end cooper -- anderson's cooper, seeing it all live here on this station. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> breaking news, law enforcement officers around the nation on high alert on the wake of a ferguson decision. a decision could be just hours away. tonight my exclusive interview with the ferguson's embattled police chief. and one of bill cosby's accusers speaks with us as to why they thought her life was in danger. and tonight republicans vowing a major fight, calling it constitutional war. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnett. and "outfront" we begin with breaking news. a new warning for law

enforcement officers around the country to be on high alert for violence in the wake of a grand jury decision on whether to indict ferguson police officer darren wilson. that decision could come as soon as tomorrow. in ferguson city officials imposed a midnight curfew. this is as michael brown, sr., the father of the young man who sparked this racially charged case, called for calm, whatever the decision. >> i thank you lifting your voices to end racial profiling and intimidation, but hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. no matter what the grand jury decides, i do not want my son's death to be in vain. >> and evan perez is "outfront" in ferguson. and officers are preparing for what could be challenging and frightening days ahead. >> reporter: that is right, erin. the concern is nationwide because we have groups that say they will have protests around the country.

and the federal protection, they are guarding federal buildings. and local police are bracing for possible problems. so the concern is really nationwide, not just here in ferguson. >> evan, you were the only journalist to witness michael brown senior filming that public service announcement, what was it like in the room, what were the emotions like? how many takes did it take? >> reporter: he did a few takes. he was very emotional. he brought his three little kids with him to the studio. and one of the things he's concerned about is that there is this need to talk about police conduct, especially in the black communities, but also very concerned because he doesn't want the demonstrations to get out of hand and doesn't want his son's memory to be hijacked and make sure people can protest and bring attention to the issues but also not really cause bigger

problems that will lose the message. >> evan perez, thank you so much. breaking news from ferguson. tonight the top cop at the center of the controversy and the handling of the aftermath is speaking up about officer wilson's future and his own. and in a moment you'll hear from the police chief right here "outfront." but first, jason carol. >> reporter: when ferguson's police chief tom jackson took the position in 2010, it was supposed to be an easy way to cap what would be a long and distinguished career in law enforcement. easy, because after 30 years with the st. louis county police department, serving as commander of a drug task force and s.w.a.t. team supervisor, being police chief of a smaller department should have been less stressful. the shooting of michael brown changed everything. brown was unarmed when he was shot by a ferguson police

officer who is white. the incident exposing feelings of distrust between ferguson ferguson's black community and the police department which is overwhelmingly white. from the outset, critics say, there were too many mistakes on the part of the police. the use of teargas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters, surveillance video allegedly showing brown stealing from a convenience store released by police the same day they revealed the fame of the officer involved in the shooting, darren wilson. brown's body left on the street for hours. >> i'm truly sorry for the loss of your son. i'm also sorry that it took so long to remove michael from the street. >> reporter: apologies end in an attempt to personally engage protesters not ending well. >> i'm wondering if it is disheartening when you see the community rising up in this way? >> yeah, well it is heartbreaking for me, because like i said, this is my home all of my life. and i've served this community

all of my life as a law enforcement officer and always seen myself as being part of the solution. >> reporter: the justice department clearly sees things in a drastically different way. >> i will say that i think it is pretty clear that the need for wholesale change in that department is appropriate. >> reporter: jason carol, cnn, ferguson, missouri. and "outfront" now is the police chief of ferguson, missouri, chief jackson. thank you for joining us tonight. and the decision could come as soon as tomorrow. you are not overseeing the local response and i know the governor of missouri didn't include you in his press conference when he laid out the plan to deal with violence. do you think you should be running that response to show the people can trust you and the police force. >> i'm running things here locally and we are still patrolling the city of ferguson throughout all of this. we are a smaller police department in a small community and this is a much larger

regional issue. and i know john bell mer, the chief of police for st. louis county for decades and i have absolute confidence in his ability to see us through that thing. >> you've come under a lot of pressure as we know, you've had local authorities saying step aside and talking about the police force saying that it is clear for wholesale change in that department was appropriate and you had chair mccaskell saying something about those lines. you want to be part of the solution. does that mean staying in your job as the police chief? >> yes. i intend to see this thing threw. and i've been working with community members to work on progressive changes that will bring the community together and to open up dialogue and getting us all talking about serious issues and creating solutions to problems. so, yes, i think i can see this

