welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. the top trump administration official says a bit about the airstrike on the iranian commander. plus nancy pelosi summons her top deputies to meet tonight. topping the to-do list? deciding when to deliver the articles of impeachment to the senate and get questions answered about the trial.

and the question now is whether john bolton will be a trial witness. he said he will answer questions if subpoenaed. but one suggests it doesn't have to be so complicated. >> i've known john bolton for a long time. he's a friend of mine. no reason john bolton can't say something publicly right now. i've never known him not to say something right now. >> back to that story a bit later, but we begin this hour on high alert in the fallout after an american killing of an iranian high commander. american forces across the middle east were placed on high alert for possible drone attacks. the u.s. said they killed soleimani because he had an imminent threat on americans, but the white house refused to provide any specifics. today just a tiny nugget from the security officer robert o'brien, finally revealing some kind of timeline. >> the intel we had, the information we had which we

believe was very strong, showed that soleimani and those he was plotting with were looking to kill american diplomats and soldiers in significant numbers in the coming days, and that's why he was traveling in the region of damascus and beirut and baghdad to conspire with people to kill american facilities that had american guardsmen and soldiers. >> his other key message? secretary pompeo said believe nothing coming from zarif. this hours after zarif spoke to cnn and insisted that iraq was on a mission not to plan more attacks. fred pleitgen is there. fred, you interviewed the foreign minister there. pompeo called him a liar. what was your major takeaway? >> reporter: you're absolutely right, mike pompeo calling zarif

a liar after the interview we did. he did indeed say that qassem soleimani was planning to out diplomats. he called the strike against soleimani state terrorism. he said the iranis view that as an attack directly on iran and there will be a response. that response will happen in iran's own time and on iran's own terms. it's not clear exactly what's going to happen or when it's going to happen, but iran says something is going to happen. this is something we've heard from other iran officials as well, that zarif believes it is the beginning of the end, as he puts it, of america's presence in this part of the world in the middle east. he says muslim nations, many nations are enraged after the killing of qassem soleimani who he hailed during this entire

interview, john, ripping the trump administration, ripping into president trump saying that president trump does not respect international law. the final thing i actually asked zarif is whether he thought there might be any sort of case to have a chance for diplomacy between these two states, and he said absolutely not, john. >> fred pleitgen, thank you for being there at this political time. we have kylie atwood at the state department. did we learn anything new? >> reporter: we didn't, really, john. what we heard from secretary of state mike pompeo again was a defense of this strike that killed soleimani. we heard pompeo say it was the right decision and it was entirely legal. but he did not give any more details on this imminent threat that the trump administration officials have repeatedly referred to, which led to this strike. instead of referencing future threats by the iranian regime that were orchestrated by

soleimani, he actually went backwards at times and looked at reference of what soleimani has done with regard to massacres in syria and violence in iraq and lebanon. the other thing, john, is that he really didn't give details on how the u.s. plans to deescalate this crisis. even though they keep saying they want to do that. instead pompeo said that if iran does retaliate and take action that the u.s. stands ready to act decisively like it did last week with that target that took out soleimani, again referencing the fact that the u.s. is ready to use military force if they need to if iran retaliates. john? >> kylie atwood live at the state department. appreciate that. we have cnn's dana bash, olivier knox from sirius xm. a great opportunity for the

secretary today, out giving us and the people at home more information. what specifically did they know? what led them to decide to take out the general at this time? why won't they give us that? >> part of it is sources and mer methods. but if they're getting into a situation where they're telling us we thought they might be about to attack a base in lebanon, for instance, or general planning. that opens up, was this an imminent strike? they won't give us any more because they don't want to engage in that debate. >> do they not want to get into that debate because they can't. we're not going to tell you where we got this information, but we had specific information that they're going to attack an embassy, a base at any time certain. they won't even say that much. >> there's really contradictory

