Today im asking to proceed with articles of impeachment. Next month, the senate will ultimately decide on whether to impeach a president. As filling as this all may have been, its what comes after the meal that matters most the bill. Thats right. There was always going to be a political cost to impeachment. Its just a question of who will end up paying . Of course theres the possibility that President Trump ends up paying the lions share. These hearings in which career Civil Servants and trump appointees shared their serious concerns and the facts of the case that trump abused his office for his own political gain, have undoubtedly damaged the president. Republicans were left floundering, and probably for that reason, the white house announced last night it will not participate in the houses, quote, baseless proceedings. Also unhelpful, Rudy Giuliani doing exactly the thing that started this whoa mess, going to ukraine to investigate. According to cnn reporting, a democratic internal poll surveying 57 Battle Ground districts from october to november found independent support for impeachment surged. But theres also a strong possibility that democrats pay the bulk of the bill for impeachment. Despise a laser focus on the ukraine and the abuse of power and compelling corroborative efforts, opinion on impeachment among democrats and republicans largely hasnt changed. The country is basically split down the mittle with 47. 7 supporting impeachment, had 3. 8 not when House Democrats vote to impeach the president with likely zero republican support, justin amash has indicated he will vote yes, that could look pretty partisan. When the senate didnt vote to convict or remove the president , that may look like a failure on the part of democrats to do something that constrains the president. Finally impeachment results in losses for democrats in swing districts in never. If it helps get trump reelected, clearly democrats will have paid the pryts for a political fraught, if principled exercise in few tilts theres also a third option, that they split the bill. That means democrats will pay the immediate price, but longer term the Republican Party suffers most for rubberstamping the president s abuse of power and corruption of the office. Gop may one day have to answer for folks like congressman doug collins who framed the investigation of trumps attempted bribery scheme this way. This is not an impeachment. This is just a Simple Railroad job. And today is a waste of time, because this is where were at. I close today with this it didnt start with mueller. It doesnt start with a phone call. You know what, it started with tears in november when an election was lost. We are here, no plan, no fact witnesses, simply being rubberstamped, but hey we have law professors here. What a start of a party. Heres the deal. Remember, impeachment is political. So whether you believe democrats were right in principle, that doesnt mean this will pay off politically. Since the first mention of an impeach unity inquiry i have asked democratic lawmakers whether pursuing this will still be worth it even if it results in touch getting reelected and democrats losing seats. They all say yes. We wont know if thats really true until november. Those, my friends are the stakes. In the short term how will public support for and against impeachment play out . In the medium term who benefits. . In the long term, how does history remember this moment . As joe klein put it in the Washington Post this week wrap are racing toward a deadend of their own. Their tribe is dwindling. Why they nominated and defend the president so indefensible, why they use russian disinformation to smear ukraine and potential rivals. While the republicans stage a ufc cage match and right now the lawyers are moving. Joe klein joins me now. Hes the author of primary colors. Let me ask you, if democrats end of voting down party lines with no republican support, is that still a convincing win . No. Look, impeachment is about the most serious thing can you do nom democracy. Yeah. Weve been overdoing it. The republicans overdid it with clinton, the democrats are overdoing it now. I think they have a solid legal case, but impeachment is a political act. This is about something that happened in ukraine, which is a place that most americans probably cant locate on a map. I think that for impeachment to be a plausible political action, it has to be bipartisan. In this case with the republican support for donald trump, they might even support him if he shot somebody on fifth avenue. Right. So i think the more prudent course for democrats would be to continue the investigations, you know in my opinion this man knows no bottom when it comes to corruption, continue the investigations, and let the public be the jury next november. So you write in your column about the tactics both parties are using. Do you think that that could blow up for republicans . Well, in the past it hasnt often. I think that, you know the straightened legalism of the democrats, especially jerry nadler, have you four law profess professors. Scholars. Oh, come on, i mean really. The president clearly abused his office. Right. The case against him was strong. Adam schiff built it brilliantly. As a father of a Foreign Service officer in the state department, i was proud. I think that those witnesses really did a lot so help the state Department Psychological recover from the battering its received over the last three years, but its still not enough. So you referenced clinton. As you know, that impeachment helped his approval number you know trump will use in all year to his advantage. They tried to getry of me, but they couldnt. They tried to override the will of the people, but they couldnt. Im a victim of this political witchhunt. Will it ultimately help the president . Probably not all that much. I think his support is baked in at this point. One thing