welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. it's debate night for 2020 democrats. joe biden, pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar look to sell the idea that a centrist has the best chance to beat president trump. plus, not just yet. house speaker nancy pelosi tells democrats they have to wait one more day to tell who she will tap to manage the senate impeachment trial. and the senate should have those two articles of impeachment by

wednesday night. mitch mcconnell is waiting ask he -- and he is counting. >> tomorrow will be four weeks -- four weeks -- since house democrats impeached the president with purely partisan support. >> back to the impeachment developments in a moment, but we begin with tonight's debate featuring the leading 2020 democrats. it comes amid a big new fight between the two leading progressives. senator elizabeth warren yesterday saying bernie sanders told her back in december 2018 that in hids vis view, a woman not beat president trump. senator sanders disputes that, says of course a woman can win. the question now is not just about this episode but the dispute about the details, how that plays out on a debate stage 20 days before the iowa caucuses. this race is very, very tight. progressives are already worried

about signs that the aggression pact was about to crack. let me start with you, alex. you've been writing about camp warren and camp sanders. what are we looking for tonight? >> i think over the weekend you saw that warren's team really felt something of a betrayal when the campaign script leaked for volunteers that portrayed her and her supporters as highly affluent and highly educated. you saw the campaign manager and all the warren staff on social immedia media highlighting their own personal stories, that they weren't highly affluent and not highly educated. then you saw the escalation yesterday when the story of this private meeting where bernie sanders allegedly, according to elizabeth warren herself, said that he didn't believe a woman could win in 2020.

now, there was a little bit of back and forth earlier in the morning when the cnn report came out, because the warren campaign did not comment for that report. and then sanders issued a strong denial. now, he acknowledged that sexism and trump did come up, but then later in the day we saw that elizabeth warren went on the record, and basically we have a he said shif she said situation, which on a debate stage, is an awkward way to have a conversation between people that have been friends for well over a decade. >> and so -- let me just jump in. if you're the other candidates, including joe biden, you're looking to make your point. this is the last debate before iowa votes. but you might be thinking let me step back a bit and see if these two want to duke it out. >> what will be really interesting is that joe biden will be standing on the stage right between elizabeth warren and bernie sanders. we've seen that clash developing between sanders and warren off stage, but there could also be clashes particularly when it

comes to foreign policy. foreign policy will be front and center at this debate. really domestic issues have dominated the democratic presidential primary. the democratic campaign has been itching for foreign policy to be an issue in these debates. they think joe biden's experience is really a selling for it point for him and he will be ready to be commander in chief on day one. but bernie sanders brought up the vote he took regarding the iraq war. he and his campaign have been really hammering away at biden over and over. we'll see if there are further clashes between the two when it comes to foreign policy. also pete buttigieg will be on that stage. he's been fighting a little bit in the polls so he wants to reclaim his position here in iowa, and then amy klobuchar and tom steyer are looking for breakaway moments since we're 20 days before the caucus, john.

>> here in the studio to help me, julie pace, mj lee, and jackie kucinich with "the daily beast." the senator last night did put out a statement, mj, kwimpli co what you stated. they know they're going feel each other out. what are we going to do? maybe we can get along. ma mec maybe i can get you to blink. you broug bernie sanders brought up something that a woman can't win. >> she's saying your lying or you have to own it and give a context to it.

>> chris, i think there were some wires crossed -- >> what does that mean, wires crossed? >> you're saying she said, hey, bernie, glad to see you. hi, how are you? bernie, i'm running for president. is that how the conversation went? i don't think so. >> bernie is saying that's how the conversation went. >> and alex put out a record statement saying this is a top female democratic running for president now saying her friend and male rival told her over a year ago that a woman could not win. as for how this is going to play out tonight, though, i think it's very different to put out written statements versus when you are a few feet away from each other. they will be separated by a single podium who will be joe biden standing between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. based on the statement we saw from warren last night, even though there was that key statement that said, i thought a

