>> flatter china to the world and use harsher rhetoric behind closed doors? >> it really matters what he said behind closed doors. did he say to china, we need you with us, we need you to exert pressure on north korea. if he did that's a successful trip. >> thank you. appreciate it. following a lot of news. let's get right to it. >> we have something in common. >> highly anticipated testimony just hours away. >> president obama is owed an apology. >> what the president said was just patently false. he needs to put an end to this. >> no fisa warrant to trump tower. >> i'll tell you this. judge gorsuch will be confirmed. >> there is concern based on his record. >> democratic filibuster will not succeed.

health care bill will be passed pretty quickly. >> enough conservatives that don't want obamacare lite. >> we're right on track, right where we want to be. this is "new day" with chris cuomo and allison. >> allison is off. poppy harlow is here. in two hours, fbi director james comey will testify before the house committee. don't go in there expecting to hear everything. comey will be talking about what is unclassified that he he can discuss. still, two major issues. one, was there any surveillance, specifically wiretapping of the trump administration or trump directly by the obama administration? second, is this look at russian connections between the trump campaign and russian operatives real? >> how will the president react to all of this? we already have some clues in

his tweet storm this morning, calling stories about possible ties between his campaign and russia, quote, fake news. the senate also beginning its confirmation hearing on neil gorsuch. it is day 60 of the trump presidency. let's begin this hour with joe johns at the white house. he is tweeting already this morning. >> reporter: that's right, poppy. it's so interesting here in washington. james comey continues to be in the spotlight of american politics, when you think about it. he is probably the one person who can speak with some conclusiveness about what happened with russia and the election as well as the president's wiretapping. the question is, how far can comey go? >> the bizarre saga of president trump's explosive claim that he was wiretapped by president obama last year comes to a head today. fbi director james comey

expected to publicly debunk the president's unproven allegations. lawmakers investigating the claim repeatedly saying there is no evidence. >> was there a physical wiretap of trump tower? no, but there never was. >> i hope we can put an end to this wild goose chase. what the president said was patently false. >> straining diplomatic relations with two of the nation's strongest allies, the president even joking about it friday during a state visit by german chancellor angela merkel. >> as far as wiretapping, i guess, you know, by this past administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps. >> the fbi director will also face questions about russia's interference in last year's election and possible collusion between washington officials and the trump campaign, a key point of partisan disagreement.

>> any evidence of any conclusion? >> very simple answer. no. there is circumstantial evidence of collusion. there is direct evidence of deception. >> reporter: expected to grill comey on the extent of russia's election meddling. an attack, targeting hillary clinton that then candidate trump embraced. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails. >> reporter: the u.s. intelligence community overwhelmingly concluding that the russians intentionally tried to sway the election in trump's favor. adding to the intrigue, recent controversy surrounding trump's former national security adviser and attorney general. both under fire for misleading statements regarding their contact with russian ambassador, sergey kislyav.

it could overshadow the supreme court nominee neil gorsuch, expected to face tough questions on his views of the president's travel ban and roe versus wade. >> that will cause media filibuster and use every tool i have at my disposal to block his nomination. >> reporter: under pressure to change the health care bill, which could be voted on later this week in the house. >> i'm very impressed with how the president is helping us close this bill, making the improvements we've been making, getting the vote. >> reporter: 26 republicans leaning or voting no, which could doom the plan to repeal and replace obamacare. incredibly high stakes for the administration this week. there's a new poll out showing the president's approval numbers now reaching an historic low. we'll get to see the president at least twice today in a meeting with iraqi prime minister abadi and, again, at a rally in louisville, kentucky,

this evening. back to you. >> indeed. joe johns at the white house. eyes of the world are on fbi director james comey as he appears a few hours before the intelligence xhichlt what is he going to say to those three key questions? live in washington with more. obviously, there's stuff he can't say. this is a public hearing and he can't get into anything classified. he can answer these looming questions, especially on the wiretapping questions very definitively. >> that's right, poppy. one of the first questions we expect him to be able to answer today is about this unproven trump claim that president barack obama wiretapped trump tower. we expect comey to say that the president's claim is simply not true. after that, comey's answers are likely to get much trickier. the house intelligence committee is doing a wide-ranging investigation of russia's influence on the 2016 election. so is the senate intelligence committee and the fbi. comey is testifying with admiral

