. good evening. john berman here. in for anderson tonight. questions with real consequences. did the president elect of the united states join a nuclear arms race today with a tweet? did he insert himself directly into the foreign affairs of the white house and did he and company's carriers knock more than a billion dollars off a big american company's market value. fasten your seat belts. big news throughout the hour. including in berlin. new video the first we've seen in monday's truck attack there.

that is the vehicle you can see plowing into the christmas market. and seconds later, images of people, those who could, running away. as for the man believed responsible he is still on the run and we are learning more almost by the minute with his run-ins with authorities, his ties to a pro isis network and apparently his desire to join the group. new evidence tonight tying the suspect to the attack. what do we know? >> that's right, john. we knew that authorities had initially found 24-year-old tunisian's identity papers inside the truck. but what we're learning today is they also found forensic evidence, specifically fingerprints in and outside of the truck tying him to this attack. authorities now saying they are certain they are looking for the right man. throughout the day we've seen

police raids in cities across germany. even a port in denmark. no arrests so far though, john. >> and an astounding piece of information today. the suspect had previously discussed launching an attack in germany. and authorities actually knew about this prior to monday. >> reporter: that's right. some disturbing information we're learning, tying the suspect to a pro isis recruitment network. authorities had arrested senior members of that network. five in total. in november. and cnn has a chance to view the investigative files, some 345 pages long. and amri is named several times inside that file. and according a police informant cited he had openly said he wanted to commit terrorist attacks. and members of that pro isis recruitment network offered to hide him, raising the question is there more?

are there more members of that network out there potentially hiding him now, john? >> and the christmas market reopened today. tell us what the mood is there. >> that's right. the christmas market, the scene of this horrific attack reopened this morning to heavy police presence. they have also installed cement barricades around the perimeter. but we really have seen these somber and emotional scenes throughout the day. at 2:00 a.m. here, i took a walk through the market, people still wandering through. laying flowers as you can see behind me. lighting candle, paying their respects in incredible show of solidarity with the victims of this horrific attack. >> thank you so much. so much about tragedies like this one compounded by what we learn in retrospect. in this case that growing body of knowledge includes the fact that the u.s. counterterrorist official considered anis amri

enough of a threat to keep him from flying. what did u.s. intelligence know about the suspect and do we know how they became aware of him in the first place? >> months ago german intelligence agencies providing the information on this suspect to the united states and added him to the no-fly list here. we're told the german authorities identified him as part of this jihadist support network operating in central europe. a network helping to recruit fighters to join isis in syria. and intelligence in the united states and europe found some were communicating with suspected isis members in syria. >> and evan, the presence of these terror cells anywhere in europe is clearly a concern to the united states. is there anything u.s. intelligence is doing to help find anis amri? >> absolutely. they are on this 24 hours now. the fbi and intelligence anlss here have a lot of capabilities they are trying to bring to bear here. and we saw in the attacks in

belgium and france the nsa and fbi were able to provide key assistance to help find some suspects in the cases. now, working with the nsa is often a controversial issue in germany. but with this attack and the man hunt ongoing, that view may change. the fact is the intelligence agencies here and in europe a as you and i were talking about just a couple of days ago are very concerns that isis still has command and control capabilities in syria. that they are still able to direct and communicate with people there to carry outattacks in europe. so here in the united states they are also looking closely at isis supporters already on their raider to see if what happened in germany might be inspiring anything here, john. >> evan, perez. thanks so much. so a person who had done jail o time in one country. was on the no-fly list in another. and known to authorities on three continents still somehow avoided being caught and avoid

deeper scrutiny by authorities. bob, let me start with you on the u.s. on beings on the no philae list. the fact-fly list. the fact. >> i think what happened is the germans came to the united states and said we have someone on our soil who is dangerous. and the united states will immediately put that person on the list. they don't want him in the united states. if the germans were so convinced why didn't they detain him? a lot will say they didn't have the evidence. they were waiting for more. we're waiting to see what's going to happen. >> dangerous enough to warn the united states. not dangerous enough to keep your eye on him 24 hours a day.