bottom could win and bernie disagreed, it really emphasizes the fact they have been friends and allies for a long time, that they have a shared vision, that they have worked together for a long time. i think that really foreshadows that she is not interested in talking anymore about this private meeting than she already has. sdp >> here's how your excellent story can leave a mark. it really emphasizes the stories bernie had in the last campaign, some of the sexism that was around him. maybe not out of bernie sanders' mouth. there were some clips going around last night of him saying a woman could be president, but that undertone, that was very much present in the last campaign. that coming back is not good for bernie sanders. >> you just guaranteed yourself a great afternoon. >> i can't wait. >> we have to be honest about this. anyone who has been out talking to voters know this exact question, can a woman beat donald trump, is something voters have been grappling with. what's different is you have a

candidate who gave voice to it himself, and are the voters saying, i'm kind of wondering the same thing. hillary clinton suffered, will amy klobuchar suffer from the same thing? or does it turn the other way? and women in particular who really want to vote for a woman, see a woman become president could go all in on one of those two candidates. >> i think the challenge for senator sanders is to be as clear as he can about his recollection. we'll see if warren accepts it, or if they just say we don't want to have a fight on the debate stage at this time. number one, they were taking so much space that a moderate gets through, or two, that it hurts their campaigns. the woman who wants to be on the stage tonight is amy klobuchar. do you think, i asked her, this country is a country that would vote for a young gay man for president before they would vote for a woman of any kind? she answered any question with a

blunt answer. yes. does that disappoint you? she said, no, i think that's the way it is. this from a woman senator who has been on the campaign for months now. even democrats saying, i want a woman, but i'm a little worried. >> they are worried about this but they don't want to hear it from a male democratic candidate. they want the democratic candidates to argue, of course a woman can run, and they should be able to win. this is an irreconcilable he said-she said between warren and sanders. they're basically a could youku each other of being liars. the pact they made is fizzling. are they going to try to rekindle that and say, this is a misunderstanding. it didn't come out in the press as it was really intended. will bernie say, i didn't say a woman can't win but it will be

tougher. >> i think his answer, again, what does he say? does he try to clear it up? does he try to make amends, does he do anything? there are other disagreements. the sanders campaign has a script of volunteers knocking on doors. the affluent like her, she can't build a democratic party. questioning her impurity on medicare for all because she's had changes on her plan. it's the last debate before iowa. they're trying to duke it out. biden has been on the attack for the iraq war. klobuchar out of the gate says, ladies and gentlemen, please? >> i know these folks. nobody should be attacking their character. they are deeply good people. i see them in rooms where nobody else sees them. let's keep it to the issues. >> 20 days till iowa votes, a race that is a four-way cluster

at the top between biden, sanders, warren and buttigieg. klobuchar has shown some growth. the question is can she get one of those late iowa surges? mr. steyer on the stage as well. eads str he's struggled in the polls but not enough to not get in the debate. should the candidates step back? >> this has been a moderately nice democratic primary with a few high-profile exceptions because a lot look at the clinton race in 2016 and say that she came out of that so damaged, and partly because they don't want to send their nominee guard wi forward with similar damage. at the same time, they all want to win. you don't, to booker's point, have to get deeply personal, but this is a contest and the eve eventual winner will have to

nudge somebody out. >> there's not a lot of enthusiasm among voters when you're talking to them for this kind of infighting. in fact, there is a deep, deep w wariness, whether it is the kind of character attacks or even arguments based on policy. people see that, and they see it as, this is a distraction away from the most important goal and the overarching goal of taking on donald trump. they do not want these candidates to be weakened and hurt before november. >> particularly among the idealogical divides, right? this is what we saw in the wake of that story yesterday. you saw the bernie and warren camps saying, okay, we just need to work this out. we don't need to be infighting on the progressive left. and there is hope that this would be -- he would explain himself, this would be put to bed quickly because those are the two candidates that are carrying that message right now with some success. >> they were bernie supporters who were lighting up twitter yesterday with anti-warren hash tags, and this really throws a

wrench into the hopes of movement progressives that these two would ultimately be on the same page. someone would be pushing for one or the other to consolidate the left and take on biden. others want them both to stay in and amass delegates, and between the two of them win the delegates even if he's the plurality leader. none of that will happen if they're not on the same page and trying to work together toward some outcome. >> before we go to break, i read something from amy klobuchar. i now know it was from a klobuchar spokesperson at an event. the democratic debate is tonight on cnn at 9:00 p.m. you don't want to miss it. if you have any questions, use ha#insidepolitics. we will try to answer those on a

