♪ ♪ welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is cnn's special coverage. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. there are major developments on several fronts in the ukraine scandal this saturday evening, but most importantly we are also on the verge of an historic turning point. many house democrats have their way donald trump will become only the third u.s. president to be impeached. they're pushing for a full house vote by thanksgiving just two months from now. a majority of house members now back the impeachment inquiry formally launched this week by

house speaker nancy pelosi. if the house does vote to impeach this would put this president in the category shared only by andrew johnson and bill clinton. richard nixon resigned before the full house could vote on impeachment back in 1974. just 15 days ago the nation learned of a whistle-blower's c complaint. that nine-page memo now has the potential to threat then presidency in the 448-page mueller report did not. we're learning this weekend who urged the white house to let the public see the transcript of that phone call between president trump and the president of ukraine, and a source now telling cnn that urging came from the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. why would he do that when the political impact is potentially so damaging. also, white house officials tried to keep details of the president's calls with otherd l. calls with the crown prince of

saudi arabia and russia's vladimir putin and at least one member of the trump administration has quit his job over the whistle-blower report. the special u.s. envoy to ukraine, kurt volker resigned on friday, the day after the complaint was released and all of that coming up and first let's go to the white house. jeremy diamond is on the scene for us. i just mentioned volker who is now out of a job and there are also reports that someone else very close to the president also perhaps with an uncertain future. what are you learning? who's that? >> that's right, wolf. tonight multiple sources are telling us that the acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney is on shaky ground with the president. the president is directing much of his ire at his chief of staff and other white house aides are pointing the finger at mick mulvaney and it is not because of the releasing of the phone call between the president and the president of ukraine and rather it's because of a lack of

a strategy these sources are telling us to deal with the fallout of that whistle-blower complaint and to handle the quick speed at which we have watched house democrats move toward impeachment. now tonight the white house press secretary stephanie grisham is pushing back on this report. she says the story is manufactured, palace intrigue and she's denying the need for any kind of a quick response from this white house to this impeachment inquiry, but what we do know is that the president is very much taking this messaging operation into his own hands. we have already seen him in recent days go after this whistle-blower and go after democrats who are moving very quickly to carry out this impeachment inquiry, wolf. the president tonight continuing to call this issue a witch hunt and again, going after that whistle-blower whose identity he still says he doesn't know. >> jeremy, thank you. former hud secretary julian castro. mr. secretary, thanks so much for being with us.

>> great to be with you, wolf. >> all right. let's talk about the developments that are unfolding very rapidly. as you heard the now former u.s. special envoy to ukraine kurt volker who resigned yesterday will now appear before congressional committees as early as this coming thursday. what does that tell you that he decided to resign? >> look, what it tells me is that this story has a lot of legs. what happened here has a lot of people involved and a lot of people who have pieces of the story to tell and i'm glad he'll be testifying before congressional committees and i'm glad there's been a subpoena sent to different parts of the federal government, including, i believe to the -- to mike pompeo. that's going to continue, wolf. it is amazing what is emerging in terms of the scope of what

happened between donald trump and the ukraine and the way he's been trying to get a country like ukraine to do the dirty work and rudy giuliani, someone who doesn't have security clearance that is doing that kind of work, and this rogue operation as the new york times has said to set up a shadow government, shadow dealings with ukraine. there's a lot here. >> what questions, do you believe, this now special u.s. special envoy to ukraine, kurt volker needs to answer when he appears before congress this coming week. >> he needs to answer what he knows about what's already out there and what's in the whistle-blower's complaint and any information that he has about these dealings between trump and president zelensky and rudy giuliani's role in this, any information that he has about other witnesses to what

looks like a cover-up, and i also, wolf, and this is important for us to want lose sight of, we need to get a hold of that server. i want that server in the hands of congress. the fact that the white house has been secreting away these kull summaries and/or transcripts on their own server that is different in terms of its classification from other servers and is a break of practice and national security officials have said is basically an abuse of practice. i want congress to get a hold of that server and see what's out there because it wouldn't surprise me that this is a president that would -- >> it wouldn't surprise me at all on. >> you're talking about that very, very top-secret server that was put to be that rough transcript between the president and the ukrainian leader and that server? >> what is the dlarn may have