paul, you told me there were draw-joping gaps in follow-ups here. >> right the germans had a police informant inside is network and they knew he was trying to join isis last christmas. 2015. he was actually preparing to try to to that. wasn't able to go and join with isis. then perhaps because he was frustrated started talking about wanting to launch attacks inside germany t police informant was actually party to those conversations. he was also then trying to find gun. so there were all sorts of warning signals about him. but also about this network. because other members of the network were discussing ramming a truck into a crowd and loading the truck with gasoline and explosives. what the germans did do is they went after the senior members of the network, the prosthetizers. the people who were brainwashing

the youngsters and arrested five of them, just in november. including the ring leader abualla. but some of the younger food soldiers still hadn't gone after because they perhaps didn't have enough evidence to win a conviction in their minds. while the fact they can't go after them and put them under more surveillance for a more sustained amount offensive line time has clearly led now to this attack going through. and the worry is it is not just him who could launch another attack it is other foot soldiers in this network. >> based on paul's reporting here they have a mountain of information on this guy and apparently on this isis network inside germany. you have been part of the aftermath of incidents similar to this. what are german officials and german intelligence doing right now to catch this guy and to make sure another attack doesn't happen in the next few days? >> well the german police are going to prosecutors right now

and saying we've got to get these people off the street. the problem in germany is they are completely overwhelmed with these cells. these sheeper cells. some are in touch with syria, in raqqah. some aren't. but it doesn't really matter. but remember germany's let in more than a million refugees over the last year. and it is simply impossible for the german police to keep track of them all. to put surveillance on the ones they suspect takes 80, 90 people and an eight hour period. so you can imagine the logistics of that. germans can't do it. so what they are waiting for like americans is to take one -- before they actually arrest him. avmry apparently didn'mri appar. simply discussing taking up action like jihadi isn't enough to warrant arrest. and this is simply the problem we're all facing is when they make the decision. and if it's hijacking a truck

what, who's going to know. >> it is hard to know. he had been doing a lot of things and they knew about it at the time. paul cruickshank, do they think he's even still in germany right now is it. >> they aren't for sure where he is, obviously. but i think the working assumption is right now most likely still in germany. perhaps in berlin. he could possibly have been injured to a degree in this attack. because there was a struggle with the truck driver before he killed the truck driver to hijack that vehicle. and also most likely because that is where the logistical support structure is based that can hide him. and the paris attack, a similar logistical support structure.

abdeslam ducked out of that for four months so this could be a difficult search for germans. >> and bob, there is a new report out from the house intelligence community that says edward snowden has had and continues to have contact with russian intelligence services. first of all do you imagine that to be true? and if so, how significant that? >> john, i think it is inevitable he was right from the beginning. the moment he entered russian air space the russians took control of him. i know the kgb very well. they are not going to let a catch like that go. they are not going to let him come to moscow and not debrief him. they simply didn't know what else he had on them. what other sort of databases he had hidden around the world. they absolutely would have been all over him from day one and snowden would have had no choice but to comply and answer their questions. it is the way this world works. you don't defect to moscow and go there and not be contacted by

the kgb when you have that much secret information. and that was snowden's, you know, fine, he's a whistle blower. but the last place you want to head if you are a whistle blower is moscow. >> thanks so much. just holiday we have more breaking news. and so much for one president at a time. the storm now brewing over donald trump all but conducting middle east foreign policy from mar-a-lago. and next the president elect goes nuclear. what he tweeted and what vladimir putin said today that are raising something of a cold war chill. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine.

