i think people respected in the white house. it is constantly an evolving relationship between the east and west wing and in some cases it is better than others. i don't think there's any secret that mrs. next and was frustrated -- nixon was frustrated. he did not stop her from doing what came next to her and what she felt she could do to make a contribution, so i would say my experience was the same way and i remember when i interviewed with her, the first thing she said is not here for myself, i'm here for george and because of , it helpedwith that me get access to the things i needed to help and people knew that and for that reason we had a successful run. othersome point you and got the title assistant to the president. there was some recognition in the east wing that they had a role to play. early days, k writes that no first lady had a more fraught relationship with west wing than pat because bob wanted to run everything. houseme to the white after they were gone, i think. >> i miss them. >> there were those in the adminis

house could be backed up by someone from inside of the white house. next week, tim morrison, a top adviser on the national security council is scheduled to speak with congress. he was on the ukraine call with trump. he may be preparing to back up bill taylor's explosive testimony from earlier this week where taylor said there was a quid pro quo with ukraine. >> tune out the noise. listen to the testimony. it's moving forward. there could be more corroboration coming from another key witness. former national security adviser john bolton. "the new york times" reporting that impeachment investigators are negotiate with bolton's attorneys for him to testify as well in private. and as the impeachment inquiry continues, centered on a request by the president for a foreign country to investigate his political opponents here at home, we are learning that attorney general bill barr's investigation of the origins of the 2016 russian probe has now become a criminal one. let's begin with the impeachment inquiry. a lot of developments there. sunlen serfaty is on c

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so that is the white house's stance. the house speaker saying effectively that she has the authority to move forward with an impeachment inquiry and saying that the president will be held accountable. those are her words. this is a standoff that continues to intensify, andrea. the question is what will it mean for the timing of this entire approve? the speaker had said she wanted this to be done by the end of the year. we have put the question to administration officials, what if the house speaker calls your bluff, effectively, and holds a vote? the answer to that is, they won't engage in hypothetical questions, andrea. >> indeed. jeff mason, what about the hiring of trey gowdy who led the house oversight investigation into hillary clinton in the benghazi which led to the email revelations. trey gowdy was a tough chairman, he's now been brought in use outside counsel. what does he bring to the table? >> sure. number one, it's a sign, along with yesterday's letter, that the white house is taking it even more seriously tha

it goes to the white house strategy though. look at what trump and the team did when mitt romney came out and said he was troubled by this. they put out a video that was designed to embarrass him. that wasn't a message to romney. it was a message to the other 52 senators in the senate saying if you say something negative about us, we will come after you with all of the might of the $300 million we have in the bank at the campaign and the pulpit we have here at the white house. >> you wrote a piece for "the washington post" op-ed where you talked about what goes on behind the scenes during an impeachment. i don't know if you can liken this white house to any in history, but if anybody can, you can. because you know all of the anxiety and stress that gets ratcheted up just by definition during something like this. so what is likely happening with all of the people around the president? >> well, you know, there's very little comparison between the clinton white house and any normal white house. i would put every president, sort of

the white house going to war on the house impeachment inquiry. and they're recruiting former congressman trey gowdy to help wage it. he would not join the administration but would help them wage the impeachment fight from the outside. you can imagine that would mean a lot of tv appearances. joining me to talk about that, ross garber. he teaches impeachment law at tulane and has represented four governors who face impeachment. you have a little bit of expertise in this arena, ross. thank you for being here. look. whether you like his politics or not, trey gowdy is a skilled litigator. he's a good lawyer and can make an effective, compelling argument. but, remember when he said this? listen. >> the notion that you can withhold information and documents from congress no matter whether you are the party in power or not in power is wrong. respect for the rule of law must mean something irrespective of the vicissitudes of political cycles. >> does that from 2012 make it a little bit harder for him to defend the administration's stonewalling now? >> i t

the white house released records that say this. this is in the white house notes from the call. quote, there's a lot of talk about biden's son that biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that. so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great. that's donald trump talking to zelensky in notes released by the white house. biden went around brag that he had stopped it, the prosecution. so if you can look into it, it sounds horrible to me, trump said. trump also told us that he urged ukraine to investigate biden. >> the conversation i had was largely congratulatory, was largely corruption, all of the corruption taking place, was largely the fact that we don't want our people like vice president biden and his son creating to the corruption already in the ukraine. >> so that's all that the whistle-blower alleged. donald trump then blurted it out of his own, what does he call it, stable brain and mouth? here's another example from the whistle-blower's complaint. white house officials told me that they were, quote, directed by white house