distorted. is it what i'm hearing? >> that's right. they were trying to secret it away for a reason. i want to know are there transcripts of calls out there where donald trump was doing the same thing with other foreign governments trying to get them to do political dirty work and/or trying to prop up his own business interest. if he owns propers, hotels, other properties and golf courses in these foreign countries and is he having a conversation with these foreign leaders where he's trying to get a business advantage using his office which would clearly be an abuse of power. i don't think that's out of the realm of possibility at all and i think that's the way donald trump operates and congress needs to get a hold of the server immediately? "the washington post" told reporters that president trump that he was unconcerned about russia's election interference in 2016, robert mueller, the special counsel, he obviously never learned of that detail.

does that show possible obstruction by the white house in refusing to make that information available? clearly, they didn't want the president to answer oral questions from mueller. >> it absolutely does because people knew about that including, perhaps, the president and so it also shows, wolf, just in terms of the journalism here that the people who are talking now at this story are at a much higher level than before and that's critical because what it means is that for the first time we're getting some real insight, valuable insight into what really is happening in the trump administration, that they've disregarded these laws and an abuse of power by the president and finally some people are willing to come forward, the whistle-blower and others who are tellinging their facts to

the -- this will lead to a robust impeachment inquiry and if it will lead to impeachment, it would leave for for to remove, and you need a house of representatives to -- and the rough draft between the president and the ukrainian leader showed that the president was clearly intent on ukraine investigating the bidens and there was no evidence of wrongdoing by joe biden or hunter biden. we've seen you personally take on joe biden, one of your rivals in the 2020 contest. will biden, do you believe suffer, as a results of all of this? >> i hope that this is not's reason that people look differently on joe biden. i have a lot of respect for joe biden and i've disagreed with joe biden on the debate stage with immigration and most

recently on health issues and i don't believe for a second that joe biden and his family are anything except honorable and honest and i believe that they are. what's happening here is that donald trump is trying to use the same playbook against joe biden that he used against hillary clinton in 2016, someone who was given a lifetime of honorable service and to muddy their reputation with false accusations and get enough voters out there, just enough to not vote for them so that trump can win a near row electoral victory in 2020 the way he did in 2016. the american people should not fall for that. there are different reasons that people should support me or another candidate or joe biden, but i don't think that this should be the reason that people do or don't support joe biden. >> there's been a great fear that among the decthe democrati that heading into the 2020

contest could actually backfire on election day. could this effort help president trump when all is said and done? >> i don't think so because people can hesee with their own eyes and hear with their own ears. support with moving forward for impeachment is rising among both democrats and republicans because people are going to believe the evidence in front of them instead of the lies that donald trump is materieling ates is a little bit like the boy that cried wolf. trump has cried fake news, lies over and over and over and he's been the one telling over 12,000 lies since he took office. why should people believe him anymore when they have in black and white that summary of the transcript and they'll have other evidence in front of him and i don't care where whether you're a republican or democrat

democrat. go get arth republican for president that will be honest and has some integrity. you don't need this guy. >> julian castro, thank you for joining us. good luck there out on the campaign trail. >> thanks a lot, wolf. so what are the legal implaycations for the president and his inner circle as they face the spotlight of this impeachment inquiry. we'll discuss that and a lot more as our special coverage continues right after this. woman: what gives me confidence about investment decisions? rigorous fundamental research. with portfolio managers focused on the long term. who look beyond the spreadsheets to understand companies, from breakroom to boardroom. who know the only way to get a 360 view is to go around the world to get it. can i rely on deep research to help make quality investment decisions? with capital group, i can. talk to your advisor or consultant for investment risks and information. talk to your advisor or consultant you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia -

a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can disrupt your life for weeks. in severe cases, pneumococcal pneumonia can put you in the hospital. it can hit quickly, without warning, making you miss out on what matters most. just one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia. it's not a yearly shot. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. don't get prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, less appetite, vomiting, fever, chills, and rash. ask about prevention. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13®.

