January 2. I said 22nd . I meant to say january 2, 2020. I was going to say were ahead. But were there, were ahead. Reunited in the new year a big year ahead. We begin with obviously President Trump. Now on day 13 of his extended 17day vacation. Some of us are back to work. Not all of us. Not in dc. He started the new year at the golf course in West Palm Beach florida. And the times as the president s new years eve was summed up like this, it was perhaps fitting that President Trump ended another year in office with another crisisdriven day of surreal contrast, tracking a middle east emergency from the golf club and ended with a tuxedo president. And of course vaping on a red carpet, over the din of party music. In the middle east, increasing danger of an armed. With with iran, raising the question what if the president did not abandon the nuclear deal . And unraveling of diplomatic efforts of with north korea, with kim jongun saying he can in fact continue Testing Nuclear and long range missiles despite a signed agreement with north korea to denuclearize and the impeachment of course with the president obsessing over nancy pelosi, attacking her dozens of times on twitter off the holiday break and when it comes to a fight over the testimony in the impeachment investigation, legal experts say the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by deputies of former National Security adviser john bolton means that bolton must in fact testify. All of this while trying to convince the American People that he deserves a second term in office. After two days of clashes with American Security forces, the Associated Press reports iranbacked militiamen have withdrawn from the u. S. Embassy compound in baghdad following calls from the Iraqi Government and senior militia leaders. An orchestrated assault, hundreds of militia men and their supporter, broke into the embassy compound, destroying a reception area, smashing windows, and spraying graffiti on walls to protest air strikes over the weekend that killed 25 fighters. The u. S. Blamed the militia for the rocket attack on an Iraqi Military base last week that killed a u. S. Contractor. Meanwhile, nbc news reporting the u. S. Is sending about 650 troops to the middle east as we speak. In the deployment that defense secretary mark esper called in a statement, quote, an appropriate action taken in response to increased threat levels against the United States personnel and facilities. Meanwhile, north Korean Leader kim jongun says he has no reason to continue his selfimposed moratorium on nuclear and longrange missile tests warning the world will see a new strategic weapon unveil bid north korea in the near future and in the remarks published yesterday, he appears to leave the door open to diplomacy, suggesting that tests would only resume if the u. S. Did not change its policies. The comments come after a monthlong standoff between washington and pyongyang, over disagreements involving the removal of sanctions imposed on north korea. With the Senate Impeachment trial looming, gop senator Susan Collins has become the second republican to question the majority leader Mitch Mcconnells close coordination with the white house. Last week, senator Lisa Murkowski says she was disturbed by mcconnells impeachment strategy. Now senator collins is also criticizing mcconnells approach and adding that she is open to having witnesses testify at the upcoming trial. Take a listen to this. Ive heard the Senate Majority leader saying that hes taking his cues from the white house. There are senators on both sides of the aisle who, to me, are not giving the appearance of, and the reality of, judging this in an impartial way. I am open to witnesses. I think its premature to decide who should be called until we see the evidence that is presented and get the answers to the questions that we senators can submit through the chief justice to both sides. Pete buttigieg is taking another swipe at candidate joe biden. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the former south bend mayor said he would not have wanted to see his son serving on the board of the ukrainian gas company, while he was fighting corruption in the country. I would not have wanted to see that happen. And at the same time, again, i think this is being used to divert attention from what is really at stake in the impeachment process. In my administration, we will have a very High Standard around ethics, and making sure that we do everything we can to prevent even the appearance of a conflict. I think that is very important. Because as we see, it can create a lot of complications. Even when there is no wrong doing. And when asked to comment on buttigiegs remarks Biden Campaign aides declined. On sunday, buttigieg criticized biden for his vote to authorize the iraq war saying it is part of the worst Foreign Policy decision made by the United States in my lifetime. The Democratic National committee rejected a request by president ial candidate andrew yang this week to Commission Additional polls that would help candidates qualify for this months debate and diversify the event. In the letter to the dnc chairman, yang says requirements for the debate in des moines iowa later this month should include four