well, that's et for this week. thank you for joining us. we'll be back next week with another deep dive behind the news here ott on "wall street journal" at large. i hope you'll join us. ♪ ♪ welcome to the journal editorial report. michael cohen was quandt was sentenced wednesday to three years on wednesday. lying to congress into campaign finance violations. this on the same day that federal prosecutors in new york revealed the tabloid publisher america media which is run by longtime trump ally david packer admitted that it have paid off karen mcdougall ahead of the 2016 presidential election in concert with the

trumpet campaign. they reacted to the sentencing. those are the charges that should not had been on there. they put that on to embarrass me. i never directed him to do anything wrong. he is a lawyer. a lawyer who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money et cetera. the former justice department also served as an assistant u.s. attorney. welcome mister trustee. appreciate you being here. let me ask you i guess the bottom line is what kind of legal jeopardy are they and

over the campaign finance violations. >> it's not totally clear at this point but it was not a great day for the president to see the language in the plea agreement and the language that is being used to describe his activities. every time a criminal defendant pleads guilty they are pleading for themselves they're not biting anyone else. it doesn't mean the ahaz dismissible evidence. it's a bad sign for them to see that kind of scrutiny. because of the southern district looks to me and i rented those sentencing documents. looks to me like the u.s. attorney there is trying to show that in fact there was a campaign violation that it was a crime, and that donald trump was part of a conspiracy to commit that crime is that how it looks to you? >> i think it reads that way. the question is whether it's gratuitous to shoot a cost -- across the bow of the resident. or if it is really part of an

ongoing indictable case. and that gets down to the part whether you could put them on the witness stand. it's pretty much destroyed by the same sentencing memo. they would barely had to rely on michael cohen as a witness. and now they had david who is also he paid off at one of the women and he did it with the knowledge of the trumpet campaign. does that help the potential government case. >> i don't know that the payments themselves our anything mysterious at this point. i think it's common knowledge that all of these types of programs happen. they are not illegal by themselves. i think the issue might will revolve around the president's

intent. >> if he says essentially that i just slumped this off on my lawyer i wanted it to go away for a variety of reasons that might be a very unattractive but valid defense. it's not specifically intending to skirt campaign finance laws he's just trying to make something go wait for family and reputation and for politics. >> we have the president of john edwards. he was indicted at one point for payments by his campaign donors to his mistress. but that was thrown out and basically a hung jury and then the justice department throughout the charges and there is a real debate about whether the payments like this to women are in fact criminal. nondisclosure agreements by themselves are not a gets trickier as used or to get into campaign finance law to figure where the funding comes

from. but the intent question is a real difficult one. to prove that they will feel he violated that. and they had mixed motivations. not just politically but personally. then becomes a really tough road for the prosecution. not convinced that relying on that is going to be enough to establish this kind of guilty knowledge. >> what are the options here for the u.s. attorney. he will works ultimately for the attorney general. do they have an option to actually indict a sitting president. the object of the prosecution

that doesn't mean that they cut it indicted under seal. i can't think of a direct parallel that we have that someone is that close to possible indictment by doj. if we have a future for filing that the president is some kind of unindicted co-conspirator. they have all but done that for the statement and facts. they could essentially build up their case either indicted under seal or after the presidency or if they are really feeling rebellious they could basically announce that they have indicted it. and see whether chips may fall. it is certainly a possibility with the southern district. surely the courts would side with the ultimate

responsibility with the attorney general. i can't imagine that he wouldn't be able to give in order to a u.s. attorney. there is probably no court appearance. a few years later we will sort it would be that all of this comes up to congress as a particular item of impeachment the biggest and turns it into essentially a blueprint for impeachment where you don't really assess the credibility of the witnesses.

even failed cooperators and put it on paper and write a story that is pretty compelling read for people in the new congress. thank you mister trustee we appreciate you being here. the federal judge months the document related to the fbi on his questioning. the former national security advisor. in the tactics are called into question ahead of the when my hot water heater failed, she was pregnant, in-laws were coming, a little bit of water, it really- it rocked our world. i had no idea the amount of damage that water could do. we called usaa. and they greeted me as they always do. sergeant baker, how are you? they were on it. it was unbelievable. having insurance is something everyone needs, but having usaa- now that's a privilege. we're the baker's and we're usaa members for life. usaa. get your insurance quote today.

