speaker paul ryan joins host jake tapper and a live studio audience for a cnn town hall. that also airs later tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "erin burnett out front" starts right now. good evening. i'm erin burnett. we begin with breaking news. u.s. officials tell cnn the fbi director james comey personally briefed donald trump on unsubstantiated claims that the russians had info on trump. he briefed donald trump last friday during an intelligence briefing. the fbi director at that time presented trump with a two-page synopsis of the russian claims. the nation's top intelligence chiefs have decided that comey

would be the one who would handle this sensitive discussion. this is a very significant development because it appears to contradict what trump's senior adviser, kellyanne conway, has been saying over the past several days. >> it says they never briefed him on it, they appended two pages to the bottom of his intelligence report. >> i believe it said they did brief him on it. >> he has said he is not aware of that. a story that's not not true that the president-elect was presented with this information that was appended in a two-page document to the briefing. >> evan perez is part of the team that broke this story. he's out front tonight. as we said, a significant development because you heard kellyanne, they said this briefing didn't happen. you are reporting it was a one-on-one conversation between james comey and the president-elect and it did happen. >> it did, and this helps correct the record, really, of what exactly happened here. now, we know there were four intelligence chief who is met with the president-elect last friday. the purpose of this briefing

overall was to bring him up to date on the findings of the russian interference in the u.s. presidential election. at the end of this, the four chiefs were finishing their work and comey decided to do a one-on-one with the president-elect. the chiefs had decided that comey should be the one to handle this. after all, it's the fbi counterintelligence division that is doing the investigation to take a look at these claims, and it's also their job to take a look at what foreign intelligence services are up to in this country, in this case russia, if the russians are targeting or trying to target the president-elect, it was very important for the president-elect to know about this. that was the purpose of this. we're told this was a cordial briefing, that trump appreciated the information that he was given, and so we're a little puzzled really by the reaction over the last couple days in various stages of denial by the

trump transition team about what really was the fbi and the intelligence chiefs doing their job to make sure he was informed before he took office. >> just to underline this, you've heard them repeatedly say this briefing did not happen. >> reporter: right. we've heard different versions. but we know this information was brought to the briefing and of course we also know from vice president joe biden today, he met with reporters at the white house today and mentioned that he and president obama were both briefed on this information, that they got this information from the two-page synopsis. he even said he read the entire 35-page document this thing was based on,er rinn. so he said that the intelligence chiefs told him that the reason was they were going to make sure that donald trump knew about this very important information. >> all right. evan, thank you very much.

trump continues to do battle with the intelligence community, his nominee to have the cia today face a lot of questions about all of this latest reporting. pamela brown is out front. >> i will continue to pursue foreign intelligence collection with vigor no matter where the facts lead. >> reporter: today cia director nominee mike pompeo addressed the reporting first on cnn that u.s. intelligence chiefs provided a synopsis of allegations compiled by a former british intelligence official that president-elect and president obama. the specific allegations which cnn has not verified or included in this reporting claim that people within trump's campaign communicated with russia before the election. and also that the russians have compromising personal information about the president-elect. >> these are unsubstantiated allegations. >> reporter: today vice president joe biden confirms he and president obama were briefed last week by intelligence officials on the unsubstantiated

claims. biden's office saying the vice president told reporters that intelligence leaders felt obligated to tell obama because they were planning on informing trump. the testimony by pompeo comes a day after president-elect trump rejected the reports, calling them fake news, and suggesting without proof intelligence officials were responsible for the leaks. >> maybe the intelligence agencies. who knows. but maybe the intelligence agencies, which would be a tremendous blot on their record if they, in fact, did that. a tremendous blot. because a thing like that should have never been written. it should never have been had. and it should certainly never have been leased. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence chief james clapper called trump last night trying to ease the tension between him and the intelligence community. clapper released a statement after saying, "i do not believe the leaks came from within the intelligence community and in what amounts to the first public confirmation of cnn's report that the synopsis existed and

