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fred? >> the clock is jeremy diamond, thank you so much. congressional reporter for politico melanie zanona, impeachment law professor at tulane law school. and ross garber and the former director of the nixon presidential library and cnn presidential historian tim naftali. good to see all of you. happy holiday weekend. >> happy holidays. >> ross, the white house has a little over three hours to decide if its lawyers will be present at the white house judiciary committee's first hearing on wednesday which focuses on how constitutional and historical standards on impeachment are met. so what would be the role of those white house attorneys if they were to decide to be present wednesday? >> it's a great question. i assume the potential role would be the ability to question these legal experts, but what we're hearing is the legal experts will have been chosen by the democratic majority, and so i would be very surprised to see white house lawyers show up particularly for this hearing but also for the whole process. i think from the white house'

go ahead, fred, ask the question. >> it's the same question, jim, it is. on the issue of obstruction of congress, the white house has not denied not withholding witnesses and evidence. the white house has, you know, kept people from testifying, right? >> correct. >> and isn't that one of the articles. >> and lawfully because they had a colorable claim to not have the witnesses testify, and therefore it goes to the courts. >> if they have nothing to hide, they would let them testify. if they had nothing to hide, they would let them testify. >> congress does not have the last word on that. >> well, actually a separation of powers, congress does have the right to have this word. >> they don't have the last word. >> let's talk about where -- >> there's a third branch. i'm not sure if you know about that or not, it's called the courts system. >> you only have to fight your way in court if you have something to hide from the congress. >> really, did does that mean everybody who goes to court has something to hide. >> members of congress have the right to conside

>> yeah, good morning, fred. certainly the reporter had the right to ask that question but i don't blame speaker pelosi for going back to the podium and giving that terse response to the reporter. look, number one, she was not pushing for impeachment until this ukraine controversy came along. she was putting the brakes on her caucus during the period of the mueller report saying we're not there yet with impeachment. she only moved forward with it when the ukraine call came to light. number two, i think it's sexist. i just don't see a reporter in that situation asking a male speaker of the house do you hate the president. it suggests that she can't do her job objectively and at arm's length and is sort of emotional about it. >> mm-hmm. >> and i just -- i think that's the connotation. and lastly, fred, just real quick, it reminded me of the hearings earlier this week when some of the republicans in the judiciary committee asked some of the legal scholars testifying who they voted for or who they gave money to, as i

>> yeah, great points, fred. first of all, there are literally thousands of foreign nationals undergoing military training of all sorts inside the united states. because so many of these countries purchase arms and ammunition, weapons, platforms and systems to operate in their home territories. and so many of them pay for this training, as the saudis were paying for this. it's not something that the u.s. taxpayer is fronting. but it is in our national security interest to have these programs in place so that these individuals can go home and not only defend their countries better with these systems, ours, but they can participate in coalition operations more effectively and efficiently with the u.s. and our allies and partners. it's in our interest that we conduct this kind of training going forward. now whether or not that program is going to change, i think secretary defense esper yesterday indicated that he's willing to take a look at this program going forward and doing a review about the vetting procedures i

>> i don't see it, fred. the needle has not moved with regard to public opinion and public support for impeachment since they began this who process. it is still vur chiel wiirtuall. how are the democrats in the trump won districts going to vote. he is very popular in the different districts, and these democrats vote in favor of impeachment. that will hurt them, and there is one thing for them go on record and vote in support of the impeachment inquiry, it is a completely different story for them to put their name on the dotted line for the impeachment, and it will be a very differeic challenge, i don't see any republicans breaking for this and ranking, and when it gets to the senate, it is dead in the water, with regard to any time. >> it hangs in the balance, and that is what this impeachment process is predicated on, you don't think that will rez ig na -- resonate. >> they made the case in the impeachment inquiry, i didn't see it. the american people have not been in support of this and that is the key, fr

they're not sending her back, fred. and the issue of closure. what about whether or not jonathan is, if he is a diplomat and if he -- >> that is a very important issue. you know, do start with, etc. >>. >> yeah, but there is an exception, coming up rather than a pligs, they are issues that have to be faced off two, and if i'm the family and i have any sense of doing the righteous thing, you know what she did and she has to be accountable for it. that is what options mean. the idea of deploying diplomacy and you don't have to have hard and fast rules. the family needs closure, they need her to say i'm so sorry. it is not going to be more than that. >> should be. should be. >> all right, we'll leave it there. have a great day. >> happy holidays. >> thank you so much. >> you too. >> and on that footnote -- all right, next, a washington state republican lawmaker accused of domestic terrorism and now he is refusing to resign. mike bloomberg's never been afraid of tough fights, the ones that make a true difference in people's lives. and mike's won the

so that's what she's going to be thinking of, fred. >> all right, marshal cohen, thank you so much. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >>> earlier today i spoke with south carolina congressman james clooi burn, the house minority whip, about the withholding of impeachment articles and he explained why the democrats are fighting to have a say in how the senate conducts this trial. >> think this process ought to be fair. it should be transparency. everybody in the country ought to be able to look into this process and be proud of it. i do not see and nobody in my caucus can see, how we can be proud of the process when we have two senators, one from my state of south carolina, saying we aren't interested in the facts. we aren't centered in bringing any witnesses. we aren't interested in being fair. that is not anything that anybody in this country ought to be proud of. we have a process. we ought to go through that proes. it ought to be transparent. it ought to be fair. it shouldn't have any semblance of a rigged system. there's been too much in the history of this country about riggi

