a lawsuit brought by cnn saying that disclosing whether the cia had records on brown could quote cause serious damage to u.s. national security. sure it could. as the old sailing goes, just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. our coverage continues now with wolf blitzer in "the situation room." [ music playing ] happening now, breaking news, former trump white house chief of staff mark meadows just sued the january 6th select committee and house speaker nancy pelosi as the panel is now moving to hold him in criminal contempt of congress. key member standing by to join us live. also tonight, president biden doubles down on his threat of severe sequences if russia invades ukraine, saying he warned vladimir putin the punishment would be quote like none he's ever seen.

putin says biden is also acknowledging u.s. military force is off the table. as omicron cases spread to more than 20 states, pfizer says a third booster shot protects against the new variant, two doses may not necessarily be enough. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i'm wolf blitzer. you are in the "situation room." [ music [ music playing ] >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we begin with breaking news on mark meadows lawsuit against january 6th select committee and the house speaker nancy pelosi. let's go to our correspondent ryan nobles. ryan, tell our viewers what are you learning. >> reporter: this is an incredible turn of events from mark meadows, who a few days ago says he was able to cooperate. things have changed. he skipped a deposition this

morning. now he's filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to help the court prevent him from handing over documents and information to the select summit. so far committee members say they're prepared to fight that filing. they also say they're ready to move ahead with criminal contempt against meadows as soon as next week. tonight the january 6th select committee is done negotiating with former white house chief of staff mark meadows. >> obviously, we hope mr. meadows would continue to work with the committee, but, obviously, based on his lawyer's letter today and his plan to not show up for the deposition that it's a different dynamic. >> reporter: chairman benny thompson announcing the committee has no choice but to move ahead with criminal contempt of congress against meadows. this after meadows was a no show, his attorney claiming meadows can't answer questions because he is bound by donald trump and his claims of executive privilege.

the president has claimed executive privilege. i'm going to honor that. i will not be the first chief of staff to actually waive that. it's not mine to waive. >> reporter: it's a claim committee members are not buying, especially because he wrote extensively about his private interactions with trump in his memoir out tuesday. >> it's very difficult to make the argument that i can write about the events of january 6th. can i talk about it in my book. things that happened on january 6th and people i talked to, including the president, but i can't testify about those things. >> reporter: the committee is very interesting to learn more from meadows based on the more than 6,000 documents he did turn over before deciding to no longer cooperate. among them a text message with a member of congress in which meadows response to quote i love it to pointing an alternate slate of electtors. text messages about the need for trump to issue a public statement to stop the january 6th attack and an e-mail that included a 38-page powerpoint

briefing entitled, election fraud, foreign interference and options for 6 jan. meadows isn't the only potential witness stonewalling the committee. trump ally roger stone now plans to plead the fifth, joining several other high profile targets who told the committee they do not plan to answer questions, because they could incriminate themselves. the committee also skeptical of this resistance. >> if they're asserting the fifth merely to cater to the president's whims or cover up for the president, that is not a proper use of the privilege. >> reporter: still the committee remains confident they will get to the bottom of what happened on january 6th and who is to blame, pointing to the more than 275 witness who's have talked. >> these people are well within our right to not cooperate. it's not as if we're not going to get to the information we need. >> but at this point the committee is still sifting through this lawsuit as it was just filed with the chairman told me a few minutes ago he is pushing back strongly on claims that the committee doesn't have

merit and, therefore, meadows doesn't have to hand over documents. thompson pointing out they were duly created by the house of representative and, therefore, have that authority and congressman adam schiff responding to this lawsuit by mark meadows. he says it certainly strikes me as another fruitless effort to impede the work of the committee. wolf. >> ryan, thank you. ryan nobles up on capitol. representative so zoelofgren, t argue your committee lacks lawful authority to seek information from these overly broad, their words, subpoenas. how dowrey spopd? is this simply a delay tactic or do you believe he has some groups here to sue? >> it doesn't look like there is much merit to this lawsuit. but you know, isn't it interesting that while he's out

selling his book for money that includes portions where he talked directly with conversations with the president, he's trying to keep from telling the truth to the committee. it's just note tenable. but you know the lawsuit looks to be not very well-founded. he said over around 2,000 tech messages to the committee, including messages to rally organizers, texts that were contemporaneous with the riot. he sent over about 6600 pages of private e-mails. we wanted to talk to him about that material that he sent. for one thing, it appears it was all on his personal cell phone and his ten personal e-mails. was that material sent over to the national acase of as the federal law requires? why did he still have it? and also we want to ask about

