With Foreign Policy. I have news for everybody. Get over it. He put out a statement just hours later trying to say that he never said that or didnt mean that, which is a hard case to make when you put it in the context of two weeks of congressional testimony, documentary evidence on the question. Two thursdays ago, lawmakers released Text Messages among the key players outlining this aid for dirt deal as well as one diplomats sharp objection to what he recognized as a quid pro quo. He called it crazy. Hes going to testify next week. This past monday, former white house russia adviser fiona hill told investigators that Rudy Giuliani was doing an end run around professional diplomats for the president and that thenNational Security adviser john bolton was so alarmed about it, he told her to alert white house lawyers. This followed testimony from marie yovanovitch, the fired ambassador to ukraine, that she herself was cut out of the loop. And yesterday one of the three people who bypassed her added to the picture, ambassador gord on sondland telling investigators that the president made giuliani his point man on all of this saying he didnt realize what he, departmenting Energy Secretary rick perry, were actually working on. Cnn has obtained exclusive new reporting on what else the president s tv lawyer and ukraine fixer was up to. Kylie atwood got the scoop. Reporter we are learning that in his testimony behind closed doors as part of this ukraine impeachment inquiry just this week, a Career State Department official, george kent, told lawmakers that it was Rudy Giuliani who had pressed the white house and the state department to try and get a visa for Viktor Shokin. That is the ousted prosecutor general from ukraine. He was ousted because he did not take on corruption in his country, and there was pressure from Vice President biden at the time and other countries to get rid of him. Now, that visa, however, was not provided to shokin, and so the white house actually made an appeal and went to the state department, called up george kent, and asked why is he not getting this visa. It was george kents understanding that giuliani had called the white house and asked them to figure out why this visa wasnt coming through. Now, its important here that giuliani has told cnn previously that he wanted to talk to shokin because shokin had dirt for him on the democrats. So we know he wanted to interview him in person. Clearly he was not able to do so because that visa was not provided to him. But this provides some more insight into how giuliani had his fingers all over this ukrainian policy and really was able to push forth on some of his efforts to try and get people to the United States to dig up more dirt on the democrats. So this is i mean this sounds nuts. So giuliani is trying to get this guy, this allegedly or believed to be corrupt former prosecutor, to come to the United States to deliver more dirt on the bidens or his conspiracy theories or whatever it may be. His visa is rejected by the state department, so he calls the white house. Do we know i mean do we know if the president was involved in this whole thing, or was just a conversation between giuliani and somebody else in the white house . Reporter we dont know the exact dynamics of how President Trump was involved in this situation specifically. But lets take a step back here because what we do know from testimony this week, ambassador sondland told lawmakers that President Trump had told people working at the state department, including ambassador sondland himself, that giuliani was the key person that they had to go through when it came to ukraine policy. So its no secret that President Trump was speaking with giuliani about ukraine, and giuliani declined to comment for our report tonight. But im sure that we will learn more details about how President Trump was involved in this whole situation in the coming days because there is more testimony to come from u. S. Officials on this matter. Whats the state department saying . Reporter well, the state department doesnt comment on specific visas. They say that those are confidential and theyre not going to put out a statement specifically on this. But what we do have to look back on is what the state Department Says on visas generally. So they say that they are confidential, but theyre awarded in accordance with u. S. Law, and they can be denied for a number of reasons, including and this is according to the state departments website if the information reviewed falls within the scope of the inadmissibility or ineligibility grounds of the law. So clearly right now there was a reason that this visa was denied. The white house pushed back. But ultimately the state Department Won out here. Kylie atwood, appreciate it. Joining us now, someone who not only is running to defeat President Trump next year but will also be one of the Senate Jurors if he is impeached. She also sits on the Senate Intelligence and judiciary co , committees, kamala harris. What is your reaction to this latest reporting about giuliani trying to override the Ukraine Embassy and the state department to get a visa for this former prosecutor . Anderson, its further evidence of corruption by this administration and the personal attorney of the president of the United States. Clearly implicitly being permission to act as though he is an arm of the government and the state department. And its a violation of an extraordinary number of rules and ethical laws about who should do what. And im just glad to see that the process is beginning