Transcript for Trump reacts to Cohen's explosive Hill testimony

It was a remarkable split screen that president trump says he found time to watch while there in Vietnam and what he heard his former lawyer and fixer speaking directly to him and painting a brutal picture of life inside the trump orbit calling the president a racist, a con man and a cheat and he implicated him in possible crimes. Our senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce is right there for it all. The president is now firing back at Cohen but he also praised him for one thing, for saying there was no collusion with Russia. Reporter: Yes, Cecilia, the president says Cohen did get that right and Cohen did say that he has seen no evidence of collusion but he also added he has his suspicions. No question, this testimony was brutal. The president's former fixer leveling one searing accusation after another and suggesting that there is even more still to come. Overnight, Michael Cohen cheered on at his hotel after his blistering takedown of the president. While half a world away in Vietnam, trump was watching too. Our Jon Karl pressing the president. He called you a leer, a con man, a racist. What's your response to Michael Cohen? I wasn't able to watch too much because I've been a little bit busy. Reporter: He called his testimony shameful and fake but says Cohen backed him up on one sticking point. He didn't lie about one thing, he said no collusion with the Russian hoax and I say I wonder why he didn't lie about that too. Reporter: In seven hours of testimony, Cohen who was once trusted to keep the president's secrets pulled back the curtain. He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat. Reporter: Accusing the president of criminal activity while in office. Cohen said trump directed him to make those hush money payments to porn star stormy Daniels. The president initially denied those payments but Cohen brought documentation, a check showing trump repaid him for the money. You don't have to take my word for it. I don't want you to. I want you to look at the documents. Reporter: And he said trump told him to lie about the whole thing. What did the president ask or suggest you say about the payments or reimbursements. He wasn't knowledgeable about the reimbursements and wasn't knowledgeable of my actions. He asked you to say that. Yes, ma'am. Wikileaks, I love Wikileaks. Reporter: Cohen claim trump knew ahead of time that Wikileaks was going to release hacked DNC emails that were damaging to Hillary Clinton. And he said trump wanted him to lie to congress about a trump tower project in Moscow a deal Cohen admits was negotiated with Russia well into the campaign and Cohen says it was all typical in the world of Donald Trump. How many times did Mr. Trump ask you to threaten an individual or entity on his behalf? Quite a few times. 50 times? More. 100 times? More. 200 times? More. 500 times? Probably. Reporter: Republicans came out swinging against Cohen who's pleaded guilty to lying to congress before. Michael Cohen, fraudster, cheat, convicted felon and in two mons a federal inmate. Liar, liar, pants on fire. No one should ever listen to you. Reporter: He noted they were not quick to defend the president's actions. I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since I'm here has been asked about president trump. Reporter: And he hinted that there are more potentially even bigger bombshells still to come. Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we haven't yet discussed today? Yes, and, again, those are part of the investigation that is currently being looked at by the southern district of new York. Reporter: And Cohen will be back here on the hill again this morning. This time testifying behind closed doors with the house intelligence committee and that chairman says they are going to question him on a range of things digging deep into these various allegations and questioning him about the possibility of collusion with Russia. George. Okay, Mary Bruce, thanks very much. Let's bring in Pierre Thomas, Dan Abrams and, Pierre, let me begin with you. Mary ended with really the biggest news of the hearing yesterday, that notion that Michael Cohen is still cooperating with the southern district of New York. They're still hard at work. Reporter: He said since he's been sentenced to prison he's been in constant communication with federal prosecutors in new York. Cohen said prosecutors had questions regarding whether trump or a surrogate contacted him after the FBI raided his properties and possibly there are other questions regarding his inauguration and the trump organization. One person who may be key in answering some of these questions, his chief financial officer, Allen weisselberg who's been a cooperating witness. Cohen raised his name repeatedly yesterday as someone who could provide those answers, George. And raised other trump organization executives as well and, Dan, in some ways this has to be the biggest concern for the trump team, reaching into the trump organization by prosecutors? Absolutely. And it's which prosecutors are doing it as well. If this was the special counsel, some people would be say, well, you know, they're going to be done pretty soon. They have a limited mandate. The southern district of new York isn't going anywhere and they don't have a limited mandate, so if they're looking into this sort of issue with the cooperation of Michael Cohen, that is definitely something the president needs to be corps -- worried about. He had some positive statements yesterday. As a legal matter. Saying he didn't know of any collusion with the Russians. Said he maybe suspected it but didn't know of it. On the campaign finance issue he said one of the reasons the president was concerned about the check that was being written to stormy Daniels was he didn't want Melania to find out. Not a crime to pay someone off to protect from your wife finding out. Only a crime if it's to influence the election. Now, he did say it was both to influence the election and to protect him from Melania but the more ambiguity the better and then finally he said that he wasn't directed by the president to lie to congress. Doing his bidding but not directed sfwle said there was a code that was understood but, again, as a legal matter, code is much harder to prosecute than would be if he claimed that there was some sort of directive. One clear thing, this is not over in congress. Big thing the Democrats did yesterday was lay the groundwork for more investigates. That's right. They'll have to be careful, though, as the federal investigation moves forward in the southern district of new York, congress doesn't want to step on that and that's the last thing the prosecutors would want. Dan Abrams, thanks very much.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.