hurdles left to go. they think they can get there, but a lot of work left. >> thanks so much for watching 360. time now for us to hand things over to a good man with a terrific interview you absolutely want to see. jake tapper now with a special edition of the lead. welcome to a special prime time edition of the lead. an extraordinary day today in washington, with allegations of sexual harassment and abuse surrounding the united states senate. one involves a sitting senator, a democrat, the other a candidate for the office, a republican. we'll speak to one of the women at the center of this in moments. today the white house said president trump thinks the allegations against republican senate candidate roy moore in alabama are troubling. eight women have come fjoorwardo accuse morph assault when they

were teenagers, one as young as 14. sarah sanders would not say whether president trump believes the allegations, and she dodged questions about accusations of sexual harassment and assault against president trump himself. on the democratic side, both parties on capitol hill are calling for a full ethics committee investigation. avenues anchor leann tweeden of kabc radio in los angeles, shared her story alleging al franken kissed and groped her without her consent. she says private citizen franken wrote a exit, which involved their characters kissing one another, and he pressured her to rehearse that alone backstage. he forcibly kissed her. and then later franken posed in this photo where he can be seen seeming to grope tweeden while she was asleep. he was elected to the u.s. senate two years later. she chose the lead as the place to be her first national

television interview. tell us about this rehearsal incident. it's 2006, you're preparing for a uso show. were you in afghanistan, iraq, where were you? >> the first show was in kuwait, we started in kuwait, and then moved on to iraq and ended up in afghanistan. the first was in kuwait, we were backstage, sort of the backstage area in kuwait as a makeshift backstage area, which is their jim, which is behind the stage that they built there. and we had a cordoned off area, up against the gym wall, which is a mirrored area, they have that for us, so we can see everything changes back there. and al just wanted to rehearse, and he's like, let's go over our lines and let's do -- we really should rehearse the kiss, that was the first time i had heard that part of it, why do we -- we don't need to rehearse the kiss, i sort of blew him off, no, we

really need to rehearse the kiss. come on, al, this is not saturday night live, this is -- we're just going to do it live on stage, it's no big deal. and he just persisted. he said, again, let's rehearse the scene, and, you know, i was trying to make light of the situation, because i started feeling uncomfortable. i was like, what is he gets at here. and i was trying to be funny, i said, okay, al, you lean right, i'll lean right and we'll be fine, you know? and he's like, you know, actors really need to -- they need to rehearse. i'm thinking, i'm not an actress, al, i'm a host, i'm a tv host. i don't act, that's a whole other thing people do. he goes, no we really need to do this. the persistent and making me feel uncomfortable, i finally said, let's rehearse the damn scene, okay? and the whole time in my mind

i'm thinking, it's like bob hope, you're going to come in for the kiss, i'm the girl and i'm just going to turn my head or i would cover his mouth and it would be funny, right? we're doing this to entertain the troops, it's like a schtick. he comes in, and at the last second he puts his hand on the back of my neck and comes in so fast, and he just sort of -- it's like that -- there was no finesse to it at all, let's put it that way. he mashes his mouth to his lips and, you know, it was wet and he puts his tongue in my mouth, my reaction, it was sort of a -- i pushed his chest away with my hands. i'm like, if you ever do that to me again, i was so angry, i was in disbelief really. and i just sort of -- my hands -- to this day, i talk about it, my hand clinches into a fist, because i think my

initial reaction is that i wanted to hit him. that's what i feel. and i still feel that to this day, i think. and i just looked at him, i said, don't you ever do that to me again, i won't be so nice about it the next time. and i walked out. and i just walked out, my mind was reeling, and i'm thinking, i have to find a bathroom, i wanted to rinse my mouth out. i say i'm not an actress, let me tell you, in five minutes, they're introducing us to go on stage to do our very first show and i think i was the best actress in the world, i had to be out and be like al franken, ladies and gentlemen, and pretend we were the best of friends and do the whole show standing right next to him. >> i know you've said you spent much of the rest of the tour being as professional as possible on stage acting the part while also avoiding him as much as possible backstage. was there ever any acknowledgement by him that had

