Transcripts For CNNW CNN Tonight With Don Lemon 20191015

Children are reaping financial benefits while their father sits in the oval office. More breaking news for you tonight. The president imposing sanctions on turkey due to its military incursion into syria to battle Kurdish Forces who are americas allies. President erdogan reached out and requested the call. And President Trump communicated to him very clearly that the United States of america wants turkey to stop the invasion. To implement an immediate ceasefire and to begin to negotiate with Kurdish Forces in syria to bring an end to the violence. The United States of america did not give a green light to turkey to invade syria. But were going to begin with some breaking news for you here, and its about the ukraine scandal. Joining me now is frank bruni, Shimon Prokupecz and talu. I appreciate you all joining us. Shimon, this is New York Times reporting, it is explosive and pulls former National Security adviser john bolton into this mess. What can you tell us . Yeah, essentially what this story says, don, fiona hill, as you said, testified all day today, ten hours of testimony, just coming out that she that bolton had expressed concern over what he called what the story calls a rogue operation and that lawyers on the National Security council, bolton adviser to notify lawyers on the National Security council that giuliani, Rudy Giuliani was working with Mick Mulvaney, who is the white house chief of staff, on what the story says was a rogue operation with legal implication. So lets start from the beginning here because the New York Times is starting off by saying here, shimon. They said that the effort to pressure ukraine for political hope provoked a heated confrontation inside the white house last summer that so alarmed john r. Bolton, then the National Security adviser, that he told an aide to alert white house lawyers, house investigators were told. But theyre saying that he this alarmed him so much that he started sounding the alarm about a rogue operation between giuliani and others . Let me read you a quote here, according to her testimony of what bolton said. He said, quote, i am not part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. Mr. Bolton told ms. Hill to Tell White House lawyers. That is devastating. Yeah. This entire story here really putting things in perspective. Certainly ms. Hills testimony today, according to this story in the New York Times, is going to raise a lot of eyebrows. This is this quote from her drug deal im not going to be part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. This obviously brings bolton into the center of this. We need to hear from him. Theyre reporting that bolton called Rudy Giuliani a hand grenade that would blow everything up. She said that during an earlier conversation. Frank, i want to bring this in bring you in because hes quoting what they said here. Bolton told fiona hill to report to giulianis rogue operation to the white house, to white house lawyers saying, im not part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. To Tell White House lawyers, according to the testimony. What do you make of that . This language is extraordinary. This drug deal. Rudy giuliani is a hand grenade. John bolton isnt just saying i have some concerns about whats going on, hes gaping at what hes seeing and now, you know, theres is a lot of theres going to be even more interest in hearing from him. One has to note that donald trump has had such bitter breakups with so many of his former senior aides who have no great investment in trying to protect this president at this point, so im really curious to hear what john boltons going to have to say if we ever hear from him. If we do, i dont think President Trump can trust hes going to bite his tongue and hold anything back. Also gordon sondland. The trump donor turned ambassador to the European Union who was working with rudolph w. Giuliani, the president s personal lawyer, to press ukraine to investigate democrats, according to testimony provided to investigators. Gordon sondland is going to testify. Theyre going to want to know about that. Yeah, thats exactly right. Mr. Sondland has already started to put some distance between himself and the president. You remember these Text Messages that came out basically saying that the people who were working on this ukraine scandal wanted a deliverable in order to get a meeting between the white house and the ukrainian president. And that deliverable included trying to get the ukrainians to announce an investigation into President Trumps political rivals. I think one other thing thats really important with this latest bombshell reporting is that mulvaney is not just the chief of staff of the white house, he was also the office of management and budget director for the better part of two years within the trump white house, and that omb was the agency that basically stopped the money from Going Forward to ukraine. This was a mysterious halt on this on these funds, and the fact that mulvaney is now integrally involved in this scheme, which bolton allegedly called a drug deal, makes makes it look much more like a quid pro quo. Like bolton was saying that he was worried that giuliani and mulvaney were basically trying to pressure the ukrainians to deliver something for the president s political aspirations in exchange for funding or a white house visit, and thats what the democrats are trying to put those dots together and make sure they have complete case on what exactly was happening. It looked like fiona hill just gave them bombshell information that they can use to continue their investigation. Yes or no, congress is going to want to hear from bolton, correct . What do you think . I think so. The fact that hes not on good terms with the president now. Hes reportedly writing a book. I think that he can expect that he will be called by congress to testify to say exactly what happened behind closed doors. And the fact that he doesnt seem to be loyal to the president anymore may make him a kind of whistleblower on his own to be able to say what was happening in some of these meetings and why he was so concerned. Frank, we were talking about that before the show started. Yeah. About well, i mean, when you have this kind of turnover in an administration. When you have this many people leaving on bad terms, you are as a president exposed in a very special way. The other thing thats extraordinary here is every day that goes by, we learn its not just a few people who had eyes on whats going on in terms of pressure on ukraine. Its a lot of different people in this administration. Im shocked it took this long for this to come out, but now that its come out and more and more comes out, the president has a big problem because this is is not just a few people knew about this conversation. This is a sustained effort. A lot of people had eyes on it. Were learning today according to john bolton, a lot of people were sounding alarms. Also Mick Mulvaney. This is the first time were hearing this allegation that he was so involved in this. For john bolton to make this kind of statement, that mulvaney was part of this, him and rudy were working on this operation. I think that is going to change everything significantly because this goes much deeper in the white house than i think any this is the white house chief of staff now involved and this is beyond the whistleblower. This is beyond the whistleblower. This is this is so you have the National Security the head of the National Security Council Raising all sorts of concerns. Has no control over whats going on here. Right . And at a certain point donald trump cant keep saying this is just a partisan whistleblower. Oh, wait, this is just who partisan whistleblowers. Maybe three. We have more and more people coming forward and its going to be harder for him to discredit this. Its impossible already. Youve got the National Security adviser reportedly from the New York Times involved in this. Gordon sondland, a trump donor turned ambassador to the European Union. You have the acting chief of staff involved in this and the president s personal attorney reportedly involved in this. I mean, okay. Layers and layers and layers. Weve got more breaking news that i want to talk to you about, frank. The wall street journal is also reporting that Rudy Giulianis bank records are now being examined and witnesses have been questioned about his role in ukraine since at least august. How much trouble is giuliani in . I think hes potentially in a lot of trouble. The conversations i keep on having with people in washington is at what point might we see Rudy Giuliani arrested . I mean, thats a serious question. The arrests we saw last week, were those an end game . I dont think so. I think that was part of an effort to turn people and get bigger fish down the road. The big fish they might be going after is Rudy Giuliani. If they get him, what does he say about President Trump . Talu, were learning that hill raised concerns about maria yavonovitchs removal. That was the ambassador to ukraine that trump fired. That she told lawmakers today about her concerns about giulianis shadow foreign policy. Wall street journal is also reporting that she and other white house officials were so concerned about efforts to push ukraine to open certain investigations that they they raised concerns with the white house lawyer. All of that now combined with this bombshell. I mean, whats next . Yeah, it does all seem to be coming together. If democrats want to make a case that there was a conspiracy to get the ukrainians to dig up dirt on joe biden to help President Trumps reelection, that they have democrats have a lot of evidence. They have the fact that the Ukrainian Ambassador the ambassador to ukraine who wasnt on board with this scheme was fired abruptly and everyone else is saying that she was doing a good job, but Rudy Giuliani didnt like her so the president got rid of her. We have the fact that the president basically yanked Vice President pence from going to the ukrainian president s inauguration at the last minute and that was seen as another pressure tactic. And now you have this phone call with President Trump and president zelenskiy of ukraine saying i want you to do me a favor. So the democrats have a lot of information thats coming out, including this latest bombshell reporting about john bolton being concerned about a drug deal in his words, saying that there was something untoward going on. I think the democrats are likely to put all of this together and once theyre able to connect all of the missing pieces and really put together a case to the american people, its going to make it harder for President Trump, as you said earlier, to say this is just one whistleblower who is being partisan. Its looking like more and more people within the inner circle of the white house were concerned and had an issue with what was happening and what Rudy Giuliani was doing and the fact that he is now in legal trouble. All of that put together is going to make it very hard for this white house to counter what is a growing threat of impeachment. All right. I need all of you to stick around. Were going to have more on the breaking news. The former National Security adviser concerned about whatever it was that he believed that Rudy Giuliani was cooking up with Mick Mulvaney. The acting white house chief of staff. As it involved ukraine. The New York Times is reporting