budget nick mulvaney as new leader. sexual misconduct taking center stage. congress returning to work. what are they going to do about it. senator al franken apologizing again for his behavior, john conyers giving up his post on judiciary committee, undergoing ethics investigation for harassment claims, he denies the charges, but he did make that settlement. when will they stop. we have it all covered. let's begin with jessica snyder live in washington outside the cfpb. what's going to happen? >> reporter: nick mulvaney is here, given full access to the director's office with cooperation of the staff. he brought donuts for the entire staff. it is set to be a legal show down. that lawsuit filed by lee and dra english. she said she should have the position, it was handed to her

as the director resigned friday. but the trump administration pushing back, putting mulvaney into the office. >> reporter: lee and dra english is suing to stop the president from installing his budget director as head of the watchdog agency, declaring appointment of nick mulvaney, quote, unlawful, calling herself the quote, rightful director. the lawsuit is seeking legal clarity on succession protocol within the agency. a source close to mulvaney tells cnn that he will show up for work today at the agency, expecting a normal transition, rather than a showdown for power. president trump's decision also controversial, mulvaney has been a harsh critic of the agency, created after the global economic crisis in 2008. it is designed to protect consumers from predatory financial institutions. >> it is a wonderful example of

how a bureaucracy will function if it has no accountability to anybody. turns up being a joke. that's what the cfpb has been in a sick, sad kind of way. >> reporter: mulvaney also voted to end the bureau, working with the president to roll back some of the agency's power, even slamming the agency before the senate budget committee back in january. >> because they're run by essentially a one person dictator who believes he can't even be fired by the president but for cause. we have created perhaps inadvertently the worst kind of government entity. >> reporter: tug of war over leadership began friday when richard cordray designed as the director, naming chief of staff as his successor. a few hours later, president trump stepped in, instead naming mulvaney as acting director. senator elizabeth warren, one of architects of the agency asserting the president is overstepping his authority, arguing english is entitled to the position under dodd-frank wall street reform law which

states the deputy director becomes acting director when the agency's top spot becomes vacant. the white house citing a different law, federal vacancy reform act, allows the president to appoint an acting head to an agency already confirmed by the senate. republicans are applauding the appointment. >> i think the president is on good ground to appoint somebody under vacancy statute. in terms of the agency, it is the most out of control, unaccountable federal agency in washington. >> reporter: democrats are slamming it as a political move. >> wall street hates it like the devil hates holy water. they're trying to put an end to it. but this morning, the top lawyer at the burris siding with the trump administration. general counsel mcboyd says the president has every right to appoint nick mulvaney as acting director. the white house of course applauding that, and then calling out the outgoing director who resigned friday, saying this. it is unfortunate that mr. cordray decided to put his

political ambition above the interest of consumers with this stunt. director mulvaney will bring a more serious and professional approach to running the cfpb. we know nick mulvaney is inside, given full access to the director's office. we are told the staff is fully cooperating with him as acting director. >> so he got the parking space. it started as a joke, now it is a legit coverage angle. appreciate you being here. sexual harassment scandals are gripping washington. the president and republicans facing critical week in the legislative agenda. suzanne malveaux is live with more on capitol hill. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we expect to see president trump on tuesday on capitol hill, meeting with senate republicans, this after lunch with the senate finance committee at the white house. clearly trying to push forward tax reform plan, to have something pass before the new year, that's the goal. so they're scrambling. at the same time, you have focus

on allegations of sexual harassment. we're going to see today back to work with the rest of the senators senator al franken, democrat from minnesota, accused of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment before he was a senator as well as by a woman who claims that he did not touch her appropriately as senator. he has apologized through written statements several times. it was over the weekend he did make a statement to local media saying he was shocked, that he is ashamed, but he has no intention of stepping down. >> i am taking responsibility, apologize to women felt disrespected and to everyone i have let down. i am cooperating fully with the ethics committee and i am trying to handle this in a way that adds to an important

