>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. 5:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. we're following the breaking news this hour here on cnn. a dramatic day of highs and lows for the u.s. president. first, success with tax reform on one hand. and on the other, the looming pressure. russia investigation ratcheting up. i'm george howell out of cnn world headquarters in atlanta. welcome to viewers here in the united states and around the world. let's look at tax reform first. it happened just hours ago in the middle of the night here in the united states, and perhaps

the president's most significant moment since his inauguration. the u.s. senate passed a major overhaul of the u.s. tax code with a vote that came down to 51 to 49, almost strictly along party lines-after a string of high-profile failures in congress, this marked the first legislative win for the white house and republicans who control the white house but that victory comes after a low point for the administration. this happened friday as you see the former national security adviser michael flynn. he pleaded guilty in the court to lying to the fbi in the probe of the russia meddling of the election. and the second to plead guilty. so, a lot happening this day. first, let's talk about this tax reform bill that passed through the u.s. senate. listen to the moment that it passed. >> on this vote the ayes are 51

and the nays are 49. the tax cuts and jobs act as amended is passed. >> the vice president of the united states, mike pence presiding over that vote and president donald trump weighing in on twitter with his congratulations saying this, quote, we are one step closer to delivering massive tax cuts to working americans across america. special thanks to mitch mcconnell and senator orrin hatch for sheparding our bill through the senate. he adds he looks forward to signing a final bill before christmas. cnn's phil mattingly has been there through the night and has the latest details from capitol hill. >> well, republicans long frustrated by the legislative process unable to achieve a cornerstone legislative achievement like repeal and replace of obamacare, they're now on the brink of one. the u.s. senate voting 51 to 49 to pass the republican tax

recovery haul plan. that means both the house and senate have passed their open versions of this. it's one step closer to being signed into law to being sent to the president's desk and become that achievement of 2017 that she so desperately sought. now democrats very against this and furious about the process, a process that led senator majority leader mitch mcconnell to know he had the votes at 10:00 a.m. on friday morning and still not release the bill until 8:00 p.m. later that day. democrats waving legislative sex with handwriting on them making major, may have substantive changes. saying there hadn't been enough hearings. take a listen. is this how you envisioned passing such a large legislative -- >> this has gone through the regular order. the democrats had plenty of notice. chairman hatch can attest to all

of the multiple hearings and markups. edge had plenty of time to see the measure. you complain about process when you're losing and that's what you heard on the floor tonight. >> now, guys, that isn't the final step, the senate still has to take a final vote, so does the house. right now, the next step both chambers will have to reconcile their bills which do have signature differences. but the framework of the two are the same. if you talk to officials in the white house, and they believe the senate is by far the biggest hurdle, they're on the right path. it's only just a matter of time. like anything else things can spin out of control. particularly so complicated as taxes. keep in mind they have done this both past the house and senate in a matter of weeks. it's very clear they're on the pathway to sending this to the president's desk likely by the end of the year, phil mattingly, cnn, capitol hill. now to our other big story

we're following, the ongoing investigation into russian meddling in the presidential election. moscow has already dismissed it as it has before. and michael flynn's guilty plea on friday hasn't changed that view. according to russian media, one russian politician said that flynn was a scapegoat and another called it a sack of smoke. despite the denials from russia, the fact is michael flynn cut a deal facing serious legal jeopardy, cnn's pamela brown explains. >> reporter: president trump's former national security adviser arriving at a federal courthouse in washington today, before pleading guilty to lie to get fbi. making him the first person who worked inside the white house to be charged in the russia probe. and the fourth campaign official to face charges so far. the charge and plea agreement center around conversations he had with then russian ambassador

to the u.s., serge kickleback in december of last year. court documents show that others on the trump team knew of flynn's efforts. on december 29th, flynn called former deputy national security adviser k.t. mcfarland at mar-a-lago about the sanctions imposed by the obama administration. according to flynn, russian officials did not want them to escalate the situation. flynn immediately called kickleback. shortly after that call, flynn briefed mcfarland that he did indeed discuss with the ambassador. but then in january, vice president elect mike pence told the united nations that he did not talk about it with kislyak. >> they did not discuss anything having to do with the united states decision to expel diplomats or impose censor