that. Back in a moment. In the last year, there were three victims of cybercrime every second. When a criminal has your personal information, they can do all sorts of things in your name. Criminals can use ransomware, spyware, or malware to gain access to information like your name, your birthday, and even your Social Security number. [announcer] thats why norton and lifelock are now part of one company, providing an all in one membership for your cyber safety that gives you identify theft protection, device security, a vpn for online privacy, and more. And if you have an Identity Theft problem, well work to fix it with our Million Dollar protection package. There are new Cyber Threats out there everyday, so protecting yourself isnt a one time job, its an ongoing need. Now is the time to make sure that you have the right plan in place. Dont wait. [announcer] norton 360 with lifelock. Use promo code get25 to save 25 off your first year and get a free shredder with annual membership. Call now to start your membership or visit lifelock. Com tv they use stamps. Com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. About the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you get a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale if youre age 50 to 85 and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you, too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no Health Questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. And with this plan, you can pick your payment date, so you can time your premium due date to work with your budget. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner, and its yours just for calling. So call now. So were back now with the breaking news. The New York Times is reported that former National Security adviser john bolton called Rudy Giuliani a hand grenade who would blow everything up. Back with me now, frank bruni, Shimon Prokupecz. Joined by ellie honig. The National Security adviser, john bolton was so concerned about Rudy Giulianis dealings, whatever he was doing with ukraine that he sent it up the chain to saying you should contact white house lawyers. Whats becoming clear to me now is were sort of seeing sides choosing up. On the one hand, your career people, your professional diplomats and state department people, hill, yovanovitch, apparently john bolton for better or for worse, thats ultimately what hes about, on one side and the trump loyalists on the other side. Rudy, sondland, mulvaney. If im sizing this up from a investigative perspective, im looking at the career people. Im trying to bill this case around the nonpartisan, career, state diplomatic people. Theyre credible. Thats where im focussing my investigation. So walk us through. What do we know . Look, i think the most important thing here is you have a National Security adviser, the man who is supposed to be running the entire Security Apparatus of this country. Our International Relations in some ways is saying there are rogue operations going on behind my back. Things i dont know. I do not want to be part of this. Is raising all sorts of issues about this. And i think that is the most significant part about this. Yes, theres a lot of colorful language in this, but the fact that someone inside the white house is calling what Mick Mulvaney, Rudy Giuliani, the president here in some ways, other people, gordon sondland, are running a rogue operation. I mean, that is, to me, the most stunning that language, rogue operation, with legal implications. When you think about all the players who are in this. Youve got john r. Bolton, the National Security adviser. Gordon sondland, who is a trump donor and ambassador to the European Union who was going to testify on thursday to congress. Then youve got fiona hill today, right . And then youve got Mick Mulvaney who is acting white house chief of staff. Youve got Rudy Giuliani, the president s personal attorney. Now, just i just want to read this. And just tell me what you think of this one graph here. It says mr. Bolton, because he was so concerned about what they were doing over there, instructed fiona hill, who is gonna who testified today. The senior director of russian and Eurasia Affairs to notify the chief lawyer for the National Security council that mr. Giuliani was working with Mick Mulvaney, the acting white house chief of staff, on a rogue operation with legal implications. Ms. Hill told the investigators according to two people familiar with her closeddoor testimony. Thats a pretty big statement right there. Its huge. It means that inside the white house at the very inner circle of the oval office there was deep concern not just about impropriety, but potentially legally implicating action by the president s closest advisers, including the White House Acting chief of staff. Thats really taking the scandal right into the heart of the oval office, saying that the president s personal lawyer and the president s basically his top aide closest to him within the white house were working on a rogue operation. And the timing is important here. This is at a time when very mysteriously the white house had pulled back almost 400 million in aid that was supposed to go to ukraine. No one knew why this money was being held back. The state department couldnt say why. The Defense Department couldnt say what was going on. This was a personal decision that happened within the white house, an accusation by President Trump which came out later said he was worried about corruption. He wanted other countries to pitch in. Now it seems like there are people within the white house who can tell a different story why that money was being held up. What happening with this, quote, unquote, drug deal with Rudy Giuliani trying to get