conversation and to be a better public servant and a better man. >> reporter: there will be much focus and attention on the senator as he comes back to capitol hill. on the house side, they also have something they're dealing with as well, that is allegations of sexual misconduct against congressman john conyers. he is the democrat of michigan, long time 88-year-old. he has stepped down from his very powerful position as ranking member on the house judiciary committee. he denies the allegations, says they're false. what he is hoping to do before the house ethics committee is to vindicate himself as well as his family. >> thank you for that reporting. joining us, david gregory, cnn chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin. david gregory, did you hear what jessica just reported of nick mulvaney's diabolical device to

gain access to the corner office, he brought donuts to the staff, they're now cooperating. showdown over? >> i don't think so. i think we have a legal fight ahead about who's got the power to run the agency and who has the power to appoint that person at this particular stage, when the statute is pretty clear that the head, when he is not available passes it onto acting director who is named in this case. but this is a president who has really turned against this agency. this is a protection, consumer protection agency that's been pretty politically polarized from the start. but i did think congressman frank's analysis this morning was interesting in that you do have to push critics on the right about the agency to talk about what the particular errors that would require it to be dismantled, to have the law junld mined in the way the president is trying to do not

legislatively but through executive action. that seems to be all part of this. >> you know, i don't know who is going to win this lawsuit. it is a complicated legal program about which director is going to be the one who has the authority. >> the trump administration has legal ground to stand on. >> absolutely. but the larger point is the president is going to nominate that someone and that person is going to be confirmed. whether miss english survives a month or six months, it doesn't matter that much. this is going to be trump's agency and he is going to dismantle it. what's more interesting is the work of the cfpb and what it does, rather than who is director today. should wells fargo have gotten away with stealing from 8 million customers. that's the kind of work that the cfpb does. the question is will they continue to do that kind of work. >> so barney frank, former congressman from massachusetts one of the co-sponsors of the

legislation. he was on new day earlier, you'll get the context. he makes two points. one, we designed this to insulate the five year term, they did it on purpose. interesting if that is read into the record of litigation that it wasn't just defining what the deputy director is, that there was assumption if the main person is gone, this person would come in and stay. but he made a more interesting point. the administration is doing this the easy way, through administrative change because what they don't want to do is put to vote on the floor of congress do you want these kinds of protections for consumers against banks like wells fargo with fake atmosphere, $180 million they were awarded. different credit card schemes, loan schemes, student loan schemes. republicans won't want to own that. that's an interesting angle. he says they're doing it this way, they don't want to vote on that. >> that's what president obama did in a similar way in

environmental policy, in immigration policy. i mean, this is where the executive gets a lot of blow back from people who say accurately you can't win it legislatively, use what power you have that's unchecked to try to chip away at it. i think there's no question. that's what the president is trying to do here, as jeffrey says, when he has to chance to name his own director, he will name somebody that will walk in and say i don't want the core function of this agency to prevail. i think to take this one step further, the bigger problem here is what does the government agree about what government should do to intervene in the financial marketplace? there's not agreement about this. there's lots of reasons why there's not agreement, principle, influence of banks on capitol hill, political interference. even when dodd frank was passed, you have major banks saying this will not address the problem, and b, so onerous to make the work of banks more difficult,

more expensive, and ultimately bad for consumers. there has to be enough constituency that is not purely partisan that will stand up for consumers in a way that can be lasting. >> that's why there is a cfpb, because particularly in fall of 2008 we saw what predatory le d lending went on, saw how financial institutions were responsible for the collapse of the economy and there was little accountability. elizabeth warren before she was a senator set this thing up and now it is going to be -- looks like it is going to be destroyed without congress saying so specifically administratively as david said. >> next topic. sexual harassment, there continues to be developments as you both know over the weekend. senator al franken had put out a written statement when he was accused by lee ann tweed en, but

