state capital or state house. michigan will be an important one to watch. >> yeah, that's right, chris. michigan 16 electors will cast their votes at 2:00 today. it will be happening in state capitals all around the country like you said. something that happens every year, but this year we're expecting protesters and thousands of calls for electors to vote their conscious, an unlikely scenario, though. donald tromp getting one step closer to officially becoming the next president of the united states today. all 538 members of the electoral college casting their ballots across the country. the typically ceremonial process in the spotlight since some are urging electors to go rogue and block trump from the office. for that to happen, though, 37 electoral would have to switch their votes. highly unlikely. >> the question is whether there are 37 republican electors who think that either they're open

questions or that donald trump, based on everything we know about him, is really unfit to be president of the united states. >> reporter: so far only one elector, a republican from texas, has said he will not cast his vote for trump. >> it's time to pull the brake. >> reporter: some republican electors have gotten thousands of letters, even death threats after pledging to vote for trump regardless of outside pressure. >> it's other hypocrisy because i don't think that if the roles were reversed, most of these people would be okay with electo electors. >> reporter: trump fighting back tweeting, if my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned and called terrible names. after praising the electoral college over the weekend. >> the electoral vote, i never appreciated it until now. how genius it was. >> reporter: meanwhile, the president-elect's top aides continue to question russia's interference in the u.s. election, now asking for a unified presentation from u.s. intelligence agencies. >> if there is this conclusive

opinion among all of these intelligence agencies, then they should issue a report or they should stand in front of a camera and make the case. >> reporter: president obama speaking out about the hack operation in a new interview. >> the issue now is not relitigating the election. the issue now is for us to learn lessons so that we don't have an ongoing situation in every election cycle where you have substantial foreign influence in our campaigns. >> reporter: team trump questioning the president's motivation. >> the president is under pressure from team hillary who can't accept the election results. >> reporter: four bipartisan senators continue to press for a select committee to investigate russian interference in the election. >> this is serious business. if they're able to harm the electoral process, then they destroy democracy. which is based on free and fair elections. >> reporter: and many democrats pointing to the details of those

russian hacks and hoping that it could sway electors. in fact, michigan's own michael moore, the documentary filmmaker and activist even pledging to pay the fines of electors who go rogue and, "vote their conscious." but 28 states do have faithless elector laws and republican officials right here in michigan tell me if any of their electors go rogue, which they're not expecting, they would just simply replace those electors. chris? >> a lot of those laws haven't been tested for constitutionality but just another nod. our thanks to jessica schneider. let's bring in jack kingston of georgia, senior adviser to the trump campaign. good to see you, congressman. best to your family for the holidays. >> well, same to you, chris. great to be with you. >> so, with the electoral college doing a direct vote today, do you think that will end the need for this silly spin coming out of the trump team about the uncertainty of whether or not russia was involved with the hacks and that president

obama's acknowledging the hacks because of pressure from the clinton camp. this is silly. we had on october 7 clapper came out and coordinates with all the intel agencies. he said russia is behind the hacks. forget about why they did it for now. shouldn't the president-elect acknowledge the threat of putin and these hacks? >> well, i don't think the pressure is on him to really have to acknowledge it eitherei way. if congress could do its job it would make a huge difference. as you know, the house intel committee tried to have a hearing with clapper just thursday. and he would not show up. which i got to say, chris, as somebody who served in congress for 22 years, that is absolutely outrageous. the executive branch is funded by the legislative branch and they have to have an oversight and they show up. so, if the cia has such compelling evidence, they need to come forward without any

equivocation and say, look, here's what i got. we are on the same page with the fbi, which in my estimation has yet to be determined. clapser t clapper is the one saying the fbi is on the same page as he is. comey has not said that yet. >> jack, couple of things. you know better. there is a difference between someone having coming forward with evidence of a crime and having intelligence reveal its sources and methods. you know there is a significant difference in the danger of exposing those two different types of information. and, also, just for point of fact, nunez may have wanted clapper to come out and expose methods and sources. clapper didn't want to do that. but clapper said he tried to call nunez three times. which makes nunez look like he was trying to score some political points and pull a stunt and not actually get information from clapper. he could have done that on the phone. he didn't need the hearing for it. >> i know devon nunez and peter king. i know you do.