through and come out on the other side with the community, the region and even the country a whole lot better. >> and you want to come out of it on the other side. and some people say chief jackson, if there is one thing we've learned, is there is a racial divide. i'll read them for your community. you know them. 67% of the population is african-american. and there are only three black police officers according to the latest numbers we have. do you think the racial breakdown of ferguson needs to equal the breakdown in your police force. >> actually we have four african-american officers. but we have been working and still try to work on recruiting and retaining quality african-american and other minority applicants to increase the diversity within the police department. that has been a goal of ours for a long time and it continues to be and we fully intend to double our efforts to increase that. >> i understand your point. but obviously in your community,

they are -- african-americans are not minorities. it is 66% of the population. you are saying they are not applying for jobs, is that the problem? >> with the pool of candidates, it is generally pretty small. and you can understand there are larger police agencies in the region that can offer more diversity of opportunity within the ranks. so we're working real hard to do things to help us recruit and retain quality applicants. >> i want to play you this video and we saw it this week and this is darren wilson leaving the police department after shooting michael brown. and he looks okay. this is the video from the surveillance camera. in august you spoke to jason carol and you said he was treated at the hospital for his face. have you seen him or heard of any injuries since you last

spoke to cnn? >> no, i kept myself away from the evidence, so the county and the prosecutor could conduct a fair and impartial investigation without any interference. >> you said if he isn't indicted, he could return to his job and you have a legal point but have you talked to wilson about whether or not he will return to the police force if he is not indicted? >> i have not talked to him about anything since the first few days after the shooting. >> and i guess the question is, given the environment in ferguson right now, just as a hypothetical question but an important one, do you think officer wilson would be safe as a police officer in ferguson, if he came back and did that? >> that is a discussion we're going to have once all of the investigations are over. as you know, we still have a federal investigation coming up. so, that is a discussion down the road. >> all right. well chief jackson thank you so much for your time tonight, sir.

>> thank you very much. and breaking news, the head of the st. louis police union tells cnn he does not expect officer darren wilson to be indicted in the shooting of michael brown. he went on to say wilson told him he has confidence in the grand jury and the justice system. "outfront" next, a woman that said bill cosby sexually assaulted her when she was an aspiring model. she'll tell you how she feared for her life. and bill cosby's wife camille showing her smiling and calm as her husband dodges questions about rape allegations. and who is camille cosby? and the president with a historic address to the nation, already dividing congress. we miss out on the things that matter today. ♪ at axa, we offer advice

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a long time bill cosby accuser speaks out on

"outfront." this is new video today. this is bill cosby who is pressuring an associated press reporter not to air an exchange of him being asked by sexual assault allegations. >> i would appreciate it to be scuttled. i think if you want to consider yourself to be serious, that it will not appear anywhere. >> as you could see, he has his wife by his side. the reporter had asked him about the allegations multiple times. his response was no, no, we don't answer that. there is no response. and finally, quote, there is no comment about that. pa part of the interview was held by the a.p. for two weeks. but since then, more women have come forward, including tamara green, who was a 19-year-old model when she met cosby in los angeles. her story is similar to others. she alleged she was drugged and assaulted by the man who would be the favorite dad, dr. hucks

table. due to a health condition, green did not want to appear on camera but she joins me by phone. tamara, i want to give you a chance to share with our viewers what it is you want them to know what happened that day with bill cosby? >> well the most asked question is why didn't you go to the cops and it is like, well what would i have gone -- i would have gone to the cops and said bill cosby sexually assaulted me and they would say, are you injured ? no, are there marks on him? no were there marks on you? no. >> what exactly did he do for you. >> he opened a club and he wanted to call his pals and make enough capital to open a private club because those were the times, bag in the days there was the daisy and the candy store

and the clubs were big. and i was kiill. and i said i can't work today. and he said come over to this restaurant he owned and have some lunch and maybe you will feel better. and i did. and when i got there he said do you think contact would help. >> the cold medicine. >> i said sure. i didn't know. it wasn't that he had a relationship of trust. i didn't distrust him. so when he came out with two caps in his hand and not in the package, and this is something you should watch for, take your medicine out of the pack anl and not's hand. he said maybe this could help. and he was right. in a few minutes i felt like a million bucks. after that i was very stoned and i was scared. i thought i was dying. but i had actually smoked enough pot in my youth, i've been to college, that i knew the difference between stones and being ill. and it just began to infuriate