he hadn't spoken. this weekend he spoke to minnesota public radio. it is interesting to hear what he is telling the public. listen to this moment. >> what matters is that i am ashamed of that photo. she didn't have any ability to consent. she had every right to feel violated by that photo. i have apologized to her and i was very grateful that she accepted my apology. >> david, he is talking about the lee ann tweedenphoto, he has his hands above her chest, doing something highly juvenile. she felt it rose to the level of sexual misconduct while she was

asleep. he has been apologetic, public about that, issued statement after statement. what happens to al franken, what's next for him? >> there's an ethics committee process he said in that interview that he is supporting. jeffrey made this point when this came out. when there's a process, sure, sin i cans say it is a way for congress to let it blow over and protect its own or more allegations come forward. that already happened to senator franken. we will see if he can survive politically. i noticed as this is happening real time, there's a difference between politicians weathering this, and those in the media or hollywood where there's been swift action. i think it is untenable for congress to hoeld onto the idea they keep secret the settlement 308 see for those accused of sexual misconduct and settled, i don't think that will less. with regard to franken, he seems to have responded well. simple question, are there more

people that come forward and when does it become untenable. >> all of the threats come together. look, you want to chase the new and next, that's fine, part of the cultural conversation. but takes you away from the solution. those settlements matter. i have never seen anything else like them. not that you shouldn't be able to settle certain things, certain matters that come up legally where members of congress can use tax dollars to make them go away, not saying the entire exercise. the idea they used these for sexual harassment suits with our money. you're going to hear more people on capitol hill talk about al franken, conyers, and the settlements. that's the problem. >> i have to say i thought i had lost the ability to be shocked by how who craven and awful congress can be. but the idea that they're spending our money to cover up or pay settlements for sexual harassment by members of congress and we don't know whose

sexual harassment, how much money they're paying, it is unbelievable. >> they're saying they didn't know either. >> somebody knew. somebody wrote the check. >> we first reported this on the tipping point about sexual harassment. that was the day that cnn found out and broke this news. we talked to scores of women, lawmakers, female lawmakers, that were like we have never heard of this, we don't know that this exists. it has been shrouded. >> i have no doubt they're telling the truth they didn't know, but i don't know if it is paul ryan or his predecessor as speaker of the house, somebody knew that congress was using taxpayer money to pay off sexual harassment and the public needs to know that. >> talk about culture of secrecy in congress, there are prominent legislators, women that said i was sexually harassed in the past, don't want to reveal who it is because they fear consequences. >> gentlemen, thank you for the

conversation. >> just to be on the record, i question some credibility. i think people knew, may not have thought of it in this context, i don't think every denial should be taken on its face, has to be more digging on this. president trump is privately questioning authenticity of the infamous access hollywood tape. this doesn't require digging. this is crazy talk. this is the president on this tape. he apologized for it. why is he now planting seeds that maybe it is a fake next. oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me?

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president trump attempting to revise history as he depends embattled senate nominee roy moore. the president casting doubt on the authenticity of the "access hollywood" video. then candidate trump apologized the next day for his words. listen. >> i never said i'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone i'm not. i have said and done things i regret. words released on this more than a decade old video are one of them. anyone that knows me knows these words don't reflect who i am. i said it. i was wrong. and i apologize. >> this should settle the notion of whether or not the president believes the tape is

inauthentic. he would have never apologized, it is the only one he's ever given if he thought there was wiggle room. bring in jonathan martin, co-wroet that "new york times" report. you left, but my thread is blowing up with trump people, how do we know it is a real tape. maybe that's why billy bush isn't around. and what about the timing of it. >> quite the impression. >> that's what i see on twitter. it is like a toxic culture. >> as you point out, he is not someone given to easy apologies. he is reluctant about apologizing. in this story we wrote yesterday in the times, we are talking about why this president is so determined to stick with roy moore, even as all of his colleagues in the senate, fellow republicans in the senate disavow roy moore. one of the reasons is because he sees in the charges against roy