you've interviewed them before. these are really serious guys and to have a classified hearing is nuthing othing to them. it's a well swept room and no bugs in it and they can talk about anything they want inside that room. devin nunez and peter king, as well, who have a track record of keeping confidential information, classified information. they deal with it on a weekly basis. so, to me, for clapper not to step forward is really disturbing. but, remember what president obama said on friday. he said that there was evidence that hacking took place on dnc and on john podesta's e-mails. there was no evidence that it disrupted or affected the election results and there is this kind of perception that they broke into the voting machines in wisconsin, pennsylvania or anywhere else and they swayed the outcome and that's not true. what they did is they embarrassed the dnc and we also know about hacking that you make it look like somebody else did it. and it's highly unlikely that

only russia was doing it. there is probably hacking going on all over the place from other countries, as well. and lone wolf actors. >> a couple things. one, the clapper came out october 7th, again. this is what they do. they're very confident that it was russia. they know how to see when it's russia. we've talked to people who were involved in the investigation. i don't think we need to muddy those waters absent new information. secondly, you're right. it wasn't about what they did to the election machines and the actual polling places, but part of the reason people think that goes back to the trump campaign because they were advancing theories about the concern of that and about sorros and his ownership of the machines. that was coming from trump's team and the surrogates around him who were spreading that bs in the days leading up to the election. so, they have to own that, too. those chickens are coming home to roost. >> but the irony is the clinton team and moveon.org and this guy

clayton or whoever is behind this americans united group or whatever it's called that hired the hollywood actors to try to sway the electors and all the n intimidation that is going on. they are the ones now not accepting the results of the election and putting democracy in a spin. to use their own words. also, chris, remember, october 7th, why wasn't the president acting at a higher level then? where was the bipartisan senate outrage? where were those senators who now come for hearings on october 7th because what evidence has changed. if the evidence was out there on october 7th, surely they should have been jumping up and down. >> politicians doing the right thing does not mean the evidence is not there. certain three the satisfaction of the intel community. let me ask you about something else. you just took an important trip over to russia. you went as a private citizen. people have to know that. you're a senior adviser and went there as a private citizen, understood. you said while you were over there that, hey, we should look at these sanctions because they

haven't had their intended effect. what does that mean? they were just put in in 2014 and they were at targeted individuals and entities that we see as bearing responsibility for the obvious illegal incursion by the russian government into ukraine. how do we know they haven't been effective? why would you want to remove them? >> well, two things, chris. i'm glad you have said that. but i will reiterate that i was there as a private citizen. i work for a law firm that has been there for 0 years and we did post-election reviews in brussels, london and sydney, australia, and washington, d.c. this was just part of that. we would have done that if hillary clinton was the winner. >> understood. >> no longer an adviser to the trump campaign that ended with the election. but what my statement was that the sanctions have been in place long enough to know if the results that we wanted were achieved and that's a far more tame statement than the one i got credit for. the point being that has putin

withdrawn from crimea. have they straightened out their relationship with the ukraine and a legitimate question to ask. were those sanctions effective? if they weren't effective, do you double down on them or withdraw them and get more of an international community pressure to join the sanctions? my point was that if you look at the results because they've been in place, are you where you wanted to be? and i think that we're hearing, for example, lindsey graham said he wants to bear down, double down on the sanctions and i think, you know, that's a legitimate discussion, as well. but what i was trying to do. you look at russian american relationships. they have not been great under obama. new administration has the opportunity to come in there and how can we address crimea and the ukraine and address syria where there is so hutch human suffering going on. and utilize our relationships

