candidate and practically every one of his candidates have wished him a speedy recovery after he experienced what a senior adviser described as chest pains tuesday night. doctors found a blockage in one artery and two stints were successfully inserted. he has suspended campaigning until, quote, further notice. we certainly wish him the best. i'm going to hand it over to chris for cuomo "primetime." chris? >> thank you very much. i am chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." i can't believe it, but there is another dossier in the mix. the irony is staggering and troubling. we have new information and people to test what they're going to do about it. what do you say? let's get after it. another crazy day. the president happy to answer all kinds of questions about how bad the whistle-blower is, how bad the democrats are, all the things that they did and all you need to do is look at the perfect call. but when he got asked about that call, listen to this.

>> what -- >> what did you want about biden? what did you want him to look into on biden? >> look, biden and his son are stone-cold crooked, and you know it. >> the question is what did you want president zelensky to do about vice president biden and his son, hunter? >> are you talking to me? >> yeah, it was a follow-up of what i just asked you, sir. >> listen, are you ready? we have the president of finland. ask him a question. >> i have him. i have one for him. i wanted to follow up on what i asked you. >> did you hear me? did you hear me? ask him a question. >> i will. >> i've given you a long answer. ask this gentleman a question. don't be rude. >> no, sir, i don't want to be rude. i just wanted you to have a chance to answer the question that i asked you. >> i answered everything. it's a whole hoax. you know who is playing into the hoax? people like you. >> it's a hoax but you can't answer the damn question because you know where the answer takes you. there's only one answer that makes sense. so the call isn't that perfect, is it? and you know what?

the man standing to the side of our president on yet another international stage actually commented after that, i hope the tradition of democracy in america continues. i wonder why he's saying something like that? what we got today was this president's obvious line of defense, okay? i did nothing wrong and i will attack anyone who dares to expose anything like a misdeed. and listen to this, this led to a state department inspector general coming today to congress and unloading what sounds like a new dossier. what he called misinformation bundled up to discredit people in the state department who wanted to come forward and maybe the whistle-blower and maybe the bidens. and then rudy giuliani, you -- you can't make it up -- rudy giuliani admitted to offering up at least part of the information in that dossier. and then he says that he got a

call from the secretary of state who agreed to investigate what he gave them. he is the gift that keeps giving. i don't know who it's good for. let's take that question to the court in session. cuomo's court, laura coates, jenna ellis. laura coates, let me ask you, giuliani says, yeah, i gave them information the inspector general of the state department is calling a bundle of misinformation about state department officials and the bidens, and the secretary of state said -- told me that he's going to look into it. is that okay? >> no. it's almost the opposite of saying it wasn't me. he was saying oh yeah, that was me and that was me, too on things that were obviously inappropriate. it leads you to ask a couple of questions. number one, who does rudy giuliani work for that he is able to tell the secretary of state to go investigate certain claims he has based on propaganda information and information about conspiracy theorys? i thought pompeo served at the pleasure of the president of the

united states, not somebody who is not actually a white house counsel rather than personal attorney of the president. it's completely confounding to think that somebody who is aware that although perhaps a sitting president could not be indicted, it is absolutely odd to me he thinks he's somehow immune from the scrutiny or perhaps even an investigation into his own conduct about why he feels entitled to do so and to perpetuate this sort of thing. >> let's not do it, jenna, in terms of a column of matching potential illegality. let's deal with transparency. rudy was transparent. he said on this one, i gave him information and the secretary of state said he would look at it. is that the right move of the secretary of state? >> absolutely, chris. here i find it shockingly hypocritical that suddenly the position of the liberal left -- circumstances that me? >> is that me? >> it's definitely you. is that me? >> it may be, chris.