had happened, any sort of attempt to talk about it or apologize or anything? >> no, absolutely not. >> no, and i'll tell you this, there were little petty things that went on little comments here and there. passive aggressiveness, we would do autograph sessions after the show. you put on a show, and afterwards, the troops can come. you have autograph sheets, they put out long tables and you sit next to each other and sign autographs. dallas cowboy cheerleaders, very popular. people come and line up sometimes i'll be honest with you. there would be no one in al franken's line. people line up -- you stand in one line and get one autograph

for a night. one time -- if i sat next to him, we would be sat next to each other. i would sort of have my back to him like this. i see the picture moving. trying not to pay attention to it, and i look down and i see it kind of move back toward my pile, and there's my picture and al franken has drawn the devil horns on my face, and the goutee and the devil tail and the pitchfork. that's what i'm dealing with. it's the little things like that, it ends up it's like, all of that in totality, right? people who are watching might not have seen your press

conference. you received a cd of pictures from the photographer, and this was there, this was obviously taken when you were sleeping. what was your reaction, you didn't find it funny. i don't know anybody over the age of 9 that may find it fungny, what did you think? >> i was angry, because in my mind he was doing that to -- now it's his parting gift. she's going to see that, after we're all gone, and that's like -- i got you. you know. had a had a, that's going to be the last thing she sees, and i got the last laugh. >> directly related to the kiss? >> yes, of course. >> oh, you're the devil, ha ha. i mean, it's just -- it's be

littling, humiliating, is that ever funny? i wasn't his friend. is that funny if it's your daughter, your wife, your mom? he came out with the apology and he's appalled by it now. you know, it's i've been angry about it for over 10 years and it's a -- you know, i don't know. i've held it inside. my circle of friends and my husband have known how i felt about it for so long. i wanted to come out with it 10 years ago, and it wasn't the right time. and i don't want anything. i -- if he did this to somebody else or somebody else has been sexually assaulted, maybe

somebody else can come out in realtime, they find strength in numbers. people are coming out now. congressman jackie speer came on our radio show, and she told about her story, her chief of staff, when she was a congressional aide did the same thing. when i heard her talk about that, she said, he pinned me up against the wall, put his hands on my face, kissed me and stuck his tongue in my mouth. i went, that was al franken, he did that to me. >> you were triggered in a way. >> i said, that's a sign. that's going to make me talk. maybe if al franken did this to somebody else or somebody else has a story, and they see me talking about it, i was nervous to talk about it. i still have a knot in my stomach. this season the like, oh, yeah, i'm going to do it and feel

great about it. >> it's difficult to do. >> it is hard. of course it is tell me why. i don't doubt you at all, tell me why it's hard. >> it's -- why do you think there are people that haven't talked -- there are still a lot of people that haven't told their stories. in the case of roy moore, there are people coming out about it. it's embarrassing, it's humiliating. there are still people i've looked on twitter, still blaming me for it. you look at the picture, i'm asleep and somehow it's my fault really? al franken has come out and apologized and said, that was in poor taste. i thought it was funny, it's still my fault. that's why women don't come out. >> the only thing i can say to you is don't read twitter for the next week. >> oh, right, i know.

you're going to find people who are against cancer patients on twitter. >> you keep talking about al franken, senator franken's apology. he put out one statement and then a second one. i want to get your reaction the first thing i want to do is apologize to leann, everyone who was a part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me. and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. it's what i want to say. if a it's the only thing you care to hear, i'm sorry. i respect women, i don't respect men who don't. the fact that my own actions have given people a reason to doubt that i'm ashamed. men who respect women, have been forced to take a good hard look at our actions, and think about how those actions have affected women. i didn't remember the rehearsal for the exit as leann does, i understand why we need to listen to and believe women's

