental catch and kill and you can get intentional. so we can get a story and we can run it through our legal team and then we'll run it, the last minute we'll run it to the celebrity's or the person of interest's lawyer and they will come back and say look, this is damaging to my client, and basically kill it. it can happen that way. or you can intentionally go after someone that you know is shopping a story around or you have heard rumors about, you can get them, you can meet with them, you can basically coerce them into signing a contract with you because you promise them you will run the story and tell their side of things, and when it comes down to it, they sign the contract which means they can't sell it anywhere else, then you just kill the story. so the story conveniently disappears. >> so on the shopping it around piece, in this particular case with karen mcdougal, at the time you knew she was out, she was shopping her story around awhile ago, how were her efforts received back then? >> back then, you've got to realize it was very different because she was basically shopping around a story of having an affair with donald trump, who for all intents and purposes, along with being a new york billionaire, was basically the host of a reality tv show. so the serious news channels and serious newspapers would have no interest in that story. it's tabloid fodder. now, ami, though, david pecker is a long-documented friendship that spans back a long, long time, decade, i would say, with donald trump, so he wasn't going to buy that story. i'm sure there would have been at the time a reporter that met with her and basically told her it's not really a story, you know, don't bother. then obviously when trump was -- became president, suddenly there was a big value for news sites. >> how much money is typically paid to someone for his or her story, the rights agreement? >> it can completely depend on the story, obviously. but it's less than people often think it is. i think mcdougal was paid $150,000 in total which you think would be much greater, but you have to realize that tabloids reporters and editors are actually, we are kind of like trained in how to negotiate people down and how to limit their expectations and to tell them your story is just not worth that much. there's a lot of coercive tactics that are used to basically persuade someone to sign with you for as little money as you can get away with, basically. >> do you think the $150,000 isn't actually a lot? >> i don't think it is. do you? i mean, i would imagine her life, as much as people are accusing her of cashing in, you know, she's being trolled nonstop, i would imagine. she's being called like a liar by people, she's being shamed by people. it's not easy to go public with a story like that. it's really not. i have seen the effects. she's being door-stepped by reporters and photographers. that's not fun. i would want more than 150 grand. >> how often, just last question, how often in your years did or even does this happen with celebrities, when they are buddies with someone powerful, high up in a publication, as is the allegation with david pecker and his buddy donald trump, with this playmate story? >> it's common practice. it's more common -- >> common practice. >> i would say so. that said, it's also common practice in europe. the british newspapers have been known to do it as well. that said, i worked for the mail online in the usa and i never knew them do that, ever, on a single story. so as far as i'm aware, ami definitely have done the practice and as i said, more often than you would think. >> maxine page, $150,000 not a lot. i'm still sitting on that. thank you so much for your perspective and also just for everyone watching, do not miss anderson's interview, his exclusive interview with karen mcdougal, who we were talking about, the playmate who says she had a consensual affair with donald trump years ago. the white house says it never happened. that airs tonight 8:00 right here on cnn. meantime, jay leno making a surprise return to the "tonight" show filling in for jimmy fallon. he took shots at the president. here he was. >> folks, sexual harassment, sexual harassment, a big issue. people finally taking it seriously. in fact, scientists at northwestern university did a study about the differences between men's brains and women's brains. this is fascinating. listen to this. it seems women's brains are located in their head. this explains a lot. a lot of really talented and really accomplished actors have been accused of sexual harassment. also stephen segall. i was talking about this yesterday with my uber driver, kevin spacey. we were talking about it. hey, it's not just actors. matthew wiener, created the hit show "mad men" has been accused. when your last name is weiner, just introducing yourself to people is sexual harassment. and i'm sure you know, former congressman anthony wiener is in jail for sexting an underaged girl. you might not know when he got caught, he actually called bill clinton to apologize. see, that's when you know your life has gone off the rails. when your sexual behavior offends bill clinton. matt lauer, matt lauer fired from the "today" show. matt had to learn the hard way when al roker says no, he means no. and how about charlie rose? walking around naked in front of interns? when did newsmen start behaving like this? i never met walter cronkite prancing around in front of margaret thatcher. take a look at that, margaret. and that's the way it is. but see now, now people are discussing levels of sexual harassment. like on the low side of the scale, you get the guys who just want to call sexually annoying, you know, where everything a woman says has a sexual connotation. like a woman might say bob, pass the salt. i'll pass you the salt, you know wha what i'm talking about. on the other side you got harvey weinstein. oh, my god. you been following this guy? he meets a woman in a hotel lobby, asks to go up to his room, she says no, he then opens his pants and masturbates into a potted plant. now, admittedly, i have been out of the dating game for a number of years. it's just hard to believe the protocol has changed that much. i got to ask the women, has that ever worked? huh? a guy hits on you, you say no, he does that and you go oh, what a fool i was. and how about harvey? has he thought it through? say the woman did change her mind. the man is 65 years old. by the time he was done with the potted plant, sweetheart, you have to come back tomorrow. but hey. luckily, luckily those are just media types and hollywood people. can you imagine what our country would be like if the president of the united states acted like that? oh, my god. >> as you know, president trump allegedly paid a porn star $130,000. if that turns out to be true, it would be the first time trump fully compensated somebody for all the work they did. >> jay leno, we miss you. a look dow down 673 points here. this is after president trump said china could be hit with tariffs, sparking fears of a trade war. live report on that next. what would our founding fathers want us to do about this president? i'm tom steyer, and when those patriots wrote the constitution here in philadelphia, they had just repelled an invading foreign power. so they created the commander in chief to protect us from enemy attack. the justice department just indicted 13 russians for sabotaging our elections. an electronic attack on america that the chief investigator called "warfare". so what did this president do? nothing. and is he doing anything to prevent a future attack? the head of the fbi says no. this president has failed his most important responsibility- protecting our country. the first question is: why? what is in his and his family's business dealings with russia that he is so determined to hide, that he'd betray our country? and the second question is: why is he still president? join us today. we have to do something. for her compassion and care. he spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. but to help others, they first had to protect themselves. i have afib. even for a nurse, it's complicated... and it puts me at higher risk of stroke. that would be devastating. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. xarelto®... to help keep me protected. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner... ...significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. it has similar effectiveness to warfarin. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least 6 blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. for afib patients well-managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures... ...and before starting xarelto®-about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. it's important to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from a stroke. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know™. if you'd have told me three years ago... that we'd be downloading in seconds, what used to take... minutes. that guests would compliment our wifi. that we could video conference... and do it like that. (snaps) if you'd have told me that i could afford... a gig-speed. a gig-speed network. it's like 20 times faster than what most people have. i'd of said... i'd of said you're dreaming. dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far. now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. chilling video shows how the las vegas gunman brought bags of guns and ammunition to his room before the shooting. these images captured on surveillance cameras show how the gunman moved in and around the casino last october where he ultimately would shoot and kill 58 people. what we still don't know is why he did it. we are mere minutes before the closing bell, dow tanking after the tariff announcement. we are down at the new york stock exchange. what is the reaction where you are? >> reporter: well, it's interesting because i've been here a lot over the last year, and all the euphoria in the markets over a potential infrastructure spending, deregulation policies that we saw from the white house, trade war has always been a lingering fear, and i think that's what we saw really erupt. there's a lot of nerves out there, not only on the potential impact on businesses and tariffs on chinese goods coming into the u.s., that $50 billion number the president announced, but potential retaliation from china, how that could affect u.s. industries, particularly agriculture. the china imparts a lot of u.s. agricultural products. we're seeing specific stocks hit, boeing, 3m, all down 4-5%. we saw dips back into correction territory. most volatile day on the market since february. we're in a sensitive time at the moment, and this is something that is really giving them a jolt today. >> thank you. she spent her career covering war, conflict, and crisis, and now in her new six-part original series, sex and love around the world, she's traveling the globe to discover intimate issues, and this week she's in delhi, india. >> i don't know it's an india thing as pea tree yacht thing. >> happens in american campuses. you don't see it over there, you know. while by itself, gang rape, it's not as endemic, but there's a lot of focus on it. >> women like me, looking at the watch, like, well, it's dark, i have to go home. >> too darchngerous to walk homn the dark? >> no amount of privilege can help you. it's in the fiber of how schools teach men how to be men. parents teach little boys how to be boys. >> you're not allowed to talk to a boy until your parents deem you to be married. don't talk to boys, don't talk to them, now [ bleep ] and have babies. >> wow. this is so different from what we saw over the weekend in tokyo, now in delhi, candid to see them they have a rape problem. what's being done to address it? >> well, listen, here's what's so fascinating. you're right. the delhi environment is different from the tokyo environment, very uptight and very dysfunctional, as you saw in matters of sexuality in tokyo. in delhi, there's another kind of dysfunction in there's been a lot of danger and very high profile rape cases which they are trying to get over. now, they have had a huge amount of education. they have had a huge amount of, you know, legal procedures, human amount of sort of awareness campaign to police and everybody else to stop that part of it, but, of course, at the same time, those girls who you saw who are really very modern, they are complaining about the whole arranged marriage system in india, so we explored how free women really are and can be, not just from violence, but to choose their own happiness, partners, and own loves and i want m-- intimate lives. >> "sex and love around the world" saturday 10:00 here on cnn. 10:00 p.m. i'm brook baldwin in washington d.c. see you here tomorrow. now to "the lead" we go with jake tapper, starts right now. >> thanks. president's lawyer walked into the oval office and says, i'm fired. "the lead" starts right now. law and disorder. the president's lead counsel in the russian investigation abruptly stepped down just hours ago. so what happened to president trump saying he's very happy with his legal team? stormy speaks. the adult performer expected to finally talk about her alleged affair with the president in the most anticipated interview in recent memory as her lawyer joins me for reaction and news about documents he just filed. plus -- >> gun! >> police firing 20 shots and killing an unarmed african-american man. a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, except by "wrong place" i mean his grandmother's backyard. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead," breaking news, trade war fears rattle wall street today. dow closed down more than 700 points right now after president trump announced new

Related Keywords

India , Iran , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , United States , Russia , Capitol Hill , United Kingdom , New York , Washington , Iowa , Pennsylvania , Delhi , Philadelphia , China , American , British , Chinese , America , Russian , Anthony Wiener , Kevin Spacey , Al Roker , Gloria Borger , Matt Lauer , Tom Steyer , Dowd , Brooke Baldwin , Clinton Matt Lauer , Bob Bauer , Michael Flynn , Karen Mcdougal , Sam Clovis , Xarelto , Rex Tillerson , Jay Leno , Hillary Clinton , Stephen Segall , Bob Mueller , Jay Sekulow , John Dowd , Joe Biden , Matthew Wiener ,