good evening. we begin tonight with breaking news on the russia investigation and the president's son. donald trump jr. testified before house investigators today but refused to tell the committee what he and his father, the president, discussed when the story over the meeting with russians in trump tower first broke. multiple sources also tell cnn

that trump jr. testified that he spoke with white house aide hope hicks about how to respond when the story broke. hicks was on air force one with the president at the time. now, if you remember, trump jr.'s story about the meeting changed multiple times. the statement in question which the president took part in crafting read in part, quote, we primarily discussed a program about the adoption of russian children that was active and popular with american families years ago and was since ended by the russian government but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow-up. well, that statement was proven to be false, just a day later when apparently knowing "the new york times" was ready to publish the truth about the meeting, trump jr. was forced to admit that it was actually about getting russian dirt on hillary clinton. again, that meeting was in june of 2016. a few days later, trump jr. acted like it was nothing more than a conspiracy cooked up by the democrats. >> it just goes to show you their exact moral compass. they'll say anything to win this. i mean, this is time and time again, lie after lie.

you notice he won't say, this is it. it's disgusting. it's so phony. >> well, once the truth came out about the nature of the meeting, which, again, was about getting dirt on hillary clinton, here's what he said on sean hannity's show. >> like i said, in retrospect, i probably would have done things a little differently. again, this is before the russia mania. this is before they were building it up in the press. for me, this was opposition research. >> trump jr. has repeatedly said his father never knew about that opposition research but in testimony today he refused to tell a house committee what he and his father discussed when the story broke. tonight, there ooers breaking news in the russia investigation, dating back to the inauguration day. as the president was giving his inaugural address, incoming national security adviser michael flynn was texting a former business colleague that one of the first things the administration would do would be to rip up sanctions against russia. that's according to a whistleblower who is not being congressman elijah cummings

released a summary of the whistleblower's account today. the account also suggests flynn had a personal stake in the russia sanctions being lifted, having worked with companies to make a deal with russia to build nuclear reactors in the middle east. a lawyer for one of those companies is denying the whistleblower's account of the text messages. joining me now is cnn justice correspondent pamela brown. about this donald trump jr. testimony, i understand he invoked attorney/client privilege when asked about conversations with his father. >> right, and that's actually had some legal analysts scratching their heads, anderson. donald trump jr. refusing to tell house investigators what he and his father discussed after those reports surfaced about that june 2016 trump tower meeting he had, citing attorney/client privilege. now, we've learned, anderson, that president trump and don jr. had a conversation after trump jr. tweeted out the e-mails about his involvement in that meeting. that's according to democratic congressman adam schiff, a california democrat who attended the session. schiff said don jr. invoked

attorney/client privilege because of the presence of attorneys during the exchange with his father. some legal analysts have questioned that. it's certainly caused debate. some have said that attorney/client privilege can't be used in a case like this. and it certainly raises questions about what they talked about. what president trump and his son talked about in the wake of the e-mails he released. and also we should mention don jr. once again today denied he told his dad about the trump tower meeting when it happened in the summer of 2016, anderson. >> what more can you tell us about donald trump jr. saying he communicated with hope hicks, not his father, about that trump tower meeting response? >> yeah, so he acknowledged today that he spoke with senior white house aide, now white house communications director hope hicks, not his father, chen first confronted with news reports about his meeting with the russians, even though, as i just pointed out, he wouldn't disclose what he discussed with his father. around the same time, trump jr. said he went to hicks first about how to respond to the

reports of the meeting this past summer. he said -- he also said according to the sources speaking to my colleague, manu raju, that his dad was debating between a longer or shorter statement while trump and hicks were aboard air force one. the initial statement in july 2017, as you'll recall, anderson, gave a misleading impression of the meeting which later turned out was billed to trump jr. as a way to get dirt on the clintons, and some legal experts say the white house's involvement could be problematic, since there was an ongoing criminal probe into russian meddling. >> pamela brown, thank you. joining me now, one of the lawmakers at the hearing today, congressman ere iic swalwell. what do you make of donald trump jr. citing attorney/client privilege and refusing to disclose the conversation he had with his father. can you do that because attorneys were in the room? >> good evening, anderson. this falls in line with others who have casually exerted privileges. jeff sessions cites a long-standing department of justice privilege, which is not found in the law, that he couldn't tell us what he says to

donald trump. and roger stone cited a privilege on behalf of a journalist when we asked him who he was talking to at wikileaks. this is not a privilege in the law. if he's talking to his father and they're trying to get their stories straight, that's not recognized as a privilege. and if it was, essentially every defendant in america could call into their attorney's office an alibi witness and talk to them directly and get their stories straight, and a prosecutor would never be able to penetrate that. that's not how it works. we hope that the republicans will call him back under subpoena and actually compel him, which they have the power to do. >> let me ask you about that. you talk about the republicans calling him back. obviously they're in control of your committee. is that what it takes? can they force him to answer the question? >> yeah, and that's what ranking member schiff asked for. is, you know, we believe we're on solid legal standing here that if he is there under subpoena, he would be ordered to answer the question. now, most wit pts nesses come i

