>>> IN MY OPINION, DONALD TRUMP LIVES A LIFE OF LOVING AND
HELPING OTHERS, AS JESUS TAUGHT
IN THE GREAT COMMANDMENT.
HE CANNOT BE BOUGHT.
HE IS NOT A PUPPET ON A STRING,
LIKE MANY OTHER CANDIDATES.
>> ALWAYS BEEN A BIT OF A
QUESTION ABOUT HOW JERRY FALWELL
JR.’S DECISION TO ENDORSE OF ALL
PEOPLE NOTED SERIAL ADULTER AND
NEW YORK LIBERTINE DONALD TRUMP
IN THE VERY CROWDED GOP PRIMARY
FIELD JUST DAYS BEFORE THE IOWA
CAUCUS.
CAUCUS. AND WE JUST GOT A STORY THAT
DENIALS TO THE CONTRARY
NOTWITHSTANDING, MAYBE SHED SOME
LIGHT ON THAT ENDORSEMENT.
SO IT TURNS OUT THAT MICHAEL
COHEN, YES, THAT MICHAEL COHEN
IS BUDDIES WITH THE FALWELLS.
THAT’S PRETTY ESTABLISHED.
I DIDN’T KNOW THAT, BUT THAT
APPEARS TO BE TRUE.
ALSO, ACCORDING TO REUTERS, AT
LEAST, COHEN CLAIMED TO HAVE
HELPED JERRY FALWELL JR. AND HIS
WIFE WITH A RACY PHOTO PROBLEM
AND HELPED MAKE IT GO AWAY, JUST
MONTHS BEFORE FALWELL ENDORSED
TRUMP.
TRUMP. THAT’S ACCORDING TO A RECORDED
CONVERSATION REVIEWED BY
REUTERS.
REUTERS. NBC NEWS I SHOULD NOTE WHAT NOT
HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW A RECORD
OGG AFTER THAT PHONE CALL.
IN A SOURCE FROM REUTERS THE
PHONE CALL WERE SEPARATE ISSUES
67 IN A CAREFULLY WORDED WHILE
THE FALWELLS HAVE A
LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP WITH
MICHAEL COHEN, THEY NEVER PAID
OR ENGAGED COHEN TO REPRESENT
THEM IN ANY LEGAL OR
PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY, AND COHEN
DID NOT EVER RESOLVE ANY LEGAL
MATTER ON THEIR BEHALF.
YOU’LL NOTE THE REUTERS STORY
DOES NOT CLAIM THAT COHEN
CLAIMED TO BE LEGALLY
REPRESENTING THE FALWELLS OR
GETTING PAID SO, THAT PART IS A
LITTLE WEIRD.
LITTLE WEIRD. ALSO, ANOTHER THING THAT IS KIND
OF WEIRD IS THIS OTHER SEPARATE
STORY THAT CAME OUT MORE THAN A
YEAR AGO ABOUT THE FRIENDSHIP
BETWEEN JERRY FALWELL JR., HIS
WIFE AND A ONE-TIME MIAMI BEACH
POOL ATTENDANT.
POOL ATTENDANT. THE FALWELLS MET HIM AND
BEFRIENDED HIM AND TOOK HIM
UNDER HER WING AND ENDED UP
INVESTING $1.8 MILLION IN A
MIAMI BEACH YOUTH HOSTEL WHICH
SEEMS LIKE A LOT.
AN ATTORNEY FOR THE FALWELLS DID
NOT TALK ABOUT THE INVESTMENT
DESCRIBED IN A COURT FILING AS
LOANS.
LOANS. AN ATTORNEY FOR THE ONE-TIME
POOL ATTENDANT, NOW A STUDENT
TOLD THE MIAMI TANS MR. GRANT
HAS NO IDEA ABOUT THE ALLEGED
PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE
CONVERSATION.
CONVERSATION. HE IS NOT THE PERSON REFERRED TO
BY MR. COHEN IN THE TAPE
RECORDING.
RECORDING. ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. THE REPORTER WHO BROKE THE STORY
AARON ROSTEN JOINS ME NOW.
I AM CONFUSED BY THE SET OF
FACTS AND WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME
CLARITY.
CLARITY. LET’S START WITH THE MOST BASIC
THING.
THING. WAS IT WELL-KNOWN THAT FALWELL
JR. AND MICHAEL COHEN ARE
FRIENDS?
FRIENDS? >> NO, IT WAS NOT WELL-KNOWN,
BUT IT’S CLEARLY THE CASE, AND
THEY’VE HAD A FRIENDSHIP THAT’S
GONE BACK YEARS.
YOU’VE SEEN THAT THE FOLLOW
WELLS PUT OUT A STATEMENT THAT
IT’S A LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP.
I THINK THEY MET BACK IN 2012.
>> BEFORE WE GET TO ANYTHING
ELSE, ISN’T THAT A LITTLE WEIRD?
I DON’T THINK OF PEOPLE MOVING
IN THE SAME SOCIAL CIRCLES, BUT
SOMEHOW THEY’VE BEEN FRIENDS
EVEN BEFORE THE WHOLE TRUMP
THING HAPPENED OR TRUMP RAN FOR
OFFICE.
OFFICE. >> WELL, IT’S BEFORE -- THEY MET
IN THE CONTEXT OF DONALD TRUMP.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. >> WHEN TRUMP WAS DOWN IN 2012,
IT WAS IN 2012 THAT TRUMP GAVE
THE CONVOCATION AT LIBERTY
UNIVERSITY, AND THAT’S WHERE HE
REALLY CAME ON THE STAGE WITH
FALWELL.