mike rogers, director of the national security agency, one of the agencies that helped to produce that report a few months ago, saying russia meddled to try to help donald trump get elected. comey is likely to talk in general terms, worried about affecting what his agents are doing and mindful about getting the fbi dragged into yet another partisan controversy after the uproar over the hillary clinton private e-mail server investigation. democratic lawmakers want comey to talk about repeated contacts between trump associates and people suspected of having connections with russian intelligence. at least so far, they want him to say that investigators haven't found collusion between trump representatives and rus a russia. there's still a lot they don't know and still a lot they can't talk about. it's an investigation still in

its relatively early phase. >> respect the fresh cut you got for this big day. let's discuss the implications, one of those who will question the the fbi director today. let's deal with the big bucket of cold water. do you think there's a chance that the fbi director may come before you today and maybe also the nsa director and say i'm sorry, even though i said i would come talk to you guys, i can't give you satisfaction on what, if anything, we're looking at with russia, what if anything we know about surveillance on president trump. any chance he stonewalls? >> i'm not sure i would use the word stone walling. the question of whether there was collusion, knowledge. remember, knowledge and collusion is not the same thing, and with the russians have any

financial or nonfinancial leverage, compromising material on the president of the united states that might explain the behavior of the president of the united states. all of that stuff is likely to be subject to both of them saying sorry i can't confirm or deny. as you know, counter intelligence investigations are some of the most sensitive things that we do. one thing he can do, of course, as your reporter suggested, finally put a stake in the heart of this ridiculous and very dangerous side show of the president saying that barack obama wiretapped him. >> well, okay. let's talk about that for a second. two big issues on the table, potentially. on wiretapping, if jim comey, and maybe even admiral rogers, comes forward and says president obama didn't personally do anything. he couldn't have done anything. there is no wiretap, no fisa warrant. do you think that would be sufficient? now it's grown like a fungus.

it's 17 different agencies. comey may not even know. rogers may not even know. it doesn't mean it's untrue just because they say it's not wiretapping. how do you deal with that? >> they can say two things. no, the former president did not wiretap donald trump. and he doesn't have the authority to wiretap anybody and hopefully they can clean up the mess that the president set off when he accused the british, our most important ally, most important intelligence community partner at keeping the american people safe, when he basically accused them of doing obama's dirty work. he can put a stake in those two absurd allegations. you've seen the white house back away. what about ongoing accusations? i doubt that director comey is going to give much, again, in the underlying substance of what this investigation is all about. >> conspiracies are very economical and fuel efficient. it takes very little to keep

them going. that's why i raise those questions. on the other one, do you think that comey and/or rogers will validate the idea that they are even looking at connections between trump's staffers, associates, whatever word you want to put on it and russian players? >> well, i think they're going to be very careful there. this committee is doing this investigation not because of donald trump's tweets but because all of the president's top people, paul mannefort, roger stone, michael flynn. the list goes on and on. all of them have bizarre and ongoing contacts with russia. most of them then lied about the nature of those contacts. in the context of a president who will attack the cast of hamilton, chuck schumer, attack "the new york times," will attack you, but doesn't have a nasty word to say about one of the biggest antagonists on the planet, you put all those things together and you have enough questions so that not just

congress, but hopefully the fbi would be investigating why all of that is true. >> also, congressman, i hear a bit of a finess point. stop saying collusion. we're not looking at just col collusion. we want to hear about knowledge, whether any of the trump people had knowledge that russia was doing it. what do you mean? >> if there were collus. on, if the trump people were working with russia to get him elected -- watergate would pale by comparison. but even knowledge -- remember, this investigation is just started in the congress. but even knowledge, if paul mannefort or roger stone, who had a bizarre ability to predict what wikileaks would do next f they knew about it and didn't raise the alarm, that's very serious. also it points to what do the

