booker does not have to actually answer questions from his fellow senators after he makes his remarks. he can actually step away from the panel. unlike other witnesses who testify before the committee. but i can tell you, i talked to a number of republicans about his decision to testify and it's raising a lot of eyebrows, surprise, given how unusual this is, given this is known as the world's most exclusive club. rarely do you see this kind of effort and one reason why today's hearing has not been so contentious, a lot of people here are friends with jeff sessions. wolf? >> manu raju reporting for us. thanks very much. let's get more on all of this. senator chris coons of delaware is joining us, a key democrat on the judiciary committee. senator, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> i want to talk to you about today's confirmation rahearings obviously you were there. quickly i want to see if you have reaction to cnn's breaking news about a briefing that the president-elect received about claims that there were russian efforts to compromise him.