more than politics with governor bevin. he just offended so many people. and he attacked so many people. it was hard to vote for him after some of the things he had done. >> you're a young woman, a first time presidential voter. how important is that for you? >> i look for unit in our politics. i think both trump and bevin, their personalities just divide politics. >> cnn, louisville, kentucky. the news continues so i'll hand it over to chris for prime time. >> thank you. i am chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." >> was the president framed by his own people? that's what some of his defenders seem to be saying. some of his best players may be in the cross hairs. and we have more proof the ukraine deal was more than a phone call. word of a similar ask to the last ukrainian president. and we know who is said to have done the asking. what do you say? let's get after it.

here's what we know. two white house officials, fiona hill and alexander vindman as the coordinator of the quid pro quo or the attempted bribe or whatever you want to call the deal. mulvany was a no show on the hill today defying the house subpoena. but he is increasingly present in a new notion that he or others did this ukraine thing without the president's knowledge. i'm going to test that. and we learned today of another very similar shakedown attempt. stretching back to the last ukrainian administration. this one, allegedly orchestrated by the arrested associated of rudolph giuliani. the "wall street journal" reports, unsuccessfully tried to get the ukrainian president

poroshenko to announce an investigation boo the bidens in return for a state visit here. so if the idea that this is all about one call this past july were not absurd enough already, this new information should put that idea to rest. at least for the reasonable. and the top u.s. diplomat in ukraine bill taylor testified, ukraine president zelensky did agree to make a public statement about investigating the bidens and he was going to do so in an interview with cnn. who? our very own fareed zackaria. he joins us now with the rest of the story. good to see you, my friend. >> a pleasure as always, chris. >> you didn't know what was afoot. once you learned of the context of what was going on, have you ever heard of anything like this before? >> good lord, no. we were trying to get an

interview with zelensky anyway. an amazing road to victory. caught between russia and the west. we had been trying a while. we had some encouraging signs. what i didn't know was just, i was in kiev and i was meeting with him to solidify interview. this whole other story was unraveling. it was all around the time, semi9, 10, 11, 12, 13, that this is all happening and the aid is stuck. then it gets released and then the whistleblower story starts leaking. and that's when the ukrainians probably decided, we don't need to do the interview anymore to announce this investigation into the bidens because the money has been released. but more importantly, we don't need, we don't want to anything to do with what is turning into a u.s. domestic story.

but they were totally professional throughout. as sometimes happens, they backed off at the end. >> so help us understand the context of what was going on here. of course fareed understands world events. the idea that ukraine, zelensky and his people were in a panic about this. that they didn't know how to deal with rudy. they were so afraid being involved in american politics. does that square with your understanding of the regime and why? >> oh, completely. the thing you have to remember about ukraine and the u.s. when trump says, zelensky says he was not pressured. the core reality is the asymmetry of power. the u.s. totally dominates this relationship. zelensky needs, any ukrainian president needs the ukrainian president's 110% support. not just for the military afltd not just the political aid. but because there is a real

prospect of a russian invasion of the rest of ukraine in which case, washington becomes your savior. so there is no question that zelensky or any ukrainian president will try very hard to do whatever it takes to help the american president. he understood, however, he is a savvy guy. i spent a while with him. he understood and now i'm guessing, that this would cause problems if we to choose a republican. to decide to investigate biden and the clintons, that would put him in an awkward position. what if trump didn't win? so he was trying his best to play both sides to. delay, to punt. and then when it became absolutely clear he couldn't do that anymore, apparently, and i'm reading the reporting, he agreed to come on my show. the interview was in the works for a while. we had been trying. we gotten couraging voices.

