i'm wolf blitzer and it's 1:00 here in washington. thanks for joining us. franken out. the minnesota democrat resigning from the u.s. senate and denying allegations of harassment and taking shots at the same time at the president. junior refusing to answer questions about his father and the reason is called bogus by lawmakers and legal experts. as the world condemns the president's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital, they have violent

outbursts and warn more to come. al franken stepping down under a lot of pressure. more than half of all of his democratic colleagues called on him to resign over sexual harassment and he woranswered t calls. >> serving in the u.s. senate has been the great honor of my life. i know in my heart that nothing i have done as a senator, nothing has brought this honor on this institution. and i am confident that the ethics committee would agree. nevertheless today i am announcing that in the coming weeks, i will be resigning as a member of the u.s. senate. i of all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving while a man

who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. >> cnn national politics reporter mj lee is on capitol hill. what is the reaction to senator franken's decision? >> this was a defiant speech from senator franken. he said he was resigning, but he made it clear he regrets having been put in this position and now that he has to leave office. one of the most remarkable moments was when he addressed the women who made allegations of sexual harassment, he went as far as to say some of the allegations were not actually true. take a listen to what he said about the women and the

allegations that were levelled against him in the last couple of weeks. >> over the last few weeks, a number of women have come forward to talk about how they felt my actions had affected them. i was shocked. i was upset. but in responding to their claims, i wanted to be respectful of the broader conversation. because all women deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously. i think that was the right thing to do. i also think it gave people the false impression that i was admitting things to doing things that in fact i haven't done. some of the allegations against me are simply not true. others are remember very differently.

>> should i note that he did not apologize to either one or any of the women who made allegations against him in recent weeks. more than half a dozen women came out to say he behaved inappropriately over the years. one of those women told cnn a little while ago some days ago that senator franken touched her inappropriately in 2010 at the minnesota state fair. i got off the phone with her and she said she was disappointed watching the speech and felt like he was continuing to dismiss the allegations and felt sad to see him resign from a job she believes he is very passionate about and finally of course it has been a hard day for franken's colleagues in the senate who did not want to see this happened happen and would not have guessed this was a position he would find himself in. >> what's next for his senate seat and where do we go from

here? >> now that the resignation is official, we will see a domino effect in the state of minnesota. first the governor in the state will have to make an appointment to fill that vacancy. some of the names include congressman keith ellison, tim walls and another name thrown around a lot is the lieutenant governor tina smith who once served as the chief of staff. after that appointment is made in 2018, there will be another election to fill that seat that franken vacate and will be attempt rarely filled by somebody else. this means that republicans could make a play for the seat. some of the names thrown around on that front is former governor tim pawlenty and congresswoman michele bachmann who also ran for president for the time being. the governor is saying he will make a decision in the next couple of days and he has not made that decision yet. wolf?

>> on capitol hill, thanks very much. senator franken is the second sitting senator to resign over ethics issues over the past two decades. the chief political analyst gloria borger. what did you think of the speech? >> i think he was angry and trying to hide it in a funny way. the undercurrent is i'm taking one for the team. because he didn't admit guilt in any way and didn't apologize. he talked about how it was an honor to serve, but he went out of his way to talk about the irony in the fact that while he had to go without mentioning names, donald trump was still in the oval office and roy moore was supported by the republican party. without mentioning names. there was an undercurrent of i'm

the sacrificial which in many ways, he is. >> i agree. he seemed to grieve and a bit defiant and he changed course from what was more controigz these many, many stories that are similar of him grabbing women's buttocks. he said i'm a warm person and i'm a hugger. that was the last straw for the women who contemplated what to do with this scandal and that continued to be asked what should happen toen senator franken. he's a good senator and tough for the party to get rid of him. this is conduct that cannot be defended. they are going to the fair and

start picking people? it's a difficult process, but he changed channels and decided i'm not going to drown in shame. i'm going to leave and let them have it on the way out. >> were you surprised how quickly it developed? almost all of the women senators saying he wruft go and the male colleagues said he must go as well. >> there have been conversations going on among the women in the senate and i think as the stories kept coming, there was sort of a point where they said this can't go. perhaps they should have done it sooner. if you want to occupy the moral high ground, it shouldn't take three weeks to get there. this is also a political decision about putting the republicans on the defensive here about roy moore.