experiences. i'm asking an ethics investigation be undertaken. what people think of me in light of this is far less important than what people think of women who continue to come forward to tell their stories that deserve to be heard and believed. i have let them down and am committed to making it up to them that's most of it. what do you think of that, do you accept his apology? >> i do. the one that came out this morning, i accepted that one too. it was very short and brief, my initial reaction was, it sounded like a staffer put that out hastily it could have been the truth to get it out quickly, it went viral and it was everywhere. that one did seem heartfelt. i honestly do believe him much i wasn't waiting for an apology

for him i gladly accept, and i thank you. >> do you want him to call you? >> sure. i mean, look, my husband and i saw him at a uso metro gala and i was very cold to him. he found me in a room and said hello leeann i said hi, al. my husband said hi al and turned and walked away from him. he didn't get it then and didn't apologize to me then. in he didn't say i'm sorry for anything i did, and it took this for the apology, whatever. i'm glad that he -- that second apology i think maybe he had some time to digest it and think about it. i believe him. perhaps it is heartfelt. men and there are men victims who have come out.

and this whole harvey weinstein era that's come out. people need to take a look at the culture that's been happening since men and women have walked the earth many and i hope it's changing, and i hope it will change, it's going to take all of us. not only what happens behind closed doors, a lot of this abuse and harassment happens in front of other people. when other people let it happen and don't speak up to say something, and say, look, that's not okay it's going to continue. >> was anybody there when -- >> no, it was justus two. >> what do you think of the fact that everyone in the senate is calling for a snatd ethics investigation. franken himself called for it. when it came off that more than $15 million had been paid off in

settlements to women for sexual harassment and other charges by congress, there was a lot of question about, should congress be in charge of investigating something else. i don't know if you saw jackie speer -- a rube goldberg design that only could have been assigned by somebody who was trying to dislodge women from making the complaints. is it enough for senators or should there be something else? >> i think there should be, if anybody is going to be investigated, i'm not talking about this case in particular it should always be an independent investigation. you can't expect the that's

never going to be a fair investigation, i would think an outside investigation or an outside party that's unbiased and not part of that affiliation, is always going to be called for, they're always going to protect themselves, that $15 million payout that's like having these nda's, that's how you protect. when you can pay off, and say, i'm going to pay you for your silence, maybe i abused you, sexually harassed you, raped you, if i'm going to pay you the money and you stay silent, they can continue the type of behavior. and congress, they're paying them off with taxpayer money. i'm sure that $15 million didn't come out of their personal pocket, right? >> how do we not know names? how do we not know what happened?

names need to be named. the money needs to come out of their own personal checkbooks. this is wrong, when names start being named i think there was call on capitol hill yesterday if we start knowing names, maybe this behavior will start changing. >> are you willing to testify before the senate ethics committee? i would be, sure. yes. okay? if they ask me to. >> do you think that senator franken should step down from his job or if he fails to be expelled from the senate for his colleagues? >> i'm not asking for that. that's not why i came out with my story. i'm not asking for him to step down as senator, that's not my -- if somebody else calls for that, that's not what i'm asking. >> in your heart, do you have any feeling? it sounds like you've nursed this understandably with a lot of resentment, again, completely understandably for 11 years. do you want him punished?

what is the or do you just want to be acknowledged as a human being and apologized too in. >> yeah, i think that's it, the latter, i think i just wanted him to apologize to me for that, and say he was sorry i think that second statement he came out with. and the acknowledge of saying it was wrong. and the heartfelt gathering his staff and saying, it was wrong, i think everybody needs to take a good hard look. he came from a place of honesty there. that's what change is going to be driven from. not from the victims coming out and talking about it, i think it's going to come from the people who maybe do the abusing who don't realize they're doing the abusing, because it's so a part of the culture. and it's been so a part of -- when you can do this and look at a camera and laugh, and think that that's okay, and you can get away with it, and you know you're being photographed and you know you're doing it to a woman, and you think that that's