the key thing to remember, zelensky cannot say anything now, then, two weeks from now, that in any way could annoy donald trump. he needs the american president a . any ukrainian president doesful? whatever do you make of what has popped up what seems to most to be obvious? hey, look, it never happen. there is no damage. no real threat here. they did not get any dirt on the bds. they got the aid. everything is fine. and the other is, hey, it may have happened. the president may have known nothing about it. it was just the people around him. what do you think? >> you reported it out very well at the start. the last two days. the testimony has been very important. because the core defense of the president from republicans in congress has been, look, the phone call was ambiguous. it is not entirely clear that it was an actual quid pro quo. yeah, he says do us a favor but

it happens three lines after. there was all this parsing. >> everybody says it was who was involved with it at the time. >> but that's the point so. now what you have is, four senior officials saying, a, and we were asking to deliver the same message very explicitly. linking the aid to these investigations. both essentialsly into the bidens and hillary clinton. 2016 and that company. so all of a sudden. people like lindsey graham were saying, if you can show me any evidence of a quid pro quo other than this phone call, then i'll take it seriously. now in the last few days, you have gordon sondland, they're moving to a new defense. of course it was a quid pro quo. we do it all the time but it is not impeachable.

so it's very important. it makes you recognize that they see what has happen in the last two days is really big. it is also really fascinating. i had one thing. to read the whole testimony. gordon sondland's story is fascinating. he becomes ambassador to the eu. ukraine is the prize here. we've got to get ukraine. >> obviously not in the eu. >> right. but we have to, that's why you're involved, gordon. he gets fired up. he and volker to go see trump. ukraine, this guy is great, you have to meet him. what they confront from trump is a barrage of conspiracy theories about burisma, biden, the 2016 election. and i wonder where trump got that 2016 election is so wacko. i wonder whether that was what vladimir putin told trump in helsinki.

that meeting, nobody was there. trump said what about the elections? and putin might have said to him, you know, this is all a ukrainian plot. they did it and they're blaming it. it is so wacko. and sondland and volker have to deal with, their whole plan to support ukraine has been derailed because trump believes this crazy conspiracy theory. >> and kent, another official, says just that. he answers the question by saying, he was listening to putin and the head of hungary. thank you so much. i'm glad you found your way into this story. it gave never chance to tap into your great intellect on these issues. thank you for being with us. >> a pleasure. thank you. >> and as you know, you can catch his show gps sunday, 10:00 p.m. eastern. what do you make of this depiction is this a pantsless elderly uncle running around a nursing home. that is a description of our president by the author of the

upcoming "anonymous" book. filled with frightening assessments. is it to be believed? anthony scaramucci says yep. ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ t-mobile's newest signal reaches farther than ever before... with more engineers, more towers, more coverage.

it's a network that gives you... with coverage from big cities, to small towns. introducing t-mobile's 600mhz signal. no signal reaches farther or is more reliable. and it's built 5g ready. 25 cent boneless wings at applebee's. ♪ born to be wild... born to be wild...♪ get 'em while they're hot. introducing new vicks vapopatch easy to wear, with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. new vicks vapopatch. breathe easy. should mean being bhealthy enough to act young. because farmers should be able to use less water to grow their crops.

because having heart issues... shouldn't mean you can't scream your heart out. at bayer, everything we do... from advances in health to innovations in agriculture... is to help every life we touch. at bayer, this is why we science. [ slow dance♪music plays ] sfx: record scratch music (plays throughout): [ 'watch me walk' by spencer ludwig ] yo dj, can i put in a request? ♪ don't have no sass about this ♪ ♪ i'm on my way i'm on my way ♪ ♪ can't take no class about this ♪ ♪ i'm on my way i'm on my ♪ like this! ♪ this is a moment you plan for. to start your investment plan, find an advisor at massmutual.com sfx: [ mnemonic ] a wealth of information. a wealth of perspective. ♪ a wealth of opportunities.

that's the clarity you get from fidelity wealth management. straightforward advice, tailored recommendations, tax-efficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. fidelity wealth management. to help you grow and protect your wealth. aleve it. with aleve pm. pain happens. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid. and the 12-hour pain relieving strength of aleve. so...magic mornings happen. there's a better choice. aleve pm.

