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promised dirt on hillary clinton's campaign and learned the russian government wanted his father to win the presidency. paul manafort, who was then the trump campaign chairman, also attended that meeting, along with the president's son-in-law jared kushner. donald trump, jr. said he spoke with white house aide hope hicks when news first broke. tonight, a lot of people in the white house are looking over their shoulders and wondering who said what to whom. one person who is definitely paying close attention to all this is special counsel robert mulers. -- mueller. after refusing to tell the whole story to investigators, donald trump, jr. takes to twitter tonight, like father, like son, slamming democrats and al franken saying nothing like trying to claim the moral high ground weeks after you should have, and when it's clear that it's over. no one is buying it. you can call that an incredible lack of self-awareness. blasting democrats for being late. holding al franken, whose days in the senate may well be numbered, after a number of democrats call on him to resign. glossing over the fact that his own father has never been held to account for the accusations against him. so let's start now. i want to begin with our senior congressional reporter and matthew rosenberg, as well as cnn's national security analyst and a correspondent for "the new york times." good evening to you. donald trump jr. refusing to ns questions about communications with his father before the house intel committee today. what do you know about that? >> he answered a lot of questions, don, but one thing he would not answer was what exactly he discussed with his father after the news broke in "the new york times" earlier this year about this meeting that occurred in june of 2016 at trump tower where jared kushner, paul manafort was there, and we have now learned he was promised dirt from the russians on the clinton campaign and was told in an e-mail communication that the russian government wanted to help his father win the election. now, after donald trump, jr. published those e-mails on his twitter account, he did, in fact, meet with his father. we're now learning after that occurred. after he put those on twitter. now, he said that he would not respond to questions about that meeting with his father, because he said attorney-client privilege, since there were attorneys in the room. that's what he told the lawmakers today as part of this session. democrats were not happy about this. adam schiff came on afterwards saying you can't invoke attorney client privilege like this, he's pushing them to respond to those questions. don, republicans on the other end, they seemed satisfied. mike conaway the top republican who is investigating this russian issue on the house side, said look, he answered all our questions. they didn't see a need to call donald trump jr. back. >> let's break this down a little more. don junior did say that he spoke to hope hicks when confronted with the news reports of the trump tower meeting with russia, right? >> yeah, that's right. sources are telling us that in fact, that's what he did testify today, he changed text messages with hope hicks, once he was confronted that this news was about to break about this trump tower meeting, and, of course, that initial response was not entirely accurate. they gave a small picture of what happened in this meeting. they did not say -- donald trump, jr. did not say initially he was promised dirt on the clinton campaign. we know there was some white house involvement, according to donald trump jr.'s testimony today. we know there was an effort on air force one to craft a response that president trump himself was involved with. donald trump, jr. did not say he talked directly with his father about the response, but by acknowledging that the white house communications director was involved, it raises questions about whether or not the white house is trying to mislead the public in anyway about what this trump tower meeting was about, and whether they were trying to mislead investigators as well, don. >> matthew, you're also speaking to your sources about don junior's, testimony. what are you learning? >> there's the issue of whether this conversation was somehow subject to attorney client privilege. we also heard that the subject of his e-mails or twitter messages with wikileaks came up. he compared wikileaks to another media organization, said it was just like jake tapper at cnn. and, you know, there are also questions about phone calls he made around the meeting in june 2016 with the russian lawyer. some of those calls still remain unclear. mostly what we heard is that mr. trump had a lot of i do not recall answers, do not recall this, i do not recall that. certainly frustrating to the democrats on the committee. republicans feel otherwise. going into this, there are a lot of questions, and i don't get the impression many of them were cleared up. >> why are they so concerned about it? they feel that he is just not being straightforward with him? you said republicans are okay with it, democrats are not? >> this committee is incredibly divided. far more divided than it's counterpart on how to proceed in this investigation. that meeting, what went on in trump tower, there's questions about who knew what when, whether donald trump himself knew anything about it. i don't think those have been satisfactorily answered as far as the democrats are concerned, or for other investigations. the public still has a lot of questions too. >> matthew, thank you very much, i appreciate that. i want to turn to a member of the house committee. congressman, thank you for joining us. so many questions this evening. your colleague and ranking member adam schiff wasn't thrilled that donald trump jr. refused to discuss his conversations with president trump about the trump tower meeting, citing attorney client privilege. you heard that in the reporting, and you were -- members were there. what can you tell us about that? >> i can tell you this, don. then candidate donald trump was not donald trump jr.'s attorney. donald trump jr. was not the candidate's attorney. there's no attorney client privilege at work here whatsoever. i want to make another observation about this. in light of the tweet that donald junior sent out tonight. there's a fundamental misunderstanding being made by the trump administration. they are misapplying their chaos theory, which has worked pretty well for them in the political realm, to the legal realm, the truth of the matter is, during the campaign and even in the last 11 months, the daily tweet storm of provocative, outrageous things has had a way of serving them well. by deceiving, deflecting, distracting from whatever else was in the news and they were under the gun for. the truth of the matter is, bob mueller doesn't care at all about donald trump jr.'s tweets or donald trump sr.'s tweets in so far as they may be used as evidence. in a legal proceeding going forward. there's the political environment, there's a legal environment and they're confusing the two. >> i would imagine, i don't want to put words in your mouth, did you think that donald trump jr. was trying to hide something by citing attorney-client privilege? if you believe that, what do you think he's trying to hide? >> so the fact of the matter is, over several dozen witnesses, if truly i had a nickel for every time somebody had said, i do not recall, i do not believe so, to the best of my recollection, i could add all that together and retire on the interest paid on the principle sum. >> congresswoman jackie spears, who has been on this show a number of times, says that donald trump, jr. has a serious case of amnesia. >> that would distinguish him from a lot of the other witnesses how, don? >> listen, i wasn't there. i don't know. do you know how -- >> you may not have been there, but your report tonight you almost were there. >> do you know how many times he said, donald trump, jr., i don't recall in this meeting? >> i don't. interestingly enough, a couple witnesses ago, i started makes numbers on my yellow pad, and in the first 40 minutes i hit 23 and i gave up. >> what can you tell us about his demeanor, he was with you guys