well, the white house is obstructing the impeachment inquiry. they say it's because they believe this unconstitutional. now nancy pelosi and her caucus, they're facing a major challenge as how to move forward. president trump continuing to stonewall house democrats in their investigation efforts. the white house sending a scathing letter to nancy pelosi and house committees refusing to cooperate. calling the impeachment inquiry illegitimate and unconstitutional. pelosi sending her own strongly worded warning writing, mr. president, you are not above the law. you will be held accountable. >> the president is obstructing congress from getting the facts that we need. it is an abuse of power for him to act in this way. and that is one of the reasons that we have an impeachment inqui inquiry. >> reporter: the war or words heating up after the white house blocked gordon sondland from appearing before house committees on tuesday. his attorney writing in a statement, ambassador sondland is profoundly disappointed that he will not be able to testify. hou

let's get to the white house. what is the white house saying about this? >> reporter: well, kate, what we're learning, the white house indeed consulted with the state department over this decision to block gordon sondland, the ambassador to the european union from testifying. that came last night with the officials over sondland's deposition. one of the key factors weighing on the white house right now is how much they should cooperate with the house inquiries, at the same time as they're also pressuring the house speaker nancy pelosi to actually bring this for a vote on the house floor. it's a formal vote to open an impeachment inquiry. that's something that the house speaker has insisted that she is under no obligation to do, pointing to the constitution, of course. but this does fit into a broader strategy that we're seeing from this white house, kind of testing the limits of how much they can disobey these requests from congress. a coequal branch of government, of course. one source close to the impeachment sessions saying the days of being nice are do

house and survived the white house years. it's been a very happy thing for us. what i said yesterday in the press conference was, we always get more out of habitat than we put into it. >> speaking of surviving the white house, as you just mentioned, you recently said, i hope there's an age limit on running for president. you said, you know, if i were just 80 years old, if i was 15 years younger, i don't believe that i could undertake the duties that i experienced whenivwhen ivi was president. explain, because we have three candidates, one is 70, elizabeth warren, and of course bernie sanders is 78, just had a heart attack, joe biden is 76. why do you think 80 is too old to be president? >> i don't think they are too old. i didn't refer to anybody in specific terms. but i think if i was already 80 and was in the white house, i don't think i would have a flexible enough mind or attitude to deal with the multiple issues a president has to confront. harry truman's sign on the door, the buck stops here, and with anybody at a lower

ed meese then became a staffer in the reagan white house during reagan's first time as a white house official. he got himself involved in further scandal. he came under investigation by a court-appointed special counsel, who looked at him for multiple allegations of corruption, specifically, ed meese was alleged to have given a whole bunch of different people jobs in the administration after those people had provided him various forms of financial assistance. so when ronald reagan said, after all of that scandal, that he would put ed meese in charge of the justice department and make him the top law enforcement official in the country, this good government group, you know, common cause, run by archibald cox of watergate investigation fame, they took a hard look at ed meese's record, including the independent special counsel's report on those allegations of corruption against meese as a white house official. meese was not criminally charged after that independent counsel did that investigation into him. and because he wasn't indicted, he claimed he had been totally vindicated by that

the white house tonight in massive clean-up mode. plus the president's hand-picked ambassador turns. what did he tell lawmakers behind closed doors and we have details this morning and president trump admitting he resolved a crisis or claiming he resolved a crisis he created and his own party is calling him out tonight. let's go out front. >>> good evening. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, the breaking news. president trump's acting chief of staff today blowing the lid off trump's claim there was no quid pro quo with ukraine and tonight mick mulvaney is trying to undo

so why is the white house claiming victory tonight? plus two major court hearings tonight that could change the course of the impeachment investigation. what we're learning from inside the courtroom. and a rising democrat embroiled in a scandal delivers a blistering farewell speech and tonight she leaves congress pointing fingers. let's go "out front". >>> good evening. i'm pamela brown in for erin burnett. "out front" tonight, the breaking news, the impeachment investigation now in high gear on this historic day when the house of representatives voted to move forward with the impeachment of president trump. another crucial witness testifies of a quid pro quo between trump and ukraine. tim morrison, a top white house adviser now the fifth person under oath to back up allegations of a deal military aid to ukraine in exchange for dirt on trump's political enemies, something the president has denied over and over again. >> no quid pro quo. >> no quid pro quo. >> no quid pro quo. no quid pro quo. no quid pro quo. >> well, tonight, white ho

