department. for christmas, they got officer madden a stuffed animal that looked a lot like lemon. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. aww. >> bret: and he loved it. that's it for the "special report." fair, balanced, and unafraid. "the story" guest hosted by ed henry starts now. a little late. >> ed: that dog was so cute, we are going forgive you. christmas may be behind us, but the president's twitter account appears to be the gift that keeps on giving. the 1 12 tweets of christmas, te president serving up more than a dozen attacks on impeachment alone over the holidays -- 13, in fact. calling out speaker nancy pelosi, calling it a bogus, unfair scam. good evening, everybody. i'm ed henry in for martha maccallum, and this is "the story" care the president

also tweeting how he may have the federal government step in to deal with california's homelessness crisis if the state democratic governor does not step up. we are mere minutes away from an exclusive with the president's housing secretary, ben carson. don't miss it. in the meantime, while the president continues to rip into impeachment, comments by republican senator lisa murkowski from alaska, remains undecided on how she will vote on removing the president from office. she says she has "disturbed by recent comments by senate republican leader mitch mcconnell." >> seriously concerned, when you hear your majority leader say that he is going to work hand-in-hand with the white house. >> mitch mcconnell should not be coordinating and fully responding to the white house when it comes to how he determines to conduct this trial. >> ed: but the story tonight is whether democrats may be playing with fire ahead of 2020. the nonpartisan "politico"

report issuing may be an sos to democrats in key battlegrounds come in the wake of pelosi's troops voting for the articles of impeachment. in michigan from independent congressman just to justin amash's district has moved to toss up after leaning republican after amash left the g.o.p. and became an opponent -- his race has now become a toss-up. republican congressman guy reschenthaler is a member of the house judiciary committee and joins me now. congressman come appreciate you coming in. >> merry christmas. >> ed: merry christmas to you. is this boomeranging on democrats when you see district in michigan, pennsylvania, where the lawmakers supported impeachment, are suddenly moving toward the republicans? >> this is totally backfiring on the democrats. i think nancy pelosi let this get way out in front of her. i think, if she were really calling the shots, it wouldn't have gotten this far.

but we have to remember that the far left, social justice democrats are running this party now. but we are seeing that trump is up in my home state of pennsylvania. he is leading the democratic contenders sometimes by double digits. he is up in wisconsin and michigan, and in all of the battleground districts, the district where democrats hold seats where trump won, but you just mentioned, cartwright's seat in central pennsylvania, i think we're going to get a lot of those seats back and take back the house in 2020. >> ed: that is a bold statement, obviously. another bold statement this morning on msnbc, former congressman joe scarborough ripping into the president. watch this. >> the president should do something that he's never done before, and read the constitution of the united states. he might actually understand how the speaker of the house has that power. >> ed: so the idea that the speaker is holding back these articles of impeachment, and some of her supporters are cheerleading the idea that somehow she has this power to do that. >> you know, for the past few weeks, the democrats have been

talking about the constitution. they have been acting like they are constitutional scholars, but the keywords in the provision is that the house has the sole duty to impeach and the senate has the sole responsibility to try the president. the key word is "sole." i don't know if i was sick in law school, but i'm pretty sure the house has nothing to do the trial in the senate which impeachment is to the senate. it's a 2-step process, two separate silos. let nancy pelosi hold the articles of impeachment, because the longer this drags out, the more swing voters and independents are coming to republicans in droves. and i know some people think it's a bold statement, but i really do think we're going to take back the house in 2020, and i think the president trump is going to win in 2020, because the polls are showing independents are tired of impeachment, they think it is a sham, and they know this is a political hit job. >> ed: you certainly are poles to back that appeared on the other hand, depress you, congressman, does nancy pelosi have a point when she should have -- hold on to my way to hos back because mitch mcconnell

is signaling that maybe this will not be a fair trial. when your fellow republican -- not a democrat, but he republican, but lisa murkowski is saying she is concerned, essentially that this is going to be unfair. how do you respond to murkowski? >> the whole process has been unfair. let me say this about the senator from alaska. she also made statements, too, about nancy pelosi and the fact that this whole process was rushed, it was done in a political timeline to wrap it up in the house before christmas. the mainstream media is not digging that up, the only digging of her criticism of mitch mcconnell. but let me go back to the process. >> ed: sure. >> the process has been rigged from the very beginning. remember come over 70 democrats voted to impeach the president before the july phone call. over 70. 70 democrats on house judiciary committee had voted to impeach the president before the phone call, as well. so how is it fair -- how is it fair, when the president was denied the right to have exculpatory evidence, which is evidence favorable to him, presented in those closed-door hearings that adam schiff was having? >> ed: i hear you. >> the entire process has been a political hit job.