messages, and after the strike there was an imminent threat in the coming days. they didn't say where or when. mike pompeo said here was this terrorist that was building out a campaign potential that there might be a future attack that would kill americans. i would say imperatively they could invoke the obama administration here. the obama administration didn't say we killed osabecause we thot something was going to happen. >> do you everhave a strategy f the coming days and weeks? that question was raised in this way. >> i think the more important question is not whether it was

legal or in consultation or any of that, whether it was a smart move. a as i see it, it was the opposite, that they've strengthened regime in iran. two weeks ago there were protests against the regime. now there are protests against us, massive protests. they've given the regime an outside target to divert from their sort of internal problems of the economy. >> it's an interesting take in the sense that the president stirred up a lot of condemnation when he pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, he strengthened them even more when he put sanctions on iran. there is a regular impact on iran. has the president, in an odd way, blown up his own strategy by doing this? >> potentially, and angus king and others who are like-minded politically are saying that publicly. but there are republicans saying that privately. this is in keeping with what we see generally in the trump era, republicans say things privately

and not publicly. but there is concern even among some really big hawks privately to him, like, really? this is how far you want to go? this is the guy who just one step further -- the only other person you could take out who would be higher would be the ayatollah. is this what you want to do? obviously the president was determined to do that, and what you've seen in the five or six days since is scrambling to try to come up with an explanation for why. and the whole question of imminent threat, they are eventually, starting today, going to have to go to congress and tell the people who do have the ability to get classified briefings what they really saw. and so, you know, they can't say publicly but they will know whether or not it was legit. >> and we will hear beginning tonight and in more briefings tomorrow whether those members -- again, they're not supposed to discuss the specifics but whether they got any sort of imminent significant

threat. >> what this has also done is put iraqi allies in this awkward position that they're under pressure from iran to kick troops out. but rouhani is now behind closed doors trying to figure out a timeline that they stretch this out so long that tempers will cool and they can at least keep people there to back up the isis fight. they don't have enough power to keep isis at bay. >> so they need american troops, but politically it's a greater problem than it was them. if you were abdul mahdi, which way would you turn, toward the neighbor who invented chess or a

temperamental twitter from the president? >> they say why are you doing this right now? we're just trying to keep our country together with the shiite militia groups, and they just keep sliding into chaos. >> another thing truhey say is don't believe what trump says on twitter. mark esper has said, no, we're not going to bomb cultural sites. that would be a violation of the rules of international order. secretary pompeo was asked about this today saying would you use your influence against the president to try to go against him? he said the issue was not the president. >> it is completely consistent with what the president has said. we will take -- every action we take will be consistent with the international rule of law and the american people can rest assured that that's the case. let me tell you who has done

damage to the persian culture. it's not the united states of america, ilt's the ayatollah. >> the issue comes up because if you look at the president's twitter feed or what he said to air force i, of course those will be on my target list. >> and telling us don't believe everything coming out on the president's twitter account, everything is fine, but we've seen the past several days how much the president goes off script and how much we are merging with the actions of a military conflict. not only is the military conflict inherently messy, but when you add president trump and his impulsiveness, it becomes even more difficult to contain and we've seen that from the cultural sites issued to whether or not we're leaving iraq or nono not, this mistaken letter that

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dang woodchucks! with geico, the savings keep on going. just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. congress, as we all know, can struggle to do one thing at one time, so the global crisis at the moment, impeachment and iran, are a real test. they also plan a series of votes to limit the president's power to continue to go after iran, or at least force him to seek congressional permission before doing so. pair that fight with the big tug-of-war over impeachment, speaker nancy pelosi still holding the impeachment articles. when she plans to transmit them remains a mystery, even to top allies. that includes the top democrat, chuck schumer. and there is new information

about shielding information about witnesses. john bolton says he is willing to come and say what he knows, but only if he's subpoenaed by the senate. they say his testimony is essential. if it's so essential, why doesn't the house subpoena him? >> i'm not sure it's the senate's job to complete the house's record. i think our job is to look at the articles they send over to us. >> the question is can the republicans hold there? john thune is in line with mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell does not want this to happen. he does not want witnesses. he said go to mid-trial, then they'll discuss witnesses and decide whether or not they need them. he hopes the answer is no. the question is do susan collins, lisa murkowski, two others get him to say hold them?

