so pat cipollone has already said, the president is not willing to step into the arena. he's going to set on the back bench and complain and send his little tweet bombs, which is how he chooses to participate, which is a sign of weakness and a sign of no defense at all on the merits. >> meanwhile, yamiche, senator john kennedy, republican from louisiana, this has gotten a lot of attention over the last 24 hours, senator kennedy had been a staunch defender of the president, a bit of a sound bite machine there on the hill. i want to play just a series of comments that he made on "meet the press" yesterday, about the entire process. here's what he said. >> who do you believe was responsible for hacking the dnc and clinton campaign computers, their e-mails? was it russia or ukraine? the entire intelligence community says it was russia. right. but it could also be ukraine. he said, only russia tried to hack the dnc computer. now, chris is right. i was wrong. i think both russia and ukraine meddled in the 2016 election. i think it's been well documented. the fact that russia w

and there was a meeting in mcconnell's office just yesterday between white house counsel pat cipollone and also eric yulan, the legislative affairs director for the white house. just came in in june and could be a very important player. he happens to be a former chief of staff for senate majority leader bill frist back in the day. that was years ago. and he's already on the record as saying the president's rights have to be protected as to the possibility of calling witnesses, cross-examining witnesses. it sounds like from that interview last night mcconnell hasn't made a decision on whether there will be witnesses because others in the senate are very concerned that this could be turned into a three-ring circus. very unpredictable. after the first of the year, we'll see what happens. back to you. >> joe johns at the white house, thank you. >>> joining us to discuss, michael gerhardt, law professor at the university of north carolina, susan page for "usa today." michael, stalinesque, a little silly. whether you vote last night or today. so tell me about the vote today and then what hap

the white house counsel pat cipollone writes this. your inquiry has violated fundamental fairness principles. you should not waste more type with additional hearings. a senior administration source telling fox if the left chooses to do a trial in the senate, they are prepared to start immediately. senators lindsey graham, ron johnson and chuck grassley asked for the record of former dnc consultant alexander chalupa and the ukrainian official who talked with her on allegations of allege foreign interference with ukraine. the republicans finally standing up in the senate. ruth bader ginsburg blocked the democrats' subpoenas to deutsche bank. tonight's temporary hold comes hours after the president's attorneys argued the subpoenas were quote extraordinarily broad and raised profound separations of powers concerns. joining us tonight, white house press secretary stephanie grisham. good to have you with us. i know the white house has to be well pleased by ginsburg's hold. where does it go from here. is it simply a matter of waiting for the

white house counsel pat cipollone and key committee staffers are expected to work over the holiday recess to prepare for the proceedings against the president. >>> religious awakening. president trump fires back at a leading evangelical magazine calling for his removal from office. labelling it far left and claiming that no president has done more for evangelicals and religion than him. >>> piling on. pete buttigieg under fire in the final presidential debate of the year as joe biden leads the pack. but our new poll shows the highest rates for the economy in almost two decades. will that boost president trump? i'll talk about it with democratic presidential candidate deval patrick. >>> and travel less safe. a tsa whistle-blower warns that screening changes designed to save passengers time are placing speed over security just as millions of americans are about to board flights over the holidays. it is a cnn exclusive. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." tonight democrats and the white house are actively preparing for president trump's impeachment trial. despite the standof

jerry nadler, and pat cipollone wrote, this violates all presidents and basic due process rights and fundamental fairness. president trump defended his decision to not participate in the hearing. because the whole thing is a hoax and everybody knows it. look at the words of the president of ukraine that he just issued and you know it is a hoax. >> a report later from chairman adam schiff making the case from the congressional removal of president donald j. trump from office. >> msnbc correspondent garret haake is on capitol hill and halie jackson is at the white house. what's the reasoning beyond what we read to the viewers that the who i say decided not to participate and given republicans have been making the case for some time that they are not allowing him or his lawyers in this process. >> by participating ali, it would then led to the process that the white house sees as total illegitimate. outwardly and publicly if the letter from pat cipollone, he's talking about the unfairness of the process. you are hearing the point from his conservative allies on capitol hill why republic

in a letter to jerry nadler, pat cipollone wrote in part house democrats have wasted enough of america's time with this charade. you should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings. on monday the house judiciary committee is expected to hear evidence from democrat and republican counselors to the intelligence committee information gathered during the committee's investigation. >> i'm hoping on monday when the intelligence committee staff and counsel arrive, that they are able to put this into a coherent narrative such that we are able to do our work of articulating what the high crimes and misdemeanors were so we are able to organize them into articles of impeachment that would impeach the president for his specific misconduct against the government and the people of the united states. >> an president trump again blasted the inquiry tweeting nadler hasn't had a single fact witness testify. sooef r zero substance. country wants usmca and growth, not impeachment. polls have tanked on the do nothing democrats. joining me now, kelly o'donnell with more on th