voluntarily, and that works. but as we've seen, a number of them have refused to answer our questions and they cite that they're there voluntarily and we can't force them. so i believe the republicans should start putting these witnesses under subpoena and then when they assert bogus privileges, compel them to testify, and i think we'll get to the truth. >> i don't know if you can say, but did anybody challenge this idea, when he invoked attorney/client privilege? did anybody say, wait a minute, this is ludicrous? >> oh, yes, it was challenged, pretty vigorously challenged and they stuck to their position that they were not going to share any conversations that donald trump jr. had with his father about the june 9th meeting. >> can you say how the republicans on the committee reacted? >> well, you know, they had -- they had the power to tell him that he'll have to come back under subpoena if he refuses to answer. and sometimes that will just, you know, put the witness in a position of not wanting to go through all that and just answering, but they didn't do that. and i hope they recognize the seriousness of this, because this june 9th meeting is a

cornerstone piece of our investigation in how -- and what the president knew, what donald trump as a candidate knew at the time, is critically important for us. >> also, if you can say, just to be clear, do you believe conversations between donald trump jr. and hope hicks were essentially conversations between donald trump jr. and his father, because, i mean, hope hicks is, you know, her, his right-hand person. >> yeah, anderson, so, i can't go into what was discussed other than the objection over the privilege, but you know, we do know she was the communications director and if there were conversations between hope hicks and donald trump and she was an intermediary, that's not privileged, either. so i think the best thing to do is take this investigation as serious as it should be and bring these witnesses under a subpoena and we'll get the answers. >> congressman, stay with us. i want to bring in michael zelden and gloria gorger. michael, i mean, you hear the congressman. do you believe there's any legal merit to donald trump jr.'s claim of attorney/client

privilege? >> none whatsoever. if there were any type of privilege between him and his lawyer as they spoke to one another, it would probably be waived, because there were third parties present. i don't think there's a colorable claim of attorney/client privilege, which is don jr. and his lawyer talking through hope hicks to the president and her serving as intermediary in those conversations. there's nothing that's attorney/client privilege protectable in that chain. >> and gloria, in terms of optics surrounding the investigation, how problematic is it for the president to have his son invoke, if you listen to michael, jeff toobin, pretty bogus -- >> well, it's not great. because, why is he refusing to answer the question about what he said to his father? i notice that the congressman was talking about getting your story straight, i think as he put it. well, if that was the case, i think either the special counsel or the congressional committees are going to want to know what story?

what were you -- what were you discussing here? and i think by not answering the question, you only raise more questions. >> go ahead. >> just add one thing. remember, when this whole thing broke, the attorney for the president, jay sekulow, went on "meet the press" and said categorically the president had nothing to do with the drafting of this statement. >> right. he was it was donald trump jr.'s lawyers. >> right. that was untruthful. and so maybe the assertion of attorney/client privilege here is to buy time to get their story straight, which is in and of itself very problematic and i don't think mueller will find that at all availing. >> congressman, if there was nothing inappropriate regarding the discussions, wouldn't it behoove the president to get it out there? the president is the one that says this whole thing is a hoax. >> actually donald trump jr. can waive the privilege if he was forthcoming and wanted to clear the air. but you know, anderson, just to

put this in perspective, june 3rd, the meeting is set up, that's when they are offered dirt on hillary clinton. june 7th. donald trump, the candidate, cryptically says he's going to reveal new information about hillary clinton. june 9th is when the meeting occurs and june 12th is when wikileaks first announces that they have dirt and e-mails on hillary clinton. so, this is a pivotal point in our investigation. and, you know, to hide behind a made-up privilege sents us back in what we need to tell the american people. >> michael -- >> may i add one thing to that timeline of the congressman's, which i agree with, which is, when the president said, on june 9th, that there would be something forthcoming, then the meeting occurs on the 9th, when the meeting's sort of a bust, if you will, from the dirt on hillary stuff, nothing is ever forthcoming. so, when you have a timeline like that, where june 3 is the initial e-mail, the president says, dirt is coming, the meeting's a bust and then nothing is forthcoming, it just

implies that they're talking to one another during that whole chain of events. it's not plausible otherwise. >> michael, do you believe robert mueller would permit don jr. to claim attorney/client privilege with conversations with his father and if not, what mechanisms could he use to force trump junior? >> mueller was the authority to seek contempt hearing before a judge as well for failure to answer. i don't believe that mueller will find that assertion of attorney/client privilege to be availing. and i think that if he continues to refuse it this way, it's going to be tantamount to disaster for his team, because it will be viewed as obstruction by mueller and be added to this obstruction of justice mosaic that they're both building for one another. >> gloria, i know you've got a question for the congressman. >> congressman, i just want to know what you think about bringing in hope hicks now before your committee. i mean, doesn't she become more of a central figure, because she

was the conduit between donald trump jr. and his father, particularly on air force one? >> certainly relevant because of prior reports, as well, with her role in the firing of james comey, but you know, e want to interview anyone who was involved in the june 9th meeting or who was involved in the statement about the june 9th meeting, and so, you know, i'll leave it to, you know, our ranking member and chairman to hopefully sort that out. but i don't see how an investigation would be complete without her. >> can i just ask one more thing? why do you think don jr. was reluctant today? you were sitting in that room. why do you think he didn't want to answer that question about his conversation with his father? >> i can't speak to his motives, i can just tell you as a former prosecutor, it's usually when you're seeking to protect somebody. that's when you don't answer a direct question, when you demonstrate that you have information on it. >> congressman, gloria, michael, appreciate it. thanks very much. coming up, the president,