>> they want to hear from people who had direct conversation with the president, and here's someone who had direct conversation with the president and is willing to speak to the senate. i would keep my eye on reelection and people who broke from the president and those who are retiring. could there be sort of a group of four of them from that larger crew that break with party ranks? it's possible, but it won't be afterno an easy decision for anybody. >> it's odd, though, knowing john bolton and his life and his loyalty, knowing that, hey, we want john bolton. >> i remember when he was recess appointed because the democrats blocked his appointment to the u.n. >> this is john bolton in texas saying, be careful what you wish for, democrats. >> these are very smart guys, as

you know, and i'm sure he wouldn't have said what he said without gaming this thing out. if he is called as a witness at some point, it could be that his testimony would be enormously helpful to president trump, and i'm not sure that's what the democrats have in mind. >> yet, yet, he has not contradicted one of his key deputies, fiona hill, who testified under oath on the hill at a public hearing that he told her to go see the lawyers. there is no question that john bolton is on the record. if he disputed it, he would have disputed that for now. there's no question he saw problems here, but there is still the question of would he blame mick mulvaney, would he blame someone else? would he give damning testimony about the president? >> he would have to give a lot of documentary evidence to do that. he probably doesn't want a future with republican politics. we can't do anything beyond what the house did. for memory's sake, in 1989, the

clinton senate impeachment trial, they actually questioned three witnesses for the trial. they broadcasted their testimony on the senate floor. the idea that the senate's hands is tied because the senate did not subpoena him is just wrong. >> trying to get new information. they failed galactically in their effort, but they tried. speaker pelosi meets with her deputies tonight. she has held the articles of impeachment tonight. she says just bolton coming forward and saying he's willing to testify is a victory for that strategy. but she has to decide when do i send them and let them know the managers? >> she's got to do it at some point, and the bolton announcement gives her an in or an out, depending on how you look at it. an in to send the articles of impeachment, an out of this idea that she's going to hold them until the senate decides they're

going to have a legitimate trial without really understanding what the definition of legitimate trial is, since we know that mitch mcconnell will never agree to witnesses before the trial starts. so at least now she does have an ability to say, well, there could be something new if mitch mcconnell went on the senate floor and reiterated that he will allow the process to work out, which means there will be votes on witnesses once the trial starts, and that obviously would include somebody like john bolton. the speaker is getting pressure because it has been a long time. in fairness, everybody was gone. the they were off on break, but everybody is back now and she has not said a peep, as you mentioned, not even apparently to the top democrat in the senate, so she announced this meeting, i'm told, because of the pressure that she's feeling to finally do something. >> she will do something as congress, and she's one of the group of 8. tonight she gets a briefing. the top leaders get a briefing on the information. other members of congress will

get more information tomorrow. we're in this partisan polarized tribal, pick a word for it. we have been since the beginning of the trump presidency but even more so since the impeachment fight. this is the majority senate leader saying with iran, they'll hold it off for now. >> we want to bring an open mind to the briefing. in particular, we should all remember that the history of iranian aggression began long, long before this new cycle or this presidency. >> his historical perspective is correct. however, in the here and now, democrats in particular don't trust just about anything that comes out of the administration, and you mentioned in the previous block, there are some republicans skeptical here, too, right? >> i think that's present from mitch mcconnell that everyone will hold their fire until the

briefing. i don't expect the briefing will change much about what the partisan breakdown will be. democrats don't like what's happening, republicans for the most part are standing by the president. i think that will continue after these briefings. >> we'll see what comes out of these briefings that begin tonight. before we go to break, let's welcome a milestone in the impeachment of the president. 20 years ago, the senate began their trial in the impeachment of president bill clinton. >> hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. all are ordered to be quiet as we present the articles of impeachment of president bill clinton in the united states. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. home instead senior care. apps except work.rywhere... why is that?