the various text and the substance of the e-mails. and, of course, you notice, he's an important witness for us. but he's not the only witness. we have depositions practically every day and there are many, many people coming forward to tell us what they know and were painstakingly putting the pieces together. >> so meadows may not necessarily be cooperating now. clearly, he is no longer cooperating. but it is pretty significant as you correctly point out, he handed over some 6,000 pages of documents to the committee already. does that initial cooperation make it more difficult for the justice department to actually go ahead and potentially prosecute him for criminal contempt? >> well, that's obviously up to the justice department. but we think not. he sends this information over, obviously, he did not believe it was privileged. or he wouldn't have september it and so to refuse to answer

questions about it is really it's not the way things work. you assert privilege on a question-by-question basis. he is just trying to escape telling the truth to the committee. but we're committed to getting to the bottom of what happened on the date and the events leading up to that date. so we can tell the american people but even more importantly, propose legislative and administrative actions that would prevent this kind of assault and threat to our democracy from ever happening again. >> what are these meadow's communications, some 6,000 pages or so already submitted. what do they show what was happening as the violence unfolded back on january 6th? do those messages, the e-mails, the text messages, implicate the former president donald trump? >> well, i don't want to get into the details of that at this point, wolf. but let me just say that there are some very interesting pieces

of evidence. we'd like to follow up more with mark meadows. there are other pieces of information pouring in from other sources, putting, making a mess of this information, so that we can understand this and i think we found some very telling evidence. but we're not through with the investigation. >> based on the documents you have already seen, congresswoman, how much of the planning for the january 6th riot, the assault, was actually directed from inside the trump white house? >> i don't want to get into percentages. but let me just say that there is ample evidence to say that there was not a disconnect between the white house and the riot. and that we need to know more about that. >> representatives zoe lofgren, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. just ahead president biden says he is warning vladimir

putin of consequences like nothing he's ever seen, if russia invades ukraine. we are live at the white house and in the ukrainian capital. much more coming up. deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. ♪ say it's all right ♪ ♪ say it's all right, it's all right ♪

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are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! president biden getting new details today on his two-hour conversation with vladimir putin saying he warned the russian president against invading ukraine, telling him he would face kwepss quote like none he's ever seen. we are here in washington with our chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins. we are also in the ukraineian capital with mathew chance.

caitlin, the president tonight is promising severe economic consequences for russia, if russia were to invade ukraine. but at the same time, he seems to be rolling out military options. tell us what he says. >> reporter: he says fornow that's not on the table. if you did see russia invade ukraine. the president said there is a possibility the united states would increase its troop presence but ukraine is not in nato, therefore, it's not a part of that military alliance where if one is attacked, the others must respond. the president said for now having american troops on the ground for combat if russia invades ukraine is not an option. >> i was very straight forward. there was no mixed words. it was polite but i made it very clear if, in fact, he invades ukraine, there will be severe consequences. severe consequences. economic consequence like none he's ever seen or ever has been

seen. the idea that the united states is going to unilateral use force to confront russia invading ukraine is not in the card right now. >> not in the cards right now, washington. so we should note that this comes ahead of a call that he is schedule to have with the ukrainian president zelensky tomorrow. after that, he will speak with the nine leaders of the country on the eastern side of nato to talk to them about what he discussed with the russian president yesterday in that two hour one minute phone call we were told turned tense at times as they talked about the options here. the president is hoping to have more to say on friday about a potential meeting with other nato allies. for now, wolf, the white house is in a waiting game to see does putin heed these warnings that biden offered during this call or does he continue with this military buildup we have sheen on seen on the border. >> thank you very much. let's go to the ukrainian

capital kiev right now. our senior correspondent mathew chance is on the scene. president putin held a news conference, did he publicly respond to these u.s. warnings? >> reporter: well, what he is saying is that, you know, he characterized the talks, the video calls between himself and president biden as being open and constructive. he said he hoped the united states' side fell the same way. he also confirmed that would be what he calls a security structure set up, a diplomatic grouping to discuss security, specifically ukraine, to confirm that that was, indeed, taking place in the weeks ahead. he did push back on the suggestion of russia planning an invasion of ukraine. he said that was provocative. he went on to say russia conduct what he calls a peaceful foreign policy and he has a right to defend his interests. he spent some time today defending this idea that no that