i want to put up this letter from pat cipollone. he wrote in part your impeachment inquiry is completely baseless and violated basic principles of due process and fundamental fairness. if president trump does get impeached in the house, let it go to a senate trial. the white house says they are looking forward to that. they want to bring their own witnesses. they say bring on a senate trial. members here at judiciary will be back here preparing for this big hearing monday. jon: house intelligence committee ranking member devin nunes speaking about his phone records being released in the impeachment report. he says he's taking this matter to court. >> i think that is a question between at&t, house democrats, verizon and the courts. so we are going to have to take let action here. we are definitely going to take legal action. remember, they have the phone records of many journalists, they have the phone records of many members of congress. jon: nunes says he didn't know who rudy giuliani's associate lev parnas was until last month and

is it pat cipollone or mick mulvaney and some allies in the house he wants to shore up his defense. clearly he's thinking about this. he wants the most aggressive defense possible because he probably won't get the witnesses he wants so there is a lot riding on who he picks for the defense team. >> and if you put the shoe on the other foot, if this were a democratic president, doesn't he have something to be frustrated about as he goes on vacation hanging over him one impeachment, and also there is this sort of stall happening with the articles of impeachment. >> well, i can put the shoe on the other foot because i did work for bill clinton in this period and that is part of why the strategy of having an outside strategy talking about the chi and your accomplishments works because while you might be frustrated, you know you are still making headway an other issues and at this point all trump is talking -- he should talk about the deals he's got done in the last couple of weeks, all he's talking about is frustration and anger over impeachment so he is defining the narrative for the ne

i want to read you a key part of this letter again from white house counsel pats cipollone to nadler. and while it remains unclear whether the judiciary committee will afford the president a fair process through additional hearings. and they go onto say additionally under the current circumstances we do not intend to participate in your wednesday hearing. now, throughout this letter cipollone is attacking the process democrats have pursued throughout this inquiry. they say it's too late to procure the profound deficiencies that have tainted this inquiry. he does say in this letter that in future proceedings perhaps the white house will consider sending a lawyer. trump allies, white house officials have been complaining throughout the president has not been afforded his due process lights, and witnesses have not been allowed to have administration lawyers accompany them to these hearings. he writes we may consider participating in future judiciary commit proceedings if you afford the administration to do so meaningfully. remember that the white house has another deadline coming up on f

i don't know pat cipollone, but everything we've seen, from all the official documentation, everything he is signing his name to in the course of this ukraine vision, that is clearly how he has behaved in terms of trying to execute the stonewall and trying to stop people from testifying. he regards this as a political matter. and that is entirely consistent. if you have someone like bill barr as your attorney general, it is not surprising that donald trump now has the equivalent, the mini me version of it as white house counsel. >> frank, i guess i just imagine in the smithsonian in 20 years in the impeachment exhibit all pat cipollone's ludicrous arguments, it will be an ipad. but, i mean, these legal arguments are so hollow. and i guess heilemann makes the right argument fictional kinds of utterances coming from the attorney general. >> well, the other thing that i think will play out perhaps in the national archives someday decades from now that might be declassified is the role of russia in all of this argument. we keep using the phrase, oh, the legal argument, what's the legal arg

notably the white house counsel, pat cipollone, whomembers of th white house communications team has been meeting with republicans for weeks trying to iron out strategy and messaging and fix problems before they pop up. disagreements whether that whistleblower whose complaint led to the impeachment process should testify. plenty for the two sides to iron out. the president, though, sounding confident he was asked on thursday, if he believed that impeachment would be a stain on his legacy. listen to what he said. >> is this a stain on your legacy? >> not at all. it's a hoax. a big, fat hoax. >> reporter: one other note. while we've been hearing from forces that the president is unlikely to grasp the reality that he will be impeached from the white house, he is hiring dozens of attorneys for what will come in january. >> thanks, boris. >>> new developments on trade. china is considering tax exceptions on some pork and soy products from the u.s. the tariff waivers were based on applications of individual firms for park imports. that's what the finance ministry said in a statement. tend

the white house counsel, pat cipollone in particular. there's no indication that the white house would allow any of the witnesses to actually come forward. dave? christine? >> jeremy diamond, thank you. >>> a freshman democratic lawmaker announcing plans to switch parties and becoming republican. now, six members of jeff van drew's staff have quit. he opposed the impeachment of president trump. internal polling shows he is losing support among democrats in his district. switching parties would allow him to avoid a democratic party challenge. the democratic campaign committee is planning to hire van drew's former staffers. >>> president trump is suggesting jail time for the former fbi director, james comey. comey said there was sloppiness in the obtaining of fisa warrants, the justice department internal watchdog determined the fbi was justified opening the investigation and found there was no bias. but the inspector-general found serious errors in the way the probe was conducted. >> significant errors in the fisa process. and you say tha