had been put together for the president-elect, clapper added, however, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest picture of any matters that might affect national security. >> the leaks that occurred as well i consider to be intensely serious, too, and i think director clapper's statement from last night or this morning about his concern about these leaks is worthy. >> reporter: during his testimony today, pompeo also blamed russia for interfering in the election, coming out stronger than the president-elect has. >> it's pretty clear about what took place here, about russian involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on american democracy. this was an aggressive action taken by the senior leadership inside of russia and america has an obligation and the cia has a part of that obligation to protect that information. >> pam, you now know more about

the man, the specific perp who compiled it. what do you know? >> his name is christopher steele, a former mi6 british intelligence officer, now the director at a private security and investigations firm based in london. he is someone seen as credible in the intelligence community in the united states. he's worked with the intelligence community. he is known as someone who has done a lot of work in russia and has a lot of sources. in fact, since this all came to light, since his name has been surfaced as the person who put together these memos as a result of the request from oppo research firms in the united states, former intelligence officials have come out and written op-eds in defense of him including one that's on cnn.com. again, all the allegations in that memo he compiled are unsubstantiated, but he is someone who has done a lot of work with the u.s. intelligence community. >> pamela, thank you very much. let's go to the former defense secretary, leon panetta. thanks for being with me. i want to start with the

breaking news that trump was verbally breeiefed by director comey one-on-one about the allegations. his team has denied that that briefing took place. what's your reaction? >> well, my experience would be that they would, in fact, not only brief president obama and vice president biden as they did but that they certainly would brief the president-elect on those issues as well. so i'm a little surprised that they're denying being briefed on that document since it was part of the briefing not only for both presidents but it was part of the briefing i believe with regards to the congressional leadership as well. >> which would mean several more people learned about it. one of the biggest questions here, is it right for information about trump to be leaked when no one has any idea

if it's true? james clapper says, quoting him, the intelligence community has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. given that, that they have no judgment as to whether it's reliable, would you have included it in your briefing? >> the reason i think it was included, erin, because it's very sensitive information, even though it's unsubstantiated and uncorroborated. the fact is that this is extremely sensitive and i think the problem is that the intelligence agencies would have felt that they would be at fault if they didn't bring that to the attention of the principals. and this is what happens in intelligence briefings.

if we have information that's important but unsubstantiated, it's important to bring it to the attention of key people so they know this information is out there even though you make very clear it is unsubstantiated and uncorroborated. it's still important information for them to have. >> so it's the sensitive that drives the briefing as opposed to whether it's substantiated, which is an important clarification. would they have tried ordinarily to substantiate it? when we hear it's unsubstantiated, do you infer they didn't even bother to look into it or they did and they found some of it to be untrue or would you say there would be no inference at all to be made from that statement? >> i would assume that they made every effort to try to substantiate and corroborate that information. my sense is that they made the effort, they were unable to do it, but because it was so sensitive they felt an obligation to present it to the key players. >> so given what you're saying

here, they would have tried to substantiate and made every effort to do so, that would be your expectation, i want to ask you about the report itself. christopher steele, he's the name of the former british mi6 intelligence officer who compiled all of this information, he was paid to do it, all right, it was a job, he was paid initially by republican opponent ts of trump. so people who didn't like trump hired him to find stuff on trump. given that, give than the cia and other intelligence agencies would have tried to substantiate it and saying it is unsubstantiated would mean they were unable to do so, would you trust what's in this memo? >> that's what everybody is trying to figure out, whether or not there's any veracity here. and the fact that it's somebody from mi6 in and of itself doesn't mean that it's fact. i think this is the kind of

report that does require that you have to look at a number of different sources to see whether or not it really is true. you know, you get this kind of stuff -- we call it over the transom kind of intelligence all the time, and you have to question the sources and you have to question the credibility of those sources. i think that's what's happening here. neebs been able to in fact prove what he's been talking about is true. >> you said something there i want to follow up on. you said this is the kind of thing you get over the transom all the time. when you read these 35 pages and the allegations in them, is this the sort of thing you've seen many times, the sort of thing you see in opposition research that one candidate would prepare about another? is this sort of common or not? >> i think it's very common. you get this kind of rnl --esea- i've seen it in politics. you get all kinds of information on an opponent and you really