russians have on this president, whether it's financial, nonfinancial, compromising information. what explains this president's bizarre behavior where he will attack literally everybody, but he handles vladimir putin with kid gloves? >> congressman jim himes, appreciate it. this is a big day. people have been waiting for this. they're hanging on your questions. i will be among them. thank you for coming on "new day." >> thank you, chris. >> appreciate it. stay with cnn. this is going to be a big day. this is not hype. these questions have been paralyzing part of our political process. what will the fbi director, what will the head of the nsa finally say to get any measure of satisfaction to any of it? wolf blitzer, jake tapper, the big guns anchoring our special coverage of the house intel committee hearing with fbi director jim comey, admiral mike rogers follow him at 10:00 am eastern. our coverage starts at 9:00 am. poppy? >> british prime minister

theresa may plans to trigger article 50 next week with a formal letter announcing britain's withdrawn from the european union, two-year countdown to official brexit. in tennessee, there is a manhunt under way for a former teacher suspected of kidnapping one of his students. 50-year-old cummins. take a look at the girl on your screen, 15-year-old elizabeth thomas. they were last spotted in decatur, alabama, about a week ago. cummins is armed. the girl could be in imminent danger. he was suspended from the job last month for alleged inappropriate contact with elizabeth. did you see it this weekend? not the ncaa tournament but disney live adaptation of "beauty & the beast." it opened with huge numbers. emma watson as belle broke the

record. coming in at $170 million. it's also the best opening weekend of 2017 so far. even more impressive, the film brought in $350 million worldwide. >> i didn't know she could sing that way. did you? >> she's perfect. i didn't know. >> if you told me that in advanced, i wouldn't have been surprised by anything. >> i want to go see it. is that weird? >> not at all. you are going to have -- now that you have the baep baby, yo going to see all the movies you want to. >> a little young, don't you think? >> not if you want to see it. coming up for us, the president's agenda sidetracked, clearly, by his unproven wiretap claims. can he get it back on track? this is, perhaps, the most krimt week of his presidency. we'll go deep on that next. >> bigley. our disciplined approach remains. global markets may be uncertain...

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fbi director swrams comey will testify soon before congress. already up tweeting this morning. this story is fake news and everyone knows it. the democrats made up and pushed the russia story for running a terrible campaign and lost. the real story that congress, the fbi and others should be looking into is the leaking of

classified information. must find the leaker now. joining us to discuss, rick santorum and former florida congressman. congressman, let me get your reaction to the president's tweet. nothing about neil gorsuch, which could be a big win for the president. >> sure, it could be. it shows the president completely off message. he has been. he's digging himself deeper. comey hearings are going to be obvious. democrats want to talk about trump. republicans want to talk about russia. and if we do step back, it could be a big day about whether russia meddled in our elections. >> so let me get your take, senator santorum. ranking member adam schiff is saying on twitter, mr.

president, the russians hacked our election and interfered. no one disputes this now but you. this is what's called a fact. during our hearing, mr. president, there is no evidence that mr. obama tapped your phones. this is what is called fiction. you have long been a supporter. you often defend the president on this network. what do you say in response to adam schiff, though? >> i would agree that there's no evidence that there was any tapping of mr. trump's phones. but the truth is also there's no evidence of any collusion between the trump campaign and russians or any knowledge. there's no facts of any knowledge of what the russians were doing with respect to, quote, trying to influence the election. so, i mean, you make the claim that this is -- wiretapping is baseless. i would agree with that. there doesn't seem to be any evidence. but there also doesn't seem to be any evidence that there's collusion or knowledge of -- >> aren't they really separate issues, senator?