they give us excellent customer otservice, every time.e. our 18 year old was in an accident. usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. all i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. if i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates, and better service. we're the gomez family... we're the rivera family... we're the kirby family, and we are usaa members for life. get your auto insurance quote today. and i don't add trup the years.s. but what i do count on... is boost® delicious boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. boost® high protein. be up for life. "have you lost weight?" of course i have-

ever since i started renting from national. because national lets me lose the wait at the counter... ...and choose any car in the aisle. and i don't wait when i return, thanks to drop & go. at national, i can lose the wait...and keep it off. looking good, patrick. i know. (vo) go national. go like a pro. t-mobile's newest signal reaches farther than ever before. with more engineers. more towers. more coverage! it's a network that gives you ♪freedom from big cities, to small towns, we're with you. because life can take you almost anywhere, t-mobile is with you. no signal goes farther or is more reliable in keeping you connected.

welcome back to our special coverage. new details have emerged about the extraordinary steps the trump administration took to restrict access to various calls with world leaders. joining us now to discuss our chief political correspondent dana bash is here. our legal analyst laura coates and editor-at-large chris cillizza. let's first talk about mick mulvaney. we've been doing some reporting on this. there is some concern.

some officials at the white house think he didn't act appropriately with the fallout from this. >> this is the reporting that pamela brown and i are getting about mick mulvaney. just to be clear we're not hearing that the president is mad at him because they released the transcripts and the complaint because the president and i've been told all week was convinced that the calls he wasswas getting saying you need to do this, it was prepared to go with the attack beyond what the president did on twitter and elsewhere, but not just message wise, but actually figure out how to rebutt or manage the fallout. so what we are told is that he's on shaky ground and that has -- that came to fruition yesterday. there was a meeting to talk about strategy and apparently it didn't go so well. there are people in the white house who say that they do have ideas. it's getting blocked by mulvaney. we're not hearing that he's on

the outs any time soon, that he's actually going to get fired for lots of reasons and the most important is that there's enough right now. having said that, that never stopped president trump. >> just quickly on dana and pam's great reporting. donald trump turns on everyone at some point. this has been true throughout his life. mick mulvaney was the golden child for some time and it's like a time line. when you take kids out to dinner you have 20 minutes before they start walking around. that's like donald trump, he gets sick of people. we've all been there. >> that was my evening. >> okay, fine. >> and the other thing is he scapegoats people. the truth is, yes, donald trump was under pressure as dana released the ukraine transcript, but my gosh, in retrospect, that's what makes this fundamentally different than the mueller report and it was extended over years so it's hard to pin down, but so much of it was somewhat subjective.

jim comey says that donald trump asked him to see his way past continuing to prosecute michael flinn. donald trump said that didn't happen and we don't have a tape or even a hard transcript on that. in this case we do and it would be hard for the white house to refute. a rough trance krscript, call it you want verbatim of that conversation, it's not actually true, and there's no dispute. i guess you can argue does it mean what you think it mean, but there's primary source documentation that makes it more dangerous. >> the concern is mick mulvaney, the acting white house chief of staff didn't have a game plan in acting with the fallout. >> literally has no basis in reality. >> what has no basis in reality. >> the notion that he's on shaking ground. >> let's talk a little bit about the time line here, laura.