moore echos of women that came out against him last year during his campaign. so it turns out we found out, my colleague maggie hager man in particular, that he is still consumed with the issue of the "access hollywood" video, and musing in private to staff and some senators that he doubts it was actually him on the tape. as you point out, he apologized and said it is me in that statement that you just played there, but i think he does not want to come to terms with the fact that he actually was caught saying this stuff. >> pretty sure billy bush thinks it was him on the tape. pretty sure billy bush who was there, and lost his job as a result, would confirm that that was donald trump. but jonathan, what happens in the white house when the president starts reviving history and starts going back

ovary alternate rou over reality. what is the response. >> i've had that conversation with some staffers there and with members of congress. i think a lot of it is sort of dutiful, head nodding, modicum of engagement, and quick attempt to change the conversation. in fact, when reince priebus was still there, there were moments i think he would nudge members of congress to actually steer the conversation back -- >> reince priebus said at the time, this is true trump, this is what he feels in his heart. do you remember that, that was priebus weighing in on this apology. >> right. >> the reason i think it is instructive, jonathan, he can't believe what he is saying. you have a lying issue. okay. that's not new. what is an important reminder is if the president is capable of

making this kind of statement about something that he knows is authentic, it lends an understanding into why he finds it so easy to cloud the water the way he does on issues that matter. you know, he is okay calling into doubt things he has no reason to call into doubt. the russian investigation, how could he call it a witch hunt. this is how. this is how his head works. >> as you know from covering this president, this approach is not new for him. he wrote in his book which i believe is called "the art of the deal" if i recall that there's nothing wrong with a little hyperbole, truthful hyperbole. this is sort of his signature going way back. i interviewed senator bob corker, he said can sdidly the president says things on twitter that aren't true, you know he does, everybody does it. this is a u.s. senator saying

the president is basically lying on his preferred media on a regular basis. the shock value has somewhat worn off. we thought in this piece it was instructive. in the context of senator roy moore, you can find this story on nytimes.com, and on my twitter feed, we thought it was instructive in this story. he sees moore as almost a victim type figure, facing accusations after years have gone by from women. that got to him last year. he is still living the accusations. post harvey weinstein, this is more and more on his mind. that gives him a measure of sympathy for moore. lot of folks on capitol hill just don't share. >> for sure. we see it dividing some in the gop. jonathan, thank you very much for sharing that reporting with us. quick programming note. join us tomorrow night for cnn debate on tax reform. jake tapper, dana bash moderate

debate with bernie sanders, ted cruz, tim scott and maria can't well. a woman that accuses john conyers of sexual harassment wants her confidentiality agreement lifted. this will be an emerging issue. will she be able to share her side of the story. her attorney, lisa bloom, will give her legal argument next. y bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort, your sleep number setting. does your bed do that? right now save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

democratic congressman john conyers says he is stepping down as ranking member of the judiciary committee amid an on-going sexual harassment investigation. joining us is lisa bloom, she represents the woman that filed the complaint. she wants to be released from a confidentiality agreement so she can speak. >> good morning. >> we talked so much since the harvey weinstein about confidentiality agreements and nondisclosure agreements that women are often forced to sign and then silence them.

explain to us what would happen if your client were to break her confidentiality agreement, what if she were to speak out freely. then what? >> certainly congress should not be a victim silencing machine. that's the process that complainants go through. so my client settled a case with congressman conyers a couple years ago. she was required to sign a document, even before the process started, guaranteeing confidentiality of the entire process. then, when it was resolved, had to sign a confidentiality agreement that binds her but not him. he has been speaking out, giving his side of the story, that there was no sexual harassment, his attorney is speaking out, and she is prohibited. if she violated that, she could face breach of contract action. she could be sued. she's a regular person, she is not a wealthy person. so she's in fear. all i am here to say is congressman conyers, please release her to tell her side of

