Week roger stone is behind bars and therefore might not be able to watch Michael Cohens testimony this time next week. Yeah, i dont know about, like, cspan in the federal lockup. I dont know. It depends on luck of the draw of where you are and, you know, some of them have tv. Some of them dont. Well see what happens. Wow. Well, you know this week, i mean, these hours, rachel, yours and mine on this night next week will be the postMichael Cohen testimony hours. The first public testimony Michael Cohen will give to the house of representatives about everything he was up to with donald trump. When you saw that list of topics from Elijah Cummings today when he laid out the scope of the hearing, tell me honestly, did it not cross your mind that you and i should rent out a Movie Theater . Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All those things 10 00 a. M. On wednesday. Our shows arent on until 11 or 12 hours later, right . We could, like, get a theater. I dont know. Rachel, at a location convenient to you. Okay. You say the word. Maybe a drivein. Thanks, lawrence. Thank you, rachel. As i said, next week is the week. Next week is going to be a very bad week for donald trump. The question tonight is how bad . Democrats in the house of representatives announced today that Michael Cohen will testify publicly exactly one week from now to the House Oversight committee, and he will testify the next day in a closed session of the house intelligence committee. The chairman of the House Oversight committee Elijah Cummings released a list, the list rachel was just talking about, of the subjects that Michael Cohen will testify about. The chairmans statement says that this list was the result of consultations with the department of justice, which probably means consultations with the office of the special prosecutor Robert Mueller in the department of justice. And that might be another indicator, another clue that Robert Mueller is very close to completing his investigation and might even be submitting his final investigative report to the attorney general next week, maybe even before Michael Cohens testimony. The Washington Post is reporting tonight that Justice Department officials are preparing for the end of the special counsel robert s. Mueller iiis nearly twoyear investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election and believe a confidential report could be issued in coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions. The special counsels office agreed to delay the beginning of Michael Cohens prison sentence so that he could testify to Congress Next week. Some of the issues that Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify about were part of the special prosecutors investigation, that list provided by chairman cummings is the president s debts and payments relating to efforts to influence the 2016 election. The president s compliance with Financial Disclosure requirements. The president s compliance with Campaign Finance laws. The president s compliance with tax laws. The president s potential and actual conflicts of interests. The president s business practices. The Trump International hotel in washington, d. C. The accuracy of the president s public statements. Potentially fraudulent or inappropriate practices by the trump foundation. And public efforts by the president and his attorney to intimidate mr. Cohen or others not to testify. Michael cohen has agreed to testify voluntarily and will not be under a subpoena, so this time next week when Michael Cohen is testifying to congress, as i said, roger stone might be behind bars. If his hearing does not go well for him tomorrow when he is trying to explain to federal judge amy burmanjackson that she should not change the conditions of his release while awaiting trial after he created an Instagram Post showing a picture of the judge with a firearm a firearm crosshairs in the photograph. The Instagram Post attacks the judge for being appointed by president obama and says she is part of a conspiracy to conduct an unfair trial of roger stone. And he uses those lies about the judge to try to raise money in that Instagram Post. And so at this very hour, a week from now roger stone might or might not be in jail, but we will definitely be covering the no doubt condemning testimony that Michael Cohen will deliver about donald trump, including an expansion of what Michael Cohen said under oath in federal court in manhattan, that donald trump ordered him to commit federal election crimes in providing hush money to two women during the president ial campaign and that donald trump himself knowingly directed those crimes to be committed and joined in the commission of those crimes against the United States of america. Thats what we are now guaranteed to be covering one week from tonight, but we might also be covering the end of the Mueller Investigation. Leading off our discussion about all of that now, harry litman. Harry is a legal scholar who has been following every turn of the Mueller Investigation and the investigation of Michael Cohen. Harry litman is a former federal prosecutor and a former Deputy Assistant attorney general in the Clinton Administration. And also joining us with the capitol hill perspective, lisa graves, who is a former Deputy Assistant attorney general in the Clinton Administration and a former counsel to the Senate Judiciary committee. And sam stein is with us. Hes the politics editor of the daily beast. He is also an msnbc political analyst. He will cover the politics of what is looming for next week. And harry litman, let me go to you first on what were hearing about the Mueller Investigation. Sync that with the now announced scheduling just tonight, the announced scheduling of Michael Cohen testifying publicly this time next week. Does Michael Cohens basically being released by the special prosecutor to go testify and tell all publicly indicate, is that another indicator we may be close to the end of the Mueller Investigation . You know, i think its another indicator and surely it was coordinated with the special counsel. And there are some good teasers out there, including the fact that some of muellers lawyers are calling their old bosses saying, im ready to come back. But its a puzzle to me, lawrence, because there are so many big pieces that mueller has not completed, starting with roger stone and going from there. So the reports, more and more Little Details come out and yet i remain uncertain that next week really will see the delivery of the report. Time and not very much time will tell, but its not simply there are more things to finish up, its that some of those things seem so core to muellers mission that its a bit of a mystery that hed be ready to pass on the reins. Harry, i completely embrace and share your uncertainty tonight. I have i have no feeling at all myself about and no willingness to predict what will happen next week, other than what is already scheduled, which is the Michael Cohen hearing. And lisa graves, with your experience on the Senate Judiciary committee and your understanding of how these congressional committees handle testimony like this, what do you two things. What are you expecting from that testimony next week . And do you see in it an indicator that we could be near the end of the Robert Mueller investigation . Well, i share your uncertainty and harrys uncertainty. I think there are a lot of tea leaves out there, but it seems that there are a lot of things that remain outstanding for the special counsel. I do think next week were going to see reprieves of the republican grande standing and public hysteria that they expressed at the hearing earlier this year in which they make all these accusations to try to disrupt those hearings. I