escalating turmoil between the white house and defense department. a top official fired over a secret agreement on a war crimes case. newly uncovered documents show the white house trying to justify withholding military aid to ukraine, after the president gave the order. mike bloomberg became the guy who did good. and now, he's taking on him. >> mike bloomberg enters the 2020 race. he calls donald trump an existential threat. is it too late to mount a

challenge? ♪ i'll be the man it was a historic night for taylor swift. we'll tell you what she won at the american music awards. welcome to "early start." i'm kaitlan collins. >> welcome. i'm christine romans. it's monday, november 25th. it is 4:00 a.m. in new york. a secret agreement with the white house, costing a top official his job. spencer shows a dispute of handling war crime charges of navy s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher. many at the pentagon think the president's involvement in the punishment for gallagher and others could undermine discipli discipline. >> the navy will not be taking away his trident pin. i don't interpret the

president's tweets as a formal order. the white house said the tweets should be considered official statements. spencer said on saturday, he had no plans to resign. >> contrary to popular belief, i'm still here. i did not threaten to resign. but let's just say that we're here to talk about expersonal threats. and eddie gallagher is not one of them. >> on sunday, gallagher went on fox and attacked his own superiors. >> this has everything to do with ego. they could have taken by trident at any time they wanted. now, they're trying to take it after the president restored my rank. >> the turmoil has three competing narratives here to explain why spencer the stepping down. national security reporter, ryan brown, explains. >> reporter: good morning christine and kailin. the navy released a report that richard spencer was fired because he had talks about the

gate of gal dwlagher, who was facing misconduct, like taking a picture with a corpse while in iraq. the pentagon claimed that spencer had come to a secret deal with the white house, where gallagher would be allowed to retain his status as a navy s.e.a.l. upon departing the navy. we heard two different explanations. one from donald trump, who tweeted after spencer's firing was announced, he had been disapointed how the navy had handled the gallagher case. and spencer himself writing a letter saying he, in fact, was removed from his post because he was unwilling to follow an order that he felt was unethical. he felt the need for good order and discipline in the military. that set us apart from our adversaries. spencer had been a long-time senior member of the pentagon. he had come in the earliest days of the trump administration. he had kept a low profile and

serving as acting secretary of defense for a brief period of time. the white house's review of the eddie gallagher navy s.e.a.l. case leads to the firing of the navy's top civilian. back to you guys. >> thank you, ryan. now, to the impeachment front. a confidential review of the freeze of military to ukraine, has uncovered hundreds of documents, revealing efforts to justify president trump's actions after the hold was in place. there was a debate involving mick mulvaney, about whether the delay was legal. it's not clear if these records pose legal problems for trump but they could be embarrassing. let's get more from jeremy diamond at the white house. >> reporter: good morning. the white house has been conducting an internal review of president trump's decision last summer to withhold nearly $400 million in security aid to

ukraine. according to "the washington post," that review is turning up hundreds of documents to suggest that white house officials and officials in the management and budget, were trying to draw up a legal justification for that move after the facts. this was another instance of a scramble by officials to catch up with another one of president trump's decisions. the office of management and budget, though, is denying that anything improper took place. here's a statement from a spokeswoman for the office of management and budget, rachel semmel. she said, to be clear, there was a legal consensus at every step of the way that the money could be withheld in order to conduct the policy review. "the washington post" also has an early august exchange between mick mulvaney and the acting head of the office of management and budget, russ vogt, in which mulvaney asks for an update on the justification. two administration officials say that doesn't mean that mulvaney

was seeking to change that justification or that one wasn't already in place. >> the officials named in the e-mails include many who have not testified in the impeachment hearings. also on the no testifying list is john bolton. adam schiff is urging bolton to testify and follow the lead of his former staffers. >> he did not choose to come in and testify. notwithstanding the fact that his deputy, fiona hill, and his other deputy, colonel vindman and others have come in. he will have to explain if he maintains that position, why he wanted to wait to put it in a book instead of tell the american people what he knew. >> democratic aides in the white house are spending thanksgiving week compelling a report and giving the case for impeachment. democrats will not wait months while the administration stalls.