>> go ahead, jenna. we try not to use names here. we don't use insults. we use insights. try that. >> the liberal left is saying that this is somehow so blatantly wrong of giuliani to put forward information that goes to potential corruption of a former vice president, yet they are speaking -- >> the inspector general said it was misinformation done to malign state official and people and the bidens who work for the bush administration. >> context matters. the whistle-blower, when we actually have the transcript of the phone call with president trump and the ukraine president, there's nothing there. so to say that the whistle-blower is coming forward. >> what do you mean there's nothing there? >> tell me what crime there is. >> first of all, first of all, jenna, you're the constitutional lawyer. >> there's nothing there. >> does there need to be a crime committed for there to be impeachment proceedings? >> there needs to be a sufficient legal and constitutional basis that goes to -- >> where does it say it needs a legal and constitutional basis for a nonlegal transaction?

>> on article 4 of the u.s. constitution, everyone should look that up. it should not be political. this should be absolutely legal and constitutional because due process did. >> it does not say that in there. what it says is high crimes and misdemeanors and federalist papers 65, alexander hamilton explains that explicitly as crimes of a political nature done to society at large. >> and what you're forgetting are two very important words, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. it goes back to the entire context of the constitution and alexander hamilton's word and usage of political does not mean it can be partisan gain. >> here what's he did -- >> are you going to keep cutting me off? >> let me come back to you, laura, on this. >> she didn't. >> because she didn't filibuster. >> but you let her finish her statement. >> well, you finished a little

while ago would be my supposition. if you look at the situation of the call, the president says it's there. he has never denied any of the occurrences in the call where. they ask for javelins, he says first a favor. here's what i want, and he talks about the bidens. if they're going after the whistle-blower, here's what i don't get. we don't need the whistle-blower. you have the call, you have the texts from rudy about volker who then resigned right after it. why do you even need the whistle-blower? >> well, a couple of points here. one of the biggest parts you're missing in the part of impeachment is the word bribery, which is defined essentially as getting something of value in return for the performance of an official act. because of that, you have the discussion in the actual transcript -- it's not verbatim -- that the president has provided through the white house. it essentially says in exchange for your discussion of the dirt on biden, i need a favor from you, i provide for you the funding already earmarked and appropriated by congress.

that's what is the there that people are investigating, not convicting yet, but investigating about that particular aspect. but you're absolutely right here. that is absolutely false. >> excuse me. you're absolutely -- i'm not sure how it can be false if i cited a section of the founding fathers of the constitution. but i'll finish my point because you demanded the same in return. >> you'll get the last one, jenna. go ahead. >> the idea of the whistle-blower act and why we have the protection and anonymity there. you're absolutely correct in saying it is imperative for people to investigate the allegations of a whistle-blower complaint. and if the underlying substance is being investigated, to shoot the messager is really antithetical to what we stand for. it doesn't mean the allegations alone will lead to a conviction. it does mean if you had the allegations there, don't focus on the actual messenger, focus on the investigation. >> jenna, where do you take issue? >> yeah so, with bribery. here you don't have a quid pro quo or anything remotely related to bribery. by a president asking another head of state who by the way is

our ally to look into potential corruption. if that were the definition, then every single allied move of the president of the united states with any country would be considered bribery. you don't have that. also, if there were some insulation for biden, then anyone who is an opposition opponent would simply sign up to run for president to be insulated from any sort of investigation. and so here you don't have a legal constitutional basis, you don't have bribery that falls under the federal bribery statute or anything related to the intention of the constitution in terms of treason or bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors. >> high crimes and misdemeanor was never a legal standard. that's plain for anybody who wants to read it. >> it's a crime against the sovereignty. >> his request for javelins and his immediate request to do me a favor and the knack he was holding up the aid. >> he wasn't. the ukraine didn't even know that for a month. phrase in context. >> give me another example of him using the phrase in cont >> yes, absolutely.