for eight hours, was he calm, combative? >> no, mostly calm. i'm not incredibly comfortable characterizing in too particular elements what the transaction was there, but i will say this. a couple of the gaps have been highlighted here in this report understandably so. we also learned some things, which i'm not at liberty to reveal, that i think helped move this forward. the truth of the matter is, i think we get a little bit of that with each and every witness. notwithstanding the number of times they say, i don't recollect, i don't remember or i don't believe so. we get a little something out of every one of them, it's our job to string them together, identify where the inconsistencies are, and take the seeds of truth and fact and piece it all together in our work product going forward. >> let's talk about your colleagues on the other side of the aisle. republicans, how did they respond to don junior invoking attorney client privilege? >> so i think what's a mistake is to characterize what's happening in the select intelligence committee is a purely partisan undertaking, there's no question, and everybody can see it for what it is, that there are varying degrees of enthusiasm from the majority party. especially compared to those of us who believe this is an existential threat to our democracy, ie russian interference in our election, and we're duty bound to get to the bottom of it. you can't paint all republicans with the same brush. there are some who deeply believe that what the russians did was wrong, and they want to get at the truth, and there are some that believe we have to come up with recommendations about how we can protect ourselves against this going into the future. the truth is, the next general election in this country, the midterms, they're like 11 months away, so we need to get on with our work. >> congressman denny heck, thank you, sir. i appreciate it. >> you're welcome. when we come back, the president's son claimed attorney/client privilege, when he refused to say what he and his father discussed about his trump tower meeting. why would he need to do that? 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[screams] ah, my phone. ♪you built the flame ♪that warms my heart, ♪but lying and cheating ♪has torn us apart ♪and i'm moving on. we have breaking news tonight on the russian investigation. donald trump jr. won't tell lawmakers what he and the president discussed about his meeting with russians. two senior analysts are here. good evening to both of you, so glad to have you on. you first, laura. i want to first get your reaction to don junior refusing to tell the house investigators what he discussed with his father, after reports surfaced about that trump tower meeting. invoking attorney client privilege about these hearings. does that apply? >> it doesn't seem to be at all. it's kind of an absurd principle. it would say, because a lawyer is in the room with you, the attorney client privilege attaches. here in washington, d.c., you throw a rock, you're going to hit about 42 attorneys, our conversation right now, would be attorney/client privilege, if that was the only requirement you have to have. you have to have a conversation intended to be confidential. if he's talking to his father, there's no advice being given or being solicited, how could it attach? >> richard, if you agree with that, by citing attorney-client privilege, the question becomes what might he be hiding? >> well, it's clear that this was not a spur of the moment invocation. donald junior must have anticipated with his attorneys that he would be asked this question. as laura points out, attorney client privilege only applies when an individual is seeking advice from an attorney and providing information in order for the attorney to provide legal advice. we don't know who these lawyers are, i bet you they were not donald trump's attorneys and probably not personal attorneys for his father. a conversation with hope hicks who may be an attorney, wouldn't be privileged because she wasn't acting in an attorney capacity, so this is bogus and just one more distraction he'll have to come back, i'm sure and clarify whether he's invoking a fifth amendment privilege which is his privilege to do, or some other valid privilege. >> got you, he's going to have to answer for that, you think? rich, is he in any legal jeopardy? >> he's in legal jeopardy, if he has participated in an unlawful conspiracy, to aid and assist the hacking of information from -- >> not legal jeopardy from his testimony today? invoking the attorney client privilege of saying he doesn't recall? >> no, unless his testimony was -- as i understand it, given under oath, if he stated that he could not recall things that he obviously should have recalled. that's not an absolute guarantee you won't be prosecuted for perjury. i've been involved in the prosecution of individuals including in watergate, who said they couldn't recall and it was proved that they were lying. >> don junior also testified that he spoke to hope hicks, not directly with his father when he was confronted with these new reports oh of that june 2016 meeting. does it matter who he spoke to if hope hicks was with the president on air force one? >> i think he's trying to distance himself and prove loyalty to his father. that's a worthwhile endeavor, it's not going to satisfy robert mueller because it does not exonerate donald trump, if he was a participant in a discussion that was going to mislead either the public which is okay to do, but ultimately to mislead any investigators in this particular claim. even if it was someone who had more of a tertiary or outside role, if it was still a role, he has not exonerated his father. i'm sure he's satisfied the loyalty test that his father often has invoked. >> he may have sent text messages to a former business colleague about a plan to join russia on an energy project, allegedly texting it was good to go and sanctions would be ripped up. flynn's lawyers are denying it. is this going to be about following the money, you think, all of this? >> absolutely. you almost have the impression to follow the money, when you do so, you will find that michael flynn -- first of all, mueller is already aware of his money endeavors, which is probably why he had enough leverage to convince him to take a guilty plea. he had a partisan based interest, removing the sanctions that were imposed while he was still a civilian, although he may have violated the logan act. you also have somebody who was trying to have an actual financial benefit from an actual policy. in both accounts, you have corroboration, someone with a duplicitous intent was able to be manipulated and had a reason to be subject to manipulation by someone trying to collude with them for interference in the election. >> go ahead, richard. >> this is outrageous if it is true, that the national security adviser would immediately upon the swearing-in of the new president be texting a former business partner giving him inside information about allowing russian participation in a nuclear deal. >> so if it is true, if something is fishy here, could there be more charges? >> only if they are new and haven't been disclosed by flynn. otherwise, they would be covered by his plea agreement. just to clarify, to follow the money conversation never occurred. that was made up -- >> it was good in the movie, though. >> i had to account for all the president's men. >> you want to believe me or the movie? >> the movie. >> i believe you. it's important to mention that one of the reasons that the attorneys for at least his business partners are saying this has never taken place, aside from weather it was a movie or figment of my imagination, the reason they're saying this is michael nine right now, upon having taken a guilty plea is the quintessential persona nongrata. they don't know what he's exposed. they do not want to be associated with somebody who may be in the complete line of fire of robert mueller. and perhaps a congressional probe. it's very likely they're saying this never took place. again, if he did have this conversation, and the main question has to be, how did he maintain his security clearance if he disclosed information about having a financial intere interest? somewhere along the line on this money trail, somebody has not disclosed and there is a violation of law. >> if he sent a text, bob mueller will find it. >> i have to go. whether it was in the movie or not, he will find it. it's paid off for a lot of investigations. thank you both. richard, i believe you, as well. when we come back, the president setting off a firestorm by recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel. now there are warnings of turmoil in the area. fareed zakaria will join me next with his an leopinion of the situation. i mean wish i had time to take care of my portfolio, but.. well, what are you doing tomorrow -10am? staff meeting. noon? eating. 