not to prosecute citing the controversial stand your ground law. now federal lawmakers want a justice department investigation. the lawyers who represented trayvon martin and george zimmerman are here. plus, for the president, it was the best of weeks and the worst of weeks, depending on your point of view. michael cohen again dominating headlines claiming trump knew in advance of the meeting with russian representatives. meanwhile, the longstanding accountant gets a federal subpoena. amidst the legal woes came more economic news. the president lifts the gdp above 4%. mid-terms on the horizon, is it still the economy, stupid? and this pennsylvania 5th and 6th grade teacher has been moonlighting for years. suddenly it's endangering his day job? because he plays a bad guy that does the nazi salute and shouts zig heil. is the problem his or the fans who cheer him on, rather than booing? but first there's a funeral today for a man shot dead july 19 in a florida parking lot. the shooting is on video, everybody knows who does it. the culprit has not been charged because of the florida stand your ground law. the same one much discussed in the context of the killing of trayvon martin. now federal lawmakers are calling the doj to investigate. so how did we get here? after finishing her nursing shift, brittany jacobs and her boyfriend wanted to grab snacks and drinks. so they took their kids under the age of 6, they parked in the handicapped spot, despite none of the cars's inhabitants are disabled. Michael Smerconish tackles the American political and news stories of the week, offering only one kind of talking points: his own. attorney for a moment, his perception is also skewed because of what he's going through. but when you look at the tape, muck laughlin had backed away, there is a distance, he's not towering over him. the idea of taking out the gun pointing it, i'm almost okay with that. but the idea of center of mass shooting and killing a man over a push that has now ended, i don't see the justification. >> hey, mark, i think benjamin is right in saying when the gun comes out, the decedent appears to take a few steps back, probably a few seconds, a split second, taken off the clock. is it fair to say you were og to pull the gun but not to fire the trigger? >> yes, i think the answer to that is less. let's not forget florida tried to pass. >> definitely, by the way, he just backed up like four steps -- watch it again, pardon my disruption, we can all see this. >> he absolutely did. again, florida tried to pass almost did pass a warning shot statute that would have said, you are allowed to take out the gun. you are each allowed to shoot it to let the person know, i'm armed and i will use it. that's the theory behind it, but the idea with a two, three, four step back, in backing up, and a two, three, four-second delay, i think that if you are going to exercise your second amendment rights and we have them. we will always have them, but you have to do it responsibly. and here's the problem. someone like dreska who used their weapon unreasonably really affects the rest of us and our ability to properly utilize our second amendment rights. he used it improperly, now focus is again on that. >> great observation. thank you for being here, mark. i appreciate it. >> thank you. what is your thoughts? tweet me, i will read some responses throughout the course of the program. this i think comes from facebook -- i'm a supporter of the second amendment and this was murder. this jackass was looking for a fight. like you say, everybody was wrong, illegal parking shouldn't be a death sentence. mark o'meara just made that point, right? that this guy in this instance frankly jeopardizes second amendment rights for a number of other americans because of the way he acted. yeah, they shouldn't have parked there. the guy that come out shouldn't have shoved him. those are minor transgressions in my opinion, in comparison to the guy who has been shoved, pulls out a gun and responds with deadly force. up ahead, this week the president had bad news on the russian and michael cohen investigations and pretty good news about the economy. we will dig deep into both. in the meantime, i'm asking this -- which will have more impact on how long donald trump is the president? go to my website and cast a ballot on this survey question -- which will more determine president trump's longevity in office? a strong economy or the mueller and southern district investigations? ♪ ♪ our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. (buzzer sound) holiday inn express. be the readiest. ♪ (electronic dance music)♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ booking a flight doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceline. it's the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40%. just tap and go... for the best savings on flights, go to priceline. a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! so why is donald trump so popular with his supporters, despite being under siege on so many fronts? simple, it's the economy. if elected he said the u.s. gross product would hit 4%. a lot of people mocked him. it's the best showing since the third quarter of 2014. remember unemployment remains at a near record low. joining me now is steve cortez just named as an adviser to president trump's 2020 a wall