so he said that in numerous conversations that are recorded. >> give me one. >> in press conferences. >> give me the context of one time he ever used it. now where, how. >> he's used it, do me a favor by saying, hey, why don't we do this, not as an exchange for information but i would say, hey, why don't we go to dinner tonight. that's not something that's saying i'm trying to bribe you for anything but saying, hey, why don't you do this and that is a legitimate ask from the president of the united states that does not constitute a quid pro quo. again, you have to look at it in context. go back and look how president trump has used that phrase recorded in context in the last three or four years. >> look, i would have -- >> if i may, just one quick point. >> quick, though. >> i think you're conflating the investigation process with the assumption that congress has already gone through a full investigation. they are in that impeachment inquiry, number one. number two, i think you're missing the idea of context about presidential leverage and why it very different for a civilian to talk about a dinner chat as opposed to somebody with an earmarked over a quarter of

million -- excuse me. ex they are investigating. if there is a quid pro quo, they would act appropriately. if there is not, well, then perhaps you would rule the day. either way, it's not about dinner. it was about a leverage base on taxpayer dollars. >> i'm making sure that your points are being pushed back on just as much as mine. >> but there's no reason for a style discussion about how you two debate. i'll take you on the point, i asked you for an example, you didn't have it. >> no, i did. of course i did. >> no, you have not a single example of how he's used it in the past. >> yes, i did. in press conference. >> you said -- >> in a press conference is not an example of how he used it. >> do me a favor -- is saying i'm asking you -- that's not an example. that is your opinion of how he may have meant it without giving us an example of using it.

to give an example, jenna, means here's what he said in the context of this conversation and here's why it's okay. you didn't do that. that's fine. >> go back and look at -- >> i don't have to. you said you did, you said you could offer it up and you didn't. i appreciate you making arguments. laura coates, jenna ellis, appreciate it. i'm just saying if you're going to tell me there's an example of something, show me the example. don't tell me to go find the example. all right. how does one of the president's chief defenders in congress explain what seems like a new dossier that his lawyer admits has his fingerprints on, and that involves the secretary of state who didn't bother to tell us until he was kind of pushed on it that he was even on that phone call? oversight matters. congressman clay higgins takes oversight seriously. he knows what's going on. he'll make his case next. too many people in pain settle for a restless night's sleep. there's a better choice. aleve pm. the only one to combine behr presents: tough as walls.

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on the bones of why he did rises to the level of abuse of power that requires impeachment. how do the republicans see it? let's hear from one of them right now. congressman clay higgins, good to see you on the show, sir. >> chris, it wonderful to be with you, brother. you are certainly in the heat of this very important narrative. and as an american, i appreciate your perspective and your calm approach to this thing. >> thank you very much. so help me understand some things from your perspective and the position of oversight as an elected official in the u.s. congress. the secretary of state had several chances to acknowledge he was on the phone call. i'm not describing any wrong doing but he was on the phone call with ukraine's president and our president. he had multiple occasions to mention it. he didn't until pressed. does that raise any questions for you? >> not exactly. i mean, at the cabinet level, there's a great deal of confidentiality. and of course the secretary of state has a right to come

forward with his personal interaction of a phone call that the president engaged in according to as he sees best for the office that he holds and true to his oath. i don't question the secretary of state in his actions there. i think -- you know, you mentioned meat on the bones, my friend, and i think that's where we are right now. the impeachment proceedings have moved forward, you know, not necessarily within the parameters of normal procedure historically. however, my democratic colleagues have moved forward with impeachment proceedings, so let's see the articles of impeachment. let's see the probable cause, let's see the meat on the bones. that's what the constitution calls for. let's take it from there. >> and that is a good -- for those that don't know, the congressman was in law enforcement before he did that job. and probable cause really is the only bar they have to meet. the hard job is on the senate.

no disrespect to you in the house. obviously this is going to weigh heavy on your hearts. >> exactly. >> but this is just the indictment. it's whether or not they can put meat on the bones. of a set of accusations that will then be tried in the senate. in terms of probable cause, when you have the president in a conversation in which he acknowledges, he does not question the facts presented in that call at all, you can couldn't question whether there is more to the call, 30 minutes, only 2,000 words. but he's never pushed back on it. he says to the president in response to a request for missiles, okay, but do me a favor and then it winds up being about rudy giuliani and looking at the bidens. what is that in terms of a concern for you? >> it's quite complex. i've been to ukraine. i went to ukraine in 2017 and met with their highest officials. there was questions at that time, there was a moving target