the house democrats want to move quickly and they want to have a full vote on articles of impeachment by thanksgiving and that's less than two months from now, but as you know the white house will stonewall in terms of dealing with subpoenas and getting documents. can they do it? can they have a full vote by then? >> i think they will try to do so and the president will try to stonewall, but here's the difference before. they'll hopefully learn a lesson that the stonewalling is a delay tactic and if congress is prepared to go for it and that fast track system they have to bring the american people along with them as an eye going to the senate, but right now is the straw that broke the camel's back. this was an abuse of power. it wasn't about the idea and the semantics about trying to do the paper trail and who was more credible, james comey or somebody else? who should we believe. if it comes down to you've already had the fast track what the president giving you what he wants and an oral admission. remember, we're talking about

whether the president did something and the question is whether he admitted to doing is impeachable. it's more reasonable it can get that and having said so, we can't con fligflate. >> and he resigned yesterday was released and he'll be testifying before various house committees as early as this coming thursday and there's already a lot of speculation knowing what he knows about the connections with ukraine and rudy giuliani and the president, some are even suggesting he could be the john dean in this. >> he could. he could. i was communicating with somebody who knows him. he is the head of the mccain institute. he is like minded with john mccain on the region, particularly ukraine, meaning making sure that they have what they want, trying to help them navigate the politics of the region and the politics of russia and helping getting the

u.s. to help more and he comes at it from that perspective. having said that, he did, if you believe the text that rudy giuliani screenshotted and sent to me and practically every other reporter in this town, he did help giuliani make a connection, and what was he doing that for? why did he do that? did he do it kicking and screaming and you're exactly right. he will be fascinating to watch because he's someone that has a lot of experience in this town and he has a reputation to uphold separate from donald trump. >> to laura and dana's point. even in this, we will have volker in front of the house foreign affairs committee next week. i mean, the mueller probe, that was stonewall, stonewall, stonewall. that's so different in of the piece and the other thing to talk about in regard to the time

line. impeachment remains and impeachment prior to the ukraine revelations were still 55 to 60% of the public opposed it even when 38, 39% approved of donald trump. that number will go up, but the question is do you do it if it gets pushed back into an election year, does it become perilous? we don't know yet. we'll have to see the ukraine story and that has changed at least how some people perceive it and that's the balancing that nancy pelosi will oppose because you want to score partisan points and you have liss and less people behind you. >> everybody stand by because there's a lot more we need to report on. there are increasingly new developments unfolding, and they call themselves, the bad asses,

the congresswomen changed the course of the inquiry. dana bash, what are these women saying now? stay with us. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from anyone else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase sensimist. nothing stronger. nothing gentler. nothing lasts longer. flonase sensimist. 24 hour non-drowsy allergy relief w...that keep us active every day.... like you, your cells get hungry. feed them...

...with centrum® multigummies. so you can be unstoppable. now improved! better tasting! feed your cells today. that's ensure max protein, with high protein and 1 gram sugar. it's a sit-up, banana! bend at the waist! i'm tryin'! keep it up. you'll get there. whoa-hoa-hoa! 30 grams of protein, and one gram of sugar. ensure max protein. man: can i find an investment firm that has a truly long-term view? it begins by being privately owned.

with more than 85 years of experience over multiple market cycles. with portfolio managers who are encouraged to do what's right over what's popular. focused on helping me achieve my investors' unique goals. can i find an investment firm that gets long term the way i do? with capital group, i can. talk to your advisor or consultant for investment risks and information. full of flavor. color. full of... woo! full of good. so you can be too. try our new warm grain bowls today. order now on grubhub.

juul record. try our new warm grain bowls today. they took $12.8 billion from big tobacco. juul marketed mango, mint, and menthol flavors, addicting kids to nicotine. five million kids now using e-cigarettes. the fda said juul ignored the law with misleading health claims. now juul is pushing prop c, to overturn

san francisco's e-cigarette protections. say no to juul, no to big tobacco, no to prop c. there's power in numbers, so when a group of moderate house freshmen decided as a group to announce they were moving from a hard no on an impeachment inquiry to a hard yes, it's no surprise they changed the dynamic for house democrats. joining us once again our chief political correspondent dana bash. she sat down with them earlier in the year. it was a hard no and all of a sudden a very dramatic and hard