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>> ahead of the sentencing robert mueller to turn over documents related to michael flynn's questioning behind the fbi. it led to criminal charges against president trumps. james comey admitted in a recent interview that he personally made the decision to send a pair of agents to

plan 2017. i was not typical for dealing with a white house official. something i probably would not had done or gotten away with in a more organized investigation. the fbi wanted to send agents into the white house itself for the senior official you would work through the white house counsel. i thought it is early enough let's just send a couple of guys over. before we get to the michael flynn bit i wanted to talk about this follow-up and what you heard. do you think think there is a legal liability here on the payments were mostly

political. >> and that is exactly the question. it is a close call whether there is legal liability is a real law people are going to prison for violating it. the average american does not understand the campaign finance laws and a lot of them would look at what's going on with donald trump. be on donald trump ends up actually getting indicted as a violation of the campaign finance law. going forward any president i think given the way campaigns are run could be exposed and vulnerable to an act like this.

whether there would be an indictment or they would try to apply it before he leaves office. with they even impeach him though. not just impeachment if he were indicted i'm sure would be leaked. i think the big problem is political they are not the democrats that we were promised when connerly them conor liam was elected. they want to impeach whether they get enough votes is another question. but it could provide them the narrative they need. let's turn to michael flynn.

we know this because of the documents that were filed. we now know it was about up personally better personally by then deputy who reached out to general flynn all kinds of all kind buddy buddy. might we have some agents come over and sit down and deal with this russia thing. suggested he not have a lawyer present. they then show up and keep up that peru's. it doesn't have to be a crime to the fbi. they don't tell them that they have they've a transcript of the conversation. and the whole thing it speaks a little bit of entrapment. with the timing on this. in january 2017. so shortly after the president

has taken office. we tried to do this in a way that we couldn't have could have done with any other administration. the motive here was to try to sandbag flynn. think about how this may have rolled otherwise. eva man who spent 33 years in the military service. decorated general. now ahead of the nsa. you think he would deserve the benefit of the doubt. they should have come in here and said we managed to get these transcripts let's talk it through. they thought that they told initially the congress when they are testifying that they did not think he was lying. the bigger picture. compare this to the handling of the hillary clinton investigation. when she was interviewed by the fbi i think there were 13

people in the room all lawyers they allowed cheryl mills to represent or be in the room the handling is just incredibly different it is hard to say is dishonest. now is the intent of the judges question. what was the fbi doing. to find out what they did at what time. >> people should not commit crimes. but it looks here as though the defenses are incidental to something larger. whether they can find a path to donald trump. without quite knowing what that crime might be. lawmakers scrambled to meet the budget agreements. the border wall funding a preview of what's to come next year.

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a contentious meeting at the white house this week as they scramble to reach a budget deal before the friday night deadline. they are meeting with democratic leaders nancy pelosi and truck -- check schumer. the president is saying he would be proud to shut down the government or the border security. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security because the people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems on drugs pouring into our country. i will take the mantle. i would be the one to shut it down.

>> we are back. certainly you can see chuck schumer smiling there. looks like he was delighted that president trump took that responsibility. was that smart for the president to do? >> the number one question parties care about is who takes the blame. the president willingly said he was going to take it. i think the question though is how this does play out in the end. we had had to head shutdowns in the past. under the obama administration. they would only be talking about a partial shutdown here. they've been working very hard to make sure it happens with minimal disruption. >> what is really at stake here. what are they fighting over in the end.

it's for border security. i think trump has tried to show that he is still taking to the democrats on this issue. the irony here is that he have an opportunity back early this summer for border security in the wall in return for the modest family donation. and as well as the dreamers. also in the senate a similar deal was cut and he basically sabotaged it. >> now hits essentially scrambling here. to be able to get something that he can say is what he

wants with his main campaign promises. >> no one is negotiating. it all goes back to this event. i looked at that conversation about 50 times in the issue is. what is the issue. is at the wall or border security. he is talking about border security does he want money contributed to doing something. the government is probably going to shut down.