represents an existential threat and calling for illegal guarantees to the united states and allies to prevent expanding eastward including in the future, ukraine needs to be militarized as well. little breaking news coming to us within the past hour. defence officials in ukraine on that issue of whether russia is stopping building up its forces or fought, telling us that they now assess that the number of russian forces close to the ukrainian border poised potentially to carry out any kind of military action has risen from 95,000 troops when they last made this assessment to 120,000 troops in this latest assessments. again, a copy of which were made available to us here in kiev. so, you know, it's obviously that increase didn't take place since the call with president biden. it just shows you the trajectory that buildup of russian forces in the past several weeks. >> there is a lot of concern

that number can eventually go up to 175,000 russian troops on the border of ukraine, obviously, once again, a very tense situation. mathew, i will stay in close touch with you. mathew chance reporting from ukraine. coming up, chilling video and emotional testimony as former police officer kim potter stands trial in the shooting death of daunte wright. her claim she mistakenly pulled her gun instead of her taser at the center of this case. our experts are standing by to weigh in on the opening arguments. >> >

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or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes switching fast and easy this holiday season. . the manslaughter trial of former police officer kimberly potter wrapped up for the dave after getting off to a very

emotional start in mince minneapolis. during opening statements, the prosecutor showed video before and after potter shot daunte wright during a traffic stop. pulling the gun she says she mistook for a taser. we want to show you some of that video. but a warning, it's graphic. taser, taser, taser. i shot him. oh my god! o my god! oh my god! oh my god!

oh my bad, my pad! >> let's bring in our cnn security correspondent josh campbell. tell us more what happened in this opening round of statements in the trial? >> reporter: yeah, it was a powerful day, the first day in the former brooklyn center police officer charged with manslaughter in the death of daunte wright. the prosecution and defense laying out their perspective cases. the prosecution calling the actions a betrayal of her badge, her oath, a betrayal of the public truth. prosecutors pointing out this was not a rookie officer, this was an officer who had several years of experience and pointing to that moment mixing up a firearm for a taser, saying this wasn't something that an experienced officer should have

done. the defence by contrast calling in an accident, calling it a mistake, also pointing out this officer had never pulled her weapon before, never fired it, pointing to her record. at one point seeming to blame daunte wright himself, take a listen. >> she was trained to be aware of the differences between her gun and her taser and importantly, she was also trained about the risks of pulling the wrong weapon and that drawing and firing the wrong weapon could kill someone. >> so when she says, taser, taser, taser, there is one last pause, the facts will show you, the right to stop. all he has to do is stop. he might be with us. but he goes. she can't let him leave. because he's going to kill her

partner and so she does taser, taser, taser, she pulls the trigger, believing that it was a taser. well, why else would she say that? >> now, wolf, the first witness called today by the prosecution was daunte wright's mother, incredibly emotional testimony. she described being on a video call after that incident, an occupied answered her son suffering from a gunshot wound. take a listen to her testimony. >> yes, do you know if he was in trouble? no, he hadn't done anything wrong. he sounded really nervous. we assured him it would be okay.

i remember the officer telling daept no, and i heard dante say, no, i'm not, it sort of like he said don't run. daept said, no, i'm not and then i heard them say somebody tell somebody to happening up the phone and then that's all i remember. >> reporter: wright's mother's testimony very powerful, also, the video, itself, doing so much in court. resaw different vantage points released, the body camera and dash camera, where you see the moment of that shooting and the after math, including officer kimberly potter at one point on the ground clasping her head in her hands screaming, i just shot him, i just shot him, saying she thought testifies going to go to prison. of course that decision will be up to the jury. we are expecting she will be testifying in her own defense. we will bring you updates.