impunity, and think you can get away with it, and it's funny, that's what's wrong with the culture, if we can have the people doing the abusing change, that's where -- that's when the change is going to occur. >> we've all been watching the changes in the society when it comes to this issue of sexual assault and harassment in the last year i guess, i mean, slowly and now quickly, bill cosby, roger ailes, bill o'reilly, mark halpern, harvey weinstein, james tobac, brett radnor. are there any of the women who came forward in any of those cases who inspired you? i think right now, you're probably inspiring a lot of people. are there any women who came before you who inspired you to come forward today? >> i don't think specifically. i think it's more of a -- as a

whole just for me, i say congresswoman jackie spears when she came on our show a few weeks ago, she told the story. and it was almost verbatim what happened to me. she happens to be a congresswoman and it's political and al franken is a senator, it sounded like my words, you know what i mean? i think that's why it was a trigger point for me and it inspired me to come forward. all of those women, we're just standing on the backs of those women, you know? it just is -- it takes courage and strength and i only pulled strength in them, look, this morning right before i faulked about it on our radio show, i was terrified. i told my husband, before i came to do your show, there was a moment this morning, i tried to go out and go to the bathroom, there were tv cameras in the hallway, i had no idea what it

was going to turn into, i thought maybe a camera was going to show up and then all of a sudden the hallway was flocked. i was like, i need to go to the bathroom, right at that moment, my husband texted me, how are you holding up. i locked myself in the bathroom for a minute and i wanted to start crying it was an overwhelming emotion. i even had lauren, one of the girls that came out about harvey weinstein, who's a friend of ours, and i've known her for a long time. she texted me last night, she knew i was going to talk about it this morning, she said, you're going to feel better i haven't gotten to that point yet. i have that knot in my stomach. i don't feel like yea! it feels great, i still feel kind of sick about it. it's not a feel good thing, i feel embarrassed about it, it's -- >> you don't need me to say

this, but you did nothing to be embarrassed about i know you know that intellectually. but there's nothing you did you should be embarrassed about. how are you holding up, you have a loving husband, a support network there, are you doing okay? >>. >> i just want to go home -- i have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old and i just want to hug my babies and my husband, that's all. i've been up since 2:00 in the morning, california time. i haven't eaten anything, i have like cotton mouth, i feel like my teeth are sticking to my gums, i'm okay, i'm holding up it's just been nonstop, that's all. >> the world you're making for your children, for your 2-year-old and 4-year-old, you realize you are making it better for them. i don't know the gentders of your children, but it doesn't matter. >> i have a boy and a girl. >> both of them need to be impacted by this, right? not just the girl.

>> you know, you always -- >> i don't want to be cliche, but you try to leave the world a better place for your kids sorry. i didn't think i was going to do that. you want to leave. you want to leave the world a better place. you try to -- you want to set examples, and you want the bed to be better for your kids, you want to leave it better than what you had it i've had so many of my girlfriends text me, my phone died twice already today because people have been texting and calling, they're like, stay strong, you're doing something that is going to make the world

better for your daughter. maybe i am. i didn't look at it that way. but maybe i am, and if i am okay. i'll take it. >> you are. of course you are. it's not just for your daughter, you're doing it for your son too, right? >> you don't want him to grow up and either misbehave or -- you know, have women friends or family members who are affected that way. because obviously what you're doing is making the world a better place, you're bringing awareness in a very public and -- i know you don't feel it, very brave way. you said something earlier that surprised me. you didn't know how much this was going to -- how big a deal this was going to be, you didn't know it was going to be such a huge story of interest to so many people. why? >> i knew it would be a story because it deals with senator

franken. i didn't know know it would be like this. i guess it's like trying to describe the grand canyon to somebody, and then seeing it with your own eyes, i guess maybe it's just a little bit different in perspective, but i just it's been a whirlwind, nonstop. the flood of phone calls and e-mails, and messages and text messages, and the interest and the stories and the trending, and it's overwhelming, you know just haven't had a couple minutes to myself, and like i said, i just -- you know, i haven't had a chance to see my kids and i haven't been able to talk to my husband like twice, just for a minute, it's just -- it's -- you know, it's overwhelming, really.