we will just freeze the budget. they have no solution. i would not be surprised if trump did not come forward at some point. i think they have to to actually drive the campaign. it is going to be even harder and so there is a strong reason for republicans to get that done. the real issue is the senate. they are probably votes in the house. what you probably see is the house passed house past something late next week. and they tried to jam them there. everybody wants to go home for christmas. that seems the most likely.

we should have this behind closed doors, do you think this is a kind of way that they are going to govern with. why would that play to his advantage. >> quite idiotic in that scene. it really plays into that democratic hands. and if the issue ultimatums that are completely absurd. if he starts making demands that democrats will not agree to. it does not strike as a compromise. thank you all. thank you all. there is more still ahead.

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it is the renewed mission delivering that brexit the people voted for and bringing the country back together and building a country that truly works for everyone.

the embattled leader was back in brussels on thursday. the editorial board member joins us with the latest. what does this stand now. it was a really chaotic time. we just discovered that there are a lot of possible ways to do that. you can have different kinds of trade relations.

you can even try to stay in the eu. there is still a debate about that. any aspect of the situation. what we have discovered in the past couple of weeks that there is not yet a concession in the house of parliament here behind any of the authors that would be acceptable. is there an increasing possibility that you would get a brexit with no deal. i think that is definitely a growing risk. as we pointed out they face a challenge in leadership from within her party this week. that was an important step. what they were really fighting about was her version of the brexit plan. it would be supported by a smaller number of conservative members of parliament. starting to vote on that can

think is helpful. the negotiation that happened in brussels this week is helpful. what is on the table right now is the best off author that they're they are going to get. that something people need to know. if they don't come around to taking the tree set may deal as it exists, then the know brexit will be the alternative. they can continue without the other kind of traded deal. they can accept the deal. it actually involves more free-trade.

it's not really clear that people can agree on that yet either. they reverse themselves on the fuel tax. and they pulled back. contrite. can they retrieve it. they still have it was not just about the fuel tax. to a lot of parts of his reform agenda he has not done a good enough job as a salesman. dan, you wrote about this this week. what is the bigger picture here.

the european union was formed in 1982. in the cracks are occurring at the leadership level. on the other hand european union is looking like it is there. you have to stay inside this group of rules. and i don't think britain is going to be the last country to push back. >> what is the u.s. interest here. >> i think if donald trump is clever. it's an opportunity. they said they're going to renegotiate the deal from that brexit people she would not be in the fix that she's in. they opt for brexit without

having a clear plan. one of the plans would be i think the president needs to step in an author --dash mike offer to work at a tree deal with the uk. we don't have that much discriminatory action. it's open to anybody that wants the same term. we've kinda left them. what you think is briefly at stake here? >> i think it would be a good idea. but one of the problems is that it's actually going to be much harder to get the deal than a lot of people in london thought it was can be. it's actually very similar to the rest of the eu. there is gonna be this whole other political problem of whether they can get through the kind of deal that they would be prepared to sign with them. >> there is more still head.

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that was incredibly exciting because i really didn't know that. it just brings it home how deep my roots are and it connects me to them, and to their spirit, and to their history. this holiday, give the gift that's connected millions to a deeper family story. order your kit at ancestry.com. >> present trump sends another not so special message. the president called the rate increase foolish and criticized him for being far too aggressive. what should we expect when the fed meets next week? welcome. good to see you. a lot of market turmoil. how solid is american growth in the economy.

i think there is some slowdown in some of the interest rates. employment is quite strong. i think in the the outlook is quite good going into next year. there are some headline risk that were in the market. i think the economy itself is quite good. part of them they were up is so much last year. they can of kind of built in some of the growth. from last year to this year. i think also it is traded, i think there are real questions about potential policy on the part of the federal reserve. i want to get to that.