>> they are separate issues but neither of them have any basis of information to be able to sort of make the claim. and i agree. you know, criticize the president on what he is saying on the wiretapping. but let's also criticize the democrats. and i would argue that the media for making a lot of what we really don't have any information that the russians actually did collude or acted with knowledge of the trump administration that. left out there. we don't really know about that yet. well, what we do know is that we don't have any information that that's the case. >> what we do know, congressman, according to 17 different national intelligence agencies is that russia did try very hard to meddle and interfere, tried to sway. they wouldn't go as far to say did sway but tried to sway the election in trump's favor. there's much more basis in fact of russia's meddling in our election than there is on the president's claim that his predecessor committed a felony

and wiretapped him where there is not one shred of fact. >> the wiretap speaks to a larger credibility issue. the president lied about the crowd size at the inauguration, and the electoral college win, wiretapping. how on thursday does he sell the american people a health care bill? how howe does he sell anything at this point? it goes to the fact that he has been attacking people all along. at some point, he needs friends. at some point he needs credibility, and he has wasted that in his first two months. >> he has the credibility, though. when you look at the tracking poll numbers, 37% low of the it's been. he does have that credibility, still, within his base. >> within his base. >> and members of his own party. senator santorum, calling on the president to apologize if, indeed, comey does testify there's nothing there with regard to the wiretapping. >> i see no indication that's true.

it's not a charge i would have ever made. frankly, unless you can produce some pretty compelling proof, i think president obama is owed an apology in that regard. >> tom cole and others have called on him to apologize as well. if comey gets up there and says, senator, that the president lied, that there is nothing to this, should he apologize? >> i don't think that the president should apologize for that based on what jim comey says. other agencies are looking into this, to determine if anything was done. >> when should the president apologize? should he ever apologize for saying his predecessor committed a felony? what's it going to to take for you to say, yes, indeed, he was wrong and should apologize? if it's not jim comey, who is it? >> obviously, like i said before, there are a lot of

intelligence agencies that are involved in wiretapping. i guess once we have a clear picture that none of them were involved, probably the president should step forward and say he's now convinced it's not the case and make the appropriate apologies. but i don't think he feels that he's there at this point. >> do you agree with the senator? >> i lost sound on the senator. >> you did? >> i think the president should apologize. there's a bigger issue, whether this president is intellectually qualified to be president of the united states. he is going to make more false claims. the question is, are we dealing with a president who is electorally qualified? of course. but intellectually qualified -- >> you're saying he's not smart enough? >> look at how he -- >> what do you mean by -- that's quite a charge. >> i think he's going about his

own health care bill listening to you and chris in the morning. he does not practice nor details and understands the finer points of domestic or foreign policy. when he throws out a wiretap charge, what does that mean? we know he's lying about that, but he doesn't understand what a fisa court is. he doesn't understand he he just made an allegation of a felony, that he's crippling the united states on a world stage. that doesn't just speak to credibility but intellect. >> senator santorum? >> that's just absurd. the president of the united states -- this is what the left does. they always take a situation and then they go one step too far. >> your fellow republican. >> well, i just think it's an absurd claim to suggest that the president doesn't have the intellect to be president. president trump has run a multi-billion dollar organization. he ran the most, i would say,

historic campaign from the standpoint of coming out from nowhere to be elected president. and to suggest that he doesn't have -- understand the details, talk to paul ryan. paul ryan over the weekend talked about how the president is deeply involved in the negotiations and working very diligently with the house, unlike what president obama never did, the smart president, quote, smart president never had the ability to sit down and work with people and actually put a deal together. donald trump is smart enough to realize you have to get your hands dirty and work together to get things done and he's doing it. you're going to see a health care bill pass this had week. >> before we go, isn't it undercutting the millions of americans who voted for this president, put their livelihood in his hands to say he is not smart enough? >> no. he was duly elected president. we need to see him surrounded by his cabinet and need to see more of the cabinet and less of the white house team. he has put together a team of remarkably qualified

secretaries. but he shouldn't dabble in the finer points of domestic and foreign policy when he simply doesn't understand it. >> congressman jolly, senator santorum, nice to have both of you here. chris? santorum strips jolly of republicanness because he doesn't like his answer. headline. president trump and james comey. remember their first meeting? little interesting to watch. fbi director is about to testify about the president's wiretapping claim. here is the moment, by the way. check your screen. remember this? kind of brings him in. little -- that's what that was. no kiss from pence. no surprise there either. so, is this going to change their relationship today? part of the bottom line, next. your insurance company won't replace the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, you won't have to worry about replacing your car because you'll get the full value back including depreciation. and if you have more than one liberty mutual policy, you qualify for a multi-policy discount,