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the trump transition team has said that when it comes to foreign affairs the president elect says there is only one president at a time. mr. trump's actions have not always bore that completely. he took the call from taiwan. and today another virtually unprecedented move. this time involving the middle east. word that the israeli government reached out for help from the president elect and evidence that he delivered. cnn joins us now with the latest. why did the israeli government reach out to president elect trump? and what exactly did they want from him? >> there was this was a very controversial resolution being passed at the united nations today. they have expected to vote this afternoon and it would call on israel to end all settlement activity. call settlements illegal. now after years of kind of protecting the u.s. with its veto the united nations we understand that president obama was prepared to let that

resolution pass either by abstaining or by voting yes. and for weeks the israelis have been urging the administration, imploring them in fact don't do this. and when they realized that this was going ahead, they warned the administration. an israeli official telling me they said to the administration, listen, if you are going to go ahead and do this, we'll have no choice but to reach out to president elect trump and ask him to intervene this some way. and that is exactly what they did. i understand the israeli government reached out the president elect trump. the argument here is the obama administration was doing would really undermine president trump's hand when he came in and wanted to do something. so we understand after that entree to president elect trump he reached out himself to egyptian president ceci. this is an egyptian resolution. and next thing you know the egyptians delayed the vote and there is no vote as of tonight.

it could be dead in the water, john. >> there are two u.s. in thes. one current, one future. and two other countries directly involved all at once. unprecedented. to be clear the vote on the security council resolution, it's been postponed. we don't know if it will happen. what will the current administration cdo now? >> we understand they are still waiting to see what happens with a vote. the arab league was supposed to meet today to review that text. they could do something to it and bring it back. the u.s. would have to review and see. we understand the u.s. is still looking to put its finger on the scale of the peace process and certainty settlements are a part of that. secretary of state john kerry was supposed to lay out a whole vision of the whole peace process as he was walking out the door.

a parting shot. and also to netanyahu, the relationship being very rocky and what the israelis are saying is listen, what's unprecedented here is they are tieing the hands of this administration. they said imagine what would happen if president obama would have done that with president bush. i think they are trying to preserve something for the next administration. president elect trump has said he would like to negotiate what he calls the ultimate peace deal. >> plenty to talk about now. joining us now our panel. david gergen. shammia la choudary. and buck sexton. david, first the history here. we do like to say there is only one president at a time. so what went on today again with a current president and future president in two different country, israel and egypt, is this the type of thing that on balance should be avoided? >> it should be avoided.

historically one of the most important periods of transition came when hervet hoover was president and franklin roosevelt was president elect. and hoover tried on several occasions to get roosevelt to join him as the president elect to help run the country. and franklin roosevelt steady fastly refused. he just said we have one president at a time. and wouldn't do it. and since then we've honored the tradition. this is the first time i can remember when a president elect and president both have been so actively engaged at the same time. the sooner the transition is over the better. >> the trump transition does tell us it gave the white house a heads up that they would be releasing the statement calling for the veto of the u.n. resolution. does that mitigate of the complexity here? >> no. i don't think so. in fact the whole situation

confirms that trump is --. he's appointed a pro settlement ambassador. he's happily carrying netanyahu's message very publicly during this time of transition. and keep in mind this isn't the first time that netanyahu himself has meddled in american politics. he got in involved in the 2012 e election of president obama. and the development of the iran nuclear deal with the united states. so i think this is just confirmation of a u.s./israel relationship under a trump administration. >> prime minister netanyahu not only israeli politics but he knows u.s. politics very very well. he knew what he was getting into when he had his government contact the president elect. is it proper for another country to try too take advantage of the presidential transition like this? >> well in netanyahu's position why wouldn't he do this? fist of all, why is obama doing this? it is clearly a parting shot

sort of on the way out message to those on the left that have sort of known all along that obama has a misgivings about a lot of israeli policy and doesn't is -- >> -- message to israel and the world. >> exactly. on the way out. and also worth noting president obama hasn't been able to get to first base on the peace process. kerry and obama have been abject failures on any level of that process. so to do this, to complicate matters right before they leave and take this shot at israel i think shows really poor judgment and also sort of shows that president obama hasn't always been above board what how he feels what the state is doing. and that netanyahu wants to reach out to the president elect who honestly is a more important relationship than president obama is. i think makes perfect sense. president obama can also reach out and give his version of events. there is no rule. there is no law that prevents trump or netanyahu from doing