against russia. >> reporter: and 31 on december 31st, three days after, kislyak had confirmed to flynn that russia had chosen not to retaliate in response to flynn's request. also today, court documents revealed another interaction flynn had with kislyak, calling him at the direction of a, quote, very senior member of the transition about a coming u.n. security council vote on israeli settlements sources say that source was trump's sonld jared kushner. they spoke about the opposition to the resolution and asked russia to delay or vote against it. cnn can also now report that there were intelligence intercepts that picked up conversations with foreign targets talking about to stopping the resolution. flynn did not respond when leaving the courthouse and after visited his son michael flynn jr. who is also a potential

target. in a statement flynn cited wrongdoing, saying my guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect the a decision i made in the best interests of me and my family. both men have pleaded not guilty. and trump foreign policy adviser george papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his communications with russian nationals. the white house tried to downplay the significance of the flynn resignation with one source telling cnn that everyone lies in washington. president trump has long maintained there was no collusion with his campaign and russia. >> entire thing has been a witch hunt. and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign. but i can always speak for myself and the russians, zero. >> reporter: and as the investigation intensifies so does the scrutiny on the

president and his inner circle. michael flynn and this plea agreement now faces up to five years in prison. but if he had been charged with every count of lying listed in the court documents friday, he could have faced 35 years in prison at least pamela brown, cnn, washington. president trump has yet to publicly react to the plea deal, the president welcoming the libyan prime minister to the white house. one source telling cnn the president and the staff are in denial about the seriousness of the russia investigation. they believe flynn's plea means it's wrapping up. they also say they are, quote, totally in a bubble. let's bring in troy sladen, troy, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor joining us from los angeles. it's good to have you with us, troy. >> thanks for having me. >> let's talk about, let's talk about this legally.

mr. flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. it's a good deal for him all things considered. is there an expectation that mr. flynn, quite frankly, has a story to tell? >> absolutely, both by the terms of the plea deal itself. as well as general flynn's public statement, he's certainly cooperating with the special council's office. and he had a lot of criminal exposure. each count of lying to the fbi carries with it a maximum of five years in federal prison. now, what they did was, they combined these four lies into one count, which means theoretically, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, but if he cooperates and if he does everything that he says he's going to do, then the special counsel's office will make sentencing recommendation when that time comes. and it's likely that he could do no jail at all. >> for prosecutorial

perspective, is there a sense that michael flynn jr., mr. flynn's son, that somehow he was a part of the fact that his father decided to cooperate here? >> prosecutors use whatever leverage they have. and certainly, it's been reported that general flynn's son had potential criminal exposure himself. he was chief of staff for general flynn. and so anything that a prosecutor can use to turn the screws and get a target to cooperate, they're going to do it. and general flynn was a big fish. he was intimately involved in both the campaign and the early days of the trump administration. >> so, let's talk about how this might play forward. so, are these bread and butter prosecutors just focused on lying to the fbi. and could they possibly use the logan act? for our viewers around the world, it's an obscure law, 218

years old that really hasn't been invoked in modern history. dealing with undermining an existing president of the united states, or an existing administration. help our viewers to understand that law, and whether you feel it could come into play here. >> so, the logan act has never really been tested in modern times. there are many constitutional scholars that feel that it may very well be unconstitutional. and it basically stands for the proposition that there's only one administration at a time. and if you're not a representative of the united states government that you're not entitled to conduct foreign policy. society allegation here is that flynn, in speaking with the russian ambassador kislyak, in negotiating about sanctions that the obama administration had just imposed on russia and asking them to not take any action and to delay a u.n. vote that was coming at the time, that -- that the incoming

administration, the trump administration, was conducting foreign policy before they took the helm. before the inauguration. and so that could be a theoretical violation of the logan act but that's not what's been alleged here. even that, if even if there was to be an allegation that the logan act was violated, that doesn't go to the heart of what the special counsel was constituted for, which is, to look at whether or not the trump campaign was colluding with russia in order to defeat hillary clinton. and get donald trump elected. >> troy slaton, we appreciate your time and perspective on this, thank you. >> thanks for having me. so, for a member of the inner circle, confidant to now a key witness, how michael flynn's ties to both russia and president trump could be major damage for this white house.