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speaker nancy pelosi telling the democrats they have to wait another day. pelosi deciding not to tell her own party who will prosecute the case in the senate once they %-p her plans, including some of those who want to be impeachment managers. nancy pelosi will finally reveal the managers that sends the articles of impeachment to the senate. the majority member mitch mcconnell taking a moment to question the impeachment inquiry. >> nothing, nothing in our history or our constitution says a house majority can pass what amounts to a half-baked censure resolution and then insist that the senate fill in the blanks. there's no constitutional exception for a house majority with a short attention span. >> cnn's manu raju joins us live

from capitol hill. manu, what is the biggest takeaway about what happened behind closed doors in that democratic meeting? >> she made very clear she does not approve of the process that mitch mcconnell is now pushing in the senate trial. she criticized the majority leader very aggressively in talking about how it is not a fair trial. she contended, like she's done publicly, that in her view this is all to keep the facts from coming out. a lot of her democratic colleagues agree. she defended the position of holding the articles of impeachment for some time, the waiting process about a week from what we originally suspected, but she made it very clear she did that because of the concerns of this process moving forward in the senate in her view is not happening the way it should. she believes there needs to be witnesses agreed to up front. but she finally did make that decision, john, that tomorrow would be the big day when they actually vote to name those

impeachment managers, and that is going to set the stage for several things. one, the transmission of those articles of impeachment from the house to the senate. there will probably be a formal enrollment ceremony. the speaker would actually sign the articles and kick off that process. then the impeachment managers, once they're finally named, they'll go across the capitol, they'll go to the senate floor, they will read those articles of impeachment on the floor of the senate to the senators, and then we'll see the swearing in of the senators, the swearing in of the chief justice before those opening arguments take place. probably next week when the house impeachment manager makes their case, the defense team makes their case and we could see a resolution here potentially if the president has his way before the state of the union on september 4. john? >> i think things will speed up pretty quickly. manu from capitol hill. paul kane joins us in the

studio. the speaker, this is what she does. she holds her cards close until she believes it's time to play them. why? >> there's a sense of drama to it and maybe there are one or two final choices that she's trying to make here. everybody knows one thing. it will be a diverse set of managers. last time there were 13 white male republicans who went across the capitol from the house. that's not going to be the case this time. everybody suspects that adam schiff and jerry nadler, the chairs of the intelligence and judicial committees respectively will have the more senior posts. then it's about filling up the line-up card. there will be a mix of people probably from those two committees because they had the big roles on this. you know, it's just one more extra day, you know. what's wrong? >> again, the republicans were saying she ended up blinking.

what did she get from this fo four-week hold? well, at least she got some emails that showed how the ukraine was held up. john bolton raised his hands. and if you're the president, and you're trying to figure out who your team is, you know you have to counter the house prosecution team. it takes another day to get that. is that a big deal? >> i'm a little bit with paul here where i feel like once we get into this, i feel like this process we've been through here will get wiped away pretty quickly. i do feel this is quite dramatic, we'll hear from the president's team, possibly some witnesses. pelosi didn't get a ton out of this process, but she may ultimately look like a victor if a john bolton ends up before the senators. that is something that at the end of the house process looked like it was nowhere in the cards. it's at least a possibility.