the first day, very dramatic testimony. they saw wright shot in the after math, this officer screaming she thinks she was going to go to jail. >> very dramatic, indeed, josh, thank you very much on the scene for us. let's get some more on the case. joining us cnn legal analyst joey jackson and senior law enforcement analyst charles ramsey. joey, walk us through the legal issues here. the defense says this is a horrible accident. the prosecution is making the case, this is a crime. give us your analysis. >> yeah, wolf, there are really three questions in my view with respect to this case. there are two counts. number one relating to recklessness. the question is, do you believe as viewers as jurors that this officer acted recklessly with respect to pulling that firearm and discharming it as opposed to the taser? that's as to count one, if the jurors believe she was reckless with respect to pulling out, drawing the wrong weapon, then that's problematic. step two, in the event you don't believe she is reckless but you

do believe she is neglect, what does that mean? you were careless, you consciously disregarded the risk that your behavior was reasonable, if you respond she was careless with regard to pulling the wrong weapon, then have you responsibility as a guilty. the final question is whether or not an officer to the extent you pull the wrong we upon, you feel horrible about it, are you remorseful about it. you can't believe what you did and you saw it you can't believe it, should you be giving officers a free pass as a result of their remorse or should you hold an owes of 26 years to the standard who is a trainingosis of knowing better? that's really the legal dynamics that's happening in the courtroom. >> chief ramsay, i want to go into that a little bit, kimberly potter. in the after math of the shooting watch the video. then we'll discuss. >> oh my god. >> ma'am, sit down.

>> oh my god! >> oh my god, oh my god! oh my god! >> chief ramsay, i want your analysis of what we just saw and heard, this now former police officer screaming out oh my god, oh my god, i shot him. i shot him. and when she was filing the actual weapon, we could hear her say taser, taser, taser. what does all that say to you as far as a jury is concerned? >> well, i don't believe she intended the shooting, but there was negligence there.

you know a few years ago in oakland there was a bart officer a transit officer that pulled his firearm as opposed to his taser, shot and killed an individual. after that happened, many departments changed their training. that includes how you carry the taser. most departments have you carry it on the weak side so that you can't mistake it for your firearm. tasers also come in bright colors like yellow or a bright green, to further distinguish between the two. but let me just say something else, because the whole thing from the beginning of the stop was really poorly done. the tactics led to this, in my opinion. when you look at the officer making the stop. they get mr. wright out of the car, there is a reason why police officer take people once they're out of the car to the rear of the car. that lessens the likelihood of them trying to jump in the car and take off. he's right there at the driver's door, car running.

she tries to put the handcuffs beside running in the car and pull off. you create a situation by using more tactics. that can't be overlooked. i'm not saying it's criminal. it certainly is sloppy in terms of police work. >> what do you think of that powerful dramatic video is going, the impact it's going to have on the jury? you are a criminal defense tomorrow? >> i think it's very powerful. i think the defense is going really with the notion that number one people are low to convict police officers. they don't want to do it. they believe police are trying to do the right thing. certainly, she didn't have the interpretation with respect to the death. be that as it may, it cuts both ways. yes, you feel horrible, at the same time for the pros skews cus prosecutions point, have you to be held at a higher standard in the position of a police officer to protect and preserve life and to the extent that you don't do it, the issue for the jury, we hold her accountable or give her a pass and say you know what, we

get it. we understand you, you're not g.u. i think a that's a heavy lift to ask a jury from a criminal perspective. >> this the worst is day one guys, thank you very much. we'll stay on top of this trial. just ahead, are vaccinated americans protected against the omicron variant of coronavirus? pfizer now says the answer depends on whether you've gotten your third shot, your booster. we will break it down with a key vaccine expert when we come back. lysol. what it takes to protect. (judith) in this market, you'll find fisher investments is different than other money managers. (other money manager) different how? don't you just ride the wave? (judith) no - we actively manage client portfolios based on our forward-looking views of the market. (other money manager) but you still sell investments that generate high commissions, right? (judith) no, we don't sell commission products. we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in our client's best interest.

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tonight we have another key piece of information as experts assess the threat of the new omicron variant of coronavirus. pfizer now says its vaccine does repeat does work against the variant but three doses are needed to get the best protection. let's discuss with a key member of the fda vaccine advisory committee also the author of the important new book entitled "you

bet your life, from blood trance fusions to mass vax face ins, the long and ricky medical vaccines." thank you for joining us. you and i have someone about booster doses many times. you previously explained you don't necessarily think all americans need those boosters, at least not right now. given this news from pfizer, is that still your position? >> yes. because it depends on what you want from this vaccine. i think what you would want from this vaccine is what you want from every vaccine, which is to protect you against serious illness, the kind that causes to you go to the doctor's office or the hospital or the icu. this vaccine, these vaccines have continued to do that and it is extremely right that they will continue to fight against the omicron variant. what the omicron variant, however, does, it does escape to some extent the neutralizing