what was stunning to me is somebody who when the big debate is would you be able to wear panneds on the senate floor. the women had the power and the authority. there is no stopping this as it unfolded. >> ari fleischer had an interesting tweet he just posted. i will read it. franken should not have resigned. his fate should have been left to the people of minnesota. moore who had sexual contact with a 14-year-old should dropout. conyers should have resigned. franken is a creep who acted inappropriately, but his facts are different. >> as a new landscape he likely did take one for the people, but his conduct is being judged as inappropriate and unacceptable. he made the case that it was the

people of minnesota that he could no longer properly serve and he was saying it is up to minnesota and not the democratic party and my colleagues in the chamber. i see that i can no longer serve them. >> there is more to discuss, but donald trump jr.'s refusal to discuss about his father after reports about the infamous trump tower meeting back in june of 2016. adam schiff is the cop democrat and he said donald trump jr. cited attorney-client privilege. >> here invoked the privilege and we made it clear at least on our side of the aisle we didn't think it was a recognizable privilege. he then said they would go back and discuss it further with their lawyers and get back to

us. the question is if they say we are not going to answer the questions, we will be required to subpoena donald trump jr. back before the committee. >> let's bring in jessica who has been following this for us. what's the reaction to the claim of attorney client privilege? >> quite simply, the democrats are saying it doesn't stand on firm legal footing. in particular, top democrat adam schiff said you can't shield the conversations because an attorney is present. it is designed to protect communications exclusively between the attorney and the client. that was the privilege that donald trump jr. invoked on wednesday. he would not tell congressional investigators what he and his father, president trump discussed last summer after reports surfaced about the meeting at trump tower with the russian lawyer. trump jr. did say he spoke with current white house communications director hope hicks about how to respond to

the reports. jump junior said the president was debating whether to release a longer or shorter statement while on board air force one with hope hicks. it gave a misleading impression with the meeting saying it was about adoptions, but a later statement acknowledged that he was promised dirt on hill rae clinton. the president's lawyers deny he was involved in any way in drafting that initial statement. >> let me say this. the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. >> after that statement, the white house acknowledged that the president offered suggestions. sarah sanders described it as something any father would do. that june 2016 meeting is a big investigative focal point for

congress and the special counsel. >> let's get more perspective on donald trump jr.'s pardon me before the house intelligence and a key member. she is joining us from capitol hill. i assume you were there for the seven or hours of the questioning. >> i sure was, yes. >> what's your reaction to him invoking the attorney client privilege to avoid answering anything about his conversation with his father? >> i think that it was a hail mary pass. i think they have succeeded for the moment, but it doesn't hold water. as you pointed out, it is a privilege that exists between the client and the attorney, not between the father and the son. it's a critical question that needs to be answered about what

the conversation was about almost a year after the actual meeting took place. i do believe that the had the has been not forth coming. he said one thing and then another with and he weighed in on the statement and how it was framed. >> what if he excited executive privilege instead of attorney-client privilege. would he have been on better ground? >> the executive privilege can only be invoked by the executive. it can't be invoked by the executive's son. this is also about conduct that took place before he was president and the meeting or the conversation that took place after he was president is one that arguably he might be able to assert privilege, but he did not.

