which he could have in the senate if all these republican senators support him. so this is actually possible. now, he would like to come to a deal. that s what sources are telling us. but if not, he will take this to the floor for a vote. republicans, however, are still hoping that nancy pelosi will transmit those articles of impeachment over to the senate. the speaker sent out a letter to all of the house democrats. here s what she had to say about impeachment. she said, it now remains for the senate to present the rules under which we will proceed. we can then appoint managers. the vote on the floor was overwhelming and inspiring and the number of people who want to be managers is indicative of our strong case. not someone who sounds like they re going to transmit those articles over any time soon without hearing exactly the senate trial would look like. again, another bit of an impasse there. i want to note one thing.
it certainly tells us that john bolton is not toeing the party line here. obviously he s left the administration. but bolton is the most potential witness out there. we know from the witness testimony from one of the witnesses who testified in the house, tim morrison, that john bolton had a one-on-one conversation with donald trump trying to convince trump to release the aid. we don t know exactly what was said and what happened during that meeting? john bolton knows. we know when bolton came out, he said he meaning trump he s not ready yet. that s a crucial conversation. really there s only two people who can tell us what happened there. donald trump who i would not count on ever testifying and john bolton. bolton needs to get serious here. enough with the book deals. enough with the twitter. if he has something to say and he clearly does, let s get him under oath and hear what he has to say. for better or worse for republicans, for democrats, whoever it may help or hurt, let s
take a step back here. do you think there s any chance the democrats and republicans will be able to come together in the new year? well, i ll sound a little note of christmas optimism. i do think and hope there s some hope they come together at least on the notion of let s have a meaningful trial here. it shouldn t be that controversial, this idea of let s have some witnesses, let s have some evidence at a trial. that s what a trial is. so i am hopeful that they come together and at least agree, let s have a process here and then however it comes out there could be some real legitimacy to it. all right. cnn legal analyst elie honig, thanks for coming in on the holiday. merry christmas. thanks, alison. merry christmas to everybody. santa s makes his list, checking it twice. going to find out which politician played naughty or nice. we ll break it down for yous next. he perfect coffee occasion. family brunch! just add ground coffee for a carafe, or pop in a pod for a freshly bre
mar-a-lago. we have heard quite a bit from the president particularly on twitter. he has slammed impeachment, democrats, nancy pelosi, and he continued that when talking to reporters yesterday. he said that pelosi hated republicans. thap she hated anyone who voted for president trump. and that she was doing a disservice to the country. but with all of the slamming of impeachment, he did have praise for one person. that was senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. when asked about the impasse that s currently happening right now between democrats and republica republicans on what exactly the trial would look like. that will be made by mitch mcconnell. he has the right to do whatever he wants. he s the head of the senate. reporter: and we have learned that mcconnell is now open to the idea of setting those ground rules for the senate trial without the support of schumer. now, all he needs is 51 votes
and even if he can t get the other side to agree, maybe the rhetoric doesn t have to be so tough, divisive, and in between. fighting and winning in spite of those obstructions. governor mcauliffe, we have 30 seconds left. say what you think the biggest challenges are for heading into the new year. i think it s important for biden to say he s reaching out to republicans. when i got elected to the commonwealth of virginia, a state of about 8.5 million people. that day i got elected i had to work with everybody. i was the govern of the entire state. and i reached out to republicans every single day. i had a very right wing republican legislature. my house of delegates. but you know what? i needed their help and i compromised and got 75% of bills passed by a republican