>> one of the -- i know you're not doing this in any partisan way at all. these stories inevitably become partisan, not because of you, not because of how the media necessarily covers it, but because partisans seize upon it. and we saw that with the allegations against donald trump last year. we see this with allegations against roy moore. what do you think about that, about people taking credible allegations of sexual misconduct and using them for partisan purposes. one way or the other? >> disgusting. i mean -- when is -- how can you take sides when there's right and when there's wrong? i mean i tried to describe it yesterday, we were talking about it on the radio show, and i said, if you listen to stories like we watch the voice, for

example, where you turn your seats around and you just hear a voice, you don't see a face, you don't know the person, you don't know where that voice is coming from, you just hear beautiful melody. if you just heard the stories of what some of these people do, and you've heard the accusations and then you hear the accusers or the stories that have come out, and you didn't know anything about the person or their affiliation, if they're a liberal or if they're republican, what side they're affiliated with politically. you made your decision based on facts or allegations. it would be a different story, and it's so sad to me that if you are sexually assaulted or abused or raped or whatever it is that has happened to you, you're a victim or you're an abuser or whatever, it doesn't

matter if you have a d or an r in front of your name. that should have nothing to do with it, that's the thing, when congresswoman speer came on the show, she has teamed up with other republican females in congress to talk about, this is not a partisan issue. when you're sexually assault ed it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter if you're a republican or a democrat. the guy doesn't go, hey, are you republican or democrat. because when i'm raping you, i want to make sure which one you are. the affiliation doesn't matter. i don't see how people can go, oh, i'm so happy that she was assaulted, because she's a republican, or i'm so happy that he's being accused because he's a democrat like that's disgusting to me. that's not the point here, let's get back to the problem of what happened here, and what is he

being accused of, regardless of what his affiliation is, because let's -- that's the issue here, let's not let's talk about the problem and the victim. >> do you think it's going to get better? do you think that there is becoming more awareness because of all these cases, including yours today that the behavior will change and more women will come forward and fewer men will feel like they can try this nonsense, try to assault women and get away with it? >>reali ifist i hope it's going to get better, and i think it will. i think more women are going to feel more empowered to speak up when it happens is sexual assault and rape still going to happen? yes, it's going to happen, because it's human nature and people are still going to be

assaulted and things are -- we're not going to live in this perfect society where everybody's going to get along and we're going to have no crime and no rape and everything's going to be perfect and we're going to live in harmony, let's be realistic, that's never going to happen, i do think times are changing, i think you see in hollywood now, where these allegations come, look at the fall from grace of harvey wine design. and it is -- we're talking about a guy who ran hollywood. who -- i mean, he could win an oscar just by putting money into -- it was amazing how much control he had over the oscar nominations, and the movies that were put out, and how much control he had over the movies that were put out and made and distributed, and all of that. and his fall from grace was just unbelievable. and then you look at kevin spacey, and how people just cut

and ran, you look at louie c.k., people just cut and ran. we're talking about accusations, when multiple people come out, none of these were proven, they just started hearing them, multiple people came out and they're like, we pulled all of it, we're replacing him in a movie, they just cut and ran at the first sight of it, it's been incredible. i think times have changed, people don't want to know. there's been a silent departure of -- people don't hear this, in a lot of agencies in hollywood, a lot of talent companies in hollywood, there have been a lot of people that silently cleaned out their desks that have walked away that have been part of that culture. that the hammer's either coming down or they know it's coming down the pipeline and have just gone, you know what, we're going to take our leave now, before the shoe drops on them.

it's really happening there, and maybe it's going to happen in more places like capitol hill. the spotlight is not shining as bright at the local chili's or kink cos or wherever people are working where you don't have a list actresses and big movie moguls that people know their names. it's definitely the tide is turning, people are not as afraid to speak up. people are going to call it out as it happens, this younger generation, and i think it's happening. i definitely do. >> one last question for you, and that is any woman or man watching right now, who has experienced the kind of thing that you have experienced, what's your message to them as you go through the end of this very difficult day.