the rnc and steve bannon all in roy moore's corner now. with the upcoming election for a u.s. senate seat, despite the multiple accusations against moore. i'll speak with moore's campaign spokeswoman, next. also ahead, the latest on raging wildfires in southern california. the images unbelievable. the evacuations, a freeway shut down at one point. we'll have the latest. (dyou're drew brees?! i'm sorry to bother you, but my car broke down and i'd really appreciate a ride to the stadium. yes! ...but, no, i have to stay here and wait for a package. i thought anybody who rooted for me would have fedex delivery manager. that way you can sign for your packages remotely and even customize your delivery time. (car alarm beeps) excuse me sir, could you take me to the stadium? sure! hop in. - thank you.- hope you like jazz fusion. (neighbor starts singing) sorry. customize your deliveries with fedex delivery manager. advil liqui-gels minis. our first concentrated pill that rushes powerful relief. a small new size that's fast, cause it's liquid. woohoo! you'll ask, what pain?

new advil liqui-gels minis.

another day at the office. why do you put up with it? believe it or not you actually like what you do. even love it. and today, you can do things you never could before. you're working in millions of places at once with iot sensors. analyzing social data on the cloud to create new designs. and using blockchain to help prevent fraud. so get back to it and do the best work of your life. the race for u.s. senate in alabama is now less that a week away. the president, the rnc are supporting roy moore fully now. four women have come forward

alleging some form of sexual contact or sexual assault bill moore. these are the two most serious accusations. leigh corfman said when she was 14, moore took her to his house, took off her clothes. in a press conference, beverly nelson says when she was 16, moore sexually assaulted her in his car, trying to force her head onto his crotch. she said she was pushed or fell out of the car. roy moore says he does not know these women and never engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone. joining me now is roy moore's campaign spokeswoman, janet porter. jan element, thank you so much for being with us. i appreciate it. >> thank you, anderson. appreciate you having me on. >> janet, you believe these women are all lying, yet roy moore is the person who has been removed twice as chief justice of the supreme court in alabama. the second time, he had his honesty challenged by the alabama court of the judiciary. judges said he had not been credible and found his use of case law to be incomplete and

misleading. >> first off, when we talk about believing the women, i would ask the question of, maybe some lacrosse players at duke university and ask them if they believe every woman who makes an accusation. if we did a lynch mob media against innocent people as we did with lacrosse, there would be some lacrosse players in jail right now. let's look at what the judge did. he stood for the ten commandments. he said i have the freedom of religion -- >> actually, what the judge did is, he violated state and federal regulations and he was removed from the supreme court for that and then four years later, he misled -- he misled the judges by saying he didn't order probate judges not to marry same sex couples. they said he was essentially lying. >> here's what really happened. and having been down here in alabama, i'm learning a whole lot about what's going on. and one of the things that i

learned is that what the rule of law really means is that you follow the constitution. not activist judges that are acting outside the constitution. and that's -- >> you're telling me alabama has a lot of activist judges? the judges, all of whom voted against him and took him off the court, they're all activist judges? >> well, judge roy moore was sworn to uphold the constitution of the state of alabama. and the constitution of the united states of america and that's what he was following. >> right, but they actually convicted him of violating -- >> may i finish? >> i'm telling you what you're saying is incorrect. >> well, i'm telling you what judge moore says is what i believe. it's the culture war going on down here. people believe the government is god and there are those who believe what our declaration of independence says, we are endowed by our creator. and he was exercising his religious liberty. he was following the sworn oath of upholding the constitution of

the state and the nation and that's why we want to send him to the senate, because he didn't care about his job more than he cares about the principles or the constitution of the united states. >> so, he took an oath -- he took an oath to mislead -- he took an oath to manipulate? he took an oath that endangered probate judges? >> don't put words in -- >> you're saying he took an oath, and i'll telling you what the judges found him guilty of. >> well, you know what, sometimes rulings aren't necessarily accurate. there's all kinds of things that can be said about someone, but what he did is quite different. >> let me tell you what roy moore said about those judges. he, at the time, said that those judges were radical homosexuals and transgendered activists. do you really believe that the judges on the alabama court of the judiciary are radical homosexuals and transgender people? >> i really don't know about the judges and what they're -- >> you said you've been looking into it. i thought you would have looked to see if --

>> it matters not to me. what matters is we have someone willing to defend our religious liberty, defend marriage as he's sworn to uphold the constitution in the state and the nation. but let me tell you -- >> isn't there a certain irony that you're accusing these women of lying when he's the guy who has been told unanimously by judges, he's been removed twice from his job and judges said he was manipulative -- >> because he stood for our religious liberty. that's why the people of alabama are going to send him to the senate. you can repeat allegations over and over again. >> they're not allegations. they're actually -- >> well, let me tell you what really took place. you've got a guy willing to stand on principle and even if it costs him his job and his lucrative retirement. that's why -- you want to know why all of this is going on? let me tell you what is at stake here this is ground zero for religious liberty. this is ground zero for life. and the winner of this senate race is winner take all.