3:45? uh, compliance training. 6:30? sam's baseball practice. 8:30? tai chi. yeah, so sounds relaxing. alright, 9:53? i usually make their lunches then, and i have a little vegan so wow, you are busy. wouldn't it be great if you had investments that worked as hard as you do? yeah. introducing essential portfolios. the automated investing solution that lets you focus on your life. - [narrator] custom ink t-shirts have this incredible power to bring people together for families, school groups, reunions, and companies big and small. so for your next gathering or event, visit customink.com. our design lab has tons of fonts, colors, and amazing artwork to choose from. you can even upload your own logo, and we'll help make it perfect. check out our huge selection of custom t-shirts and more. you'll even get free shipping. get started today at customink.com. you'll even get free shipping. touch is how we communicate with those we love, but when your psoriasis is bad, does it ever get in the way? 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>> well, you know, here we have the guy that keeps telling us he's the world's greatest negotiator. he's just made a preemptive concession without getting anything in return from one side in what is the most complicated negotiation in the world. so i don't know anybody who understands why he would do this preet preemptively without getting anything in return. i understand the merits of recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel. it is de facto. it will continue to be. but in the complicated middle east diplomacy, this was always left for the end. this whole idea was, you give this to the israelis and they give something in return. if you're trying to may that game, if you're trying to get a deal, why only do one side? it's not tethered to any process, it's not announced with any reciprocal concession by the israelis or any deal with the palestinians. it feels as though it's a symbolic slap in the face of millions of palestinians, tens of millions of arabs without doing anything. >> a campaign promise, it was a campaign promise -- >> so was building the wall and getting mexico to pay for it. >> but this seems purely political in the sense that it was a campaign promise, and i think the one thing people are mentioning is bringing a promise of not expansion settlements. >> we have no concession from the israelis on this, that we know of, that will stick. look, this whole issue has always been a phony issue created for american politics. do you know where it comes from? congress in 1995 sponsored a bill saying the united states is going to recognize jerusalem as the capital. bob dole, the republican nominee for president, wanted to show that he was pro-israeli. he latches onto the issue, turns it into a bill. it passes, and it has this waiver. and everyone understood the president would keep exercise thing waiver so it was meaningless. so it started as an act of political pandering and ended as pandering. >> let's listen to the president today. here he is. >> we want an agreement that is a great deal for the israelis, and a great deal for the palestinians. so today, we call for calm, for moderation, and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate. >> palestinian officials say this will bolster extremist calls for holy warswars. do you agree with that? >> it makes it hard for the u.s. to claim to be an honest broker, to claim it's trying to look out for the interests of both sides. when you're trying to do these negotiations, you always need that reputation, because you are trying to get each side to make concessions. the palestinians are so weak, so divided, so dysfunctional. israel is so strong. i don't really think it changes. it increases the despair of palestinians. it increases the reality that they are, you know, they are in this lose-lose situation. could that at some point explode? yeah, but israel has a really tight grip on the situation. they have built a wall, israel's army is now elite compared to any potential competitors. it just adds to the dysfunction and despair. for those israelis that don't want to live with 6 million people who live on territory israel controls but don't have their own country, it adds to the moral embarrassment of a country like israel, which is a real democracy, having this kind of weird population in a quasi-colonial -- >> let's talk about what it means here. vice president pence stood behind the president today. in 2002, here's what he said to congressional quarterly. he said my support for israel stems from my faith in the bible. the vice president is a key go between with evangelical groups in the administration. so this deliberation about jerusalem, why is it so important to evangelical christians? >> evangelicals like pence do believe, they have a literal interpretation of the bible. they see israel as part of the narrative, particularly of the old testament. you know, it is possible that president trump was thinking about the roy moore election and the role that evangelicals could play there. it is possible that he was thinking about some of the other very prominent backers he had. steve bannon has often pointed out that sheldon nadelson was one of the knew people that stayed with trump the day after the "access hollywood" tapes came out. so there is some kind of deep loyalty there. but it's a very odd thing for the united states to have done. the united states has managed to be this extraordinary arbiter of peace in the middle east. it's tried to be a force for stability for peace, for reconciliation, and what we are now moving into is the united states, it's kind of nakedly partisan. so most of american policy in the middle east is now nakedly anti-iranian. which is basically like we just signed on to the saudi agenda. whether it's in yemen or in qatar. in yemen, we are supporting saudi arabia in a war that's about to turn into the worst famine in the world. yemen has been destroyed as a country. it may be the world's worst humanitarian crisis with. the israeli-palestinian situation, we're exacerbating the divisions and the divide rather than try to heal it. so the whole idea of the united states as this broader power that had a more peripheral vision, was worried about peace and stability, is going away, and we're turning into one more of the very partisan, sectarian actors, picking sides. >> that's what president abbas said, we've lost the rule of arbiter. >> when you're the king of saudi arabia, the pope and the european union all criticizing you, you've probably done something questionable. >> always a measure. thank you, fareed zakaria. when we come back, over 30 democratic senators now calling on senator al franken to resign. the senator saying he'll make an announcement tomorrow. will he resign? should he resign? could that force the gop to re-examine accusations plaguing members of their own party? it's what's insiden't the person who opens it. give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions. save 30% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com. it's just my eczema again,t. but it's fine. yeah, it's fine. you ok? eczema. it's fine. hey! hi! aren't you hot? eczema again? it's fine. i saw something the other day. eczema exposed. your eczema could be something called atopic dermatitis, which can be caused by inflammation under your skin. maybe you should ask your doctor? go to eczemaexposed.com to learn more. minnesota senator al franken set to make an announcement tomorrow. it is up clear whether he plans to resign over allegations over sexual harassment. but 32 