Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbert. And boy, do we have some real news to start this week.

There are signs the walls may be closing in on Donald Trump and that he knows it, that he's taking it seriously,

when you look at the offer that he has now refused to testify before a New York grand jury

about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and whether there is an indictable offense there.

The New York Times said criminal charges are now likely, and the star witness testifying

before the grand jury for over three hours today.

Yes, it's someone you probably recognize if you follow the news, Michael Cohen, who was a loyal

Trump lawyer until he wasn't, who served time, hard time for a related offense in the federal

courts.

And this is an indication

that the grand jury presentation of evidence could be reaching its conclusion. That is how many

outlets and legal experts view it. Cohen expected to come back for more testimony Wednesday.

So if you're thinking a lot changed last week, that seems to be the case. If you're thinking

it is barreling forward this week, that seems to be the case. If you're thinking it is barreling forward this week,

that seems to be the case. And he also spoke outside of the grand jury proceeding.

I feel fine. I've been dealing with the same issues for now more than five years, so I feel

absolutely fine. This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable

for his dirty deeds. Is this the end of the process, do you think? It's the end of the process

for now, for sure. End of the process for now is quite frankly a little bit of a lawyerly way

of saying it. Mr. Cohen is someone who's practiced law.

Here's what we know about this process. Mr. Cohen has actually met with prosecutors roughly 20

times. What's different today and Wednesday, as I'm emphasizing to you, if you're saying,

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