that have worked. we have american businesses that have been in russia for 20 and 30 years and these are fortune 500 companies that do $50 billion worth of work in russia a year. can that not be used as a conduit for communication and some cooperation and a positive sense? i think most americans will say we need to have a new and a better chapter with russia. >> jack kingston, thank you very much for your perspective. again, best for christmas for the family. >> thank you, chris. great to be with you. be well. a horrible story to tell you about. a manhunt is under way in little rock, arkansas, for a driver accused of shooting and killing a toddler during an apparent case of road rage. cnn's miguel marquez is here with more. migu miguel, what have you learned? >> just a horrific and cowardly situation. the grandmother was driving, but apparently not fast enough for the person behind her. that man began honking trying to get her to speed up. she had two kids in the car. a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. maybe she was taking extra

precaution. when she moved up to a stop sign and didn't move fast enough. the man hopped out of her cis c. only when she pulled into a department store parking lot did she realize the little boy had been shot and she called 911 and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. this is the second child killed by gunfire in little rock in the last month and the city's 40th homicide this year. >> this is a little precious baby. innocent baby. and it's a time when the community got to say enough is enough. >> now, little rock police say they're looking for a tall, african-american male driving an older model black chevy impala. police offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this individual. back to you. >> all right, miguel. appreciate it tthe reporting. people in corpus christi, texas, can use tap water, again. state officials giving the

all-clear on cooking, drinking. a chemical leak that got its way into the water system. why? they don't know. it was used in the making of asphalt and entered the water supply. that could cause burning on the skin at the least. the restrictions were in place for about four days. a lot of people are still skeptical on how safe the water is. police in hudson, new york, say their rescue of a reportedly frozen woman inside a cold car went cold. the officer smashed the vehicle's rear window when the mask-wearing woman did not answer them in 5 degree weather. well, it turns out the woman was a life-size mannequin used for medical training, they say. police say its owner used some very colorful language to the officer who smashed his window. that looks like a real person. >> wait. why was the mannequin in the

car? >> it was going somewhere for medical training. >> the mannequin was? >> with the driver. >> it was in the passenger seat. that's a key fact, by the way. >> i think it's obvious right there. >> i couldn't tell what seat it was. the mannequin was in the passenger seat but had a seat belt on. >> you can never be too safe. >> would you put it in the passenger seat and put a seat belt on it? >> yes, i would. >> you wouldn't throw it in the trunk? >> that would arouse the police suspicion even more. >> they wouldn't see it if it was in the trunk. >> i'm sure he was upset. they were upset, too. >> that is a very realistic looking mannequin. >> that's great. president obama offering some choice words to his russian counterpart vowing retaliation for what happened with the hacking. so, how does moscow feel about what president obama said? we get insight from moscow, next.

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tadirectv now. stream all your entertainment! anywhere! anytime! can we lose the 'all'. there's no cbs and we don't have a ton of sports. anywhere, any... let's lose the 'anywhere, anytime' too. you can't download on-the-go, there's no dvr, yada yada yada. stream some stuff! somewhere! sometimes! you totally nailed that buddy. simple. don't let directv now limit your entertainment. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. >> in early september when i saw president putin in china, i felt that the most effective way to

ensure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly. and tell him to cut it out and there were going to be some serious consequences if he didn't. that was president obama strongly implying that russian president vladimir putin was behind the hack during the dnc on the presidential election. what does russia think about these accusations? joining us from moscow is vladimir posner. good morning, vladimir. >> good morning. >> how is all of this playing on the street in moscow, in the media, in russia? what are people there saying about russia having meddled in the u.s. election? >> well, i can't speak for everybody, obviously, but the general feeling i get is that people would basically say in response to what president obama said is put up or shut up. there's no proof, whatsoever, except that the cia have not