it was a judicial proceeding, as a former judge, i would have dismissed these articles on day number one for lack of merit. >> ed: are not depending her house did it. you are certainly right to go out there and attack the way -- we heard all of the attacks on adam schiff and the rest. but my question is relieved, when a republican and we lisa murkowski you are right she also said she thought it was rushed in the house. you have that point. but if the president believes he is innocent, you believe the president is innocent, why not have a trial where we can hear from mick mulvaney or others who were on the inside, and if the president didn't do anything wrong, he will be acquitted quickly? >> i'm looking forward to seeing the evidence presented in the senate, because i think that the evidence that was presented to the house was not there to support either article of impeachment, and i think that when we see this exposed in the senate, the american people are going to see just how this was a flimsy case. the evidence isn't there, and how we could the democrat

articles of impeachment are. but i will say this. if those witnesses were so important, why were they not called in the house? why did the democrats not go to the courts, just like the republicans did in the fast and furious can scandal? >> ed: fair question, they say it would have taken months and months. >> that's why we have three branches of government. >> ed: you mention you are an attorney, so we will take that pickle last question would be, do you think, since you believe this has been an unfair processy even have a trial, nancy pelosi will hold back the articles? do you think that senator mitch mcconnell should move toward a motion to dismiss and get a simple up or down vote, 51 votes to put this to bed once and for all? >> i'm up two mines. the former district judge in me says dismiss this on day one, because there is lack of merit. the democrats can't make out what we lawyers call -- they don't have the facts to meet the elements of the crimes alleged. the political animal in me says let's make this a trial. let's drag all the witnesses out. let's hear from hunter biden.

let's hear from adam schiff staff. let's hear from the whistle-blower that i tried to subpoena when this was going through the due judiciary committee in the house. let's hear from all of the witnesses and show the american people what a joke this entire process was, how weak the evidence was, and how this was a completely manufactured case to take on president trump before he wins the 2020 election. >> ed: i hear both sides. the reason attorney in you and the political animal who sounds a whole lot more passionate about having a trial, getting hunter biden, and aaron all of this out. we will see which prevails. thanks for coming in. my next guest was an assistant special prosecutor team in the watergate scandal. thanks for coming in. speaking of watergate, i noticed tom brokaw has a new book out about watergate. he was on msnbc the other day committees of the evidence was more airtight against richard nixon. a lot different than what we have here now. and he basically said this has become a he said, she said game. what say you? >> the evidence was not strong

against richard nixon in the beginning. the impeachment -- the big difference is when history writes about this process, it's going to say, with an impeachment, this is the exact weight should never be done. the fact that you talked to the congressman about politics and polls shows that this was totally partisan. when watergate started, the inquiry, the impeachment inquiry, the vote was 410-4. to legitimize the inquiry. first the senate hearing. than congressional hearings. we ultimately went to court. and we got tapes. it wasn't 410-4 to impeach the president, it was to have a fair and open hearing, and the tapes only came at the end. >> ed: something the congressman clearly believes, and a lot of the president's supporters believe has not been a fair process. you're making a clear distinction there. want to play click on the whole question whether mitch mcconnell should just take this and air it out. on "fox & friends," listen to this. >> i happen to believe, as a lawyer, the charges are

defective on their face, they don't mean the constitutional standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. i would like to see a motion to dismiss, 51 senators that we have as republicans should agree with that. there should be no trial. >> ed: how do you respond to that? >> there were four law professors who testified about an impeachable offense. with all due respect to them, gerald ford was right. it's whatever a majority of the house said it was, and if you don't believe me, if you watch the vote, it was like clinching the playoffs. in the senate, it's the same thing. if the majority of the senate votes to dismiss, it's dismissed. but there's nothing to dismiss now, as long as the speaker holds it back. why isn't that a gift to the president? if she holds it, there's nothing to deal with. >> ed: right. city think, ultimately, that might be the road forward for mitch mcconnell? sit on us as long as you want, their republicans go ahead with the nation's business. the president and the last week or to have victory after victory on legislation, from the budget,