me. so when we got back to -- he drove me to my apartment, saying, oh, she must be more ill than we thought and he was going to help me, which is what he did to andrea constand and when we got to his apartment, he said let me help you take off your clothes and i'll put you to bed. and i'm thinking, wait a minute. and i'm wondering, why i'm sick he has to take his clothes off. the next thing we were having a fight. it was like hand to hand combat. i didn't know if he was going to kill me or rape me. he had his clothes off and was trying to get in bed with me. so we struggled. and i'm very loud. my advice to women and children is be loud and make noise. and ultimately, he did not rape me, but he sexually assaulted me and did all kind of things and when he left, he left two $100

bills by the front door and that was a slap in the face. >> tamara, when you came forward with this story, in 2005. this is when you came out about -- to talk about it. you actually went on the today show and it was a pretty tough interview. i want to just play a clip because you were asked by matt lauer why you didn't contact authorities right away and i want to play what you said. >> the first thing you feel is stupid. and then you feel that no one will believe you. this is the great bill cosby. >> so you felt like you wouldn't be able to go up against someone of his celebrity and power? was that it? did you consciously make a decision not to do it? >> no. i did not go because i knew he was the great bill cosby and because of the run -- the things i've stated before. what was i going to say? i'm not injured? i have no blood. and by the way, there was no rape kit back in the day and there was no dna analysis which

people forget. youngsters grow up thinking we've had dna all along, we didn't have that. so there was no ability to prove that kind of crime, not just for me but other girls that were sexually assaulted. >> and you make a mention about the rape kit, and some suggestion if there is a rape kit, but you mention it wasn't available when the alleged crimes may have happened. but there is one thing i want to ask you about, tamara. you say you understand one of the points bill cosby is making and he said people are coming after him because of his celebrity and he says they are making it up and he is vulnerable because the weight of the accusation is so great. but that is something you understand. >> that is his defense. he has two lines of defense. i'm a celebrity and everybody wants to be famous for 15 minutes. there are other things i would like to be famous for, than

being famous for being sexual lay salted by bill cosby. there are people that make allegation and lie. i try to separate truth from fiction from the people in the room. i'm a defense attorney. i know how to break down credibility. so i thought i will have to ride it out. and i did. and i was all by myself back then in 2005, if you recall. >> if you had the chance to talk to bill cosby now, so many years have passed, he's 77 years old, what would you tell him? >> i've been talking him since 2005 over the air saying this is what you did. you know it. i know it. he has no defense other than to say he was misunderstood. but at 77, you better work at redemption over there. you better do some good in your life. and by the way, i didn't hold -- i don't hold with the sentence that he received that he should

never work again. when he's employed, a lot of people are employed. so i think -- but i understand that television is a marketing media and his job is to fill up the spaces between commercials and if the commercials don't find him marketable, he's done. >> all right. >> but i did not do this to him. we did not do this to him. he did this to himself and he knows what the truth is. so at age 77, you better get with it. you're running out of time to become heroic. >> thank you so much for taking time to tell your storey, and during the associated press interview, i'll show you again. you see camille cosby, that is her in the purple jacket, sitting quietly and talking with her husband while he refused to discuss the rape allegations. you can only imagine what she must have been thinking and feeling. this is not the first time she's been force to face questions about her husband's fidelity.

susan candiotti takes a closer look at the woman who has so consistently stood be side bill cosby. >> she's the wife of bill cosby, camille, seven years younger than her recognizable husband. she also has a commanding presence. so during a november 6th interview as cosby declined comment on a sex allegation, it was hard to take your eyes off of camille. even when he asked the associated press to quash his on-camera answer. >> can i get something from you. >> what is that? >> that none of that will be shown? >> i -- i can't promise that myself. but you didn't say anything. >> i know i didn't say anything. but i'm asking your integrity since i didn't want to say anything, but i did answer you in terms of i don't want to say anything of what value will it

have. >> camille looking on, a smile never leaving her face. during the hit cosby show, his tv wife clair huxtable was based on camille. even making a guest appearance. smart, beautiful, wise, unflappable. in real life, the couple exuding charm and classic glam your. married 50 years, camille was only 19 when they tied the knot, meeting on a blind date. his career took off with eye spy, it was the height of the civil rights era. they have five children. their son was killed. and eventually convicted of trying to extort $40 million from the comedian, jackson threatening to tell tabloids she was his out of wedlock daughter. in court the entertainer admitting to an affair and