furnished an ioda of proof. so, i think most russians feel, look, why don't you drop this thing. stop jabbing your finger at us and let's get down to serious business. and in addition to that, for most russians obama is on his way out and it really doesn't matter what he says. >> of course, more than the cia and the nsa. there are more than a dozen u.s. intelligence agencies that say that what they've done is found the cyberfingerprints of the russian government. i mean, here's just a couple of bits of evidence that you say that you're looking for. they say that investigators have found digital footprints known to be tied to the russian government, sophisticated hacking tools indicate that it went to the highest levels, meaning putin's involvement and entities connected to the russian government bank rolled fake news about clinton and

russian hackers did breach gop individuals and organizations. so, i mean, what more evidence do you want? mr. posner. oh, that is not him just staring at me. that is the satellite having frozen. do we have him back? all right. can you hear me? all right. we've lost him from the satellite. >> we'll get the satellite back and consider the conversation. >> i'm sure there is nuthing the kremlin did to make the satellite go down. >> anyway, we'll get him back. important conversation to have. you have to understand the perspective from there. you are making a good point about proof. this is not about a lack of proof but about the intelligence community being careful on how it wants to describe its proof and great play for russia to say put up or shut up. they'd love to know how the intelligence agencies -- let's move on to another story right

now. we'll get posner back as soon as we can. members of the electoral college are set to make history today. you vote for a slate of electors. and they're going to make their ballots today. make them formally and make them conclusive. one elector publicly acknowledged he wouldn't vote for trump. this is a so-called faith list elector. we heard about them before. this guy is getting an uglebay backlash. we have his story, next. london's got the best of everything. cornwall's got the best of everything. sport sport nightlife nightlife (both) fashion adventure i'm tellin' ya, britain is the only place you really need go. expedia. everything you need to travel britain better.

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back with us now from moscow is veteran russian journalist vladimir posner. so sorry about our satellite mishap there. let's pick up where we left off. you're saying the cia has not presented any evidence that russia was behind the hacking. but they have. they said they found the cyberfingerprints that point not only to russia but the russian government, the highest levels of the government suggesting that vuloladimir putin signed o on this. >> yes, they say. now, all i say is show it to me. show it to me.

i'm not saying that the russians didn't do it. i'm simply saying, i'm saying, please, do show it to me. that's all. now, if you won't do that, then there is always going to be doubt. i'm not protecting the russians here. i'm saying there's only way to make this really accepted by everyone and that is not say that you have it, show it. that's all i'm asking for. >> hold on, one second, mr. pozner. the cia doesn't want to reveal to russia and to president putin exactly what their evidence is because they think that then they wouldn't be able to catch them in the act in the future. >> i don't know how you know what they think. maybe you have contract with the cia. i don't. as a regular citizen, i want to know if it's true. i, for one, don't particularly believe the cia. i don't believe anywhere in america or russia for that matter. i want to have the proof.

and i want to have it clear so that i will know, yes, mr. putin did something that he shouldn't have done. and the russians should be blamed for it, if that's true. just make it clear to me. that's point number one. and point number two, when people talk about the fact that putin and the hackers supposedly impacted the election process, i have to say, if you think that the russian propaganda apparatus is a powerful enough to sway the minds of 100 and what is it, 160 million americans who went to the polls, that's a heck of a feather in the russian cap, if you will. i don't believe that at all. and i don't think they even tried. >> do you believe that president putin preferred donald trump to become president over hillary clinton? >> i believe the vast majority of russians preferred trump. all they heard from hillary clinton was a lot of nasty and i would say pretty harsh words about russia and about putin.

and on the other hand, from trump, they heard not harsh words, but just more or less normal words. and most russians would like to have normal relations with the united states. and they figured if hillary clinton's elected, we'll never have normal relations and there may be a war. so, yes, i think that probably 90% of the russians would prefer to see donald trump president. absolutely. >> i mean, you describe it as normal words, however, this is highly unusual to have a president-elect describing putin, mr. putin in as complimentary and flattering terms as donald trump has. he has really been making nice with the russian president in a way that we haven't heard for decades. >> well, is that the russians fault? i mean, have the russians bought him? i mean, what's going on here. is it not -- should you not be talking to mr. trump rather than talking to me about why is trump saying these things about putin? i don't know why he's doing it.