we're talking about pat cipollone. >> reporter: yeah, the white house counsel who so far has said that he's not going to participate in the democratic impeachment proceedings, he's leaving the door open for future house judiciary hearings, but pat cipollone is going to be the guest of honor tomorrow at the luncheon and you can expect what republican senators are going to ask him about. that's the line of defense that he plans to have for president trump as this impeachment inquiry moves forward, most likely to a senate trial, expected to happen sometimes early next year, hallie. >> geoff bennett, thank you much on the hill. back with us, peter baker of the times and ambassador mcfaul as well. lots to discuss here. and antonio, let me start with you on the president and what he said this morning about republicans to geoff's point here, talking strategy likely tomorrow with pat cipollone. really interesting, on the day that the judiciary hearing is going down and the president feels that his gop allies have his back. watch. >> i think the republican party is right now more united than th

the white house counsel pat cipollone writes this. your inquiry has violated fundamental fairness principles. you should not waste more type with additional hearings. a senior administration source telling fox if the left chooses to do a trial in the senate, they are prepared to start immediately. senators lindsey graham, ron johnson and chuck grassley asked for the record of former dnc consultant alexander chalupa and the ukrainian official who talked with her on allegations of allege foreign interference with ukraine. the republicans finally standing up in the senate. ruth bader ginsburg blocked the democrats' subpoenas to deutsche bank. tonight's temporary hold comes hours after the president's attorneys argued the subpoenas were quote extraordinarily broad and raised profound separations of powers concerns. joining us tonight, white house press secretary stephanie grisham. good to have you with us. i know the white house has to be well pleased by ginsburg's hold. where does it go from here. is it simply a matter of waiting for the

pat cipollone is a leading contender for that. but he has not finalized that. before this, you and i were talking about what could they realistically do even if he wasn't at mar-a-lago? before he makes that decision, there's not very much they could be doing because those are the people who will be arguing the case. >> kevin, as the president is now looking from the white house at what's going on here with the articles of impeachment not heading over to the senate yet, a harvard scholar, noah feldman, who we saw testify before congress, wrote this today in a bloomberg op-ed. he says, if the house does not communicate its impeachment to the senate, it has not actually impeached the president. if the articles are not transmitted, trump could legitimately say he wasn't truly impeached at all. and he makes the case that -- i mean, yes, there's been the vote but that's not the end of impeachment. so even just to say the president is impeached just sort of shorthand, bull legally these articles have to be sent to the senate. do you look at that and think that the spe

looking at the letter sent to pat cipollone. the counsel to the president. game plan all along, anybody shocked? >> obviously not. >> first the white house said they demanded the transcripts be released and it was released. >> they demanded there be open hearings. they demanded there was an impeachment vote, then there was an impeachment vote. and they demanded trump and his lawyers get to participate in this impeachment process and then can't take yes for an answer as one of my colleagues put it. in case you were wondering whether any of this was conducted in good faith, obviously the answer is no. >> i'm wondering is this what you do when you don't have a good defense and you call the whole thing illegitimate. it says as you know the impeachment inquiry is completely baseless and violated the basic principles of due process, fundamental fairness. it says house democrats have wasted enough of america's time with this charade. i'm sure they said charade. but basically that's what they're saying, guy. the president's counsel on monday could have asked questio

it's unclear at this point they see the white house council pat cipollone as potentially leading the trial in the senate. but haven't ruled out the possibility of the president appearing himself as unlikely as it sounds. and there is the continued talk of they may try to bring in other witnesses who have not been called to testify, sort of the republican dream list of witnesses people like hunter biden, joe biden, the whistle-blower and so on. i talked to a republican official on the senate side and asked how likely is that to happen? and this republican official said well it depends on if, you know, you can get 51 votes for that kind of an idea. and so this could be wild and woolly. no doubt about it when it gets to the senate. while the white house while the president and defenders seem to be welcoming the idea and relishing the idea of a republican-led senate trial. it does open up the possibilities that they have they haven't emergency imagined that other witnesses could be called to testify mick mulvaney mike pompeo, rudy giuliani. wray on the darkside of the moon if we get to t

mick mulvaney is one of them, pat cipollone is one of them. and the lawyerly part of that is if this thing goes all the way and they never release the aid, it gets to september 30 and sorry ukraine you're out of luck, you didn't do what we asked you to do, they were going to say this wasn't illegal not withstanding the fact there's a law that says congress has the power of the purse. you have to spend it. the president doesn't get to put that in his pocket as he used to up until the nixon administration. they were going to say forget it, not withstanding the reform when it coms to national security, the president still has the final say. congress does not have the power of the purse. it's the inverse of what we saw with the wall spending where the president takes things not appropriated by congress and says he's going to spend it on things he wants, a wall, and he's not going to spend it. two sides of the same coin. >> were it not for the whistleblower complaint, who knows what would have happened with that aid. this "new york times" piece bol