what they have done it. seems fine to me and sensible. >> it wasn't the u.s. who had this resolution up at the united nations. it wasn't as if they were trying to force action on it. it was being placed in and they were going to have to vote. >> enormous distinction is the president saying he wasn't going to veto it. to provide that coverage. that is the change. >> what about the point that president obama was going to do what would be around the globe a very significant act with supporters of israel, a hugely controversial act with just 29 days left to go. is that the right time to make a statement on national policy when the policy of the united states you know will be different 30 days from now? >> well i certainly agree with buck's first point. and that is that netanyahu had every reason to reach out. he had nothing to lose and he was deeply worried about what the implications would be for his own country. if you are sitting there and you -- i think most rational people would do the same thing netanyahu did. as to president obama, look i --

you know, i'm not sure the trump people ought to be lecturing the obama people about radical shifts in policy, with all the perspective shifts under way on taiwan and everything else. but even i -- there is a part of me that does think president obama should have signalled this earlier and not at the last moment. i do think it would have been better to have -- i think he should have signalled we're not changing policy now. we're going to give it over. let the other side now try to do it. i do think it would have put the israelis in awfully awkward position with crudonald trump coming into office. >> it is clear as you think and i think as buck and david thinks and the world thinks what president obama now thinks of the peace process and what he thinks about settlements but i wonder as we sit here at 8:24 if the white house is actually happy that this went away for the day and may have gone away completely that they don't have

to do this at the security council, either vote against israel or abstain. >> well sure. they were planning on abstaining anyways. so i think they were wishing it away by just abstaining. i think the bigger question to respond is how does president elect trump actually intend to bring peace to a process from an aggressive antagonistic starting point? if you appoint an ambassador --. and speaking on behalf of the netanyahu for the discussion today. i'm not sure that puts the united states in a good position of defense with the arab countries. >> stick around. i'm glad you are here and i'm glad you brought your opinions. >> wish i could respond. >> we're going to respond to a whole lot more. because up next nexium 24hr is the #1 choice

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with all going on this hour this kind of got lost in the mix. namely, will the next cold war begin with a tweet? details from barbara starr. >> reporter: did vladimir putin and donald trump just have their first nuclear standoff? today russia's president declaring more nuclear weapons are needed. >> translator: we need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and perspective missile defense systems. >> a clear shot at u.s. defense

plans in europe, something russia believes is a threat. within hours president elect trump tweeted, "the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." a transition team statement later said he was referring to the need of proliferation and the critical need to prevent it. particularly to and among terrorist organizations and unstable and rogue regimes. the statement also noting trump wants to modernize the nuclear deterrent capability. during the second presidential debate a hint of his thinking. >> russia is new. in in terms of nuclear. we are old. we're tired, we're exhausted in terms of nuclear. a very bad thing. >> reporter: donald trump briefed just yesterday by senior air force officers on the need to modernize the aging nuclear

infrastructure. nuclear weapons are limited by treaty. today russia had 7300 war heads, the u.s. just over 6900. barack obama began his presidency calling for nuclear disarmament. >> i speak clearly and with conviction, america's commitment to see the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. >> putin's nuclear vow came as he boasted of russian military superiority after a year which saw successful russian hacking of the democratic national committee by the russian military, sustained air strikes in syria, and continued occupation of crimea. >> translator: today we are stronger than any potential aggressor. i repeat, any aggressor. >> the professionalism and the skill and the capabilities that are resonant in the united