it will be the deciding vote on the united states supreme court. who will sit on the court for the next 30 or 40 years. >> right, so -- >> we know that senators mckuls key and collins are going to side with the democrats. it took vice president pence to break the tie with secretary devos. that's what we're looking at, when we have a promise from president trump for pro life justices. that's what's at stake. that's why you see the baseless allegations. >> why should the voters trust somebody who the court has found was misleading and manipulative. >> because they know the trust. they know he stood for marriage. the voters know that. and that's what we know, and not only discuss the voters of alabama know that, but the president has stood with judge roy moore. as have now the republican party come on board. >> he wasn't a couple of weeks ago. >> well, the governor is now onboard, has been onboard, as we see people like dr. james dobson, pro family leader, dr. ben carson. we see governor sarah palin.

let me tell you -- >> let me ask you about that. >> the democrat poliestablishme the ones from the abortion lobby, the felons that george soros is spending money to make sure they're registered to vote. and by the way, i want to know -- >> let me ask you about that. >> there are some people that judge moore sent to jail that do have an axe to grind against the man. >> you named a lot of people. your campaign, just as you did tonight, your campaign has blamed an awful lot of people for the accusations being made. i've heard moore or his supporters, you tonight blame doug jones, mitch mcconnell, mainstream republicans, "the washington post," the lynch mob media, as you called them, homosexuals, transgender people and criminals. how do all these people come together and come up with a plot for roy moore? that's a pretty huge group and didn't know if there's a conference call that mitch mcconnell and radical homosexuals are on --

>> when you have false allegations that are generated by "the washington post," there tends to be a pile-on. that's how a lynch mob works. what we're looking at is a guy that's stood for life, unlike his opponent -- >> do you have any evidence that all these people are involved? >> let me tell you my experience, this is where i call to this campaign. may i share something with you? when i ran -- i've been trying to get a pro life bill in the state of ohio for the last six years and the senate was blocking me. so, i recruited candidates to run and i filed to run myself and when i was polling even with the establishment, they spent a million dollars telling everyone that i was the pro abort, telling everyone that i was a liar. and my niece was listening to the radio one day and she said, they just don't know aunt janet. and the same is true, what the establishment does is make false allegations, the postcards look almost identical to the ones they sent out against me, minus the sexual allegations. >> you're from ohio, right? >> let me finish. yeah. the people that know judge moore the most and the people of alabama do, are the ones that

are standing with him now. >> so, let me ask, why is it okay for you to come in from ohio and tell the people of alabama to vote, when you go after george soros, anybody else who is not from alabama, claiming they are outsiders. aren't you just as much of an outsider as "the washington post"? >> this is ground zero in the fight -- >> you're not from the state, so, you are telling the people of alabama how to vote. >> i would tell people that aren't from the state of alabama is to do what i did. go to roy moore.org and make the most generous donation that you can. this is the only guy that's going to stand for it. >> judge moore, really? judge moore has talked -- judge moore has talked a lot about abortion, the right to bare aea arms. i do want to quickly ask you where the judge stands on a number of issues that he's spoken of in the past. we haven't been able to get to him directly. does judge moore still believe homosexual conduct should be

illegal? >> well, i think what judge roy moore -- >> you don't know that. because that's what he said in the past. >> what he does believe regarding that issue. and regarding that issue, if you want to talk about making sure we don't have sexual predators -- >> no, i'm not talking about sexual predators, i'm talking about anybody who is homosexu homosexual -- >> let me just say, he wants to put owl a welcome mat in front of these young girls, if you are a junior high school girl, if you have a high school girl, what abortion jones is saying is, we're putting out a welcome mat to any boy who is feeling like a girl that day, he's free to walk into the bathroom, the locker room with his camera phone and shower with your daughter. >> i've heard you say that numerous times. >> they're not going to take the radical position -- >> can you get back to us on whether -- as the spokesperson, can you get back to us on

whether or not if he still believes homosexuality should be illegal? >> he believes the bible -- >> can you get back to us? if you don't want to answer that question, that's fine. can you get back to us? >> yeah, i can look into that for you. >> does he still believe that 9/11 may have happened -- does he still believe that 9/11 may have happened because, quote, we've distanced ourselves from god? because that's what he's said in the past. >> you know this is the thing. a lot of people talk about god and how they're christians, if you look at the commercials of roy moore's opponent, he's telling everybody what a great christian he is -- >> you don't know the answer about 9/11, either? >> i don't know the answer to 9/11, i'm sorry. >> third question. does he still believe -- does he still believe in -- >> you have to let me respond. come on. the people of alabama -- >> you're not from. >> we dare defend our rights. and our rights are rights to