antibodies induced by two doses of an mrna vaccine. what that will do is decrease your chance of having a mild illness for a certain period of time. i don't know what that period of time is. it could be as few as three months, six months, nine months. the that itself the strategy, we're trying to prevent asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection, are you talking boosters down the road. for most new vaccines, vaccines like this, influenza, coronavirus, whooping cough, we're trying to protect against severe illness. these vaccines do that. i expect it's extremely likely they will do it for the omicron variant. >> if you get the covid, even if you have very mild symptoms, you could still pass it on potentially to someone who is not vaccinated an older person who has health conditions or a young kid, for example who is not vaccinated. that itself concern, right? >> well, yes, you can still be contagious. are you less contagious.

if you have gotten two doses of an rna vaccine and have a mild dose and you never were vaccinated, will you still shed less virus in a shorter period of time if you were vaccinated and weren't vaccinated. the question then is what is the impact of giving a third dose to healthy young people. on this pandemic, i suspect it won't be big. what we need to do. we all keep saying this over and over again. we need to vaccinate the unvaccinated. that's the issue. if you work in a hospital and i was on service last week at children's hospital philadelphia. the issue for the children we see is they're they're not vaccinated and their farpts aren't vaccinated. that's the problem. we can't abandon that. i feel at some level we've given up on trying to vaccinate the unvaccinated. we can't do that it's our only way out of this poic. >> it will save lots and lots of lives. thanks so much nor joining us. we appreciate it. coming up, a far right

congressman lauren bospe bert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. >>bert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. bert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. bert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. obert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. ebert trying to strip her of her assignments over antimuslim remarks. >>

. we hope to punish the far right congresswoman lauren boebert for anti-mus lick remarks is getting stronger tonight. the controversy is raging. >> she is, indeed, seems to be emboldened as pressure builds for some kind of discipline to be given to this rogue

congresswoman, questions are running whether she will be disciplined. >> we the people -- >> reporter: tonight a resolution to strip freshman republican house member lauren boebert of her committee assignments has been introduced by democratic congresswoman ayanna pressley and other progressives. >> it is shameful we have had to wait this long for meaningful accountability. here we are. >> reporter: the move comes after recently surfaced video showing ilhan omar who is muslim could have been mistaken for a terrorist in a capitol hill elevator. >> i looked to my left. there she is. ilhan omar. i said, well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine. >> today we're here. >> reporter: boebert also recently said this about omar and another muslim congresswoman democrat rashida tlib. >> she is the last part of the evil women. >> the party right now is

normalizing anti-muslim bigotry. >> reporter: so far house republican leader kevin mccarthy has not publicly reprimanded boebert. >> mccarthy is a liar and a coward. >> reporter: congressman boebert doubled down on what they are characterizing as her outrageous behavior, tweeting a picture of her with semi automatic style weapons by a christmas tree days after the mass school shooting in michigan. boebert's tweet came after a similar photo thomas massie tweeted of his fam little. still house speaker nancy pelosi won't commit to disciplining her yet saying it's the republican's responsibility to deal with their people. >> i don't feel what the republicans are doing ability the disgraceful, unacceptable behavior of their members. >> reporter: sources on capitol hill tell cnn privately democrats are struggling over whether to discipline boebert. concerned that it would

different her more oxygen. >> she can use this to create more attention to generate more buzz, it's a very real concern. this? a part of her brand. this is who she is. she has hundreds of thousands of followers on twitter. >> reporter: boebert and other members of the republican freedom caucus exhibited controversial behavior, like marriagery taylor green and paul go sar have been called out as posers by dan crenshaw, who says they project themselves as loyal trump supporters but don't always vote with trump's agenda. >> members of congress, there is performance artists, there is legislators, and performance artists are the ones that get all the attention. the ones you think are more conservative because they know how to say slogans real well. they recite the lines they know our voters want to hear. we have grifters in our mix. >> reporter: some believe the republican infighting and outrageous behavior may hurt the

republican's messaging, but it won't necessarily harm their chances for reclaiming the majority in the house after next year's mid-term election, lauren boebert's office did not respond to the latest reporting of her joining us now, cnn seep your commentator, former ohio governor, john kasich. governor, thanks for joining us chlgs just last week, four high school students were killed in a shooting in michigan. so many holiday pictures -- putting out pictures of children holding deadly weapons? >> wolf. wolf, it's just pathetic. i -- i -- it's just so sad. and look. you know, what -- what's happening is in politics today, you're -- you are rewarded for doing things that are just outrageous. you get publicity. you raise more money.