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we do not need a reckless president who believes she is above the law. locker up. >> that's right. yes, that's right, locker up. >> 2016, that was the retired lieutenant general michael flynn on the campaign trail at the rnc convention. fast forward friday, this is

when flynn walked into court. >> general -- you betrayed your country! >> we're united! >> the questions they're shouted to him as he walked in, and as he walked out, there were chants of "lock him up" this after he pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi with russian officials last year. flynn is cooperating with the special counsel's probe and his personal ties to russia and u.s. president donald trump could make him an important piece of this puzzle. our tom foremarn explains. >> reporter: the working relationship between michael flynn an donald trump now goes back almost two years. but it is flynn's contact with various russian interests that are citing so much interest with the investigator and in the white house as well. for example, we know in 2015, he spoke to a russian airline company that he paid more than

$11,000 for. that's something that he did not report early on in the process when expected to. we know he received a similar fee through his speaker's bureau for an engagement involvement involving an american subsidz year of a russian survive firm. he met sergey kislyak, this is the riggs ambassador to the u.s. they developed a relationship which was throughout the transition. and, by the way, he spoke to kislyak on the very day that president obama issued sanctions against russia. and we also know he attended a gala dinner for rt, the russian television network. he paid more than $30,000 for going to that event. while there, seated at the very tame table as russian president vladimir putin. so if the white house wants to say this is all just contacts with russians but not the russian government, that becomes complicated, too, for several reasons. one, sergey kislyak over here,

he works for the department of foreign affairs. rt is tied to telecom, and mass communications. again tied to the kremlin and linked directly to vladimir putin. the airline up here has done some business deals over time with the russian government. and while the cyber security lab says that it really has nothing to do with the russian government, there are intelligence officers in the u.s. government that have told the senate, they wouldn't trust any software from this company on their computers. all irks for the white house to consider as they try to figure out what to do about michael flynn and his russian connections. >> tom foreman, thank you so much. so, with regards to russia, officials have offered denials but this past aulgts cnn's matthew chance caught up with the former russian ambassador sergey kislyak. kislyak had just returned to russia after his term as ambassador to the u.s. after that had ended. some important context of this

image you see, this exclusive interview came after kislyak's infamous meeting with donald trump that took place in the oval office. that's where mr. trump shared highly classified information with the ambassador. here's matthew chance speaking with kislyak. >> mr. ambassador, a quick question, did you discuss lifting sanctions with any members of the trump team when you were in the united states? >> with your respect, i'm here to talk to -- >> i understand that. did you discuss opening secret channels at the kremlin with jared kushner, for instance? >> ah, i've said many times that we do not discuss the substance of our discussions with our american intellecters. out of respect to our foreign partners. >> fair enough, but when you met president trump were you surprised that he disclosed

secret information about syria? >> i'm not sure what i heard was secret. >> what about this allegation that you're a spy master. >> nonsense. nonsense. >> did you -- any members of the trump administration? >> you should be ashamed because cnn is the company that keeps up, pointing to this allegation. it's nonsense. >> but u.s. security officials intel against officials that made it, of course? >> i heard that in statements by them. also by former fbi said as a diplomat. i have no -- i have no reasons to doubt that he knew what he said. >> okay. just one last question. what's your prediction for the future of u.s./russian relations? >> i'm afraid it's going to be difficult. and it's not because of us. it's because of the u.s. political dynamics. the anti-russian law isn't going