you know, you definitely have to find your strength with your loved ones and just know if -- the truth is on your side, if you have the truth on your side, you know, you can't go wrong, you definitely got to -- you got to -- your heart's got to be in it to know that it's going to be a difficult struggle, it's going to be -- people are going to want to tear you down, and people are going to want to challenge your credibility and going to want to say nasty things about you, don't look at twitter for a while. they're going to -- people are going to want to challenge you, it's not going to be easy. but if the truth is on your side, you have that going for you, and it's. if you want to make change, change is never easy, change is tough. if you want to be on the right

side of history, and you want to make change, you are going to have to do some walking and believe in that and do it. >> you're making change. we're honored you told your story to us. >> thank you, jake. my panel is with me now to react to that emotional interview. let me start with you, what struck out to you when listening to leeann tweeden describe her experience. it was very emotional obviously. >> she says, you know what, i'll take it, she went on camera and said i don't feel strong, but she is acknowledging the strength it takes when she says, you brought up her children, and she said i'll take it because there's an on slaught, people are going to go through her history, question why she's doing it. it was clear she had no agenda, she said that congresswoman

speer came on her show and talked about how she was assault ed. she decided to tell her story. the thing that was just awful about this to be better, these women have to relive it, they have to tell the world about the worst part of their day. she's doing that on camera, and it's good because people can see the pain it's caused. that is why it's so commendable. >> people out there including roy moore are talking about his accusers, why would they wait 40 years to come out to describe this. when you hear leeann talk about why she waited 11 years -- she's a professional broadcaster, and even then she said it took a lot of courage and she almost didn't

do it today opinion it's not that difficult to see why people don't come forward. >> it's painful. you have folks who are willing to tear you down. people question your credibility and character. and you are also reliving what is a really terrible and horrible experience, i can't see how anyone could watch that interview or any interviews, unfortunately, the handful of interviews. >> there are a lot of them, yeah. >> and think this is some type of liberal orchestrated correspondent media takedown of these powerful men. these are women who are being so courageous coming forward and telling their stories. someone who has a me too story, someone who knows other folks have stories far more egregious than mine. it takes a lot of courage to share your truth with the world. i commend her for doing that.

>> when the whole #metoo thing started, for women to say, i've been harassed too, i've been assaulted too. i'm not naive, i didn't think i was, i could not believe all of my women friends on facebook. all of my women friends on twitter, all of them have a story. it's stunning. when i asked leeann if al franken's apology was enough? she was very forgiving. and showed tremendous class and grace. >> which proves to me she has no agenda. i went on with the show, i don't she went on with the show because she didn't want to ruin that, she didn't want to have a bad image for her career either. why we're seeing such an

avalanche of people coming out because it's liberating for people to come out and tell their stories. it was not a safe topic two months ago, now it's safe. women realize these things may have happened to them, but it wasn't because of them. >> this is not a partisan issue, democrats are doing this to women, republicans are doing this to women. >> independents have done it as well. this is about overall culture and system, we have -- it has far exceeded a problem. specifically about sexual culture, and talking about the fact that this is from the hills, to hollywood, to the boardroom, we have to examine what is it about our sexual culture that seems to support this.

we talk about rape culture, rape should not have been the bar that is met nor us to do something. it's not rape, it's the cat calling on the street, it's the someone pushing up on you in an office in a professional setting. none of these things are okay, we are only now liberated. this is bigger than al franken. to be frank, if people think what al franken did was egregious, i bet my bottom dollar, there are far more egregious stories of al franken sitting on capitol hill. we have to have a larger conversation about the system do these women know. we have to be committed to changing something. >> is the system, is the senate ethics committee a good enough

system? is that a good enough system to hear these complaints? >>. >> in my experience, it's where complaints go to die. it will take a couple years to investigate by the time they come to a conclusion, there's shame. and time for the next election. >> i think al franken needs to do some public interviews, probably with females, he needs to talk to in woman rather than issue a press release. if the u.s. senate does want to take action, i think we don't need to vote on this issue. for that matter, donald trump or anyone else they see fit. it seems like everyone else in this moment has had to account for what they've done and what they've been accused of. i'm concerned about what message

that sendses to young people, not just girls but young boys, sitting at home watching this. >> young men have been hurt on capitol hill. >> absolutely. what does this say? does this say when you've obtained a certain level of power, the rules no longer apply to you? >> stick around, we have lots more to talk about including, roy moore should leave the race. we'll be right back. my hygienist told me to try... ...a mouthwash. so i tried crest. it does so much more than give me fresh breath. crest pro-health mouthwash provides all... ...of these benefits to help you get better dental check-ups. go pro with crest mouthwash.