pat cipollone. pat's been fantastic as white house counsel. thank you, everybody. >> mr. president, do you regret -- >> couple of political things we need to talk about but as always, when the president answers a question and he answers about the teconomy, i need to fact check this. he continues to say this is the best economy in american history. a bit of a subjective thing and there's no argument the economy is doing quite well. but i just want to remind you all we got about 2.1% gdp growth. in the 1950s, we were at 4.4% after world war ii. we have unemployment at about 3.5%. that's very, very low. it's not actually the lowest it's been. in the 1950s, it was below 3%. we have low unemployment. that's supposed to equal high wage growth. that's not really happening in our economy. so again, i don't mean to diminish the economy that is doing quite well. it would just be easier for the president didn't lie about it because then i wouldn't have to correct him for no particular reason. however, the president's answer having to do with the economy was actually about impeachmen

the white house counsel pat cipollone just seen in the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell's office over on capitol hill. of course, while taking this break from this hearing over there in the house going back and forth on amendments and the reason that's interesting we do not know the official reason for this visit, the white house counsel is paying to the senate majority leader. spoken throughout this impeachment process. it's notable, because cnn reporting about that divide between what the white house and the president specifically was looking for in a senate trial and what people like the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell were saying privately was going to happen. that divide mainly came down to live witnesses, witnesses in person testifying or not nap . something we reported on, the difference over how to come to agreement on that and someone playing a key role in all of this is of course, pat cipollone. he's been really the person between the president and mcconnell. though they also speak often. he's really been the person speaking with a lot of these senators and house

they do see the white house counsel, pat cipollone, as potentially leading the president's defense in a trial in the senate, but they haven't ruled out the pocket that tssib the president could appear himself as unlike as that sounds. there's also this continued talk of they may try to bring in other witnesses who have not been called to testimony. sort of the republican dream list of witnesses, people like hunter biden, joe biden, the whistle-blower and so on. i talked to a republican official on the senate side earlier today and asked how likely is that to happen. and this republican official said, well, it depends on if, you know, you can get 51 votes for that kind of an idea. and so this could be wild and woolly, no doubt about it when it gets to the senate, anderson. and while the white house, while the president and his defenders seem to be welcoming this idea and relishing this idea of a republican-led senate trial, it does sort of open up the possibilities that they haven't imagined at this point that other witnesses could be called to testify like mick mulvaney, mike pompeo,

we're being told that the white house counsel, pat cipollone, wasn't brought it on this process until the end of it, on forming this letter. he made a few edits and of course they released it. but it's pretty notable he wasn't someone who was part of this from the beginning. we don't know why yet, but he is expected to be the person who's leading the president's defense when this goes to the senate trial. it does make it interesting that he is someone who wasn't directly involved from the beginning on formulating this letter. >> how does the president and the white house plan to respond after tomorrow's vote, kaitlan? >> what's notable is mccarthy, the house minority leader, just released a schedule saying they predict the final votes on those articles of impeachment are going to be between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. that could slide. that could change. we don't know a lot about what's going to happen tomorrow. but if they are around then, the president is holding a rally in michigan and is set to take the stage at 7:00 tomorrow night. so if this goes according to both of their schedules, the

notably the white house counsel, pat cipollone, members of the white house communications team has been meeting with republicans for weeks trying to iron out strategy and messaging and fix problems before they pop up. disagreements whether that whistleblower whose complaint led to the impeachment process should testify. plenty for the two sides to iron out. the president, though, sounding confident he was asked on thursday, if he believed that impeachment would be a stain on his legacy. listen to what he said. >> is this a stain on your legacy? >> not at all. it's a hoax. a big, fat hoax. >> reporter: one more note. while we've been hearing from sources that the president is unlikely to grasp the reality that he will be impeached from the white house, he is hiring dozens of attorneys for what will come in january. >> thanks, boris. >>> ahead, a terrifying rush hour scene. police and armed robbers in a deadly gun battle in broad daylight. details next. >>> you're a damn liar, man. that's not true. >> and this dramatic moment at an iowa town hall, as joe biden has a heated exchange with a

it looks like that, pat cipollone. we have a couple others we're going to put in but pat has been fantastic as white house counsel. thank you, everybody. reporter: mr. president -- liz: just so you know, pat cipollone, the white house counsel the president just referred to, will be at least according to president trump, the lead counsel in the impeachment trial that the senate has to hold even though in the wake of last night's historic impeachment vote by the house of representatives, president trump said quote, he doesn't feel like he's been impeached, because the republican party voted unanimously. to edward lawrence at the white house. edward, going solely on the facts, the republican-controlled senate will hold the impeachment trial because the president was, whether he wants to believe it or not, been impeached. reporter: exactly. when they get the articles of impeachment and house speaker nancy pelosi has not yet delivered those over to the senate. the whole reason the president was in the room there with repres

