WATCH: MSNBC panel reveals that Trump may now officially be a 'Manchurian president’

Friday's court filings against Michael Cohen raise the question of whether or not President Donald Trump is compromised by the Russian government, a panel on MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily" discussed.

"The other part about this I think will strike more anxiety with the American public is, 'Do we have a Manchurian president?' Cornell Belcher wondered.

Belcher was referring to The Manchurian Candidate, a 1959 book by Richard Condon that was adapted into movies in 1962 and 2004. The story involves a sleeper-agent in a plot to overthrow the American government.

"Clearly the Russians were trying to buy influence and compromise him," Belcher noted. "Whether or not they did, we might not know, but if you look at the way this president has behaved towards Russia -- not like a Democrat and not like a Republican ever has behaved towards Russia."

"The people have to be more anxious about what, in fact, they've done," he added.

"In listening to you and your panelists, I think the Manchurian question hangs over this," MSNBC chief legal correspondent Ari Melber agreed.

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