this is cnn tonight, i'm don lemon. the impeachment trial moving into a whole new face. but the trial hinges on the question of witnesses. a trial without witnesses, seems odd, right? mitch mcconnell saying they don't have the votes to block witnesses from testifying. but it could go either way.

they're working overtime to come up with reasons for not letting john bolton testify under oath. lindsey graham seems to think the senate would be drowning in witnesses. >> if there's one witness, there will be a bunch of witnesses. and i don't think we need any more witnesses. >> that may be the main gop talking point. mcconnell saying it could lead to more witnesses with no clear path out of this trial. sounds like john thune got the message. >> you start calling him, then the democrats are going to want to call mulvaney, and pompeo, because i'm sure they'll get references. >> it's a trial. trials have witnesses. that's how a trial is supposed to work, anyway, you know? ted cruz says the whole thing has gone on long enough. >> they just want to drag this

on. they're playing a delay game. they want to keep it open for weeks and weeks, and months and months. >> it's been seven days. seven days. which doesn't seem like an awfully long time. after all, this is the impeachment trial of the president of the united states. but rand paul doesn't want to call bolton as a witness because he may sell more books. >> i would say he's a witness very interested in making a lot of money right now. >> and mike braun says we're too polarized already. and it seems like hearing the fact from a credible witness could make us less polarized. >> just tell us what you know. i think that would be the smart thing. i encourage john to do that

without involving the trial. >> if you think bolton should tell what he knows, why wouldn't you want him to do it as part of a trial? why wouldn't you want him to do it under oath? josh holley seems to think it's a problem there's a lot of news about impeachment. >> i imagine we'll get another one, this is tuesday, right? we're not voting probably until friday. i imagine we'll have more stories. >> sounds like you're dismissing evidence because there's so much of it. and mark meadows seems to think it's a plot to convince republicans to open up the trial to witnesses. >> this was designed for one purpose only, to try to manipulate the thinking of my republican colleagues in the senate to open it up and provide for more witnesses. >> roger wicker thinks it

doesn't matter what bolton says. and bolton says the president told him he was withholding aid to force ukraine to announce an investigation of the bidens. but senator wicker thinks that's not grounds for impeachment. >> i basically think in agreement with the very scholarly approach that mr. dershowitz gave, there's no article there that is grounds for impeachment or removal. >> speaking of alan dershowitz, it wasn't that long ago that he was speaking of then-candidate trump corrupt. >> you compare that to what trump was doing with trump university, so many other things. there's no comparison between who has engaged in more corruption, and who is more

likely to continue that if elected president of the united states. >> well, that was 2016. how things have changed. one thing that hasn't changed much is public opinion about calling witnesses. in another poll out tonight, 75% of americans in a new poll say witnesses should be allowed to testify. 75%. can you get 75% of americans to agree on anything? there you go. 75% say witnesses should be called. but the big question in all of this, now that we've heard from the senators is, will they hear what the american people are saying? that's a big question. and one final note i have for you. because this is personally important to me to address this, okay? anyone, ask anyone who knows me, they'll tell you. i don't believe in belittling

people. belittling anyone for who they are, what they believe, or where they're from. during an interview saturday night, one of my guests said something that made me laugh. in the moment, i found that joke humorous. i didn't catch everything that was said. just to make this perfectly clear, i was laughing at the joke. and not at any group of people. still to come, on this show tonight, the latest on the impeachment trial of president donald j. trump, and tributes across the country to kobe bryant. we'll be right back. for a matte color impact, with a barely there feel. luxuriously intense matte shades. rouge signature by l'oreal paris. we're worth it.

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the next phase of president trump's impeachment trial begins tomorrow, there are two days for written questions, then they turn to the debate and whether to bring in witnesses. i have the "a"-team to analyze the impeachment stuff, but first we have to get to the "aa"-team, our other team, manu, let's get to the latest here. mr. mcconnell is making it clear that the gop doesn't currently have the votes to block

witnesses. what's going on here? >> they don't have the votes yet, but they could eventually get there. in fact, i'm told from top republicans they're confident they'll ultimately get the votes they need to reject that motion that will call for witnesses. if they do reject that vote, expected on friday, the president could be acquitted in a matter of days. the argument that republicans are saying, if we move forward, this could lead to an endless parade of witnesses, and it could drag on for some time. talking to some republicans, roger wicker said he didn't need to hear from john bolton. even if he says what is reported that the president linked ukraine aid to probes, that would not be enough to impeach him for his conduct. take a listen. >> do you think his conduct was