regarding the actual russian military occupation of their country and what the battlefield looked like. the appropriations as approved by congress, it's -- not only is the president's legal -- within his legal parameters as commander in chief, but it's his duty to question exactly how this assistance, especially military assistance would be made manifest. >> pair point, pair point. >> in the case of a newly elected government. >> but what does that have to do with biden? >> we're not sure, are we? that's what we want to know. we must keep in mind we should have a calm approach to this thing. we should recall that the attempted influence of our elections -- first of all, it's ongoing throughout the cold war since world war ii by russia but really came to a point in 2016 in the digital age and

apparently ukraine had something to do with that. now, russia was occupying ukraine at that time militarily. >> what does that have to do with the bidens? >> well, we're not sure. >> i don't know how it has anything to do with the use of their military or fund or what that has to do with russian interference. the president said i want you to look at biden because we do know the answer, though, congressman, with all due respect. he said people are saying that he removed the prosecution to help his son. now, he meant prosecutor but the transcript says prosecution. >> not just people saying that. the former vice president said that. but that doesn't mean -- >> the former vice president never said he removed or stopped a prosecution or did anything to help his son. >> well, there's some audio about that. >> not about that. but go ahead. >> i'm not suggesting the former vice president is guilty of a crime. i'm saying that within the totality of circumstance of looking at potential impeachment of the president of the united

states, all things must be considered, with a great deal of calm and measured prudence, and this would include anyone that could be involved. and that certainly doesn't -- doesn't absolve the bidens in any way. former vice president nor his son. we should move forward very care carefully, my friend. >> as long as it's on the basis of fact. i see one small irony right now. what the president is accusing joe biden of, he must also be necessarily guilty of. the only difference between the two scenarios, holding back something in order to get something from ukraine is that we have proof that the president did it to play to political advantage, and we don't have that proof with biden. but you're right, we must go with deliberate concern and see what meat can be put on the bones. congressman clay higgins, thank you for being part of that conversation. you're always welcome here. >> thank you, chris.

we should just move forward very carefully here. it's important for you are our country. >> done. be well. thank you for the help. having a good time with this comrade. all chuckles about 2020. guess what we joke about doing too? and why did it take more than a week for our secretary of state to fess you on that call. i hear the congressman saying he didn't have a duty to, but if he's going to talk about the democrats and bullying and why he doesn't like the process, when was he going to mention that? our top intel insiders are on both cases, next. panera's new warm grain bowls are full of good. full of flavor. texture. color. full of energy.

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president trump wants to know who the whistle-blower is. he's using words like civil war, treason and spy. dark words. they could have a big impact on who is willing to speak up within the federal government. he knows that. now let's talk about what we already know about the state of play and what it means to people who understand how the intelligence community works. phil mudd, mike rodgers. mike, great to have you. phil, as always. the secretary of state gives a number of interviews, never mentions that he was on the phone call. that's all. >> i'm sorry, are you asking me? >> no, i'm asking mike. he know i'm talking to him. >> oh, you're talking to me. >> i'm trying to let him off the hook. >> listen, i don't really believe that the secretary of state had a duty to disclose. those calls are classified for a reason. i'm not sure it was his responsibility to disclose. it would have been in a broader

sense if he was talking to the committee or other things, it certainly would have been his duty to disclose. again, i don't like what they did politically, but this thing is such a mess, chris, i can't tell you. i just talked with ambassadors and intelligence officials, both who are apoplectic about the way this thing is going. and they don't like either parties' presentation on this thing. >> what is the democrat side doing -- i should be saying house side, but let's be honest. it's completely partisan. we have no reason to believe anyone on the right has anything to do working with democratsat this point on the inquiry. what the democrats doing wrong, mike? >> i don't think that's fair. honestly. if you're going to do this correctly, you do it in confidence. a whistle-blower complaint and i on boarded these as chairman, should be a confidential conversation classified, nondisclosed inquiry inside of the committee, period. and i did these. by the way, eight out of ten of these things proved out to be probably not worthy of any further action.

