Bolton is in negotiations to testify. Bolton has been described as alarmed by the alleged quid pro quo with ukraine which he described as a, quote, drug deal. Also House Democrats are formulating potential articles of impeachment. We will tell you how wide they will cast the net. That was a cornucopia. Or a plethora. Or that word i wont use. Thank you. Also attorney general bill barrs investigation into the origins of the 2016 trump russia investigation is now a criminal matter. That designation allows federal prosecutors to subpoena witnesses and file criminal charges. Democratic chairman adam schiff and jerry nadler responding to this overnight saying that that raises profound concerns that the Justice Department has lost its independence and is being used for President Trumps political revenge. But lets begin all of our coverage live on capitol hill. Theres a lot happening. Reporter there certainly is. Democrats are continuing to push forward in their rapidly growing impeachment hearing scheduling someone who was actually on the phone call between President Trump and the ukraine president. And now new reports of another key testimony in the works. That of john bolton. For the first time, House Democrats expecting an official from inside the white house to testify in the impeachment inquiry. Tim morrison, a top russia and europe adviser on President Trumps National Security council who listened in on the july 25th call with ukraines leader is scheduled to appear next week. Sources telling cnn hes expected to corroborate key elements of top u. S. Diplomat to ukraine bill taylors testimony tuesday. Bill taylors testimony was devastating to the president. And bill taylor essentially laid out a quid pro quo between the Trump Administration and the president with the ukrainian leader. Reporter two sources telling cnn morrison will contend he didnt see anything wrong with what the Trump Administration did although one says there will be, quote, nuance. Sources say republicans worry his testimony could fuel the democrats push towards impeachment and they hope it will lack first hand knowledge of the president s actions. They are negotiating with attorneys for john bolton to be deposed in private. Bolton reportedly shared concerns about Rudy Giulianis involvement in u. S. Foreign policy with ukraine. Thats according to the president s former top russia adviser fiona hills testimony last week. This as democrats consider the size and scope of articles of impeachment while trumps congressional allies continue to try to slow the investigation. I think if we were doing this, youd be beating the [ bleep ] out of us. Reporter Lindsey Graham sprucing a resolution cosponsored by Mitch Mcconnell condemning the democrats impeachment process. Im not here to tell you Donald Trumps done nothing wrong. Im not here to tell you anything other than that the way theyre going about it is really dangerous for the country. Reporter meanwhile, the department of justice turning its probe into the origins of the trump russia investigation into a criminal inquiry. The move first reported by the New York Times giving federal prosecutor john durham the ability to use subpoenas for testimonies going forward. And there are five key testimonies scheduled at this point for next week. Thats in addition to a very rare saturday deposition thats scheduled to take place up here on capitol hill tomorrow. Democrats are pushing to try to move from this behind the scenes phase of their inquiry to a more public phase. Potentially Holding Public hearings as early as midnovember. Thank you very much for all of that, sunlen. So witnesses testifying that john bolton was alarmed by the alleged quid pro quo with ukraine. Now investigators want to hear from bolton himself. More on that story next. T it al. Have you lost weight . Of course i have ever since i started renting from national. Because national lets me lose the wait at the counter. And choose any car in the aisle. And i dont wait when i return, thanks to drop go. At national, i can lose the wait. And keep it off. Looking good, patrick. I know. vo go national. Go like a pro. Here hold this. Follow that spud. [ tires screech ] the big idaho potato truck is touring america telling folks about idaho potatoes. And i want it back. What is it with you and that truck . The business of hard work. Hustle. And high fives. Modernized comfort inns and suites have been refreshed because our business is you. Get the lowest price guaranteed on all Choice Hotels when you book direct at choicehotels. Com. My moderate to severe i ulcerative colitis. Ing but i realized something was missing. Me. The thought of my symptoms returning was keeping me from being there for the people and things i love most. So, i talked to my doctor and learned humira can help get, and keep, uc under control when other medications havent worked well enough. And it helps people achieve control that lasts so you could experience few or no symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. We have some new details this morning about key testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Sources tell cnn that a white house official is scheduled to testify next week. His name is tim morrison. And our reporting is or the reporting around it is he will corroborate bill taylors testimony that directly implicates President Trump in a quid pro quo with ukraine. But tim morrison will contend he did not see anything wrong with what the president did. So joining us now, Bianna Golodryga and john lockhart. Okay so the reporting is that tim morrison, hes a top russia and europe adviser to President Trump on the National Security council. So lets just remind people of what bill taylor testified to. It was the same call. He went on to describe