that is something. >> she likely didn't change the outcome of the trial, but one thing pelosi's advisers were worried about, according to the sources i'm speaking to, is mcconnell would move quickly to spike this. it would either be a dismissal or a very speedy trial late in december, probably around the holidays when people aren't watching, and they want scrutiny on this. they would like to get a conviction. that looks unlikely. it still looks unlikely. the added scrutiny of bolton coming out and the witnesses might help with that. >> and now there's no prochlmis or anything, but there is a lot of talk about voting on them or perhaps having them. that's other things you hear pelosi folks pointing out. >> i want to go back to the question of whether we're just getting some responses from

republicans. the president there for weeks and weeks said, i want a trial. he wants to call joe biden, he wants to call hunter biden, he wants to call the whistleblower. most republicans have no interest in that. they said if the democrats are going to call witnesses, we might do that. of late, the president said, let's dismiss this quickly. ray blount said, i think i am safe in saying there is almost no interest in a motion to dismiss. certainly there are not 51 votes for a motion to dismiss. if the president doesn't get what he wishes, he can get annoyed. >> he started out by saying ehe wanted a big, long trial. haul in joe biden, hunter biden. now he's saying he wants it dismissed. he says a bunch of different things at once. who knows what he wants

tomorrow? >> and they were never going to be able to dismiss this right away right out of the gate. they left open the possibility after the presentations maybe having a dismissal vote. that probably won't happen, but this idea of dismissing right out of the gate, everybody wants to have some sort of trial. >> and the other issue, as i mentioned this could be a factor in pelosi holding out a little bit, we know the president watches television. we know the president likes drama. we know the president loves it when his defenders in the hearing stood up and defended him. most of them fought furiously and they didn't want the facts. who is on the president's defense team? we know jay sekulow will be part of it, but will rudy giuliani be on the team? give me a break. but senator john cornyn again joining his leader mitch mcconnell trying to send a message to the white house.

i think the president is entitled to a defense counsel of his choosing. my advice to him would be, let's not infect the senate trial with the circus-like atmosphere of the house. and i think there would be an increased risk of doing that if you start inviting house members to come over to the senate and try the case. >> i think one of the things that we have heard from senate republicans is that they know not just externally but internally within their own caucus that the persuadable members, they are the more moderates. and they are not going to be swayed by a jim jordan. their politics are so different. what you're seeing inside in terms of the key swing senators and what you're seeing outside in terms of the voters that need to be persuaded that the president did nothing wrong really argues for a more measured, less political case. and i think the president might not like this, but if you look at the reality of the evidence that is before him, it probably does work in his favor to have a more measured case because if

you start getting this kind of tied up in some of the kind of conspiracy theories, it really, i think, sends this into a place that he and his team actually don't want to be. >> and it puts him on the outside. the president will be watching that and trying to interject that, and it will be up to his attorneys to keep that on the periphery and not in the chamber. >> and don't forget mark alexander and mark enzi who don't want this to be a circus-like trial. as we go to break, a warning sign about 2020. the russians are still hacking and still intent to interfere in the 2020 election. cybersecurity says russian hackers breached the burisma holdings. the hacking, according to the "new york times," began in early november. the russians infiltrated the

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the senate now speeding up its impeachment trial preparations. it is clear the president will not get the quick dismissal he has selected in recent days. the bigger question is whether

the senate trial will allow new witnesses and new documentary evidence. it's now clear there are enough republicans, it would take four who are open to joining democrats in calling for new trial witnesses. but open to having witnesses is not a guarantee there will be witnesses. the majority leader mitch mcconnell wants to set that question aside until after the prosecution and defense make their case, and then senators get to ask questions. lauren fox has been talking to senators on capitol hill. where are we and how likely on the witness question? >> reporter: john, you make a very key distinction. wanting witnesses or being open to witnesses is very difficult in openly voting on individual witnesses, like mick mulvaney, like john bolton, the president's former national security adviser. there are lots of questions about whether or not ultimately there will be four republicans willing to break ranks and vote with democrats on witnesses like bolton and like mulvaney. so let me walk you through who some of those potential republicans are. one of them, of course, susan

collins up for reelection in 2020. she told me yesterday she tends to like more information, not less. then you have people like lamar alexander. they're retiring. he is a senator who has said he is open to witnesses but he doesn't want to make any decisions until after the trial gets started, after they've each made their presentation. that's where things stand, john. whether or not there will be enough republicans still remains to be seen. >> lauren fox, an interesting couple days ahead as we do this. i just want to get a flavor of how this plays out in the sense that you can say you're open to witnesses. which senator said it, what is their calculation, how loyal to mcconnell, are they on the ballot next year, so on and so forth. here is john cornyn. what is he saying? >> do you want witnesses or not? >> sure. there's different forms of witnesses, bill. i just don't believe that it's