he probably has his own ideas. you don't believe for a minute, do you, that there is some kind of hanky-panky going on betweenputen and trump or do you actually believe that? >> what i'm asking wouldn't that make mr. putin prefer donald trump and if you follow that line of logic that he preferred donald trump to win, why do you have so much doubt that he might have tried to meddle somehow to make that outcome? >> well, i would think that if the president of a country would like to see someone else elected and would really like that to happen, i don't think that gives you reason to think that that president would meddle in the affairs of the other country. let me just give you another example. say someone like gorbachev was going to come back here clearly prefer to him to putin. would he try to influence the election process in russia? >> i don't think he would do that.

i don't think presidents do that. i just don't buy that. >> you don't think vladimir putin is capable or has any interest in having done some sort of mischief in the u.s. presidential election? >> i don't think so. i would be very surprised if he did. and if he did, i would be, i would be -- i don't even know what i'd say. it it would be something unacceptable, as far as i'm concerned. >> what is your take on rex tillerson possibly becoming secretary of state? >> you know, i never met the man. and, clearly, he does have some kind of relationship with russia after all he got a medal from the russian government. maybe that's a good sign. look, let me make a point here. most russians really would like to see normal relations with the united states. so, the more people they see in the u.s. government, the new

u.s. government who are more open to kind of finding a way to deal with this country. finding a way to solve problems rather than grandstand about this country being and the leader being that and so on. so, this man probably is someone that most people here say, wow. that's nice to hear. at least it's someone who's come over here and who knows us a little bit and who's not anti-russian. he's got an anti-russian bias. >> vladimir pozner, always great to get your perspective. thanks for joining us from moscow. >> you're very welcome. the electoral college votes today. one elector said he won't be voting for president-elect trump. what happened to him for saying that is a story. we tracked him down, next. used d hear me now with verizon. not anymore. i switched to sprint because their network reliability is now within 1% of verizon. and they save you 50% on most current at&t, t-mobile,

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quick reminder for people when you vote on election day, you're voting for a slate of electors in your state. today is the day that those electors will confirm the outcome of the election. donald trump won the electoral college. 538 members of that college are going to meet to officially cast their ballots. they do it in your home state. everybody is in their own states. you need 270 to win the presidency and now, today, we'll see. however, one texas elector came out publicly and said i'm not going to cast my vote for donald trump. he has faced major backlash ever since. kyung lah spoke with him. the outcome is probably but this

guy is paying a price for his faithlessness. >> a very heavy price. let's remember why. because he is the only republican elector in the country who has publicly said that he'll flip. that he won't vote for donald trump. 37 of them of those republican electors are needed to flip and send it to the house of representatives. they say it might be possible, but what it has meant for this man, innumerable death threats against him, his wife and his children. he will be doing that vote today with security. the threats keep coming to christopher suprun to warnings on social media to messages on his cell phone. >> better get your [ bleep ] straight. we're coming after you. >> people have put out my home address. they put out my home phone number. oh, you're not going to vote the

way i want. i'm going to kill you. >> reporter: because he is a republican texas elector and he's a so-called faithless elector. the conservative life-long republican will not vote for donald trump. even though the gop easily won texas. why not vote for donald trump? i mean, isn't that what you're supposed to do? >> if i'm a rubber stamp, that's exactly what i'm supposed to do. this is, unfortunately, the first time we needed to use it as a nation, but it's time to pull the brake. >> reporter: he claims that goal of stopping trump has made him the target of a smear campaign. he was a volunteer paramedic at the pentagon on 9/11. trump supporters are arguing that he was never there, a claim he calls outrageous. the dale city fire department said suprun was a volunteer but could not find a record of where he was on 9/11. the electoral vote is something we usually never pay attention