to really do the investigation into Rudy Giuliani. He has clearly broken many laws. And, you know, i was listening to the report as you were playing it, and it also raises for me questions about, again, who knew what in the administration. As ive been thinking about it, clearly there are questions to be asked of the chief of staff. Weve talked about Mick Mulvaney, but i frankly think that we should also be asking questions of john kelly and Reince Priebus because clearly for a long time now, weve been talking about bad behaviors coming from this administration and coming from the desk of the president of the United States. Are there specific laws you believe giuliani has broken or may have broken . Well, i dont know. Were going to find out. But i think that the range includes not only abuse of power and perhaps misstatement and mischaracterization of his role and his responsibilities, but i also really do wonder just instinctively whether theres been any Bribery Associated with giulianis conduct. I think there are a number of questions to be asked, and once the facts are transparent and have been available for congress at the very beginning to see it, i think well know what laws have been broken. Whats so interesting about giulianis involvement too, it seems like with every day that passes, theres another example of giuliani kind of running and being licensed by the president to run a shadow Foreign Policy, circumvent state department protocols, and its not only for the president s benefit, but giuliani also has business interests in the region. I mean hes got business interests in ukraine that go back years. Hes got business interests, i understand, in turkey as well. So its not clear exactly who hes working for. Hes working for the president , but hes also working for himself. Well, youre right, anderson. And this is part of this is part of the character of this administration as a whole. There are many people in Donald Trumps administration who i think, you know, have questionable priorities. And whether those priorities are, in fact, on behalf of the people of the United States or on behalf of their special interests based on former relationships in the private sector or what they anticipate and are planning in terms of future relationships in the private sector. Youre absolutely right. And that is why it is corrupt, because this is these are positions, especially for those who hold elected office and appointed office in this administration, these are positions that are held in the public trust. And they are not meant to be or designed to be for personal interests. But donald trump and many of the members, i think, of his administration are not clear about that point, which is why we need this impeachment process to proceed. Its also the president is holding this money over ukraine. This is not his money. It is taxpayer money. American taxpayers have given this money. Exactly right. So when you think about it in that way thats exactly right. Hes Holding American taxpayer money over the ukrainian president s head. They need it to fight russia. Lives are hanging in the balance. Thats right. And he would get information that helps him against his main or at the time a political opponent in the upcoming election with american taxpayer dollars. So american taxpayers are paying for dirt on a person running for president. Well, and you are absolutely right. These are not Donald Trumps personal dollars. These are the these are the dollars of hardworking americans who have been paying taxes to their government with an expectation that that money will be used to their benefit, in their best interests, which includes the best interest of National Security. But, yet, donald trump is bartering and holding hostage american taxpayer dollars for the sake of his personal political benefit. Again, lets remember this money was to be used to support a partner in a democracy who has been trying to defend his country against an insurgence from russia, which is a longstanding adversary of our country. And it is so the corruption is rampant in so many ways because it is not only about what might be for his personal benefit. It is also a misuse of public funds in a way that is unethical and is frankly in violation of all that we would expect the president as commander in chief would do for the best interest of National Security. Its so strange, yesterday the mulvaney press catastrophe was strange on many different levels. One of the things he insisted on was that the bidens dirt on biden had nothing to do with what the president was seeking. It was all just this Conspiracy Theory about the server being in ukraine and crowdstrike and that, yes, that was the quid pro quo that he wanted information on. But i dont understand how with a straight face mulvaney can claim that dirt on the bidens had nothing to do with it when the president in the transcript not only says the bidens thats item number two on his ask after the guy, you know, is asking for the aid but also just on the white house lawn, i think it was october 3rd, you know, when he wa asked he was asked, what did you want the ukrainian president to do after the call . And he said words to the effect of i dont have the exact transcript. He said, you know, investigate the bidens, do something on the bidens. He has said it multiple times. Hes committing hes committing he is committing these acts that are violations of the law in the open, in the plain sight of the american people. And i think there are some who might be confused and might try to interpret, well, how