the story. she has a powerful story to tell. you're giving your side. it is only fair and decent to allow her to speak as well. >> here is his statement. he says i deny these allegations, many of which were raised by documents reportedly paid for by a partisan alt-right blogger. i look forward to vindicating myself before the house committee on ethics. is your client part of an all the right blogger's effort? >> absolutely not. she worked for him for many years. she's a democrat. i am a democrat. this is not a partisan issue. this is about sexual harassment and claims raised years ago. she doesn't know how the story leaked, she had no connection to the right wing blogger. it was buzz feed that vetted the story and broke the story. >> aren't there some things, lisa, some crimes that trump a confidentiality settlement? if you witness a crime, if you're the victim of a crime,

how can you be silenced? >> here's something that trumps a confidentiality agreement, lawfully issued subpoena. i am calling on the house ethics committee to send a subpoena. i will accept it on my client's behalf. any victim, whether she has a confidentiality agreement or not, if she's subpoenaed, that overrides that confidentiality agreement and she can speak. she would like to speak and tell her story. she can go before the house ethics committee as early as this week if they see fit and she can tell her story there. i think that's a good outcome. >> one last thing. so many people said they didn't know there was a fund that paid out $17 million over the past decade to settle some of these suits, often sexual harassment suits, even lawmakers in congress didn't know there was a quite shrouded settlement fund with taxpayer dollars. your client is one of the people that received one of these settlements. so do you think lots of people

nguyen congress? >> i have no idea whether people knew or not. i certainly didn't know. i consider myself a pretty well informed person. clearly if our tax dollars are going to pay people, we should be entitled as taxpayers to know what the allegations are. here in los angeles where i practice sexual harassment law, claims against the city are made public, claims against the state are made public. we don't have confidential settlements. should be the same for congress. please release my client to speak and tell her story. that's the good, fair, decent thing to do. >> this is the first time you have been on our program since the harvey weinstein scandal broke, and of course you had been doing work for him during that time. i know that you have called your work for him, a quote, colossal mistake. i wonder now in the weeks since then and hindsight, what should you have done when he called and asked for your help? >> unfortunately i am no longer authorized to talk about that case since i withdrew a month

and a half ago. i won three sexual harassment cases for victims in the month and a half since i withdrew. i won a big appeal for janice dickinson against bill cosby. i am looking forward to doing the work i have done for 31 years, representing victims, that's 99% of my work. occasionally represented a man that said he was wrongly accused. we're not doing that any more at my law firm, we are just representing victims going forward. >> on a personal level, what do you want to share what you learned about this whole episode? >> i learned there's a lot of anger and hate in our culture. i got a lot of death threats, i got a lot of rape threats. i got people very specifically saying what they were going to do to me. as an attorney, i represent people, sometimes they make mistakes, they make bad mistakes, they do terrible things, so i don't know what else to tell you about that. i am no longer authorized to speak about that case with any level of specificity, but i am

happy to represent the woman accusing john conyers. i hope we have a chance to go before the ethics committee. >> lisa bloom, we appreciate you coming on and telling us about your various cases. thanks for being here. all right, prince harry is getting married to an american actress. up next, we talk to a royal expert about what we know about the big day. (♪) it all starts with a wish. the lincoln wish list event is here. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complementary first months payment. pepsoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage.

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that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. it is time for cnn money now. black friday digital sales hit record numbers. what about cyber monday. could be even bigger. how do i know? christine romans tells me. >> probably the best ever for online sales in history. this holiday season is what you buy online. americans expected to spend 6.6 billion for cyber monday, the largest online shopping day ever. so far, it is a record breaking

season for online shopping. 5 billion friday. 3 billion on thanksgiving. with more americans shopping online, fewer are setting foot inside stores. early estimates show foot traffic is down 2%. shoppers shifting online is not a new trend. this year, the physical retailers, brick and mortar, made big investments on websites, how they deliver goods and put out deep discounts. today, expect deals on toys, laptops, shoes. strong digital sales are good news for retailers, has been a terrible year for retail. profitable season could help. americans are expected to spend a trillion dollars this year. my advice for today if shopping online, look for the 50% discounts. anything less than 50% i don't think is worth your time. >> great advice. i love that. thank you very much. dreams do come true. prince harry is getting married to american actress meghan