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joe biden is talking foreign policy today, hoping his appearance in the senate is helping with the voters. but there is a big difference between experience and judgment. >> joe biden voted and help lead the effort for the war in iraq, the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of this country. joe biden voted for the disastrous trade agreements like nafta. joe biden pushed a bankruptcy bill which has caused enormous

financial problems for working families. so if we're going to beat trump, we need turnout. to get turnout, you need energy and excitement. i just don't think that type of record will bring forth the energy that we need. >> remember that. we're going to come back to that sound bite. but with the vote just 24 days away, joe biden could have even more incoming from the left. senator warren has a new proposal to strip down that 2005 bankruptcy law that she and biden went toe to toe on almost two decades ago. this is what happens. you get closer to the voting and the candidates get chippy. >> i don't normally see bernie sanders, who can be a little occ curmudgeonly, go after his fellow candidates. with joe biden leading in a number of these early states and a national lead, it shows that there is a sense that bernie sanders and some of the other candidates want to knock him down a couple pegs to make this

race a little more competitive. >> i think sanders supporters and liberals in the party see that he can position himself as sort of the anti-war, left-leaning, foreign policy candidate. they think there is an audience for that in the party, and there is. but at the same time biden sees it as a strong contrast for him and it allows him to highlight his experience. he is the standard bearing of democratic policy over the last 20 to 30 years. this is a fight we will see play out and i suspect will see out in interesting ways during the debate. >> and sanders did damage to the administration in 2014. he lasted longer in the race than anybody thought he could. he's building this network now not only to raise money but to maintain support. i asked people to remember that sound bite because we have seen this movie before. >> let us talk about the worst foreign policy blunder in the

modern history of this country. i led the opposition to that war. secretary clinton voted for that war. the american people might wonder about your qualifications, madam secretary, when you voted for the war in iraq, the most disastrous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of america. >> he is remarkably consistent. he also made the point that her husband was the president who passed nafta and he made the point about energy turnout against secretary clinton, saying he was worried the base wouldn't turn out for her. >> the irony here is that those sentences could have been spoken by candidate trump as well. here we are, because they're sort of populist isolationist, for lack of a better word, sensibility where the two polls meet. having said that rk, the fact t bernie sanders was so ready last

night with anderson cooper to go, as you said, so specifically against joe biden tells you that he does see what happened in iran as an opening, and he does see it as a potential to use against him in a very, very aggressive way. it's not a sneak attack politically because we have seen the rise of bernie sanders, but this is more evidence that he sees it, and they see something real, especially in iowa where he has a history of doing very well. >> indirectly, it's also a way to peel off -- he's attacking joe biden but also peeling away elizabeth warren as well, trying to say bernie is the true anti-war guy, bernie has been here since the beginning, let's go with bernie. elizabeth warren swelled in the summer. she's plateaued and dipped since. she's looking to mix it up with joe biden as well, and she's on television more than she normally is, including the sunday shows, trying to get in

the conversation. she was on "the view" today. she had several different answers when asked about general soleimani, who he is, whether it was justified. >> this doesn't change the truth. the question is what is the response that the president of the united states should make? he's part of a group -- >> he's not a terrorist. >> of course he is. >> okay. >> he's part of a group that our federal government has decimated as a terrorist. >> it is an odd answer in the sense that he's a terrorist because he's part of a group that the federal government has designated as terrorist as opposed to saying, yes, he is. >> we should talk about how steady this race has been and how long it's been. you are seeing this effort by bernie to finally stand and say, i am the standard bearer. she started out early on in her campaign by giving a foreign policy speech, if i remember