colleagues are calling on him to step down. let's stdiscuss now with my pan. good evening. fascinating place where we are in politics today. molly, the trank ranks of democ senators calling for his resignation growing and growing. why do you think today was a tipping point? >> you can tell there have been a lot of conversations behind the scenes and this was a coordinated effort. you had the democratic women stepping out to say we find this unacceptable, and then the minority leader chuck schumer apparently having had conversations with senator franken, and when he did not succeed in that behind the scenes lobbying effort, also making a public statement near the end of the day. so i think the combination of the weight of the multiple accusations, now that there have been i believe seven or eight against senator franken, and just the length of time that this has gone on, it reached a critical mass. so you had pretty much -- most of the caucus now having called on him to resign. >> do you think democrats realize they would be limited in their response to roy moore and they were losing the moral high ground. >> i don't think that's what led to this. based on the conversations i've had with people with knowledge how this came to be, the democratic women senators in particular have been very troubled by the accusations against franken and were giving him some space to kind of do the right thing. and i think when you had the seventh accuser come out, that is when you said, okay, this is just too much. we can't give you any more time. they -- as kirsten gillibrand said, she believed the women. so they wanted him to do the right thing, so they called on him to resign. >> how many times can you keep repeating, i'm sorry, i didn't mean to do it, what have you. john, where do you think republicans should be on this? can they credibly call for frank -- franken's resignatioresigna? >> there are certain issues in this country that there would be unanimous opinions, all standing up as one, criticizing this behavior on either side of the aisle. there are some things that transcend politics, and certainly harassment, public affairs, denial, a lot of the things we're seeing on the news today we should be standing up as one. there was a lot of condemnation of moore. just like with franken, it hasn't been universal. but a lot of republicans did step up and criticize moore, and i'm glad to see the same thing is happening with franken. >> i think that it's pretty universal now with franken. >> it's very universal with franken. i would say yes, it's true, a lot of the republican establishment did criticize moore. what's a little different, they've come back around and they didn't like moore in the first place. democrats really liked franken. gillibrand has a good relationship with him, and there could be a price to pay with the base, as well. they love al franken. so the better analogy is donald trump and donald trump, no one is calling on him -- >> he's never been held to account. i talked about how don junior, after testifying today, didn't talk about that. according to people who were there, he wasn't forthcoming, but then comes out and talks about democrats. i've got to ask you about this, john. this is something where -- this is universal. where everyone should be in the same place. but chris christie today showed a bit of a double standard. we're hearing from republicans on why they won't denounce roy moore. listen to this. >> if roy moore is elected, it is a reflection of the opinion of the voters of alabama. nothing more, nothing less. if we're going to make john conyers leave, the longest serving member of congress has to resign, al franken has to go. >> he's saying the same standard applies, except for roy moore. does that make much sense? >> it's literally true that the voters of alabama will make this decision. but what he was being asked is what he thinks they should do, and who he thinks deserves to be in the congress. you know, the only people who could fire al franken, except outside of whatever disciplinary proceedings, are the voters of minnesota. but that doesn't stop his colleagues and others from weighing in and saying whether they think this is acceptable behavior for somebody who is in the united states senate. so you do hear -- and you hear this from both sides. this has become a politicized issue. where republicans were saying why should we have to abandon roy moore if democrats are sticking by their people. now you have democrats saying it's not fair that we have to lose someone that we like, al franken, when the republicans get to keep their dirty old man. so it is not, i don't think, a partisan phenomena, these allegations of sexual misconduct. but we are seeing a lot of partisan responses to them. >> this is not the hill you want to die on, defending this, neither republican or democrat. this issue is not it. i think everyone can agree with john. we'll talk more. stick around, everybody. when we come back, steve bannon making vicious attacks against the republican establishment. is he in a full-on war against the gop? 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[ applause ] and now i'm going to get personal. you ran for commander in chief. you had five sons. not one day of service in afghanistan and iraq. >> john, listen. the president, the current president who he fought for was an adviser to, had multiple draft deferments, four for college and another for bone spurs in his heels. and bannon was of fighting age during the vietnam, stayed in college, and later after the war joined the navy. he did serve. but the question here, hypocrisy much? >> look. i know steve relatively well. you have to put steve in context a little bit. first he's a smart strategist. he figured out for the president what states to concentrate on to win 270. without steve bannon i don't think trump would have won the presidency. second of all, what steve was trying to do here -- and let's remember, steve did serve in the navy. at least he has some authority to speak on this. but what steve was trying to do was to get the crowd excited and mitt romney was an easy target. i did the race in 2012 against mitt romney in the primary when rick santorum was running. santorum, beat romney in alabama -- >> that doesn't give you -- >> let me finish. >> license to be an ass and a hypocrite and talk about someone's service. why is he measuring mitt romney by -- >> i'm giving you the rationale and context. >> okay. >> with that saying, i think steve was wrong to do it. >> all right. >> i got to know mitt romney personally as an honorable man. i think he's done great things for this country. i think he cares a lot about the country. so i think it was an unfair criticism. i think that was the motivation of why steve was doing it. >> it's interesting you said that, that you said it's something he needed to say -- >> can you hold on, kirsten? 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>> the whole point is -- >> he's attacking mitt romney who is a guy who ran -- >> what is the race about? in republican politics today it's about making changes, go with the trump agenda, get rid of the establishment. and what they're really scared is letting somebody like doug jones go join the democrats and have more votes. >> i have to go. top of the hour. i want to talk about "time" magazine with you guys. but i didn't. we'll talk about it next hour. where was gretchen carlson? where was she? >> that's a great question. that's a great question. i don't know the answer. >> thank you. see you soon. this is cnn tonight. i am don lemon. it is 11:00 p.m. on the east coast. we're live with breaking news tonight. the president's own son and name sake donald trump, jr., refusing today in a marathon all day session to tell the house intel committee that he and his father discussed after news broke about his june 2016 meeting in trump tower with a russian lawyer who trump, jr., believed had dirt on hillary clinton's campaign. the president's son invoking attorney-client privilege. the top democrat, adam schiff, saying this about trump junior's testimony. >> he answered the overwhelming majo