(danny)'s voice) of course you don'te because you didn't!? your job isn't doing hard work... ...it's making them do hard work... ...and getting paid for it. (vo) snap and sort your expenses to save over $4,600 at tax time. quickbooks. backing you. the new book known only by "anonymous" for now is already making waves with its dark depictions inside the trump white house. of note, how senior officials a full blown panic over the led- president's wild tweets. quote, it is like showing up at the nursing home at daybreak to find your elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard and cursing loudly about the cafeteria food as worried attendants tried to catch him.

you're stunned, amused and embarrassed, all at the same time. only, your uncle probably wouldn't do it every single day. his words aren't broadcast to the world, and he doesn't have to lead the u.s. government once he puts his pants on. former white house trump communications director, now trump critic, anthony scaramucci is here. thank you for joining us. >> hey, chris. that's a sobering assessment of what is going on. >> do you buy it? is it hyper bol snik did you ever hear like that? >> some of that is hyperbolic but some of it is prima facie. just go to the 40 minutes of the president clipping today on the south lawn. i mean, it's not stable. it's not normal. it's not even inside of a bell curve of what people would describe as real mental health. he's having a hard time putting extensions together. he's repeating himself.

he's lost a lot of the sharpness that he had in '15 and '16. the points being made in the book. i haven't read the entire book. i've read some of the excerpts, of course. the president cannot manage a process which includes defining a problem, building a concensus with his team, understanding the roles that his team has, and also, embracing the processes of the government. whether it is the national security council, funded by dwight eisenhower or elements of the pentagon founded in the late '40s. none of this stuff, it's not easy for the president. it's not native to him and he has this free willing independent swash bucking that goes on and it is overconfidence. so all of that shows up as a, perhaps somebody, i hate to say it that way. i don't want to put down people living in a nursing home, to be honest. but with the president, the big issue is that those 16 cabinet

level positions, the 190 somebody departments are a complete and total disarray. so what the "anonymous" book is trying to warn people of, you have a system where the administrative processes of the executive branch have completely broken down under president trump. >> so you agree the assessment of the book. i don't agree with it being anonymous. i'm thinking this should be another primary colors deal. anonymous winds up being the writer there. joe kline. if you want to say things like this, own them. if there is a risk to you, that's one thing. this isn't about passing on information. this is a political commentary. let me get to another topic. bloomberg. what do you think bloomberg means to trump? >> so i think the president was very intimidated by a guy like michael bloomberg. you can go back to some of the statements that corey lewandowski has made about

michael bloomberg. when it didn't seem likely that he would enter the race. people like corey, myself, dave, who would be the number one person that president trump would be the most worried about. and it would be mike bloomberg. he is a new yorker. he can withstand the onslaught of the president's bullying. he is worth five to eight times the president's net worth. he can spend a fortune defending himself and getting ads up in all the areas of the country that he needed to get. if he got the nomination, it is clear he would beat trump. in those 11 swing states, the level of moderation, the social progressive know, that kind of weaving if you will, would overcome. the pats for michael bloomberg to win that nomination. you would think to ask a democrat about that. it seems like the party has lurked so far to the west. if elizabeth warren has the numbers by proposing the

socialist agenda, one would have to worry about the path that mayor bloomberg would have to no question he would be the number one threat. and do i agree with you on the anonymous thing. the good news, someone said to me, it is definitely not you. i would put my name on it and speak very declaratively about what's going. on i really wish more people who agree with anonymous. i can't tell you the number of people who have left the administration that completely agree with anonymous as to what's going on. i wish they would start speaking out so that the american people can hear it from the inside. the lack of competence and the disarray. >> when you see what's being done to the whistleblower. you see what's being done to veterans. you see what's being done to legitimate officials and even his own people now. they're trying to say, maybe it was rudy or maybe it was mulvany or sondland doing it on his own. makes you a little cautious