talking to people in the white house and outside the white house that are close to the president, what he did yesterday was not surprising at all. >> yeah. >> there are a lot -- yeah. >> can iiaed to that point, though? there is a piece in the washington post about inherent contempt. it's a phrase that was brought up in that washington post opted by those seven vulnerable house democrats. remember last monday that sparked all this it is a move that congress has, ahni that, inherent contempt. they haven't done it in 100 years. >> you are right. i was actually talking to someone on the house oversight committee gerry connolly of virginia the other day, a democrat, who was saying he is actually pushing. he would like them to use it. but there are other people in congress, obviously, leadership that are not willing to take that step yet. it could come to that point. so far, they're allowing everything to move to the court and letting judges decide. the problem with that is that it takes a long time. >> yeah. >> so we got some news in. this is a tweet from the president's personal lawyer, r

the white house was seeking. then nbc news reports the headline from sondland's testimony trump pushed giuliani to have ukraine investigate his political opponents and bill taylor he was important. for help with a political campaign. what would investigators do with this revelation? you worked as an attorney. >> well, look. at this point they are trying to build the strongest possible case. you could certainly make the argument based on the release of the transcript of the president and president zelensky. that's enough. you have yesterday's admission by mick mulvaney. but you also have the other testimony. you have fiona hill's testimony that sondland apparently raised this issue twice in the west wing with ukrainian officials. it was so disturbing that the national security adviser john bolton said, hey, you have to go report that to the white house lawyers. what they are doing is not just focusing on those couple of lines that are in the transcript. they are trying to tell you a broader story. this was just no

that is the white house in general. throughout our history that the occupant adapts to the office in the office adapts to the occupant. think mrs. nixon, like all first ladies, this finds all of them together. who careso person more about the success of the president and the presidency and the president's spouse. that is their single focus and that is something that will bind all of them together in what personare as the single who has experienced the ups and downs, and who at the end of the day is not like any other advisor. they are a different confidant. i think mrs. nixon does not get the credit for just what an incredible political mastermind that she was. this is the hardest working person on the president's campaign. to think about it and richard nixon's campaign he had gone from congressman to senator to vice president of the united states, and in all of these campaigns, some of them were difficult. 1952 running for the vice presidency when the scandal on the finances corrupted and how that personally wounded he

and white house not getting along. you go fast and furious, benghazi. there's lots of pushback from every administration to the congress on all oversight investigations. this is no different. >> well, but, you know, the white house at some point -- and the president said it today, anderson. you pointed it out at the beginning of the show. the president said today, you know, i really want you guys to get into the details here and stop talking about process and start defending me on the phone call because it was a beautiful phone call. >> he also said he wanted to talk to mueller, and he wanted to be interviewed. >> exactly. >> what one said publicly is not necessarily what one actually wants. >> exactly. now the republicans have a conflict here because the president, at least he says, wants him to talk about the phone call and how it was perfect and how it was fine for a president to ask another president of another country to do a political favor for him in exchange for military aid. and the republicans are still screa

b, constitutionally, can the white house do this? can they just tell congress to go pound salt, they're not going to cooperate? >> yes, joyce is absolutely correct that if you have an exoneration, you don't silence the witness. in terms of what they can get away with, they have gotten away this up until now, and congress is finally standing up to this kind of nonsense. they've claimed absolute immunity, executive privilege. they've stopped witnesses, and by the way, during watergate, when nixon said "i'm not turning over any tapes" senator ervin, who was conducting the hearings said executive privilege, it's executive poppycock. and that's what this letter from pat cipollone is. it is executive poppycock. there is no truth to it. also, i just want to correct the record a little. during watergate, they started the impeachment hearings before there was a vote to authorize it. and also, the rules were very different back then. now congress has much more independent authority to call witnesses and issue subpoenas. they don't need to decl

abby phillip is at the white house. and we know republicans have urged the president to focus on governing but he keeps injecting the impeachment inquiry into day-to-day comments and day-to-day events, including times that he seems to be suggesting that he is akin to the victims of the civil rights horrors of this country. >> reporter: and, in fact, this visit was supposed to be about the president reaching out to african-american voters, talking about his championing of the first step act to rectify the ways in which the criminal justice system unfairly targets african-americans but he compared that history to himself and what he's facing. he said that these investigations are an investigation in search of a crime and it underscores the challenge for republicans as they continue to urge the president to focus on governing, at the same time that the white house is struggling to come up with a plan to deal with the ongoing impeachment probe on capitol hill. but the president has another problem and that is an anonymous s