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welcome back.

brand new numbers giving us a sense of what kind of toll the scandal involving roy moore might be taking on his campaign. democrat doug jones is beating moore by eight percentage points in the state of alabama. we learned tonight that the governor of alabama will not delay the special election to be held in december many and the party chair says his committee will stand firmly behind the nominee. mitch mcconnell was accused of trying to steal the election from him. we also see new allegations from alabama women who say moore made sexual advances toward them when they were in high school. president trump did not answer questions reporters shouted at him today about roy moore and his press secretary did not have a firm answer when asked whether the president believes roy moore's many accusers. one of the women who held a news

conference supporting moore today would not take those questions for roy moore either. >> has roy moore categorically denied he dated high school girls when he was in his 30s. >> you read his letter and it addresses that clearly. >> can he speak for himself, please? >> let him speak, please. >>. >> yes, sir, do you have a question about an issue? >> that's the issue right now. >> you don't know if i believe this poll? >> i do not believe this poll. it's like what we saw in the general election. we saw all this polling where people didn't want to identify as trump supporters, we know that now, because donald trump is the president. i think what we're seeing is folks in these polls do not want to identify as moore supporters, alabama is a really special place, in order for doug jones -- i hope doug jones wins,

i will do everything i can to help him win. in order for him to come out victorious, the numbers have to line up. some of the numbers -- the african-american turnout has to ratchet up. you need a high percentage of moderate republicans who probably feel badly. all these things have to come together -- >> i hope republicans believe it is real. >> why? >> i want the republican governor of alabama to take action to give alabama republican voters a better schois. >> you want her to cancel it so they can put a new republican as a nominee? >> yes, i want the republican party to have standards. yes, i realize that is radical action. >> yes. >> but part of politics is using the tools you have available to you. the republican party of alabama has the tools to do this, i would strongly encourage them to do this. otherwise, what are they going to do if he wins.

vote for roy moore so we can expel him? >> vote for doug jones. >> i am sick about the fact that senators just passed new sexual harassment training for members and staff on the hill. and the fact that roy moore may be the first person to go through that is sort of revolten. >> what's the point if you're going to elect this man and tell your people to vote for him. >> the voters in alabama in their primary for this special, they made -- which was a mess. they made a decision about roy moore, i do not agree with that decision. which is why i'm supporting jones. >> they did not have the information available to them at the time. which is why i'd be on it. >> it is dangerous to talk about just changing and moving an election. the republican party has a pench an the to sometimes -- they do not like things, they want to just change what's going on. >> i remember --

>> we are -- >> i was encouraging the delegates to vote for someone else other than donald trump. i stood on a panel with van jones. he said you cannot aboard your candidate at this point in time. it was the right thing to do, and look what look, the president believes that these allegations are very troubling and should be taken seriously, and he thinks that the people of alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be. >> so that's a no, he thinks roy moore should stay in? >> look, the president said in his statement earlier this week that if the allegations are true, then that roy moore should step aside. >> so, again, we're hearing -- this story is so fast moving, i hate to say it, but that answer is so last week because now we have senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and house speaker paul ryan saying i believe the women. i believe the allegations. can the white house continue to say, oh, he finds the

allegations troubling if they're true he needs to resign or do they eventually need to say whether or not the president believes them? >> donald trump and by extension sarah huckabee sanders, they're gagged by donald trump's past. he cannot all of a sudden say i believe this women because nearly a dozen women have accused him, among them former beauty pageant contestants, so how on earth could he follow the correct moral line without saying, yeah, these women who have accused me should also be believed. >> sarah huckabee sanders called the accusers of donald trump liars. and so people that live in glass houses have a tendency not to want to try to throw stones. that's what we're seeing here. the president his hands are essentially tied. if he thinks roy moore should step down, i wonder if he's going to fender terpd his resignation as president of the united states of america. >> i'm hearing a lot of people say al frank enshould step down, but they're not saying the same thing about donald trump.

