Bakari sellers. He has endorsed Kamala Harris. And angela rye, cnn political commentator. The hunter biden thing just came out, so well address it right now. Do you think, angela, this is something that democratic voters want to hear more about . Do you think theyll hold this against joe biden . What did you think of his explanation for why he did this . I think this was a foul for the joe biden camp. This interview should not have happened and its ill advised. Shouldnt have happened today or never should have happened . I dont see the purpose. The reason im saying that is i just believe that there are so many other more pressing issues. For starters, to be fair, hunter biden is not joe biden. If were to use the same standard thoorkats applied to donald trump, nthis shouldnt even come into question. Donald trump benefits financially from his presidency. There are tons of ethical challenges, tons of conflicts of interest. Im over this. I would rather be talking about impeachment in the debate tonight and the candidates and the issues than this. Bakari sellers, you are working with one of the candidates. Is Kamala Harris over this . Youre supporting Kamala Harris. Youre on the campaign. I think all of the candidates have already spoken out and leave joe biden alone is something you hear over and over. I think many of the candidates really want to move beyond this. The problem is hunter biden did an interview thats released today, the morning of the debate. Nobody up here wants to be talking about hunter biden. Ive been getting hell since our 6 30 morning hour when i said he should not have worked that. He said that. It was poor judgment in doing that. This is an opportunity, and the people who have to hate this the most of amy klobuchar, beto orourke, julian castro, those and Tulsi Gabbard. Those four people who need a breakout moment tonight. More than four who need who dont stand a chance of making it to the next debate. Not necessarily. The Biden Campaign was aware, we are told, that hunter biden was doing this, but this was not orchestrated, we are told, by the Biden Campaign, which might explain it should have been. There needs to be better coordination. This is something hunter biden wanted to do. He shouldnt get to do everything he wants to do. They wanted to get ahead of the story tonight because they realize the candidates were going to see blood in the water with joe biden and go after him. In efforts to get ahead of it, you made it worse. You made the problem worse. You start stirring in mess. The mess is going to smear you. So there is an issue tonight beyond the impeachment inquiry. Beyond Bernie Sanders and is he fit to keep going and be president . Now hunter biden and this connection with ukraine, as we are looking at the president and nepotism, now joe biden going into another debate with blood in the water. And heres the issue. What candidate is going to be bold enough to go after joe biden . Weve seen candidates, every time they go after joe biden, their numbers slip. Lets see who is going to be the one who gets out there, gets bold, mavericky as sarah palin come in on a white stallion. Hes got another knee. There is a slightly there is a chance that tulsi is not just working for the United States of america, but i digress. Wait, what . No, i firmly thats not just an allegation. I firmly believe that message is coming now. I firmly believe that Tulsi Gabbard stands on that stage and is the antithesis to what the other 11 individuals stand for, especially when it comes to issues such as Foreign Policy. Theres no question, there is no question that Tulsi Gabbard, of all the 12, is a puppet for the russian government. Whoa, whoa, that was strong. How is there no question . I think that you look at her relationship doing the bidding, her relationships and affection for people like bashar al assad. Her admiring somebody we know to be a war criminal, propping them up. Those questions have to be answered. Obviously with syria in the news, obviously, this will come up tonight. I dont know that it will be framed the way you are. I dont think the moderators will frame it as such. That was very strong. But syria will. So what are you watching for . You really think some of the outer tier candidates are going to goly at biden. What about Elizabeth Warren . If their camps advise them properly yeah, jesus, i hope he makes it somewhere. Hes style. I will say that one of the candidates i am watching for tonight, its the first time on the debate stage for tom steyer. What a time for him because hes been calling for impeachment on this very network with commercials for a very long time. And to the point where i would see him and be like, this commercial is getting on my nerves, but i stand with you brother. So i cannot wait to see what tom steyer does. I told you all so and ive got more to tell you to Pay Attention to. The undercurrent its beto. I did a podcast with him. The beto buttigieg little war of words is going on. What were noticing is that, i think a lot of these candidates are getting tired of the nitpicking that buttigieg has been doing at their heels. And i think that the interview that Pete Buttigieg did with peter hanby recently talking about the small donors of Elizabeth Warren, i am looking forward to seeing beto and buttigieg go at it a little bit. And listen, Elizabeth Warren hasnt had any fire, none whatsoever. But shes one, two, one, two, depending upon the poll. Candidates and democrats are saying lets stay away from a quote unquote circular firing squad but i think tonight shes going to get some fire. On what . On being too liberal . There were polls that says she gets she