devin nunes, the republican who led the party through the impeachment hearings, may have been directly involved in the effort to get dirt on joe biden. an attorney for lev parnas says parnas is willing to testify in front of congress and is ready to reveal that nunes met with a disgraced prosecutor. nunes says the accusation is false but that's about all he is willing to say. >> bottom line, were you in vienna with chocken. >> i want to answer all of these questions. and i promise you i will come back on the show and answer these questions. but i think you understand that i can't compete by trying to debate this out with the public media, when 90% of the media are totally corrupt. >> notable that there was not a denial from devin nunes.

but the prosecutor was ousted in 2016, under pressure from several western leaders for not prosecuting corruption cases. ten weeks to the iowa kah cuss caucuses, michael bloomberg is officially in the race. >> mike bloomberg is the guy that did good. now, he's taking on him. >> labeling president trump an existential threat. after ruling out a run earlier this year, the billionaire new yorker reversed course because he doesn't think any democrat in the race can beat president trump. bloomberg is spending at least $37 million on television ads over the next two weeks. the former new york city mayor is deploying an unconventional strategy. he's trying to build support in states that have primaries on super tuesday, march 3rd. those voters may not be onboard. a recent poll shows 20% of likely democratic primary voters through super tuesday would even consider bloomberg. the trump administration is

pushing for a monthly cap on what seniors pay out of pocket for medications. the change would be added to a bipartisan drug pricing bill making its way through the senate. for the president and lawmakers, lowering the prescription drug costs remains a top priority. the white house thinks the president needs that to enter winning the 2020 campaign. so far, the drug pricing efforts are tied up in congress. the courts or the administration itself. the stock market has been resilient. but will there be a trade war before tariffs rise december 15th. will a phase one deal be signed in the beginning of 2020? how watered down will it be? can president trump rebrand a deal that involved soybean purchases for tariffs. here's what the president said friday on fox. >> we're in the process of making the largest trade deal in history. and if we could do that, that would be great.

>> the largest trade deal in history. that's a skinny deal on the table right now. markets remain strong. a couple reasons why -- the fed has cut rates three times. there's a $4 trillion fed balance sheet to keep short-term lending smooth. out of manufacturing, the economy overall is fine. and stronger than struggling economies in europe and asia. taking stock this holiday week, the best year for tech stocks in a tech cade. the subpoena subpoena up 24% this year. but trade is arisks are the biggest thing. and major gains for pro-democracy movement in hong kong elections. we're live in hong kong after this.

there's been a stunning turn around in policy in hong kong

voter's elections. will the protests stop to let the new government to implement reforms. will ripley is on the ground for us in hong kong. >> reporter: hi, kaitlan. tell you what, if there was a buzz from the election victory and the overwhelming victory from the pro-democracy protesters, the buzz is wearing off on this monday. and reality is setting in. hong kong is a city where democracy has its rilimits. even though this weekend's elections was overwhelmingly in favor of the candidates that support democracy, these are local elections. the people that make laws here in hong kong, is selected by a system that overwhelmingly favors beijing. it's not a vote-for-vote kind of thing. as a result, you have all of the basic tension still existing today that we saw before the election, and perhaps even more now because the pro-democracy movement knows that the hong

kong system fundamentally remains unchanged, which is why they're vowing to continue their fight. like this one, where dozens of protesters are believed to be hiding out in the buildings of that campus. and protests that begin peacefully like this in hong kong, often have the potential to turn violent. while we had one weekend, a weekend of democracy, a weekend of voting and free of teargas, we're back on a monday to the situation that's locked this city in the cycle of turmoil for almost six months. anger at the government, anger at the police and anger at a system controlled by beijing that remains unchanged no matter what the election result over the weekend. and we see more of this potentially more of the kind of violence that has sunk hong kong into a recession and threatens to continue for the foreseeable future. caitlkat

kaitlan, back to you. a tragedy in the world of korean pop. ♪ 28-year-old k-pop star goo hara was found dead on sunday. police resume this to be a suicide note. last may, she was found unconscious in her home after posting good-bye on instagram. hara recovered but the incident renewed the debate of the pressure facing k-pop stars. two of them have died of apparent suicides since 2017. a man goes on an anti-semitic rant towards jewish children toward london. we'll show you how this ended. sa for her, for you, for the whole family. new vicks vapopatch. breathe easy.