likely to be necessary, after both sides have a chance to present their case and the senators have a chance to ask questions. i don't think the facts are that disputed. >> meaning yes, but no. >> i'm not voting for witnesses. >> it depends on what the definition of a witness is. look, there are some democrats who think, actually, that there is kind of a dead zone here between they'll only get two or three republicans for witnesses, meaning no witnesses at all, or something will happen in the trial and it will become very clear politically that they need to bring in some witnesses, so you're over 40 or more who are like, okay, bring on bolton or bring on somebody to clear things up. >> here's the -- i'm going to

say the trump card -- forgive me -- mitch mcconnell will have. during the impeachment and the senate trial, they'll have video clips from the impeachment trial, and documents. mitch mcconnell will say, okay, you really want john bolton. if we give them that, if you do that, the next person in this room is going to be rand paul. and he's going to say, i want hunter biden. and if i give you john bolton, who am i going to tell him because this is the case rand paul will make. >> my point of view has been all or none. if they do not allow the president to call all the witnesses he wishes to call that i'm not just selectively saying, to be jrudicious, i should let the democrats call the witnesses they want. if we want a fair trial, it would be joe biden, hunter biden and really the whistleblower. >> it's interesting because mr. mcconnell is playing cards close here. he's not saying there won't be

witnesses because there are some members in his caucus that don't want to make the argument that both mick mulvaney and john bolton had direct involvement in the center issue the president is being impeached for shouldn't testify. what if they don't testify? what if the senate makes no effort to call them and they write tell-all books down the road? >> or they're writing a tell-all book right now. >> the difference between john bolton and mick mulvaney has said he will testify if he's subpoenaed. but the fact he's willing, i think, does ratchet up the pressure even a smidge on some of these republicans that might be on the fence. >> just for those of you planning your weekends, john thune, number two in the senate republican race, number two, all the preliminary trial stuff could happen this week. meaning the house sends the articles over, we expect tomorrow night sometime, we could have the senators pass the resolution on their rules, doing the swearing in, none of the actual testimony, no other

presentation is expected until after the mlk holiday, because we could have friday and saturday spent on the preliminary warmup to this trial. >> yeah. and after that there will be a couple more days where i believe it's about motions and briefs and pro forma sessions, so there could be another full weekend in iowa for these candidates. >> by tuesday, all those senators running for president might essentially be locked in washington. extraordinary in the lead-up to caucuses. up next we switch to the global stage. iran wants to take president trump to court. this round's on me. hey, can you spot me? come on in. find your place today, with silversneakers. included in most medicare advantage plans.

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topping our political radar today, iran says tit wants to prosecute president trump in a criminal case. a spokesman for the yiranian judiciary says tehran considers it an act to deescalate tensions with iran. the prime minister said without that latest escalation of tensions, 65 ukranians who died when iran mistakenly shot down that jet liner would still be alive. and european powers call out iran on nuclear deal violations. the united states abandoned it

back in 2018. the european power said they simply couldn't let the violations continue. britain's former secretary said a diplomatic solution within the guidelines is the best way forward. boris johnson not so sure. >> the problem with the agreement is from an american perspective. it's a flawed agreement, it expires, plus it was negotiated by president obama. from that point of view, it has many, many faults. well, if we're going to get rid of it, let's replace it, and let's replace it with the trump deal. that's what we need to see. and i think that would be a great way forward. >> he thinks that would be a great way forward. is it a realistic way forward considering iran would have to come to the table and negotiate. even if you just left it alone and put trump's name instead of obama's name. >> one, there is no trump deal. the only trump proposal is to renegotiate what obama

negotiated, but he hasn't laid out what that deal would look like, he hasn't said what the u.s. would give to iran in order to try to entice them to the table, and to your point, iran would have to be willing to engage in diplomacy, and they haven't backed that up with any reality. >> the administration said hezbollah ballistic missiles would have to be on the table. that was left out of the jcpa. >> they're trying to finish up impeachment and a couple other things, not try to tackle something like this. the 2020 democrats flooding iowa's airwaves. their messaging, next. hed with n weight loss plan. find out which customized plan can make losing weight easier for you! myww join for free and get two months free!

