i would have to do an optimistic story. and then what. thanks, my. friend as always. thanks to you at home for being here this evening. it was four days before the 2016 election, when the wall street journal published this report national enquirer shielded donald trump from playboy model s affair allegation. the journal was the first to report that the national enquirer paid a woman named karen mcdougal $150,000 in august of 2016, and what is known as a catch and kill. basically, the enquirer bought macdougalls story, about a romantic relationship with donald trump in 2006, and then the acquirer killed it. it never went to press. in any other news cycle, this story would ve been a bombshell. in the last week, of a wild campaign, the mcdougal story got very little attention. first of all, the country was still reeling from the release of trump s access hollywood tape, which had happened a month earlier. just days before, fbi director james comey had announced the fbi was
all a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late, i ll see you at the end of tomorrow. of tomorrow it was four days before the 2016 election when the wall street journal published this report national enquirer shielded donald trump from playboy model s affair allegation. the journal was the first to report that the national enquirer paid a woman named karen mcdougal $150,000 in august of 2016, and what is known as a catch and kill. basically, the enquirer bought macdougalls story, about a romantic relationship with donald trump in 2006, and then the acquirer killed it. it never went to press. in any other news cycle, this story would ve been a bombshell. in the last week, of a wild campaign, the mcdougal story got very little attention. first of all, the country was still reeling from the release of trump s access hollywood tape, which had happened a month earlier. just days before, fbi director james comey had anno
Good to be with you, im katy tur. The Hush Money Trial of former President Trump. Defense attorney todd blanche is going through cohens direct hm. Cohen is talking about his dealing with the press as a Quote Surrogate of mr. Trumps campaign, and the secret recordings he made of the former president. Blanche is starting to dig into the stories cohen attempted to bury about trump. This goes back to early days of this trial, alongside National Enquirers david pecker. Joining us now, Nbc News National Correspondent Yasmin Vossoughian outside the court, back with us. Chuck rosenberg, catherine christian, and Danny Cevallos. Yasmin, what is happening right now . Reporter theyre talking about the calls beginning in june of 2016. This is when cohen alleges he informed the former president of the united states, his boss at the time there was a meeting between mcdougal. This was the beginning of the payoff by ami. It was october in which the payoff was made to Stormy Daniels, initial contact bet
Point out we still need prosecutors to connect donald trump to the actual actions that are taking place here. Donald trump did not say set up this llc. Its important to remember that Michael Cohens testimony has to be supported at some point to where did donald trump instruct you to do this specifically. Its time for us to hand it over. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate all of you. Thats going to do it for us this hour. Andrea mitchell and katy tur will pick things up after a quick break. Ill see you back at 1 00 eastern time. Keep it here. Lots going on. Good day, everyone. The star witness takes the stand. Now the critical figure in the hush money case. Michael cohen, once Donald Trumps loyal attack dog, is now facetoface with his former boss for the first time in months. Cohen is the lynch pin of the prosecutions case. They argue cohen acted at trumps direction in an attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election. The defenses counter, once a liar, always a liar. Pain
Be scarier with his clothes on. Do you want to see him jailed . I dont think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration. I feel like the other things that he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely. Stormy daniels, the woman at the center of trumps hush money scandal, takes the stand. Revealing in vivid detail the alleged sexual encounter that she says left her shaking. And the 130,000 payment that bought her silence. Plus, more of my exclusive interview with wnba star Brittney Griner including how she survives a Russian Gulag. The letter she wrote to putin, how trump turned on her, and her joyful homecoming. But we begin on the day that probably most trump trial watchers have been anticipating. And one donald trump has likely been dreading. Today was the day that stephanie clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, took the witness stand in trumps hush money election interference trial. Trump was dreading this day so much that even before daniels entered the courtroom, he tweeted a