payments to autumn's mother but denying he was her father. at the time camille's publicist reading a statement on her bee half. >> all old personal negative issues between bill and me were resolved years ago. >> now at least five women are alleging cosby sexual assaulted them since the 1960s. he's never been charged with a crime and never publicly admitted sexual assault. oprah asked them about tough times in their marriage and fooled around. camille talks about partners being selfish. you look at whether the relationship is worth salvaging, whether you really love each other and want to be together. does that hold true now? so far camille, like her husband, is silent. susan candiotti, cnn new york. >> whatever you think happened,

one thing we all know she is going through a lot of pain right now. "outfront" next, count down to the president's historic address. he said he doesn't want to be an emperor. is tonight's action consist went that. and some say he is using his authority. we have the facts. we are now 35 moments away from the president's address to the nation. we'll be live "outfront." financial noise financial noise financial noise

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i want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have breaking news, awaiting a prime time address from president barack obama on the issue of immigration reform. the white house just releasing this photo of the president tonight doing a walk-through at the podium where he will deliver his speech moments from now. the president is expected to lay out his plan for major changes to immigration laws in the united states. this action could impact up to half of the 11 million undocumented immigrants now in the u.s. the most far-reaching change will offer papers and work

authorization to undocumented parents of american citizens. now according to excerpts of the speech, the president will say, quote, mass amnesty would be unfair. mass deportation will be contrary to our character. what i'm describing is accountability, a common sense approach. if you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. if you are a criminal, you will be deported. so up to 5 million people will get to stay in the united states and the republicans are already fuming. >> the president will come to regret the chapter of history rights if he does move forward. >> make no mistake, when the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act. >> and a huge showdown is looming. dana bash is on capitol hill. dana, so much threats are being thrown around but what can republicans do about it? he has the stage for the world

to see tonight. >> he has the stage and he has the executive power, which he is using tonight. so to answer your question, is there some tools that republicans believe they have, but not many because across the republican spectrum, here in the hallways, they are not going to go down the root of a government shut down again. so using the power of the purse, which is the latest weapon, has limits. mitch mcconnell said when the republicans are sworni in in january, they are limited on what they can do if they don't want to go to a government shut down. they can sue him and censure him, but the bottom line is they are limited. but as you said, there are really incendiary e-mails and statements going out. i'll give you one example. lamar smith, republican of texas released this e-mail ahead of the president's statement saying

what the president is going to do is a declaration of war on the american people. so that is kind of a prime example of what you are hearing and seeing in terms of the rhetoric and i have to tell you, some are concerned it could turn into more than that in america. >> and a declaration of war. and you said it, the republicans are go going to the mat on this. and is there any situation before it goes deaf con. and with us "outfront" tonight, david sea mouse. it is possible that the president will not go ahead with action or is it a done deal? >> the president is move ago head with his actions and that is what you will hear tonight in a short time. that will cover three main areas. the first piece of this is about strengthening and further securing the border. the second piece of the action is about prioritization and

deportation on the interior so we are focusing on felons and not families. and in the third piece, it is about bringing more accountability to the actual system that affects undocumented immigrants here in the country. so that is what we'll do and that is the way he will move out tonight. >> and this is something near and deer to his heart and wanted to do for a long time. that is a fair point to make. but he has talked about it a lot, particularly about executive action on immigration reform over the years and here is what he said about using executive action on immigration. >> the notion that i can just suspend deportations through executive order, that is just not the case. because there are laws on the books that congress has passed -- >> i'm not a king. i'm not the emperor of the united states. >> what changed to make him decide to go his against -- against his words, that there

are laws on the books. and what made him change his mind. >> in all of those instances, there were a couple of different questions. there were questions about suspending all deportations. presidents can't do that. there are questions about simply doing by executive fiat what the comprehensive immigration reform bill would have done, the president can't do that. what you are going to see and hear about tonight, erin, is very, very consistent with what every president since eisenhower has done and clearly within the constitutional and legal power of the president to prioritize in terms of prosecutorial discretion. so this is consistent with what he said in the past. >> and when you say it is consistent, let me understand. he is now going to say he is suspending deportations and the estimates are like 3 million to 5 million depending on the force

you look at. and you are saying he can suspend some. >> no, before you saw that clip, the president had done daka. that dream kids if they registered would be placed lower on the priority list and would not be subject to a period of time of deportation. and what will you hear tonight, is completely consistent with what he had done before. the clips that you are referencing were in direct response to questions about broad -- much broader action than anything than is intended either what he did in the past or as of tonight. >> thank you very much, david simas, the white house political director. >> thanks, erin. it president obama ignoring the constitution and acting like a king orem porrer?