he can do better than almost every other politician ive seen is spin bad moves. The Mueller Report should have been a disaster for him, but no colose. In this case no quid pro quo. I doubt if eeven knows the latin, but he always manages to find the headline and has enough support to make it a dangerous thing for republicans to oppose him. Republicans arent done, either. Trumps legal team plans to triple down on these unproven Biden Corruption claims in the senate trial, which could end up damaging bidens candidacy, planting seeds of doubt isnt that a Political Risk as well . I think its already hurt biden. I dont think theres any excuse allowing your son to do business in the ukraine . When he has no experience in that sector. Yeah, clearly hunter biden is a troubled soul. Clearly joe biden is a wonderful father, but this is very difficult in a country now thats really sick of politicians selfdealing. Yes. Yeah, i think it will be a problem for biden and well and a legitimate one. Ive been asking democratic lawmakers who come on the show, asking if it would be worth it. They all say yes, because it was the right thing to do. I believe they believe that, but do you believe that it will have been the strategic thing to do if democrats suffer political for it . Well, whether or not they suffer political, it was the right thing to do to investigate this guy. I have thought from the beginning that impeachment was a bridge too far. I think the investigations should continue. I am really curious about whats in those tax returns. Sure. There are other things, you know, that hes ndong and is doing, and im curious about a continuing relationship with the russians. Right. They are not our allies, and theyre doing a terrible thing in ukraine. I was talking to joe lockhart before the show, and he said something which i notice he will write and talk about. He says democrats should vote to impeach the president , but not take it for a conviction, just continue to investigation so democrats will get the last final word and the investigation gets continued. I think the tide is moving in that direction. A lot of thoughtful democrats trying to how are we getting out this box canyon. Maybe just censure him in the house, and its sad they have gotten themselves to this point. Political columnist and author of primary colors. Joe klein, thank you. Thank you. Ill talk to a democratic lawyer about what happens next. And later, warren and biden and buttigieg, oh, my. The latest shakeups on the campaign trail. When we see you enter through our doors, we dont see who youre against, or for, whether tomorrow will be light or dark, all we see in you, is a spark we see your spark in each nod, each smile, we see sparks in every aisle. 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This is how we inspire hope. This is how we heal. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Appointments available now. Hows this for the holidays sneaking up on you . House investigators will present their findings to the Judiciary Committee on monday. Following that theyll finalize articles of impeach metropolitan, setting up a vote in which dompd jurks trupresidee likely be impeached. Dont be surprised if the Mueller Report makes a cameo. President trump welcomed foreign interference in the 2016 election. He demanded it with the 2020 election. In both cases, he got caught, and in both cases he did everything in his power to prevent the American People from learns the truth about his conduct. Some moderate democrats are superworried that going brought is a bad idea. Reporter what do you think about adding mueller evidence to to a potential obstruction of justice charge . Heres what i would say. I was going going through impeachment. With the understanding i wont entertain any hypotheticals, i was very serious. Reporter do you think the mueller evidence should be part of this. I think we need to stay focused on ukraine. Thats me and mea colleagues wrote the oped, about ukraine, and our president put the National Security at risk. Thats what im ready to vote on. Broad or narrow, thats the question. Im joined by the chief deputy whip. Welcome, congressman. Moderates in your party have been pretty outspoken about keeping the articles focused on ukraine. They fear that dredging up mueller feeds into the gop witchhunt narrative. Do you think findings from the Mueller Report should be included . I do think possibly, but only in a nuanced sense. The ukraine issue is the central issue. Its the issue that unified the democratic caucus. A lot of those new members were really moved by the ukraine story and what an affront that was to u. S. He National Security, but the president s willingness to interfere with and obstruct this investigation cant be ignored and will likely constitute impeachment article. Its hard to put together an article of impeachment that deals with obstruction that ignores the damning information in the second roll of the Mueller Report. Right. So while the Mueller Report itself has lots of other aspects to it, mr. Mueller was really clear in the way he presented the okay instruction discussion. He made it clear that he was going to adhere to Justice Department policy that a president cant be charged with a crime, and by implication made it very clear that only congress can use its tools to deal with the president thats willing to obstruct justice. My view would be that ukraine is front and center. Its the thing that people first of all across the country understand. It was a threat to our National Security, but the obstruction, the grotesque manner in which this president has obstructed any investigation into his work i think cant be ignored and the Mueller Report providing really serious information in that regard. Im wondering what you think. You have some moderate democrats in your state who helped the Democratic Party win the house in 2018. Some of those democrats