>> we have to address across the bortd. if we are really going to attack this issue, change the system, we have to have a certain set of standards by which we engage in this work of combatting sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual microaggression. so we can't have one standard for somebody and another standard for everybody else. >> one stoornd for everybody. a lot going on including the house just passing the tax map but will it get through the senate? stick around. ♪ ♪

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with him back. it's the future of your bottom line and step one is now house republicans passed their version of a tax bill this afternoon. now it's up to senate republicans to pass their version. cnn congressional correspondent phil mattingly joins me live. president trump thinks that senate republicans will come around and pass something, but at this point it's still kind of up in the air. >> no question. they've got a long way to go. it's what speaker paul ryan said at their press conference today. they understand there's a lot of

hurdles left. you already have somebody who is opposed to the bill. want because of the repeal of the individual mandate tax cuts on the individual side because of something called pass-throughs. pass through their income and are taxed on the individual side of things. he wants that to change. they give the individual mandate. >> part of obamacare. >> exactly. which has now been put in play in part to finance what they're trying to do on taxes. you've got people like senator jeff flake, bob corker, deficit hawks, concerned about how the plan will add to the deficit in the future. john mccain, they don't know where he is. he thinks a lot about his legacy. voted against the tax cuts in 2001, 2003. he going to come around. rand paul and cruz want the tax cuts to be deeper. they feel good about where they are. i've had several aides tell me compared to health care they're in a great place right now. right now you're looking at kind

of a case of whack-a-mole. if you give something to ron johnson on pass-throughs that costs money. the big question right now is will the political imperative end up winging out. >> pass something pass something. >> pass anything. >> regardless of the policy. >> by the end of the year give ourselves an achievement going into the election year. give president trump an achooemt going into 2018 in the midterms. will that win out over individual policy concerns, individual provision concerns. it won out in the house. will it in the senate? it's a different body. it's a different animal. but leaders are at least hopeful right now. >> a none partisan study today shows the tax cut helps rich people much much more than people with lower incomes. >> to start with the top line, individuals who make the most money will benefit the most from this plan. hou, if you look at this study, in 2019 across the scale of incomes, everybody gets a tax cut. if you look a little bit further, it's very prop attic

for republicans. 2021 families making between 10 and $30,000 will see a tax increase because of the individual mandate. republicans dispute that saying we're not keeping people from buying insurance. they can choose to do so, ill choose to still get the subsidies but there's another major issue too. republicans because of those budget constraints are phasing out every single individual tax cut at the end of 200025. >> they're sunsetting. >> it's a gimmick. >> no question about it, every single republican you talk to says, look, no one is ever going to vote for massive across the board tax increases in 2025. however, because of the deficit constraints they're doing that. because of that by 2027 people making under $75,000, major tax increases. you know democrats have seized on that issue. they're going to continue to attack on that issue. the big question now is can republicans overcome that.

can they convince people economic growth, wage growth is going to happen with this. >> and it also makes economic numbers a joke. there's going to be a bigger deficit. taxes are not going to go away. thanks so much. i'm jake tapper. handing it over tonight to cnn tonight with don lemon. this is cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. the list gets longer and longer. more and more powerful people accused of sexual harassment and misconduct. a hall of shame, including a senator, senate candidate, congressional staff, even a former president. and in is what we're getting from the white house. >> does his endorsement of moore still stand? >> look, as i've said, the president believes this is a decision for the people of alabama to make, not one for him to make. >> on roy moore, would the president campaign with roy moore is that. >> not that i'm aware of. >> sarah, we've heard from you. we've heard from ivanka on