correctly. and what struck me about it was a lot of her messaging was maybe the president's goals are right but the tactics are wrong. it's been fun watching the dems manage this one as well. >> you know what strikes me as part of this interview that senator warren did, this is someone who her and her team serve on the surnday trappings. they don't like to be in the whole mix of washington things. she's on tuesday's shows, she's going on "the view." they feel like they need to get her message out, get her back up in the running. i think the message has been said but it's been dynamic. you have four or so candidates who have been switching places along the way. are you looking at iowa, are you looking at new hampshire, you know? >> all of it. i think some of these other

candidates are seeing time taken away, and if they want to change the dynamic of the dynamic, to borrow your word, they have to step up now, i think. >> they're running out of time. >> iowa has a surprise. we don't know what it will be, but iowa always has a surprise. coming up, the government declares a state of emergency after earthquakes. we'll be back in a moment. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ trumpand total disaster.mplete let obamacare implode. nurse: these wild attacks on healthcare hurt the patients i care for. i've been a nurse in new york for thirty years. i know the difference leadership can make because i saw what mike bloomberg did as mayor. vo: mayor bloomberg helped lower the number of uninsured by 40%, covering 700,000 more new yorkers, life expectancy increased.

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into your voice remote. that's simple, easy, awesome. click, call or visit a store today. topping our political radar today, the white house says president trump has been briefed on the situation in puerto rico and the governor there now declaring a state of emergency. that after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake and strong

aftershocks rocked the island this morning. they also announced $130 million in aid has been made available. at least one person has been killed. approximately 300,000 people are without drinking water. with iran threatening retaliation against the united states, the security department warning homes and businesses for possible cyberattacks. they are warning phishing attempts and other tactics. michelle obama launching a new instagram tv series. the six-part series is part of the former first lady's retire initiative to pursue higher education. as iran threatens retaliation, u.s. forces not the only ones on high alert across the middle east.

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while thousands o forces across the middle east are on high alert for possible drone strikes, there are plenty in the region who must now be vigilant amid iran's threat for retaliation. let's take a look at the region. if you look at iran in the middle here, surrounding it in several countries, in excess of 60,000 american troops in the region, 5,000 in the air of

emirates, 12,000 in afghanistan, 13,000 based in kuwait. remember, the administration says it is now sendi additional forces to the reasonable because of the confrontation with iran. this is the military perspective as iran vows retaliation and suggests that will be against a military target. others can't be sure. among the biggest companies with interests in the reasonable and facilities in the region, facilities, hotel chains, places like google and apple all concerned for their people in the region. the president's company, his family business, has properties in dubai and istanbul that are potential targets now that iran has threatened retaliation. as they all go on high alert, listen to iran's foreign minister in addition to cnn saying all those troops in the region no longer welcome. >> the united states believes that this beautiful military equipment, according to

president trump, that you spent $2 million on this beautiful military equipment. beautiful military equipment don't run the war. people run the war. people. the united states has to wake up to the reality that the people of this region are enraged, that the people of this region want the united states out. the united states cannot stay in this region. the people of the region not wanting anymore. >> analyst retired admiral kirby joins the conversation. it is stunning and actually sad that only in a time of crisis like this do we do the math and realize only 60 to 70,000 military in the region have to support that. you know the reasonable, you know -- you know the region, you know how it works. >> we should expect them to

retaliate or respond through a am asymmetric means. i think they will focus on civilian sites and not military sites. >> they have also declared the military as a terrorist organization, just like they have the quds force. when you say it will be a military target, do you take them at their word in this situation? >> i think we have to, and i think the department of defense is doing exactly that, sending more troops and now bombers into the area. i think you have to. now, look, the terrorists saying military organizations are terrorist organizations in terms of the united states, i think that's largely rhetorical in a way to make themselves feel good about it, but i think we need to take seriously the potential

threat to america's troops. >> if you are chevron, apple, google, the trump organization. how does intelligence get shared with american businesses, american interests, american companies who have major presences in a region that is now put on high alert? >> if the governor has credible information in intelligence that any infrastructure or business is at risk, they are obligated to share to the degree they can what they can and advise on how to prepare for it. the trump administration, i don't see any reason why they wouldn't do that. i think largely the focus is and should be on military targets right now. >> admiral kirby, i respect your opinion on this. federal prosecutors now want the former trump national security adviser to go to prison. there are new details. jessica, what do they say in this memo today? >> the memo just in.

