CNN Reality Check: What Happened In The Trump-Putin Meeting In Hamburg? BuzzFeed News Reporter Talks About His Explosive Trump Story.
BERMAN: So, what happened in Hamburg -- you know, the site of two pivotal meetings between President Trump and Vladimir Putin that the president tried to conceal details of from his own administration and the world? What we know about what transpired there, very interesting. What we don't know could be even bigger. John Avlon has our reality check -- sir.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, guys. Look, when you're walking through a blizzard of lies it can be difficult to concentrate on specifics, but some days demand scrutiny. Take President Trump's trip to Germany for the G20, the first time he met Vladimir Putin in person. Here's what we know. On July 7th, 2017, President Trump and Putin take part in their first scheduled meeting. Also present, Secretary of State Tillerson, his Russian counterpart, and the interpreters. Now, the meeting is supposed to last a half hour but it stretches to more than four times that. Afterward, Tillerson puts out a bland statement calling their discussion about election interference, quote, "robust and lengthy." But the real drama takes place behind the scenes when President Trump personally confiscates his interpreter's notes. This is never done and for very good reason. Trump deliberately ensured that no American record exists of the first meeting between himself and a hostile foreign power who meddled in our election on his behalf. Now, looking back, it seems the president had a lot on his mind because earlier that same day "The New York Times" called for comment on a then-secret, now-infamous meeting between Don, Jr. and the Russians during the campaign. Meanwhile, back in Hamburg, the party goes on. Trump and Putin attend a dinner. And by protocol, world leaders break bread, make idle chitchat, and that's it. But that's when the weirdness kicks in. President Trump is captured on video doing whatever this at Putin. The media shuffled out of the room so the dinner could begin. Then, under the guise of saying hi to Melania, who is sitting next to Putin, Trump walks over to their side of the table and that becomes another hourlong discussion. This time, the only party to it is Putin's interpreter. And, Trump doesn't even tell his own staff about the meeting. The move is so bizarre that we only know about it because shocked world leaders let it leak. Now, the vice president of the Carnegie Endowment put it this way. Quote, "Shortly after the New York Times reached out to the White House to ask about a secret meeting with the Russians, Trump himself sought a secret meeting with the Russians." The next morning, President Trump is back on Air Force One and brimming with ideas. One of them is to call David Sanger from "The New York Times." Trump goes out of his way to defend Vladimir Putin on the call, saying that Putin told him Russia couldn't have hacked our election because if they had done it no one would ever know. And in Sanger's words, Trump seemed impressed by the argument, dismissing the American Intelligence Community's assessment out of hand. But that's not the only sketchy and desperate spin the president engaged in. Once Air Force One is wheels up, Trump turned his attention to his son and that Trump Tower meeting with the Russians. The president crafts a cover story, which is a fancy way of saying a lie, stating the meeting was just about Russian adoption. Now, some members of the O.G. Trump legal team apparently have a problem with this. The communications chief of the legal team quits a few weeks later, followed by the president's first lawyer. And that's all we know about that pivotal trip to Hamburg, so far. But remember, at first, the official version of events contained none of this. It's a portrait of a president whose first impulse is to try and hide the truth. But when you're president, you can't run and you can't hide. The truth will out. And that's your reality check.</s>CAMEROTA: John, very helpful. Thank you.</s>BERMAN: All right. We have one of the reporters that broke the bombshell BuzzFeed story on President Trump, right now.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BERMAN: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, January 18th, 8:00 in the east. Breaking news this morning, potentially of the huge variety. A new report this morning from BuzzFeed News that President Trump personally instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about building a Trump Tower in Moscow. That is according to two federal law enforcement officials. If true, that is suborning perjury. It is a crime; it is impeachable. Cohen is a convicted felon and an admitted liar, but BuzzFeed reports that Mueller has more evidence than just Cohen's word. They write, "The special counsel's office learned about Trump's directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company e- mails, text messages, and a cache of other documents. Cohen then acknowledged those instructions during his interviews with the office."</s>CAMEROTA: Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about the Russia investigation. He claimed the negotiations about the Moscow tower project ended in January of 2016 when, in fact, they ended in June of that year after Donald Trump was already the presumptive Republican nominee. CNN has not independently confirmed this BuzzFeed report. And, Democratic lawmakers are already seizing on the report and some of the details, so let's hear those. Joining us by phone now is one of the investigative reporters for BuzzFeed News who broke this story, Anthony Cormier. Anthony, thank you so much for being here. Your reporting has obviously captured much of the country this morning. It's on every network. So, can you tell us, Anthony, the evidence -- I know that in the report you say that you have spoken -- you have two law enforcement sources who tell you that they have seen evidence -- texts, e-mails, a cache of other documents. Maybe transcripts with other witnesses in the Trump Organization that Donald Trump pressured Michael Cohen to lie. He suborned perjury. Have you seen any of that other corroborating evidence?</s>ANTHONY CORMIER, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, BUZZFEED NEWS (via telephone): No, I've not seen it personally, but the folks that we've talked to -- the two officials that we've spoken to are fully, 100 percent read-in to that aspect of the special counsel's investigation.</s>BERMAN: Can you explain in greater detail the types of evidence that they say they have? What led them to ask Michael Cohen about this?</s>CORMIER: Sure. They have been working the --