it'son the sleep numberate sleep360 smart bed. can it help keep us asleep? yes, it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. ends cyber monday.

police in the u.k. have arrested a man who aimed an anti-se mmitic rant at a kyoung-juish boy and his mother on the london underground. >> you're trying to tell me -- >> that viral video shows a man threatening passengers who tried to intervene, including a woman wearing a hajab. she said, i know what it's like to be in that situation and i want someone to help me. anti-semitic incidents have spiked 10% in the u.k. this year. unsanitary surgical equipment may have exposed 1,200 patients in an indiana hospital for serious diseases. technician missed a step in a

multistep cleaning process. the patients that underwent surgery between april and august this year, were offered free testing. a class-action lawsuit has been filed. the suspect in the fatal shooting of a beloved alabama sheriff is the son of a sheriff's deputy in a different county. 18-year-old william chase johnson was taken into custody sunday, just hours after the shooting of the county sheriff that sparked a statewide manhunt. >> everybody in law enforcement knew him. if you ever met him, you would never forget him. >> william johnson was arrested without incident when he returned to the same gas station where that tragic shooting took place. an ohio woman's quick-thinking 911 call to order pizza, alerted authorities to

domestic violence against her mother. 911 dispatcher said when he fielded the call, he assumed that someone dialed the wrong number. he soon realized it was a plea for help. >> you called 911 to order a pizza? >> yeah. apartment number -- >> this is the wrong number to call for a pizza. >> no. you're not understanding. >> i get it. is the other guy still there? >> yeah. i need a large pizza. >> when police arrived, they arrested simon lopez on domestic charges. she wasn't intoxicated and her insistence she called the right number told him she needed help. taylor swift is making history at the american music awards. ♪ i'd be the man

>> last night, she shattered michael jackson's records for all-time wins at the amas. she now has 29. she was honored as the artist of the decade. and she didn't address that ugly public feud with her label, that kept her from playing her older music. but she said this when winning the prize of artist of the year. >> the last year of my life has had some of the most amazing times and also some of the, just, like, hardest things i've gone through in my life. and a lot of them are things that haven't been public. and i wanted to thank you so much for being the thing that has been a constant in my life. >> some people saw that as an indirect reference. this is the record fifth time that swift has won artist of the year at the amas. >> she deserves it. she's awesome. he refused to follow the president's order by tweet. now, a top navy official is out

of a job for secret talks at the white house on a war crimes case.

escalating turmoil between the white house and defense department. a top official fired over a secret proposal on a war crimes case. newly uncovered documents show the white house trying to justify withholding military aid to ukraine, after the president gave the order to freeze it. mike bloomberg became the guy who did good. and now, he's taking on him. >> mike bloomberg enters the 2020 race. he calls donald trump an existential threat. is it too late to mount a challenge? welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm christine romans. >> i'm kaitlan collins. it's 13 minutes past the hour in new york. right now, there's a secret post for the white house that is

costing the top official his job. spencer shows a dispute of handling war crime charges of navy s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher. many at the pentagon think the president's involvement in the punishment for gallagher and other service members might undermine military discipline. >> on thursday, trump tweeted, the navy will not be taking away his trident pin. i don't interpret the president's tweets as a formal order. the president's tweets have dictated policy and the white house has said they should be considered official statements. spencer said on saturday, he had no plans to resign. >> contrary to popular belief, i'm still here. i did not threaten to resign. but let's just say that we're here to talk about expersonal threats. and eddie gallagher is not one of them. >> on sunday, gallagher went on fox and attacked his own

superiors. >> this is all about ego and retaliation. they could have taken by trident at any time they wanted. now, they're trying to take it after the president restored my rank. >> the turmoil has three competing narratives here to explain why spencer the stepping down. national security reporter, ryan brown, explains. >> reporter: good morning, christine and kaitlan. the navy released a report that richard spencer was fired because he had talks about the fate of gallagher, who was due to face review over misconduct, like taking a picture with a corpse while in iraq. the pentagon claimed that spencer had come to a secret deal with the white house, where gallagher would be allowed to retain his status as a navy

s.e.a.l. upon departing the navy. we heard two different explanations. one from donald trump, who tweeted after spencer's firing was announced, he had been disappointed how the navy had handled the gallagher case. and spencer himself writing a letter saying he, in fact, was removed from his post because he was unwilling to follow an order that he felt was unethical. he felt the need for good order and discipline in the military. that set us apart from our adversaries. spencer had been a long-time senior member of the pentagon. he had come in the earliest days of the trump administration. he had kept a low profile and serving as acting secretary of defense for a brief period of time. the white house's review of the eddie gallagher navy s.e.a.l. case leads to the firing of the navy's top civilian. back to you guys. >> thank you, ryan. now, to the impeachment front. a confidential review of the freeze of military to ukraine, has uncovered hundreds of documents, revealing efforts to

justify president trump's actions after the hold was in place. there was a debate involving mick mulvaney, about whether the delay was legal. it's not clear if these records pose legal problems for trump but they could be embarrassing. let's get more from jeremy diamond at the white house. >> reporter: the white house has been conducting an internal review of president trump's decision last summer to withhold nearly $400 million in security aid to ukraine. according to "the washington post," that review is turning up hundreds of documents to suggest that white house officials and officials in the management and budget, were trying to draw up a legal justification for that move after the facts. this was another instance of a scramble by officials to catch up with another one of president trump's decisions.

the office of management and budget, though, is denying that anything improper took place. here's a statement from a spokeswoman for the office of management and budget, rachel semmel. she said, to be clear, there was a legal consensus at every step of the way that the money could be withheld in order to conduct the policy review. "the washington post" also has an early august exchange between mick mulvaney and the acting head of the office of management and budget, russ vogt, in which mulvaney asks for an update on the justification. two administration officials say that doesn't mean that mulvaney was seeking to change that justification or that one wasn't already in place. >> thank you, jeremy. the officials named in the e-mails include many who have not testified in the impeachment hearings. also on the no testifying list is john bolton. adam schiff is urging bolton to testify and follow the lead of his former staffers. >> he did not choose to come in

and testify. notwithstanding the fact that his deputy, fiona hill, and his other deputy, colonel vindman and others have come in. he will have to explain if he maintains that position, why he wanted to wait to put it in a book instead of tell the american people what he knew. >> democratic aides in the white house are spending thanksgiving week compelling a report and giving the case for impeachment. democrats will not wait months while the administration stalls. it's ten weeks to the iowa caucuses and michael bloomberg is officially in the race.

>> mike bloomberg is the guy that did good. now, he's taking on him. >> labeling president trump an existential threat. after ruling out a run earlier this year, the billionaire new yorker reversed course because he doesn't think any democrat in the race can beat president trump. bloomberg is spending at least $37 million on television ads over the next two weeks. the former new york city mayor is deploying an unconventional strategy. he's trying to build support in states that have primaries on super tuesday, march 3rd. those voters may not be onboard. a recent poll shows 20% of likely democratic primary voters through super tuesday would even consider bloomberg. with michael bloomberg entering the 2020 field, bloomberg news announced how it will cover the race now that its owner is running. the editor in chief said no presidential candidate has owned a journalistic organization of this size.

the organization will not investigate bloomberg or his democratic rivals in the prim y primari primaries. the outlet has suspended its editorial board. a bloomberg reporter has been assigned to follow his campaign, much like when he was mayor of new york. >> they're in a tough situation. there are new health concerns for justice ruth bader ginsburg. why she spent part of the weekend in the hospital.

