60 of the people in iowa have writing this book, for going out change. Ded who to vote for or of your way. This is a jumble at the end here. Tightrope, Nicholas Kristof i think whats going to be more and cheryl wu done. Important is how these that is tonights last word. Candidates close in the next couple weeks than their closing the 11th hour with Brian Williams begins right now. Statements tonight. Where impeachment i think will affect this potentially is we have three people who are not going to be in union halls and well, good evening once cafes in iowa. Again from our nbc news theyre going to be in headquarters here in new york. Washington. And Pete Buttigieg and joe biden day 1,090 of the trump in particular are going to be seeing thousands if not tens of administration. 294 days until our 2020 thousands of people. Youre doing seven, eight events a day. President ial election. So they will find ways to appear the president s impeachment trial will likely start one week on this program and others to reach in iowa, but that is a from today, tuesday, the 21st. Disservice. Theyre spending every day with their finger on the pulse of and again tonight we have something of a remarkable split what iowa caucus attenders care about. I think they care deeply about impeachment but i think for a lot of voters its baked into screen. During this evening, during the runup to the debate and indeed the cake already. Lawrence odonnell, i hate when hes reasonable. During the debate broadcast, the impeachment case has worsened lets go backstage. You are the president ial for donald trump as we are starting to see the contents of campaign professional of this group. The cell phone and files of one youre there an hour before this
debate. Thats when this news reaches lev parnas. And it is giving us a window everyone there. Youre a staff member. You pick up all of this into a rather astounding information. But you have a prepped candidate operation supervised by rudy whos been prepped on everything giuliani in the name of the except this new information. President and what, if true, you have a choice. Youre going to approach your appears to be the fullon candidate and flood that candidate with some very hot new surveillance of our own u. S. Information, or youre going to let your candidate go on and do ambassador to ukraine. What your candidate planned to the material, the notes, the do. Text messages are stunning, so is what youre saying is thats the pressure of this decision . We will pursue both of these do you try to force something paths here tonight. New into this debate that no one first a check of the headlines planned for . Right. Out of tonights debate. So i think theres the game plan robert costa is the national they went in with, and they all political reporter for the had their strategy about how much to talk about impeachment or not and what to say about it. Washington post, host of youd want to brief the Washington Week on pbs. Candidate. We have late breaking news, so robert, what do you have . Reporter the big moment theyre not caught unaware. Mmhmm. But they all go in with a tonight, brian and you just strategy, and whats pretty referenced it was the clear is theyre all trying to disconnect between the house and whats going on in the democratic president ial race. Be our nominee. And what happens in 20 days in not a lot of discussion about this pending impeachment trial iowa will be crucially important, and they decided to in the senate and the reams of not put impeachment front and new evidence thats emerging on forward. Capitol hill. So theyre the experts in what in terms of politics, the raw race right now is really between the caucus goers are thinking. Senator sanders, senator warren, so youd want to brief them. Just weeks before iowa, battling senator mccaskill has actually debated and won a bunch of not only over medicare for all and their positions, but about debates. We forget these are human that private meeting this he had exercises, so this is really months ago. Hard. Its hard enough to prepare senator warren stood by her under the ideal circumstances, position tonight onstage under but i think whats clear is they the bright lights. Didnt think there was much robert, what do you think profit in leaning into impeachment very hard. Went into the decision either by but it does seem like a possible biden moment missed. The journalists, the moderators, if there was one candidate up the network or even the campaign there who might want to show, im going to protect u. S. Chiefs who, by the way, had time to brief their candidates before ambassadors. Ive been there. I have this experience. The telecast went on the air because this is a story about possibly the life of an American Ambassador being threatened by tonight, if nothing else, to use this as a reference point, maybe even a dodge to say this associates of the president of material is coming out this the United States, and one of those associates, Rudy Giuliani, evening while we speak, and time in this news story thats developed in the hour before the is of the essence. Reporter part of the reason, debate has put in writing to the brian, when you talk to Democratic Campaign strategists president of ukraine, im doing is there is such a reluctance in this with the president s full knowledge and approval. The party to counter speaker and lets be clear pelosis positioning or her for one candidate to be able to stand up and say, im going strategy in any way. She is not the president of the to you know, that could never United States. Shes the speaker of the house. But she is essentially the happen obviously, but we obviously have to protect the leader of the Democratic Party. Lives of ambassadors. It could have been a big moment. While theyre all running for the nomination, they want to lets be clear and not assign stay close to