to help russia/america discussions. >> is it the sanctions? >> sanctions is an incident. it's basically a statement of being kind to russia. that's the most important thing. it's not going to go away. it's going to stay. it's going to spoil the ability of those countries to revum normal relations. and normal relations is exactly what is needed. >> that interview from august 23rd. the former ambassador to the u.s., sergey kislyak speaking exclusively to our matthew chance. so, let's get the view today from russia. let's bring in cnn's clare sebastian following the story live in moscow. and, clare, what has been the reaction from officials there about what has been a seismic shift here in the united states about this investigation? >> well, george, nothing as you heard just there from sergei kissel yblg. we heard nothing from the

kremlin so far. they haven't responded to our requests for comment. i also contacted their spokeswoman last night and a text message what does this have to do with us? perhaps the white house response today. but a couple of politicians have come out, that has been the case and prominent politicians have been vocal, a senator spoke to state media, he said this really isn't about michael flynn. he said the real target of this attack is donald trump. that's something we've heard multiple occasions from the russians. that the whole russia issue is simply being used as a method by trump critics to hurt him. another senator tweeting that this is simply the u.s. inflating what he called a sack of smoke. he called the whole flynn case, quote, empty. so, a lot of denials and dismissals here today. but most of all, you know, deafening silence essentially,

george. >> so, clare, the backdrop of all of this, the deteriorating relationship between united states and russia, where does this latest revelation, where does it leave things where do things stand now? >> well, george, i think it's fair to say if the russian calculation, if flynn's testimony is to be believed and the russians didn't retaliate against sanctions on the hope that they would be lifted and there would be this new chaptser in the relationship, that dramatically back fired. we have a situation that not only have sanctions been lifted that the u.s. passed a new bill to impose new sanctions on russia. both countries have since taken retaliatory methods to reduce the size of each other's diplomatic presence in the country because it did seem in the wake of these allegations, this tmg by michael flynn coming out yesterday, sergey kislyak's successor, the new russian ambassador in washington, an

tonighten, he had this to say yesterday about the state of the relationship. >> today, we are faced with the aftermath of unprecedented campaign to discredit russia in an attempt to punish our country to protect its interest in pursuing independent foreign policy. vigorous relations between our two countries are being politicize and abused. russia is being accused of meddles in the united states elections as well as other domestic problems of the united states. >> so, antonov could be even blamed for bad weather in washington and new york. but neither the testimony that came out yesterday from michael

flynn and the fact that he's cooperating with the investigation, none of these things are a laughing matter for russia, george. >> clare, thank you. major moves in this investigation, but relative silence from the white house after one of its top former aides says that he's working with the special downs's russia probe. more on the implications of michael flynn's plea deal ahead. you're watching "cnn newsroom" here simulcast here in the united states, cnn international worldwide. stay with us.

welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world, you're watching "cnn newsroom" and it

is good to have you with us. i'm george howell with the headlines we're following this hour. the u.s. senate has passed the republicans' massive tax reform bill. it stretched well into the night. republicans say it will benefit millions of americans. democrats, though, call it a tax cut for the rich. the congressional budget office says it will add nearly $1.5 trillion to the deficit. the former senior white house official michael flynn has pleaded guilty on friday. guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts last year with russian officials. flynn was fired as national security adviser in february, but he is now cooperating with the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. cnn has learned that president donald trump is likely to announce next week that the u.s. recognizes jerusalem as the capital of israel. the united states has been legally required to move its embassy to tel aviv to the ancient city since 1995. however, like successive

presidents, mr. president is expected to waive that move for now. and his administration considers how to handle that change. german police lock down a christmas market in potsz damn, this near berlin on friday. they defused what looked like an improvised explosive without a detonator. it was delivered to a nearby pharmacy. police are investigating who sent it. last december, 12 people were killed when a tractor trailer hit a crowded market in berlin. the white house has offered little public response from the guilty plea from michael flynn for lying to the fbi. one source telling cnn the president and his staff are in denial about the seriousness of this investigation. that source saying that are, quote, totally in a bubble. jim acosta picks it up from here. >> comment on michael flynn being indicted, sir? you can comment on michael flynn being indicted? >> reporter: president trump was silent when asked about this

former national security adviser pleading guilty to lying to investigators on sergey kislyak. in a statement white house attorney ty cobb described flynn as a former national security adviser at the white house for 25 days during the trump administration. and a former obama administration official. the statement adds flynn's false statements mirror the false statements to white house officials which resulted in his resignation in february of this year. nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than mr. flynn. >> we discussed a lot of different situations. some wonderful. and some difficulties. >> reporter: but the white house statement ignores the fact that obama warned the incoming president to stay away from flynn in the oval office two days after the election. nine day befores he was sworn into office, mr. trump refused cnn's attempts to ask if they had contacts with the russians before the election.