to. but 2016 has been anything but usual. >> bottom line. he hasn't won yet. the only vote that matters when it comes to president has not happened yet. >> reporter: bret formed the hamilton electors the day after the election now trying to urge electoral college members across the country to block trump from 270 votes. for that to happen, 37 republican electors must flip. suprun is the first republican to publicly flip, but he said he heard from others. >> we believe that there is a large group of people who are staying silent out of fear or maybe because they haven't made a final decision. but we do believe there's dozens of republican electors who are seriously considering not voting for donald trump. >> the tellers will announce the votes -- but but even if that remote possibility happens. the house of representatives controlled by republicans elects the president. he's still going to win. >> he's still going to win. >> reporter: so isn't this all

pointless then? >> not if you're trying to vote your conscious. not if you're trying to do the right thing and bring up the issue. i was hoping he would become the president we all wanted him to be. he kps proving me wrong. >> as suprun arrives here in the texas state capital in several hours he will be greeted by protesters. those protesters urging the other electors here in texas and other state capitals to vote against trump. chris, alisyn. >> important point. they get together in their state. less lobbying to take place. he's in texas. i don't think that's one of the 28 states where you have to vote the party's outcome. he has a little bit more leeway. the idea that today changes anything, very, very remote. let's discuss the electoral college vote and the future issues facing president-elect trump with david axelrod. you see what happening today? >> well, i think donald trump

will get the electoral votes that he needs. i don't think very many electors are going to switch. as i listen to that poor guy and i'm thinking this was an honoriffic position, really, until now. and this guy is getting death threats for changing his position. look, alexander hamilton concede of the electoral college and the founding fathers as a buffer against democracy run amuck. but as a safe guard against someone who was unsuited for the office. but it's never been used in the history. a few electors that have not voted for the candidate who won their states. but that's been very rare. to have it happen now, despite the fact that hillary clinton won the popular vote and all that's swirling around with russia and so on. i believe would split the country apart in a really destructive way and it would set this mad cycle in which every election the electoral college vote would be in question.

so, i think it probably should end up the way it's going to end up today. >> but you're saying that you think they should fall in line, but what about suprun there who says i have to vote my conscious. i can't live with myself if i won't. i don't know if there is more, but you heard the democratic elector say, we've heard there are dozens of republican electors who feel that way. but we don't have any evidence. >> even they got it down from 270, it still goes to the house of representatives. >> they're not the final buffer. >> right. but, part of voting your conscious is thinking about what that vote might mean for the country and, look, i have some great reservations about donald trump and real concerns about some of the things that happened in that election. but thinking about what this country would be like if there was an attempt to actually overturn the result would be, to me, you know, very, very

destructive. and, so, yes, i understand and i respect that gentleman for voting his conscious. but i do think part of that conscious vote has to be the impact on the country. >> right. let's talk about conscious for a second. the electoral college stuff is intriguing on an intellectual level. if you really care about this google james madison and the results of what our election should be. look up madison because he had just as much to say about it. let me ask you this about terms of conscious acts. the conscious is what feeds into the ethical standard about conflicts of interest. not as much about the law as it is about ethics and conscious. you have been tweeting and thinking a lot about this. what do you believe is incumbent upon the next president of the united states to do in terms of conflicts of interest? >> well, you know, we had this big debate during the campaign about the candidates releasing their tax returns and it's kind of a debate in some ways until

it becomes real. now we have this issue of russia and its role in the election and whether they tried to tilt the election to donald trump. and you have alongside that report and another in "usa today" this weekend about his business dealings in russia, which apparently are extensive. including financing of some of his projects, if this report is true. we don't know if that's the case. we have no idea what his financial entanglements might be or might not be in russia. and there's only one way to resolve those questions, which is why presidents for the last four decades have released their tax returns so people understood exactly what their finances were and where their conflicts might be. the fact that donald trump refuses to do that, and i don't think we're ever going to see his tax returns is deeply disturbing. he's got global entanglements. we know that. dealings all over the world. and we don't know where his