i don't believe that donald jr. can invoke it. >> he said he spoke with hope hicks about responding to the reports on the trump tower meeting. she's she is the communications director. does this put her in a vulnerable position? >> i do believe she has been called by the special counsel and said the public reports we heard. she has a very privileged position working with the president and probably privy to many conversations most people are not. it will be interesting to find out to what extend her testimony would suggest there is obstruction of justice. >> what questions do you want him to respond to that he didn't answer in the seven or eight hours of questioning? >> there is certainly a lack of clarity on many issues because he either didn't recall or did

not know. it was surprising to me as an executive vice president or senior vice president in the trump organization, he was unaware of the relationships that the trump organization had as a company with many russians in business ak sifts. part of what we are looking at is how did ushia infiltrate so much of what was going on? whether it was the election system or the campaign process or whether it was creating a relationship with a potential president that allows them to have undo influence. >> the ranking member and democratic congressman said he is seeing pieces of the puzzle fall into place as what is termed as possible collusion or

obstruction of justice. do you see the dots being connected? >> think the obstruction of justice case is that will be made by the special counsel, bob mueller. in terms of whether there was coordination, it looks like there was conversations and other conversation that took place between wikileaks and the campaign. wikileaks became the vehicle through which the russians were trying to influence the campaign, i believe. >> releasing the e-mails that had been hacked. let's switch gears while i have you. al franken is resigning over the sexual ha ragsment. >> it's a sad day because he was doing an outstanding job in the

senate, but unfortunately his conduck before the senate was not appropriate. we have got to stand up for the principal for the women who work here. >> he took a couple of swipes at president trump as well as roy moore, the republican candidate fors en ead in alabama. listen to this. >> i of all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving while a man who bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office. and a man who prayed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. >> are democrats trying to seize

the moral high ground with the development. >> if the president if running for office this year would not get a lexed. the issue hit a peak in terms of recognition that this is our moment. as women throughout the country protect women in the workplace. we are not going to let this moment pass. >> the senate will have to take this up and i'm not sure he will be. expulsion has to be considered. that person has lied over and over again. he clearly has indicated that he engaged with young women when he was much older and they were underage. i suggest that that needs to be investigated. >> you suggest franken did the

right thing by resigning? >> it was a very hard decision for him, but he did it really on behalf of the institution. he recognized that it would be difficult for him to continue to serve. he did do the right thing. >> congresswoman jackie spear, thank you very much for joining us. >> the white house answering questions on all of this and a lot more. we are standing by for the press briefing with sarah sanders. we will have live coverage of that. the pe declares jerusalem the capital of israel and christian and muslim holy sites are in danger. breaking now the fbi director rebuking president trump's harsh attacks on the agency and commenting on interference in the robert mueller special counsel investigation.

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>> in the fourth hour, you are looking at live pictures. the new head of the fbi, christopher wray is defending his agency. he was questioned about an insulting tweet saying the fbi's reputation was in tatters and the worst in he was. he was rering to a bias from a top official. wray responded completely unphased. >> there is no shortage of opinions out there. what i can tell you is that the fbi i see is tens of thousands of agents and analysts and taf working their tails off to keep america safe. the fbi i see is respected and

appreciated by our papers in federal, state, and local law enforcement and the intelligence community, by our foreign counterparts and law enforcement and national security and something like 200 countries around the globe. >> let's bring back the panel. he has been on the job for four months. how do you think he did in responding? >> very well and defended the fbi as he should. he made it clear while there are lots of opinions, what he sees are people who are dedicated to keeping this country safe. i think he spoke very clearly and strongly without mentioning the president. >> why is he slamming the fbi as we heard in the tweet and the

intelligence community as well. why does he do that? >> he did it before he was even president. i think in his mind this is connected to russia. he wants to say they were wrong and go back to the criticisms that predate his service. all roads lead back to intill jens into what russia did in the campaign and he takes it personally and it makes him defensive and he attacks. it's remarkable that attorney general sessions stood silent as the director of that department, the top cop in the country while the president attacks the fbi. it's pretty amazing. >> it certainly is. thanks so much. there is a lot going on. how will the white house react to senator al franken calling

out president trump during his resignation speech on the senate floor. we will go there live. the briefing is getting ready to begin. an ominous warning saying safetyisafety i at christian and holy site after president trump's announcement to move the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem.