so, fred, right now it's kind of at a standstill. and with regards to those house managers, you can expect to see some of those same faces that led the inquiry in the house, probably including the intel chairman, adam schiff, the judiciary chairman, jerry nadler, and a group representing the diversity of the democratic caucus. >> so, marshall, while congress is on recess, surely there are considerations that are being made. perhaps mitch mcconnell might be reconsidering whether to entertain some of the witnesses on the witness list. perhaps pelosi might be rethinking for how long to hold on to handing over these articles. what is expected to be happening during this holiday break? are these leaders listening to their constituents? are they, you know, counseling with each other? what could be happening? >> one thing we know for sure, sources have told cnn that democratic staff, some of them stayed back here in washington to get ready for that potential trial because it could start as early as the first week of january if everybody get

fred. >> thank you so much. on the trail with joe biden. all right up next, bravery in the face of danger. twin sisters survive a deadly car crash by taking matters into their own hands. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum. it's specially-designed with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. cascade platinum's unique actionpacs dissolve quickly... ...to remove stuck-on food. . . for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. choose the detergent that lets your dishwasher do the dishes! cascade platinum. the number one recommended brand in north america. think you need to buy expensive skincare products ♪ to see dramatic results? try olay skin care. just one jar of micro-sculpting cream has the hydrating power of 5 jars of a prestige cream, which helps plump skin cells and visibly smooth wrinkles. while new olay retinol24 provides visibly smoother, brighter skin. for dramatic skincare results, t

good to see you both. >> hi, fred. >> biden is ready to show he is fit, he is ready to spar. is this advantageous for him, in your view? >> i thought fighting with that gentleman out in iowa really was not very helpful for him. i think the guy -- he was obviously very clumsy and maybe wasn't going to be very kind to the vice president, but the question was about the vice president's son. and i think the vice president has to come up with a better answer than he did. >> than him saying he didn't set him up? >> yeah, but even hunter biden acknowledged in hindsight and retrospect it was wrong for him to be on that board where he was paid all that money. he seemed to have limited qualifications. i thought the vice president was defensive and he needed a better answer than that. not good to attack a voter like that. >> hillary, how did you see it? >> i think people looked at it like -- in the room i hear a father protecting his son, that there was this guy that had come for a fight and biden was just not having any of it. i actually think that people are more concerned that our de

. >> reporter: so fred, really at the end of the day, there are so many unknowns, and we are looking at a congress that's not back in session until early january. >> situation indeed, kristen holmes, thank you so much. we'll check back with you. for more on the new ly released e-mails, we'll go to jeremy herb. how significant is this? the. >> the e-mails are significant, in the sense that they give us details on what was going on the morning president trump called ukrainian president zelensky. micha michael duffy made the order for the aid to be held up after the president's call occurred. the call happened at 9:03 to 9:3 p and the e-mail that duffy sent to white house budget officials and pentagon officials came out just after 11:00. he could tell already this was sensitive. given the sensitive nature of the request, i appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction. now omb says that the -- it is reckless to tie the e ma-mail t the idea that the holding of funds was directly connected to the call. they say one e-mail is misleadin

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the other positive developments that we're learning this morning as you said, fred, is that he is in good health and very good sfirts, he will be returning to the united states. and now there are no set plans for him to visit the white house yet, but a senior add min vags official said that president trump is expected to want to meet with him, but the real focus right now is hit health, getting him back to the united states safely, and that is what the white house is focused on and the state department, and it is very positive news for him. >> so then what have we learned about the time that he spent, you said it is was his family ut was it like for the whole family during this time since 2016? >>. >> there has always been back channels of conversation, the fact is that the state department really play as pivotal role in updating the family and now the national security advisor to president trump played the most sen corral role with regard to staying in touch with his family over the last few years. he personally knows the families and the families of other americans still detained i

remember this, fred, at the end of the day all of this, the reason nancy pelosi is holding on to these articles of impeachment, the reason why we are at an impasse is because democrats believe the only way to have a fair trial is to have documents provided by the white house as well as witnesses. we know that republicans are on the other side of that. they believe less witnesses and a shorter trial is a better strategy for them. no one seems to be breaking. take a listen to chuck schumer earlier today. >> so far senator mcconnell and president trump have come up with no good reason why there shouldn't be witnesses, why there shouldn't be documents. we don't know what the witnesses will say, we don't know what the documents -- how the documents might read. they might exonerate president trump, or they might further incriminate him. but the truth should come out on something as important as an impeachment. >> reporter: and while both parties seem to have really dug in their heels on this issue of what this trial would look like, we did hear from the vice president's chief of staff, mike

. >> well, fred, weather will clearly be a central focus of the investigation into this crash. the faa and ntsb are already on that investigation. one official told us weather was a factor, but it will be some time before we get anywhere near confirmation on that. this was a small single engine swiss built plane with a good safety record but as you mentioned, crashed shortly after take off from chamberlain in what was described as terrible weather. an inch of snow falling every hour. low visibility and first responders also had to deal with that weather. let's take a listen to another county official talking about that. >> the first responders are incredibly well trained individuals. so they were able to reach the crash site as soon as they found out about it. in a timely manner. we believe that once we found out about it, they were on the spot, incredibly quickly and did an amazing job. it was incredibly bitterly cold out there. they had to deal with very cold conditions. wind. blowing snow. it was very bad out. >> and they did manage to pull three people alive from that wreck