are worried about impeachment and if it goes too brought or too far at all. What are you hearing . Obviously we hear about it from people on both sides of this question, people are animated about it. Its important that Public Opinion be one of the things we consider, but it cant be the determinant. When i swore my oath to the constitution, i didnt say i would only uphold the constitution on days when its convenient, on days when its easy, even if Public Opinion isnt completely there. The reason to hold Public Office is not to do things that allows you to state in Public Office. The reason to hold Public Office is to the things that are easy and the things that are hard, even if that means theres a political price tore paid. I think we have to do what we are required to do under the law. And i know, because ive had you on, i know its a given. You believe this is the right thing to do. You just laid out why, and i dont i dont disagree. As you know, though, impeachment is political. I dont believe nancy pelosi would have called for articles if he believed there would 07b8 be down side, so what is the reward for democrats . Just good feelings upholding your obligation . Where do you believe that democrats will reap political benefits . You have to believe there will be. I think there will be, i think in part its hard to really measure what the short term implications are. The shortterm implications meaning for the next election i think are difficult for anybody to predict. Whats far more predictable is the longterm implications for democrats, and for anybody who cares about this, in five or ten years, we will be the party who upheld the constitution. In five or ten year, republicans will have been the party that were so committed and focused on protecting a president , a single person, that they will be defined in that fashion. In the long term, both historical and political i think will be far more harsh on republicans defending this guy. You and i agree completely on that. Well have to say in the short term what measurable consequences come of all of this. I hope youll joy me again. Thank you very much. Thanks, s. E. Dan kildee thank you. And the ever buoyant joe biden on top again. Is anyone a real threat . When we were looking for a roommate, he wanted someone super quiet. Yeah, and he wanted someone to help out with chores. So, we got jeanpierre. But one thing we could both agree on was getting geico to help with renters insurance. 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An analysis find morse people would give up preferred outcomes on the health care, taxes, if it meant getting what they want on impeachment. Think about that. Impeachment is now the defining features of todays political landscape, trumping all the policies, Democratic Candidates want to run on. Politics isnt even a consideration . Thats either a lie or mistake. Here to discuss, assistant editor david swerdlik, well come back, guys. Do you think nancy pelosi is paying enough attention to that . I think shes paying enough attention. You dont get to be the speaker of the house, let alone the first speaker of the house, if you cant count votes. I think theres a couple vacancies normally you would need 218. She can lose 14 or 15 votes. Shes going to get the votes, but the question is to what results . I totally get the point youre making about this being inherently political, though it is also legal. I get your point about it being real consequences. That being said, whether people believe what Speaker Pelosi said in that clip or not, she is saying, look, at some point we, the democrats in the house have to exercise or constitutional prerogative, whether people accept that or not, and we cant get essential punked by President Trump. We control one chamber but scherrmichael what if they were to lose the chamber. Thats not likely to lose the house, but the reality is if you look at the 42, 43 moderate democrats who beat republicans in 2018, a significant percent of them actually won by 10 or less. As a guy as a political operative, those are winnable seats. You could win some of those, thats why, s. E. , if you look at some of the concerns about how brought you make this, many of them have said do not include anything about robert mueller. Donald trump is not going to be convicted in the senate. I completely agree with democrats theres a moral and ethical duty to hold the president accountable, but when he goes out after january, february, look, they impeached me, they knew nothing was going to happen, it was a big political charade . They know those risks. Thats why the speaker didnt want to go ahead with impeachment after the Mueller Report. She went on ukraine. I will not only say that i agree with you that not only will the president not be removed by the senate, i think the democrats may lose a vote or two in the senate like senator martian. But the reverse, like for someone susan collins, whos kind of against the ropes in maine for her believe kavanaugh support, shes kind of in danger. Could what she does in the Senate Impact her in precarious a way i definitely think so, but i think if youre trump maybe people advising trump counting the votes, you can lose three or four republican votes. They would need to lose 20 in the senate. Mitch mcconnell will have to give room for senators such as joni ernst, collins, mruczkowski maybe. Who are in competitive races next year to say, if you have to take this to assure your reelection, do what i have to do. Mitt romney isnt up until 2024. The incentives if romney ever wants to be president , he has to vote to remove. Otherwise he becomings irrelevant. Maybe mruczkowski. I dont see collins. Im not going to say never her recent history on a tough vote was the kavanaugh vote. She voted with the home team. I dont see why that changes. She could get primaried from her right by someone like governor le page if she were to