>> we backlash throughout much of the mideast with president trump's dramatic decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. crowds of protesters are throwing huge clouds of smoke as hamas calls for an uprising and the leaders of palestine saying

they are ready for a new arms struggle. the hezbollah letter is slamming president trump saying it puts holy places and especially the mosque in jerusalem in danger. they are updating the worldwide caution and the areas are of particular importance given the unrest in the region. let's go to the correspondent where the protests have turned violent early in the day and joining us are military diplomatic analysts who served as the pent gon press secretary as well. lead hers have called for days of rage. tell the viewers what has been going on during the course of about 8:30 a.m. your time. >> reporter: wolf, about eight hours ago, we had protesters gather in the square behind me

in ramallah. they protest and started going in that direction towards an israeli check point. we saw the fiercest clashes today. thousands of palestinians kwaring off with the israeli military. throwing rocks and they it cling shots and lighting tires on fire. that pitch battle went on for hours and hours. the ebb and flow as the protesters kept moving forward and israelis would unleash a cloud pushing everyone back. we saw ambulance after ambulance taking people who were injured and people who had been shot with rubber bullets and arms and people hit in the head. this is really that anger and frustration that arab leaders

and a lot of world leaders were warning about when president trump made that announcement of jerusalem as the capital of israel. when you talk to protesters, they said they are angry at trump and israel, but they are frustrated with their own leaders because they don't feel there is any path forward. that's what we are seeing. we are seeing the street speak the loudest. >> i want to bring in john kirby. some white house officials are acknowledging they expected at least on a temporary basis this kind of set back to the peace process. where does the administration go from here? >> it will set back any effective peace process. it may not be repairable. they realized it wasn't going far so the president made a calculation to fulfill the campaign promise. he set back the hopes of getting

the process on track. he put another nail in the coffin of u.s. credibility overseas. no matter what chance they have going forward, the united states is not going to be seen as a credible reliable arbitor of this process going forward. >> a lot of people are worried and a lot of other folks, tomorrow, friday being a holy day for muslims and there is a lot of anticipation and more violence. what are you hearing and what do you an 'tis bait? >> you i think up a good point. this is not a day you typically have protests and violence in the area. from time to time we have protests, but this was large scale. friday is a day in the arab world where people air grave oo oonsances after friday prayer.

we are expecting more. this was not just here, but protests in bethlehem. we are expecting large protests all over the west bank as people really go out and air their grievances and frustrations. we know the embassy warned them to stay away from large gatherings. a lot of tense situations, but we are in uncharlted waters and no one knows how it's going to end and what's going to happen. >> be careful over there on the west bank. john kirby is here in washington. there is other news we are following including the dramatic statement from al franken. taking parting shots at both president trump and roy moore during his resignation speech.

you are looking at live pictures from the white house briefing room. we expect sarah sanders to start answering reporters's questions. plus, take two. chuck schumer and nancy pelosi issuing a threat to the president this afternoon at the white house. we have new information and we will update you when we come back. ♪when you've got...♪ ♪...nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ here's pepto bismol! ah. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ (avo) but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c,

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may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. ask your doctor about victoza®. before i hadburning,oting, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet... grew into a free-wheeling kid... loved every step of fatherhood... and made old cars good as new. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved >> let's go to the white house as sarah sanders is beginning her press briefing. >> as we remember the date that will live in infamy when we were attacked at pearl harbor.

as the president said in a stirring release, we remember the lives that were lost, the families torn from loved ones and the heroes who rose to america's defense. the president will meet with members who served at pearl harbor later today as you all know. as you are aware the president will meet with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss the need to fund the government, particularly our military and the department of veterans affairs. the president and the republicans in the house and senate are eager to pass a bill fully funding the federal government and the military. with the threats we are facing, our national security should not be held hostage for inresponsible demands. with christmas season in full swing, i want to shine a spotlight on generosity that shows with the american spirit. today i would like to start with a story of st. matthews