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what will he say? what will he say? that is the question. fbi director jim comey will be in front of congress this morning. he will be asked about wiretapping, surveillance. he will be asked about the existence of an investigation into russian connections with the trump staff. is he going to give answers?

bottom line, philip rubbinger. now before we get to the substance, let's deal with the style. let's replay that moment. remember when comey and trump had their introduction moment, the handshake and the kiss? come over here, jim. you're the real star. and what was that, philip? was that just a whisper in the ear or just a little -- you know, we're all good now? what was your read on that? >> i think he was just trying to be friendly. the relationship was up and down with trump. he hated comey when he wouldn't indict hillary clinton. in the end he loved comey because of that letter. whatever trump thinks of comey is dependent entirely on what he thinks of trump at that moment and if he's creating problems for trump. >> he may really hate comey come lunchtime today. >> right. >> can he fire comey?

can? yes, he can. would he, should he? how would it look? he serves at the pleasure of the president, only a little bit into his ten-year span of service. would that look like the president was trying to cover something up if he fires comey? >> it would be a pretty extraordinary move for him to do that. technically, he can. i think it's very unlikely that he would. it would certainly create all sorts of questions about this russia connection and the investigation. i think it's an unlikely move for the white house to make. >> yeah. i think it would be -- even in this administration, even with the forgiveness for trump and what he does, that would be a huge problem. >> we are used to seeing shocking things. >> yeah, but, phil, that would be a big deal. hard to pivot, except in the worst way for the administration. >> that's right. >> on the wiretapping, do you believe democrats and some republicans who want this cleared up and to go away, do you think they'll get satisfaction? yes, he said wiretapping. yes, he said president obama

and, to broaden it beyond that at all, i get why people would criticize that. but it has gone beyond that. and what if he doesn't say no kind of surveillance by anybody, any agency, and rogers comes on and echoes that. short of that, will wiretapping live? >> i think it will always live because donald trump is making this point as is his press secretary, sean spicer. i don't think the media and the public at large will give up on this. for the president to make that sort of charge about his predecessor is remarkable. and it's incumbent upon him to show some evidence and regardless of what comey says this week, the issue will still linger there. >> you had great reporting over the weekend, was my sunday night reading on what's going on inside the white house. the president hates these stories, palace intrigue stories. two months in, day 60 of the

trump presidency, who do you get the sense has the president's ear? >> his staff are eager to talk about them. we talked about 18 different white house officials and other friends of the president and really came to conclude there's a new dynamic in the white house. it's not reince priebus versus steve bannon what it seemed to be at the beginning. they've formed an alliance to take on what we're calling the new york moderates, gary cohn, dina powell, who has tied to goldman sachs, trying to model the president in image, tone, policy and push a more centrist business-friendly agenda, clashing with the republicans, conservative nationalists in steve bannon and priebus. >> with an gets more satisfaction today, the idea of whether or not there was surveillance of trump by the obama administration or whether or not there is an actual inquiry into connections,

knowledge of trump staff and what the russians were doing during the election? >> well, i imagine we're going to hear a lot more specifically about the charge that president trump made on the wiretapping. that seems like a pretty easy know, based on everything we've been hearing and cnn has been hearing and other news outlets, that there is no evidence of that wiretapping. the bigger question is the russian investigation. the public wabts to know answers to that and members on the hill will be pushing comey to answer. >> stakes are high. >> very high. >> the president tweeting just now. heard fake news cnn is doing polls again despite the fact that their election polls were way off, disaster. much higher ratings at fox. he just tweeted that. >> they're not our polls. they're gallup polls. it's very different to poll people's opinion about a sitting president as to how they may go vote. very different. >> plus or minus on the polls on