have to, if you're careful, you want to make sure that it, in fact, is verified and true because if you move with that information, at least in the past, i'm not sure about today's standards, but in the past if you move on that kind of information and it's not true, you could hurt the particular individual involved. >> and obviously that is part of the reason trump's so angry is he's saying none of it's true, it's now all out there in the public realm. clapper says he does not believe the leaks came from the intelligence community, which it's interesting you mentioned congress would have had this exact briefing as well. trump said if the leaks did come from the intelligence community, it's a disgrace. here's how he played it, secretary. >> i think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace. and i say that, and i say that, and that's something that nazi germany would have done and did

do. >> nazi germany? >> yeah. you know, i think his comments were a little bit over the top to say the least with regards to this issue. i mean, you know, i believe jim clapper. i don't think it was the intelligence community that in any way was involved with this leak. but the reality is, you know, when you present these kinds of briefings and there are a number of people that you present these briefings to, there is always the chance, particularly with staff in the presence of these briefers, that somehow some of this will leak. i mean, you know, i think the president-elect is really beginning to witness for the first time what the realities of washington are all about. i've worked for several presidents. those presidents were angry every time a leak came out.

but the reality is that leaks happen. and you have to learn to deal with that and move on. and i think ultimately that's what this president's going to have to do. >> you have said, secretary, that trump is damaging the credibility, the morale of the intelligence agencies by all of these negative comments he has said about them. in fact, you've said in your five decade career with presidents you've served under, secretary of defense, cia director, you've never seen anything like the rift we're seeing now between the president-elect and the intelligence community. the two men he's picked as cia, secretary of defense, in their hearings have sounded very different than trump. here they are. >> i have very, very high degree of confidence in our intelligence community. >> i have great confidence in the men and women that work out there. >> i know you support general mattis for defense secretary. do you support pompeo for chief of the cia? >> yes, i do. i think, you know, he's somebody

who understands the intelligence agencies, he's smart, and i think will be a good director. >> all right. secretary panetta, thanks for your time and insight. >> thank you. out front next, the inspector general launching a probe into the fbi handling of the investigation into hillary clinton's private e-mail server. investigation into the fbi. did james comey do the right thing? plus a tearful joe biden reacting to president obama's unexpected final gesture. and michelle obama known for her politics, fashion sense, and the evolution of the mom dance. ♪

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fbi director james comey coming under scrutiny this evening. the inspector general announcing it has opened an investigation into the fbi handling of the probe into hillary clinton's private e-mail server. comey sent a letter to congress, if you don't remember, 11 days before the election saying the bureau was looking into addit n addition additional e-mails that could be relevant to the case.

of course they said none of them were. it's a move democrats insisted to their losing the election. evan perez is back with this story. evan, a very significant development. what specifically is the investigation focused on? >> reporter: well, the justice department inspector general is investigating whether the fbi director james comey and other officials at the justice department and at the bureau followed the rules in their handling of this investigation of hillary clinton's private e-mail server. at the top of their concerns is the extraordinary july press conference comey saying he would recommend no charge ts against clinton and no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against her and breaking with protocol, comey went into great detail of all the things he thought clinton had done wrong, calling her extremely careless in her handling of classified information. the inspector general is also going to look into comey's unprecedented letter to congress just a few days before the election in which he announced these new e-mails were found and the fbi was essentially

reopening its investigation of clinton and a week later announcing it was closed again. there's also some scrutiny into whether the deputy fbi director should have recused himself from this investigation and whether any improper considerations played any role in this case. >> comey under pressure from both parties at different times in the election. both were blaming him for their travails, right? what was he saying tonight, comey himself? >> he's welcoming this investigation. he says, quote, i am grateful the department of justice ig for taking on this review. he is professional and independent that the fbi will cooperate fully with him and his office. i hope very much he's able to share his conclusions and observations with the public because everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency regarding this matter. clearly the fbi thinks this will help clean up some of the damage done to their reputation as a result of all this. >> thank you very much.

let's go now to jeffrey toobin. democrats are enraged at james comey. >> ep ranraged. >> here's a clip. >> i believe that the comey letter was a foul deed. it was the wrong thing to do. >> i think it was troubling that he put that vague letter out 11 days before the election. >> foul deed. nancy pelosi did not mince words. how necessary is this investigation? >> i think it's a very good idea. this is why we have inspector general. they investigate whether departments in the -- you know, their own departments are behaving properly. obviously this was a matter of great controversy. >> this investigation's going to go on under donald trump when you talk about an inspector general that isn't -- >> well, probably.