they say michael flynn, the former personal adviser for president trump, should serve up to six months in jail. this is notable because this is a marked change from what prosecutors actually recommended a year ago now, and this is really a self-inflicted wound for michael flynn. it was about a year ago when he was set to be sentenced, and that's when the judge said he wasn't taking adequate responsibility for his actions, and in that ensuing year, michael flynn has hired a new defense attorney. he has also peddled these conspiracy theories, saying the fbi trapped him into giving this interview and admitting to lying. he said the government forced him into this guilty plea. the judge was having none of it. in an opinion a few weeks ago, the judge said none of this was founded. and then prosecutors asked for an extension to this deadline for their sentencing memo. really strong words from prosecutors here saying that our criminal justice system depends

on the solemn obligation of witnesses to tell the truth, something prosecutors say michael flynn has not done, that his crime is lying to the fbi. and this is notable as well. few courts have sentenced a high-ranking government official and former military general for making false statements, but this is exactly, john, what prosecutors are asking for now. they're now upping their request to the judge. this is a marked change from what they asked for a year ago, then recommending no jail time. john, now recommending up to six months for michael flynn. back to you. >> jessica schneider, appreciate the breaking news. mike pompeo plots his future and says it's not in kansas. we're reporters from the new york times. this melting pot of impacted species.

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for small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. shop everything home at wayfair.com mike pompeo says no as a final answer to a long-speculated question. will he run for senate? >> i said the same thing yesterday that i said for months. no real news there. i said i'm going to stay serving as secretary of state as long as president trump shall have me. >> but is that really the final answer? that seat will be open because pat roberts is retiring. roberts is of the belief that pompeo is still leaving himself some wiggle room. >> i don't think that was shermanesque, quite. he still has time to make up his mind. we have quite a few candidates in the race, so we ought to be all right. >> we ought to be all right, senator roberts says there, but

one of the reasons they're worried is senator kurt kovak is in the race. he lost the race for governor last time, and while things are dicey, so many republicans on defense. >> mitch mcconnell has seen the movie before where they lose a senate seat they shouldn't lose because someone is running on the republican ticket that's not electable, even in the red state of kansas, which is changing a bit. there's no question that mcconnell is disappointed that pompeo is not running. he sent a lot of signals that he was a reluctant maybe. >> he wasn't so reluctant. something pushed him back, thoughment do you ta though. do you take that as the final answer? he's got till june. >> he may want to see how things shake out a little bit, particularly in this new conflict we find ourselves in. i don't know, is any answer final in washington? >> he did tell mcconnell that if

you think kovak is the problem, you better find somebody else. >> i think whatever trump wants him to do, that's what he'll end up doing. >> we shall see. thanks for watching "inside politi politics." brianna keilar starts right now. i'm brianna keilar and this is special coverage of a country on edge. u.s. troops across the middle east are on high alert. two u.s. officials tell cnn that the military received intelligence overnight of a possible imminent attack by iranian drones on u.s. targets in the middle east. tensions between the u.s. and iran remain extremely high after a u.s. drone carried out a killing of general soleimani on the orders of president trump.

mike pompeo defended the action after being told that he was an imminent threat. >> you can clearly see we're continuing efforts on behalf of this terrorist to build out a network of campaign activities that are going to lead to potentially the death of many more americans. >> national security adviser robert o'brien did tell cnn that soleimani planned to kill diplomats and military personnel but declined to tell more details. congress is also receiving details on why the killing was imminent by the president. they will brief congressional leaders later this afternoon. iran's foreign minister is vowing retaliation for the death of iran's number two man. >> this is terrorism. this is an act