New-yorkUnited-statesJerusalemIsrael-general-IsraelAlabamaWashingtonVietnamRepublic-ofMinnesotaWhitehouseDistrict-of-columbia president of the united states to efforts to shake down ukraine, to force them into investigations that could help him politically here at home. the testimony devastating to the president. but in the week ahead, we're going to hear from three of the most important witnesses answering questions on live tv with millions of people across this country hanging on every single word. first we have bill taylor, a top diplomat in the ukraine. we have state department official george kent. and former ambassador marie yovanovitch. what they say will be crucial to the investigation and to the democrats' efforts to connect the dots and convince the american people that the president's conduct is impeachable. one house democrat leadership aide telling cnn, they have to start strong, saying, quote, the first hearing has got to be a blockbuster. we're going to get into all of that tonight. first, here's alex marquardt with where we stand in the investigation right now. >> the committee ought to release the entire record of all of their witnesses. >> no transparency, no accountability, no due process. >> reporter: after repeated calls for transparency from the president and his defenders, last week republicans finally got what they were asking for. or did they? >> the case for impeaching president trump is about to become a live tv blockbuster. >> reporter: the first transcripts from the impeachment inquiry. >> here you go, hot off the presses. >> reporter: next week, open hearings are scheduled, following the thousands of pages of testimony released of eight of the witnesses at the heart of the ukraine saga. mckinley, yovanovitch, volker, taylor, kent, sondeman, vindman, and hill. account after account further confirming one consistent theme. >> it looks like the president and his inner circle were engaged in efforts to extort the ukrainian government to do their political bidding. >> reporter: among the first transcripts released was that of former ambassador to ukraine marie yovanovitch who testified that the shadow ukraine policy led by rudy giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, was a, quote, partisan game, a game that would eventually result in her own removal from ukraine. >> she was sworn in as ambassador, u.s. ambassador to ukraine in 2016. she was unexpectedly recalled from her post in may, much earlier than suspended. >> reporter: fiona hill testified that the ousting of yovanovitch, a well-respected diplomat, was a turning point. >> this was a move orchestrated by giuliani based on interests that had nothing to do with foreign policy. >> reporter: yovanovitch testified that late last year she learned from ukrainian officials about a concerted campaign by giuliani and a former ukrainian prosecutor to undermine her and that they were going to, quote, do things, including to me. george kent, the top state department official on ukraine, corroborated her story, testifying that a ukrainian prosecutor was behind the campaign. >> this was like a thriller. all these people spreading rumors, undermining her position. >> there is a history of this. you expect her to be smeared by corrupt ukrainians and russian interests because she was implementing u.s. foreign policy with respect to corruption. what's new is that president trump and rudy giuliani really allowed themselves to believe these conspiracy theories. >> reporter: yovanovitch told lawmakers she learned she was being sent home at 1:00 a.m. with a phone call from the state department. she was told, this is about your security, you need to come home immediately, you need to come home on the next plane. >> that smear campaign orchestrated by this irregular channel was successful in removing a u.s. ambassador. >> reporter: on the july 25th call, the president told his ukrainian counterpart, yovanovitch is going to go through some things. asked by house investigators if she felt threatened, yovanovitch responded yes. >> i've heard very, very bad things about her for a long period of time. not good. >> reporter: the campaign to remove a use ambassador disturbed many others at the state department as well, including michael mckinley, a former senior adviser to secretary of state mike pompeo who went to his boss three times, according to his testimony, urging pompeo to release a statement in support of yovanovitch, which pompeo has publicly denied. >> it's deeply troubling when the secretary of state is lying to the american public about anything and most certainly when he's lying about any step to protect a member of his staff. >> reporter: perhaps the most stunning development of the week came not from a transcript but instead, a correction to one. a three-page addendum from long time republican donor turned diplomat, ambassador to the european union gordon sondland. >> a really stunning reversal. the president's ambassador to the european union, gordon sondland, suddenly remembering, it appears, there was a quid pro quo with ukraine. >> this was a major flip-flop. >> reporter: in his new testimony, sondland not only reversed his position, he also recalled that it was he who told ukrainian officials about the holdup. i said that the resumption of u.s. aid would likely not occur until ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement. >> that's his opinion. all i can say is that the president of ukraine didn't believe that. the president of the united states on the phone call didn't say that. >> there seems to be a distancing that's under way between the white house and ambassador sondland. now that sondland has changed his story a bit and said that he understood that there was a quid pro quo. >> reporter: while sondlan's reversal may have been the week's most of the surprising news, the testimony from the top u.s. diplomat in ukraine, bill taylor, may prove to be the most damning to the trump defense. >> sources sell cnn white house official appear the most concerned about bill taylor. >> bill taylor has the respect of generals, of former secretaries of state, of former presidents. and it is more difficult for them to demonize him is a radical. >> reporter: taylor testified that he was told about a meeting on september 1st between sondland and a top aide to president zelensky in which sondland told the aide, the security assistance money would not come until president zelensky committed to pursue the burisma investigation. everything was dependent on such an announcement. that kind of announcement, says taylor, could create a, quote, nightmare scenario. >> if president zelensky went out publicly and said that he was willing to investigate burisma and this 2016 election issue, it would look like he was a pawn of president trump's. that could diminish democratic support for ukraine going forward. >> reporter: while trump defenders like congressman jim jordan argue that in the end it all worked out, ukraine got the aid they needed, fiona hill told investigators the damage has already been done. the manner in which we got to this point, she said, has been extraordinarily corrosive. it got to this point because the orders were coming from the top, the president's office. in a just-released transcript, lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, top ukraine expert on the national security council, told lawmakers there was no ambiguity, that in order for ukraine's president to get a meeting at the white house, they were told they had to investigate the bidens. >> it's a hoax. this is just like the russian witch hunt. >> reporter: vindman and hill both saying it was acting chief of staff mick mulvaney who told sondland to make it clear to the ukrainians they would not get a white house meeting unless they started investigations, a quid pro quo that mulvaney admitted to before walking it back. >> we do that all the time. get over it. >> as dramatic as last week was, this week promises to be even more so as we now move into the next phase, open hearings. public testimony scheduled later in the week for ambassador taylor, george kent, and ambassador marie yovanovitch, all of whom offered that damning testimony about quid pro quo and the rogue ukraine policy. now they're expected to do it in front of the cameras. washington bracing for yet another historic week, don. >> alex, thank you very much, appreciate