street trader for 20 years, and is head strategist for bgb partners, who advises banks and hedge funds. i'm going to give you 30 seconds for a victory lap. then i want to play devil's advocate. go ahead. >> sure. we should take a victory lap, by the way. not just for team trump, but for team america, more importantly. we've endured a long slow growth. the lion's share went to the top of the economic ladder. we're seeing the opposite, accelerating growth and broadening growth, meaning it's going to more people, for example, african-american and hispanic unemployment hit all-time lows. the economic underdogs are doing well, for example, people without a high school degree, by definition underdogs the lowest unemployment since 2000. we are seeing fast growth because of tax and regulatory relief. there is an optimism pervasive and real, and it's tangible. >> all right. let me be debbie downer. at least for the purpose of this conversation. john harwood, cnbc, put this in perspective by showing, where would this rank with modern presidents? fifth under obama, tied for fifth under george w. bush, tied for fifth under herbert walker bush. this would be the 14th best under ronald reagan. doesn't sounds so impressive when you put it in that context. >> sure, that's a great point. i'm the first to say we have more work to do. this is just the beginning. i believe. that we can't have one great quarter. we need to have many great quarters and in succession. i believe we will. i think the government is creating the conditions for success in our country and small business in particular is responding. optimism, it's an all time high or multi-decade high, consumer confidence is soaring. i agree, there is more work to do, we have more wood to chop. we won't be satisfied with a single quarter growth. we need many of them. >> how about this one? it's all about the soybeans, buyers seem to have stocked before the government imposed tariffs. this is actually a reaction to trade wars. >> right. i think that's an important point. it is possible some of the growth was pulled into this quarter, that might have been quarter three growth. we will find out right before election day, i think 11 days before the vote. we'll get third quarter gdp. here's what i believe, the united states because of our tax and regulatory relief that's going on, because that is so powerful no matter what happens in terms of manipulating sales into quarter 2, i think the grout in quarter 3 is incredible in this country right now. i think the american economy, it needed government to get out of the way. most entrepreneurs when you talk to them, they don't want government to help them. they want government to get out of the way. that's what's happening via our tax code a more simplified and lower tax scheme and a sensible and predictable regulatory regime. >> another critique i heard from the glass half empty analysis would be this is by virtue of the tax cut the president put through and at what costs to the debt are we going to accept that? >> right. listen, michael, i think that's a great point, i do worry about our debt and our deficit. i would say this, too, though, we are in a situation because there is no political will on either side of the aisle to touch entitlementts. that's reality. neither president trump nor congressional republicans nor congressional democrats want to touch entitlements. if we're not going to touch entitlements, the only way then for us to reduce our debt long term is faster growth. in my view it's worth taking the risks for reducing it long term, because we go ahead the growth we need. >> hey, i appreciate the honest banter. i mean, it's good news. we're thrilled for it. right? but it comes with some caveats. that's the bottom line. >> of course. i say maga stands for make america grow again. this is the reason i believe that donald trump was elected, among many, but the primary one, the economic anxiety particularly for working class people in this country who haven't seen their wages grow and seen expenses grow. that's unsustainable. they've reacted with their vote. now i think donald trump is starting to deliver. we're not done, not even close, starting to deliver. >> steve, thank you. appreciate you being here. >> you bet, thanks, michael. >> let's see what folks are saying via social media. what do we have? smerconish, why don't you start thanking donald trump for the success? i think the implication is that was a hit piece. that was no hit piece, that was me saying we got great economic news, there are some critiques and let me let the trump spokesperson run through them and respond to them. go look for bias elsewhere, my friend. so this relates to the survey question at smerconish.com. i hope you are voting. which will more determine president trump's longevity in office? a strong economy? or the mueller and southern district investigations. please go vote. still to come the latest developments on the other half of that question, michael cohen's claim that donald trump knew in advance about that notorious trump tower meeting with russians. it could mean the president was personally willing to accept russian assistance or cohen is implicating himself. i'll ask michael isikoff, but despite the focus on cohen, it's another trump employee just subpoenaed who really knows the president's secrets, including his