life. our right to liberty. our right to bear arms. our right to a strong military. our right to secure borders. if you want to talk about protecting women, then we need to run from roy moore's opponent, who, the kate steinle family, so what if this man is an immigrant, we're not going to build the wall to keep him out. i think the lives of americans being lost are too expensive. that's what's at stake in this race. and the people of alabama where not going to be fooled. they won't be bought or bullied. >> does he still believe in american citizen who is a muslim should not be able to serve in congress? >> i think that what he's getting at there is that we believe in the rule of law by the constitution. not sharia law. that's really the bottom line. >> he said that keith ellison should not be able to swear on the koran. >> he'll lose his job if he has to to stand for the constitution. >> you don't know that, either. >> well, it's a message -- i believe his position has to do with whether we follow the constitution or the ridiculously

oppressive to women sharia law. >> does he still believe that keith ellison shouldn't be allowed to swear on the koran? i get you don't want to answer the questions, but i would rather you just say, you don't want to answer them. >> i'm answering them. >> does he still believe -- there's sharia law that exists, that communities are being ruled by sharia law? does he still believe that? >> i think he sees there is a movement towards that. >> that's not what he said. he said there are communities that are being run by sharia law. >> well, there are communities overseas -- >> no, in the united states. >> i'm not sure if there are any -- >> illinois, he said. illinois. >> he stands for the constitution. >> okay. >> if you get back to us on that, that would be great, too. >> he's going to fight to -- i've told you what i know. and that is, the constitution should trump any other rule -- >> you don't know what his position is.

as a spokesperngs i wouson -- >> i can tell you with some confidence that this is the guy that stood with the constitution even when it cost him everything. you don't have to question that. >> does he still -- >> he's been through the fire and he's come out gold. that's what the people of alabama know and they're not going to be bullied. >> i hear that. >> and they're not going to be told what to do by pro abortion democrats. that's what we're going to see six days from now on the 12th of december. >> i'm just trying to get his positions down. does he still believe barack obama wasn't worn in the united states? because he didn't believe that in the past. >> that issue has kind of come and gone. that's an issue -- >> he commented on it recently. >> i don't know. i just know that when i have to rent the library book or do anything else, i show my driver's license. that's a reasonable thing to do -- >> so, you don't really know -- >> you can try to make the guy look as bad as you can, but the people of alabama know him.

>> i'm just -- he's made public statement statements, i'm trying to find out if he still believes these public statements. the last one i'm going to ask is -- >> that one is irrelevant. >> let's try this one on for size. does he still believe that ronald reagan's description of the soviet union could be applied to america today, because we promote a lot of bad things like same sex marriage. does he believe that the u.s. is the focus of evil in the modern world. >> he has great hope for america. he knows that god gave us mercy -- >> not answering the question. >> i think he would go along with the ronald reagan quote that says it's hard to remember when you're up to your armpits in alligators that you came to drain the swamp. that's what roy moore is going to do. that's why they're not -- >> does he still believe, though, that the u.s. is the focus of evil in the world because of same sex marriage? >> pardon me? >> does he still believe that

the u.s. has become the focus of evil in the world because the u.s. promotes things, in his words, like same sex marriage? >> you know, you can ridicule biblical -- >> i'm asking you -- i'm giving you quotes of exactly what your candidate has said. you're the spokesperson, you same unwilling, you're not from alabama, but you seem not to know what his positions are or unwilling to actually tell what his positions are. >> it's very public knowledge that he stood for marriage between one man and one woman as it has been for 200 years this the united states. that's not a secret. >> i'm wondering, does he believe the u.s. is the focus of evil in the modern world? because that's a bold statement. >> he has stood for the constitution and that's really what it's all about. imcome it comes down to, who do you want to represent the people of alabama? the judge said recently, they don't want alabama values in washington, and he said, i can't wait, and the people of alabama are going to send him to washington to drain the swamp.

and defend life, defend liberty, our second amendment. he's going to build a strong military. and most importantly, he's going to be the deciding vote to make sure we confirm the judges that president trump puts on the supreme court and that's what matters. the people of alabama, as their motto says, they dare to defend their rights. they're going to defend their right to vote and they're going to defend their constitutional rights, as well. >> appreciate your time, janet porter. thank you. coming up, more breaking news out of washington. senator al franken under fire. we'll hear from a woman who says the president groped her on a plane decades ago. her take on all of this, next. >> i'm sort of the opinion right now that any man over the age of 55 who holds any position of importance or power or wealth has got to be waking up at 4:00 in the morning in a cold sweat, wondering if another shoe is going to drop. a, we make sure you're in the loop at every step from the moment you decide to move your money to the instant your new retirement account is funded.

because when you know where you stand, things are just clearer. -♪ a little bit o' soul, yeah it's red lobster's new ultimate surf & turf event. get ready these 5 pairings are gonna floor ya. like our new feast with lobster-wrapped scallops and a juicy sirloin, plus a savory lobster-and-shrimp smashed potato. and our new lobster and seafood-topped filet? every bite is better than the last. the classic is here too. come indulge in surf & turf like you've never had it before it's too late. and weekdays, create your own seafood lover's lunch for just $9.99. you've probably seen me running all over the country in search of our big idaho potato truck. but not any more. i am done with that. ooh, ooh hot - just gonna stay home on the farm, eat a beautiful idaho potato, and watch tv with my dog... tv anncr: the big idaho potato truck pulled into town today and it's really a sight to see. oh man...let's go....