the national vote was on, what happened in specific states. the president really concerned today, philip, on twitter, trying to shape the narrative. >> i hope he's watching us. >> oh, he's watching. >> philip, great reporting by you and your team. just ahead, can supreme court nominee neil gorsuch give the white house a big win? how far will democrats go to block him? our legal experts will break it down. as the network it's on. and verizon has been ranked number one for the 7th time in a row by rootmetrics. (man) hey, uh, what's rootmetrics? it's the nation's largest independent study and it ranked verizon #1 in call, text, data, speed and reliability. (woman) do they get a trophy? not that i know of. but you get unlimited done right. (man 2) why don't they get a trophy? (man 3) they should get something. (woman 2) how about a plaque? i have to drop this. my arm's getting really tired. unlimited on verizon. 4 lines, just $45 per line.

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time for five things to know for your "new day." russia's election interference and trump wiretapping. democratic senators not ruling out a possible filibuster attempt with regard to neil gorsuch's confirmation. house speaker paul ryan said the gop bill to repeal and replace obamacare will most likely get a floor vote thursday. authorities suspect a colorado wildfire that forced

thousands to evacuate their homes may have been man made. no injuries or property damage, though, reported yet. president trump will meet with iraq's prime minister at the white house. they're meeting, expected to focus on defeating isis and continued economic assistance from the u.s. and allies to help iraqi forces do just that. for more on the five things to know, go to newdaycnn.com for the latest. 38 million older americans stepping out against the republican health care bill. christine romans is in the money center. >> and big dollars to do it. aarp plans to hold lawmakers accountable. this harmful legislation creates an age tax, cuts the life of medicare and gives sweetheart deals to big drug and insurance companies while doing nothing to lower the cost of health care prescriptions. we intend on letting all 38 million of our members know exactly how their represe representatives voted. aarp, outraged by this analysis,

courtesy of the congress youngal budget office. premiums would rise 13 grand under the gop plan and could pay even more. insurers are allowed to charge older americans four to five times what younger people will pay. house speaker paul ryan acknowledging the bill may need to be changed for that demographic. bill gates meeting was overshadowed when kanye west showed up at the trump tower on the same day. gates has been sharply critical with trump's plan to slash foreign aid. how he believes foreign aid makes america safer. two businessmen with different world views. bill gates at odds with the president on climate change as well. >> gates is big. aarp is big. they started sending me information, by the way. >> i'm not surprised. >> you know what that means. >> good to have a seat at the table. make your voice heard. see what happens.

>> true, true. senate confirmation hearings from president trump's supreme court pick neil gorsuch are about to begin. is it democrats who are on the hot seat? we have a legal expert tell you what's behind that question next. ♪(music plays)

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the eyes of the world on capitol hill today as two big hearings get under way very shortly. fbi director james comey set to testify before the house on russia and the president's wiretapping claims and neil gorsuch faces his hearing in the senate. senior legal analyst and biographer as well as jeffry toobin, senior legal analyst and quite the author himself as well. nice to have you both here. jeffrey, let's begin with you on comey. you seem skeptical. you don't think he's going to give a lot. he's not going to say much? >> no. fbi directors don't talk much about pending investigations. and we don't know exactly -- >> until they do, right before an election. >> this is what makes his testimony so interesting. comey broke every rule that applies to fbi directors, justice department officials, to basically destroy hillary clinton's candidacy in october

and november of last year. but if you look at his record, if you look at the customs of the fbi, they don't really talk much about pending investigations. i expect we will get a clear, narrow answer to whether trump tower was bugged. and that answer will certainly be no, since everyone who knows anything about this subject has said no. but beyond that, in terms of what investigations are going on, involving russia, involving trump officials, i expect we will not hear anything close to a definitive answer. >> one quick balance on this, jeffrey. we've been hearing from the democrats saying, hey, collusion is not the standard. proof of collusion is not all we're looking for. we're looking for proof of knowledge of what the russians are doing by trump people in real time. what's the distinction there? >> well, the distinction is potentially critical. if, for example, anyone involved in the trump campaign or any american aided and abetted the