funding for the law, space force -- you could list a whole bunch of things that he is pushed forward while all of this is happening. does it make more sense, may become a percent or republicans to say you can sit on it all you want, we're going to focus on the nations business? >> one of the things the president ran on was let's get rid of political correctness. it would be nice if all the senators said yes, we are a fair jury, we haven't made up our minds. that's nonsense. we know there will not be two-thirds to convict in the senate. and tried a lot of cases as a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. i never knew ahead of time what the outcome would be, and this one, we know the outcome. >> ed: right. two-thirds, as you say, to convict the president. >> which won't happen. >> ed: unlikely at this hour. >> i think it is more than unlikely. >> ed: so when you say the whole question about mitch mcconnell and the democrats saying, because of his comments about working with the white house, he won't be an impartial juror. how could chuck schumer or any of the democrats running for president, from elizabeth warren to bernie sanders, how could they be considered impartial juror's?

>> same thing. they've all been on a sunday morning morning talk shows, and have all said how they are going to vote. sodas and out like a case in court, so let's just move on and get it over with. remember, the other impeachments in american history were not in a first term, right before an election. ultimately, this is a question for the people to decide. >> ed: we shall see if that is how it plays out. jon sale, we appreciate you coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> ed: in the meantime, president from issuing an ultimatum on the homeless crisis in speaker pelosi's home state of heart california. secretary ben carson is here exclusively on what the trump team intends to do it democrats failed to act. that is next. ♪ >> you take a look at what is going on in san francisco, it's terrible. we are looking at it very seriously. we may intercede. we may do something to get that whole thing cleaned up. it's an appropriate. ♪ if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream.

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♪ >> ed: president trump putting californian democrats on flask over the state's growing homelessness crisis, tweeting just moments ago, california leads the nation by far in both the number of homeless people in the percentage increase of the homeless population, two terrible stats. praising nancy come he says, should focus on that in her home district, and helping her incompetent governor with the homeless problem. comes on a report with the department of housing and urban development showing an increase of 21,000 homeless people in california alone over the past year. joining me now exclusively, dr. ben carson. he, of course, is the secretary of the department of housing and urban development. mr. secretary, thank you for joining us. >> merry christmas, ed, nice to be with you. >> ed: talk about the death of the homeless crisis. that's a shocking number, 21,000

more people in california this past year are homeless. high numbers. >> it's truly amazing. we've actually been making very good progress over the course of the last decade, in terms of homelessness, except in california. year-over-year, if you take the other 49 states, if you subtract california, the rate of homelessness is actually going down. california, 16.4% increase, you have to ask yourself the question, why is that happening? why are people being drawn to that situation? well, there are a number of reasons. it's not a simple fix. first of all, you have a significant number of people with disturbances in their mental capacity. we have drug addiction, and we have people who simply cannot afford to live in a place where you have so many regulations that drive up the cost of everything. and i know that the governor recently said, can you just give us 50,000 more vouchers?

and can you make sure we have fair market rent values? you have to realize, all of those vouchers come out of a pool of money that doesn't grow just because you say grill it. and if we take the price of those vouchers and we escalate them significantly, and that means there are fewer people who can be helped. so the better thing to do is go and look at the root cause: why are things they are so expensive? what can be done about them? and then, how can we deal with the mentally ill individuals? washington, d.c., recently was given a waiver by hhs so they could use medicare -- medicaid dollars for mental illness. california could have applied for that same waiver of. and those are the kind of things that have to be done, it has to be done with the federal, state, local, as well as faith-based, the for-profit, the nonfor profits, we need to work together, because it can be done. >> ed: mr. secretary, you are you ideas to the table, and was interesting to me, among other

things, even "the san francisco chronicle" and nancy pelosi's hometown is giving you some credit. they say in this editorial, governor gavin newsom and other california officials don't tend to appreciate advice from the trump administration, which is based on his record so far, seems more likely to play the states troubles for political gain and to make any constructive attempt to address them. that said, ben carson is right, the states response to homelessness is not equal to the human disaster at hand. if not every day, sir, the nancy pelosi's hometown paper says you are on the right track. >> well, i hope they continue, all of them, to work on this. this is not a partisan issue. you look at those people out on the streets, and you know this is not a partisan issue. but the politics aside, let's fix this. >> ed: you say does nonpartisan pick of the democratic governor may disagree. here's what he said recently, and gavin newsom. he took aim at you. >> they are not serious about this issue. they are plain it. it's been nothing but division