ruth bader ginsburg home from the hospital and feeling much better. the 86-year-old supreme court justice was treated for chills and a fever at johns hopkins hospital friday night. she just returned to the bench days earlier after a stomach bug. she is a four-time cancer survivor with a lengthy history

of medical issues and overcoming them. benjamin netanyahu is channeling his close ally, president trump, as he is denying charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. he called the charges a coup and criticized the administration and the media. netanyahu's tactics are raising the questions about the integrity of israel's democracy. let's go live to jerusalem and bring in paula newton. paula, what's going on there? >> reporter: what's going on here is probably likely to sound familiar to you covering the white house and president trump so much. benjamin netanyahu is a survivor. and he is fighting. another piece of this strategy in his fight to remain in office is that he will submit himself to a leadership review. primaries in his own likud party in the next six weeks. that's the latest political bombshell from israel, where people continue to reel, as they listen very carefully to benjamin netanyahu's words and can't help to hear president trump.

when israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu defiantly denounced the criminal indictment against him -- >> translator: we're witnessing an attempted coup against a serving prime minister. >> reporter: -- it was as if there was an echo in the room. >> there was an attempted coup. this was an attempted takedown of a president. >> there was no mistaking it. >> translator: in this poison process, they never look for the truth. they look for me. >> this was an illegal witch hunt and everybody knew it. >> reporter: this is neither coincidental nor superficial. it's not just president trump's words that netanyahu is barr borrowi borrowing, but his tactics. >> we can never let this happen to another president again. >> reporter: netanyahu is fighting back trump-style. attacking rivals on the left and the so-called crooked media of

conspireing a baseless attack against him. >> we fight back. you know why we fight back? i knew how illegal this was. it's a scam. >> reporter: netanyahu, the iconic political survivor is punching back, questioning the integrity of prosecutors and police. >> translator: i won't let the lie win. i will continue to lead, according to the law. >> reporter: and with that comeback, some israelis fear it's the country's democratic integrity that he's putting at risk. how do you feel about the state of israeli politics right now? >> it's -- it's a mess. it's a mess. >> reporter: that may be indisputable, after two inconclusive elections, israel may be headed for a historic third, with voters sharply divided on who should be the next prime minister. there is ambivalence by many on forcing netanyahu to step down, especially if his party, likud,

continues to support him. >> that's the important thing here. it's what the likud will do and how they will decide to have a new leader or step down. >> reporter: to mitigate that, netanyahu is planning trump-style rallies. >> impeachment witch hunt. now, we go again. >> reporter: netanyahu, nicknamed the magician for his impeccable political instincts is now channeling his devoted ally, president trump, and hoping that will work. what's interesting here is the rallies will begin on tuesday. and netanyahu really taking another page from president trump, and saying, look, i'm going to fight on in the primaries, hoping he will win and emerge stronger for it. christine? >> it's interesting how much his statements echo president trump's. keep us up dated on what happens next. elsa, anna and olof, breaking records for disney. >> has elsa seemed weird to you?

>> she seems like elsa. >> cnn business has the details how "frozen 2" did at the box office. i'll let you guess.

there's new heartbreaking images obtained by cnn of caged baby elephants captured by zimbabwe's government that are being prepared for shipment to zoos in china. conservation groups say there's no evidence that it's a source of revenue. david mckenzie is live in johannesburg with the details. what more can you tell us about this striking footage? >> good morning, kaitlan. when i got this from a source, i had been investigating these issues for years. even i was shocked at this, the conditions of the young eleph t elephants in china. we went to zimbabwe to investigate. 35 wild elephants, captured, sold and sent to china, to fill amusement parks and zoos. first, they will be broken here. this is a look at the latest

shipment from zip bmbabwe. in cage after metal cage, the signs of suffering are clear. weeks ago, they were among family groups here. what they do to capture the elephants is separate the youngsters. not the very youngest but the young elephant from the rest of the herd. and scientists say that elephants are incredibly social animals. they develop bonds for a lifetime. and by ripping them away from their families and sending them off to a foreign country, they say, it's extremely traumatic for the elephants that go and the elephants that remain. despite the concerns, the trade up until now has been legal. that window is closing. new rules preventing overseas shipments from countries like zimbabwe come into effect at the end of november. zimbabwe park officials will