i think it is hanging over the market particularly. especially with regard to capital spending. it is up significantly. but they are down over the last couple of months. and i think that has something to do with the uncertainty surrounding trade. it was going to kick up capital spending. it had been so slow over president obama. we know it is very long. keep that going. you say trade is now an overhang on that. and i agree completely the act of the sea of that. will be completely un- on capital spending. the people that didn't sign

that. the key to long-term prosperity is productivity. it is a result of capital spending and investment. it is important. that those things do not operate in a vacuum. even for large companies that have been very well in terms of corporate profits. it is extremely important in terms of making it. will you be able to import from china. what about the nafta. all of those on executive decision. they are something that can happen at the moment. that is good for investors. but not for the overall

economy. it was one of the problems is the policy mix was far better for wealthy people at the end of those ten years. the stock prices went up dramatically. and i think in many ways they would never admit it but i think it was at least in the approximate cause. another 25 basis points. probably not in my opinion. that was the lowest interest rate.

and they have an influence on that rate. it's about zero. it's probably low by historical standards. for the rest of the world are fed funds rate. they are not people. it's telling them they should pause. they have to be quite careful. in the early part. they signaled that he was gonna it was gonna tighten four times.

the emerging markets got hurt. i think they have to be careful there. i think the chairman is very considerate person. he should take the message of the market. we will have the details of this week's judic liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. great news for anyone wh- uh uh - i'm the one who delivers the news around here. ♪ liberty mutual has just announced that they can customize your car insurance so that you only pay for what you need. this is phoebe buckley, on location. uh... thanks, phoebe. ♪ only pay for what you need.

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they are looking for clues about the new conservative majority. they were offered a surprising one this week. they declined to hear a case on planned parenthood funding. in the newly confirmed justice siding with the liberals and liberals in not taking it out. it was drawing a sharp review. with the justice thomas justice thomas calling the decision troubling. in the dissent thomas wrote so what explains in the the court's refusal to do its job here. i expect has something to do with the fact that some respondents are named planned parenthood. some tenuous connection to a politically wrought issue does not justify advocating our judicial duty. you follow the court. you read the dissent. this case actually does not involve abortion. it is about the private right of action to sue states in federal court to vindicate

their right to their preferred provider which in their case is planned parenthood. they deemed them not qualified under their standards in the federal law gives them a lot of flexibility and discretion to do so. the federal courts of appeal has been all over the map on this. that's right. the eight circuit is that dissent. in the low case. that's actually how it stayed. he said we have to straighten up our own act.

you as the conservative court is in thai woman. you can just see the liberals. with the attack on cavanaugh it one. they basically would have said stand out. it is a big danger of the court. these really important constitutional arguments. what the inside negotiations that they thought they were going to side with the liberals. i think what is at stake here

is whether the states are going to have this authority they have nothing to do with the abortion. they rule against the private act action here. we know where they would come out. we know where they would come

out. and they have a fear that the chief justice roberts for reason of his own. but perhaps the private right to sue was going to establish that. let's fight another day on another issue. what is this tell you. will he be the swing court on this. >> i think he we have already been seen that. in the carpenter case. he is trying to make a consensus they will bring some more liberals onto the decision. decision. if you take one more break.

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all of the so-called moderates. as well as the so-called rebels. nancy pelosi is going to be speaker. she must have gotten the votes and most of them are coming from those very people. they made a phony deal on term limits. and she looks like she's going to remain in place. the new democratic party looks like the old. >> a hit to the legal foundation. they are suing mayor diblasio. they want to change the schools that are functioning. the eight specialized school to change entrance. the problem is it comes up against the government banned

on discrimination by government entities. this is like the harvard case. it is now starting to ban homework. >> i feel like an old fuddy-duddy. when i was a kid we would have three hours of homework every night. i think it helps to build work ethic and soon enough when they're adults they won't even want to start to work until after noon every day. >> the people at kentucky fried chicken had produced a you will log. and it produces that fragrance of kentucky fried chicken. the possibilities here are endless. i myself would up prefer out log, none of them good. i have a relative that would like the fragrance of tereus. i'm sure the viewers have

their own thoughts on what kind of fragrance they would prefer. >> remember if you have your own hit or miss be sure to tweet at us. thank you all for watching. we will see right here next week. ♪ >> i'm bob massi. for 35 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. but it wasn't just vegas that was hit hard. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now it's a different story. the american dream is back. and nowhere is that more clear than the grand canyon state of arizona. so we headed from the strip to the desert to show you how to explore the new landscape and live the american dream. i'm gonna help real people who are facing some major problems, explain the bold plans that are changing how americans live, and take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe.