CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Calls Out Maggie Haberman’s Defense of Trump: ‘That is Absurd!’
CNN host Alisyn Camerota and New York Times‘s Maggie Haberman clashed over the White House correspondent’s recent story on checks signed by President Donald Trump that were sent to his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.
Camerota specifically took issue with the idea that Trump did not know what the checks were for.
“What people close to the president said is they are not sure he actually knew what the payments were going toward,” Haberman explained. “That he thought he was getting a legal fee to repay Michael Cohen.”
“That’s absurd, Maggie,” Camerota replied, to which Haberman shot back, “It’s not absurd, I don’t agree.”
“$35,000 and to not know?” the New Day host asked, referencing the payment amount. “This is a man who didn’t even pay his vendors when they completed work for him. This is somebody who doesn’t part with $35,000.”
Haberman explained her reasoning:
“I’m just doing this for a theoretical here, let’s say he thought he was reimbursing Michael Cohen for other things that he may not want people to know about. I’m talking specifically about the Stormy Daniels thing. So, no, I disagree that it’s absurd.”
After Camerota noted that Trump’s checks to Cohen weren’t sent as “an automatic online payment” he might have overlooked, Haberman said she doesn’t “think that means anything either.”
“He was getting a bunch of bills and signing them. Whether he knew he was reimbursing Michael Cohen for this, only two and maybe a handful of other people at the Trump organization would know,” she continued. “But the two people are Michael Cohen and Donald Trump. Donald Trump actually has not said frankly more recently whether he did or not.”
After noting that Cohen has some credibility because he alleged that Trump knew while “under oath and penalty of perjury,” Haberman finished by telling Camerota, “It’s a mistake to then say and therefore this is the only possibility, this is the only thing it could be there.”
Watch above, via CNN.