markle. the first wedding between a member of the royal family. they're about to make the first public appearance since the news broke. victoria arbiter joins us with more. this is a modern day fairy tale. >> this is the stuff that dreams are made of, certainly in america where princess culture is huge. we have prince harry, probably the most popular bachelor for the longest period of time. finally ready to settle down, chosen an unconventional bride but clearly they're happy. >> that's what makes it modern day, he is imperfect, she's i suppose imperfect, quite accomplished, imperfect on paper for someone that fits that princess mold. that's what makes this kind of special. >> it does make it special. i think it will be eye opening

for meghan. she wouldn't necessarily have known protocols and traditions as they pertain to her, she's aware how the system worked. now meghan, there is no royal family, there are tabloid headlines that made everything up. i think it will be quite an initiation into a different way of life. she is incredibly independent, successful in her own right. but life will change dramatically. >> definitely. we have gotten word from the for endesk, her name will be princess henry of wales. what's up with that? >> she is not a princess in her own right. princess diana was incorrect, princess kate is not correct. they're not princesses like ann and beatrice. much like william and kate became duke and duchess, they will be duke and duchess of it

remains to be seen. >> does she get her own name, doesn't get a dude's name? >> go with sussex. no doubt, princess meghan as far as tab roiloids are concerned, will drive me crazy. >> you're a stickler. >> that's right. >> this wedding, will kate's children be in the wedding? >> i would imagine so, george and charlotte were in pippa's wedding. the royal family like to have children in those roles. kate could be heavily pregnant. saying a spring wedding, her baby is due in april. i think they're working on logistics now. >> this will be an extravaganza. the couple even if considered nontraditional, they must have a royal british extravaganza. >> extravaganza within reason. with brexit going on, the

economy as it is, royal family has to be in touch with what's going on with the nation. he is only fifth in line to the throne, sixth when the new baby comes. my kguess is windsor castle. you can have the royal fireworks, but on a smaller scale. >> victoria, thank you for that. >> last time we covered one of those, it was nothing small scale about it when william got married. critics are slamming president trump for pushing his agenda backing roy moore. what are the ramifications of that decision? the senior editor at large for breitbart news joins us next. we're on a mission to show drip coffee drinkers, it's time to wake up to keurig. wakey! wakey! rise and shine! oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me? full-bodied. alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. ...and help you feel more strength and energy

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see me. clear skin can last. don't hold back... ...ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. ("carol of the bells" playing) ♪ ♪ ♪ (music ends) (drumsticks clattering) president trump making a political decision defending roy moore, resisting efforts from within his own party to push moore out amid child molestation

allegations. joining us to discuss, senior editor at breitbart. joel powell. how you doing? >> five pounds heavier than last time we spoke before thanksgiving, otherwise well. >> you look good. so the move on moore for the president, is it just a naked political move? >> well, i think this president sees that roy moore is still doing well in the polls, wants to be on the winning side. i also think that he is shifting focus of the race to doug jones, the democrat, who is more liberal than the kind of candidate democrats traditionally run in red states and districts. as we discussed last week, that's where the focus of the race will be. >> but it has to be on balance with what is apparently a moral question. this is what bannon talks about, it is a core piece of his notion

of populism. the president isn't putting that into practice here. he is saying allegations against roy moore are tantamount to his position on taxes. >> well, have you ever seen a democrat, whether a democratic president or democratic leader telling members of their own party we don't like our democratic candidate, go vote for the republican? this is not something that happens in politics. what the president is doing is rather normal. he is telling people look, there are bigger issues at stake, the issue is whether you have a schumer pelosi puppet or someone that supports the agenda you elected in 2016. >> do you embrace what he is doing here, do you think these allegations aren't important enough to merit independent scrutiny, and you should stick to politics by the numbers and get the seat because it is better to have someone from your party? >> well, empirically what we know about allegations like these is most of the time they're true, but we know some of the time they're not. when they come up in the heat of

