Respected Fox News anchor Chris Wallace summed up the significance of a "bombshell" story about President Donald Trump's former lawyer in two words: "So what?"

"So what?"

Wallace was asked on Fox News to explain the significance of a report published Thursday that has dominated the headlines since. The report claims that Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, is willing to testify that the president knew about a meeting between his campaign aides and Russians in June 2016. The testimony would be contrary to many statements made by the president about the meeting.

"The significance, I don't know, because it seems to me," explained Wallace, "you know the worst that you could say, assuming that Cohen is telling the truth now, is that Donald Trump lied back in 2017."

"But, so what?" he asked.

"I mean it's not admirable, you would hope he wouldn't," he continued, "but it's not breaking the law, lying to the media. He certainly wouldn't be the first president, if he did, who had done so."

"A long way from any hint of collusion"

"And even the meeting itself while it doesn't seem praiseworthy that American political candidates or their team would be meeting with a Russian lawyer to try to get dirt on Hillary Clinton that was being offered to them," Wallace explained.

"That falls a long way from any hint of collusion between Trump and the Kremlin," he added.

"So yeah, it would be embarrassing if it turns out to be true," he concluded, "it isn't helpful to Donald Trump, but it doesn't seem to me that it hurts him in a legal sense."

Here are the comments from Chris Wallace:

Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis did not confirm the report, and said that he believed the leak was orchestrated by Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.