FALWELL. >> I SEE.
>> I SEE. >> AND MICHAEL COHEN HAPPENED TO
BE THERE.
BE THERE. HE WAS THERE AT THAT EVENT.
SO, YES, IT’S AN INTERESTING
FRIENDSHIP.
FRIENDSHIP. IT’S NOT WHAT YOU’D ASSUME.
THE ONE LIVES IN VIRGINIA.
ONE AN EVANGELICAL, ONE A
LAWYER.
LAWYER. >> KIND OF DIFFERENT GUYS.
HERE IS THE SECOND QUESTION.
SO THAT ACTUALLY PROVIDES A KIND
OF ECONOMICAL EXPLANATION OF THE
DECISION, RIGHT, THAT MICHAEL
COHEN HAS BEEN WORKING THIS GUY
OVER.
OVER. HE IS HIS FRIEND AND HE GETS HIM
TO ENDORSE HIS BOSS DONALD
TRUMP.
TRUMP. BUT AS TO THE MICHAEL COHEN
RECORDING SAYING THAT HE TOOK
CARE OF A RACY PHOTO PROBLEM FOR
FALWELL, THE FIRST THING I GOT
TO SAY IS MICHAEL COHEN IS A
CONVICTED LIAR.
CONVICTED LIAR. DO WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE
THIS OTHER THAN WHAT HE SAYS ON
TAPE?
TAPE? >> WE DO, YES.
WE DO HAVE SOME REASON TO
BELIEVE IT, IF YOU’LL SEE OUR
STORY.
STORY. BUT I CAN’T REALLY GET INTO
THAT, INTO THE DETAILS.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. BUT YOUR POSITION AS A REPORTER
AND YOU’RE A GOOD ONE, I SHOULD
NOTE THIS, IS THAT THIS IS NOT
JUST A MICHAEL COHEN BOAST WITH
NOTHING ELSE BACKING IT UP?
>> I THINK THAT’S TRUE.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION I
GUESS BECOMES LIKE IT’S NONE OF
MY BUSINESS WHATEVER HECK
ARRANGEMENT THEY HAVE.
THEY’RE FRIENDS.
THEY’RE FRIENDS. THERE IS PHOTOS, I DON’T CARE.
IT’S INTERESTING IN SO FAR IF IT
SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO THAT
ENDORSEMENT, AND YET THE
REPORTING IS THAT IT DOESN’T OR
THAT’S JUST A DENIAL?
I COULDN’T GET THAT EITHER.
>> I’LL REPEAT THAT IN OTHER
WORDS, THE ISSUE WOULD BE THERE
IS NO LINK THAT WE COULD FIND
BETWEEN THE FACT THAT THERE WAS
AN ENDORSEMENT WHERE MICHAEL
COHEN HAD REQUESTED HELP IN THE
TIMING OF THAT ENDORSEMENT AND
THIS CLAIM THAT MICHAEL COHEN
HAD ASSISTED THE FALWELLS IN
THIS OTHER MATTER INVOLVING
THESE PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHS THAT
THEY DIDN’T WANT EXPOSED.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. I MEAN, THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY
OTHER CANDIDATES THAT PROBABLY
WOULD HAVE MADE MORE SENSE FROM
THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
TED CRUZ ANNOUNCED HIS CAMPAIGN
AT JERRY FALWELL JR.’S
UNIVERSITY.
UNIVERSITY. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> IT WAS SEEN AS A SURPRISE AT
THE TIME, RIGHT?
>> WELL, IT WAS CLEAR THAT
FALWELL WAS FRIENDLY WITH TRUMP.
TRUMP HAD BEEN AT LIBERTY
UNIVERSITY.
UNIVERSITY. FALWELL HAD SPOKEN IN
SUPERLATIVE TERMS ABOUT TRUMP
ALREADY, BUT, YES.
STEPPING INTO THE RACE AT THAT
TIME MADE -- IT REALLY WAS A
SIGNIFICANT STEP, ESPECIALLY FOR
FALWELL, WHO IS AN EVANGELICAL
LEADER WHO IS VERY ABOUT THE.
HE IS VERY INFLUENTIAL.
AND WHEN HE DOES SOMETHING, IT
MEANS OTHER EVANGELICALS KIND OF
DO THE SAME.
AND AS YOU POINTED OUT, TRUMP
WAS NOT A -- NOT NECESSARILY A
NATURAL ALLY TO THE
EVANGELICALS.
EVANGELICALS. HE OWNED CASINOS.
HE WAS MARRIED MULTIPLE -- HE
WAS DIVORCED A COUPLE OF TIMES.
HE WAS -- YOU KNOW, HE TALKED
ABOUT SEX OPENLY AND SO FORTH.
>> YES, QUITE A BIT.
>> FINAL QUESTION.
GIANCARLO GRANDA WHO YOU
REPORTED ON HIS BUSINESS WHO
SAYSHAS
SAYSHAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, AND
JUXTAPOSITIONING THE TWO
STORIES, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF
THAT?
THAT? >> THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THAT
IN THIS STORY WE JUST DID, OF
COURSE.
COURSE. >> SO YOU DON’T SEE SOME SQUUX
POSITION
POSITION JUXTAPOSITION BETWEEN THE TWO?
>> WE DIDN’T PUT ANY OF THAT