pat cipollone, the white house counsel, has hired dozens of attorneys and he has been preparing for this potential senate trial for months, even looking at past impeachment trials to try to gain some perspective on how to craft a response to the allegations that president trump abused his power in his dealings with ukraine. notably, the white house has also told us through sources that they plan to use this as an opportunity to bash democrats. you saw there in that tweet by president trump that he suggested that republicans may try to compel prominent democrats to testify, including house speaker nancy pelosi, the chairman of the house intelligence committee adam schiff, even joe and hunter biden. of course, the president doesn't ultimately determine who testifies in this senate trial, and that's part of the reason that pat cipollone, members of his staff, members of the white house communications team have been sitting down with republican senators more and more often for weeks, trying to not only craft messaging and a potential strategy, but also to try to avoid any potential land mine

senate republicans met with white house counsel pat cipollone to discuss strategy in a closed door lunch and yesterday, minority leader chuck schumer gave a presentation about the mechanics of a potential senate trial and jeff, you were part of the hill team that nailed down the reporting, and great reporting at that. talk us through some of the details of this, and the strategy that you're hearing from, from both sides? >> it is interesting, right, because the senate yesterday released the calendar for 2020 and the entire month of january was missing from the calendar. that's the month that they expect that if the house votes on impeachment or votes to impeach president trump that the senate would have its hearing. on the democratic side, you had chuck schumer i'm told, he showed video clips of the 1999 senate trial for then president bill clinton because you only have about seven senate democrats among the 47 who are there now, seven who were there in 1999, so for the rest of them, this is an entirely new process. over on the republican side, as you mentioned you had the white house co

. >> do you think it is wise for the white house counsel pat cipollone to say we're not participating and do you think that should be the position of the trump white house going forward. >> i think in the house, right. as i said before, this cake is baked over there. not one thing they're going to say, that pat cipollone or the president will show up to the house and tell them it is going to make them change their mind. as mary katharine pointed out, they wanted articles of impeachment produced the day the president was sworn in. >> a couple of them. >> there is always a couple at the beginning of every presidency. >> and whenez doing impeachable things. >> i think you save your cards and save everything for the senate where if there is a battle where it matters is the senate. >> so you think they should participate in the senate. >> they will. >> and we have breaking news on the rudy giuliani associates lev parnas and igor fruman. and then he first said there was no pressure but now the president of ukraine is talking about the impeachment inquiry in a new interview. stay with us. by

minutes before the deadline tonight yes or no, defend or not, white house lawyer pat cipollone sending a authority two-paragraph letter writing in part, quote, your impeachment inquiry is completely baseless and has violated basic principles of due process and fund mebl fairness. well, nadler fired back saying having declined this opportunity he cannot claim the process is unfair. house intelligence committee adam schiff weighing in saying the white house said they wanted open hearings, not closed, and then they didn't want those. then they said they wanted to participate in the proceedings and now they don't. all they want is to hide the president's serious misconduct. it's not working. those are the partisan points. but what are they trying to hide? it is a fair question because president trump's own words are out there. he himself once said just a couple years ago on twitter, quote, if you are innocent do not remain silent. you look guilty as hell. that's president trump's own words. so tonight he is choosing to remain own silent in his own impeachment trial. and that is incredibly

this is after it's been vetted, according to kaitlan collins, by pat cipollone. there were so many points in here that were fact checked by cnn who said this is absolutely crazy. what struck me the most is how much he believes this comes down to a policy, this agreement between two branches of government. he reduced it in that way as if all of the information that's come forward in the last what, three, four weeks now and the hearings alone have belied that assertion. it's really remarkable that somebody so far ahead in the terms of the count of what -- would actually remove him would still be on the offensive this strong. >> a couple quick lines for you to read here, michael. you are declaring an open war on american democracy. you are the ones interfering in american elections. you are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our republic. what does this ranting letter say about president trump's fitness for office on the eve of his impeachment? >> well, it says at least three things, and those three things are that he's still profoundly narcissistic. he's makin

cipollone was expected to spend some time with the president dealing with this impeachment process. it is a sensitive time for the white house. but he hasn't shown up. he's not here. so it is unclear if that plan is changed or maybe delayed possibly he'll show up later on during this trip as we get closer to congress being back in session in the new year, erica. >> that is an interesting note. boris sanchez, appreciate it. thank you. >>> more on the question in fairness which the president raised in his tweet today. senator take an oath according to the rules of the senate and it reads in part i will do impartial justice according to the constitution and laws. keeping them honest, mcconnell has already said this about it out loud on camera. >> i'm not an impartial juror. this is a political process. it is noting in judicial about it. impeachment is a political decision. the house made a partisan political decision to impeach. i would anticipate we'll have a largely partisan outcome in the senate. i'm not impartial about this at all. >> that statement got plenty of notice. still gett