abide by those rules. but this animal right's inspector says he's seen a shift towards secrecy. >> something is not right. >> reporter: for the past year, officials blocked his team from entering the park, claiming they needed permits that were not required. he feels that the sales won't end, they will just go underground. what was it like being pushed away? >> the government-appointed inspector. it's our mandate to see the welfare of those animals. they don't belong to national parks. they belong to the people of zimbabwe. >> reporter: now, we have the gps coordinates of where we think the elephants have been kept. some 30 elephants were shipped to china caused global outrage. animal rights activists told us that just behind this gate, elephants were left behind and getting prepped to send away. is it not possible to come in now just to have a look? >> you know, this place, for all

of the clients that come here, they are cleared by the manager. >> reporter: we went to management and were repeatedly refused entry. they told us there was nothing to see. but they did agree to an on-camera interview. why is zimbabwe selling elephants to china? >> it's part of our management plan. we have rangers in this park who will spend days in the bush, protecting animals. they don't have uniforms. they don't have boots. they don't have tents and they don't have food. we believe that the elephants must pay for the upkeep. they must pay for their protection. protection for the elephants is far from assured. elephants are dying. more than 200 in the last few months, succumbing to the severe drought hitting the region. the ranger says, better to let nature take its course.

do you think it's good that some elephant are sent away to zoos in china, pakistan, the u.s.? >> i don't think it's wise. our animals, our children. >> reporter: but these elephants taken from zimbabwe, remain trapped far from home. well, kaitlan, two young elephants didn't go with that other group. we learned in the last few days that they are stuck in that enclosure, emaciated and sick. we don't know what will happen to them. as i said there, there will be a ban or a change in the rules coming into effect the next few days. people worry the practice will still go on, though, behind the scenes. when they voted for that ban, the u.s. delegation said that the sales should continue. kaitlan? >> david, those images are heartbreaking. people should read details of

your investigation into this on cnn.com. thank you for bringing us that. let's look at cnn business. look at markets around the world. optimism starting this holiday-shortened week. on wall street, you have futures leaning a little higher here. not very far from the dow from a record high. 28,036 would be a record-high close, if you could get there today. markets bounced back friday after president trump and president xi expressed optimism about a trade deal. the s&p 500 and the nasdaq were up. all three averages fell for the week, down a little bit, breaking a multiweek string. stocks are not far from below the record highs. they hit last week. it's a short trading market. markets will close for thanksgiving and early friday. lvmh is adding a blue box to its portfolio. lvmh will buy tiffany. they will pay 130 bucks a share.

that vols tiffany $16.2 billion. lvmh's deep pockets could help tiffany make a turnaround after a rocky few years. anna, elsa and olof have grabbed another record for disney. >> has elsa seemed weird to you? >> she seems like elsa. >> "frozen 2" brought in $170 million for the weekend at the box office. disney has had five films bring in a record $1 billion at the box office, including "avengers" "toy story 4," "the lion king." its success comes at the perfect time. the north american box office is down 7% compared to last year. disney could have another record with this -- >> people keep telling me they know me. >> that's coming up. "star wars: the rise of

skywalker," december 20th. the president's views of impeachment and the latest debate with surprise guests. >> it's great to meet you for the first time, by the way. >> keep the quid pro quo on the low-low. >> no quid pro quo. >> there definitely was. >> i have mom hosting thanksgiving energy. i'm low to the ground because i thought 10 people were coming and now there's 30 million. but i promise dinner will be ready if you just get out of the kitchen and stop asking questions. >> i'm very proud of the fact that i was the first heart attack patient to show up to the emergency room in a city bus. >> i see the faces you all make when i talk. you're scared. scared i'll say something off-color. >> mayor bloomberg, how did you get in here? >> well, i tipped the doorman $30 million. i'd hike to see the trump

supporters come up with a conspiracy theory about a jewish billionaire with his own media company. good luck making that stick. >> you got to love kate mckinnon. >> i love it. "early start" continues right now. escalating turmoil between the white house and defense department. a top official fired over a secret proposal on a war crimes case. newly uncovered documents show the white house trying to justify withholding military aid to ukraine, after the president gave the order. mike bloomberg became the guy who did good. and now, he's taking on him. >> mike bloomberg enters the 2020 race. he calls donald trump an existential threat. is it too late to mount a challenge? ♪ ♪ i'd be the man i'd be the man ♪ and it was a