financing comes from and where his obligations and entanglements are to make gestures to whether he is making a decision on the national interest or his own interest. that is very disturbing. >> david, you heard the campaign, trump team sowing some seeds of doubt that the russians were behind the hacking. they don't believe in it. we just had vladimir pozner russian journalist on saying the cia should prove it. we are not just going to take them at their word. they should produce the evidence. does the cia ever produce evidence to show exactly how they connect the dots? >> no because to do so would be to expose their means and their operatives and would undermine our ability to gather intelligence. but, look, 16 intelligence agencies and the fbi have all agreed that this happened first

of all. i don't think there is any question in the minds of our intelligence agencies or most members of congress who have seen the intelligence that the hacking actually occurred. and they further suggested that it was to help mr. trump. even if it wasn't to help trump, it is still a huge encroachment on our electoral process, a deep source of concern. and that should be a concern for republicans and democrats. i don't think the trump folks are doing him a favor by continually pushing back against this. so they stand with vladimir pozner on this question. i'm not sure that is going to rally the country in the corner of the president-elect. they should be a full and complete investigation of this. if they're not, then people need to understand why they're not. >> do you think there winds up being a combination of this need for disclosure by trump?

everybody keeps running up against the same wall. is there any chance that you see what you're seeing right now with russia when it comes to trump that you have a bipartisan sealed congressional committee hearing, which is what they're asking for what nunez wanted with clapper. the headlines ignore that clapper said he tried to get nunez three times. we will have a hearing and trump has to come with his guys and put out his taxes and let us review them bipartisan so that congress can have confidence and then you try and put in some penalties against leaking because it's a classified hearing so they don't leak out any of his information. at least you have the people who need to know most about the conflicts know. any chance of that? >> well, that would be great and that would be good for the country, chris. one of the tests for the republican leadership in congress now is will they insist on such an investigation? they've said they're for an investigation, but sort of hinted it would be a limited investigation and not the select

committee that john mccain, for example, and others have called for. this should be fully aired. even as you suggest, if it is done in part in private and in secret and members get to examine evidence the public can't, i think it necessarily has to be that way. it should be a full investigation. this has cast a huge cloud over this incoming administration and it's going to cast a cloud over every decision that's made relative to russia unless there is a full and complete probe and a conclusion. and, so, you know, this is a big test not just for the president, but for the congress. >> david axelrod. great to talk to you. thank you. >> okay, guys. have a good day. >> you, too. president-elect trump making a controversial trump for israeli ambassador. ambassador to israel. what implication could this have on the entire middle east? we discuss that next.

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all right. one of the most controversial choices the president-elect has made for his cabinet is hard-liner david friedman, as his choice for ambassador to israel. many are questioning what his strong opinions and opposition

to the two-state solution will do to u.s. policy in the middle east. joining us now to discuss is former ambassador, u.s. ambassador to israel and former u.s. special envoy for israeli-palestinian negotiations martin indyk. good to see you, sir. >> good morning. >> so there are three basic points of pushback. the first is the experience of friedman. not known to have any diplomatic experience. he is a bankruptcy attorney who helped trump with his bankruptcies in atlantic city. his legal acumen aside what do you see in his background that gives you question? >> well, that's the first one. it's an important one, because the post of ambassador to israel is an extremely sensitive one. it's normally held by the foreign service offices who have diplomatic experience or people like me with political experience but knowledge of the issues.

it's not clear that david friedman has any of that. but on top of that he has and is a strong supporter of the setment movement in israel and is associated with right -- israel which is -- in the context of such a sensitive post. raised questions -- u.s. ambassador to all of israel or just one part of it. >> all right. so another question is, what you're talking about with the two-state solution. let's put up the op-ed that mr. friedman wrote back in august, obviously before we assume he had any idea to believe he'd be in this position. the two state solution is an illusion that serves the worst intentions of both the united states and the palestinian arabs. it's never been a solution only a narrative. but even the narrative itself now needs to end. your take?