it's one thing for the white house to assert that. it's another thing for the white house counsel to assert that. but now we are seeing that crazy argument cited in writing as the basis for other government agencies telling their own officials that they shouldn't show up and testify because the white house says the impeachment isn't real. it's a little bit nuts. i should say, federal agencies have not had great luck in trying to stop their officials from testifying to the impeachment proceedings. we've already seen eight witnesses that we know of show up to give depositions or transcribe testimony including a bunch of current administration officials who went and gave that testimony despite the stern letters from the white house saying, no, we said this doesn't exist. but here's the other part of this. the justice department, led by bill barr, has also been trying its own version of this in the courts. alongside the white house's crazy letter arguing that the impeachment isn't real, it's not a real impeachment, it's not legal, it's no

the white house orders the e.u. ambassador not to testify before lawmakers and said it is done playing nice. now house democrats say they'll subpoena the ambassador. >>> calling trump first. cnn has learned that the e.u. ambassador called president trump during the four-hour gap before he responded to a text message from another u.s. diplomat who warned that holding up aid for ukraine for help with a politic campaign was, quote, crazy. >>> and favoring the inquiry. a new poll shows a majority of americans support the impeachment inquiry and more republicans may be breaking with the president. will public backing for the impeachment inquiry change how republicans respond on capitol hill? wolf blitzer is off today. i'm brianna kieler, you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news this hour, a significant escalation of the impeachment battle between the trump administration and house democrats. white house lawyers have written a letter about to deliver telling house speak

a criminal acts, that's a white house official. people in the white house saw that it wasn't a perfect phone call. in fact, it was so far from perfect that a slew of people who had heard it were worried immediately that the law had been broken. here with me now one of "the washington post" reporters who's written about the relationship with ukraine greg miller who's also the author of "the apprentice, trump, russia and the subversion of american democracy." what have we learned to how central sondland was to this entire affair? good he shows up over and over to this crinology as you just laid out. he is basically really trying to impress the president. he donates a million dollars as you noted through hidden channel tuesday the inaugural committee so that he can get a position like this in government. and then as people in the white house told us even though he's ambassador to the eu, he is shuttling back to washington with such frequency seeking face time with the president they started joking he's more ambassador to the west wing

adding the white house aid was shaken. >> now, despite the white house insisting they will not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, they are gearing up for it. the white house is hiring the former south carolina congressman as a lawyer. he's not expected to join the administration officially but will be advising from the outside. he met with the chief of staff mick mulvaney. >> i want to bring in cnn legal analyst. and cnn senior political analyst. to talk about all of this. crazy and frightening and tray gowdy made an entrance. president's reprieve we had. stone walling is done, full stop. that seems to be over. is that going to stop the bleeding now? >> i don't think so. they're trying to to do two things. one to prevent the democrats from having any additional facts because they do realize that the facts they did release the read out of the phone call, not a full transcript. and the whistleblower complaint really did open up -- they thought it might stop impeachment from going forward. of course quite the opposite happened. new people came forward, enormous amount of facts were ava

i want to get to kaitlan collins outside the white house. kaitlan, the white house tonight, this is no game, no nuance, this is it. eight pages, no cooperation unless. >> white house officials have been frustrated for days after pelosi launched that impeachment inquiry arguing they didn't think it was legitimate and now you're seeing that argument behind the scenes that we've been hearing come to life in this scorching letter that they sent to capitol hill saying they're not going to cooperate with this and they said it was constitutionally invalid and they believe that a violent precedent and the president's due process writes and they're telling them flat out we're not giving you the documents we're requesting and we're not going to provide you with testimony from any of these officials that you've been asking to speak with either. this is essentially them telling them they're not going to cooperate. they're basically going to war with democrats over the impeachment inquiry and what's interesting here and what to watch for going forward is

. >> are you concerned about white house retaliation? >> and john bolton is formally asked to testify. >> you know, john wasn't in line with what we were doing. >> plus new reporting on the origins of trump's quid pro quo with ukraine, and why even republicans are raising alarms at the trump scheme to install an anti-immigrant hard liner at dhs. >> you and mr. trump don't want anyone who looks or talks differently than caucasian americans to be allowed into this country. >> that's false. >> i'm sorry, please don't interrupt me. >> when "all in" starts now. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. the impeachment of president donald j. trump is taking another major step forward today. the house rules committee is preparing vote on a resolution laying out the procedures for the next big steps in the inquiry including public hearings. they are literally convening right now to do that as we speak. the full house is then expected to vote on the resolution tomorrow. legislators have already heard dossens of hours of private testimony t