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moments from now president obama will lay out the most sweeping reform of the u.s. immigration system in decades. we are standing by for the prime time address. but his decision to take executive action without the approval of congress is causing a fire storm. republicans say it is illegal. four governors are now threatening to sue the president over his plan which would spare millions and millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. but barack obama is not the first president of the united states to do it alone. these are the facts and tom forman is front with them from washington. >> erin, barack obama is stepping up his use of executive orders and he still lags behind other modern presidents. he has two years to go. he's at 191. ronald reagan finished at 381. and still why are his supportersin fury ated that he is a empirical president.

>> make no mistake, when president obama wants to use his executive order to deal with immigration. >> everybody agrees our immigration system is broken. >> he is not the first president to do so. in 1986 the congress passed a huge overhaul of immigration, giving 3 million people people who came illegally a right to stay. but there was a whole. it gave patients citizenship but not their kids. so ronald reagan used his power to adjust the impact. >> future generations of americans will be thankful for our efforts. >> a few years later george bush created the family fairness program, broadening the rules even further to keep families split up by immigration policy. >> it also credits the special role of immigrants to america. >> supporters of president obama point to both of those cases as proof he is doing nothing unusual. and for republicans to be

outraged is hypocritical. and opponents say not so fast. reagan and bush were tinkering with laws passed by congress, whereas they say obama, failing to get the reform he wants, is in effect, enacting a law of his own. these things are not really laws. they kind of act like them, but they can be overturned by enough votes in congress or by a future president. but still critics say it is not how many are issued but it is by the way they are used. and when you talk about how many. nobody beats fdr. he was in office for many years and he issued more than 3500 executive orders. erin. >> including creating columbus day and things like that. thank you to tom forman. and "outfront" today jeffrey toobin. fdr never ceases to amaze me. putting that aside for a moment. republicans say what the president is planning is unconstitutional and the president said it is lawful.

i played the sound bite a few moments ago to his political director where he said he can't do this, he can't supercede congress and now they are saying he is being consistent in what he is doing. here is the bottom line. you know the reality. does have he the authority to do what he is doing. >> think about the way federal law works. it says certain activities is illegal. smoking pot sill legal, being in the country without a visa and sneaking over the border is illegal. but the courts have always understood that the executive branch can't enforce laws against every person. every person who smokes pot is not prosecuted by the federal government. they can't deport every person who is here illegally, so the courts have said that the federal government can have priorities. it can say we're going to deport these people but not others. we're going to prosecute heroin but not marijuana, and that is what the president is doing here. he is establishing priorities

for who will be deported. and as far as i can tell, it is legal. whether it is a good policy or not, that is a separate question. but does the president have the authority, as far as i can tell, he does. >> so the bottom line is you are saying it is legal. so republicans that are barking up the they are going to take it to the supreme court tree are setting themself up for a big loss? >> i do think a court case is certainly destined to fail. there are strict rules about who can bring a lawsuit and these four governors -- what president obama is doing doesn't tell the governors to do anything so i don't think they have what is called standing, that is the legal right to sue. congress can pass a law and impeach the president but going to court is not likely to be successful. jeffrey toobin, thank you very much. and a good point to remind everybody that the president of the united states does have a serious background in constitutional law. "outfront" next, a live picture from out front of the

white house. we are moments away from the historic address. what is the situation like on the border? we go live tonight to mission, texas.

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now these are live pictures from outside of the white house right now. these people are protesting in favor of immigration reform and what the president will announce in just a few moments with his executive order to allow up to 5

million illegal and undocumented immigrants to stay in the united states. according to experts, if you plan to enter the united states illegally your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up. on the u.s./mexican border. you have spent the day talking with people on the border. this is where the truth really lies, where you are tonight. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, erin, there's growing concern among some people who live in the rio grande valley that tonight's announcement may encourage even more people to try to cross the river behind me. this is the same area where thousands of unaccompanied minors crossed into the u.s. earlier this year. now we talked to a catholic charities group that has been dealing with many of these new arrivals and they have noticed an uptick in the past two weeks and they believe this may be seasonal but talk about imfwrags rae form could be a factor. we went to a bus station where

we saw dozens of women and children who had recently arrived from central america waiting in line for a bus ticket to take them to their next destination. listen to what one woman told us. >> translator: did the possibility of immigration rae form inspire you to come now? >> translator: yes, that's right. that inspired us. >> translator: now? >> translator: yes, now. >> reporter: now most migrants we talked to at the bus station told us they did not know about the possible immigration reform and that the real reason they want ed to come here was to geta better life. erin? >> all right, thank you so much, alina. that's all for us tonight. cnn special coverage of president obama's immigration address begins after this.