coming from the folks at hud and the trump administration. if they want to surprise me, we will celebrate that, and there will be applauded and embraced. i would love to be surprised. >> ed: he claims you are not serious. give him a chance, let's surprise him right now. what do you want to do, sir? >> i am very happy to work with him, to work with others. i've had several conversations with the mayor of los angeles. we are willing to sit down and talk about it, but the ground rules are that we have to use facts. we have to use evidence, and not ideology. if we can do that, we can definitely solve the problem. >> ed: you told me before, i want to get some specifics, that you want to get among the root causes. among other things, you say the mental health crisis. there is a lot on the table. can give me two or three specific things, steps, that you want to take in the next month, the next three months? >> well, first of all, we need

to get an agreement to use law enforcement to unclos law enforcement so that people can be removed. and placed in transitional places. you know, since the housing first initiative, when people just want to use housing first, we've lost 78,000 beds. 45% of transitional beds disappeared. that is where you can put peop people. so that is number one. and then we need to create the wraparound -- when we put people in transitional places, we need to be able to take care of their health care. you know, look at the dental situation. get them involved and retraining -- because you have to realize, what i was a kid come all you needed was a strong back and a willingness to work, and you can make it. that's not necessarily the case now. you need some retraining, some retooling, to be able to function in this society that we live in now.

it's our responsibility to help people do that, and then they can get out of dependency. that will be a benefit to our entire society. >> ed: those are some specifics. what is the timetable? when is the trump-carson plan rolled out? >> we are going to be having some substantial meetings over the next month or so. >> ed: the next month or so. >> and i expect to do something in conjunction with the leaders in california. i don't want to just do it by ourselves, because then people would be trying to sabotage it. i want everybody to have skin in the game, to be involved, to help work this out. we have a lot of technical assistance. they have tons of vouchers that they haven't even used yet. these are people who can show them how to use those. >> ed: real quick, here's what you told us in september. >> i think we are going to be helping, certainly within a matter of weeks.

we are not talking months and years. >> and there is a plan in place? >> we are discussing multiple possibilities. >> ed: so that was more than three months ago. you said we are talking about weeks, not months. what happened? >> we have been out there. i have not found the same urgency in the leadership in the state that i had hoped to find, let's put it that way. >> ed: so last point. how do you like that fire? the president seems to be trying to do it on social media, saying the federal government is going to step in. what is your message to the governor tonight? >> my message is let's put the people first. let's not worry about other peripheral issues. these are fellow human beings, and it's christmas time. think about what the bible says. the book of proverbs, the 14th chapter, the 31st verse.

says "he that oppresses the poor reproaches his maker. he that honor with him has mercy on the poor." let's think about mercy on the poor. let's think about real compassion, let's not think about ways to keep people dependent in these horrible situations, but how can we liberate them? >> ed: some stirring and important words to mike on the secretary of housing and urban development. we appreciate you coming in. near christmas to you and your wife. >> thank you. >> ed: thank you, mr. secretary. in the meantime, heating up over the possible departure of the key member of the president's cabinet. the breaking details when "the story" continues. ♪ ♪music (children laugh and scream) (dog barking) ♪music it's the final days of the wish list sales event.

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as opposed to a missile test. right? i may get him a boss. i might get an ice president from him. >> ed: at this hour, north korea opting against its threat of a christmas gift to the united states, but the pentagram remains on watch heading into th the new year. the new reports the window for a potential north korean missile test is open through kim jong un's upcoming birthday in early january. journey me now live, retire general jack keane, chairman of the instrument for the study of war, and fox news senior strategic analyst. general, thanks for coming end. >> good to see you, ed. >> ed: what we make of the threats, and not yet, at least from any kind of follow through? >> well, first of all, kim jong un has a tendency to follow through on his threats, and we still have some time before this self-imposed deadline, new year's, is here. i take it he will likely do something, because past history, i prefer that he didn't, but i think the likelihood is there.