>> it's not going to switch. >> see, this is where things get complicated. michael horowitz, the inspector general, is a political appointee. political appointees usually leave on january 20th. however, inspectors general are an exception, usually. in 1981, when ronald reagan took office, he fired all the inspectors general. it caused a big stir, and that led to a tradition of inspectors general serving from one administration to the next. but it's just tradition, not a law. >> trump could come in and say not a law, you're gone. >> trump could fire him. >> wow. ? and sessions, the attorney general, if he's confirmed, could stop this investigation. attorneys general have the right to stop investigations. they can't fire. only the president can fire. so, you know, probably this will go forward, but it is not necessarily a done deal. >> and what will be the effect of the outcome if it does -- if it stops at this point we can

understand the anger and frustration that would be caused by that. if the outcome is that something wrong happened, you can't change the outcome of the election at this point. >> of course, and inspectors general also don't have the power to fire people, they don't have the power to prosecute. all they can do is refer cases to people who can fire and prosecute. so i think the real answer to your question is there will not be anything -- there will not be things changed but historically and politically this could be a very big deal. >> thank you very much, jeffrey toobin. next, our dr. sanjay gupta talks to doctors about how they feel about obamacare as another step is taken in its rollback. and the president's surprising and incredibly emotional good-bye to joe biden. >> i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. [ applause ]

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. tonight, republicans taking

their first steps to repeal obamacare. the senate approving a measure that helps fave way to repeal it. president-elect donald trump tweeting, congrats to the senate for taking the first step to repeal obamacare. now it's on to the house. doctors in this country are divided on whether it should stay or go. dr. sanjay gupta is out front. >> he's all yours. >> i love medicine. medicine is great. when you sit in the exam room, interact with a patient, you operate, you know, you do those things we were trained to do is awesome. all the bureaucracy and the burden that's built around the system of health care, that makes medicine difficult. took me two little swipes. >> reporter: on a typical 14-hour day, dr. brian hill is immersed in the realities of health care. his conclusion? >> the affordable care act has to go away. a year from now, 2018, what do you think this looks like?

>> i think it's going to be the same political morass it is today, as it was yesterday and it was eight years ago. >> reporter: it's safe to say most doctors like brian hill are not shy when it comes to expressing their views on obamacare. >> mad as hell! >> reporter: and just like the rest of us, studies find doctors tend to like or dislike the law based on their existing political preference. >> any pain up here? >> reporter: there are other factors. your age, for example. >> younger physicians were generally more favorable towards the affordable care act and more supportive of the idea that the government has a role to play in helping citizens afford their access to health care. >> reporter: so how do doctors feel about obamacare? well, a little stuck, because surveys show only 3.2% give obamacare an a grade. yet most of the major medical organizes are urging no repeal without replacement, worried about the loss of coverage for millions of peel. >> i think the ama has it right. this is the biggest drop in the

number of people without health insurance since the creation of medicare and medicaid 50 years ago. >> for people who are out there who have been beneficiaries, some 20 million of them, what would you say to them as a doctor? stoo did we really solve the problem? deductibles going up, co-pays going up they're giving you insurance, but are they giving you access to health care? >> reporter: the same exact care now costs more than it should. >> i look at my office and i've got a coder, a biller, prior authorization, precertification. all those things have raised the cost of health care to the point where physicians went, i'm out. >> reporter: last year hill got out. his practice swallowed by one of atlanta's largest hospitals, a growing trend across the country. that did reduce his costs, but now he worries about his patients. why? because big hospitals can charge more money. for example, we decided to join dr. hill in the operating room. we understand that now this that he's partner with the hospital

he could be doing the same type of operation on the same type of patient literally in the same operating room except the costs will now be 20% to 30% higher. the hospital partnering with hill refused to comment. for hill it's about gifting the market back to the consumer and letting doctors earn their trust. >> why do i need 25 or 30 people in washington, d.c., to fix things? we're going to fix it. i have faith in that. got it and no catheter. i think the solutions are going to come from us. >> sanjay, pretty stunning what he said, 20% to 30% higher to do the exact same thing in the exact same place. when he says we can solve this, like in what way? what is the solution that a person like dr. hill would have? >> well, you know, he'd be the first to admit it's complicated. no one wants to overly simplify it but it comes down to cost as the primary thing to focus on in all sorts of ways.