has a ton of liberal support. There are democrats right now who support biden and theyre saying its for practical reasons, right . He can win i dont know with those gaffes. Thats one thing to watch out for. These are moderate dems talking. No way Elizabeth Warren can win. Its too much, too far to the left. Theres also sexism built into this. Absolutely. No question. Let me say this, you are absolutely right. There is campaigning fatigue. As a reporter, im fatigued. All of us are fatigued. We need to sit back and im raring to go. Were fatigued. Its like every day okay. Youre fired up and ready to go, but there are a lot of people that are like, oh, my god, i wish it will be over. At the end of the day, my eye is going to be on the underdog and the underdog is the one who is under fire. They have to come up, show up and show out today to move on. Like cory booker who was begging for 1. 7 million. He got over 2 million. He realize hes has to show up to get people to come to him. Also buttigieg. Also Kamala Harris. Your candidate. Also klobuchar. I mean, all of are you run away . No, shes going to do well. Can we go back to Elizabeth Warren. There are two questions Elizabeth Warren has to answer. The two questions that Elizabeth Warren has to answer, she has a plan for everything except health care. Shes only the top tier candidate who has not released a Bernie Sanders health care plan. She says im with bernie. I think harry reid recently said shes going to back off medicare for all. Is she going to be able to pass that litmus test . Thats first. And the second thing is, all of these plans do not take into account mitch mcconnell. All of these plans, the wealth tax, et cetera, do not take into account mitch mcconnell. People like Pete Buttigieg, the beto orourkes, the steve bullocks who are going to ask the question, what happens if this pan does not pass . How do you play for all of this. I want to get into something we havent talked about. Bernie sanders. Bernie sanders and his health. Thats a real issue. People want to dismiss it. You have to understand, hes 78. Hes had a heart attack. And when you become a president ial nominee, you pick someone, a second person on that ticket in case you cannot fulfill your duties. So the questions, in fitness physical fitness is a real issue. And that is a question. I want to see how the candidat s s handle that. Im not saying this to down brs, about but this is a real issue. It just happened. Its not like he had a heart attack years ago. This is two weeks ago. This is a real issue. Its not just an issue for him but also for joe biden and Elizabeth Warren. And President Trump, may we add. And President Trump. So youre talking age. Were talking about age now. But im saying that everybody is now going to have to this is something that we havent talked about as democrats in our party. We havent talked about the fact that lets talk about health, not age. I dont want to get into the age. When you say trump, Bernie Sanders, when you say Elizabeth Warren and joe biden, were talking age. Im talking health. Any of the candidates could have anything, god forbid, happen. The age thing is going to be there but its not necessarily age. Its the message. Its the message. And people will definitely be looking at Bernie Sanders. Obviously, he says that hes on the mend. Hes on the mend, but not mended. Who knows. People know ive been a Bernie Sanders antagonist for a long time but theres been no harder campaigner. Theres been no harder campaigner of all the democrats for the past two cycles than Bernie Sanders. Its about stamina, and its about his health as well. Youve got to take care of your health as youre trying to these president s age. These president s age when theyre on the campaign trail and when theyre barack obama, that hair turned. Well, Bernie Sanders hair will stay the same. No, no, no hes got a little hair spray on it. It stays down a little bit now. Hes not the nutty professor anymore. You can never see where these panels are going to go. Thats why you love us. Youre all as energized as us for the debougate tonight. Live from ohio tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern only on cnn. President trumps decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria may have sparked a bipartisan backlash in washington. But the top priority for the pentagon is getting those troops out safely now. And Cnns Barbara Starr is live at the pentagon with more. Whats the latest there . Good morning. The pentagon says they want to do this in an orderly and deliberate fashion. But its a battlefield in northern syria. Well have to see if they are able to do that. U. S. Troops already out of the key city of manbidg. Theyre consolidating their positions. Troops moving into fewer locations so security can be better provided for them. Now there will be air cover. They are telling the turks exactly where they are. They dont want any mistakes or any accidental firings, and they are making it clear if forces approach them, they will state that they are the u. S. If they keep approaching, they will fire in selfdefense. The evacuation plan calls first for the equipment. The heavy equipment, the heavy weapons that have been there for years, including some radars, classified equipment to be packed up and shipped out either by air or land. And then it is the troops that will follow. And once again, its an interesting thing. The pentagon says it could take days or weeks, but its not at all clear that theyll have a lot of time to get out, if the security continues to deteriorate. How do the troops feel about all of this . My colleague brian brown has been talking to a number of