her, and they know blame. This was also a production of two news organizations that shes dealing with multiple issues at this time. Robert costa, please dont go supplied three moderators that anywhere. Made a conscious choice not to and before we bring in all of raise the topic during the our guests and experts that we course of this live broadcast. Have assembled in the studio, well, i, for one, dont blame lets try to get a read on the the moderators on that because tonnage of documents released by its almost of questionable House Democrats tonight, all of fairness whether you bring up something thats just happened it from lev parnas. In the last 60 minutes or less. For that were joined by our own it was there for a candidate to josh letterman, National Political reporter for nbc news. Grab. If a candidate was adequately briefed, if the candidate could manage it with Everything Else josh, youre here by request of that candidate had to handle, it a lot of us, and its a tall was there, and no one grabbed order to ask you to rank this in the form of headlines as it has it. To claires point, youre not running for dog catcher or park taken us all evening long, while superintendent. Youre running for president. Watching the debate, to wade you should know how to pivot and through whats been released. React to breaking news. If you would have moderated but it is truly stunning that debate, would you have asked the question . Material. I would have insisted on it, stunning, brian. Just when we thought that all of but thats me, and that doesnt the basic facts in the judge anybody else and what they impeachment saga had come out, a did or did not do tonight. Bombshell night. I understand that, but i new facts, new Text Messages, think it would be because this is what president s do. They have to react on the dime. Even a new character that we did not know about before in this they have to, like, synthesize
story line. Information quickly. So i want to walk you through to me it would have been, i exactly what were learning from think, a moment. These Text Messages and brian, to be fair, your documents that weve been going through over the last few hours. Question would have included all the first is a brandnew letter the relevant information in case that we did not know about they havent heard. I would have figured out a before that Rudy Giuliani wrote way to sin op size it just to president zelensky of ukraine in which he identifies himself tonight. Chris matthews, were preparing as private counsel to president for the first of our candidates. Donald j. Trump, says hes Steve Kornacki, do what you do representing him as a private better than anyone in this room. Citizen, not as president of the United States. Zoom out. Give us the big picture tonight. But in that same letter, he says we are. Youre talking about it here. He is has a specific request, we are in the home stretch. And thats that he wants to meet inside of three weeks until the with zelensky as well as with Iowa Caucuses. Lets talk about what is at victoria tinsing, this kwiv stake because theres the lawyer that had been working possibility this race could be with him on this effort. In for a big shakeup based on another new piece of those results. Information, handwritten notes let me tell you where things from lev parnas, this indicted stand. We have two polls out just in the last couple days from iowa. Associate of Rudy Giuliani, taken from the ritzcarlton on look at this, the Des Moines Register poll here. Memo pad in the hotel there in four candidates within five points of the lead here, within five points of each other from vienna, where theyre basically plotting out this campaign that sanders at 20 to biden at 15. They are going to carry out, and very fluid there. He actually writes get zelensky the second poll out of iowa, a
to announce that the biden case somewhat similar result although will be investigated. In this one, biden edging into a another major piece of new sixpoint advantage and the information here, brian, is a other three bunched back there. New character by the name of possibility here. Robert hyde. Weve seen this in iowa races in hes a republican whos actually the past, that there is late running for congress at the Movement Toward one candidate, moment in connecticut, and has toward two candidates, away from another. Apparently been working with lev there is late movement that gives this race definition. Parnas, and theres really some when i say this democratic race pretty alarming details in here could be in for a reshuffling about what appears to be a and a reordering based on the iowa results, this is what i Surveillance Campaign on former mean. Any one of these four candidates could win iowa. Ambassador yovanovich, that he then what happens eight days says to lev parnas he was later . We go to New Hampshire. Carrying out while they were look at the situation in New Hampshire right now. Trying to get President Trump to it is just as fluid. Four candidates, the same four, fire ambassador yovanovich. And in these whatsapp text within five points of each messages that were handed over other. It raises the possibility. To congress, he talks about we have seen this before, of a yovanovichs whereabouts as well candidate winning iowa, perhaps as her electronic and phone a candidate winning iowa by a communications, saying she better margin than expected going in, getting a ton of talked to three people. Her phone is off. Momentum, media coverage, everything that comes with that, her computer is off. In another text message, saying rolling it into New Hampshire eight days later and suddenly shes next to the embassy. I reached out tonight to being 20. Ambassador yovanovichs legal candidates who can pull that off team, heard back from her in the past theres a