(distant) you comin', boy? sfx: (dog) gulp! woof. witness katy perry. witness katy perry become a legal witness. witness katy perry and left shark. or a card shark. grandma? witness katy perry work.

witness katy perry firework. witness katy perry swish. witness katy perry... aaaaaaw look at that dog! katy perry: with music videos and behind the scenes footage, xfinity lets you witness all things me. breaking news tonight. senator al franken's office says he still has not decided whether or not he's going to resign amid more sexual harassment allegations. an announcement from the senator is scheduled for tomorrow. the chorus of voices calling for him to step down has grown to include 32 democratic senators. many of the allegations against senator franken surfaced weeks ago.

why did the senators call for his resignation just today? >> reporter: well, the seventh allegation essentially, anderson, turned into the straw that broke the camel's back in talking to many republican and democratic senators today. the sense that i kept getting from them was, look, this was essentially just the tipping point. many democrats telling me that they had just been watching these allegations pile up and pile up and accumulate over the last three weeks against senator franken, and this essentially became one allegation too many. and one congressional source that i was talking to says that one thing that was most concerning, the fact that there was a pattern to these allegations, that potentially a pattern of misconduct by senator franken, not an isolated incident. i'm told that played heavily into the decision by that group of female democratic senators to come out today in a coordinated fashion and call for him to resign. here's senator kirsten gillibrand earlier today. >> obviously there were new

allegations today and enough is enough. we need to draw a line in the sand and say none of it is okay, none of it is acceptable, and we as elected leaders should absolutely be held to a higher standard, not a lower standard. i do not feel that he should continue to serve. >> reporter: and the chorus of female democratic senators calling for their colleague to resign really unleashed an avalanche to cave in, essentially, around franken today. over 30 of his colleagues here in the senate have called for his resignation, including a late in the day call from senate minority leader chuck schumer, although we have been told he was lobbying behind the scenes calling for him to resign and telling him directly to do so. >> what do we know about this announcement tomorrow from franken? >> reporter: we don't know much. we do not yet know if he will resign or not. we know it will happen at some point tomorrow and happen here in washington, d.c. his office says that late in the day it would be at this point premature to say that he's made his decision. he is, right now, seeking counsel from his family, but at

this stage, anderson, i think it's safe to say it would be a long stretch to consider him staying here in congress, now that he has the leadership against him, many of his colleagues against him. the writing is, essentially, on the warm. he just has to make that decision. >> thank you very much. jessica leads thinks this moment was a long-time coming. she was one of the first people during the presidential campaign to come forward and say donald trump sexually assaulted her. she said it happened decades ago when they were seated next to each other on an airplane. at one point, he says, trump lifted up the armrest, grabbed her breast, kissed her and tried to put his hand up her skirt. the attempted groping lasted about 15 minutes. years later, she says she ran into trump at a gala and he recognized her as greeting her as the woman from the airplane, using a derogatory word. i spoke to her earlier this afternoon. >> al franken is going to be making an announcement tomorrow. i'm wondering what you think of his situation? >> well, i of course am

disappointed because i've enjoyed him when he was on as a comedian, i enjoyed him when he was on the radio and i was impressed that he became a senator and i thought he was a very serious senator, and i was impressed with what he was doing and how he was doing it. am i surprised? no. i'm sort of the opinion right now that any man over the age of 55 who holds any position of importance or power or wealth has got to be waking up at 4:00 in the morning in a cold sweat wondering whether another shoe is going to drop. >> because they come from that generation -- >> yes. >> and they come from -- >> yes. and what i think the next explosion is going to be is in business. because it's there. especially in the wall street area. >> did you think you coming forward, the other women who came forward speaking about then

candidate trump now president trump, did you think it would have had more of an impact? >> no. >> you didn't think it would? >> i really didn't. i was just so furious after the debate that i just had to get it off my chest. and so i did. and i really -- >> it was that second debate, which motivated you? >> yes, yes. when you asked him point-blank and he wanted to talk about syria and you wouldn't let him and i was just like, on the -- on my feet screaming at the tv, which i don't do. and didn't sleep that night. so, the next morning, i shot off a letter to the editor, to "the times" just to get it off my chest, and i thought that would be as far as it went. i really did. i -- i thought i'd be lucky to get a letter published. and then it sort of -- >> so, the white house continues to say none of this happened. not only what you said didn't

happen but none of these women who have come forward with allegations about donald trump are telling the truth. >> i don't really know how to answer that. as i said when i told my story, everybody has got a perfect right not to believe me because it happened so long ago. but -- i'm not bothered by being called a liar. but what i find interesting is the stories of those other, what, 14, 15 women, they're all the same. and none of them have colluded with each other. so this is -- this is an m.o. of this man. and just because they stand up there and say that we're lying, i don't think changes the situation at all. >> i want to play something he said after you came out publicly and made the allegations that you did. this was what he said about that. >> people that are willing to