u. S. Special forces that have served in syria, and i want to share with you one of the comments he got from one of them. This person told ryan its pretty messed up whats happening out here. We want to offer support. We do not want to leave them in this situation. These are u. S. Special forces who have been with the syrian fighters for years now. They feel very strongly that they are being forced to desert them. Barbara starr, thank you for your reporting. All this has happened in eight days since the president s decision to pull u. S. Troops from that border. All right. Other major developments overnight. Shadow Foreign Policy. A rogue effort. This, of course, the explosive testimony from a white house insider talking about Rudy Giuliani as a hand grenade. Were going to speak to a key democrat on this committee, next. You name it. The ford f150 will tow up to 13,200 pounds of it. Text and data is just 30 bucks a line for 4 lines. And now you can get it on our newest, most powerful signal. No signal reaches farther or is more reliable. Get 4 new lines of unlimited for just 30 bucks a line. But allstate actually helps you drive safely. With drivewise. It lets you know when you go too fast. And brake too hard. With feedback to help you drive safer. Giving you the power to actually lower your cost. Unfortunately, it cant do anything about that. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . New this morning, cnn learned that President Trumps former top russia adviser told impeachment investigators that both she and President Trumps former National Security adviser john bolton were alarmed by a shadow Foreign Policy campaign allegedly being orchestrated by Rudy Giuliani and reportedly for the president s personal, political benefit. Bolton referred to giuliani as a hand grenade thats going to blow everybody up. Joining me now is democratic congressman steven lynch from the commonwealth of massachusetts. He sits on the Oversight Committee which is part of that hearing with fiona hill. When you hear some of the terms tossed around. Let me throw this on the screen. Wrongdoing, hand grenade, going to blow everything up. A drug deal was how Rudy Giuliani apparently described the goings on between Rudy Giuliani and the ambassador to the european union. Whats important to take away from this, congressman . Well, i think its all it corroborates a lot of the other information that we had previously about mayor giuliani freelancing as President Trumps private attorney. Freelancing in areas that are reserved for the state departme department. And has association with some characters there that are of some concern who apparently were trying to undermine our ambassadors position in ukraine. So we have several witnesses scheduled over the next few days that will look at other aspects of that relationship. But its deeply concerning that giuliani was allowed to conduct this negotiation with the ukraine government. So concerning why . I think i want to i want you to help viewers and maybe voters understand why what you think is wrong with that . Whats wrong with Rudy Giuliani conducting shadow Foreign Policy . Well, its against the law. Number one, hes not elected. Hes a private attorney. So President Trump is the executive. And he has a whole department that is qualified, trained and empowered by the constitution to conduct those type of negotiations. The private attorney for the president does not. The ask that mr. Giuliani is making to the ukraine government is to basically put a political hit on mr. Trumps main opponent joe biden to help him in the upcoming 2020 election. You cannot do that. Thats against the law as well. So there are multiple levels of misconduct here. And, look, there were 12 people on that call that the president made to the ukraine president. And so now were hearing from individuals this week who are actually on the call and people who talked directly to people on the call. So there are far too many witnesses to what went on here for the president to cover this up. Even trying to put that conversation in a private server will not work because that involved a whole other group of people. Absolutely. The idea of a coverup here. Weve seen the rough transcript of the phone call. Weve seen in some ways the final act here. We have the rough transcript, the log of President Trump asking the president of ukraine to investigate the bidens, get in touch with william barr and Rudy Giuliani to do so. What, in addition to that, with all this testimony youre hearing, and some of the language i heard from fiona hill, we heard reported from fiona hill is explosive. And the former ambassador to ukraine and kurt volker as well. What does that add . How does that increase or decrease your argument to ultimately impeach the president beyond the transcript of what the president actually asked . Well, this is direct evidence. It fills in any gaps that might be there. Plus, its, you know, a corroborating witness of what the transcript actually says. So you get a more a richer context for that letter because weve already seen the president and his attorneys try to explain away the transcript. But by having a dozen or so people who are on the call, having them put under oath, you know, and having them testify, i think will go a long way to proving the case, but also convincing the American People that the impeachment inquiry and possible impeachment might be necessary to protect and preserve the constitution. If john bolton, the former National Security adviser, is describing Rudy Giuliani as a hand grepade, do you want to hear from john bolton himself . Yeah, think about that. You know, mr. Bolton was explos