question here of whether that will be the case this year. Lawyer, lawrence robbins, who says the notion that american but candidate whos have managed citizens and others were to pull that feat off in the monitoring ambassador past, win iowa and win new yovanovichs movements for hampshire so far in contested unknown purposes is disturbing. Races, undefeated in going on and winning the democratic we trust that the appropriate nomination. This is why we dont allow authorities will conduct an Steve Kornacki to leave the investigation to determine what building this time of year. Happened. I reached out to the state Steve Kornacki, dont leave this department to see if they will actually grant that studio, please. Investigation. Chris matthews with tom steyer so far no word from the state tonight in des moines. Department, but we are hearing back late tonight, brian, from reporter brian, thank you. Robert hyde himself. Tom, lets talk about what you he told me in a text message were listening to and nobody just a few minutes ago that he else in the world was listening had written these texts to what he calls some buddies of his to. As the debate ended, we noticed you were leaning into the while theyd had a few drinks. Conversation between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. He says the Text Messages were what were those two chatting to, quote, a dweeb i met a few about . Look, i dont know what they were saying. Times. And hes also lobbing some all i was trying to say was to insults as house intelligence both senator warren and Senator Committee chairman adam schiff. Sanders was, its great to see so, josh, about mr. Hyde, you. Thank you for participating in because his name starting this, and whatever they were tonight and through tomorrows going on between each other, i was trying to get out of the way news cycle, for infinity, is as fast as possible. That makes sense. Going to become of some note. Lets talk about something he is, i think, the titular youve been identified with a couple of years, impeachment. Owner of a landscaping business it just keeps growing like in connecticut. Fingernails on a cadaver. It just keeps growing. He was last a thing when he were getting new information tweeted something so gross about tonight about theyre going Kamala Harris when she got out after the russians are going of the race that it had to be after burisma. Theyre still trying to knock taken down. Off what was the summers the hartford current tonight frontrunner, joe biden. He may not be. Reporting that he had to be escorted away from maralago by he may still be the frontrunner police. In some of these areas, no charges, however, saying to certainly nationwide. Theyre still playing the trump police at the time he thought there was a hit on him. Campaign. Look, what weve seen from the first day of the trump it was it strained administration is corruption. Credibility that a landscape Business Owner from connecticut you know, this impeachment running for congress was somehow process is focusing just on this tied in and doing contractor ukraine situation. Right. But i started the need to work, if not tailing a u. S. Impeach movement, and ambassador. And youre telling us that 8. 5 million americans signed on tonight hes going with the because this president was corrupt on day one. Story that this was perhaps he started obstructing justice almost from his first day in alcoholinfused, that this was these notes about office. Right. And ukraine is just an yovanovich and her whereabouts example of what weve seen. And her life were the stuff of every rock you turn over with fiction, that he made them up on mr. Trump, theres going to be a the spot as part of a ruse . Well, hes not saying that he made them up necessarily. Slug underneath. Hes just saying that these text theres something wrong. Speaking of slugs, what do you make of the latest evidence messages had been sent after he had had a few drinks. That Rudy Giuliani was put on a mission by this president to but i followed up with him to say, okay, but did you actually work around the u. S. Government to get zelensky, the president have a Surveillance Campaign on of ukraine, to do his bidding ambassador yovanovich . And dig up the dirt . He wont answer that question. More information on that in these new documents, these new but, look, this is a guy who has built sort of a name for himself emails. Chris, everything that were as a bomb thrower in republican going to learn about this president and the people who are political circles, ingratiated taking his direct orders is that they dont obey the law. Himself with the trump orbit by they put themselves above the making a lot of republican American People. Donations, saying a lot of they dont care one bit about really controversial things, their oath to the constitution. Including that tweet that he had to delete about Kamala Harris. Look, the reason that ive been and from all indications, hes not backing down from that fighting on this, the reason that the American People have bombast in his response to these latest Text Messages tonight, dragged washington to see this brian. Is were a country of laws. Josh, thank you for delivering exactly what we needed you to deliver at the top were supposed to stand up of our broadcast tonight. Internally and around the world we greatly appreciate it. For freedom, justice, equality. We are aware that closing statements are wrapping up and thats america. If we give up on that, we give that we will be welcoming more up on the idea of america. Audience in after the debate. How will you feel the day the but lets talk about what weve got here in front of us with president stands before the u. S. Claire mccaskill, former congress, maybe as soon as the democratic senator from the great state of missouri, and state of the union, february 4th, and says, ive been eugene robinson, pulitzer
prizewinning columnist for the a