it. i want to bring in dana bash and laura coates, good evening to both of you. dana, a devastating week for this president. multiple people from inside his administration testifying that he tried to shake down ukraine's president. what is the most damning evidence and where does the investigation stand right now? >> i think it's what you just said, the totality of what alex put in his excellent piece. it was based on the fact that it wasn't just the reporting that our team and others did in talking to lawmakers after these closed door depositions, but the actually depositions themselves, the transcripts. we see now in black and white a pattern of all of these officials having stories that match up. and that story is a quid pro quo. and i think, as alex said, of all of those, perhaps the most important this week was gordon sondland who is not a deep stater, he basically bought his way into the ambassadorship, he did it the old fashioned way, the swampy way as trump would say, by giving $1 million to his inauguration. he changed his testimony because he realized he was not on the same page with the people telling the truth. >> laura, these public hearings will bring life to these transcripts on cable and on broadcast networks. now the burden is on the democrats really to tell americans the story of what happened, why this is wrong, why it's impeachable. how do they do it? >> they have to do a consistent narrative. they have to craft and be storytellers, truth tellers but nonetheless storytellers. they have to give the american people a timeline of events from the early skepticism of someone like ambassador taylor to the skepticism of lieutenant colonel vindman and how these individuals who were not working side by side had different moments when they each said independently, something is wrong here and i must report it up the chain. they have to show a series of people who were essentially in their own right whistle-blowers, who internally went to the powers that be and said, there's a problem, we have to fix it, this is not right, this is not what we do. if they fail to weave that story line and get muddled down into discussions about latin terms or the idea of trying to revisit something else, they will lose the audience. why that's so important of course is remember, this is essentially the first bite at the apple. they will have these articles of impeachment discussions, presumably they'll pass the house. the second bite at the apple is the actually trial itself. in order to persuade the senate to even have a snowball's chance in hell of trying to convict, let alone remove the president, the american people have to follow along in this particular way. bite sized pieces, consistent story line, compelling testimony. one more point, remember, it was mr. butterfield who behind closed doors in the nixon watergate hearings was the one to say, yeah, he actually did have recording devices. it wasn't until he went in front of the cameras and repeated it that it had the gravitas they needed. >> who knows, maybe they'll have one here. laura mentioned latin terms, and i've been saying for weeks, why does everybody keep saying quid pro quo, it only offers a sound bite to the president to distract from the substance of what's coming out from these witnesses. after weeks of talking about quid pro quo, we're starting to hear different language now, democratic congressman eric swalwell used the word "extortion." >> we have evidence of an extortion scheme, using taxpayer dollars to ask a foreign government to investigate the president's opponent. >> is using that kind of pointed language part of a strategy for democrats now? >> it sounds that way. leon panetta, former defense secretary, was on cnn this week and he said that democrats should just use the word "bribery," that that's what it is, that's what quid pro quo, the latin term, means in english, something for something else, which is bribery. so what you just heard from eric swalwell, you're right, speaks exactly to what laura was saying, which is that this is it, this is the whole ball game, the beginning of these public hearings, and the whole notion of impeachment has to do with public opinion. nancy pelosi didn't want to bring impeachment up for months and months and months because she said the public is just not there. they weren't there before this ukraine situation happened. but they fundamentally believe and hope that these public hearings help to bring the public even further behind, not just the democrats who support it, not just some independents, but perhaps some, you know, disenchanted republicans. that's a tall order, though. >> laura, i want to talk about how the president and his allies have attacked the whistle-blower as part of their offensive strategy. they want to expose the name and question him or her. but the whistle-blower's attorney wrote a letter saying, let me be clear, should any harm befall any suspected named whistle-blower or their familiar, the blame will rest squarely with your client. laura, what are the consequences of outing the whistle-blower? >> remember, the whole spirit of the whistle-blower protection act is to ensure that no whistle-blower who is reporting on an abuse of power, who has inside knowledge and expertise, that the rest of us would not be able to have by virtue of not being in the room, not being on the call, not being privy to information, would not be retaliated against. now, retaliation takes many, many forms. it can include firing. it can be internal sanction in employment. it can include actually physical threats of violence. we're talking about a member of the intelligence community as well. we have a way of covering that community for a good reason because of the safety risks inherent in the job. the president, by encouraging people to out the whistle-blower is a form of retaliation. importantly here, remember, this is akin to shooting, although figuratively, the messenger. this whistle-blower complaint has been corroborated by more than a dozen witnesses. dana, you well know, the president and his team released a pseudo-transcript that also confirmed details. i'm not sure why the whistle-blower is nothing more at this point than an ups delivery driver. >> legally responsible if going happened to the whistle-blower? >> i think it's a stretch to connect the dots, maybe more of a tangential, but the spirit of it is there, if the president or any member of the federal government is encouraging a violation of the law, there should be consequences. >> the whistle-blower is a red herring. we've moved beyond that at this point. they're trying to distract by focusing on that. >> thank you both, i appreciate it. next, all the president's men. what are the consequences for them as the impeachment inquiry barrels ahead? 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>> so you just gave me a report about a whistle-blower complaint, none of which i've seen. >> reporter: the problem? he failed to admit that he was on that call. he has since pushed back against lawmakers' questioning state department employees, calling it intimidation and bullying, all while allowing the top u.s. diplomat to ukraine to be shoved out of her job for what appear to be purely political reasons. soon to be former energy secretary rick perry says he has done nothing wrong, still his contact with ukrainian officials came under intense scrutiny especially after trump said perry wanted him to call the ukrainian president about an energy deal, not the bidens. perry has also declined to testify. acting chief of staff mick mulvaney is the one who initially admitted the quid pro quo, said, yes, military aid was withheld from the ukrainians to force this investigation into democratic emails, "happens all the time." >> i have news for everybody. get over it. there's going to be political influence in foreign policy. i'm talking to mr. karl. that is going to happen. elections have consequences. >> reporter: later he said his words were misconstrued, there was no deal, yet he was involved in holding up that money and he has been subpoenaed and he has said he will not testify, citing absolute immunity. final, attorney general william barr is wrapped up in the ukrainian official in part because president trump put him there, telling the ukrainians on that phone call, talk to barr and talk to my personal attorney rudy giuliani, they'll help you get going on this biden investigation. barr has been traveling around the world looking into the or generals of the russia investigation, but he could face very tough questions along with all the rest of the president's men as the impeachment process rolls on, don. >> tom foreman, thank you very much. could all the president's men be in legal jeopardy? 