and shame on them. but really, shame on the leadership, wolf. you know, the leaders are not doing the job. they need to condemn these -- especially, the words of boebert. and i mean, i condemned it. you have condemned it. everybody has but the leadership hasn't done it. so, you know, it's like if you have people with a child-like attitude, you let them get away with x. then, they go farther and farther and farther, and they're all in power suit of power. and this is a shame. and the other thing is -- remember this, also, wolf. there was anti-semitic comments that came out of a member of the democratic party in the house. and, you know, this stuff is -- just -- it's out of control. and why are they thinking maybe we better not punish her? wolf, then you start a war of attrition. so then, the republicans win the majority and they start kicking people out or taking their committee assignments away. you know, it's just -- it's ridiculous and i blame it on the leadership. and nancy pelosi, in this case, has got a cool head. i blame it on the leaders for

not condemning this behavior. that would be -- that would start to -- to solve this problem. >> your fellow republican leaders -- that's who you are referring to. these republicans are following what's seen as the trump playbook, governor. but the former president is clearly relishing the idea of yet another campaign. listen to what he told hugh hewitt. listen to this. >> if donald trump decides not to run in 2024, who out there will that base flock to? >> if i do decide that, i think my base is going to be very angry. >> well, it will but they'll still have to find somebody. >> they will be very angry. i think we have a couple of people that are -- would be very good. but it's -- you know, very early. >> if you get hit by a truck, if a meteor hits donald trump or the iranians get ya like they want to, what do you want the republican party to nominate? people got to know. >> someday soon. okay? i will tell you about it. >> well, what about that,

governor? how worried are you that the former president is already trying to stoke anger among his base if he doesn't launch a 2024 presidential campaign? >> well, wolf, the reason why he didn't mention anybody is he doesn't want to give anybody any oxygen and if he doesn't run, and -- and is a cry baby, he will try to be disruptive and it will hurt the ability of the republicans to win the white house, there is no question about it. but it's interesting that he won't give a name, and he is not going to give a name because he hasn't decided and he certainly doesn't want to give anybody else that oxygen that they desperately need to be successful running for president. >> all right. governor casekasich, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. coming up, day one of jury deliberations in the trial of the actor jussie smollett just concluded. we have the latest on the case.

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jurors in the trial of the actor jussie smollett just finished their first day of deliberating whether he falsely reported a hate crime that he allegedly arranged against himself. let's go to our senior national correspondent, sara sidner. she is in chicago for us. so, sara, update our viewers on the latest. what happened? >> wolf, the jury has gone home after a couple hours of deliberations. they will be back early-morning tomorrow. and they will start again. we did hear, of course, as did the jury, closing arguments from both the prosecution and defense as is normal in a trial like this. the prosecution, going after jussie smollett, once again, calling him not only a liar who told police fibs but someone who lied on the stand under oath in front of the jury about what happened on that cold january

overnight in 2019. they said he perpetrated a fake-hate crime against himself for media attention. now, his attorney, mr. uche, shot back. he went after these two brothers that we have heard a lot about, that were friends with smollett. in particular, one of them was his trainer. and we heard from the defense attorney that he basically called them the liars. saying that they are the ones that were paid for something else and lied about being -- taking part in this at the direction of mr. smollett. he called them a lot of other names, as well. but really, went after the o-san dar yoe brothers because those brothers, along with police, were the ones who said, look, this was fake hate crime. we were responsible for the perpetration of this game but it was smollett who planned it. the jury will have to take all of the information they have learned from surveillance video to police body-camera video when they went in to talk to mr.

smollett the night that he reported this crime and they will have to put that all together and try to come up with a verdict. and they will begin again tomorrow morning. wolf. >> sara sidner in chicago. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. out front next. the breaking news. former-trump chief of staff mark meadows suing the january 6th committee as they move to hold him in criminal contempt. so, what's he claiming in this lawsuit? plus, calling in the national guard tonight. a winter covid surge in america creating major concerns in northeastern states as the push for booster shots grows louder tonight. and the head of the international olympic committee saying, tonight, the tennis star peng shuai is