>> well that position is at odds, not just with -- with u.s. policy as developed by others, george w. bush, who is the first president to support the idea of an independent -- state living alongside israel in peace. that is the heart of the two-state solution. that is the position that is endorsed and -- by prime minister netanyahu. we don't know where president-elect trump stands on that issue. whether he agrees with his ambassador -- but it's a real break with u.s. policy in the past. but both republican -- secondly and very importantly

president-elect trump has said on three occasions -- still make between israelis and the palestinians. well there's only one deal that can be made between the israelis and the palestinians, and that is for a two-state solution. an interim deals that lead up to that. but the reality is that's the only way in which you get a solution. to a solution is no solution at all. >> and last quickly is friedman says he will move the embassy, obviously he doesn't decide, but he looks forward to doing it out of the new embossly location for the u.s. in jerusalem. now that's tremendous controversial territory. the christians lay claim to jerusalem. the jews obviously lay claim. even the muslims have tried to pull out some cultural precedent for their presence there. what does that mean about wanting to move the embassy? >> well, that is the position of the president-elect, donald trump, as well.

it's been a position of past presidents, including president-elect. president bush, when they were running. but none of them are prepared to do it because it is an incendiary act. not quite for the reasons you suggest but it is the crucible of the three -- visions. the third holiest mosque in islam is on the top of the ruins of the jewish temple -- temple so it's a highly contested and highly come busible issue. for that reason the united states has not been -- israel's capital actually because israel annexed east jerusalem in 1967, and so moving the capital there would imply that the united states would recognize the israeli sovereignty over all of jerusalem, including the arab part, and the part which has the third holiest mosque in islam.

so, it's a very provocative move in the current circumstances, and for that reason, israeli governments have not been making an issue -- they want the united states to recognize jerusalem as the state capital, and haven't made an ish a out of it because of the danger that it could explode everything. >> martin indyk, thank you very much. it is unusual to say the least that the u.s. ambassador seems to be more hard-line on israeli issues than israel itself. our appreciation to him. we have a lot of news for you this morning. let's get to it. the electoral vote never appreciated it until now. >> when we vote in the electoral college i fully expect that donald trump will be formally elected. >> he will accept the conclusion if these intelligence professionals would show the american people that they're actually on the same page. >> this is an attack on our country. cyberwar is real war. >> the cia, the director of national intelligence, the fbi, all agree that the russians intervened to help trump.

if they're able to harm the electoral process, then they destroy democracy. >> this is "new day." with chris cuomo, and alisyn camerota. >> good morning. welcome to your "new day." this monday, december 19th. 8:00 in the east. just six days until christmas. the cnn countdown clock about that. the electoral college is set to make donald trump's victory official today. more focus than usual on the 538 electors in all 50 state capitals and washington, d.c. as anti-trump holdouts push for an unlikely twist to overturn the will of the voters. >> the other drama, coming from russia's alleged hacking during the presidential election. mr. trump, and his team, largely dismiss that issue. but a bipartisan group of senators are calling for a broader investigation. with just 32 days until the inauguration, we begin this hour with cnn's jessica schneider live in cold lansing, michigan, where the state's electors will vote later today.

what's the latest, jessica? >> very cold, you got it, alisyn. michigan's 16 electors will be casting their votes at 2:00 today. electors will be in state capitols all over the country casting their votes as well starting at 10:00 this morning in indiana. now of course, december 19th is something that comes and goes every four years. it's largely ceremonial. but this year we're expecting protests across the country, and already there have been thousands of calls for electors to quote, vote their conscience, something that is highly unlikely given the fact that the majority of electors are party loyalists. donald trump getting one step closer to officially becoming the next president of the united states today. all 538 members of the electoral college casting their ballots across the country. the typically ceremonial process in the spotlight since some are urging electors to go rogue and block trump from the office. for that to happen, though, 37 republican electors must switch their votes.