pat cipollone, the white house counsel, has hired dozens of attorneys and he has been preparing for this potential senate trial for months, even looking at past impeachment trials to try to gain some perspective on how to craft a response to the allegations that president trump abused his power in his dealings with ukraine. notably, the white house has also told us through sources that they plan to use this as an opportunity to bash democrats. you saw there in that tweet by president trump that he suggested that republicans may try to compel prominent democrats to testify, including house speaker nancy pelosi, the chairman of the house intelligence committee adam schiff, and even joe and hunter biden. of course, the president doesn't ultimately determine who testifies in this senate trial, and that's part of the reason that pat cipollone, members of his staff, members of the white house communications team have been sitting down with republican senators more and more often for weeks, trying to not only craft messaging and a potential strategy, but also to try to avoid any potential land

it's been reported pat cipollone white house counsel will lead the effort for trump and there's conversation out which attorneys trump will be picking. managers from the house of representatives will be chosen by house democrats. and as with many things speaker pelosi will have the biggest say. there's already speculation out there about who these people could be. i think it's a safe bet adam schiff will be a house manager. i think val demings has shown her sl to be a very good questioner. eric swalwell, former federal prosecutor, hakeem jeffreys, a lawyer also asked some very sharp questions. we'll see where they come outs on that. there were 13 house managers versus in the case with bill clinton. one of them lindsey graham, the same lindsey graham will be in the senate as a juror in this case. >> that's an interesting twist. another question from a viewer right now is is there protection against double jeopardy in an impeachment trial, and can the same person be impeached twice by the house? >> legally, yes. it's never happened the same person has been impeached twice. double jeopardy appl

as you know, the white house counsel, pat cipollone, has rejected offers to participate on any level during these recent hearings. the white house has continually said that it believes that this is partisan, it's a sham process, and that it's looking forward to the senate trial. and we know that pat cipollone and senate majority leader are a juror in the senate and the senate trial met yesterday. they agreed to continue to coordinate on what a potential senate trial might look like. while no agreement was reached, they're trying to reconcile what the president wants, this theatrical defense with live witnesses, what what republican senators seem to want, a very quick trial with no live witnesses. so all of those details are still being worked out, but the president is looking forward to being able to tout that he's been exonerated in the senate. mitch mcconnell has made it clear that he doesn't believe that the president will be removed. but at the same time, this is certainly weighing on the president. what is transpiring? this vote this morning, the fact that this will now go down

pat cipollone and mick mulvaney will join him for the second half of this trip to continue the senate trial preparations. yesterday on capitol hill pat cipollone did a walk-through looking for rooms perhaps to hold the trial in as well as office space for the white house officials who will be camped out for the duration of the trial. yesterday house speaker nancy pelosi extended a formal invitation for the president to deliver the state of the union address on february 4th, which means, victor and amara, that president trump could be delivering the state of the union address on capitol hill at the same time that he is being tried in the senate. >> sarah, thanks to the spending bill we just mentioned, there is a new branch of the military now. what do we know about this space force? >> reporter: that's right, president trump this week signing a massive defensive spending bill that authorized the creation of the space force, something that the white house is touting as a historic step. it's the first new branch of service created since 1947. take a listen to what cnn military analyst sa

mick mulvaney is one of them, pat cipollone is one of them. and the lawyerly part of that is if this thing goes all the way and they never release the aid, it gets to september 30 and sorry ukraine you're out of luck, you didn't do what we asked you to do, they were going to say this wasn't illegal not withstanding the fact there's a law that says congress has the power of the purse. you have to spend it. the president doesn't get to put that in his pocket as he used to up until the nixon administration. they were going to say forget it, not withstanding the reform when it coms to national security, the president still has the final say. congress does not have the power of the purse. it's the inverse of what we saw with the wall spending where the president takes things not appropriated by congress and says he's going to spend it on things he wants, a wall, and he's not going to spend it. two sides of the same coin. >> were it not for the whistleblower complaint, who knows what would have happened with that aid. this "new york times" piece bol

briefly again, hans, pat cipollone, the white house counsel, what rule will he be playing in a senate impeachment trial? >> reporter: that's also unclear. he is expected to play a role as a lead attorney if this does go to the senate phase. pam bondi was on tv about half an hour ago saying that's way too premature, they haven't made a determination on that. it doesn't seem as though the white house has settled on who will represent the president if it goes to the trial phase. mcconnell and the white house is saying there's no daylight between the two of them. you can expect a coordinated response. >> gentlemen, thank you. joining me chuck rosenberg, now an msnbc legal analyst. i want to go through all of this one on one with you. mish mcconnell was on sean hannity last night saying he's coordinating closely with donald trump and the white house. the white house's defense is the senate's defense, and there's no way the senate is going to vote to remove donald trump. >> it's not an analogy that doesn't work perfectly but it's instructive. if you were a juror in a federal criminal trial