about coming forward because the guillotine falls quick. >> early stage fash fascism. they brighten people, they intimidate them. we have to be a nation where every individual including the president is beneath the law and the system is secure. what has made the country so prosperous and so successful globally. that system. people have a lot of faith in that system. the president is attacking that system. impairing that system. if he wind again, we're really losing our standing. here's a lawless guy doing lawless things inside the white house. how could one of the oldest parties, lincoln's party, ignore this level of lawlessness. we're going to keep working on it. >> obviously bloomberg has his reservations about whether the current field can beat him. he's doing something now that he said a couple months ago he

didn't think he could do. let me ask you to put your transactional hat on. people should know but they may not. anthony is a very sophisticated financial guy. he has his own company. not just wall street but high finance. what happened with rudy and the money? here's what created a concern for rudy in terms of financing. foreign national number one, who we assume is the ukrainian with the russian connections was wanted in the u.s. for a criminal investigation. then arranged for two $500,000 wires on or about september 18, 2018, and october 16, 2018, to be sent from overseas accounts controlled by fruman and another video. that seems to line up. the concern was, oh, no, did rudy get mixed one these bad

guys and got money from a bad source? now we learned something else. then in september, 2018. he stepped in paying 250,000 on behalf of fraud guarantee. according to people familiar with it. mr. gucciardo paid the second $250 the next month. it is a company run by parness. so gucciardo was paying rudy. in exchange, he made a loan that gave him an option on equity. like convertible debt. it is a really convoluted transaction. what do you make of it? >> well, listen, i had the opportunity to meet charles gucciardo. i liked him. and i think if you talk on journalists in and around this case, i think he was a mark in this situation.

i think he's an innocent guy. and i think he got attracted to the notion of working the mayor. who he had an eanonymous amount of respect for. they promised a piece of that business. he probably didn't do the due diligence necessary. because the mayor was part of the business, he probably thought that was enough. he sent the money in. and of course that money got bounced off those two guys into the mayor. and this is a cautionary tale on a number of different things. something is too good to be true, don't do it. if you're giving your money to somebody, you have to do a tremendous amount of due diligence. at sky bridge, we're not a rt could. everybody is guilty until they're proven innocent. we run rae really tough checks. we know him well. something there tempted him. maybe it was the need for money. why would he be involved with those guys and why would he make it that easy?

when things are that easy and too good to be true, they often are. i do believe charles is innocent here based on my observation of him and what i know from the case. >> we have nothing that indicates differently. we have no reason to believe differently but obviously, two investigations going on of mr. jue. my other concern is that his biggest risk is from his own. anthony scaramucci. thank you so much. best of the the family. >> lxt. michael bloomberg officially entered the paperwork to enter the 2020 primary in alabama. he's making a super tuesday play. can he win? can he even get on the debate stage? the wizard of oz explains why he

may be getting in and why he may be forced to get out. next. myles udland: morning! - what are you doing? myles udland: isn't it obvious? - nah. alexis christofouros: we're delivering live market coverage and offering expert analysis completely free. myles udland: we're helping you make sense of the markets without cable or a subscription from anywhere you are. - i get that. but what are you doing here? myles udland: nice "pa-jah-mas." alexis christofouros: really? i say "pa-jam-as." myles udland: pa-jah-mas, pa-jam-as, whichever. - yahoo finance live. stream free. anywhere. alexis christofouros: welcome to the show. myles udland: let's make finance make sense. janie, come here. check this out. let me see. she looks... kind of like me. yeah. that's because it's your grandma when she was your age. oh wow. that's...that's amazing. oh and she was on the debate team. yeah, that's probably why you're the debate queen. - mmhmm. - i'll take that. look at that smile. i have the same dimples as her. yeah. the same placements and everything.

unbelievable. the same placements and everything. nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nightime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. dad! dad!! can you drive me to jessica's house? ♪ at northwestern mutual, this is what our version of financial planning looks like. tomorrow is important, but so is making the most of the house before they're out of the house. spend your life living. find an advisor at northwesternmutual.com. thenot actors, people, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin

from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. and, had significantly less itch. that's a difference you can feel. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent.

former mayor michael bloomberg officially filed to be on the ballot in alabama. that means he's skipping the first four primaries. can you win with that strategy? the bigger question is, why is he even getting in in the first place? let's bring in the wizard of oz. >> look. we've never heard about this before except ironically, the name in the news. rudolph giuliani. he skim the first few. showed up in florida. it didn't turn out well for him.