and we can only speculate about what that is. i know our government and others are tracking recent activity that we may be renewed to conclude what it may be. he's been working on the barges that launch submarine launched ballistic missiles. they are about to finish developing a new submarine and unveil one of those. there's also a multilaunched rocket systems that they have been improving on, and demonstrate that once again. or a long-range missile, and probably the most dangerous thing he would do, which would certainly get the attention of the administration, would be any continental ballistic missile capable of reaching the united states, which he did a year and a half ago. >> ed: certainly the pentagon suggests keeping a close watch on all of that. another threat, of course, russian. something vladimir putin's had caught our eyes. he claims, anyway, not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental

range hypersonic weapons. he now claims he is the only country. russia is the only nation that has these weapons. true? >> it could be true. i mean, i don't have privy to intelligence, and i certainly don't pursue that information. oui, china, and russia, have all been racing to develop this technology. i think it was a given that china has started earlier than russia and the united states data, but we are so high tech, ourselves, and we've got some of the best scientists and engineers in the world. even though somebody may have started ahead of us, we have a tendency to get to that finish line before anybody else. so i don't know, but these missiles that are being developed are a technology leap ahead, because they can swarm and take out an entire carrier battle group and come at it from different locations, and be very difficult to stop it. so yes, advanced technology, and

the countermeasures for it, will also have to be developed. we will depend on space a lot for that. >> ed: and the space force the president has been pushing for, a big, big deal, no doubt about it. general, somebody you know well, secretary mike pompeo at the president's side. i want to play this clip from cnn and get your reaction. watch. >> secretary pompeo is eyeing the door, right? he's not going to be there for much longer. he's trying to find his exit. what he will be behind is a broken foreign policy, a broken state department, and a broken foreign service. >> ed: i know you don't get into politics, you are focused on the threats to national security, and that is what you bring you in, for that important analysis. what is your sense about what mike pompeo may do, and the impact it may have on this president in this country? >> first of all, i have a lot of respect for secretary pompeo. as you mentioned, i do know him, and have great confidence in him. i think he is one of the great

stars in this administration. and he has had quite an impact worldwide. world leaders respect him quite a bit. he is terribly bright, and he has a grasp of all of the issues united states are being challenged by, and he doesn't make foreign policy. he helps to execute it. this is something we have to remind ourselves. anybody that doubts that president trump is in charge of foreign policy doesn't know what is going on. and the reason why people have left this administration is because they don't agree with the president's foreign policy. and president trump will continue to drive back. i would be disappointed if secretary pompeo left, because i just think he is such a top-quality person and executing the president's policy, but he's got his own objectives and his own life to lead, and we would certainly wish him well, no matter what he does. and the president will certainly be able to find something to fill those shoes, i'm confident of that gets bill general jack keane, we certainly appreciate you coming end. happy new year ahead of that. >> happy new year to you and the

fox family. >> ed: same to you. in the meantime, some democrats now saying bernie sanders has a shot at winning the nomination. congressman alexandria ocasio-cortez of the squad campaigning with him, and saying that america is not an advanced society. we will show you what else she said, next. ♪ if your glasses aren't perfect, we'll fix them. so will we. no we won't. don't forget to use your vision benefits before they're gone. now in-network with vsp. visionworks. see the difference.

♪ >> ed: senator bernie sanders enlisting the help of congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez to drum up support for his presidential campaign, but the so-called squad member raising some eyebrows with these comments about america at a recent rally. watch. >> what we are living in right now is not an advanced society. a society that allows people -- it is fascism. what we have, what we are evolving into, as well that

>> ed: here now, david webb, radio host and fox news contributor. jennifer holdsworth, democratic strategist worked for hillary clinton's 2016 campaign. thank you for both coming end. >> good to see you. >> ed: as ahead of the top, the presence twitter account to get that keeps on giving, but maybe it is an example because her protest. >> responding to someone with that kind of response tells you where she is going next, she's on the stage with bernie sanders, who was never going to be or will never be president. this is someone who started out early in his life in the soviet union, celebrated it, admired cuba, and she is taking over. she's the next generation. but the insult here is that we are evolving into fascism. if it was a fascist state, alexandria ocasio-cortez could not say what she said. she would not be free. she would have been hauled off after that statement by the government. we are not evolving into a fascist state.