states military are beyond debate. >> reporter: both men put their nuclear cards on the table. but they haven't turn those cards over yet. we don't know what they say and at the end of the day it is unclear what either is talking about. barbara starr cnn the pentagon. >> back now with the panel. buck, let he read the first part of the tweet here again. the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. now as with many donald trump tweets in statements. this caused a frenzy for a long time today but the key thing to understand and to know and we don't know because we can't get an explanation from donald trump is did he mean expand the number of nuclear weapons, expand the number of delivery devices? or did he just mean modernize? which is a lot less zbloefrl the campaign issued a clarifying statement on trump's tweet. we can't get in trump's mind specifically as to what he was intending with that at the time. but let's be clear it is a

bipartisan consensus that the u.s. nuclear arsenal, the nuclear try ad is aging. they do need to spend more on it. there are those that argue iran will be. at least that is out there. it needs to be updated, changed, modernized. that is pretty much consensus. ash cart -- >> -- absolutely and it has been the policy of the obama administration to modernize the nuclear arsenal. the question is -- >> what about trump's tweet is beyond that is what i don't understand? ? >> it is the words expand the capability. >> can't we think and m modernizing. i just think there is a knee jerk reaction. and we would be all better off

if we gave the soon to be commander in chief the benefit of the doubt. he's not about to nuke sweden. >> as the fair point he might not have meant expand and add more nuclear weapons. probably didn't in fact mean that. however should nuclear policy statements be made in 140 characters or less? >> it's laughable. it is a very serious matter really. there is agreement, wide spread agreement we need to modernize our nuclear forces. they are aging, it is going to cost lot of money. but since the days of the ronald reagan and georgia george h.w. bush has president ice been the thought on both sides of the aisle to reduce nuclear so we

don't have some madman or a mistake in communication. and the problem today with mr. trump's tweet is that it is so ambiguous, almost every phrase in that statement is ambiguous. it can be read as yes modernizization. but it can also be read because of its ambiguity as calling for a new arms race. and a lot of people are very concerned that trump and put condition gen can get introduce a nuclear arms race which could be very dangerous. and buck has a good point. we ought to give donald trump more the benefit of the doubt. but that would be a lot east sidier to do if he spoke clearly and without ambiguity. and if you put the combination of donald trump and twitter and nuclear weapons together. that is a witch's brew. it is a witch's brew. you should not be trying to deal with one of the most complex and dangerous and most sensitive issues the president of the united states has to deal and that is nuclear war heads that could destroy the world.

you must do it with precision, with thought awful lot of thought -- you just can't do this in a 140 characters and sort of wave it off. >> it is odd sham la that yesterd it is hard to mix those two things, isn't it? >> it is. and the only thing i can say to that is it is consistent. because it shows how inconsistent trump is. one day he'll say something very positive about putin and the next day he's competing with him by basically reissuing the same statement. so i don't think this is a kind of reliable measure of where the president elect wants to take the policy. it is worrisome though. because nuclear weapons are probably the most sensitive, most compartmentalized topic in the u.s. government. when nuclear weapons are talked about in public it is to make a

point. it is to send a signal to russia, to china, to north korea, to pakistan. can you imagine what those countries are thinking right now? and all they have to base their information on is this 140 character tweet. >> and buck i want to give you the last word. i do think it is completely possible that expand the capability can mean modernize. that may very well be drew. it is also true however the way donald trump has talked about nuclear weapons during the campaign he did seem to be much more willing, to use them, to have countries that don't have them all of a sudden get them. he's talked about nuclear weapons in a very different way. >> it is not easy to lay out what a policy is going to be in this segment. that said. there is nothing wrong with the tweet. presidents speak in sound bites all the time. the issue of updating is well out there in public.

and let's be realistic about the fact that the deterrent that our nuclear arsenal provides is for us. it is for our nato allies and a lot of countries around the world. the stability of our international system relies upon the realistic usage of nuclear weapons from the united states when necessary and that means that we have to know what kind of nukes, how we deploy them and i think the president elect talking about it just fine. >> president elect. coming up it was not global thermo nuclear war but for one company's stock today it sure seemed like world war iii because of a different donald trump tweet hey dad! wishes do come true. the lincoln wish list sales event is on. get exceptional offers on the lincoln family of luxury vehicles.