>> i should say that alabama has the very early deadline to file the papers. the real question is whether he files in new hampshire. that deadline is next week. that's the real question. you cannot skip the first four primaries. there's no track record for that. >> but obviously he's doing something unconventional. what do we believe michael bloomberg sees? >> he sees that biden, sanders and warren are all having trouble in the battle ground states to beat donald trump. these were the six closest states in the 2016 election that donald trump won. michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, florida, north carolina, they're all within the margin of error of trump. and michael bloomberg believes that's what's selling. what is the one thing that will motivate to you vote in 2020? these are the same swing states. michigan, minnesota, pennsylvania, wisconsin.

you can name anything. 21% said to beat donald trump. that was number one. medicare for all. we've had so much attention on this primary season. my goodness gracious. just 1%. you and i together could do that 1%. >> our mothers would hope so. >> here's my question. what does bloomberg think that allows him to believe that he can beat the other people in the field? what has he got that they ain't got? >> i think what they have, he's an inn, right? he's a guy who was an i independent mayor of new york city. he will say, hey, i was an inn. i can reach out to these voters who were independents and the others cannot. we're talking about the swing states because that's where the election is decided. >> single did i know it is early on when he was thinking about getting in. >> but that's the primary. he will try to pivot to an

electability argument. he is seeing it with biden and warren. you have to win those independents to win in the election. at this point the three major candidate are basically breaking even with donald trump and michael bloomberg is saying, i'll tell you on it. >> when you look at where, bloomberg was popular enough here that they changed the city charter to get happy third material. he did not do that great with the minority communities here. that's the strong hold not just for biden but you have to have it as a democrat to win. >> and we've been pointing out this gentleman who is running 40 to 50%. and they of course make up about 20% of the democratic electorate. these two have struggled in the primary. they haven't been able to reach out. and people talk about, he's the moderate. he shares the moderate language. the fact is, what joe biden's

bid is being propelled by is african americans. i don't hear that spokesperson about in the press. >> that's what we're doing now. would you put your chalupa money on biden or bloomberg? >> i would put my pastrami money on this guy here. he knows how to build a coalition within the democratic primary. >> look. we can both get art lessons. >> i didn't even have it on. >> the point is i would bet on joe biden in a primary versus michael bloomberg. joe biden has been a democrat for the last 50 years. michael bloomberg has been a democrat for the last five minutes. i would bet on a guy who has been a democrat. who can reach out, win with african-americans, whites without a college degree, and say i've been taking fight to republicanses my entire life. >> he thinks he's exposing weak knows. he may show the strength of who is already there.

we'll see how it plays. thank you. always a pleasure. this could be maybe the battle of billionaires when you look at the democratic race. why? you have tom in the race. what's he got that i ain't got? what does he make of bloomberg getting in? does he think it's for real? tell him we're flexible. don't worry. my dutch is ok. just ok? this man is very bendy. tell him we need this merger. he says he needs a hug. it's happening..!

just ok is not ok. especially when it comes to your network. at&t is america's best wireless network according to america's biggest test. this melting pot of impacted species. everywhere is going to get touched by climate change. i thought i was managing my moderate to severe crohn's disease. then i realized something was missing... me. my symptoms were keeping me from being there. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,

serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

the paperwork is in. michael bloomberg officially filed to run in alabama's presidential primary. he could potentially face off with the liks of senator elizabeth warren, a front-runner who rails against billionaires like bloomberg, as does sanders. let's get some perspective from another billionaire in the race. tom steyer. welcome back to prime time. i saw you laughing but it is a legit context. when you heard bloomberg coming in. people were like, well, he has a lot of money. he can finance his own campaign. were you like, what has he got that i ain't got? what was the answer to that question? >> we're very different, chris. look. i'm running for president because that i believe corporations have bought our government. that we're not going to get any of the policies the american people so desperately want until