could he possibly be committing a crime if it happens in public . There are plenty of crimes, let me tell you as a former prosecutor, that happen in public. And the people that see it are called witnesses. And witnesses then come forward with evidence that proves that crime. And thats exactly whats going to happen in this case and what has been happening in this case. And it both relates to what donald trump has done. Mick mulvaney, people say could he have possibly he must have meant something else. How could he possibly have told the truth about the fact that this was quid pro quo . Thats called a confession. That also happens a lot in criminal cases. So, you know, what we are seeing is frankly not atypical in a criminal proceeding and in criminal cases, which there are confessions. Thats why we have that term, and we use it often. Thats why we have the term witnesses, because often there are people who actually observe the crime as it is happening. So hthis is what were seeing with this case. Im always fascinated in courtrooms when a defendant or their attorney argues, no one would be so stupid to do what my client is accused of the way hes being accused of it, when in fact many people are that stupid to do things as exactly as they are charged with. Im sure you have seen that many times. Senator kamala harris, thank you. I appreciate it. Yes. Okay. Tare care. New reporting on white house damage control after Mick Mulvaneys admission that there was a quid pro quo. Lig lightlator, one of the lawmakers raising concerns about the president s plan to hold next years g7 summit at his florida country club. Saturdays happen. 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Fidelity wealth management. A remarkable week in the ukraine affair ends with cnn exclusive reporting on testimony detailing Rudy Giulianis efforts to obtain a visa for a ukrainian official promising dirt on the bidens. In addition, it comes with the white house still in fullon damage control mode over Mick Mulvaneys quid pro quo admission though he didnt use the words quid pro quo and then his unadmission if you will. Cnns jim acosta joins us with more on that. Talk about how the white house has been responding to all this. Reporter anderson, they were continuing to say that up was down, that black was white, that Mick Mulvaney did not commit a gaffe even though they put out a statement cleaning up what he said yesterday. Anderson, i think when i tried to ask the president a question about this, it spoke volumes. When i asked him, you know, whether or not there was some sort of contingency for ukraine to receive this money for them to investigate the democratic party, he simply said that mulvaney clarified what he said yesterday, and then he moved on and talked about many and sundry things. But, anderson, the president i think very revealingly did not once again reiterate that there was no quid pro quo, and he really did not spend much time defending his chief of staff either. Is mulvaneys future now in question . Reporter i do think thats a real question, anderson. We were talking to a number of sources today. I talked to a couple who have said that mulvaney has been on thin ice. Hes been on shaky ground for several months now. The president from time to time has sounded out the idea of whether or not he should keep mulvaney around. But i talked to one source close to the president earlier this evening who said there might be some difficulty in giving mulvaney the boot because of what he knows in terms of this ukraine investigation. But, anderson, i will tell you one thing that we should point out, mulvaney will be at camp david this weekend according to a white house official, meeting with gop lawmakers on a range of issues. That is an indication that perhaps hes not in immediate jeopardy. But i wanted to just share a quote i got from a source close to the white house, a trump adviser earlier this evening, who is defending mulvaney and saying, we all get turned into a pretzel defending trump. Thats the sad reality. Anderson, at the end of this very long and exhausting week where things were turned upside down from a fact standpoint, sad indeed. Jim acosta, thanks very much. Pretzels taste good. Im not sure thats a great analogy. Even a few republicans are having a tough time buying the white house line. Francis rooney telling reporters, quote, this isnt an etch a sketch, you cant revise what you say in front of the cameras and say actually i meant the opposite. Joining us now, jeffrey toobin, Maggie Haberman and carl bernstein. There are many times i wish i could have reversed what i said on camera. It doesnt really work that way. I mean does the white house really expect anyone to believe that mulvaneys reversal is really what i meant to say . It seems like he was saying what he really thought, in fact was belligerent about it and told people to get over it. He also was asked the question several times so its hard to suggest he didnt understand it. I dont know whether he meant to go that far. He certainly wasnt expected to go that far by people in the white house. Nobody expected that the sentence that would come out was some version of, yes, this was a quid pro quo. The white house, i think, knows that they have a problem with this. I think they are just trying to turn the page as fast as possible and tell all of us that, you know, he didnt really say what he said. Tell us that the president is not angry, which i actually just based on my reporting, i think the president s not as focused on this as people think that he is.