hill to tell white house lawyers. that is devastating. >> yeah. >> this entire story here really putting things in perspective. certainly ms. hill's testimony today, according to this story in "the new york times," is going to raise a lot of eyebrows. this is -- this quote from her "drug deal -- i'm not going to be part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up." this obviously brings bolton into the center of this. we need to hear from him. >> they're reporting that bolton called rudy giuliani a hand grenade that would blow everything up. she said that during an earlier conversation. frank, i want to bring this in -- bring you in because he's quoting what they said here. bolton told fiona hill to report to giuliani's rogue operation to the white house, to white house lawyers saying, i'm not part of whatever drug deal rudy and mulvaney are cooking up. to tell white house lawyers, according to the testimony. what do you make of that? >> this language is extraordinary. this drug deal. rudy giuliani is a han

so that also makes him a concern to the white house. yeah, awful terms in some of the statements coming in from official white house press people suggesting this guy was completely unqualified for this important position. jeffrey toobin, how do you see all of this unfolding? >> i don't think there is much legal ground in which to object to his testimony. this cupperman case seems sort of silly to me. this is a subpoena. it's a valid subpoena. all the other witnesses have responded to the subpoena. the idea that when you get a subpoena, you have to go to court and say, judge, should i comply with this? i just don't get that. the fact that the white house counsel has raised in this eight-page letter this blanket objection, that doesn't seem to have any legal base at all, and the fact that these others have come through and testified about these conversations, i can't imagine that a judge would say, you, john bolton, don't have to testify about the very same conversation. >> do you agree? >> i'm sorry, wolf, i couldn't hear what he was say

they say the white house has left them no choice. democrats also accusing the president of trying to intimidate the whistle-blower and other potential witnesses. they also say he's trying to change the focus. >> let's not make any mistake here. the president wants to make this all about the whistle-blower. people that come forward with evidence of his wrongdoing, are somehow treasonous. and should be treated as traitors and spies. this is a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses. >> dana: will have complete coverage this hour and as we wait for the president, let's begin. chief white house correspondent john roberts in the east room. we heard a lot from the president but this is a formal press conference where they are sure to be more. >> number of times president trump has done this. he goes into the oval office with a leader, in this case the finish president sauli niinisto then takes more questions. sometimes during the press conferences, fewer questions than they took in the oval office but there's no question, data, that the pre

pat knows that the white house is many things. official ceremony, executive headquarters, but more than any time before, it is the place where the people are welcome. guests findeption, the first lady a hostess of dignity and warmth. theheir first two years, president and his first lady entertained 13,000 guests at dinner alone. pat is the president's lady and more. out of her desire to serve from her decent -- deep interest and love of all people, she emerges as a force in her own right. her ready warmth extends itself across the nation. when the president against his legacy and parks program, turning the eye of government land into recreational areas, pat goes there, participating in the front. >> oh my goodness. how marvelous. we wish you good luck. how about this for a golf ball? comes to mclean, virginia, medford, oregon. the first lady. elegant, but never aloof. reachable. a new park at border field, california is cause for a visit to another country. a fence separates the mexican people a few feet away, but they extend her

the white house announced the white house itself federal offices will end subscriptions to the washington post, new york times . their competitors of your that bloomberg. >> i think they will be okay. >> does that make your job more difficult when news sources are ended or criticized in that way by their decision? >> the washington post andthe new york times do a lot of their business online now . the washington post gives free subscriptions to government employees. if you have a.government email address you get a free subtraction so i don't think it damages them and subscriptions to that paper. and there's sort of like a dual game that goes on in thisadministration . the president likes to be on us and use us as a prop in his political rallies but we have not been kicked out of the white house, we've not been kicked out of air force one. we're still in close proximity to the president, he talks to us a lot. thereis a lot of news that comes out of the white house and his and ministration talks to us, they work with us as the press. they work with thepress and understand the value of the p

inside the white house, you and i both worked in the white house where a urged him not to testify. we should honor him today. i thought it was an important -- a very important day in this impeachment proceedings to have somebody in uniform come forward and speak the truth in a way that completely undercuts the president's story here. and if you -- if it follows masha yovanovitch, mike mckinney, four nonpartisan officers, this is an indictment of the president. >> i want to ask you, you know all the players, one we haven't seen on capitol hill but heard of him through the testimony of fiona hill and bill taylor. john bolton. i worked alongside him in the bush years. he described what rudy and mick mulvaney were doing as a drug deal. i mean, do you think the fact pattern now with witness after witness after witness is so clear that -- that bolton's testimony is almost being heard through his deputies, his lieutenants, and the people around this policy? >> well, nicolle, you and i both worked with ambassador bolton. i hope he testifies because he would -- he would have perfect knowled

