Transcript for Mueller expected to file sentencing memo
We turn to president trump who Zachary mentioned is an old friend of Robert Kraft’s but this morning there is another longtime trump associate who is also making news. What we’re learning about former fixer Michael Cohen and his cooperation with federal prosecutors. ABC’s white house correspondent Tara Palmeri has more from the white house. Reporter: Overnight ABC news confirming that the president’s longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has been providing new information to the southern district of New York about insurance claims filed by the trump organization. Cohen, who will start his three-year prison sentence in may, is set to testify publicly Wednesday before congress about the president’s business practices. Trump, who has Calle rat, says he’s not concerned. Do you have any concern about Michael Cohen’s testimony before congress this week? No, no, no. Lawyer/client but, you know, he’s taking his own chances. Reporter: Cohen pled guilty to crimes including campaign finance violations by arranging hush payments during the presidential campaign to two women claiming to have had affairs with then president trump and he provided information about a trump inaugural committee donor who gave $900,000 to the committee and wrote a $100,000 check to Cohen who was building a consulting company around his access to trump. I’m done being loyal to president trump. Reporter: Those new details about Cohen coming as the white house braces for special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report. ABC news has learned that it will not be released next week. President trump welcoming findings that he says will clear him. You know, the nice part? There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. There was no anything. So I look forward to seeing the report. If it’s an honest report, it will say that. Reporter: Mueller recommended that president trump’s former manager, Paul manafort, face up to 24 years in prison for crimes including fraud, and now “The New York Times” reporting that the Manhattan district attorney is filing additional criminal charges against manafort in case the president pardons him for those federal crimes. A president cannot pardon state crimes. A representative for manafort declined to comment on “The new York Times” report. Dan. So much going on here. Tara, thank you. Let’s bring in ABC news chief political analyst Matthew dowd who joins us from Texas. Matthew, good morning. Let’s start with this Mueller report. It may not be coming this week but the expectation is that it will come reasonably soon. We heard from the president there in Tara’s report. He seems pretty confident. Do you think he should be? Well, the president, as you know, always states things with a high degree of confidence. He said that Mexico was going to pay for the wall and the GOP would keep the house of representatives in the last year’s election, and both of us know how that turned out. I think I see the Mueller report and he might have some realistic chance of getting — escaping from the Mueller report but the report is like a big oak tree and he’s looking at the big oak the big oak tree has done is thrown off a bunch of acorns and all of those acorns have germinated and now other seedlings are popping up and they are other U.S. Attorneys offices and state offices but there’s a whole bunch of other things growing up around the president that he also has to be concerned about. You usually use pop culture references. Now you’re going for arborial references. We appreciate it. Let me pick up on it. Not only is he dealing with Mueller report but as you said, there’s also this federal investigation taking place in the southern district of New York, and this morning we’re learning and Tara reported that Michael Cohen, trump’s former fixer, is speaking to those investigators. We also know that Cohen will be testifying before congress this week while the president is over in Vietnam meeting with the leader of North Korea, so how much of a threat does Cohen pose to the president? Well, you know, the Oscar for best supporting actor in a drama is Michael Cohen in the midst of this, and I think Michael Cohen’s testimony, this is the first time that we’re going to hear publicly in a public much of what’s been going on and whether it has to do with the conversations he had about Russia, whether it has to do with the conversations he’s had about payments to porn stars or whatever else, and we’re going to see Michael Cohen grilled by both Democrats and Republicans and now he’s got a credibility problem, obviously, because he lied to congress and he admitted to lying to congress, but I think that day of testimony is the first, as I say, is the first time we’re getting a real window into the president with somebody that has stood by the president for 10 or 12 years. Another spectacle in the era of trump. Matthew dowd, thank you very much for your analysis and as we expect for sneaking in a proper pop culture reference. We appreciate, Matthew dowd. Of course, we have the oscars are tomorrow so we have to do that. Oscars are tomorrow. ABC management appreciates your shotout. The coverage begins tomorrow evening. Matthew dowd for us in Texas,
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