campaign season, especially weeks before a general election, then there's reason to treat them with additional scrutiny. i think some of the allegations upon further review are looking a little shaky. doesn't mean all of them are. issues for alabama voters are bigger than what happened four years ago. people would have liked to have seen this come up earlier in a primary where there was choice of republican candidates. there's some discounting that the public is doing now that they're coming up so late. >> there are lots of reasons for that. it is interesting in terms of they're usually true, sometimes they're not. can you think of another case where you had more than five women coming forward who don't know each other with allegations of this nature and found to be false? >> well, there are lots of cases where democrats won on elections where they were under investigation or had been convicted of something. >> i know. i am asking something different, joel. a case where you have five women

come forward with accusations of this nature where they wound up being false. >> well, we have cases where they wound up being true and the candidate won. bill clinton in 1992. >> i know. but the notion it is okay to vote for roy moore because sometimes accusations are false, that's not backed up by fact. you can make that decision as a voter, christian voter guided by a moral compass, that goes beyond the laws of man. you can do it, but where is the consistency on that? you can't come up with a single case where women in this volume have been exposed as part of a conspiracy to junundermine a ma running for office. >> you talk volume, you started by saying allegations of child molestation. there's one single allegation of a woman under legal age. >> arguably two. you had the other one 16, 17, wasn't a minor, but she was very young to have somebody who is that age come on her, let alone

if it was unwanted touching known as assault. >> in 1973 ringo starr hit the charts with a song you're 16, you're beautiful, and you're mine. he was 30 something, singing about a 16-year-old. you want to take away ringo starr's -- >> you can't be serious. >> you think that ringo starr's song is supposed to be a nod to allowing 30-year-old men to prey on teenagers, you don't believe that, joel. you're a parent. you don't believe that. >> you're also a parent and you know when you raise sons, risk our sons face, they're ll be exposed to accusations that may not be true. you raise your daughters, the risks they face, our sons have to worry about what you talk about, you lump in allegations of illegal behavior with illegal conduct. part of a campaign of character assassination. >> or character appraisal.

it is not one woman that came out and said something that's a little sketchy. you have to vet all accusations. this is different. you have numbers and degree. let me put that to the side. i want to ask you something else while i have you, i am running out of time. trump saying the "access hollywood" tape may not be authentic. do you put any stock in that notion at all? >> you know, it is interesting how presidents sometimes do rewrite history. we know he apologized for it in 2016. barack obama wrote in dreams for my father certain things functionalized, his girlfriend and lit rather agent promoted it as if he were born in kenya, raised in indonesia. there are things a president rewrites. >> you think president obama was born outside the united states? >> chris, you know that's not the point i am making. >> you brought it up to plant that seed like trump saying that tape may be inauthentic.

>> you have hillary clinton claiming the russians stole the election from her. did they prevent her campaigning in wisconsin? sometimes people driven to become high achievers have a way of recasting reality so they're better able to achieve their goals. scott adams appeared on cnn, great writer on persuasion pointed out one of trump's inspirations was norman vincent peel that wrote the power of positive thinking. there's a chapter about not accepting defeat. we are only speculating, we haven't seen trump say it publicly, we are only hearing hear hearsay. it is possible he is trying to reshape that set back. >> but it would be a lie. if he says the tape may not be authentic, it is a lie, would you agree? >> the only lies that count in politics are lies you tell the public. what he tells himself is up to him. >> joel, appreciate your take as always. >> you're welcome. taking a quick break.

cnn newsroom with john berman will be here with big headlines. stay with cnn.

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good morning. in washington it is like high noon. that town ain't big enough for two leaders of a key federal agency. what happens when the president's pick for leader of the company showed up as did the deputy director who filed a lawsuit to protect her claim for the same job. who is running the place? frankly, we have no idea. that might not be the most contentious issue in washington. with the clock ticking on tax cuts, the government shutdown looming, al franken returning to work, dealing with fallout of allegations of sexual