break from republicans on this. I think the incentives wore strangely. Guys will come back. Ill have you weigh in on a huge week of 2020 news in a bit. But first, a focus on the frontrunn frontrunner. Spoiler its still joe biden. [ dramatic music ]ing ] ahhhh ahhhh elliott. You came back in the red file tonight, joe bidens buoyancy. Today is the last day of the former Vice President s no ma larky bus tour through iowa, where he was feeling poetic. This has been the greatest honor ive ever had. Theres many more promises to keep, miles and miles to go before we sleep, for real. The next stop on the campaign trail for him, the early primary state of New Hampshire. Despite uneven campaign trail and debate performances, biden has remained aflowed, abu yesterday by name recognition and an extensive career in politics. In an attempt to spark enthusiasm, he released a powerful campaign ad that contrasted his Foreign Policy chops with reaction from world leaders, to trump that painted the president as a literal laughingstock. Biden picked up the endorsement of former secretary of state john kerry who joined him on the campaign trail, but it wasnt all good. A runin with a hostile voter showed a different side of biden, not one that everyone liked, but hes still on top. Here to discuss is mitch landrieu. Mr. Mayor biden has been taking heavy incoming from the moment he entered the race. Hes had gaffs, far from perfect moments, yet has remained a frontrunner through all of it. To what do you attribute his staying power . I think that people know him, and people like him. Hes been around a long time. I think that family 23e89 good about him when he got in the race. Candidates go up and go down from time to time, but i think its been amazing from the beginning he stayed on top. He had a pretty good week last night, notwithstanding that interaction, and some people liked it. He just quoted robert frost. That was amazing. I know. But i think he had a good week. As you get into iowa and New Hampshire, hishs a bit until water there. I think he knows its game time. I didnt mean to interrupt, but i think he does know that, and it shows. That ad he put out, smart. But i wanted to know what you thought. Could that also maybe backfire . You know, a lot of democratic voters dont agree with some of his Foreign Policy decisions. Well, i think thats probably true. All these candidates have strengths and weaknesses. What has been consistent is he has stayed at the top of the polls, a lot of democratic operatives expected him to fall, and fall sooner than this. He continues to do fairly well in the national polls. I think New Hampshire is in play. Mayor buttigieg has done well there. And it looks like it went fairly well from all indications. Well, dont get me started, i dont want to talk about Deval Patrick or michael bloomberg. Youll just get me angry. John kerrys endorsement is not insignificant, but also not surprising. Theyre you have the same era, same political mold, do you think biden needs the endorsement of younger, Fresher Party leaders to make a real impact . I think theres no question. Every one of these candidates would love every endorsement they can get. I think you see some every one of these counts but secretary kerry i think had a Good International reputation. So bidens points have tried to paint him as insufficiently progressive. For mes a voters thats correct assist sill point, are candidates doing biden a favor, helping to sell him to modera s moderates . Well, listen, we have 21 candidates. All of them span the entire spectrum. This race has been about one think whether or not the Democratic Party is ready for a revolution or whether or not the country wants a transition. Moderates have reasserted themselves later in the campaign than earlier. It will resolve itself one way or the other. I think a country wants a transition, and theyre looking for somebody to governs the whole country. I think they help him a bit, but that battle is not over yet. That debate has yet to form fully. Its going to be like a murder mystery at the end. Elizabeth warren will have to take on bernie, and biden a going to have to slay buttigieg the other surprise is how open the rate is at this point. I predicted wrongly that we would be down to two candidates by now, but thats not happening Elizabeth Warren has very strong, Bernie Sanders has had great staying power. Pete has run an amazing campaign. Who knows . A lot of people are surprised by bidens staying power. Two just came in were going the other direction. Yeah, thats right. Thanks so much, s. E. Good to be with you. Thank you. Beyond biden theres a accident other candidates, but it will look different in a few short weeks. Thats becoming a concern. Stick around. The 2020 race got a huge shakeup. Camera harry stunned with her announcement shes quitting. And Elizabeth Warren has done retooling, including a new focus on trying to make Pete Buttigieg down a peg. A record he initially said an nda prevented him from discussing. This week he asked mckenzie to release him. So he could allay any concerns. To discuss this, assistant editor at the Washington Post david swerlick. And shermichael henderson. With kamala harris, i think she jumped out too soon, plus she is qualified for the next debate. Why not at least wait that long . I think money was an issue. There was some concern about potentially some bridges in her home state of california. I think shes thinking long term. Some of the strategies that i think the campaign made overall, she never really sort of defined who she was. Why are you doing this . What are your two or three points . What is your key constituency, so when you do dip, you have that base of supporters to he sustain you. All campaigns have to ask those questions very early on. I think that played a part. She made a decision to sort of, um, hide. I thought her best, you know being a prosecutor, because sh felt like she had to. That put her in a tough spot in terms of distinguishing herself. David, also with her dropping out, the racial makeup of the primary has changed. Is it a problem for democrats now that the top tier of candidates is all white . You willy i dont think it would be a problem, but i think its noteworthy you started with this incredibly field, and the big four are all white, but i think the bigger issues are whether they go down the more progressive than ideological. This is one time we definitely agree about senator harris. 