hacking of the dnc or the hacking of john podesta's e-mails, that's a crime. but if they were simply in touch with russians, who later were involved in hacking, that's not a crime. it's potentially politically very embarrassing, but it's a huge difference legally between actually helping and simply just being in conversation. >> so, joan, let's get your take on the other hearing that is clearly overshadowed by comey. and neil gorsuch may be okay with that. his confirmation hearing on the hill, i wonder how he will address the questions of, you know, judicial independence and the things that the president has said about the judiciary branch just last week, calling it overreach in their travel ban 2.0 ruling, talking about this so-called judge the first time around on the travel ban. can he walk the line, condemn the comments, not the man? >> i'm sure he has practiced many times trying to do that. you mentioned two big hearings.

this is the one that's for life. >> right. >> neil gorsuch will appear for all of us for the first and only time when people can ask a lot of questions. then he's appointed for life, 30 years, your children, your children's children will be living in the america where he has set the law. and i think those questions right now are so salient about judicial independence and how much he will be an independent actor from donald trump. and i think he will probably today suggest some of that in his personality when he reveals himself to the senators about judicial neutrality. it will be up to the senators to pull out more as they start the q & a tomorrow. this is a moment where he will have to set the stage and introduce himself to all of america. we saw him the night that donald trump, you know, announced the nomination. but this is his moment entirely to start answering those questions. >> let's see if the democrats

have prepared to posture or to really test this nominee. joan, there are ways -- look, what's the main thing? the main thing will be hey, are you like scalia, a real originalist? we'll put to the side whether that was what scalia really was in practice. do they find ways to get at what matters or are they just going to punt in grandstand? >> no. this is a big deal. as i said, once in a lifetime for him. once in five years, decade for the democrats. why don't they use this forum to point at some very important legal issues today? they'll have like 20 hours of testimony over this week that they can talk about the most important issues to americans on individual rights, on privacy. we've got that immigration travel ban right there on center stage. they can't ask -- they'll try.

they can't get answers from judge gorsuch about how he can rule on that but will try to probe his thinking. they should try to develop and i'm sure they have developed creative ways to approach it. even if he tries to say very little on the substance, will he still reveal himself. >> and, jeffrey, final thought. if you were questioning gorsuch, you had one question, what would you ask? >> you're making me so nervous, poppy. >> i tend to do that. >> you know, it's still the biggest question of all in constitutional law. should roe v. wade be overturned. he probably won't answer but it's a good illustration of what's at stake in this nomination. >> i know that's what blumenthal was saying earlier, that's the litmus test. how will he answer? we'll be watching both those hearings on the hill today. it's monday. a will the to be expecting today. how about we start with a little good stuff? your insurance company

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that were suffering and hurting. how simple a sock is to us is such a huge need to them. >> they run their business out of their dorm room. every month they choose a different shelter in their state. they've donated more than 2,000 pairs to date. by the way, they picked a good product. have you noticed that socks have made a huge comeback? >> yes. my husband has many interesting color socks. but now i'm going to buy them from there. >> why not? >> that's not what i thought you would say college kids are doing in their spare time. i'm very happy to see that. that's why it's "the good stuff" this morning. special coverage of fbi director james comey testifying before congress. it's going to begin right now with wolf blitzer and jake tapper. we have been calling you guys, the big dogs. >> the big guys. >> for the big story.

>> i'm vacation tapper. >> and i'm wolf blitzer. welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. just a short time in the saga over president trump's accusations that his predecessor, the former president barack obama wiretapped him inside trump tower in new york city. the head of the fbi is expected to rebuke his claims. fbi director james comey testifying before the house intelligence committee on the wiretapping claims and the investigation into the extent of russia's interference in the u.s. presidential election. head of the national security agency will also testify. lawmakers on both sides possible ties to russia. burning question this morning will comey publicly admit whether there