episcope pis episcopal church. it starts with a young girl tragically died around the christmas season and her family donated money to the church and asked that the money be used for children at christmas. this act of kindness would bless countless children for the next century. st. matthews continues helping children and families and they do it anonymously, but word spread through social media this year. numerous families will come to pay the bill for families that put things on layaway. the kindness goes unnoticed and that's that is okay. they were not looking for credit and neither are so many others, but the stories are important because they remind us what the season is all about. that's the greatest gift of all. that a savior was born. hopefully we can take time out of our busy schedules to enjoy the christmas season or however you may celebrate. with that i will take your

questions. >> i want to ask you about the possible government shut down and the optimism that the president might have that he can avert a shut down and ask you about the california fires and the latest that the white house has on that. >> sure. in terms of the government shut down, we expect a clean cr to pass with democrat support. we hope that will happen. funding the government, particularly our military and veterans affairs are always important, but particularly now with so many threats that we face globally. this is an certainty priority for the administration and we hope that is something that will be discuss and agreed to later today. >> and the fires? >> was there a specific question? >> is the white house in coordination with the folks out in california in battling that wildfire. is there more money to be made available especially for the areas near los angeles which are under siege? >> absolutely.

the administration is staying in regular contact with both fema and folks at the white house are speaking to state and local authorities and making sure that we are ready and able to help when needed and when requested by the authorities. jennifer? >> why john bolton was here at the white house here today and also on taxes, we are confused on why the white house would support a 22% corporate tax rate. you had them saying it would be okay and wouldn't undermine the economy and a few hours later they said something about it needs to be 20. >> our focus is on getting the lowest corporate rate possible. 15 is better than 20. 20 is better than 22 and 22 is better than what we have. we will continue to push, but we are not going to negotiate that from the podium and we are committed to getting the lowest corporate rate we can. we have a friend of the president and somebody who he wanted to visit with.

nothing more than that. nothing more than a check in and a friendly visit. john? >> sarah, donald trump jr. refused to talk about his conversations with the president citing attorney-client privilege. would the president release him from any such privilege or allow him to speak to the committee. >> that's a question you would have to ask his attorneys. his lawyers had a legitimate reason for not answering the questions, but i would direct you to his attorneys. >> but can you attorney how it can be attorney-client privilege when neither donald trump jr. or president trump are attorneys? >> that's something you would have to talk with don jr.'s attorneys with. i can't comment from here. >> senator franken announcing has resignation said he is aware that there is irony in the fact that i'm leaving while a man who bragged on tape with his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office and a man who preys

on young girl campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. >> the president addressed the comments back during the campaign. we feel strongly that the people of this country also addressed that when they elected donald trump to be president and i addressed it several times from here and don't have anything new to add. >> the differences in the way the two pearties are handling te accusations of sexual miscond t misconduct. >> some of that would be left to the party leadership. i'm not sure if there is a question in there on the differences. >> have any of the counterparts from around the world contacted the president and the white house to indicate they too will follow the president's lead in moving their embassy from tel aviv to rerujerusalem? >> i'm not aware of any country's commitment to follow.

>> do you expect that to happen that others will follow the president's lead? >> i'm not aware of any countries that wean 'tis pate that happening. i'm not saying they aren't, but i'm not air wear. >> last week the president said the u.s. would impose sanctions on north korea. do you have an update on where that stands? >> we expect the department of pressure tow put out more details by the end of the week and we will keep you posted on that. jennifer? >> what is the president's reaction to u.s. allies in europe notably the united kingdom to express opposition to his action and recognizing jerusalem and does the fact that he kept his promise give him more credibility when negotiating in the mideast? >> certainly. i think one of the abilities to follow-through on something you committed to as the president has done and let's not forget this was something that congress

voted on starting back in 1995 and his reaffirmed 10 separate times over the last 20 years. this was something that the president took action on and very courageuous and bold action and something that the members of the united states congress voeed on many times before. >> yesterday you put out a statement under the president's name saying he was directing other fiduciary officials to reach out to saudi arabia and urged them to immediately allow the flow of humanitarian supplies to yemen. why isn't the president himself working the phones and are there consequences for saudi arabia if they don't immediately allow this flow of goods? >> my understanding is the president did bring these up on previous conversations and that i believe there are actions that are taking place for a port to open and we will keep you posted as the details welcome available.