1979 roger mudd asked ted kennedy why do you want to be president , and he couldnt answer it. She never was able to say why i want to be president. The good news for her, i think shell get another chance. Elizabeth warren is now going after mayor pete. Is that smart . Theres a lot of things to criticize pete on. Going after mckenzie three years out, i dont know if thats smart. I might focus on his mar kroy in south bend, particular as it relates to africanamericans. I would also add, if i could quickly, now that mayor pete is the frontrunner in iowa, hes under scrutiny with a lot of tough questions about his fundraisers, why he hasnt made it public. We know a lot of democratic voters like it to be public, and hes having a different time. If hi wavers too much, he may find himself in trouble joe biden showed a strong standing. If you look at the past, theres still opportunity for like a biden or warren to you know, david, its so interesting. You know, i remember Pete Buttigiegs early entree into the race and how much press he did. I remember saying joe biden should do what pete is doing, and talk to anyone anywhere anytime. Yes, now as we look back, it seems like the media might have been easy on pete, maybe not enough screwed any. Hes getting it now, as he should, but do you think the presses sort of just a little too late waking up to investigating who he is . I think there was an appropriate amount of scrutiny when he was behind in the pack. Now that hes a frontrunner, there could be more scrutiny. Probably to your point he probably benefited that hes peaking late in the race when now the field has narrowed. He has fundraising and name recognition. If he had faced more of this scrutiny six months ago, it might have been harder. As in a nascar fan, this is like the race. You only have to win the last race. David and shermichael, thank you. One more candidate, and im going to need to speak to your manager. What if numbers tell only half the story . At t. Rowe price, hundreds of our experts go beyond the numbers to examine Investment Opportunities firsthand. Like a biotech firm that engineers a patients own cells to fight cancer. This is strategic investing. Because your investments deserve the full story. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. Only roomba i7 uses two multisurface rubber brushes. And picks up more pet hair than other robot vacuums. And the filter captures 99 of dog and cat allergens. If its not from irobot, its not a roomba™. We need a solution. Ut their phones down. Introducing. Smartdogs. The first dogs trained to train humans. Stopping drivers from liking. Selfieing. And whatever this is. Available to the public. Never. Smartdogs are not the answer. But geico has a simple tip. Turn on do not disturb while driving mode. Brought to you by geico. So nice to meet you june, jay, ji, kay, raj, and. Ray good job, brain say hello to neuriva, a new brain supplement with clinically proven ingredients that fuel five indicators of brain performance. Neuriva. Mikey doesnt like it. Working for Mike Bloomberg apparently requires sacrifices. One of them real journalism. The recently announced candidate placed a ban on Bloomberg Media reporters. They are not allowed to investigate him, his finances or any of the other Democratic Candidates. They can investigates the incumbent. Trump has retaliated by banning bloomberg reporters from his rallies. One former news director said it relegated them to stenography journalism. He said, we just have to learn to live with some things, adding bloomberg reporters get a paycheck, but with paychecks comes restrictions and responsibilities. This is a lot of things, selfinterested, hypocritical, undemocratic and well, unacceptable. If this is any indication of the kind of president Mike Bloomberg would be, we dont need another selfinterested powerabusing presssilencing, democracybashing king wannabe in the white house. Bloomberg reporters deserve better, so do reporters. One quick programming note tomorrow live the 20 19 cnn hero the of year is named. Its an allstar attribute sunday night at 8 00. Ill be there. Thats it for me. Up next, cnn newsroom with ana cabrera. Like viola. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her team at ctca created a Personalized Care plan that treated her cancer and strengthened her spirit. So viola could focus on her future. Their future. This is how we inspire hope. This is how we heal. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Appointments available now. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. The wait is over. Tmobile is lighting up 5g nationwide. While some 5g signals go only blocks, tmobile 5g goes miles. Beyond the big cities to the small towns. To the people. Now, millions of americans can have access to 5g on tmobile. And this is just the beginning. Tmobile, the first and only nationwide 5g network. Announcer this is cnn breaks new. Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Im ana cabrera. A shocking and sickening details on an American Navy base. A military officer from saudi arabia shot to death three people and wounded eight others yesterday. According to new york times, that gunman attended a dinner party the night before his rampage where he showed people videos of mass shootings. Also today we learned the name and a few personality die tails about one of the t