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administration. i can assure there were many countries that were actively engaged in trying to undermine american democracy. >> pike pompeo also dodged questions related to whether he'll testify in the house impeachment inquiry now that state department documents reveal he had at least two conversations with rudy giuliani in the weeks before ambassador marie yovanovitch was abruptly removed from her post. >> the president tweeted just a short while ago that he encouraged you essentially to testify in the impeachment investigation. is that something you're considering? >> when the time is right all good things happen. >> in other words, don't hold your breath. joining us now is ben rhodes. this is not me calling it a conspiracy theory. i'm not judging for myself that it's a conspiracy theory. this is what the president's own administration officials call it. fiona hill said it just the
i kind of feel like once that crack happened with the whistle-blower that there's going to be a lot more people coming forward. but at some point we have to say enough is enough. and so i am certainly anxiously awaiting that report. i imagine we'll see it as soon as we come back from break, and then we'll determine where we go from there. >> and if more facts do develop in the inquiry, if as you say more witnesses decide to come forward, either of their own volition or if they're ordered by a court or any other reason or if more important factual documentation comes out, i don't know what will be in these state department documents we'll see tonight but if there is more important stuff there, will it be the intelligence committee that continues to compile the fact basis for the inquiry, or at some point will that rollover to you as well? >> i think it's possible it would rollover to us. but, you know, just like you said, i mean, will they actually comply? i don't know.
volition or because their ordered by a court or any other reason or if more important factual documentation comes out, i don't know what will be in these state department documents we'll see tonight but if there is more important stuff there, will it be the intelligence committee that continues to compile the fact basis for the inquiry, or at some point will that roll over to you as well? >> i think it's possible it would roll over to us. but, you know, just like you said, i mean, will they actually comply? i don't know. you know, this is an administration that's been pretty lawless. i would not be surprised at all if this deadline passes and they don't comply with the release of the documents. >> it is -- puts a little shiver down my spine to say that i am -- maybe i'm naive. i am one of these people who believes the term constitutional crisis is overused, that actually our constitution is a very capable document that anticipates all sorts of terrible things. and a lot of times when we just have harsh political conflict or
from the administration because i kind of feel like once that crack happened with the whistle-blower that there's going to be a lot more people coming forward. but at some point we have to say enough is enough. and so i am certainly anxiously awaiting that report. i imagine we'll see it as soon as we come back from break, and then we'll determine where we go from there. >> and if more facts do develop in the inquiry, if as you say more witnesses decide to come forward either of their own volition their ordered by a court or any other reason or if more important factual documentation comes out, i don't know what will be in these state department documents we'll see tonight but if there is more important stuff there, will it be the intelligence committee that continues to compile the fact basis for the inquiry, or at some point will that rollover to you as well? >> i think it's possible it would rollover to us. but, you know, just like you said, i mean, will they actually
wants to keep that job. he's headed back to ukraine tomorrow. he's not looking to really get into a place where he becomes a celebrity of this whole impeachment inquiry. he wants to go back to the job. the question is that he could be one of the key people here because he was one of the folks who picked up on the fact that there may be a quid pro quo. he was told that he was wrong, that there was not a quid pro quo. what we're going to learn today is why he even thought that in the first place. as i understand it, manu, he is not coming with those state department documents, that the state department has blocked many witnesses from bringing with them. >> yes. this is expected to go all day long. three committees, along with staff, will interview this witness. democrats will have a chance, hour to question, republicans will have an hour to question,
alone. >> you know, sara, we haven't heard any official reaction from the trump team yet, have we? >> no, we haven't heard any official reaction. we've asked, and donald trump is sort of in a he weird position when it comes to leaks at this point in his tenure. >> and wikileaks in particular. >> and wikileaks in particular. i think he's been critical in the past about some of this information leaking out, some of those confidential state department documents, but he's been on the campaign trail in recent months saying, i love wikileaks, i love we can i leaks. when it comes to the recent leaks around john podesta, hillary clinton's campaign chief's e-mails, he has essentially all but said the means justified the ends and that hacking situation. so, i think people will be watching very closely to see how donald trump walks the line on this particular issue. i don't want to try to guess what exactly he's going to say because -- >> and if julian assange comes back, he said that if chelsea manning was pardoned, he would come back. so, regardless what he thinks about the justice department, so, how donald trump -- and his
celebrating now. they just tweeted out "victory" exclamation point. it is an interesting test for wikileaks. let's just remind oir viewers of the association here. wikileaks of course founded by julian assange, and chelsea manning was to some degree really their greatest source ever. put them on the map. they had done some releases before, but the documents that manning stole from the u.s. military gave and then were released via wikileaks were just this massive trove as we know, essentially created wikileaks as this kind of global force as it were, revealing these secrets. so, he is indellably tied to julian assange. if obama grants clemency, assange will agree to clemency despite constitutional it he has been hold up in london to a steroid extradition to sweden. he is facing allegations there of sexual assault by two women.
public critical documents that are classified and secret and put the u.s. at risk at the end of the day. there has to be serious consequences for that. and if at the end of the day you think you can do that and then have your sentence commuted, i'm not sure that we send the right message. >> the argument that i've heard from some, some critics already, senator, is that what the president has done in commuting chelsea manning's sentence is in effect to send a message to others in the u.s. intelligence community, the u.s. military, go ahead and do what she did and down the road you probably will get a more lenient sentence. that's the argument that will encourage more of these kinds of leaks to wikileaks. i'm sure you've heard that concern as well. >> well, i've heard that and other arguments in the past. and it is something that is a legitimate, i think, valid argument. the reason at the end of the day that there are consequence,
the reason he has given repeatedly, he feared if i go there to face these allegations, that's really a -- an attempt for the u.s. to then extradite me from there back to the u.s. for releasing these documents. but five days ago he said, listen, you grant clemency, i will come to the u.s. i will face extradition and, of course, face charges for his involvement in this. the question now is does julian assange keep that promise? of course there's no connection -- we're not trying to make any connection between that assange demand and the fact the obama administration decided to do this, but the fact is they have done it. five days ago julian assange promised to come here to the u.s. we'll see if he follows through on that promise. and imagine if he does, you will have, i don't know if you want to call it the trial of a century, but you will have quite a legal proceeding here with julian assange, particularly as barbara mentioned, wikileaks' involvement in russian hacking and the u.s. election. it is the assessment of the u.s. intelligence community that wikileaks was in effect the vessel for all these stolen documents, stolen by russia and