a conversation that ambassador sondland had with mr. Yermak in warsaw. Mr. Yermak is a president zelensky aide. He told him the money would not come until president zelensky committed to pursue the burisma investigation. I was alarmed by what mr. Morrison told me. This was the first time i had heard that the Security Assistance not just the white house meating was conditioned on the investigations. That seems to be the pivotal moment. Tim morrison is obviously part of that moment. If he doesnt think there was anything wrong, it matters what congress and what the law thinks is wrong. And there were gasps in the room reportedly after taylor delivered his testimony. Morrison replaced fiona hill as the president s top russia adviser. He came into this picture a bit later than bill taylor did who replaced yovanovitch. I will say regardless of how morrison felt about it, another vital person they want to hear from at some point and that is john bolton was the one who ultimately told bill taylor he should send a memo to his boss, secretary of state mike pompeo. There were enough people here concerned about the chain of events and how at least things appeared to be taking place. Connect that to the fact we do know that zelensky and the ukrainians unlike what the president has been arguing were aware this was a quid pro quo. That they were being pushed to investigate the bidens and the origins of the 2016 election before they were given that money. So the fact that the administration or some are arguing that bill taylors testimony should be questioned, i think is a bit rich. Especially given his background and his experience in the job. This is something that he had been doing for decades and this is the first time hed experienced something playing out the way it had. Tim morrison is in a closer ring. Who did he hear from that made him think there might be a quid pro quo if thats what he thought . And joe, this is a witness from inside the white house, inside the administration who our reporting will corroborate some key points. Youre seeing the democrats strategy play out here. First they wanted to establish what happened. And taylor told people in great detail what happened. Now they want to find out, okay. What did the president know and when did he know it and how involved was he . So theyre going closer to the oval office with morrison. Theyll go even closer with bolton, i think, as bianna said. And thats what they want to establish before they take this public. That a lot of bad things happened and they can prove a direct connection to all of this being directed by the president. Whats interesting about this, though, as opposed to previous, you know, white house scandals is theres no one in the white house who has said anything but the president told me to do it. So we know the punchline. But the democrats have to build this case. Lets not exclude another key player mike pompeo. We also know from taylors testimony that on august 29th he sent a memo as directed by john bolton to pompeo expressing his concern about the, quote, folly that he sees playing out. He said in his testimony that he knows that secretary of state pompeo received that memo. He didnt hear a response from him, but he was told the secretary of state walked into the oval office with that memo in hand. So what transpired, what did the secretary of state delay to the president of the United States. These are all questions that congress is going to want to get to the bottom of. I think youre right to say that morrison didnt see anything wrong with that. Because i think republicans will press on that. Yes. But again, i mean, it doesnt matter if you think that youre breaking the law. It matters what the law says. One of the things republicans often says is this is all hearsay. Next week i think will be the first time that two people who were on that july 25th call, tim morrison was one of them. Cooperman. He will be testifying. When you hear something with your own ears, thats not hearsay. Thats the problem with the hearsay which is it begs people to bring in people who had it first hand and they will. And they always have had the plan to bring these people in and republicans knew it. So the arguments they make to get through monday hurt them on tuesday. And on and on. And one of the ironic things about them focusing on these process issues like hearsay and everything is on the other hand, theyre doing everything to obstruct the investigation. Theyre preventing witnesses from complying with the subpoena. They are not giving the documents that congress has every right to see. But then arguing the process isnt fair. You know, you cant have it both ways but you sure can try and they are. One other thing about hearsay, people watch too much matlock. Because hearsay is part of many, most trials and is inadmissible in many fashions. And youre talking about those who are your eyes and ears overseas. Were supposed to be trusting a lot of these officials to conduct u. S. Foreign policy overseas. So its not just a matter of ukraine. What happens to diplomats from around the world now . Not that you could ever watch too much matlock. You stole my line. You cant. Cnn has learned the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the origin of its own russia probe. This is a significant development. Any way you look at it and both sides look at it in different ways, this is big. Well tell you what we know about it next. Johnsbut were also a cancer fighting, hiv controlling, joint replacing, and depression relieving company. From the day youre born we never stop taking care of you. The pain and swelling. The psoriasis. Cosentyx treats more than just the joint pain of active psoriatic arthritis. It even helps stop further joint damage. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Get real relief, with cosentyx. Breaking overnight, cnn has learned that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the origins of the russia probe. The move it will now allow investigators to use subpoenas to compel witness testimony. The probe is being driven by attorney general bill barrs suspicion that some officials overseaing the initial investigations including the counterinvestigation to the campaign, his suspicion they may have acted improperly. Back with us is Bianna Golodryga and elie honig. I just want nuts and bolts of what this changes, why Something Like this changes, and what it signifies. Two big things in nuts and bolts. First, they would have the ability to empanel a grand jury. So now rather than relying on people to speak voluntarily, you can compel someone. You can force them. Now you have to testify heres the subpoena. Or you have to give them documents. It gives the ability to bring criminal charges. And to me, big picture, thats whats so worrisome. It escalates this from a politically driven waste of resources to something much more sinister. Now you are weaponizing the department of justice and talking about potentially imprisoning law enforcement. Whats the actual bar, the legal bar to make it a criminal investigation . You need whats called predication. Which means you need a good faith piece of evidence or fact there could be a crime committed here. And i have a question. What is the predication here as a potential crime that was committed . Well, they havent presented that yet, obviously, to the public. But youre saying that they must have found something. Yes. I mean, look. This is where sort of the good judgment and good faith of prosecutors comes into play. They should have found something, but theres no formal check on that. You dont have to fig out a piece of paper saying heres my predication. Its something that they should be doing behind the scenes. I question whether it was done here. I mean, look. I dont blame you for questioning whats happening with attorney general bill barr because he has made questionable choices in the past. And last night we heard from jerry nadler who also questions what bill barrs motivations are. So bianna, here it is. These reports if true raise profound new concerns that the department of justice under attorney general william barr has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trumps political revenge. People felt that ever since he summarized the Mueller Report in his own words. And that was a productive summary for the president and bill barr who characterized for bill barr even though that wasnt what mueller was conveying at all. I think this was a conviction that bill barr has had. I dont know if its because he agrees with the president on this or the president has convinced him that there is something more there to the origins of the investigation. But he hinted at this through the past year. And here we are. We know that hes also traveled overseas to italy to investigate and speak to people there about the origins of the investigation. The italians have denied any involvement at all. In fact, the president of the country at least said he had nothing to do with it and the italians had nothing to do with it. If its about transparency that the republicans are arguing the democrats should be putting forward at this point with regards to the investigation, i think the same could be said and asked of this investigation as well. Its interesting that a lot of these players all were focused on russia and had a russiaspecific background. This is somebody the president in an area the president has been targeting for two years. And its coming at a time when we were already hypothetically talking about whether the president could get away with murder on 5th avenue. So this has been an empowering week for the president , i would say that. If i can pile on bill barr a little more, another thing that hes done thats completely inappropriate, a, speaking about a trial going on at all. Wu b, saying i believe there was spying. Thats a politically loaded word. Hes out there saying things he shouldnt be saying and hes hinted hes already drawn conclusions. One of the things hes been criticized for was it was the durham investigation. People suggested he was looking for that predicate to launch the criminal investigation. Well see. Theres the ig report. Michael horowitz is releasing the report with the fisa investigation. We need more visibility on that. One more subject i want to get to while we can is this reporting in the Washington Post this morning that democrats are now suggesting, you know what . We dont even need to hear from the whistleblower directly. The whistleblower doesnt even need to testify under the 19,000 layers of protection wed have to put in place. What do you make of that . Because everyone has basically corroborated. Was not a participant. But given what weve heard from the testimony of other officials and diplomats over the past week and a half, it would make sense that at this point, especially given the threats coming out of the white house in the statements really denigrating the whistleblowers credibility, im not sure what kind of a witness hed need to be in the sense that they still want to protect his identity. He still would like to be protected. They would like to comply with that. It seems like theyve got ample evidence given what theyve heard. You think the whistleblower is now unnecessary . Absolutely do not need. If you have someone who heard third hand or fourth hand but the body is here and the gun is buried here and you go and dig up the body and gun, you do not need them to testify. Indirectly to the text. So we have thats the primary text. You do not need to c