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john dean is here with phillip lacchavara. john, as tom just reported, the president is the focus of the impeachment inquiry but there are numerous questions about the involvement of all the president's men. >> no question, don. one of the interesting things, the way this is unfolding, there is no parallel criminal investigation. under normal circumstances, the department of justice would be looking into this. barr took a pass on it, said there's no campaign act violation. he didn't really elaborate much beyond that. but that's got to be a difficulty for a number of these witnesses who are no-shows. they don't want to go up there and be forced to testify or be forced to take the fifth amendment. so this is playing out in real time for a number of these people in a potential criminal seth. >> the president expects total loyalty, we've discussed this a lot. but as more damning evidence comes out that implicates the people who are closest to him, are we going to see the limits that have loyalty tested? >> i think at some point some of these people around the president are going to start looking out for their own hides. i think you've already seen bill barr, who so far has been a fairly faithful acolyte of the president's, beginning to distance himself trying to say that he really didn't have any role in the president's suggestion to president zelensky of ukraine that bill barr would be in touch with him about getting the dirt that the president was looking for. nevertheless, barr has been running around the world, as i think dana pointed out in the earlier segment, trying to get intelligence officials in england and italy and australia to come up with some information. but more recently, he's been trying to say he has no role in any of this. i think that's an example of the likelihood that some of that's people are going to recognize that if they're on a ship that's, if not sink, will athlete get battered in the waves, they don't want to be on board. >> maybe listing. john, starting on wednesday, it's the first time we'll see televised testimony. you know something about that. let's roll the tape. >> i began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency, and if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it. i also told him that it was important that this cancer be removed immediately. >> so we have taylor, kent, yovanovitch, all expected to testify this week. are democrats starting with their strongest witnesses first? is that their strategy, john? >> it appears they have very good witnesses with wonderful credentials, true public servants who have careers in government that are not partisan in any way, and they do know the story. so they can lay it out for the public in a way that has really not been done at this point. i think that it's encouraging that a lot of people will be watching this. i understand some of the networks are going to set aside their regular programming to look at this. that's good because it will reach the broadest possible audience. >> speaking of audience, let me ask you this. would it be helpful, john, to re-run the testimony at night on broadcast or cable networks? >> very. i can't tell you, don, how big an impact, huge impact that had during watergate. when pbs did it, it's what really put pbs on the map. they really were just a struggling startup at the time watergate was unfolding. and they did the rebroadcast at night and people became but yglo them and learned what they couldn't learn because they had day jobs, at night. it would be a very good thing if somebody does it at night. >> and put ratings aside and do it as a public service. >> yes. >> the top u.s. diplomat to ukraine is bill taylor. taylor outlined the shakedown behind closed doors. how damning will it be, presumably, when he describes it on camera? >> i think that's extremely important testimony. taylor really sets the narrative for the whole thrust of this aspect of the impeachment investigation. and it's not surprising that he would be the first witness out of the box. adam schiff, who is running this whole process for speaker pelosi, is an extremely smart, skilled courtroom lawyer. he knows the importance of getting the narrative set from the first witness, from the get-go. taylor is a credible, articulate witness. i think he's going to be able to frame the issues in a way that will carry the momentum through the balance of the public testimony by other witnesses, all of whom, as far as we can tell from the transcripts, line up fairly precisely with taylor's testimony. and now we even have ambassador sondland, on whom the president had tried to rely in saying sondland had denied there was any quid pro quo, finally relenting and admitting, yeah, on further reflection, he agrees that there was a quid pro quo. and he was part of passing along those demands to the ukrainians. so i think schiff's got the right lineup of witnesses who will tell a compelling story. >> phillip, john, thank you so much, i appreciate it. polls show that about half of americans support impeaching president trump. what do voters have to say? 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cnn's reporters fanned out across the country to find out. athen athena jones wraps it up for us. >> reporter: president trump insisting he's not worried about the impeachment inquiry set to ramp up on capitol hill this week, delivering a familiar message to reporters on friday. >> it's just like the russian witch hunt. >> reporter: it's a message that has become a mantra. >> the hyperpartisan impeachment witch hunt. >> reporter: one his supporters across the country in battleground states are echoing. in michigan, which trump won by 11,000 votes after president obama carried the state twice, some trump supporters blasted the dhechls. >> democrats. >> oh, i think it's a witch hunt just like the president says. i think the democrats are just trying to overturn the results from 2016. and i think it's going to fail miserably. >> the president is doing a great job. >> i think trump's got it. >> reporter: and they praise the president's performance. >> look at the, um, real estate. a house goes on the market and it's gone in a week if it takes that long. the economy is just booming. >> reporter: but in georgia's sixth congressional district when elected a democrat to congress in 2018 after trump won it narrowly in 2016, some say no one is above the law. >> let the ballot box determine the fate of the president. >> the extent to which the administration feels they're above the law, our minds continue to be blown and there has to be a limit. >> reporter: former democrat testimony area stevens favors impeaching the president even if it energizes his supporters. >> asking for an investigation and dirt on your chief political opponent in 2020? he could potentially be going up against biden. this is what he was asking for. that has a value that well exceeds $1 million. so how people can excuse that and say, oh, it's no big deal, it's just part diplomacy. >> reporter: she says there's an important difference between the ukraine investigation and the russia investigation trump spent two years slamming. >> this is looking forward to 2020 and trying to mess around with an election we've got coming up. that's a whole new ball game. >> reporter: republicans in her district, not surprisingly, disagree. >> i think it is a sham. and it's not as much the impeachment itself as the process that they're going to that is unprecedented in the history of this country. >> reporter: and in pennsylvania, which went for trump in 2016, going red for the first time since 1988, voters split largely along party lines, with democrats ready to throw the book at trump. >> we're seeing the evidence