no reasonable american beliefs about. >> ed: let's give jennifer a fair chance to jump in. please react to the comments, and david's comments, but at a time when the president has a stock market that continues to set record highs, unemployment historically low, as you know, how is it that some on the left seem to think winning in 2020 is about bringing up topics like fascism? >> yeah, i think the congresswoman is prone to hyperbole, but i can't say that i agree with her comments. i think they were irresponsible. but what i don't think that we can deny is what she was talking about, and what she should have said is that in an advanced society like america is today, so many are being left behind. yes, the stock market is roaring, but we have skyrocketing health care costs. a student loan crisis, stagnant wages. and in an advanced society, arguably one of the richest in the world, and in history, we should be doing a better job of lifting up those that are being left behind. but i can't agree to do that

with insightful language like the congresswoman was using. >> ed: david, you said a moment ago that bernie sanders will not be president. there is a "politico"'s story, may be the democratic establishment to sleeping on burning like they did in 2016 comment here you are, also, sharp political mind, saying he will never be president. he is still pretty strong in these polls. >> he strong, the leader of a movement, and clearly has the stage presence and the persona that he's had for years. i've covered him for years, ed, and i can tell you that when you look at the ability to get votes to enact the electoral college, bernie sanders is closer to a mcgovern. he might get two or three states if he's lucky, but he will never be president. but he's dangerous because, for decades, he has taken the democrat party on this leftward swing. he has been consistent, consistent from his honeymoon as mayor of burlington, vermont, throughout his political

career, and now he's looking for the next generation, because he is a movement, and he sees an end goal. he doesn't see a time or in the electoral season. but he can hand it off to an aoc, he can hand it off to those that will drag the party further, and tom perez has a problem with donors, a problem with fund raising, at a party that is split heavily because of that. >> ed: let's give jennifer a fair chance. we got a minute. what about the rest of the field? you can talk about bernie, but what is the state of the race for democrats? >> i think bernie is a compelling candidate, and full disclosure, i do not support him. i think he is pushing the party in a direction that is not necessarily going to serve us well in a general election, but i think that vp biden, senator sanders, senator warren, and mayor pete buttigieg leading this race, and they are the ones that you're going to see continue to do well leading into the winter and spring. >> ed: all right, we'll see if impeachment boomerangs are not in the days ahead. jennifer, david, appreciate you coming end. >> good to see you, ed. >> merry christmas beard spill

merry christmas to you as well new court filings with anti-trump attorney michael avenatti's financial troubles people that's coming up. still ahead, "the story" bricks on president trump's biggest wins in 2019. ♪ >> we're going to keep on working, keep on fighting. we are going to keep on winning, winning, winning. ♪ it's versus the other guys.eese (cheering) clearly, velveeta melts creamier

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♪ >> ed: anti-trump attorney michael avenatti was apparently knee-deep in debt when he allegedly attempted to extort nike. according t to a christmasy filing, the former attorney for adult film star stormy daniels owed in excess of $15 million to from a client, law partners, and both of his former spouses, among others. claims that avenatti is now dismissing as laughable. our correspondent, marianne rafferty, is following the story from our west coast newsroom. >> remember in this case, michael avenatti claimed to have evidence of misconduct from bank employees, and prosecutors allege that avenatti tried to extort nike by telling them if they didn't play up to $25 million for his law firm to investigate that misconduct or $22 million for his silence, he would expose them improperly paying high school athletes and

coaches. back in march, after his arrest for extortion, avenatti said he wanted all of the evidence presented. >> i am highly confident that when all of the evidence is laid bare in connection with these cases, when it is all known, when due process occurs, that i will be fully exonerated and justice will be done. >> but avenatti doesn't seem to want everything made public. earlier this month, lawyers for both sides arguing what could and could not be presented to the jury. prosecutors wanted to show how much avenatti was spending on things like a private jet and sports cars. avenatti's lawyers argued that would only distract the jury. in the christmas eve filing, prosecutors say avenatti's $15 million debt to former clients, law partners, and spouses is relevant because "he had extraordinary indebtedness and thoughts of the need and motive to quickly generate substantial sums of money at the time when he engaged in the

conduct. "they say they can prove the conduct from testimonies in the .in the filing, they say paymens paid to amateur players were "pervasive." avenatti hit back on the statement he was in debt, saying "any claim i was $15 million in debt was ridiculous, absurd, and laughable. i look forward to the upcoming trial, at which time i will be exonerated and the trickle be known." avenatti's criminal trial is scheduled to begin -- 1 of 3 trials he is currently involved in. and? >> ed: a re-captive president trump's biggest compliments of 2019 when "the story" continues. he is not tired of winning. >> we have done more than i promised. i promise we have done more than we promised. no politician, i think kim has ever done better. ♪ great riches will find you when liberty mutual