we break that corporate strangle hold and i believe inequality is defining america right now. >> and bloomberg? >> i don't think michael bloomberg should run for the democratic nomination unless he's willing to commit to a wealth task. >> where do you think he is on that? >> i think he's gulf of mexico and it i don't think he should run unless he's willing to commit to it. he's one of those people incredibly lucky to be in america. who has profited enormously. we need the money. he has a responsibility to give back. and more than that, if he wants to be the nominee of the democratic party, he has to understand that he has to commit to ending this inequal and commit to breaking this corporate stranglehold on this government. otherwise, i don't think he's fit to run. >> he's actually had executive experience in government. new york city is one of the biggest economies in the world.

he was in there three times. he changed the charter to get another term. is that impressive? >> look. don't get me wrong. i think michael is an impressive guy. but i think there is a question about defining what the problem is. this is about defining what it will be to get america going again. we have a broken government in washington, d.c. and the question is, what are we going to do about it? i've been talking about term limits of every congress person and senator. a national referendum to take away the monopoly congress has. we have to get back to government by and for the people. i want to see if michael will commit to that and commit. >> do you think he's a threat? or do you think there's plenty of potential in the field already that he would not make it through? >> look.

i think mike is considering seriously doing this, or doing it, reflects that this election is wide open, chris. it is more open than it was three months ago or six months ago and i think that he's right in thinking it will break late. that people are still weighing their options very much. so my attitude is, as long as you're willing to commit to being a true democrat, to actually dealing with inequality, to breaking this corporate stranglehold, i say welcome. >> do you think he's better than the people at the top of the ticket? >> excuse me? >> do you think he's better than the people at the top of the polls right now? >> look. i think that's a question for the american people. >> for you. what's the answer? >> if i didn't think i was the best person to tell the truth and to take action on that truth on behalf of the american people, i wouldn't be running. >> i hear you. >> so obviously i think i'm saying something different. i think i'm different. and i would not be running if i didn't think i was the best

option. >> when might you change your mind and use your resources and the infrastructure you've been able to put together to help someone who then has a better chance? >> well, let me say this. all the grassroots organizations that i've started are still going and i'm still supporting them. i'm just not running them. but i expect that my mention, when i get a chance to deliver to it americans, of this corporate stranglehold, our need to take climate as priority one, that as an outsider, i've been taking on and beating these corporations for ten years, i think that's a mention that americans respond to and so i'm going to keep going as hard as i can on that. i think those are the true answers. >> now, money is a blessing. and it can be a virtue with voters. hey, steyer made his own money. he's no trust fund baby. bloomberg, same thing. you point out the contrast with

trump. he got a big head start. then money can be a problem. special when i how it's used. your aide has apologized after a report that he offered money for endorsements in eye waffle you ran away from it saying it was never authorized. how did that happen? >> look. if you start an organization like a campaign, and someone does something that is not authorized, he actually resigned, chris. you should know. he put that out tonight. that we have, look. we're running an organization. i've run and start and built businesses, started and run organizations. things happen and when they do, you have to assess what that and deal with it with integrity. that's what happened here. so in fact, look. something happened that wasn't authorized. we examined it and he he resigned. case closed. >> beyond the campaign, doesn't it kind of make a point that money and politics. i know they go together. but shouldn't they really be blown apart?

isn't that it money just krumts everything it touches in politics?corrupts everything it in politics? >> i think this campaign is all about ideas and who can be trusted to bring them about. i think that's the case for every person including michael bloomberg. and definitely including me. i think that michael bloomberg has to explain to democrats who he is and why he's running and so do i. people are not going to respond to money. they're going to respond to something that they believe is true, important, different. and somebody who they believe will tell the truth and take action on that. that's exactly the message that i'm bringing to americans. take a look at my record. i've told the truth. i've taken action. two years ago, people in washington, d.c. were saying to me, you're crazy to think you can ever impeach this president. more than 8 million americans

