Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters earlier Wednesday that it's plausible that former Trump adviser Roger Stone told Trump in advance of hacked emails coming to light. 

"To me it's very plausible that Roger Stone would relay that information to Donald Trump," Warner said, adding, "I think Mr. Cohen’s testimony is pretty compelling."

Warner said Cohen spoke before the Senate Intelligence Committee for nine and half hours yesterday and characterized the testimony as "very, very important." He added that some of yesterday's testimony has been repeated today.

Chuck Rosenberg, a former U.S. attorney and senior FBI official, says Cohen is acting like "most cooperating witnesses."

"There is an interesting point about how prosecutors make cases: Prosecutors drill in on details, members of Congress don't seem to do that quite as much," Rosenberg told MSNBC's Katy Tur.

"The details really matter," he said. "Cohen only has a small piece of it. He isn't overstating his case, he's not speculating, I'm not hearing conjecture from him," Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg says Cohen clearly knows the information he provides to Congress has to be corroborated, but added, "I just don't think Congress is doing a very good job at corroborating it. Mueller will."

While President Trump is in Vietnam meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kayleigh McEnany, the national press secretary for Trump’s re-election bid, issued a statement after lawmakers recessed the hearing for votes. Here's the campaign's take on events so far:

Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a ‘deliberate and premeditated’ fashion according to the Special Counsel’s Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless. As noted by the Southern District of New York, Cohen’s wide array of crimes were ‘marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life’ and his ‘instinct to blame others is strong.’  Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would ‘profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence.’ This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time?

 

 

"Take a step back: We just saw something totally extraordinary," MSNBC's chief legal correspondent, Ari Melber, said about Wednesday's testimony. 

"All the key insiders who have flipped, none of them have spoken under oath in public," Melber said. "This is literally the first time we have heard a Mueller witness under oath speak for an extended period of time addressed by members of both parties."

Melber said Cohen has laid out a series of "damning" allegations against Trump — "not all of them crimes, but many extraordinary in their own right."

"This is a Mueller witness, who Mueller said in court they found credible on the key points he testified to, speaking in public and describing a president who basically ran on a lark, used his company for personal enrichment," Melber said. 

Cohen brought up Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg several times when discussing the hush-money payments Cohen made to women who claim past affairs with Trump — affairs the president has repeatedly denied.

Weisselberg received immunity to testify before a federal grand jury in New York during the course of the investigation into the payments, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and others reported last summer. Cohen pleaded guilty in August to tax and bank fraud as well as to campaign finance violations tied to those hush-money payments.

Some news outlets have suggested Weisselberg's testimony means he is cooperating with federal probes involving Cohen, the president and the Trump Organization. But three people with direct knowledge of the matter tell NBC News that Weisselberg is not cooperating, has never been a cooperating witness, and has provided limited details in the course of his testimony.

A person close to the Trump Organization tells NBC News that Weisselberg is still with the Trump Organization and defends Trump and the company.

Democratic Rep. Stacey Plaskett, the delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, used the top of her time to take aim at the GOP's argument that Cohen’s testimony was a waste of the country's time.

“I’ve got a lot to do as well,” Plaskett said. "I've got houses and schools to help rebuild in the Virgin Islands, expansion of voting rights, educational opportunities, criminal justice reform. Thank God the Democratic majority can walk and chew gum at the same. So we are here with you right now.”

Plaskett's comments came right after Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, used his five minutes of questioning time to call the hearing an “embarrassment for our country.” Roy lamented that his time was being wasted, stating “I have more important things to do” and added that “I can't help but think that's what the majority of the American people are thinking while watching this unbelievable circus.”

 

Michael Cohen has remained mostly composed during this portion of the hearing, but there were still fiery exchanges and pointed questions about Trump scandals and Cohen's past behavior from both sides of the aisle. 

Cohen pleaded with the committee to ask more questions about Trump scandals. However, Republicans focused squarely on Cohen's credibility problem, hammering him point by point. 

A significant moment came when Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., asked Cohen if prosecutors are looking into other illegal acts by the president that have not been made public. 

"Yes, and again, those are part of the investigation currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York," Cohen answered. 

Trump's former lawyer has so far answered questions about the president carefully. When he knew something, he stated what exactly he knew, but he also didn't hesitate to say when he didn't have an answer. He also disputed a pair of salacious rumors about Trump.

Cohen also shed some tears when a lawmaker asked him what he wants his children to know.

Cohen addressed several questions from GOP members about whether he would take a book or movie deal and profit from his story. Cohen said he had been approached, but made no plans to take a deal. However, he could not commit to giving any potential future profits to charity if he were to take a deal. 

He pushed back against lines of questioning or statements he thought were unfair, and sought to deflate Republican accusations that his public appearance before Congress was intended to help reduce his prison sentence by assuring lawmakers that his testimony was not a factor. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers helped him kneecap the assertion that hearing Cohen's testimony was a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. 

"Our colleagues aren't upset because you lied to Congress for the president," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said. "They're upset because you've stopped lying to Congress for the president."

"Thank God the Democratic majority can walk and chew gum at the same. So we are here with you right now," Stacey Plaskett, the House delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, said. 

Ranking member Jim Jordan, however, earned praise from those in Trump world for his tough questioning of Cohen. In a text message to NBC News, President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said: "Jordan is so far the best lawyer by far." 

Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., asked Cohen why Trump would target his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman.

Cohen said he didn't understand the attacks — Trump has suggested investigators look into Cohen's relatives, including Shusterman, for unspecified criminal activity. Shusterman, Cohen said, was a great guy who had a lot of money invested in Trump properties.

Shusterman, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1975 from Ukraine, worked as a taxi driver. Years later, like his son-in-law, Shusterman built up a lucrative taxi medallion business. In 1993, he was convicted of tax evasion.

"Lying to reduce his jail time!" Trump tweeted about Cohen in January. "Watch father-in-law!"

Cohen delayed his testimony before the House Oversight Committee, which had been set to take place earlier this month, citing Trump's alleged threats against him and his relatives.

Stormy Daniels said Wednesday that she was "proud" of Cohen for "finally beginning to tell the truth," and reminded him of his role in intimidating her after she alleged a past affair with the president, according to a statement provided to NBC News through her spokesperson. 

She says, in full: 

In his testimony today, Michael Cohen described serious crimes and we should stay focused on those. But I do want to make a brief statement to Mr. Cohen directly. 

Michael, I’m proud of you for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did, and trying to repair some of the harm you have caused. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country. My heart goes out to you and your family.

You spoke about how the president and his attorney put you and your family in danger by calling you a liar and a rat and disparaging you in public. I understand your fear, Michael. I have a family too. Do you believe now that when you and the president called me a liar, when you were his attorney and you insulted me, threatened to bankrupt me and worse, that you put me and my family in danger? I remember the fear you feel. I still feel it. Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth. I hope that someday soon your family and mine can both leave this nightmare behind.