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good evening. welcome to a special edition of "ac 360." in a few minutes president obama will address the nation telling americans what steps he is taking as chief executive that it will affect millions of immigrants who are in this country illegally. steps the white house believes are within any president's power but others are describing in apocalyptic thames, impeachment, defunding, violence in the streets in some cases. that was before we began hearing the president was planning to go even beggar than most everyone thought. jim acosta is getting the late

details. dana cash is up on capitol hill. jim, let's start with you. what are you hearing now? >> reporter: anderson, senior administration officials insist this is not amnesty, there is no path to citizenship in the president's executive action. instead it is on beefed up enforcement and prosecutorial progression. here is the plan according to seen why are administration officials. administration officials say undocumented parents of u.s. citizens, illegal residents who have been in the country for five years get what's called deferred action meaning they won't be deported. also covered under the president's plan an expanded number of children who are brought to the country illegally, those so-called dreamers. here is where it gets interesting. the department of homeland security is launching a new forcement program that targets undocumented felons and what the administration calls recent border crossers as in people who crossed the border since january 2014. all other undocumented immigrants take lower status. immigration authorities essentially had will not be

coming for them and to those republican critics who say the president is overreaching, president obama will say tonight, pass a bill. anderson? >> jim, for years the president said and in multiple different locations and there's plenty of tape of it, that he does not have the power to do this. what changed? >> reporter: the white house said, and they don't believe the president has changed his tune on this but he has if you look at the various videos, they say the president has given the republican party plenty of time. that they saw a bipartisan bill pass out of the senate and the house gop has essentially said they're not going to bring it up so the president is going to do as much as he can under the law in that bill over the next several months, anderson. >> jim acosta, thanks. the very notion of president obama taking executive action on this has provoked sharp reaction from republicans. mr. obama's old friend and colleague senator coburn is warning of anarchy, physical violence in the wake of it. others are promising the

legislative variety. dana bash is on capitol hill where the president's move has made quite a few waves. a lot of republicans unhappy by this move from the president. what's the latest you're hearing? >> reporter: words like emperor, overreach, arrogant, and even one saying the president is declaring war on america and on democracy. those are the kinds of statements that we're already getting and it's kind of double pronged outrage, anderson, about the way he is going about this, doing it without congress. but also what he is doing. because a lot of republicans say that this is exactly what is wrong with the system even suggesting that fenearly 5 milln untoumted immigrants can stay illegally is going to encourage more illegal immigrants to come across the border. >> dana, we'll check in with you after the president's speech. chief washington correspondent jake tapper. jake, is this much different than what many presidents have

done in the past using executive actions? that's what the democrats are saying. look, plenty of presidents have used executive action before. >> there's a long list of executive actions that the white house points to in saying that this is not all that unique, and it changes in pardons for hungarians, by eisenhower, all the way through pardons for cuban doctors by george w. bush. but the truth is if you look at all of this, nothing has been as big, and many of the actions the white house speaks to is of legislation that has been passed. i'm no lawyer so i'm not an expert on whether or not this is legal but it is different and is more expansive. >> it is political, though, anderson. >> really? >> there's no doubt about it. look, this is a president talking to people in the administration saying we realize we have 26 months left. we understand what occurred in this election, but they believe

they've been very strong on deportation, on bored her enforcement, and that this is something that was handed to the house of representatives. the house did nothing. >> and going about it tomorrow to talk about it side-by-side with harry reid. >> exactly. it's 8:00 p.m. here in washington. we want to welcome our viewers just tuning in around the can country and across the world. the president will speak from the east room of the white house laying out executive action he plans on taking immigration, doing a lot of things the majority of americans say they want done. acting without congress, however, he'll be doing them in a way fewer americans say they're comfortable with. now that he's about to get rid for the political fallout and get ready for changes in millions of people's lives. there's a lot to cover tonight, a lot to talk about. helping us tonight jake tapper is here, gloria borger, right