>> any consequence fist they don don't do this? >> we will keep you posted. >> when the president became aware that michael flynn lied to the fbi, you referred her to john dowd and john dowd is not engaging. that's not a legal matter for the attorney to say. can you tell us when the payment became aware of that. >> the attorneys feel differently and feel it should be answered by them and i will encourage them to respond to you. i will refer you back to john dowd. >> it's not about something of what the president knew and when he knew it. >> i will listen to the attorneys and john dowd will hopefully follow-up with you. i'm going to keep bouncing because i'm tight on time. >> it's simple. they said it's an open question whether the united states will participate in the winter olympics. is that now in doubt?

>> that was not exactly what the inbass dor said. no official decision has been made and we will keep you posted as the decisions are made. look, i know that the goal is to do so, but that will be a decision made closer to time. i think that's an inner agency process and ultimately the president would weigh in, but again that's something he would take into account with a number of the stakeholders being involved. if we felt there was an issue, that would come up. >> for the government funding questions, does he want s-chip authorized? >> i haven't had that conversation with him, okay. bipartisan leadership is coming up much different atmosphere than last meeting where he tweeted didn't think the deal was possible because of illegal immigrants. i'm wondering has the president changed his mind about that? and also specifically what was

he referring to since the government shut down and i.c.e. border control are affected? >> the president is still very much committed to a strong border and border wall and i imagine that's discussed some time today. >> deal reached? >> we hope a deal can be reached. and hope they can put differences a side and do it. >> praised the fbi the finest force in the world. the president said it's in tatters and worst place in history. can you explain the discrepancy? >> we don't believe there is a discrepancy. we agree with them that they are respected. the president is under the political leaders under comey, particularly those who play politics with the hillary clinton email probe and we don't see a discrepancy beyond that. >> i'm going to hop around.

>> undermine the fbi and says it's in tatters. do you feel that could create ramifications that people won't trust law enforcement, that people will say why should we interact with fbi when it's in tatters? >> no, and the president is referring to political leaders particularly those involved in the hillary clinton probe. >> two quick ones about government shut down. chuck schumer on the senate floor of the president party controls the house, senate, hand speaks of republicans and shut down would fall on his shoulders. how is that not ha accurate reflection of the political realities that republicans control washington at this point? >> look, they may control washington, but this still takes some democrats to be engaged in the process. and we hope frankly that democrats will play by the shum te schumer rule and not hold this hostage and come to the table and help fund our defense department and military and veterans affairs.

john? >> can you say though doca will have to potentially brought up. is white house daca fix with government spending? and if so when that would that be the zmcase? >> the president said with daca he wants to make sure we have reform, including a border wall that we laid out in the priorities and that would be something have to be part of that discussion. john? >> thank you, sarah. from that podium, secretary mnuchin and gary cohn both assured us that when a final tax reform bill is passed, the alternate minimum tax would disappear immediately. now of course resecent statemen by the president as the conference about to begin indicate it might not completely disappear. and not immediately, certainly. is the administration still committed to ending the amt right away? >> look, i don't think our position has changed on that

front at all. but at the same time, look, they were just named. we want to let it run through the process. we are committed to those and making sure the bill and final peels of legislation delivers on that. >> a lot of attention on sexual misconduct and harassment by members of congress. is the president confident that congress and its leaders can police and investigate themselves on this issue? >> i think that we have no reason at this point to see otherwise. and hopefully that process will move forward. >> i want one question to verify something you said from the podium on taxes. you said i think to matt on tuesday as long as taxes under audit he won't release them. 2016 taxes to our knowledge are not under audit. can you answer that? >> my understanding, and i'll double-check, but the president's taxes no matter who the president is immediately go under audit after being filed. so that's actually accurate.

