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Co-author of "impeachment: an american history." annie karni, white house reporter with the "new york times." and jeremy bash, former chief of staff at cia and the pentagon. notably former chief counsel to the house intel committee.fo peter, id like to begin with you. this puts you in old sage category as you know. this now becomes the second impeachment you have covered. b so youre going to get question like this. you write history during your own time.e you write the first draft of history on ...

The president tonight asked his rally audience to believe that it doesnt even feel like impeachment, all evidence to the contrary. and when it was all over tonight, theres been a holdup, some jousting between pelosi and mcconnell over the rules for the senate trial, and it has the potential to change everything in the short term. we have all of it for you as "the 11th hour" gets under way on this historic wednesday night. well, good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new...

The president and his aides are even musing -- remember during the transition after he won he engaged in the thank you tour. a similar model here. a sort of not guilty tour if you will, where he might do some barnstorming during the trial and then afterwards to celebrate the fact that he survived impeachment. >> aircraft buffs will instantly notice the smaller 757 tonight being used as air force one. smaller than its 747 cousin for the trip out to michigan and back. also another way of saying --...

The "post" writes that they see a delay as a way to force senate majority leader mitch mcconnell too, quote, conduct a trial on more favorable terms for democrats. and if no agreement is reached, some have argued the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denyin trump an expected acquittal. tonight the speaker was asked when she planned to send the articles to the senate. >> you would wait to send the articles until you understand what the senates going to do? >> well make a decision as a group, a...

Hold. this is an interesting strategy where the house after hearing nothing but the senate predicting acquittal is going to at least temporarily hold back the articles they have just passed unless and until, as they put it, they get favorable terms. they understand theav rules of e game in the trial going forwardy >> well, brian, the constitution does not prescribe or set forth a specific process for transmitting these two articles of impeachment over to the senate. and i think speaker pelosi is...

The house in terms of the delivery of these articles and s handful of republicans in the senate perhaps like susan collins or lisa murkowski who might insist on a more fulsome version of a trial rather than looking like theyre simply slamming it to a quick conclusion. those are people who would influence senator mcconnells choices as well. >> brian, can i just add, one idea that i think is worth considering here about the pelosi strategy is perhaps she had say, look, we will transmit these over ...

Idea that the senate will get the case and try the case? can they be two separate thoughts indefinitely? >> there is nothing in the constitution that talks about the timing of things. certainly theres a right to a speedy trial. that applies in criminal cases. i suppose one could make an argument by analogy that there is at least some similar concept here, that you cant keep it hanging over the presidents head, say, for the entire duration of his presidency. but nancy pelosi does hold some cards ...

Exert some sort of power, control, try to paint the opposition as sort of a cheap politician, where im a businessman who cant be bought, i dont deal with the swamp. and of course now hes the third president whos been impeached. but as far as the republicans in the senate, though, its interesting because you are right. mcconnell and graham have basically said were not going to be impartial jurors. were just going to acquit him. in fact lindsey graham on a sunday talk show tried to talk the presid...