according to this white house counsel. even a conversation with someone who never worked for the president is privileged or could be, according to white house counsel. even a conversation in which two people, neither of them are the president, may be privileged. it's unrecognizable. our conversation may be privileged, according to the white house counsel. reporter: i hope not. mr. schiff: i hope not too. [laughter] but it goes to show the legally insupportable position of the white house. and indeed you see this now reflected in court decision after court decision after court decision where judges have said the administration's legal arguments hold no water. but what they are succeeding in doing is building a case involving obstruction of congress. reporter: the white house said it's not cooperating in part because there hasn't been a vote to formalize this impeachment inquiry. why not hold a vote and call the white house's bluff? mr. schiff: i'll let the speaker respond to that. but i think the constitution is very clear.

none of these thing happened with the obama white house and most normal white houses. we're in a different world with donald trump. what he may be finding out now is that the laws of gravity apply thoim. it's all catching up to him. >> ben rhodes, a safe distance from the west wing, as far as he can get, in los angeles. thanks for joining us tonight. >> thanks, brian. >>> what rick wilson has to say about the republicans speaking out about trump's syria decision when we come back. these folks don't have time to go to the post office they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >>> close trump ally lindsey graham has been uncharacteristically critical of the president's decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria. he told axios last week, quote, if i hear the president say one more time i made a campaign promise to get out of syria, i'm going to throw up, which somehow gets us to rick wilson, long-time florida man, long-time republican s

house, the subpoena for the white house to hand over documents that it sounds like from our reporting that they are not going to do that. that they're preparing a letter, kaitlan collins said, that they will make the argument, that first nancy pelosi has to vote on the impeachment inquiry before they hand it over because they don't recognize that the impeachment inquiry is happening. parallels? >> the real parallel is that the nixon tapes are somewhat the equivalent of those conversations summaries that are now in that highly-classified locked digital lockbox. they are somewhat equivalent because what we've seen of one summary suggests this conspiracy. suggests this high crime perhaps by the president of the united states. and nixon was ordered to turn over his tapes because of those kinds of suggestions. so there's some real comparisons of evidence that is being withheld now, that the watergate investigators were able to obtain. >> and which they were not, became article three, which is to say you're not giving us what we want. >> that's exactly right. and that became another part of

the white house says the resort will host the event at cost. acting chief of staff mick mulvaney insists that makes it's okay. >> he's not making money off of this. he's not making money from working here. if you think it's going to help his brand, that's great. but i would suggest he doesn't need much help promoting his brand. >> jerry nadler sees it otherwise. he says the plan violates the constitution saying, hosting the g7 summit at doral implicates the foreign and domestic e moll youments clauses. >>> rick perry is stepping down. the energy secretary informed president trump he will leave his post this year. he announced his decision in a video posted on youtube. >> with profound emotion and gratitude that i'm announcing my resignation. there's much work to be done in these upcoming weeks. and i remain fully committed to accomplishing the goals that i set out to accomplish at the beginning of my tenure. i'll treasure the memories of what we've accomplished together. >> president trump says he's already picked perry's replacement. he had no

i didn't know who they were when i was in the white house. but when the break-in occurred, i said oh no, because i knew at once instinctively it was our guys. >> g. gordon liddy, ex-fbi, ex-treasury, ex-justice, ex-white house consultant. and e. howard hunt jr., ex-cia, ex-bay of pigs planner, ex-white house consultant. >> they thought they were james bond. we didn't think they measured up. it was closer to the typical gang that couldn't shoot straight. >> prosecutor earl silbert read the names of 60 government witnesses. the list included only one low-ranking white house lawyer and several former employees of the committee to re-elect the president. >> if you don't know richard nixon's psychology, if you don't know his background, you could never understand why the white house reacted to watergate the way it does. >> from day one, there was a great sense that we were under siege. and we were not deceiving ourselves that the press did not like us. both houses of congress did not like nixon. i mean, that is the truth. and the question is how y

i'm sure they'll get instructions from the white house. if they do and they fail appear, they will be building a very powerful case against the president for obstruction. each time the white house steps in to obstruct congress from getting documents and we know now that there are any number of very important relevant documents the state department is withholding from congress. they also withhold witnesses and forced them to refuse to appear or attempt to ignore lawful process, they will build the obstruction case against the president. in terms of how we will use litigation, we are not willing to allow the white house to engage us in the lengthy game in the courts. we'll press forward. [indiscernible] >> no. we will not allow the white house to delay our investigation. any acts of obstruction of this, any effort to prevent the congress and the american people from learning more about the president's misconduct, will build a public case for obstruction of congress by this president. let's keep in mind what we have learned in two short weeks