but i'll double-check to be sure. >> reckoning when it comes to sexual harassment. so in a broad 30,000 foot way, does the president believe that he has a credible role in leading this conversation? and can you speak to the specific steps this white house is taking to make sure the women who work here feel they are in a comfortable environment to talk about these things? >> i think the president tweets certainly as a woman myself i've never felt anything but treated with the highest level of respect and been in power to do my job. and i think that's what i've seen the president do day in and day out since we've been here and during the campaign. so i think that's a pretty good start and pretty good example on that front. >> a lot of places are having seminars. are you doing that here? are you talking about in recent days what people in this work environment can do? >> there is certainly white house policies that we are reminded of. and i think all of us expect

each person to live up and to meet those policies and to not cross a line that is not only not legal, but not appropriate or not ethical. >> follow up. we have seen democrats forcibly call for al franken resignation which happened today. do republicans and does this president risk losing their moral authority on this issue, which is a huge issue right now, by endorsing a candidate like roy moore which has now been backed by the rnc as well? >> we've addressed this in-depth. i think the allegations are troubling and this is something the people of alabama should decide. >> drop out of the race? >> sarah, is the president failing to lead? >> i'm going to move around. >> just a quick follow up. >> was the proclamation on jerusalem delayed because of concerns expressed by the secretary of defense and state

about security that they wanted to get adequate security in place for u.s. embassies around the world? >> we wanted to make sure we had a thoughtful process and the decision and the components of that decision went through the full interagency process. once that was completed the president moved forward and took action. >> the palestinians under the understanding that the president pulled out based on jerusalem decision. how do you correct that? or did he do that? >> no. in fact, in the president's remarks he said that we are as committed to the peace process as ever. and we want to continue to push forward in those conversations and those discussions. and hopefully the ultimate goal, i think of all those parties is to reach a peace deal and that's something that the united states is very much committed to. we'll take one more. david? >> sarah, thank you. given the recent revelations that at least one prosecutor on robert mueller's team was

sending anti-texts to the doj lawyer and another one congratulating sally yates to uphold the president's travel ban, chairman at the hearing this morning said even the in appearance of in propriety would devastate the fbi. so does the white house believe that the mueller probe was bias from the beginning? >> look, we are fully cooperating through this process. we will continue to do so. as i said a few moments ago, we certainly felt like some of the political leadership at the fbi was problematic. we are glad that director ray is there. we feel he's going to clean up some of the messes left behind by his predecessor. and we look forward to this concluding soon and saying what we've said all along nothing to see and certainly no collusion. the president has an event in a couple minutes. just a couple of last minute notes. the president has an event here

with members of the pearl harbor survivors and also have a spray at the top of the congressional meeting this afternoon at 3:00. we'll see you shortly. >> all right. sarah sanders, white house press secretary wrapping up nearly 20 minute rules. let's see what else she sas. >> there were a lot of questions on that. frankly pretty ridiculous questions. the president's throat was dry nothing more than that. he does have a physical scheduled for next year. the full physical that president's will go through and take place at walter read and released by the doctor following that taking place. thanks very much. >> the final question on gloria borger stumbling on some words on 11 minute speech on jerusalem yesterday. >> yeah, seemed to be slurring his words and all kind of

conjecture, was it dentures, and she sads he needed water. >> we don't know sure he has dentures. >> we have no idea. >> it did cause some interest. anything jump out at you? >> yeah, whether they worry there is a plan in the white house to try to over throw robert mueller as special counsel, you have to listen to the comments she made about the political fbi that includes bob mule tear and mccabe and comey at the time but still making clear they have issues with the fbi. >> we'll have a lot more on this. but the press secretary saying she doesn't see a discrepancy in what christopher ray said praising the fbi and the president tweeting yesterday the fbi is in tatters. let's continue the coverage. our brooke baldwin is joining us now. brooke? this is cnn breaking news. wolf blitzer thanks my friend. good to be back in the