say, oh, i was with donald trump in 1980. i was sitting with him on an airplane. and he went after me on the plane. yeah, i'm going to go after them. believe me, she would not be my first choice, that i can tell you. >> i find that just ludicrous because he didn't pick me. i was there. i was available and he was bored. >> that's all it was? >> that's all it was. the other women who are beautiful and beauty pageant types and most of them have long blonde hair, which is something he seems to like, he picked them. but i was just there. >> do you regret coming forward and making yourself public? with something so personal, something very -- which some people are going to believe,

some people are not going to believe. >> this issue is important is to me, it really is. having experience, having a daughter, having a granddaughter, i wish that we could somehow or another get through to some of these men or perpetrators that the damage that they're doing is so complete that the person that they have afflicted themselves on suffers for the rest of their life. the women i've talked to can remember when it happened, they can remember who it happened with, they can remember where it was, they can remember the time of day, they can remember what they had on and they can remember what they did, how to get out of it and most of them would say they went home and threw away their clothes and didn't tell anybody. and as far as i can tell, most men just -- it was like

scratching an itch. it didn't mean anything. didn't mean anything at all. but it means something to those people who suffered that attack. >> jessica leeds, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> we asked the white house for a response to miss leeds allegations, but we never heard back from them. when she first told her story to "the new york times," the trump campaign called it completely false and threatened to sue "the times." they never did. still to come, the president officially recognized jerusalem as the capital of israel today, and now the white house admits it hurts the peace process. the latest from the white house next. also ahead, mandatory evacuations, schools closed. one of the nation's busiest freeways closed at one point, the fire so close. fast-moving flames in and around los angeles. it could be getting worse. an update from the fire zone coming up. when you have a cold stuff happens.

shut down cold symptoms fast with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. at t-mobile, when you holiday together, great things come in twos. like t-mobile and netflix. right now when you get an unlimited family plan, netflix is included. ho ho ho! t-mobile covers your netflix subscription... best christmas gift ever! ...so you can binge watch all year long. now you're thinking christmas! and now when you buy any of this season's hot new samsung galaxy phones, you get a second one free to gift. that's one samsung for you. and one to give. t-mobile. holiday twogether. hey, it's me, your dry skin. i'm craving something we're missing. the ceramides in cerave. they help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture and keep us protected. we've got to have each other's backs and fronts. cerave. what your skin craves. and fronts. work keeps me busy. so i've asked chase sapphire reserve cardmembers to find my next vacation. rome, show me something. i'm having breakfast at the pantheon.

what an amazing view... of your finger. ♪ ♪ look at this view. your finger! isn't that incredible. your finger! and check this one out! oh it's so amazing! move your finger! three times points on travel and restaurants on every continent. sapphire reserve, from chase. make more of what's yours. but when it comes to mortgages, she's less confident. fortunately, there's rocket mortgage by quicken loans. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently. i was wondering if an electric toothbrusthan a manual.s better and my hygienist says it does but they're not all the same. who knew? i had no idea. so she said, look for one that's shaped like a dental tool with a

round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to gently remove more plaque. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the only electric toothbrush brand accepted by the american dental association for its effectiveness and safety. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b. oral-b. brush like a pro. ♪ when you have doctors working as a team for your health, you get the care you need to help you thrive. ♪ visit kp.org to learn more. kaiser permanente. thrive. ♪

we are the driven... the dedicated... the overachievers. we know our best investment is in ourselves. we don't take no for an answer. we fight for what we want. even for the things that were once a given. going to college... buying a home... and not being in debt for it for the rest of our lives. but we're only as strong as our community. who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. sofi. get there sooner. this breaking news tonight out of washington. senior white house officials tell cnn they are aware that the president's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel has derailed the middle east peace process. this comes as palestinian factions are calling for three days of rage and demonstrations outside embassies and in city streets in the region. jim acosta joins us now with more. so the announcement from the white house, talk about it.

what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, first, anderson, the president declared -- recognized that jerusalem is the capital of israel. that means that the process has begun to move the u.s. embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. that process will take three or four years so the president signed a waiver today keeping the embassy in tel aviv. but the practical process that has been laid in place now is really in jeopardy because essentially middle east peace was really hinging on this issue of jerusalem. it wasn't the only issue but it was certainly an important issue. the israelis see jerusalem as their capital but the palestinians see east jerusalem as their capital. as you heard from jeremy diamond and elise labott they believe her at the white house, at least temporarily, that this derails the middle east peace process. i talked to another official this evening who said there's going to be some short-term pain in the near future.

anderson, it's hard to remember a white house putting out -- an administration putting out a policy and later on that evening acknowledging that they have derailed something as important as middle east peace. it just goes to show you when you have almost every u.s. ally in europe and in the middle east really condemning and criticizing this decision, they are fully aware here at the white house that there's going to be some pain in the near future on this. >> it was vice president mike pence standing behind the president today, not jared kushner, who's been working toward middle east peace. do we know if that held any kind of significance? >> reporter: well, it was a pretty surprising statement from the president today because one thing that you heard from the president is that there hasn't been much progress in middle east peace talks. he said even though he's been signing these waivers keeping the embassy in tel aviv all these years, that there hasn't been much progress in terms of middle east peace. he has put his own son-in-law in charge of that process, so it's kind of incredible to hear the