in real time, almost. and i think that that's good enough for me to think that he's ready to go. >> i think he's violated the law, trying to exploit money that was already appropriated by the congress, and holding that up and saying, i need a favor? >> reporter: and republicans standing by the president. >> i don't think david copperfield or if harry houdini was living, they could pull a quid pro quo out of that transcript. >> reporter: how do you explain away testimony from others who say they had concerns about the call? >> those are not data points. that's opinion. and i don't know that we can necessarily try somebody based on somebody else's or a set of opinions. >> reporter: independents were similarly split. >> i have seen enough evidence in reading the transcripts and watching a variety of news sources that looks like a lot of abuse of power. >> things he has done are reprehensible and i'm embarrassed that he's our president. but i'm not a lawyer, and i don't know if those things rise to the level of high crimes. >> reporter: but back in michigan, even those who support the inquiry have a clear warning for democrats. don't let this sidetrack you from tackling the issues that are top of mind for voters like health care and jobs. >> i think it's important that the inquiry be going on. i also think it's important that we not be distracted by it and that there's actually governance going on as well. >> reporter: athena jones, cnn, new york. next, we're live in moscow where cnn's matthew chance tells us how russians feel about the impeachment inquiry and about president trump. at fidelity, we help you prepare for the unexpected with retirement planning and advice for what you need today and tomorrow. because when you're with fidelity, there's nothing to stop you from moving forward. because when you're with fidelity, the roomba i7+ with cleanng base automatic dirt disposal and allergenlock™ bags that trap 99% of allergens, so they don't escape back into the air. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba™ if you're stayingcessful businessat holiday inn.is easy, we're there. so you can be too. 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>> it's an gus beef. no bologna? >> no, no, no. >> and the burger, like the president, is popular with russian diners. >> this is wonderful man because special hair. >> you love his hair? >> yes, this is so strange, but i like this -- he's strong. >> yeah. >> and funny. >> if i'm telling the truth, another president would be much more strict for russia. >> much more critical of russia? >> yeah. >> reporter: the truth is many russians see president trump as a rare friend in the white house, what will be lost if he's impeached. on russian state television tightly controlled by the kremlin support for trump and the impeachment battle is absolute. after all, it is russia they sometimes joke that got him elected. allegations of election meddling are officially denied but often referenced even on serious news shows with a wink. have you lost your minds that you want to remove our donald, asks the host of this weekly current affairs program. they say trump is weakening the united states, says one of his guests. yes, he is. and that's why we love him, he adds. the more problems they have, the better for us. it's no secret some russians are taking pleasure at the political discord in the united states. impeachment, according to republican members of congress in a recent open letter to "the wall street journal" is what vladimir putin wants. but the fast-moving impeachment process may be too chaotic even for the russian president. he wants crippling sanctions lifted, arms control deals, and a working relationship with the white house. virtually impossible, he says, in such a toxic political environment. >> translator: how can we cop operate with them when they are so engaged in their domestic political affairs? obviously this is always the case during an election campaign, but this domestic political race has gone over the top. i don't think it's ever been like this in the history of the united states. >> reporter: like russia itself, its views on trump and his possible impeachment are complicated and contradictory. they relish the chaos but crave stability and have little time for opponents of their american friend. what about people who say he's not a good president, he should not be president? >> this is foreign people. this is people who think this because this is president like this. >> matthew chance joins me now live from moscow. matthew, hello to you. you're there in moscow, the main reason the ukraine wanted the aid in the first place was to protect itself against vladimir putin's military mind. >> that's right, don. there's already been a big chunk of ukraine that's been annexed by russia, the crimean peninsula. since 2014 russia has been backing rebels and even using its own forces, although it denies that, in a conflict in the east of the country in which thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. so, yes, this money that was given by the united states continues to be given is important for ukraine to defend itself and to hold the line against what is essentially an expansionist russian state right next door to it. >> matthew, ambassador bill taylor talked about this in his testimony saying ambassador volker and i could see the armed and hostile russian led forces over the bridge of contact. over 13,000 ukrainians had been killed in the war, one or two a week. to this day that continues. more ukrainians would undoubtedly die without u.s. assistance. they were clearly desperate for this money. >> absolutely. and, you know, as every day goes past, more ukrainians die, more people die on that front line even though president zelenski of ukraine who was elected into office earlier in the year on a promise of bringing the war to an end continues. he's taken steps to resolve that, to try to get peace talks resumed, he's recognized the rebel areas and given them special status that was a precondition. there's been a prisoner swap, he's withdrawn from key towns. but there are still people being killed on the ground as we speak. >> i was going to ask you what's happening there now. can you elaborate more on that? >> look, within the past 24, 48 hours or so, there have been more moves made by president zelenski in ukraine to meet some of the conditions to allow those peace talks to resume. they've been withdrawing from key towns in the conflict zone right up in the front line where they're facing off against the russian backed rebels in the hope that in the weeks and in the months ahead all the parties can get together and try and sort of bring an end to this fighting permanently. but that's proving quite a challenge domestically for president zelenski because he's facing a lot of hard line opposition within his own country. nevertheless, these are the efforts that are under way right now, don. >> matthew chance, thanks for calling. no bologna on the trump burger. we appreciate that. even in the white house, rough transcripts of the ukraine call. so, what is rudy giuliani up to? we're going to dig into that next. ♪ not all zeroes are created equal. at schwab... we believe investors come first. we work hard to make you happy. with the right combination of people and technology, so you can work with us the way you want. now with zero commissions on online stock, etf and options trades. part of our mission to make investing more accessible for all. and we're the only firm with a satisfaction guarantee. which is why our zero is better. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management. ♪ diamonds shine like me. they're strong. they're brilliant. i am a diamond. find beautiful diamond styles for all the diamonds in your life, including you. get 25% off everything. including these one of a kind deals at the early black friday vip event. exclusively at zales. the diamond store. when you rent from national... friday vip event. it's kind of like playing your own version of best ball. because here, you can choose any car in the aisle, even if it's a better car class than the one you reserved. so no matter what, you're guaranteed to have a perfect drive. 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