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the president elect's twitter finger pointed scalquar at lokd martin. and he tweeted base topped tremendous cost and cost overruns of the lock he'd martin f-35 i've asked boing to price out a comparable f-18 super hornet. is essentially is the president elect negotiating military contracts on twitter? ? >> he is. he did this earlier this month complaining about the boeing contract for air force one. he said cancel that order and yesterday the head of boeing come ought of a meeting with the

president elect at mar-a-lago said i think we can get the costs under $4 billion. you know, turned obama administration, i remember being in the press briefings where they would say we're not going to negotiate in public over this matter. whatever that matter might be. this is a president who's going to negotiate in public. >> and the last time that he tweeted about lock he'd martin its value dropped. did it happen this time as well? >> it did happen this time as well. it's down roughly 2% in after hours trading. about a $1 billion drop in value. lock he'd martin. the f-35 is a stealth capable fighter. the f-18 does not do that. so already bloggers in this field of popular mechanics and science are saying that donald trump may want to rethink that

tweet. >> jim, thanks so much. joining us now republican representative marcia black burn of tennessee. representative, thank you for being with us. >> sure. >> military procurement is a complicated thing and no question the american taxpayer should get the best value they can with whatever is being bought for military. a fighter jet. a bomber or anything else. but there are consequences to these statements from the president elect. lockheed martin took a huge hit on stock price today. 2%. worth a billion. people have this in their 401(k). is this the type of thing that should be done in public like this on twitter. >> transparency is always going to end up being a good thing at the end of the day. and putting some sunshine on how things are done at the pentagon, i think is going to serve the taxpayer very well. i think also it will serve those that are seeking to contract with d.o.d. and with the

different military branches. it will serve them well. you are going to get a little more transparency and i bet at the end of the day you might get a little better product. >> on the subject of transparency those thee are different products. the f-35 is staeealth and the f8 is not so in 140 characters you are not being that transparent. >> you have to get into the details. but i have to say this, raising the awareness on the issue is probably a very good thing. people are quite frustrated with what is happening in washington d.c. they are frustrated with the way d.o.d. goes about procurement and contracting. this has been a point that people have complained about going back to $400 hammers and all sorts of different things. and john, you know what they are saying to us is lets get things under control. money is tight. we've got a lot of debt. there needs to be a refocusing

of priorities. and what i see the president elect doing right now is sending a message to many of my colleagues in the house and the senate. that we need to be very careful as we start going through the authorizing process for the budget as we go through the appropriations process for the budget and pay little bit more attention, closer attention to the details. and you are going to see this government-wide. >> there is no question he's sending a message and early in the process before he even takes office. let me ask you about something else that came up today and this is the issue of nuclear weapons where president elect said the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. again the issue here is nuclear policy. is twitter the right place toe carry this out. the transition is saying he's talking about modernizing. but others are saying he's talk about adding to the arsenal.

>> what you are going to see from mr. trump is he's always going the lead from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness and indeed president obama has been a proponent of strengthening our nuclear arsenal. >> he's committed to modernizing it. >> right. modernizing and strengthening that arsenal. he's saying let's have peace through strength. you might not end up with a --. is it a appropriate to start talking about the nuclear arsenal and the approach to it? i think in this day and age our strength and then making certain that we -- we keep nuclear

weapons out of the hands of those that would wish us harm. and then negotiating from strength rather than weakness like we did with the iran deal, which is a very, very bad deal for us. >> all right i wanna -- >> i prefer to see us going about it through strength. >> i want to ask you about something you said on cnn yesterday. you said not all refugees entering the united states are vetted. we reached out to the state department about that. they said 100% of refugees admitted to the united states are vetted through a highly rigorous process that involves multiple federal agencies, security and law enforcement. while they can't guarantee a 100% success rate, the vast majority have proven to be peaceful additions to our society." so is the state department wrong here sf. >> i think you can look at statements made by jay johnson. statements that have come from dhs. indeed a september memo that