two of the ten did. but i'm telling you, the way this thing has become so public, they're trying to say, listen, i really want you to have a fair hearing and a quick hanging, and i just don't think that's appropriate. listen, i do not think, and i've said it very publicly, i do not agree with what the president did and said on the call, but you're talking a whole different animal. you're going to undo an election if you go through with an impeachment. you better do this exactly right. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> i don't think doing it publicly and press conferences and leaking information and all of those other things are just not appropriate. >> i'm with you with one qualification, which is they couldn't get the complaint from dni originally. so it was a little bit of a protracted process. >> but if you really believed you were going to protect the whistle-blower, chris, you would never, ever release the whistle-blower complaint. ever. i would never have done that. even if you believe 100% of it is exactly true, if you believe about protecting whistle-blowers, and i do, by the way, i think there needs to

be a system to do this so they don't run to the press with very secret and classified information -- >> i'm with you. >> you don't release this thing. you do an inquiry inside the committee. but they couldn't wait. they're so excited. they couldn't wait to use the impeachment word. i think that's a depreciation way to get impeachment packs. >> except they didn't have access to the complaint. i take your point on it and protecting the whistle-blower should be of paramount importance. phil, now we get to this other point of intrigue that another inspector general comes forward and says i was given this bundle of what reportedly was referred to as misinformation about potentially the bidens, potentially other state department officials who were somehow involved in this. rudy giuliani comes forward and says, yeah, i gave him some of that, and i talked mike pompeo and he said it will be investigated. feelings about the new dossier.

>> boy, first if you look at the new dossier, so far today that's a big nothing burger. when you heard there was a democratic congressman who came out of the hearing and said i haven't actually reviewed the whole thing yet, it's not clear that there was an immediate need to have this briefed to the congress. it's not clear that this relates to the investigation, but let me talk to the media about it. to the congressman's point, slow your roll. let's get to the significant pieces here and if you have in this case a dossier where you don't even know who sent it and you're talking to the media about it, slow your roll. that said, let me tell you one really fascinating piece here, chris, that nobody is talking about. rudy giuliani and the comment you just made that mike pompeo when he got the stuff from giuliani referred to it for investigation. i spent a lot of time in government. there are state department officials who will testify, intel guys, d.o.d., department of defense people. all of us are sort of a brotherhood and sisterhood. rudy giuliani parachutes in from mars. the people who will testify are going to look at him, including state department officials and say i don't have to protect that guy.

he didn't operate by the rules. he didn't do what you're supposed to do in government. i suspect he's worried about what the congress will do. if i were him, i'd be worried about whether people in government stick a shiv in his back. he's in trouble. >> we actually have new information, mike, that what rudy giuliani is saying now is i gave what i had to the white house, and the white house gave it to the state department, the secretary of state maybe, we don't know specifically, to look into it. i don't think that makes it better. candidly, i'm not sure it does either. listen, if there is any forum for investigation, it needs to be through the attorney general of the united states. >> right. >> and by the way, i'm not sure that the attorney general should be looking overseas before looking -- this needs to be a solid domestic investigation, probably 90% of what you need is here domestically. i just never believe it's a good idea to engage our international partner, friends or foes, into a

domestic investigation, political or nonpolitical. i just don't think it's a great idea. as a matter of fact, i think it's an awful idea. so i'm not sure that makes it better. was he acting as the attorney to the president, was he acting in some other capacity. he keeps claiming that somebody from the state department told him do it. well, we probably ought to know who that is and under what circumstances. >> he dumped texts. look, rudy is getting a new nickname, which is like the bus driver, because he is throwing everybody under the bus. he threw volker under the bus. he put out texts from volker. great conversation. can't wait to follow up. can't wait to introduce you to this one and that one. so he's not exactly protecting the whole team with what he's doing here, unless rudy is doing what he's always done, when he did it on this show saying i never said there was no collusion with anyone, just the president. if that's the eye that he has and only on that, just to protect the president, what he's doing makes more sense.