dirt and trying to get ukrainians to put negative information out there about the president s political opponents. If that territory gets fully fleshed out, it could be really damaging for the white house and already starting to look pretty bad for the president and his top advisers. As i understand, shimon, youve got more breaking news to talk about . Yeah, so this comes from our Gloria Borger who has been talking to her sources tonight and confirming a lot of this reporting, saying that fiona hill testified that john bolton was angry. He was very upset over what was going on here and said to her, Rudy Giuliani is a hand grenade that is going to blow us all up. A lot of what the New York Times here is reporting. And then the source went on to tell Gloria Borger that she told members on the hill that ms. Hill there testifying that you go that apparently john bolton told her you go and tellizebetell isenberg im not a part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. What is he referring to . That was a metaphor. What else was going on in terms of what bolton was seeing. In the New York Times story it says its not the first time that bolton expressed concerns over Rudy Giuliani and giuliani being part of this. I think, frank, what he was saying obviously he thought something nefarious was going on, something that was unusual. Right. Because sort of this back door operation. Right. He doesnt mean drug deal, per se. He means whats going on is so ridiculous, so beyond the pale hes comparing it to a drug deal. I do wonder, though, what administration did john bolton think he was joining . You know, his shock here is wellearned shock and we should all be shocked. We should be appalled by whats going on. But the idea he didnt expect to see this, he must have been sleeping through the Trump Administration prior to his appointment. You know, this reminds me, though, of the interview, the abc interview with George Stephanopoulos when the president said it was okay to dig up political dirt on his political anybody would use it, he said. That anybody would do it. And it just the state of mind for him i think the president believes that. I think part of the reason he gets into these jams, most of it is because hes amoral. He doesnt have principles. He doesnt respect norms. He thinks its cool and naughty and provocative to junk norms. Its not. Theyre there for a reason. He also sees the world as a place that rewards the shameless and the ruthless. Well, hes admitting it on camera that he did it and its okay, but everyone says we need more evidence. Okay, whatever. To franks point. John bolton has been around the block a couple of times, right . Hes been in this game for decade. Hes not exactly a dove either. No, hes not some naive idealist. For this to go so far for him to say enough and storm out in anger and compare it to a hand grenade and a drug deal is pretty telling. This guys been through it. They wanted one thing. They wanted dirt. They wanted this investigation at whatever cost, at whatever arms they had to twist, at whatever norms, ethics and maybe even laws they had to break to get it. Shimon, you have more reporting . All of this is starting to come out now. We have more. She, according to a source who is familiar with fiona hills testimony, she told members on the hill today that she saw wrongdoing on related to the ukraine policy and she reported it. Obviously this woman was there and she tried to report it to officials. Right. Including nsc council. She tried to report it to the National Security advisers, to the team there, and, again, you know, she was she was she saw a lot, it seems. Shes really laying out she spent ten hours on the hill today. So this is only a part of what we know right now and it is devastating. Let me read just a little bit more. Ill read the whole thing because its short. It says a source familiar with fiona hills testimony says the former russia adviser told lawmakers that she saw wrongdoing in ukraine policy and tried to report it to officials, including the nsc council. This is a quote. She saw wrongdoing related to the ukraine policy and reported it, the source said. The source said hill also drew a link between sondland and trump in her testimony. Sondland and trump were in direct contact, hill told the lawmakers, according to the source. Went beyond the discussions about the text but this source didnt want to elaborate further than that. And that is from jim acosta and others. I want to know what those are as a prosecutor, right . Right there is a target to shoot at. What were those other contacts between sondland and trump . Theres more than just those texts. I got to take a break. Im sure there will be more breaking news on the other side of this break. Sam donaldsons going to weigh in after this break. Thank you all. I appreciate it. And were back now with the breaking news. A cnn source saying that the effort to pressure ukraine for political help alarmed john bolton that he told an aide to alert white house lawyers that giuliani was a hand grenade who will blow everyone up. A source familiar with fiona hills testimony says the former russia adviser told lawmakers that she was she saw wrongdoing in the ukraine policy and reported it. Joining me now is sam donaldson. Sam, i appreciate you joining us. What do you think of the New York Times reporting tonight . Well, its one of those bomb shells. Its like poor donald trump has the version of the chinese water torture. Drop, drop, drop, and a final drop breaks his skull. Were just watching this develop. Its amazing. I saw the nixon plumbers operation. That was in the white house. They were the rogue operation. They broke into the watergate and elsewhere looking for dirt on president nixons