tax returns. who is alan weiselberg and what might he ends up revealing. finally, when does a teacher get in trouble after trying to earn extra money after hours? well, when he's moonlighting as a nazi-themed wrestler. i'll explain. a blockbuster report from cnn this week said the president's former lawyer michael cohen is claiming the candidate donald trump had advance notice at trump tower with russian nationals. if it can be proven it's a game changer. the lawyer rudy giuliani denied that charge, and so did the president when he tweeted -- i did not know of the meeting. means cohen would be critiquing to two congressional meetings. his current claims weren't mentioned in special reports on the house intel committee. nevertheless, as is often the case with president trump, par sans quickly took sides based on instinct and not on evidence. my legal experience tells me such binary views overlook nuance. i'm wondering if the truth lies somewhere in between. it straining decree ducredituala desire to obtain dirt on hillary clinton and vice-versa. such as the nature of a hard fought campaign. i'm not holding my breath of a smoking gun evidence of the president's knowledge of this one particular meeting. if it existed, i think we'd know by now, instead, this will come down to inference and interpretation. joining me is michael isikoff. where cohen didn't say this, in his congressional appearance, my suspicion is he will be much more vague than prosecutors would hope in listening to the conversation this week. >> look, there is a lot of reasons to be cautious, but there is also a lot of reasons to want to hear michael cohen's account. you know, there's -- first of all, the significant of this should not be understated, if the president then candidate was informed of the trump tower meeting, it would clearly bolster any obstruction case that robert mueller was, is preparing because it would give a clear motive for the president, himself to want to shut down the russia investigation. there are plausible reasons to believe the president might have been informed. there is that blocked phone call that donald trump jr. makes after speaking to agalof about the upcoming trump tower meeting. the democrats on the house intelligence committee clearly believe that may have been a phone call to his father. there was the reference that the campaign was going to give a major speech about hillary clinton just at the time that the e-mails setting up the trump tower meeting was taking place. but, you know, we don't know exactly what michael cohen has to say. as you've pointed out, he's testified twice before the house and senate in private. in his public statement he said he had no hint of any collusion by president trump with the russians. the house intelligence report says all witnesses were asked if trump was aware of the trump tower meeting and denied it. so michael cohen may well have to cop to lying to the house intelligence committee when he privately testified because, you know, that -- it would be a false statement if he didn't disclose this before. so, you know, we got to be cautious. i do have to say, it is a little odd the way we're learning about this. normally, if you wanted to get a deal with robert mueller. you wouldn't go running to the press. you would make a proffer to mueller's office saying, here's what we got. and michael cohen's legal team for whatever reason didn't go that route. michael isikoff, one other observation. is this not going to extend, all these recent developments, however they pan out, is this not going to extend the mueller probe, not into the mid-term but into the 2020 election? >> look, it could, we don't know exactly where robert mueller is. there is a lot of reason to believe he is moving forward. we may see more before labor day, because there's an assumption he doesn't want to -- he will not want to do anything during the election season. so, you know, there's an expectation that there could be more coming from mueller. but, look, one of the most frustrating things about all of this is, you know, michael, every major political scandal for the last half century, whether it be watergate or iran/contraor whitewater, resulted in public hearings in which witnesses testified before under oath before the tv cameras so the public can hear and learn them. none of that has happened here, michael cohen like everybody else has testified behind closed doors and then each side spins and cherry picks those aspects of testimony that they want the public to learn about. that's no way for congress to have investigated. you know, if michael cohen wants this out there. richard burr and mark warner tomorrow or sunday, monday, could subpoena him, have him testify in public this week before the senate intelligence committee and we could hear what he has to say and what he doesn't have to say. >> michael isikoff, thank you. appreciate it, as always. >> sure enough. >> he's been called the most senior person in the trump organization, he's not a trump. he's been subpoenaed. alan weiselberg, this week we learned, he was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in the criminal probe of trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen. cohen referred to him on the infamous tape leaked this week to playmate karen mcdougal the "wall street journal" is saying he could have already