phil mudd, mike rogers, thank you very much for making the case. >> thanks, chris. >> this ukraine story could take another turn tomorrow because it seems to take one every day. but tomorrow we have something to look forward. to we have current special envoy kurt volker. he is going to testify. why did he resign so abruptly? why did rudy have those texts, assuming that they're real? and we have no reason to believe they're not at this point. we have somebody who knows mr. volker, and who knows a lot about foreign policy and the right way to conduct it. let's get some insight from an insider, next. [sfx: turntable - needle scratching record] [music (plays throughout): lack of afro - recipe for love] ♪ whoaahoooo oo ♪

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we're finally going to get to someone who is an actual party to all of this. the democrats are going to hear from someone named in that report, kurt volker. former special envoy to ukraine. he resign addai after the complaint's release. he's set to appear before a closed deposition before three committees tomorrow. that brings us to our guest, thomas bright, brookings institute. he knows mr. volker.

we welcome him now. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. we'll get to volker in a second. the idea of the state of play between the united states president and the ukraine president, all right, you understand this dynamic much better than we ever will so thank you for the help in advance. the idea of that request being made along the lines of, well, we're just trying to deal with corruption there, does that make sense to you? >> no. i mean, it would be the first time that we know of that president trump has raised corruption with any other leader. i mean, it's never something he's been interested in before. in fact, his entire history over 35 years is supporting authoritarian regimes, turning a blind eye tore corruption. it awfully convenient in this one particular case where he mentions biden it's about corruption. it doesn't really stand up this was his motivating factor. it's clear in the call he went straight to vice president biden and hunter biden. that's why he brought it up. >> and then you have the state

department component. clearly rudy giuliani, he didn't typical me the truth the first time on the show. he told me he was working on his own and only told the president about it afterwards. now it does seem he was working with the state department. he put out texts that he said are from kurt volker, and the secretary of state seemed to have some interchange with him. same secretary of state who didn't tell us that he was on that phone call until he was pressed about it after many interviews. what are your concerns about the state department here? >> my concerns are about secretary pompeo. he hasn't been up front about this from the beginning. we know he succeeded the secretary of state and previously a cia director because he's always tried to be close to trump. he's never, ever stood up for anything over a protracted period of time that may cause trump to turn on him. that's been his raison d'etre, that's been his main sort of driving force. i think it is possible that he's involved in this so we wait for him to speak publicly about it and he's obviously been subpoenaed.

i think kurt volker is a very different case. >> why did he resign? right after this? it looked terrible. >> well, i think he resigned so he could speak openly about this tomorrow. this is somebody who i would say firstly -- i don't know him particularly well, but everyone who works on europe or u.s. foreign policy in europe knows him because he's been a fixture and a true sort of expert and professional. >> and he runs the mccain institute. >> he runs the mccain institute. he was a foreign officer for many decades. >> he resigned the day after because he wanted to testify? >> i don't know and i haven't spoken to him, but i suspect the reason that he resigned is because he's not a partisan or political figure. he is testifying tomorrow. we know that secretary pompeo and president trump don't want officials to testify. so i think, you know, he i'm sure came to the understanding that given everything that's happened that he wouldn't be able to continue in the position and i think it's a great thing that he is actually going to speak openly about this tomorrow.

>> the big question is those texts, assuming they're his, why would he be working that way as a state department official, special envoy, with the president's personal attorney? >> well, i think that we will hopefully find out the specific answer to that tomorrow, but i can only guess. i mean, my guess is that he was trying to limit the damage that giuliani was doing, that he was trying to basically fix the problem. >> do you think there's any chance that giuliani is telling the truth, that volker went to him, said help us out, we'd like to help you? >> i think if the president of the united states, in this case president trump makes it clear to the state department that, you know, that giuliani is his point person on ukraine, i think it's unrealistic that the ukraine envoy wouldn't talk to that person. i think what really matters is what actually happened between them. and i think we'll find that out tomorrow. but as i said, i mean, this -- the person in this case is someone who was a foreign

service officer for many decades, served under multiple administrations, went into the administration as a true professional to serve i think and not for partisan reasons or because he was a trump person or anything like it. so i will sort of give him naturally the benefit of the doubt over somebody who seems like they are running the rogue diplomatic operation, somebody who obviously wanted to be secretary of state at the beginning of the trump administration and seems to be pursuing it on an individualistic basis here. >> well, if you speak to him, let him know he's welcome to come on and maybe his case to the audience. we look forward to what he says tomorrow. thomas wright, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. all right. the president angry, very angry. not unusual. but is his tactic that he shows today, the tactics, is that going to help him? an argument of what not to do and what to do to wind up on top through this process. an explainer next.