yes. what changed their minds? >> that's right. we had to run back up to capitol hill as soon as it happened because it was so surprising, frankly. what changed their mind was that phone call that the president had with the ukrainian leader and that, as you said, changed the dynamic in the house and indeed the course of history. ♪ ♪ >> even before they were elected -- >> you have adopted the bad ass label. >> these freshmen congresswomen created their own group, the bad asses. >> we were out running, and bad asses came organically since we had all served in the military or in the cia. we have a lot in common. we all were working to flip seats, to be elected in places where voters may not typically vote for people like us or with our backgrounds. >> navy veterans mikey cheryl and elaine lauria, and air force

veteran hoolihan and alyssa slanberger. a band of sisters who are in the unfamiliar terrain of politics? being able to text folks and say i am really being hit up on this issue. how have you been handling it? i'm not sure how to translate my service into something that's relatable. how do you guys do that. >> translating their service is exactly what they did with their 180 on starting an impeachment inquiry, going from no to yes after hearing president trump admit he spoke to ukraine's leader about joe biden. others followed suit including the house speaker. the specter of having the sitting president of the united states, you know, use leverage over a foreign leader to get dirt on an opponent. like, that very basic idea, i think, cut for us as national security people just close to the bone on our democratic institutions. >> they penned an op ed along with two freshmen male veterans.

it was a great example of the power of team work and putting country above party. >> was it all for one and one for all? >> oh, absolutely. >> we came to that conclusion together and we text each other and i think we're all going, okay. i think this has all changed. this is a bright line. >> backing an impeachment inquiry is risky political business for these congresswomen. already some of the most vulnerable in the house, democrats who won in mostly trump territory. >> believe that if i am out there explaining what these allegations are and why they are so deeply concerning, that the people will understand why we had to take a stand. >> all of us in our prior lives all the time had to make hard calls for the reasons we thought were right when we knew that not everyone would understand or even know and that to me is something that i feel comfortable doing because i've always had to do it. >> even so, this is a group still trying to find their sea legs in politics. >> i'm supervising the nuclear

reactor, and are you a democrat or are you republican? it was new to jump into such a partisan environment. >> they represent swing districts and very different from another more female freshmen group, the squad. >> i'm just going to put it out there. the group of freshmen females that people know about is the squad. are you guys the anti-squad? >> what i tell people in my district that the left-wing of our party has created such momentum behind things like moving forward on our environment. >> none of us is ever going to get in a twitter war with anyone else. if we have a concern with someone we'll go right up and talk to them about it and we're not going to add unhelpful rhetoric to an already bad tone coming out of washington. i don't think any of us want to be the loudest voice in the room. i just one of the most effective. >> their previous service taught them to be fearless, which comes in handy now. >> there's not a vertical chain

of command structure. >> well, there is, but it sounds like you guys aren't following it. ? no been can fire us except the people that elected us. >> none of us came to congress from a district that wants us to sit here and be quiet and learn the ropes. they want us to engage and they want change and they want it now. >> these are really, dana, politically very courageous women right now because they represent districts, swing districts and potentially they're politically vulnerable. >> absolutely. they are politically vuler inable. abigail represents a district in virginia that hasn't been represented by a democrat in 50 years. already, wolf, they'll be followed by the republican running ads against them and putting out flyers and phoners and everything that you can possibly imagine to begin to try to chip away at their support because they had to win with people who also voted for donald

trump because they're almost all trump districts. >> they're so impressive. they all served either in the military or in the intelligence community. >> they've made hard choices before. >> they're pretty courageous just for doing that. >> thanks, wolf. as democrats press forward with the impeachment inquiry, they'll have to get past an obstacle they've hit in the past. why will this time be any different. will it be different? the house committee judiciary member will join us when we come back. that life of the party look

walk it off look one more mile look reply all look own your look... ...with fewer lines. there's only one botox® cosmetic. it's the only one... ...fda approved... ...to temporarily make frown lines... ...crow's feet... ...and forehead lines... ...look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic, may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. so, give that just saw a puppy look. and whatever that look is. look like you... with fewer lines. see results at botoxcosmetic.com it's my special friend, antonio.