testified. >> since weiselberg knows where all the financial bodies are buried and his tax problems for sure. could it lead to more problems for the president? joining me is the senior writer, at the institutional investor, he wrote this "wall street journal "profile of weiselberg under the headline donald trump's loyal numbers man. richard, give me some insight. who is this gentleman? >> well, alan weiselberg has been with the trump organization for literally decades. he actually worked for fred trump before donald trump going back into the 1970s. he's been involved with so many of the transactions. his son barry works for the trump organization, and another son jack works for ladder capital. which is a mortgage company that's closely involved with the trump organization. so he is there dealing with some of the minutia of running a large organization. he signs checks. he's the money man as you mentioned, he knows where the money is going and he is very, very close to donald trump. ivanka trump in a statement said that he is an integral part of the organization. this was back in 2016. he is really key to the organization, and the big surprise as well, what has taken so long for them to get around to subpoena him? >> you portrayed him as what of a antithesis. he is a quiet guy, he eats in the lunchroom, married to the same woman for 46 years. opposites attract in this instance. >> he has one attribute, which i think plays well to his longevity. he tends to face into the background, into the wall person as one person described it to me. he doesn't upstage his boss, never has, and he seems to agree with his boss on numerous occasions, which, as you might understand, disagreeing with donald trump is not great for career longevity. so he's been very good at that. he's also been accorded an enormous amount of trust. remember, he is on or was on the board as treasurer of the donald trump foundation. he was on the board of the miss universe pageant, an organization close to donald trump's heart. so he's really been, oh and actually he was connected to the casinos themselves. so he's been accorded this very sensitive portfolio of duties at the trump organization. a one-word answer in the essence of time -- who knows more where the bodies are buried pertaining to the president? michael cohen or alan weiselberg. >> i would place my money on alan weiselberg. he's the person that's closest. >> thank you for being here. i appreciate it, richard. >> a pleasure. >> let's check in on your tweets and social media, from twitter, smerconish, whether or not the president knew about the trump tower meeting doesn't matter. nothing came from it. it's not a crime to listen to what people have to say. everyone is making a mountain out of a mole head. elaine, how do you know nothing came of it? we know the dnc server was hacked, right? we think we know, it's not been proven, we know from the indictments there was meddling according to mueller's articulation of the chronology. so how is it that you know there was no connection between the two? i don't know that. i don't know what mueller knows. i'm eager to find out and my view of this is going to follow the evidence, not the politics. i want to know what you think, go to the website today, smerconish.com, and answer this question. which will determine donald trump's longevity in office? still to come, a school teach ever -- teacher here in pennsylvania trying to pick up some extra bucks in his off hours, playing a bad guy pro wrestler character. now his job might be in question. the character he place is a nazi sympathizer. is that fair? starting at $15.99. whether you choose bbq, garlic butter or sweet & tangy shrimp, it'll be perfect. hurry in! steak & shrimp ends soon. to put on our website? i mean i would have but i'm a commercial vehicle so i don't have hands... or a camera...or a website. should we franchise? is the market ready for that? can we franchise? how do you do that? meg! oh meg! we should do that thing where you put the business cards in the fishbowl and somebody wins something. -meg: hi. i'm here for... i'm here for the evans' wedding. -we've got the cake in the back, so, yeah. -meg: thank you. -progressive knows small business makes big demands. -you're not gonna make it, you're not gonna make it! ask her if we can do her next wedding too! -so we'll design the insurance solution that fits your business. -on second thought, don't...ask that. sharper vision, without limits. days that go from sun up to sun down. a whole world in all its beauty. three innovative technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. together in a single lens. essilor ultimate lens package. purchase the essilor ultimate lens package and get a second pair of qualifying lenses free. essilor. better sight. better life. you know, teaching is a tough job, often for not enough pay. now one middle school teacher in pennsylvania is in hot water for moonlighting at another gig. during the day kevin bean teaches fifth and sixth grade at the middle school. where he has taught since 2004. as a matter of fact, a mom called my sirius xm radio show sang his praises as the faculty adviser of her son's chess club. but at night, he becomes blitzkrieg, the german juggernaut. what's the minor league wrestling in a june match in quaker pennsylvania. he comes in, shouts zig