so, ben tracy is at the white house. and, ben, i just read through this letter, it's pretty strongly-worded. >> reporter: it sure is. i mean, this letter is basically the white house daring house .emocrats to take a formal vote ns an impeachment inquiry. now, inside this letter, the white house says, "given that your inquiry lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, or even the most elementary due process protections, the executive branch cannot be expected to participate in it." w, why does the white house nant the house of representatives to vote on an impeachment inquiry? well, it hopes that a formal impeachment investigation will give republicans additional legal tools-- mainly, the right he have white house counsel present for depositions, and the power to subpoena and question aitnesses. with that, republicans could even call former vice president calbiden and his son hunter to capitol hill to talk about their involvement in ukraine. aine.donnell: that's interesting, ben. also, the w

the white house orders the e.u. ambassador not to testify before lawmakers and said it is done playing nice. now house democrats say they'll subpoena the ambassador. >>> calling trump first. cnn has learned that the e.u. ambassador called president trump during the four-hour gap before he responded to a text message from another u.s. diplomat who warned that holding up aid for ukraineor

hans nichols tracking it down from the white house. the "times" reports this person is considering filing a whistleblower report. what more do we know? >> reporter: according to "times," two people briefed on the matter, this second potential whistleblower in the process of thinking about it. whether or not he'll come forward. now, we don't know if that person, that individual will come forward publicly. there's an indication in the article the potential whistleblower is weighing, testifying before the congress. unclear whether that's open or closed session. but this could potentially be more corroboration of what the first whistleblower actually revealed and we have some corroboration of that because we actually have the call log from the president where he's talking to the president of ukraine, that's president trump, ukrainian counterpart asking for an investigation both into what happened in 2016 but also into the biden's role and his son, hunter biden, in a general corruption inquiry. so this could potentially be explosive. we'll

white house setting priorities for u.s. interests not the president's personal political interests and then american diplomats implementing that policy. this is not how american foreign policy works. you're not supposed to have diplomats who work for the american people on taxpayer dimes essentially leveraging the foreign relations of the united states to get a country to get re-elected. and what you see here are all the important instruments we have to bring to bear to pressure another country. white house visits, foreign assistance, hundreds of millions of dollars in valuable military assistance, diplomatic negotiations, all of that being leveraged to get a particularly outcome that prioritizes president trump's personal political interests. but donald trump has so fundamentally corrupted u.s. foreign policy that you have career diplomats put in a position they're basically acting on behalf of the re-election campaign. >> it sounds like a rico charge, running a criminal enterprise at the state department. >> yeah, you bas

i want to start at the white house. peter alexander is there, and richard engel is on the ground in northern syria. peter, let me start with you as to what we're hearing about the president's speech set to be delivered in, what, just under an hour here. you're told by our sources that this is not expected to be particularly lengthy from the president, right? >> reporter: that's right, expected to be abbreviated remarks from the president. i'm hearing from the president will be joined by the vice president, mike pence, the secretary of state mike pompeo, likely his national security adviser, robert o breen as well. our best indication of what we expect to hear came from the form of a tweet. we'll put it oup the screen and tell you what the president said and we'll walk you through the fact check of those comments. he said big success on the turkey/syria border. cease-fire has held and combat missions have ended. kurds are safe and have worked very nicely with us. he notes he'll be making a statement at 11:00 a.m.. let's

"deadline: white house" with nicolle wallace begins right now. ♪ >>> hi, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. today a moment of choosing for republicans in congress as washington still reels from the aftershocks of yesterday's explosive testimony from america's top diplomat in ukraine. a man hand-picked by secretary of state mike pompeo who has erased any room for objective minds to doubt that donald trump conditioned military aid for ukraine on a commitment to investigate his political rivals. the unimpeachable testimony of diplomat bill taylor has cut the final cord from trump's feeble defenses and denials of a quid pro quo with ukraine. claims first brought to light by a whistle-blower complaint made public just a few weeks ago. taylor's testimony delivered behind closed doors painting a devastating picture of corruption of u.s. foreign policy at the highest levels of the executive branch of government. from today's "washington post," quote, taylor repeatedly expressed his shock and bewilderment as he watched u.s. policy toward ukraine get overtaken by trump's demand