his luxurious fur calms my nerves when i'm worried about moving into our new apartment. why don't we just ask geico for help with renters insurance? i didn't know geico helps with renters insurance. yeah, and we could save a bunch too. antonio! fetch computer! antonio? i'll get it. get to know geico and see how much you could save on renters insurance. i wanted more that's why i've got the power of 1 2 3 medicines with trelegy. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3. ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy. with trelegy and the power of 1 2 3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation for 24 hours of better breathing. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition

or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. think your copd medicine is doing enough? maybe you should think again. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy and the power of 1 2 3. ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 save at trelegy.com you wanna see something thatamazing?ing.

go to hilton instead of a travel site and you'll experience a whole new range of emotions like... the relaxing feeling of knowing you're getting the best price. these'll work. the utter delight of free wi-fi... . oh man this is the best part. isn't that you? yeah. and the magic power of unlocking your room with your phone. i can read minds too. really? book at hilton.com. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. expect better. expect hilton. if articles of impeachment against president trump are drawn up, the house judiciary committee would be the panel to vote on whether to send them to the full house of representatives. tennessee democratic congressman steve cohn is joining us now and sits on that committee. congressman, thanks so much for joining us. >> good to be with you, wolf. >> so what are the next steps for you and your colleagues on the judiciary committee before that potential, historic vote?

>> well, it's all kind of being played by ear, and right now intel's going to take the primary spot and during the break they'll be meeting and trying to get witnesses perform and very hearings and everything they can do and adam schiff is a great chairman and they hear classified material which some of this will be and that's important. when we come back certainly, if there are recommendations for impeachment through that article and/or others it will come to judiciary for final approval before it goes to the floor. how much control will be allowed or discretion as far as adding maybe obstruction of congress which is a blatant obstruction of congress by this administration and will probably continue to be through the intel hearing where that will be added or not, i don't know. >> do you think, congressman -- do you think there will be a full house vote on articles of impeachment by thanksgiving?

>> i think it's entirely possible, but i think they will stonewall and obstruct congress as they have done in the past, this administration. i think it will be hard to get the witnesses in and they will do all they can, they certainly do not want us to see the server and it was accurate and we need to see that server because it could very well contain information about trump telling putin things about the ukrainian situation or about financial deals or his discussions with him, b.s., and concerning things with khashoggi and who knows what. the fact that they have a server were so ironic since they were so joansed on hillary clinton's server and this is in the white house and it was only supposed to be in the classified material and the classified setting and none of this was classified with

the ukraine president. he was hello, congratulations and give me some dirt. >> speaking of witness e congressman, who are you most interested in seeing testify and why? ? well, obviously, you'd like the whistle-blower to come by and that would be important. next to that is volker who was highly respected and doesn't like what he was doing and i just heard through third parties that he would be an outstanding witness. >> he's going to be testifying this coming thursday. >> and foreign relations, i believe. foreign affairs and he'll be an outstanding witness and you don't know who else could surface. this could be, and people have said if this is a smoking gun and it could be an arsenal. there could be so much there with people falling off of the ship and saying finally, i've had enough of this. when our foreign policy is controlled by threats and illegal sub versions of our constitution of our policies to

try to get political dirt on an opponent, that's illegal and if trump didn't learn that from the mueller report, if he didn't learn it -- he went through a whole bunch of things coming up to this and no collusion. he knew what it was about whether he conspired and worked with the russians and it was illegal to take information from the russians. he shouldn't have solicited it, it looks bad. then you have george stephanopoulos saying don't do this. i would take foreign information again. he doesn't learn. he can't learn that is something that will lead america into great problems in the future and if the five women, i love that program, they stood up along with two men, cisneros and crowe, two fine other freshmen and wrote that op ed. they saw and based on their experience as military and cia, the danger it presented to our country. our national security was at risk and they stood up as every democrat should stand up and