president say that about something that he's put his son-in-law in charge of. but it is true that both sides haven't made much progress during this administration. but when you have the palestinians -- and they said this earlier this evening, anderson, that because of this decision they don't want the united states to be involved in brokering middle east peace talks, that's pretty stunning given that that is something -- that is a role the united states has played for decades, going back to the clinton administration. you remember the middle east peace talks that happened during his administration and all the way back to jimmy carter. and so this is really a representative of decades of u.s. foreign policy that the trump administration is putting behind them and saying we're going to try something new here. the problem is, this new policy that they put in place could very well inflame that region at a critical time. >> jim acosta, thanks very much. a dire situation in southern california. several fires burning, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate, including in los angeles where several homes have

burned. video has just been extraordinary from the 405 freeway earlier today. take a look at how close it is to the freeway. a fire burning dangerously close to the roadway. authorities were forced to close parts of the freeway for several hours. it's since reopened. also nearby flames threatened the famed getty museum. it will get worse before it gets better with winds picking up. tonight. paul joins us from ventura california with the latest. what are conditions like where you are, paul? >> reporter: fortunately right now, anderson, the winds are not whipping through here. if they were, you would see even greater flames over both of my shoulders. fire is burning in these foothills right now as far as the eye can see. there are no significant population centers near here. there are some homes, by the way, on the other side of what is a major freeway, the 101, from this fire. they're very expensive beachfront homes. one of the concerns is these fires can throw up all sorts of

burning embers. you can almost see them in the lens. if they drop on a roof or so, it can touch off other fires. what they're going to do is they can't send firefighters up into those canyons, that's extremely dangerous, but they'll have to wait for the fire to come down and make a stand right here. to recap, though, the winds right now are calm and that is good news. but you've seen and heard over the last few days, anderson, those santa ana winds have just been menacing and caused so many problems, in december no less, in southern california. >> yeah, and what's expected in the days ahead in terms of the wind? >> reporter: they are expecting the winds to kick up again. what happens is very close to the pacific as i told you, they come from inland and blow toward the ocean. so that's why firefighters and residents alike are saying their prayers and crossing their fingers and hoping that these winds don't whip up again. after all this fire that i'm on right now has burned 65,000 acres. it is a monster, and i'm sure those numbers are going to change. i'll try to update you later on

that when they have a major news conference. but they are eyeballing those winds and they do expect them to kick up again. after all, they often call them sundowner winds and the sun has finally set out west, so they have got to keep a close eye on them. >> and the images in the los angeles area, what can you tell us about the other fires threatening the rest of the state? >> reporter: there's so many of them in ventura and los angeles county. now you referred to the one along the 405 freeway, and one of the tactics is to attack with everything possible and quickly. it's a little easier in a suburban environment. this fire here started in the rural part of ventura county. the problem is there's so many fires and they have so many firefighters on the line here, they have to make sure they don't compromise los angeles because there are three fires burning there. off the top of my head, it seems like there might be 100,000 acres that have burned, so they're under the tricky little proposition of making sure that

they're evenly deployed throughout southern california, because if you put too many resources in one place, you could jeopardize another, anderson. >> i just can't imagine driving through that in the morning on your way to work. unbelievable on the 405. stay safe. coming up, donald trump jr. answered questions on capitol hill today but refused to answer some of them about his father, the president. his testimony about the now infamous trump tower meeting with russians before the election. the breaking news is next. our recent online sales success seems a little... strange?nk na. ever since we switched to fedex ground business has been great. they're affordable and fast... maybe "too affordable and fast." what if... "people" aren't buying these books online, but "they" are buying them to protect their secrets?!?! hi bill. if that is your real name. it's william actually. hmph! affordable, fast fedex ground.

we have a question about your brokerage fees. fees? what did you have in mind? i don't know. $4.95 per trade? uhhh and i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee? guarantee? where we can get our fees and commissions back if we're not happy. so can you offer me what schwab is offering? what's with all the questions? ask your broker if they're offering $4.95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee. if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,...

...isn't it time to let the real you shine through? maybe it's time for otezla (apremilast). otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,... ...with reduced redness,... ...thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has... ...no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased... ...risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have... ...a history of depression... ...or suicidal thoughts,... ...or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla... ...reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include upper... ...respiratory tract infection and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take... ...and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ask your dermatologist about otezla today. otezla. show more of you.

and i am a senior public safety my namspecialist for pg&e. my job is to help educate our first responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. i live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. once i moved here i didn't want to live anywhere else. i love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other people's lives. together, we're building a better california.

new details are emerging from donald trump jr.'s testimony on capitol hill about that june 2016 trump tower meeting where he was promised dirt on hillary clinton. his story about that meeting changed multiple times after the news broke. he said in a statement that it was about russian adoption, a statement that the president had a hand in putting together and a statement that was proven to be misleading and incomplete at best. trump junior testified about the statement before a house committee today and manu raju joins us now with the latest. let's talk about this testimony. in the last hour, i was talking to congressman swalwell. i understand that donald trump jr. evoked attorney/client privilege when asked about conversations with his father. >> yeah, that's right. that was earlier this year after the initial reports came out about the trump tower meeting from june of 2016.