. >> so pat cipollone said we can't yet participate in a hearing where the witnesses have yet to be named. should the witnesses be prenamed, before the president shows up? what is the process here? >> it is a fair argument. lawyers should be allowed to prepare. they should have information and they should have an idea of at least what witnesses are going to show up. so i understand the sentiment in cipollone's letter. but the concern of course, is any kind of a hearing has to be prepared for, his lawyers have to know it is going to be there. and i hear where they're coming from, for sure. >> so republicans are calling on the house judiciary committee chair adam schiff to testify. what do you make of this request? >> it is an interesting request. it's not as simple as the fact that adam schiff is the author of the schiff report, that is yet to be seen, and republicans are going to argue that similar to kenneth starr who authored a report, and came in and actually testified, during the clinton impeachment, so should schiff. but more than that, adam schiff arguably is a fact witness. he was

and now, watching mitch mcconnell, is it fair to say pat cipollone and mitch mcconnell are on the same page now? >> i wouldn't be so certain on that because they got to figure out the coordination of the timing. the president and mitch mcconnell are talking only about the calendar that the president isn't trying to unduly influence a juror, which is what leader mcconnell is. one, we saw them discard the argument that the president wouldn't be impeached. you know, a couple weeks ago, you talk to folks here and they almost -- it wasn't like they had a hard count. but they seemed to suggest that some of those 31 democrats that were won in trump seats, enough of them would vote against impeachment that there wouldn't actually be a full impeachment headed over to the senate. that seems to be over with. even though we haven't had the vote, the house has moved on from that. and the other idea you have is what kelly anne conway said today, and that is that a senate trial doesn't just have to not convict trump. it has to totally exonerate him. now, chuck, that's a high bar. total exoneration fr

now, pat cipollone is likely going to be part of that team. another name for you. alan der show wits. so i don't think that legal team has fully gelled. and when it does, i think it will preview how long and robust the actual strategy will be. ali. >> hans, let me ask you why was rudy giuliani at the white house? >> no one can tell you. all they can tell you -- and i have a pause there and i hope it wasn't too pregnant -- but no one can tell you because they say he is the president's personal attorney. and that is a personal relationship that the president manages. they are in frequent conversation. and so, you know, he wasn't in the oval office. we don't think he was in the oval office in the morning. he wasn't in the residence at least until 10:08 according to kelly anne conway who we just grilled on this. i would note he was accompanied by his son. today is the day white house staff members can bring parents or siblings or friends or significant others to the white house for a reception. so he walked in with his son, who does work her, i should mention. he works

we'll wait to read it, probably in great detail, based on what pat cipollone wrote in four or five pages the other day. so the white house is certainly talking about impeachment internally, trying to come up with a strategy. looking at how best to position the president to combat all of this, and in one way we'll see some of that today with a focus on jobs. >> reporter: and i'm told the vice president has tweeted about the shooting in florida. what has been the reaction so far from the white house to what transpired this morning? >> reporter: well, we've gotten kind of the base level of the president has been briefed and monitoring. they're obviously concerned about what has happened. but i've gone back and talked to some of the staff here and we don't anticipate anything beyond that at this point. i think they are trying to allow this to be dealt with at the base level and through the navy and department of defense to handle the lead on this. but the president watching, monitoring, and of course great concern here because of the nature of the tragedy and obviously the president likes to

. >> but on friday, white house counsel pat cipollone made it clear the president will not mount a defense in the house or even send lawyers to the judiciary committee's hearing on monday. >> will you testify? >> i don't know. i know this, that the impeachment thing is a total hoax. >> another unknown, the length and scope of any senate trial. the white house has signaled if there is a trial, the president wants to deflect attention from his conduct to a wish list of democratic witnesses. >> joe biden, hunter biden, adam schiff, and the whistleblower. >> the whistleblower, adam schiff, joe biden, hunter biden. >> witnesses like the whistleblower, like adam schiff, like hunter and joe biden. >> in the end, though -- >> you have to get 51 votes. but at what point do 51 people say i have heard enough, i'm ready to vote? who knows. >> senate republicans will need the support of several of their own who have bill willing to break with the president in the past, and republicans up for re-election in compet tf races. perhaps not helpful in winning over senate republicans on the fence, the preside

cipollone released a letter sunday night calling the inquiry, baseless and highly partisan. >>this is entirely consistent with us. >>the letter accuses chairman jerrold nadler of purposely scheduling the hearing during the nato meeting, however, cipollone left the door open for white house participation in future hearings. while some believe that could be a good idea i think would be the president's advantage to have his attorneys there that is his right others say that could be a risky move for the white house side. >>allowing his own attorney to participate in the proceedings against the proceedings which missing one democratic presidential candidate says she's already made up her mind i made very clear i think this is impeachable conduct. i'm john lawrence reporting. >>and on the kron 00:04am morning news, the sun is left in disbelief at after his mother is killed in a hit and run in the south bay. now he says the city is partly responsible. and here's a live look outside conditions at the golden gate bridge is what it is this slippery so be really careful leave early thi