opponents. But this, according to the times, is a rogue operation involving the highest officials of the lapped. The chief of staff of the white house. The president himself, of course. And bolton wanted to alert the lawyers. What did he expect white house lawyers to do, call the cops, read the president his rights . Donald trump, you have a right that may happen some day. Not yet. But its just amazing. And i believe, don, that this conventional wisdom that we all thought was right, that the house would impeach but the senate would never convict with all those republicans there may be wrong. I think the senate can convict if things like this keep going. Interesting. You the new reporting, sam, says that according to todays testimony, bolton told fiona hill to tell the white house lawyers that i am not part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. And were also learning more about Mick Mulvaney involvement and how he is working with giuliani. What do you make of that . Well, again, its high officials going against government policy. They are the government. Theyre supposed to set the policy and carry out the president s wishes. But, of course, thats where it stops, at the top, its the president s wishes. Quite clearly according to the smoking transcript. Its not the tape. But it was released by the white house. And we read that the president says do us a favor. And its quite clear that he tried to put the arm on the ukrainians to dig up dirt on the bidens to use against biden in an election here in the United States. If people out in the country begin to thing thats not right, thats wrong, hes cooked. Well, the whole sondland part of it to me is maybe the most interesting. Sondlands going to testify. Hes also the one on the transcript Text Messages saying, oh, no, its no quid pro quo. There is also reporting that came directly from the president. I think that may be one of the most interesting parts of this report. Obviously giuliani is the, you know, common denominator here, and the president , but there is more bad news for Rudy Giuliani tonight, sam. More key witnesses are testifying in the impeachment inquiry this week. How much worse could all of this get . Oh, i dont know. I mean, its going to sondland, for instance, is not a career diplomat. Hes an ambassador because he gave a lot of money. Hes going to have to save himself. When we see a report that what hell testify is when he told the ambassador our ambassador to ukraine there was no quid pro quo, it was because the phone call, donald j. Trump had told him to say that. Hes saying, hey, its not my idea. Im clean here. Gambling going on here. I know nothing about it. Really . Well, lets see about that. His testimony will be important, but i think what we heard today or we the report of what we heard today, what was said today, rather, is perhaps even more damaging than sondlands testimony will be. You have covered politics in the world for decades. And you so you would know better than anyone else im an old guy. Im an old guy. Public support. Its public support. Happy to be one. Public support is key to impeachment. Vital. To the impeachment inquiry. And that you say that it could spark the House Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell and the gop to turn on the president. You talked a little bit about it earlier, but let me put up this poll and im going to get you to discuss it a little bit more. This new quinnipiac poll put impeachment and removal at 46 with 48 against it. How much support is needed for republicans to flip . Much more than that. Fox poll said 51 think its an inquiry that needs to be pursued. Its just starting. Well see if there is enough time for americans doing their own things, not even watching your show, to get interested in. To think, oh, its just not a bunch of politicians squabbling in washington. Im tired of that. There is something going on here. There is really gambling going on here. If enough americans because, remember, trump has 30 31 of hardcore. Theyll follow him to hell or wherever hes going. They dont care about the facts. Theyre fine people, except theyre ignorant about these things were talking about and they will not budge from now. Now, there is 70 of the rest of us. Now, if enough of those people decide there is something important here and they think the president ought to be removed, he will be. But, of course, if they think it shouldnt happen and the poll you just cited is not near enough support to sustain conviction in the senate, it wont happen. Let me just give you a little story about robert c. Byrd, senior democrat from west virginia. Clinton is being impeached and hes being tried in the senate and in two weeks theyll vote. My dear my dear professional companion, cokie roberts, asked him, senator, how are you going to vote on article i . Its on perjury. Perjurys a felony. They say, well, he lied to the federal judge under oath. And byrd said, and i quote him directly, because its emblazoned in my mind, whos kidding whom . Of course he committed perjury. But the people seem to like him. They dont want him removed and i dont know how im going to vote. And of course in two weeks he voted no. Which probably was the right vote. Its up to the american people. Guys out there and gals, if you want this president removed, he will be. And if you dont, i dont care what the evidence shows. I dont care what anybody says. He wont be. Sam donaldson, well leave it there. Thank you somebo, sir. Okay, don. Thank you. Busy breaking news night. Well be right back. Work so hard give it everything you got strength of a lioness tough as a knot rocking the stage and we never gonna stop all strength, no sweat. Just in case you forgot all strength. No sweat secret. All strength. No sweat. 