he and lots of other doctors talk about the fact there should be full transparency when it comes to cost, your drugs, your procedure in the hospital, a hospitalization itself. most people don't know how much that costs. if there's transparency, they believe that could start to drive down costs. but the idea that keeps coming up, we want a more open market. you hear that term over and over again. for many doctors that doesn't mean what you might think it means. that means patients, a potential patient can deal directly with doctors and hospitals, have those deals in terms of getting their care. and the insurance companies take a smaller role. so it's not that he wants big government to have a smaller role, he thinks the insurance industry should have a smaller role and the patients should be going directly to those who provide care. it's an idea that's come up before and had momentum, but his view represents many others'. >> fascinating. we talk about obamacare being repealed. kaylee mcmainny, keith boykins.

you saw sanjay's reporting. it makes people feel relieved, obamacare is not working. house speaker says they have to move fast because obamacare is in a death spiral. the big question, politically, is it worse to repeal it if there is no definitive replacement plan ready to replace it? >> yes. look, there can't be a lag time between repealing this plan and depriving basically 16 million people of coverage. there can't be a lag time. these people need coverage. there can be a delay. the heritage foundation has put forth a plan where you repeal it and use next year to lessen regulation, bring down costs and the following year the replacement comes into effect. if it's something like that where people keep coverage in the meantime, that's okay. but there needs to be a replacement ready to go if not

on day one but a year out from delay. >> will people buy that? >> i think she's half right that you can't have a lag time. if you have a repeal and delay, that's eventually creating a lag time and the death spiral people are afraid of because the insurers have no incentive to stay in the market. they don't know what's going to happen. you know, and the reality is seven years ago before this started there were 49 million people in this country without health insurance. now it's down to 29 million. 20 million people have health insurance because of this plan. you can't just kick them off of the affordable care act because the republicans decide they want to fulfill a political commitment to supporters. there has to be a plan. they've had seven years to come up with a replacement plan and they haven't. >> this is one of biggest lies by democrats is there's no replacement plan. go on paul ryan's website. you'll see right there a replacement plan laid out. go on heritage. there are two replacement plans

there. there are replacement plans but we don't have a willing negotiating partner. the democrats won't admit obamacare has failed. premiums will go up on average 25% next year. they won't allow us to renegotiate. >> there are people, now that it's going to happen, donald trump supporters and others who now say wait, i like it, it has changed my life, improved it. one spoke to dr. gupta and said this. >> the health care plan gives us peace of mind. medical screening to stop something before it gets worse. each day we face the possibility of losing our home, going into bankruptcy. one thing could come in. the health care act has taken that worry away. >> should republicans be careful? one thing to put it out as a boogeyman and another to slay it. >> that's why president-elect

trump is the perfect person for this. during the republican primary he was the one republican candidate who stood on that stage and said parents of obamacare need to stay, talked about pre-existing conditions, said we can't have people dying on the street, he said this during a republican primary. those words are anathema in the republican party but he said it. >> kayleigh is right, but those are the things that cost the money. >> you can't say we're going to keep the good parts and not have the other parts that make the system work. the idea that republicans have replace suspect not true. there are different ideas but no consensus about what this rae placement should look like and that's a fundamental problem. there are a lot of people even on the left who acknowledge the affordable care act is not a panacea. it has made progress but there are people like me who believe we need a single payer system

and don't have that right now. >> i have to pause there. thank you very much. next, president obama's good-bye to joe biden, a man he calls his brother. an incredibly emotional moment today. joe biden had no idea it was coming. and our manu raju corners senator marco rubio because he is -- has all the power right now. he could block rex tillerson to lead the state the president. >> we're still working through the process. when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace

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president obama with one last trick up his sleeve for his good friend, vice president joe biden. it was a surprise ceremony and the president shocked the vice presidenting him speechless, in tears as he presented him with his final presidential medal of freedom. it is the highest civilian honor in the u.s. >> for the final time as president, i am pleased to award our nation's high es civilian

honor, the presidential medal of freedom. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> i don't deserve this, but i know it came from the president's heart. >> up front, david gergen advised four presidents. incredibly emotional moment. usually these things are choreographed, doesn't mean they're not genuine but they're

choreogra choreographed. this one is just joe biden's true heart felt emotion. >> absolutely. it's emotional just watching it. again, hours later and seeing him tear up and, you know, trying to control himself before he came back on camera. i think it really underscores, erin, just how deep the bonds have grown between these two men. and it's ozo refreshing to see in washington, given all the acrimony of the recent past. even as you think upon recent vice presidents, there was a lot of iciness when george w. bush and dick cheney parted. cheney was angry bush hadn't granted a pardon to scooter libby. if you think back earlier to al gore and bill clinton, who started off as friends but in the end -- and when gore campaigned he barry mentioned clinton's economic success. i think he might have won the presidency has he run on clinton's coattails but he

didn't want to. >> it is pretty stunning. when you look at this moment we're seeing here, when joe biden turns his back to the camera because he wanted to compose himself, i mean, have we ever seen a relationship this close? obviously you mentioned the past two examples not being so. but in american history? >> i can't remember the personal warmth. there has been an enormous amount of respect. george h.w. bush and ronald reagan really respected each other but their families weren't as close. they didn't have quite this emotional tie. joe biden by nature, you know, is gregarious and warm, and i think he brings that out in president obama too. president obama is more reserved usually, but clearly the two struck up this relationship that transcends our politics, and i think there's a very hopeful moment as well to see that this can take place in politics still. >> before we go, i'll leave

everyone with -- i want to play just a couple of moments, not just today, but between these two men. here it is. >> joe, you are my brother. i am grateful every day that you've got such a big heart and a big soul and those broad shoulders. >> the president and i, we know each other. we talk. we have lunch every week, probably 60% of the time we talk about our families. he was there for my son. he was the only one there when my son was dying. he's a genuine friend. i respect him. >> to joe biden, the scrappy kid from scranton who became delaware's favorite son. you were the first decision i made as a nominee and it was the best. not just because you have been a great vice president but because in the bargain i gained a brother. >> you can see that emotion is so incredibly real. thank you so much, david gergen,

for being with us to talk about those two. next, top republicans wavering on trump's choice for secretary of state. could the democrats be the ones who actually save rex tillerson's nomination? plus michelle obama's late-night farewell. is she hinting at her next act? >> this is where the thank-you notes happen. >> this is where it happens right here. >> i like this. >> you do? >> this side of desk. >> you do? >> yeah. >> whoa. whoa! i'm not leaving!

what's the best way to get two servings of veggies? v8 or a fancy juice store? ready, go! hi, juice universe? one large rutabaga, with eggplant... done! that's not fair. glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day. tonight some top republicans not sold on donald trump's pick for the secretary of state, rex tillerson. it's a stunning situation because two democrats are leaving the door open to voting for the former exxonmobil ceo and that might be what tillerson needs if he can't get the republicans on board, specifically one gop skeptic, senator marco rubio. manu raju is out front.

>> reporter: the fate of rex tillerson as secretary of state now in the hands of someone donald trump often derided when they were campaign rivals. >> he's a disaster. he's a nasty guy. >> reporter: marco rubio. the florida republican senator. could provide a crucial vote to block tillerson in the foreign relations committee. which would be a major embarrassment for trump. rubio refuses to say what he'll do. >> we're still working through it so we'll have a decision soon. >> reporter: and he won't say if he'll even meet with tillerson. >> a lot has transpired since this morning. have you met with him yet? >> i don't have anything to add to what i already said to you. >> reporter: rubio grew visibly frustrated at tillerson during the nearly nine-hour confirmation hearing this week as the nominee repeatedly dodged his questions, namely about russia, a country tillerson had extensive ties with during his time running exxonmobil. >> the vladimir putin a war