the white house released ukraine aide. and those revealing sets of text messages were released after volker testified for nine and a half hours yesterday. saying they are on a substituet the full body of materials they hope to make public. of all of that mounting evidence of all of those texts the president seized on just one. >> when this came out. it was quid pro quo. well there was none. also yesterday, the ambassador who i heard was tremendous and a tremendous person, he was a 100% for what we're saying. a 100%. . and if you look, he also said there was no quid pro quo. that's the whole ball game. but now the democrats don't bring that up anymore because they lost. >> remember president trump asked china and ukraine to investigate the bidens yesterday while standing on the white house lawn. also remember today is the deadline for the white house to turn over documents related to ukraine or face subpoenas. so our big question today is how will republican lawmakers respond to these smoking texts? joining me now --. ashle

circling the white house. he's waiting to bite back. >> talk more about that. >> i know john bolton from the bush white house. he's a lifetime republican. but the toughest bureaucratic infighter there is. he knows everything about everything, including this president. and he was not treated well on his way out. i guarantee there's going to be john bolton payback. >> it's worth pointing out that one of the white house -- the first white house aide who has agreed to defy instructions not to cooperate, morrison, who is testifying, apparently, next week, is a bolten guy. and so, this will be an interesting barometer to see what he says. he may corroborate the more damning material that taylor has alleged at this point. he's known to be a loyal party guy. i don't want to elevate his testimony too much. >> bolton? >> morrison. boltton brought him in. >> i was listening with one ear and reading with another. the deputy, former deputy national security adviser, following a lawsuit, asking a federal judge to rule on wh

the white house says that this is a white house that has pushed back on rusia and other countries trying to interfere in the 2016 election and in the 2020 election, but it is really important to note that in their letters to house democrats, they're actually now accusing nancy pelosi and others of doing wat russia is accused of doing in 2016. they say that democrats are trying to influence the 2020 election with this impeachment inquiry. so what you have is them not commenting on this but also making the argument that this is what democrats are now doing. >> woodruff: so much to follow today, so much. yamiche -- >> it's only tuesday. >> woodruff: it's only tuesday. yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. supreme court heard arguments on whether workers can be fired for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. at issue is whether they are covered by the 1964 civil rights act. a decision is expected by early next summer. we will discuss all of this, right after the news summary.r turkey moved troops into position today for an offensi

house is refusing to comply with the white house impoo impeachment inquiriy. what's next? paul begala has some thoughts on that. (kickstart my heart by motley crue)) (truck honks) (wheels screeching) (clapping) (sound of can hitting bag and bowl) (clapping) always there in crunch time. i used to book my hotel room on those traalways a catch.here was like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks. i got to select my room from the floor plan... very nice... i know, i'm good at picking stuff. free wi-fi... laptop by the pool is a bold choice... and the price match guarantee. how do you know all of this? are you like some magical hilton fairy? it's just here on the hilton app. just available to the public, so... book at hilton.com and get the hilton price match guarantee. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. it also has the highest growth in manufacturing jobs in the us. it's a competition for the talent. employees need more than just a paycheck. you definitely want to take

the white house will refuse to cooperate with it. this comes after the state department brought gordon soundland the u.s. ambassador to the european union from speaking to three house committees informing him of that decision just hours before he was scheduled for a deposition today. ambassador sondland is among the three diplomats who exchanged potentially damning text messages about a possible effort to leverage the government of ukraine last summer. and according to republican senator ron johnson sondland told him over the summer the release was contingent on ukraine pointing a prosecutor who would quote get to bottom of what happened in 2016. house intelligence chairman adam schiff made clear the administration's stonewalling represents obstruction of justice to him. >> the failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of congress, a coequal branch of government. >> in a tweet this morning the president took persona

show of defines by the white house. the key sentence reads and and i quote the white house should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the president's abuse of power will be rartds as further evidence of obstruction. earlier i spoke with two members of the house quiet committees leading the inquiry. he will more holmes norton on the oversight committee and raja krish th -- >> the white house clearly refuseding to cooperate, stone calling at the least. what are you and fully democrats doing in response. >> this is not unexpected, anderson. when the white house stone walls, they commit a grievuous error. you notice in an ordinary trial if you subpoena somebody or are called for a trial and you don't appear, then the presumption is against you. and you could be found guilty. it is the president's prerogative not to appear. but it's not our prerogative to say he doesn't appear there must be nothing here. remember, anderson, when we already have a great deal. we have two whistle-blowers whose -- whose commen