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i have a really good feeling about this. all right, look, so now we know the defense for this president. it's biden. it's shiffrin. it isn't me, it's the democrats. >> i think it's a scandal that he knew before. i go a step further and say he probably helped write it. that's what the word is. >> the that's's the president after news broke that the whistle-blower spoke to shiffcs shirr's aides. but the bigger point, thises is dot depe not depend on the whistle-blower. you know who knows that, the

president. >> the only thing that matters is the transcript of the conversation that i had with the president of ukraine. >> today he was unable to say what he wanted ukraine to do vis-a-vis the biden. his defense of what he clearly asked for just fails. he says it was really just about fighting corruption in ukraine. why did his dod, the department of defense shoot that down with a letter saying ukraine was already taking substantial actions to fight correction. another line. the rules were changed for this whistle-blower. they're not credible. they had no firsthand knowledge. the trump appointed ig called that line of attack incorrect. the ig stated the complaintant does have firsthand knowledge. you know what, a lot of intel is gathered from what somebody else tells you and trump's guy vetted

the source and claim and found it credible and urgent. thosen ton the right -- remembe what the attorney general said his investigation was about. >> i think a spy going occur. yes, i think spying did occur. >> if he's talking about spying, spy pts isn't even in the transcript. does this mean barr is investigating biden. will this come out like pompeo being on that ukraine crawl that he only admitted when pressed. thousands the inspector general comes forward with a dirty dossier and rudy giuliani comes forward and admits he supplied some of it. he gave it to the white house and they may have given to the secretary of state. we wonder why so many shake their heads at the states of

politics. >> to continue to work with him for the benefit of the rest of the country or are all bets off? >> no, if they do that then all it is is a whirl-like posture. >> brian asking that question and that is the truest thing the president will tell you because he's never surrender the we to the me. take another page from the past. i say another because this president also took a page from the clinton situation and learned not to testify under oath. take another. clinton didn't compartmentalize and cut deals and got more than a billion dollars to start schools. community learning centers. better nursing homes, a patient's bill of rights for federal workers.

he was working with senator mccain all during the drama. why did he do that? the genius was not only did he give the voters something else to judge him by other than the drama but made it harder for his political opponents to dig in. he was actually doing his job. rather than him embarrassing himself or posturing about guns, he could see payoffs if he does deals. look where he was and look where he got, clinton. he's always stuck in the 40s. imagine, though, doing background check, infrastructure, during the period. he would be calling the democrats' bluff on whether they

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all right. bolo. be on the lookout. i know there's a lot of noise and, look, impeachment matters and how the president is handling himself is going to take up a lot of oxygen because it's indicative of where we're going. but two potential areas of concern are also worth watching. markets and missiles. first, north korea. just a day after entering into an agreement with washington to resume nuclear talks, they did this. another missile test. a new type of ballistic missile fired, one that's medium-ranged, and designed to be launched from a submarine. it's the first time since 2017

the country has launched a medium range missile, heightening the threat to our allies and troops in the region. the president said nothing. then we have the markets. stocks closed lower today, finishing at a five-week low. dow down nearly 500 points. but the point is why, all right? yeah, you'll see the indexes. they posted one of the worst one-day drops since about august. but why? china threatened to impose more tariffs. this is about the president. he says the market is falling because of impeachment. there is no proof of that. you see no analysts on the street who are respected saying that. america's factories just suffered their worst month in a decade due in part to the ongoing trade war with china. keep an eye on this. it's of the president's making. "cnn tonight," d. lemon, right now. >> so this is what we need right now. this is what the president needs

right now.