every republican should stand up because it ought to be every american and there will come a time for republicans to come to reckoning with their office and what they are there for if it's securing their own position and reelection or if it's stasheding up for the reputation of our country. part of the tweet this morning and this from the president the level, do-nothing-democratic soofages, people like mad ler schiff, ao rgs and he refers to these members of congress as savages. i want your reaction to that. >> the man knows nothing better than name calling. he name calls everybody that he doesn't like. he's lying about joe biden. he's lying about hunter biden. he's changed his story several times using derogatory terms when it's the last resort of an individual who doesn't have the truth on their side, but the man

wouldn't know the truth if it smacked him in the face. so calling us savages is despicable and wrong and weir americans and congress people and he ought to respect that and he throws the squad in there. the reason he throws the squad in there is because they are minorities and they are brown and black minorities and it's a slight at them. that is part of his game plan. now these seven other folks that just came out and the five women that call themselves the bad asses. they're caucasians and he'll call them something, too, and it's unbelieve that he would do that with cia and, and they didn't have bone spurs, and this man has no limits to how far they'll go and he'll get worse as he sees the noose coming around his neck and his leaving power. >> congressman, thanks so much for joining us. >> good to be with you. happy new year.

>> happy new year to you, as well. much more on our special coverage coming up including the latest on what the resignation of the u.s. special envoy to ukraine could mean for the trump administration. let's be honest, insurance can feel a little

outdated. the paperwork... the calling for everything. the searching for id cards... it's like you're stuck in the 90s. that's why esurance makes it simple with an app that has everything you need because that's how we live nowadays. rad. your id card is on a bodacious tiny future tv.

wow! you're really committed to this whole 90's thing, aren't ya? no, i'm just saying what's in the script. that's true. everything we're saying's in the script. when insurance is simple, it's surprisingly painless. mom you've got to [ get yourself a new car.g ] i wish i could save faster. you're making good choices. you'll get there. ♪ were you going to tell me about this? i know i can't afford to go. i still have this car so you can afford to go. i am so proud of you. thanks. principal. we can help you plan for that. start today at principal.com. t-mobile's newest signal reaches farther than ever before. with more engineers. more towers. more coverage! it's a network that gives you ♪freedom from big cities, to small towns, we're with you.

because life can take you almost anywhere, t-mobile is with you. no signal goes farther or is more reliable in keeping you connected.

an impeachment inquiry, multiple subpoenas, the resignation of the man who set up the meeting between rudy giuliani and an aide to ukraine's president, just some of the very dramatic developments we've seen over the past few days as the shock waves from this whistle-blower complaint reverberate through washington. adam schiff who chairs the house intelligence committee says

hearings may begin as soon as this coming week. back with us right now is laura coates and our cnn correspondent abby philip and the white house correspondent for the atlantic. e len a what is the white house bracing for this coming what is the white house bracing for this week? the hearing with kurt volker could happen as early as thursday. >> i spoke to a source this morning who actually yesterday was feeling fine about coming developments but volker's resignation could put the white house in a vulnerable position which is to say actually the administration as a whole because volker is going to shed light ultimately on how much the state department knew, coordinated, or whether they were involved at all in these conversations between guiliani and ukrainian leaders. so was it as the whistle-blower alleges which is to say just sort of trying to contain the damage as the whistle-blower put it or was there a more active role on pompeo's part? that is something that could potentially be explosive

depending on the answer. >> that issue right now is whether or not the administration used foreign aid, economic and military aid, to ukraine, as leverage to get dirt on the bidens, joe biden and his son hunter. >> exactly. that is one thing volker could really shed light on. the idea that there were different choke points at which this military aid was held up and the what house wasn't communicating even with republicans on capitol hill about the reasons why. the question for him would be what was he told about the reason why this aid was held up and what did he tell the ukrainians for example about what those reasons were? if the whistle-blower is correct in the way he characterizes his role in all of this he suggested volker is trying to help the ukrainians figure out how to deal with guiliani's request. how to manage guiliani and by virtue of that president trump. so there might have been some