dhs, an internal memo that came out, that points to problems and concerns with the lack of vetting, indeed -- >> but there are two things -- >> -- we don't know all the detail. >> i just want to be clear about one thing. vetting can be imperfect. but to say it is not happening is a completely different things. any refugee entering the united states has been vetted. things can be missed. but that doesn't mean they are not being vetted. >> we know. that even -- go back to the interrogator for ksm. and he even talks about how ksm is talking about wanting to use the refugee program. you can look at secretary johnson's statements about we don't know a lot about the syrian refugees coming into the country, those coming from war-torn areas. and that was a statement he made

in 2015. and then to not pause this program until we can say, we have a process in place, where we are going to be able to know who is coming into this country. i think it is our responsibility to know who is coming into our country. ronald reagan said, if you cannot control your borders, you can't control your country. and we need to be thoughtful, we need to be very thoughtful on this issue. it is an issue of national security. >> representative -- >> it is an issue of concern. >> representative marcsha blackbu blackburn, thanks so much. >> good to be with you. performers normally clamor to be asked to perform at a presidential inauguration, it is usually an honor to be asked, so why is team trump having a problem booking top acts? the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine.

the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

you're smart. you already knew that. but it's also great for finding the perfect used car. you'll see what a fair price is, and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer. now you're even smarter. this is truecar. just 29 days until donald trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the united states. today the inaugural committee announced the radio city rockettes will perform at the

ceremony next month, just as they did at the inauguration of the george w. bush in 2001. the rockettes have signed on, but a string of a-list performers have said no thanks to what is normally a coveted invitation. stephanie elam reports. >> reporter: beyonce -- >> james taylor. brad paisley. those are just a few of the a-list entertainers who sang at president obama's last inauguration. over the years, presidential inaugurations have become celeb-studded celebrations, hollywood heavyweights, deeming it an honor to be asked to perform for the new president. but now less than a month away from the president-elect's inauguration, and sources tell cnn that donald trump's transition's team is having a hard time booking talent. >> this is an incredibly divisive campaign. there is a lot of hurt feelings out there. and even if you supported donald trump, you may have had some hesitation over what kind of response you're going to get for your fan base that did not vote

for him. >> reporter: while the vice chair for trump's inaugural committee has said in november, elton john was set to perform on the national mall, john's spokesperson wrote in an e-mail to cnn, quote, he would not be performing at trump's inauguration. capitalization, hers. it would have been a change for john who headlined a hillary clinton fund-raiser during the campaign. >> i think the view among many in the music industry is donald trump is not an ordinary republican in his rhetoric. and they're very put off by that. and it follows through with the inauguration that they don't want to touch it, i guess, with a ten-foot pole. >> reporter: entertainment news website, the wrap, reports garth brooks will not perform. no doubt, however, trump will have performances. just, perhaps, with a lot less pop. >> i actually don't doubt that there will be people there at the inauguration, i don't think, though, that they're going to get people who are out there on the campaign trail for hillary clinton. i also don't think that they're

going to get the level of celebrity star power that you saw for barack obama's first inauguration. hollywood leans left. and donald trump has to work against that. >> reporter: the trump team is downplaying any difficulties getting a-listers, confirming to cnn that they booked the mormon tabernacle choir. also saying yes, jackie evancho of "america's got talent" fame. she will sing the national anthem at the trump's swearing in. other possible inaugural performers, musicians who have stumped for trump, like ted nugent and kid rock. stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >> we'll be right back. it's your last chance to save during the final days of the ford year end event.

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that does it for us. the cnn special report "the murder of jonbenet" starts now. >> announcer: the following is a cnn special report. >> police! >> what's -- >> send a sergeant to my street. >> what's going on, ma'am? >> it is one of the greatest unsolved crimes in history. >> a kidnapping. there's a ransom note here. >> a little girl vanishes from home christmas night. >> it's just like you got hit in the stomach. where's my child? >> hours later, she's found