>> mr. president -- >> don't be rude. >> mr. president elect -- >> you are fake news. >> sir -- >> reporter: the next month, the president defended flynn's contacts with the russians. >> mike was doing his job. he was calling countries and his counterparts. so it certainly would be okay if he did it. i would have directed him to do it if i thought he was doing it. i didn't direct him but i would have directed him because that's his job. >> reporter: the president went to suggest there were no contacts during the campaign. >> russia is a ruse. i have nothing to do with russia. to the best of my knowledge, no person i deal with does. >> locker up. >> reporter: flynn who repeatedly led chants about "locker up" about hillary clinton -- >> we do not need a reckless president who believes she is above the law. locker up. that's right. >> reporter: spoke with ambassador kislyak during the transition. but transition officials never mention that flynn spoke to the ambassador about new obama

administration sanctions against russia. >> the call centered around the logistics of setting up a call with the president of russia and the pretty-elect after he was sworn in. and they exchanged logistical information on how to initiate and schedule that call. that was it. plain and simple. >> reporter: former fbi director james comey said the president pressed him to drop the case. >> understood him to be saying what he wanted me to do is drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of conversations with the russians. >> reporter: the president has also repeatedly tried to knock down new revelations in the russia probe tweeting in march mike flynn should ask for immunity, this is a witch punt, excuse for big election loss. and when paul manafort was indicted along with a guilty plea from george papadopoulos the president tweeted the fake news is working overtime.

and as paul manafort's lawyer said there was no collusion. and few people knew the low level named george who had already proven to be a liar. check for dems. the democrats say that won't work with flynn who is a senior white house official. >> they can't distance themselves from president trump national security adviser who has acknowledged a crime. >> and a senior white house official claimed the obama administration quote authorized flynn's contact with kislyak. but told cnn that claim from the white house is, quote, laughable. jim acosta, cnn, the white house. >> you just heard in jim's piece there that barack obama warned incoming president donald trump about michael flynn. now, the white house is minimizing the significance of the flynn guilty plea. one argument they may use, flynn was working on behalf of the obama administration when he spoke with the russian

ambassador. my colleague jake tapper asked the former head of the urs national intelligence if there was any truth to that notion. >> that is absolutely absurd. there was great concern at the time. not just with this particular contact. but with the violation of the principle that had been been followed of one president and one administration at a time. and that was what gave rise, because of all of these contacts, that mike was having and others in the transition, with the russians and other foreign entities. you know, what was this all about. so, to say that we blessed it or acquiesced in it is a stretch. >> what is your reaction to today's news that flynn has been pleaded guilty, and specifically to lying to the fbi about conversations he was having with the russian ambassador? >> well, it's dramatic, but not

surprising. from my take. and it is, in a sense, with respect to kind of a tragedy in a way, given the service, long and distinguishinged service that he rendered in the army. over 30 years. lots and lots of deploytime in iraq and afghanistan. you have to acknowledge that. but i think the overall arching implication for me, the first thing that came to mind, at least right now, the rule of law does prevail in this country. that, to me, is very important. and i do think the larger interest here is served is to try to understand exactly what was going on with the transition campaign and the russians. and we need to get to the bottom of what remains still to me this singular indifference of the threat posed to russia. >> the former dni under president obama james clapper speaking with jake tapper.