criminal? >> i would not use that term. >> based on all this information and what's publicly in the record about what's happened in aleppo and the russian military you are still not prepared to say vladimir putin and his military have violated the rules of war and have conducted war crimes in aleppo. >> those are very, very serious charges to make and i would want to have much more information before reaching a conclusion. >> it should not be hard to say ta vladimir putin's military has conducted war crimes in aleppo and i find it diskourning your inability to cite that. >> what concerned you the most from your line of questioning? >> i stated that already. i think it's important if you're standing for moral clarity that you be clear. >> reporter: rubio and several other republicans including senator john mccain are concerned with trump's praise of putin and they are uncertain that tillerson would take a harder line as secretary of state. >> if you want a better deal with russia, you better punch russia in the face. >> reporter: but tillerson's

nomination may be saved by democrats on the committee who are still open to backing him. >> could you vote for tillerson? >> i -- i'm not ruling that out at all. >> manu, what is this about for rubio? >> reporter: this is about according to his aides about his own personal views on russia, very close -- he's trying to pull donald trump, pull the trump administration more in line with those more hawkish foreign policy views. some critics will say, well, is he just trying to get revenge on donald trump, and, you know, rubio has had a contentious relationship with trump during the course of the campaign, calling him a con artist when they were running against each other, saying he could not be trusted with the country's nuclear codes. but rubio eventually did endorse donald trump even saying as late as october he didn't know if he could keep this country safe. but they're trying to pull

donald trump in line with more traditional foreign policy vi views. >> obviously a crucial decision. don't his our live town hall with host speaker paul ryan. next, jeanne moos on michelle obama, the new queen of late night. ♪ opioid-induced constipation. prescription opioids helped my chronic back pain, but backed me up big time. had to talk to my doctor. she said movantik may help me go more often. don't take movantik if you have or had a bowel blockage.

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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. first lady of hate night making her final appearance, well, maybe. many are hoping it's just an her final appearance as a guest. >> michelle obama. >> michelle obama. >> michelle obama. >> reporter: her days of dancing across our screens are numbered.

>> how cool is the first lady? >> reporter: cool enough to run a potato sack race in the white house with jimmy fallon. and now she's reached the finish line as the first lady of late night. >> it is nuts. i feel like crying right now and i didn't think that -- >> reporter: her last talk show appearance featured her surprising people. as they delivered farewell messages. >> continue to go high even when the challenges of life make us feel low. thank you so much. oh! >>. >> reporter: she was serenaded by stevie wonder who adjusted his lyrics -- ♪ my michelle amour it won't be easy to follow in her dance steps. without further ado, we present the greatest hits of the comedy stylings of michelle obama. of course there was the evolution of mom dancing alongside jimmy fallon in drag. followed by the evolution of mom

dancing two with classics like getting a bag from your collection of plastic bags under the sink. she did "car pool karaoke." ♪ oh, oh, oh went shopping at cvs with ellen. >> we need help on aisle two. this was hard. oh. >> reporter: she was always promoting -- her let's move campaign. she even beat ellen. who gave up after 20 push-ups. no wonder stevie is singing in tribute. ♪ you'll always be first lady in my mind ♪ he is the first lady's favorite singer. ♪ signed, sealed, delivered, i'm yours ♪ but not for much longer is she ours. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. ♪ said good-bye >> tomorrow night, cnn explores first lady michelle obama's journey from chicago to the

world stage, an incredible story, history made, the legacy of michelle obama. it airs tomorrow night at 9:00. right here on cnn. thanks to all of you for joining us. you can watch "out front" anytime, anywhere, go to cnn go. see you back here tomorrow night. "ac 360" begins right now. good evening. thanks for joining us. new developments in the russia/trump story. cnn's reporting of it. and the fudging by the trump transition team surrounding it. this began with cnn's exclusive reporting that mr. trump last week was presented with classified documents alleging that russian operatives claimed to have compromising personal and financial information about him. we did not report any of the unverified, unproven claims, not a single one. that is fact. this exclusive story about the briefing was led by a team of experienced cnn correspondents, anchors, producers, backed up by multiple trusted sources. the news today is vice president joe biden