think were going to see possibly some very compelling testimony because of the plea agreement that Michael Cohen has entered into. And its important that we see that testimony as the American People because we dont know whats going to happen at the Justice Department with william barr as the attorney general, in terms of his approach to this, or with the new nominee to be Deputy Attorney general, who has no criminal background experience, jeffrey rosen. So its important for the public to have the chance to hear this testimony because we dont know what the Justice Department is going to do when it does have a chance to take a look at that report by Robert Mueller. Sam stein, youre free to offer your guess in the midst of all of this collective uncertainty about what Robert Muellers going to do next week, but you are also here as an experienced eye on the politics, the politics that will explode in washington next week when Michael Cohen begins publicly testifying under oath, answering questions about the person who will not be referred to as individual one, as President Trump was in federal court here in manhattan, but will be referred to by name. With Michael Cohen describing the president directing him to commit crimes during the president ial campaign. Right. Well, im not going to offer a guess about whats happening with the mueller report. Im not stupid enough to do that. Weve had weve had various times where everyone was dead certain that it was happening or coming to a conclusion within a matter of weeks or months, only to end up in this current state. That said, all the signs seem to be pointing in that direction. Obviously Rod Rosenstein had let it be known he was not going to leave before the probes conclusion and he is now apparently nearing the exit doors. So it does seem like were getting towards that sort of uncertain conclusion. Yeah, i think the politics will be explosive. Obviously a lot of it depends on what happens with what mueller produces and whether there even is a report and whether that report is made public, but also there is a very good possibility that the conclusion comes with some more indictments, which, of course, would be explosive in its own right. Then on top of that, as you noted, we have this cohen testimony which has been delayed on a couple of different occasions. You know, its difficult to ascertain what the political fallout will be, but i think its fairly easy to conclude it wont be a great day for donald trump. Yes, there will be some republicans running interference for him on the committee, the people on that committee who are still republicans tend to be allies of the president. Theyve kind of hinted they want to run that type of interference, but by and large what were going to see is a person who has served by the president s side for many years as his attorney, who has been involved in not just the most important Business Decisions of his tenure, but also the early political ones, too. Who is going to peel back the curtains for us on what seems to be from all reports a very unseemly operation, both in terms of its business and its politics. So i cant imagine that donald trump will enjoy next week. If anything, its going to be very painful. And harry, i suspect among the things that are going to occur when Michael Cohen testifies is he will cover ground that we already know about because it was covered in federal court in manhattan. It was covered in that dispassionate language both in the written pleadings in the case and then in what Michael Cohen recited in the courtroom. But there were no questions. He wasnt being probed about the statements that he was making. There was the use of that those phrases like individual one. This is going to be that live exchange. This is going to be Michael Cohen the human being. This is going to be Michael Cohen choosing his own words. Choosing his own words about someone he now says has been threatening him. And talking about how they committed some crimes together during the president ial campaign in order to influence the vote in the president ial campaign so that donald trump could win. Americas going to hear someone testifying under oath about exactly that and that can change everything. Completely. Its likely going to be riveting. Think back to watergate. There was all kinds of reports back there, but when you actually had all of the president s men in the in the dock, in the senate to saying back and forth in candid terms its a game changer, exactly as you say. Oh, by the way, cohens not hes appearing voluntarily, not under subpoena, and that will make the interview or the testimony more freeranging. It wont be constrained by worries about its effect on muellers testimony. So youll have some really vivid questioning by the democrats. Then it will be a republicans turn to basically lambast him. Then youll go back to the democrats with more vivid uncovering of things weve heard about in the abstract but nothing like having the details really revealed. Its going to be a dramatic day. Lisa, i think we know what to expect, as harry just said, from the democratic side. They are just going to want to help Michael Cohen get his story out with as much detail as possible. On the republican side, with your experience in the Senate Judiciary committee, what are you expecting tactically on the republican side of the Michael Cohen hearing . Well, im afraid were going to see a reprise of the sort of Lindsey Graham attack mode we saw during the kavanaugh hearing. I suspect well see a lot of, you know, near shouting, interruptions and, you know, really harsh accusations coming from the republicans to try to sort of change the narrative and put Michael Cohen on the defensive. Cohen has been, you know, very contrite in his statements to the court. Hes, you know, expressed, you know, regret over his role in these crimes, and i think that it will be very hard for the republicans to sit still and hear Michael Cohen testifying under oath about specifically, as you said, lawrence, President Trump and candidate trump doing x or y and being complicit in trying to, you know, hide the money in his involvement in the hush money and other activities in terms of trumps business interests in russia, which he lied about and denied repeatedly during the campaign and has continued to lie about. So well have an opportunity to really hear from Michael Cohen about a range of issues. And as harry said, hes not subject to subpoena. And that means that there will be a free range of testimony that can be offered about these really serious matters. Sam stein, quickly before we go. At this time a week from now as were analyzing Michael Cohens testimony, will impeachment get new energy in washington next week . It really i mean, it really depends. I am curious if they press him on that disputed buzzfeed report about whether donald trump directed him to offer previous false testimony to congress. Those are the types of questions that depending on how Michael Cohen answers it, you start getting into talk about impeachment or those types of proceedings. But we cant possibly know until we see Michael Cohen sit down and express his Comfort Level with going into those types of details. The everpatient sam stein. Harry litman, lisa graves, sam stein, thank you for starting us off. Really appreciate it. And when we come back, a warning that foreign state actors like russia and north korea are already at it again. They are already attacking the 2020 president ial campaign. And it is pierce that Elizabeth Warrens tax plan is winning President Trumps is beating the President Trump tax bill in popularity with voters. Former bill clinton secretary of labor robert riesh will be here to discuss all of that. And in tonights last word, we will