signed on the need to impeach position and it turns out, if you listen to what people are saying today, they're repeating almost word for word what we said two years ago. >> right. except back then, didn't have this ukraine situation. now we're learning that even under the last president, poroshenko, there may have been an ask forward bidens. thank you for making the argument for your campaign. dealing with what happened with one of your workers and always a pleasure to have you on prime time. >> thank you for having me. >> all right. there's no question that the democratic field is unsettled. i don't know that it is in crisis. but here's what we do know. here's what is, was and is fairly obvious. what happened in ukraine? that's why we're seeing be one but two attempts to distract from the obvious ahead of the all important impeachment hearings next week. so in the argument, we'll identify, clarify, and demystify the efforts afoot. next. when you rent from national...

it's kind of like playing your own version of best ball. because here, you can choose any car in the aisle, even if it's a better car class than the one you reserved. so no matter what, you're guaranteed to have a perfect drive. [laughter] (vo) go national. go like a pro. see what i did there? look, it's just like when i tell people abbe confident.th geico. stand up straight. and speak with purpose. yeah? go on, give it a practice run. kelsey. kelsey. marriage? oh. okay. look maybe you should just show her this beautiful helzberg diamond ring? that's a better idea. yeah, maybe not in the bathroom. oooh! oh my word! geico. it's easy to switch and save.

fthe prilosec otc two-weekymore. challenge is helping people love what they love again. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. you have power over pain, so the whole world looks different. the unbeatable strength of advil. what pain? they're america's bpursuing life-changing cures. in a country that fosters innovation here, they find breakthroughs... like a way to fight cancer by arming a patient's own t-cells... because it's not just about the next breakthrough... it's all the ones after that.

a wealth of information. a wealth of perspective. ♪ a wealth of opportunities. that's the clarity you get from fidelity wealth management. straightforward advice, tailored recommendations, tax-efficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. fidelity wealth management. to help you grow and protect your wealth. 25 cent boneless wings at applebee's. ♪ born to be wild... born to be wild...♪ get 'em while they're hot.

shouldn't get in the way of a good time.. because a heart attack... should never stop the heart of a family. because hemophilia... shouldn't keep someone from doing what's in their blood. at bayer, everything we do... from advances in health to innovations in agriculture... is to help every life we touch. at bayer, this is why we science. t-mobile's newest signal reaches farther than ever before... with more engineers, more towers, more coverage. it's a network that gives you... with coverage from big cities, to small towns. introducing t-mobile's 600mhz signal. no signal reaches farther or is more reliable. and it's built 5g ready.

become all too obvious, a fact all right. ahead of impeachment hearings next week, to avoid what has become all too obvious, a fact pattern of wrongful behavior and arguable abuse of power, gopers have created two main distractions. let's call them thing one and thing two. thing one is the notion that unmasking the whistle-blower is the key to everything. the president pushes the idea. >> who is the whistle-blower? we have to know. is the whistle-blower a spy? >> and it rolls off the tongues of his allies on capitol hill. >> frankly i think the american people have a right to know who this whistle-blower is. >> one, there's a law that makes that not the case. but the intrigue is very intoxicating. but let's look at it with sober eyes and see it for what it is, a nontroversy. not only is unmasking potentially illegal and/or proof

of witness intimidation or even obstruction of a congressional investigation, it's irrelevant like the whistle-blower. why? practically everybody tidbit of information we learned about, those nine pages from the whistle-blower, they've been corroborated or improved upon from the white house call transcript, statements by officials, testimony, and good old-fashioned reporting. don't believe the hype. thing one ain't the thing at all. and as for thing two, the argument starts with a flashback. bolo. be on the lookout for a scapegoat. he's right, more than three times over than we suspected. giuliani, chief of staff mulvaney, and ambassador sondland are all being lined up to potentially take the fall. here's the play. okay, okay. what happened there is wrong. all right. maybe it's even obvious there was a shakedown. but the president didn't know about it. people were freelancing, going