leslie is an associate professor of international relations at soas university of london. it's always good to have you, leslie. >> thank you. >> a lot happened today. >> a lot happened. >> on one hand a member of the president's inner circle pleaded gltd to lying to the fbi signaling that he will cooperate with his investigation. on the other, the president had arguably one of his best moments as tax reform passed through the u.s. senate. which overshadows the other, in your estimation? >> well, these are both very significant items. what piening we'll see the president doing is continuing to distance himself from mike flynn. from this charge, and really trumpeting his success in getting something finally, his first major legislative item. and this is a big one. this is the one he wanted. this is the one that many people have been saying if this president can get tax reform through, he can, you know, keep the white house for as long as he wants it. not sure that will be true,

remember, this was pushed through very quickly, a 500-page bill, apparently with a number of scribbles and memos made to it that people didn't have sufficient time to read. i think there will be a lot of debate as we move forward. nonetheless, significant claims of victory coming out of the white house. and a lot of people, certainly corporate america which will benefit from this tax cut very significantly. but a lot of people won't. but i think as we move forward there will be some controversy surrounding the congressional budget office has anticipated that this will lead a $1.4 trillion increase in the budget deficit over the next ten years. so it won't be without controversy. >> well, let's talk more about this bill, because again as it is laid out now, the tack break s will sun set, for many, but for many, the corporate taxes will remain constant. >> that's right.

this is really where the rubber hits the road, if you think about the president's rhetoric, during the campaign, his rallies, his appeal is meant to be to working class america. to the ordinary american, and yet what we're seeing in this tax bill, and again, there are a lot of detail here that i don't think even those who have voted on it have had a chance to consider it. it's the least deliberated tax reform that we've probably seen in the nation's history, so there's a lot still to be told. it looks like the cuts are going to benefit corporate america. and a number of benefits that the average american have experienced looked like they're going to be rolled back. that individual tax cut has got a time limit on it. but also things like college tuition. the ability to take a deduction for interest rate on college loans. tuition. a number of things that are really important to average americans. a lot of changes with respect to

medical care that are in, but again, we don't know the details of yet because it's been pushed for. this is really the key point. it's been pushed through so quickly without proper deliberation. and this is just deeply problematic for something that will have such an extraordinary impact on so many people's daily lives. >> yeah. so the question is, you know, the coming years will people be paying more. you're saying that they will be paying more for this new tax bill. but at the same time, many. president's supporters saying this wasn't a case where the president lived up to his campaign promise and offered tax cuts, albeit, tax cuts that will sun set, given a time period. let's talk about michael flynn's guilty plea now. the white house saying this is just a matter of michael flynn. it has nothing to do with the president, it has nothing to do with his teams. but here's the question to you, leslie, should his teams should the president be concerned about this? >> oh, absolutely.

i mean, if you read the facts as they were aggrieved between the u.s. government and michael flynn, remember, the first member of his cabinet, you know, his ex-national security adviser now has been charged, single charge. but he says in that document that he made a phone call to a senior member of the trump transition team before he contacted the russian ambassador. he then spoke to the russian ambassador. then he went back to and made another phone call to a senior member of the transition team. he's clearly cooperating. there's clearly more that's going to come out of this. and the question is who is that person. and really the broader question is why was the trump transition team so eager. to encourage the russians not to respond to the sanctions which had bipartisan support across russia that impolicied because russia had interferemad in the

election. why is it that the incoming team, were they hoping to promise that the sanctions would be lifted. or is this really just about trump wanting to rewrite that relationship with russia which he's obviously not been able to do. or was there something more there? i think all of these questions is what mueller will be drilling down in his investigation. and now he has a very significant individual who is clearly going to cooperate with him and work with him to get some answers to those questions. >> a lot of questions. and time will tell, leslie vinjamuri live in london, thank you. still ahead here -- the fall of a u.s. army general now at the center of the probe into russian election meddling. a fellow army officer weighs in on michael flynn. a tiny sword? bread...breadstick? a matchstick! a lamppost! coin slot! no? uhhh... 10 seconds. a stick! a walking stick!