cipollone will lead the president's senate defense. >> the president may have a number of attorneys helping him. >> reporter: as the president's senate allies advocate for a short trial without calling the bidens to testify. >> i want to end it. i don't want to legitimize it. i hate what they're doing. >> reporter: and graham is also hoping to hearing directly from rudy giuliani, who met with the president yesterday after returning from ukraine. but outside the impeachment process. >> rudy, if you want to come tell us what you found, i'd be glad to talk to you >> reporter: even as some of trump's congressional allies question giuliani's trip. >> i didn't really know why rudy was in the ukraine. >> hans, some big news coming out about troops in afghanistan. while the president was attending that army-navy game. >> so the president and the white house is planning to announce the potential drawdown of some 4,000 u.s. troops from afghanistan. that would leave between 8 and 9,000 troops in an 18-year war that the president campaigned on ending jose. >> hans nichols at the white house. th

cipollone, closely, on what that senate trial is going to look like. that's something the president has been turning his attention on. he wants to be vindicated when it comes to the time to have that senate trial, which mcconnell says will be in the early year. one interesting thing that did happen is as the president behind the scenes has been privately complaining about impeachment, his campaign manager was touting what they see is the political benefits of what's happening in washington right now. they say they're able to fund raise faster and get more volunteers and ignite this game behind their supporters because of impeachment because the supporters see the president and think he's being attacked and think his presidency is being attacked. they think in the long run, that's going to help them. >> kaitlan collins, thanks. >>> breaking overnight, a decisi decisive, historic outcome in the u.k. election. >> it looks like the one nation conservative government has been given a powerful, new mandate. to get brexit done. >> boris johnson's conservative

defending the president, white house counsel pat cipollone, but maybe others. >> the president may have a number of attorneys helping him. but he is our white house counsel. and he's taken the lead this entire time. >> reporter: back home in kentucky, senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, downplayed the case. >> the two articles of impeachment are pretty weak. pretty weak. >> reporter: but said a trial would start in january. and in the new year, the president will have some different legal worries, as the supreme court has decided to review the three cases involving his financial records and tax returns. and by making that choice, to review this case, it means their decision will come by june, in the middle of the campaign season. and it will determine, in large part, how any president can resist these kind of investigations. and secondly today, the president is headed to the army/navy game in philadelphia, where navy is expected to honor those killed at the pensacola naval station. >>> now, let's bring in jake sherman. he's an nbc news political contributor and a senior writer for

white house counsel pat cipollone says, we cannot be expected to participate in a hearing where the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear if the judiciary committee will afford the president a fair process. he is accusing the democrats to schedule the hearing while the president is at a nato meeting in london. >> the white house faces a friday deadline to decide whether to participate in future hearings. one republican on the judiciary panel thinks the white house should be there. >> i think it would be to the president's advantage to have his attorneys there. that's his right. it would be to the president's advantage to have him testify now. he has to weigh that against the enormous, catastrophic damage that would do to the doctrine of executive privilege. >> the house intelligence committee is expected to let members review its impeachment report today. the vote on whether to approve the report is set for tomorrow. president trump is accused of abusing his power by attempting to coerce ukraine into investigating his political rivals. >>> later this morning, the presiden

the president told reporters he's all but settled on his lead counsel, pat cipollone, to be his attorney in the senate trial. >>> an op-ed thursday called for president trump's removal from office. in "christianity today," the democrats have been after the president from day one. he writes, the facts in this instance are unambiguous. the president of the united states tried to use his political power to coerce a foreign power to harass and discredit one of the president's opponents. that's not only a violation of the constitution, it is profoundly immoral. he adds, none of the president's positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character. >>> ahead here, the smallest debate stage produced some of the most spirited clashes so far. we'll break down last night's debate, next. >>> i'm going to interrupt now. >> front r-runner joe biden showing more confidence on the debate stage in the final democratic showdown of the year. >>> billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president. >> wine caves is now trending, after the ca

looking at the letter sent to pat cipollone. the counsel to the president. game plan all along, anybody shocked? >> obviously not. the white house said that they demand the transcripts be released and it was released. they demand there be open hearings. they demand there was an impeachment vote. there was a vote. and demanded as well of course that trump and his lawyers get to participate. in this process. and then can't take yes for an answer. in case you were wondering whether this was conducted in good faith. obviously no. >> i'm wondering is this what you do when you don't have a good defense. you call it illegitimate. i want to read this. as you know the impeachment inquiry is baseless and violated the basic principle of due process. and house democrats wasted enough of america's time. this charade. and anyway. that's what they're saying. the president's counsel on monday could have asked questions and could have raised objections and requested witnesses. they're choosing not to do any of this. is this what you do when you don't have a good defense? >>