rogue, working their own agenda. now, what's the upside to this? while a lot of people have testified and the texts show and there's a lot of coordinated proof that what was going on in ukraine was wrong and intentional to get the president what he asked for, no one has testified or shown the president told them directly, no aid until i get the bidens. everyone so far has heard it from someone, and all of the testimony so far ends with one of the three potential fall guys. the downside, though, let's start with rudy. on the call, trump told ukraine's president specifically to speak to rudy twice. he's not some accidental player in this. the president knows he's there and connects him to the biden ask himself. now, skeptics will say, well, that doesn't tie trump to withholding the aid, but don't forget "the washington post" reported that trump himself gave

the green light to suspending aid. and then what rudy says himself to us. i don't do anything that involves my client without speaking with my client. that's "the washington post." giuliani has some questions to answer about his associates and their dealings together, but he did this in ukraine for the president by all indications, not for himself. how about eu ambassador gordon sondland? republicans are banking on this part of his amended testimony. >> he says it was his presumption. >> yeah. that's -- >> not based on fact. it was his presumption. >> that he offered the quid pro quo. but that ignores the rest of sondland's testimony, where he says he was doing what rudy told him to. and who was telling rudy what to do? and why else would sondland want the bidens, right? and why was this newbie eu ambassador, european union, so

heavily involved in ukraine. they're not part of it, right? there's some reporting that he forced his way in over john bolton's objection. but why would bolton or the secretary of state or any of the other officials involved allow this newbie to just bull his way in if he was without portfolio from the president? now, something sondland himself said makes more sense. >> president trump has not only honored me with the job of being the u.s. ambassador to the eu, but he's also given me other special assignments, including ukraine. >> once again he ties it to trump. the biggest concern for sondland, who was gifted an ambassadorship for donating a million or so, might be this. >> let me just tell you i hardly know the gentleman. >> never a good sign. that takes us to acting chief of staff mick mulvaney. two big witnesses pointed directly to him today, saying that he coordinated with sondland on getting the message to ukraine's president, no meeting with trump unless the investigations come. the most damning thing that points to him as the reason this

all happened was his own candor. >> to be clear, what you just described is a quid pro quo. it is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the democratic server happened as well. >> we do -- we do that all the time with foreign policy. >> all right. now, the key part is the fact that he was forced to walk it back. that's the hint that he ain't driving the bus. but he may get hit by it. as should soon become clear to your own eyes and ears next week with the hearings, this was an obvious wrong. it was part of a long and densely populated plot to leverage an access to get political ammo against biden for this president. the more the trump defenders fight the obvious, the more powerful it becomes. that's the argument. next, we've got a loco bolo or a bolo loco. is our president really about to go celebrate vladimir putin? the new invite he says he would love to accept.

tell him we're flexible. don't worry. my dutch is ok. just ok? this man is very bendy. tell him we need this merger. he says he needs a hug. it's happening..! just ok is not ok. especially when it comes to your network. at&t is america's best wireless network according to america's biggest test.

they can save you these. in fact, if you had a dollar for every time they said it, you'd have a lot of dollars. which makes it hard to believe, especially coming from a talking lizard. pip, pip, cheerio! look, all i, dennis quaid, know is that esurance is built to save you dollars without skimping on service. and when they save, you save. the only way to know how much is to get a quote. chances are you'll save time, paperwork, and yes, dollars. when insurance is affordable, it's surprisingly painless.

when insurance is affordable, here, hello! starts with -hi!mple... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! [ camera clicking ]

wifi up there? -ahhh. sure, why not? how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today.

bolo. be on the lookout. potus confirmed today his interest in going to a parade at the behest of vladimir putin. he did, however, note one point of hesitation. >> so i appreciate the invitation. it is right in the middle of political season, so i'll see if i can do it. but i would love to go if i could. >> that's his only hesitation? and the victory day parade is outwardly about the soviet union's triumph in world war ii, but make no mistake. it's a celebration of russian military power. why? that's the question we keep asking when it comes to this president and putin. bolo! thank you for watching. "cnn tonight" with the man, d. lemon, n