9. 95 . No way. . 9. 95 . Thats impossible. Hi, im jonathan, a manager here at Colonial Penn Life Insurance company, to tell you it is possible. If youre age 50 to 85, you can get Life Insurance with options starting at just 9. 95 a month. Okay, jonathan, im listening. Tell me more. Just 9. 95 a month for Colonial Penns number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan. There are no Health Questions to answer and there are no medical exams to take. Your acceptance is guaranteed. Guaranteed acceptance . I like guarantees. Keep going. And with this plan, your rate is locked in for your lifetime, so it will never go up. Sounds good to me, but at my age, i need the security of knowing it wont get cancelled as i get older. This is Lifetime Coverage as long as you pay your premiums. It can never be cancelled, call now for free information. Youll also get this free beneficiary planner. Use this valuable guide to record your Important Information and give helpful direction about your final wishes to your loved ones. And its yours free. Its our way of saying thank you just for calling. So call now. President trump faces an impeachment inquiry partly related to interactions with ukraine. He and his sons are attacking Vice President bidens son hunter. Claiming he used his family name for profit when he served in obama administration. Biden stepping down from the board of chinese backed company and promises to forego foreign work if his father is elected president. There is no evidence that hunter biden was involved in any wrongdoing. It is ironic, given President Trumps children and their business activities. Ivanka trump still retains a stake in the trump Family Business while serving as white house adviser. So here she is with billionaire developer, builder of the Trump International golf in dubai, which opened just after trumps inauguration. His company says that they have had an uptick in interest since trump took office. Heres don jr. Appearing at an event in india which featured the prime minister, modi, he was there to promote condos at planned trump branded towers. Here the president golfing with his son eric at turnberry in scotland. That resort is currently under investigation from congress and the air force after an uptick of military personnel bookings since trump took office. So there you go. William cohen is here. The author of four friends promising lives cut short. Michael dantonio, the author of the truth about trump. What do you make of the president s sons attacking hunter biden when there is no evidence and then you have well, two interesting facts. Don jr. Just got back from speaking at the university of florida where he took 50,000 in student money. The trip to india cost the taxpayers 32,000. If you consider the trump kids, almost every day they make more money than hunter biden made in all of his years in serving investors and companies abroad. So the hypocrisy is astounding. They know it. Theyve told me personally that theyre all the beneficiaries of nepotism. This is the same trump playbook casting on others your own sins. Eric told the New York Times, quote, when my father became president , our family stopped doing International Business deals. Do you think thats an accurate statement . Its obviously not even remotely close to a factual statement. You know, eric is in charge of the golf courses. Eric is in charge of the winery. I mean, President Trump has talked about having the g7 meeting next year at the Dural Country Club in florida that he owns and that Deutsche Bank has lent money to. So, no, i mean, its all one big headfake. It has nothing to do with what President Trump did with the ukrainian prime minister. Hes just trying to deflect attention to hunter biden when it just has nothing to do with the real story here. Is it your belief that they are profiting off of the presidency, the family . Of course they are. They have not sold their businesses. They have not put them in a blind trust. They continue to try to do deals. Now, the only possibly interesting aspect to all of this is no one wants to live in trump buildings anymore. Theyre taking the names off trump buildings in manhattan. A lot of their golf courses are struggling and a lot of their condominium projects have been pulled or are struggling. To some extent its been a negative. Not for ivanka, who seems to still do business and her husband jared seems to make a lot of money every year and was able to refinance his huge troubled Real Estate Investment at 666 fifth avenue as a result of being the president s soninlaw and being in the white house. With all of this quickly, i just have 15 seconds, do you think with all of this going on with the investigations, do you think well ever see the tax returns with the courts here in new york . I think that we will and i think that its going to be a huge scandal when we discover the ownership stakes they have, the emoluments theyre collecting and the poultry amount of charity theyve given over the years. And the interest payments, who theyre making them to. Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate your time. The countdown is on to cnns big president ial debate live from ohio tomorrow night at 8 00 right here on cnn. Well be right back. The russells travel to swim meets every saturday. But now. Its thursday. Good thing they discovered gain flings with oxi boost and febreze odor remover. Gain flings. Seriously good scent. In the last year, of cybercrime every second. When a criminal has your personal information, they can do all sorts of things in your name. Criminals can use ransomware, spyware, or malware to gain access to information like your name, your birthday, and even your Social Security number. [announcer] thats why norton and lifelock are now part of one company, providing an all in one membership for your cyber safety that gives you identify theft protection, device security, a vpn for online privacy, and more. And if you have an Identity Theft problem, well work to fix it with our Million Dollar protection package. There are new Cyber Threats out there everyday, so protecting yourself isnt a one time job, its an ongoing need. Now is the time to make sure that you have the right plan in place. Dont wait. [announcer] norton 360 with lifelock. Use promo code get25 to save 25 off your first year and get a free shredder with annual membership. Call now to start your membership or visit lifelock. Com tv they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again a week after pulling out u. S. Troops from the region and turning a blind eye as turkey invades northern syria, President Trump appears to be having second thoughts. Hes imposing economic sanctions on turkey and sending Vice President mike pence, treasury secretary steve mnuchin, to lead negotiations between ankara and the Syrian Defense forces. The United States of america wants turkey to stop the invasion, to implement an immediate ceasefire, and to begin to negotiate with Kurdish Forces in syria to bring an end to the violence. So joining me now to discuss is ambassador nicholas burns, the former u. S. Ambassador to nato and the former ambassador to greece. Thank you so much for joining us. So what have i gotten wrong here . Had the president not pulled the troops out, would we even be in this situation right now . We wouldnt, don. If the president had just stayed with a very successful american policy in northern syria, you wouldnt have the refugees, the thousands of them, the people killed, isis reawoken, the russians and syrians taking our position, and frankly i think one of the biggest casualties of all, the credibility of the United States. We abandoned our friends. That credibility is being questioned all over the world. So what about these sanctions now . Hes imposing sanctions. I mean is that will that make a difference . Is it too little too late . What . I think its too little, too late. The president was the one who caused all this. Don, i think as americans, we have to see this as a significant defeat for the United States, not for our soldiers, who did everything right, but for the commander in chief who has done everything wrong in this colossal bad judgment. And sending the Vice President to ankara to remonstrate with president erdogan, i dont think its going to have a major effect. The turks have gone well beyond 30 kilometers deep into syria, 400 kilometers wide. I dont think theyre going to stop and pull back. The president could have avoided all this, but now hes in a really tough position. And, you know, harry truman used to say the buck stops here. Great president s, strong president s take responsibility for their misfortunes, for their errors. The president is not doing that. Hes pointing the finger at everybody but himself. Let me tell you, this is the former commander of u. S. Forces in afghanistan, general john allen. This is what hes telling cnn. He said that trump has blood on his hands, and i quote here, there was no chance erdogan would keep his promise, a fullblown ethnic cleansing is under way by turkish supported militias. This is what happens when trump follows his instincts and because of his alignment with autocrats. Do you agree with the general . I agree with general allen who knows what hes talking about. You know, the president has this really appalling insecurity. He doesnt listen to his generals or his ambassadors. The state department, the Defense Department counseled against what the president did. You see the furious reaction even from the Republican Leadership in the senate. The president s made a very, very big mistake here, and the consequences are severe, and theyre worldwide. Im in melbourne in australia. We have about as strong a military relationship as we could have with them, and yet ive been asked repeatedly today, what does this mean for us . Would you back us in a conflict . I think thats what general allen is referring to, and hes right. Ambassador, can we even calculate in this moment how much ground weve lost when it comes to syria . The United States has lost, in one week, our entire position in syria that our troops had held courageously for the past five or six years. The president just gave it away. The troops have been withdrawn. The russians are coming in, and the syrian army behind us. And weve also lost something else, our credibility as a country that can be relied upon. The word of the United States, thats a big loss in one week. We always appreciate your expertise. Thank you so much, ambassador. Thank you, don. Thanks for watching. Our coverage continues. Im alex trebek here to tell you about the Colonial Penn program. If youre age 50 to 85 and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you, too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no Health Questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. And with this plan, you can pick your payment date, so you can time your premium due date to work with your budget. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner, and its yours just for calling. So call now. 12 candidates, 1 battleground stage. Can anybody break out in the largest president ial debate in history, tonight on cnn . Rudy giuliani is a hand grenade in a white house operation that resembles a drug deal. Damning details from closeddoor testimony on impeachment. New trouble for allies in ar area. Removing troops from a worsening situation. When youre misinformed and youre not educated about something, jt