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♪ >> ed: days out from 2020, which will no doubt will be a wild political year. before we get to that, my next guest is taking a little moment of reflection in a brand-new op-ed breaking down the top ten best things president trump has done in 2019. marc thiessen joins me now, cohost of the podcast, what the hell is going on? so what is going on? >> number ten, he continued to deliver for the forgotten americans. unemployment at record lows, 1.5 million more job openings than people to fill them. people at the bottom of the economic spectrum having the most weight gains, and the economy is doing great. >> ed: leads us to the next one, people are food stamps. >> implemented work requirements for food stamps. with the economy this strong, no reason we shouldn't be helping

people move from dependence to the work and dignity of work, and he is doing bad. >> ed: antidemocratic guest on a couple moments ago, saying the stock market is great, but people are not feeling it. the new ccn and poll, 76% of the publix as the the economy is good. >> personally doing better since president was elected. >> ed: let's get to nato. >> he got nato allies to cough up more money for defense. since donald trump came into office, they are contribute $130 billion more, and the countries meeting the agreements of spending 2% gdp on defense. >> ed: people laughed at getting people to cough up the money. >> he actually got it done. >> ed: i have a bone to pick, the next one, he said he stood up for the people of hong kong. there's criticism that he could have done more. >> he vacillated at first, but he signed the hong kong democracy act, which is really

important, and they were singing the national anthem and waving american flags on the streets of hong kong, and he warned china not to use violence against the people of hong kong, one of the reasons they haven't cracked down. yes, i agree with you from his rhetoric was shaky at times, but he doing the right thing on hong kong. >> ed: a treaty, not something that people normally get excited about. >> the treaty that ronald reagan signed in 1987 with mikhail gorbachev. that's nothing to do with russia. it's a play against north korea and china, because about 90% of china's missiles would violate the inf treaty, but they were not bound by it. we have the capability to start testing new missiles that can deter china and also deter north korea. if the negotiations don't work, to keep them in our crosshairs. >> ed: untying our hands. victory for the president, iran. >> inflation is spiraling, the economy going down the tank. there are no closer to negotiations with the united states, but these sanctions in and of themselves,

they have dramatically cut funding for their terrorist proxies around the world. hamas, hezbollah. >> ed: let's move to mexico. he got a deal with them, people laughed at that one. >> these terror threats forced mexico to trac crackdown on illl immigration. the first time in modern history, enforcing the immigration laws at their southern border, not our southern border. >> ed: planned parenthood. >> he delivered a major blow to planned parenthood, something called the protect life will come of that prohibits funds going to clinics that have abortion. we are saving lives, something george w. bush didn't do, george h.w. bush didn't do, republican presidents for three decades -- that's why christian conservatives stay with donald trump. >> ed: interesting point. trickle quick last ones. isis leader. >> he order the operation to

kill a block by al-baghdadi. identify hundreds of miles into al qaeda-controlled territory, could have gone very wrong. joe biden advised barack obama not to go after usama bin laden. donald trump didn't hesitate to go after -- >> ed: just the opposite vehicle last point, you mention evangelicals. the president and judges. >> he has continued to point sort of judges at a record pace. he just confirmed his 50th pick for the federal court of appeals. the supreme court hears about 80 cases a year. the appeals court has 50,000 cases. he has appointed -- five you are in three years than barack obams age, and most importantly, flipped three of the courts from liberal to conservative majorities. >> ed: we are going to be fair and balanced, because next week you have a column coming about the president's biggest mistakes you have made. we will have martha may be have you come back. >> i would love to do that. >> ed: have a good new year. appreciate it. that is "the story" for thursday

comedy summer 26, 2019. i will see you tomorrow morning at fox and friends. maybe take a nap, and] tomorrow night at 7:00. have a good night. ♪ ♪ >> good evening and welcome to "tucker carlson tonight" can i mark steyn in for tucker. i hope you have a terrific christmas, happy boxing day, or as i believe it is known in america, thursday. 2019 was supposed to be the year of impeachment. the democrat party spent years promising it, and it looked like they were finally going to deliver. the called witnesses, held hearings, summoned academics to deliver dull, pseudo-constitutional lectures, and the americans, bored enough to watch the proceedings live, and finally, last week, they voted to impeach