communication about what does the president want and how can the ukrainians ensure that he gets it and keeps the president happy? i think these are all some of the big questions that are facing this white house. if potentially he decides, volker decides to testify either publicly or privately. i still don't think we know exactly what amount of cooperation he is going to do even though he has agreed to appear. >> rudy guiliani is the president's personal lawyer and says he'll testify if the president lets him. otherwise he'll cite lawyer-client privilege and refuse to show up. can he do that? >> he could. those caveats, if only i could. i mean i would testify. where have we heard that before? the president of the united states talking about his own lawyers. i would do it. my hands are tied. i can't do it. the real question here is we are not in a state any longer where the fall guy is acceptable. the notion of a michael cohen perhaps or a paul manafort, earlier on, years ago whether they were the ones to blame.

rudy guiliani right now and kurt volker are in the position of trying to figure out who is going to be the fall guy. you know of course guiliani is saying i'll be the hero in the end and posted those text messages. the idea of him wanting to testify would be contingent on whether he thinks it is opportune for him to either save his own hide or for him to help the president and build the case. but the idea of kurt volker being somebody who just sua respondentia on his own said i think i'll go ahead and use the personal attorney of the president of the united states to do this or nobody above me said do this? those guys are long gone. if i were the white house i would not be appeased by resignation and wouldn't feel safer because of it. i would say to myself, well, betrayal will eventually lead to the person who was in the position of power to say do it. >> speaking of guiliani you had a pretty amazing phone conversation with rudy guiliani. you were in an uber, driving, on the phone, you tweeted about it. tell our viewers. >> i'd been traig to gying to g

touch with guiliani for 48 hours. obviously when this whistle-blower complaint and the transcript came out i wanted to know more about guiliani's role. as i was hearing from white house officials they were immediately trying to distance themselves from rudy, trying to create the narrative this is all rudy's fault. he's putting things in trump's head. he doesn't know what's going on. i wanted rudy's response to that because this is somebody who has been a really loyal ally to this president and for the most part white house officials were always huge fans of him but it is now that they've tried to distance themselves. he just went on a rant immediately when i asked for his response. he said, along the lines of it's impossible that the whistle-blower is a hero and i'm not when this is all over i will be the hero. that remains to be seen. it was the kind of tirade that is actually leading democrats on capitol hill to wonder at the actual value of the testimony

from guiliani. do they feel it is something that would only contribute to the circus or would there actually be information of value to glean from it? when he is talking in a way that sort of suggests he's spiraling. >> that is a very important conversation you had. stick around. there is a lot more of our cnn special coverage coming up. cnn's latest reporting that the acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney is on shaky ground right now over at the white house. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey.rkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye.

when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix. at verizon, we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. that's why the nfl chose verizon. because they need the massive capacity of 5g with ultra wideband, so more screaming, streaming, posting fans... can experience 5g all at once. this is happening in 13 stadiums all across the country. now if verizon 5g can do this for the nfl... imagine what it can do for you.

our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition... for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-seven vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. why accept it frompt an incompyour allergy pills?e else. flonase sensimist. nothing stronger. nothing gentler. nothing lasts longer. flonase sensimist. 24 hour non-drowsy allergy relief

a new season of cnn's original series "declassified" premieres tomorrow night. here is a preview. >> now it's the day before 9/11. so we start trying to game plan, how is this guy going to make it into new york? and so what they did was they

set up individuals at all entry points into new york city. the great thing about working with the joint terrorism task force is you have nypd. you have the port authority. so we're talking with the port authority cops as to what they've got to do at each of these spots. >> we cannot let this guy get into manhattan with a bomb in his car. so we need to do a vehicle stop and we need to try to do it in such a manner to not overly raise his suspicion. >> coming up the new jersey turn pike and the surveillance team is calling it out. where is he? we start at the outer bridge crossing. he doesn't take that. then he goes up to the bridge and he doesn't get off. he goes to the holland tunnel and he doesn't get off. he goes to the lincoln tunnel and he doesn't get off. the only place he can go now if he is coming to new york is the george washington bridge. >> the new season premieres tomorrow night 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific right here