commissioned early state polls before the january 10th deadline. A spokesperson said in a statement to usa today, it has been more than inclusive throughout the entire process and cited 26 qualifying polls for the january debate. For the upcoming debate, there is a polling threshold. And according to politico candidate tracker, only five candidates have qualified, joe biden, Pete Buttigieg, as well as senators amy klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. And as Supreme Court chief Justice John Roberts plans to preside over the senate, we have come to take democracy for granted and Civic Education has fallen by the wayside. In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumors and false information on a grand scale, the public seems to understand our government and the protection it provides, it is ever more vital. He also stressed the importance of maintaining public trust, writing we should reflect on our duty to judge without fear and favor, and we should each resolve to do our best to maintains the Publics Trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation. And the wideranging efforts to appoint judges who will rule in the likeness of his nation. He writes, quote, we should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of naushl unity and stability. But we should also remember that justice is not inevitable. Lets talk about some of this, joining us, white house and washington consumer reporter for politico, Daniel Lippman. Happy new year. Good to see you on this second day of january. Lets talk first about some of these comments that amin was ticking through with regards to justice robert, saying in part we are taking democracy for granted. What do you make of these comments ahead of him presiding over the president s impending impeachment trial in the senate . I thought it was very interesting that he slammed social media to spread disinformation and that could be seen as a veiled shot at President Trump, who routinely tweets stuff that is just not accurate, and also retweets accounts that are racist and spreading conspiracy theory, so i think the chief Justice Roberts, he tangled up with trump last year when he said there is no such thing as trump judges and obama judges and trump responded on twitter saying chief Justice Roberts, youre wrong, there are obama judges who are trying to stop me from doing what i want to try to protect the country. And i dont expect trump to respond to this, but if he doesnt like how chief Justice Roberts is ruling in the impeachment trial, i wouldnt be surprised if he tweets against him. And it is a tradition, saying he didnt expect President Trump to respond given he has been on a twitter rant over the last couple of days. Lets tick through some of the looming political battles that President Trump is currently facing as 2020 gets under way. How might incidents impact his reelection strategy when you look at the litany of political problems he is facing . Well, i think if you talk about the international scene, it doesnt seem to be working in his favor in terms of north korea, his friendship with kim jongun has not led to denuclearization on the korean peninsula. His iran pressure strategy has seemed to have backfired, and leading to a, you know, an iranian militia members in iraq, trying to attack the u. S. Embassy. And for a president who has staked a strategy to try to get countries to respect us around the world, it doesnt seem like the u. S. Is feared as much. And a lot of International Experts are saying that he should reevaluate his iranian strategy and that is going to hurt his reelection if he is bogged down in trying to tend to the fires abroad, when he is trying to focus on how great the economy is here at home. I think were hearing, he should reevaluate the strategy or he should come up with a strategy, and not necessarily know where he stands. It is like a policy, not a strategy. And theres a difference if you actually are in the National Security space. Good point. Daniel lippman, live, this morning, thanks. Thank you. A federal judge dismisses a lawsuit from one of john boltons former aids challenging an impeachment and we will talk about what that could mean for john bolton himself. And record wildfires in australia, deadly conditions for people in that country, those stories and a check of your weather when we come back. Americans have come to lendingtree. Com to shop and compare their loans and credit cards for over 20 years. 