heil, blitzkrieg, and raises his arm in a nazi absolute. a founder of prowrestling sheet, ryan satton, who used to work at tmz and presumably knows a good story, waved the flag and said this video watch me second. watching the guy do nazi salutes on his way to the ring while children cheer him on as a good guy is terrifying. well, you can guess what happened next. local school officials were apparently unaware of the other gig. after they launched an investigation, they released a statement saying this -- once aware of the video, they acted immediately to conduct an internal investigation. the actions portrayed in this video do not represent the core values of the school district. full confession, i'm a product of the 1970s, a product of my youth was spent watching pro wrestling. saturday mornings, my brother and i used to sit on these hisiusly colored green bean diagnose back chairs in our rec room, looking at a tv set that only goat seven channels. when we watched it, we were watching pro wrestling. which is what we loved to imitate. these were the days when vince mcmann was a geek an there was no in between. you knew you were for one side or the other. my personal favorite was chief jay strongbow. after wrestling, i could do his war dance. i think i could still do it, there was a long cartoonish for a crowd to boo. like the sheikh a syrian character that enters the ring wearing a headdress, and before matches, he would kneel on a prayer rug. maybe the teacher played the role too well for some the post pointed out the issue here may have been more about the audience than the teacher performer. quote, blitzkrieg appeared to elicit more cheers from the crowd than his opponent cody rose. while he paraded around the ring, one man could be seen extending his arm in a nazi salute. a young boy held up a sign "blitzkrieg rules." another that translated means blitzkrieg, ruler of all people. as blitzkrieg prepared to enter the ring, chance filled the room. let us not forget in an earlier life, the president made a famous cameo in prowrestling himself. is kevin bean a part of the crowd turning a villain into a hero? when a teacher wouldn't -- as a nazi sympathizer is unfit to teach? two-thirds said he's fine to have both jobs. i think that's the correct answer. absent evidence the teacher harbors and act on such appalling views. let me be clear, there is none of that evidence here, he ought to keep his job and young minds should continue to boo his character. still to come, your best and worst tweets and facebook comments, like this one from twitter. we have enough nazis parading through the country at the moment. character or not, pick a new villain. >> i think that's good advice. he would be best by moving on, but shouldn't lose his gig for it. i hope you answered the survey question at smerconish.com. i'm about to give you the results. go vote now. thank you! ♪ ♪ wait, i have something for you! every stay is a special stay at holiday inn. save up to 15% when you book early at hollidayinn.com wells fargo has supported community organizations from the beginning, save up to 15% when you book early like united way, non-profits like the american red cross, and our nation's veterans. we knew helping our communities was important then. and we know it's even more important today. so we're stepping up to volunteer more and donate over a million dollars every day. so our communities can be even stronger. it's a new day at wells fargo. but it's a lot like our first day. during the witch hunt. there it is, i guess a reflection of the fact that carter page testified without a lawyer and the full transcript was made public with very minor redactions. what else came in during the course of the program this hour. let the president do his job. >> i'm letting the president do his job. he got full credit today for the economy, we brought on one of his spokes men to talk about it. and i posed the critique questions to him. i'm not going to ignore what's going on relative the mueller and southern district coves. >> what if the trump tower meeting was completely innocent. did the lies start immediately after it was revealed? i don't know. i want to add a little new answer, he was present when president trump was told of this upcoming meeting in trump tower with russian nationals. it did happen or it didn't happen. and my hunch is, it's much more in a grayer, right? it stands to reason there was plenty of conversation about the fact that be both sides wanted dirt on the other. and maybe in the end, michael cohen's story is going to be he believes the president was probably in the loop on that one meeting because he had been present for other conversations about collecting political dirt generally. why do i say that? that would preserve the honesty of the testimony he provided previously. then it can all line up. he can't say, it was that meeting but also general discussion. see you next week. an incomplete dose could increase infection risk. ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems allergic reactions, kidney injuries and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. pay no more than $25 per dose with copay card. douglas! we're running dangerously low on beans. people love your beans, doug. they love 'em. doooooooooug! you want to go sell some tacos? 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