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. more now on president trump's former national security adviser michael flynn. he was a three-star general when he retired from the u.s. army and that's important. it's a rank that relatively few people hold. his guilty plea friday for lying to the fbi sent shock waves throughout the military. cnn analyst mark hertling held that same rank he also knows flynn well. he explained to anderson cooper why michael flynn's actions are so upsetting. >> the emotions kind of go back and forth between embarrassed for the army because this was a guy at the senior ranks. there's only about 20 or so three-star generals the same rank i held in the army, and mike flynn is one of them. because he's in that position, he's given a special trusting

confidence by the government and military and the soldiers that he leads. so, the first part is being embarrassed by what happened today. and the second part had to do with the emotion of being furious. when he came out with his statement and started off by saying hey, i served 33 years honorably, and served in combat for five years. yeah, while that's interesting, it's also not important given the situation he's in right now. he went against the constitution of the united states. general officers soldiers are held to a higher standard. we are taught, throughout our career to honor the values of things like duty, honor, integrity, country, respect, loyalty, selfless service. and america expects that of its general officer ranks because they give us their sons and daughters to defend the country. so, when you have an individual who lies, who serves one individual as opposed to the constitution of the country it just truthfully makes me a little bit furious. >> cnn military analyst mark

hertling, a retired three-star army general reflecting on the actions of now disgraced army general michael flynn. still ahead ahead here on "newsroom," we look at other stories around the world including how pope francis is wrapping up his asia trip. and the rohingya crisis, actually saying the word. that story, ahead. (male #1) it's a little something

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. n the u.s. house of representatives, investigators want all the records on sexual harassment, on discrimination and other misconduct involving members of congress. it's part of an ethics problem, prompted by accusations against congressman john conyers and senator al franken. over the past 20 years, the u.s. treasury has paid more than $17 million to settle employee complaints. complaints including sexual harass mandt. u.s. defense secretary james mattis headed to jordan soon after a stop with egyptian. he just met with the egyptian president el assisi in pakistan to reaffirm its commitments to

allies in the region. the trip will also take mattis to pakistan and kuwait. propose francis is wrapping up his asia trip in bangladesh. you see the president at the airport in daca. earlier he visited a church, the rehinge ga crisis in myanmar has been the focus of the pontiff's trip. again, live images this hour as the pope leaves bangladesh. the question, though, that many people have asked throughout his trip would he say the word "rohingya." in fact, he did say the word "rohingya" as he left. with met with a group of rohingya on friday and said, quote, the presence of god today is also called rohingya. moving on to football news. the draw has been made for next year's fifa world cup in russia.

and there's no clear group of death but there's definitely exciting matchups. our don riddell has a look ahead at this big event. >> the world cup might still be six months away but it's starting to feel very, very real after friday's tournament draw in moscow with the russian president vladimir putin in attendance the host nation couldn't have been handed an easy yes draw along sides saudi arabia, egypt and uruguay. russia is the low-ranked in the competition but this presents an opportunity to make it to the knockout stages. there doesn't seem to be a group of death perhaps because many established teams didn't make it to the tournament but there are nonetheless juicy fixtures, darby group "b" in spain, pitting risian know rinaldo against his teammates. group "d," the plucky underdog team iceland playing against the world cup with lionel messi in the first game for a country of

just 330,000 people. it doesn't get much bigger than that. back to you. >> don riddell, thank you. and we end this hour with prince harry's new fiancee who says she's eager to get her boots on the ground in prettien. on friday, meghan markle did just that in the first official appearance. they greeted crowds where harry has spent significant time working with the community there. the pair visited a charity fair marking world aids day. and spent time at a local school. that's his hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta. for our viewers in the united states and around the world, "new day" is next.

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find all the answers you're looking for. because getting what you need should be simple, fast, and easy. download the xfinity my account app or go online today. the tax cuts and jobs act as amended is passed. >> this is a momentous occasion for the republican party. >> it's something that literally will help millions of young people in our society. >> this bill as it's written, here's the modifications that are in it. i can read one word, it's called add this language. >> flynn pled guilty to repeatedly lying to the fbi. >> this guilty plea is a shattering moment