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With pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. Its innovative. My go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. What are you doing back there, junior . Since were obviously lost, my go to toothpaste im rescheduling my Xfinity Customer Service appointment. Ah, relax. I got this. Which gps are you using anyway . A Little Something called instinct. Been using it for years. Yeah, thats what im afraid of. He knows exactly where were going. My whole body is a compass. Oh boy. The my account app makes todays Xfinity Customer Service simple, easy, awesome. Not my thing. Welcome back a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by National Security adviser charles kupperman, regarding a subpoena from congress to testify in the impeachment inquiry. The suit had sought to answer whether the white house could block the aide from testifying before congress, yet in a ruling monday the judge agreed with the attorneys for the house of representatives that the question was moot, because the House Intelligence Committee withdrew its subpoena back in november. The judge also dismissed two of kuppermans concern, the possibility of the subpoena being reissued or being punished, for not complying in the first place. Had the house lost the case, it could have further hampered efforts to get Trump Administration witnesses to testify. Had the house won, that could have had a major impact on the impeachment inquiry, as former National Security adviser john bolton had said he would be bound by whatever the courts decided with regard to kuppermans case. So this could very well clear the way for bolton to testify. And actually to that point, lets bring in msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos, who knows a little bit more about this than we certainly do. Lets kick off with yasmins point, how could this impact john boltons position in all of this . How could the kupperman case have an impact on if . Well, the kupperman case would have, had it been ultimately decided on the merit, had very serious implications whether or not john bolton could be compelled to testify. But now thats gone, it leaves us with a kind of vacuum, and we go back to the don mcgahn case, by the judge brown, which led to the conclusion, which is an issue that had only been addressed once before by another District Court, that executive branch folks do not have absolute immunity. This very to come testify. And then assert privilege, as to individualized questions. So this still leaves the question open as to whether or not folks in the National Security field are different from people like don mcgahn. Its still an open question. Because the courts didnt reach any of the merits on kuppermans case, because there was no longer a case to decide. For a while, though, whatever john bolton has been asked, i believe last week, as to whether or not he is going to testify, he has always gone to the kupperman case and said it is all dependent on what is decided with regards to the kupperman case. He also goes on to say in that npr interview, i remember, he said i got a lot to say. So it seems as if he wanted to share the information that he said he had. So it seems as if, and i talked earlier in the week, that this really does clear the way, there is really no introduce that john bolton can make at this point, and if in fact he, do and he tries to get another lawsuit, that it could tie him up, the senate falls in his lap and on his hands. Thats right, although no court has squarely ruled on someone in boltons position, it seems from the president , particularly the Harriet Myers case, from two decades ago, thats how long this issue has essentially been resolved by a District Court opinion, that if it came, push came to shove, that john bolton would be forced to at least appear, and then assert privilege as to certain questions, but if subpoenaed, and if it went to the courts, and those are two very big ifs, john bolton likely could be forced to eventually appear. Whats the next legal base that youre tracking in terms of this ongoing fight, whether it is the don mcgahn case or any other cases in various court levels that has had an implication on whether or not these officials testify . The don mcgahn case. It is so important, because as ive said before, the issue of whether or not there is this absolute immunity for executive branch aid, or people, such as don mcgahn, and arguably bolton, kupperman, others, is, has only really been addressed twice in our nations history, an don mcgahn is one of those times. So it is going to be the first time that an Appeals Court and possibly the Supreme Court deals with. It the myers case was dismissed ultimately because some other agreement was reached but this is a very important issue for interbranch relations. Can i just quickly ask, do you think the housemaid a mistake by not subpoenaing bolton . They made a strategy decision, keep in mind the houses mission was to achieve an impeachment. Do the rest of us want to know what john bolton has to say . Absolutely. Were really curious. But the house had to make a tactical choice. They could subpoena him, go to the courts, battle it out for months on end, and possibly not really get to the meat of their impeachment case against the president. All right. Danny cevallos, thanks very much. Always a pleasure. Good to see you, my friend. Lets switch gears and get a quick check of your weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. Good morning, happy new year. Happy new year. Start off the new year with a rainstorm and maybe snow this weekend, coming from the ohio valley and the northeast. A lot of question marks with that. Lets start out with what we definitely know. You need the umbrella this morning. It is soaking rain event. We will have airport delays out of the south today. New orleans has got some rain. Heavy rain around alexandria, and this is all going to shift northward and eventually toward nashville and atlanta. Under a flood threat, too.