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just 20 days now to the iowa caucus, so as you might expect, if you live on iowa, turn on the tv, you are being inundated with ads from the candidates. just a taste in recent days. >> trump knows biden will beat him in pennsylvania, michigan and wisconsin, the states we need to take back the presidency. it's why trump can't stop talking about -- >> biden, biden, joe biden. >> when candidates say we can't guarantee health care for

overall, make college affordable. >> democrats have been awarding big donors like cushy things like this for years. it's washington corruption. when i'm president, that stops. >> i'm running for president for the guy who is up early scraping the windshield on the way to the first of his jobs. >> i know exactly who i'm supporting for president. amy klobuchar. >> she knows how to get things done. she does not back down from hard problems. when you're talking about a billionaire, i'm a billionaire with a b. he's a fake billionaire with a c for criminal. >> that last capital c. anyway, economy, corruption,

readiness. i believe biden was really the only one to really mention trump and to really draw that contrast and start crushing way c, b. the fact that those are the themes they're focusing on, i think, informs you with what iowans care about. but you didn't see a lot on health care specifically, which the map that i'm looking at in your head -- >> it's interesting, a couple weeks ago several of the candidates switched to climate ads, and i was asking, what's going on in the data? these things don't happen by accident. something in their polling or something in their data feed tells them to do it. pete buttigieg talking about jobs. if you go to the top issues search bid county inside iowa, the gray you see on the map, that's health care. there is a lot of health care on that map. huge concern. the yellow, or goldish color, that is unemployment, jobs related. it's always interesting to watch. we'll see where we are 20 days

from now when we know who wins iowa. we'll look at this from a more csi perspective, if you will. it is interesting joe biden pushing electability, sanders and buttigieg trying to be more issue-specific. >> health care is one of the issues we'll hear about through this entire campaign, and democrats are still trying to figure out where they need to be there. do we focus on expanding obamacare or moving for medicare for all. it was fascinating to hear trump weigh in on health care saying he was the one that saved preexisting conditions. completely inaccurate, but it goes to show how the health care debate politically has visited where a central part of obamacare is now central in both parties. >> and buttigieg said they were not going to deal with obamacare

this year at the risk of losing. look at this from google. joe biden and bernie sanders searched the most by iowans. michael bloomberg is not even on the ballot in iowa. he was third there. this doesn't necessarily mean anything, it could be someone who likes biden searching his name, someone who doesn't like biden searching his name, but it is interesting in the race as we get closer. >> michael bloomberg not contesting in iowa. it's an easy thing to do but he's obviously taking another strategy. the two ads that really catch the heart is the biden ad and the bernie sanders ad. i can make this man go away, look no further. bernie sanders talking about jfk, which bernie sanders is very much in the mold of fdr with larry david, i might add. >> this is a twitter from kenneth sorkin. as democrats drop out, how important will their

endorsements be from remaining candidates? we talked about this, too. when the senators are stuck here for the impeachment trial, some of these people who dropped out, castro, for example, i think elizabeth warren might be saying, julian, can you get to iowa for me? >> yeah, they'll play key roles in either geography or their own bases. castro could be a big player for her in nevada where he could go and there is a large latino work force out there that will be part of the nevada caucus. a cory booker endorsement would be probably the biggest i think so far of those who have dropped out of the race, especially if someone was looking for african-american support. >> kamala harris. thanks for joining us on "inside politics." brianna keilar starts after a very quick break. have a good afternoon. i'll get that later. dylan! but the one thing we could both agree on was getting geico

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i'm brianna keilar live from cnn's washington headquarters. underway a look at the des moines stage for the debate where six final candidates will face off before the nation. they are going to take a tour of the stage, and first up we'll see joe biden. he has been trading jabs with senator bernie sanders over his iraq war record. and speaking of sanders, all eyes are also on the matchup