concerning in any way, the president? >> do i agree with everything every president has done? no. does that include this president? yes. my voting record is something like 92 point something percent in support of president trump's positions. but the question is not whether i think a phone call was perfect or whether something was advisable or not. the question is, is this an impeachable offense? >> that's where a lot of republican senators are coming down. what they've heard is not enough to remove the president from office, or move forward with any new witnesses. that argument is working. the question is, will there be

four defectors? there will probably be six, seven, or eight republicans ready to vote for witnesses. a lot of work will have to happen before the friday vote. >> quick question. even if the democrats clear the hurdle on witnesses, they may lose some of their own on the vote to convict when it comes up, right? >> yes. the possibility of clearing president trump, like senator doug jones, senator joe manchin. also kirsten cinema, she's not saying what she's thinking about. watch for those in particular, they could even split their votes, possibly clear the president on obstruction of

congress, and convict him on abuse of power. they hope to make a decision after the question period is done. >> manu, thank you very much. earlier in the show, we showed a clip of congressman mark meadows, who is a congressman and not a senator. wanted to make that clear. and as i said, my a-team is here. we'll get to the other stuff. but them saying this is not an impeachable offense, what is impeachable? >> that's a question one of the constitutional scholars had. it would be abuse of power, betrayal of the nation, and they have to show that. >> that's one of the

constitutional scholars, what he said. but another one said, it's problematic, but it's not worthy of impeachment. this is not grounds for impeachment. there are conflicting constitutional arguments on this. we heard a lot of them today. republicans say all you need is the constitution and your common sense. democrats are saying the same thing. >> still, i still don't know, what is impeachable, if this isn't impeachable, i don't know what is. john, you've seen and heard all the reporting. what is your call on witnesses? how do you think this is going to go? >> i'm leaning about 60/40 about will there be witnesses. because there will be a breakthrough on bolton. a number of the senators are in tough races. it's a really rough thing to not

have a fair trial. we just saw the poll you showed. 75% of the americans think that there should be a fair trial here, and there should be witnesses. that's an unusual number, you can't get 75% of americans to agree on the time of day. >> that's what i was saying. >> and a lot of the pressure will come down on the senate. >> i just thought about it, i saw dershowitz's name, republicans are hanging their hat on the dershowitz argument. even if what bolton said is true, it still wouldn't be impeachable. but he's in the minority on that thinking. >> he is. the argument began a week and a half ago, you don't have enough evidence to prove the president abused power. now it's, even if everything you said is true, and it's corroborated with a firsthand witness, it's not enough. and i've been thinking about the issue of what would have

happened had the "new york times" not released the information in the transcript? it almost gives republicans who are already looking for an excuse, i don't have to call a witness. i think i've already seen the best part of the movie. and you know what, it's not enough to change my mind. >> were you watching me last night? i said the same thing. you said it, you were more articulate than me. but they're looking for any excuse, they can say i did my due diligence, and i can vote that way, and boom. >> but these are not genuine arguments. it's a predetermined conclusion in search of whatever arguments are necessary. and the arguments keep changing as the fact pattern keeps

changing. >> do you know, why isn't he just getting in front of a microphone? >> why isn't john bolton doing that? i don't know the answer to that. but i did want to respond to something, 75% of americans, that's a very unusual number. because of that you think there will be witnesses. we have an equally or more unusual president whose thirst for retribution is like nothing we've ever seen. and so they're chilled about what the president may do if they cross him. >> of the 75%, half of them are republicans. but mitch mcconnell, he will look closely at them. ted cruz has made it clear, he doesn't need to hear what john bolton has to say. there is no information that will compel him to say that the

democrats have made their case. >> even if john bolton has a recording of donald trump saying to hold the aid? >> if he does, john bolton should come forward with a moral on obligation. but mcconnell, he could say let's also hear from hunter biden, also adam schiff. that may be enough to compel them to withhold their desire for witnesses. >> let me just play this moment from this morning on fox and friends. watch this. >> when lindsey graham comes out and says bolton may be a relevant witness, i don't see how you avoid bringing bolton in now. >> lindsey graham says something different every single hour. i just saw him saying there should be no witnesses because the house had the ability to call all these witnesses and

didn't do their job. >> john kelly says he believes him. they're saying it doesn't matter. john kelly says he believes him. lindsey graham saying -- >> it doesn't matter. because you said what if there's audio of trump saying this. it doesn't matter because they've gone to, oh, well, it doesn't matter anyway. either way, they get to their predetermined conclusion. >> pat cipollone showed old video of democrats arguing against the clinton impeachment. >> they were right then, and they're right now. i'll leave you with some of those words. >> there must never been a narrowly voted impeachment, supported by one major party and opposed by the other. >> by these actions, you would undo the free election that expressed the will of the

american people in 1996. >> the republicans are crossing out the impeachment standard of high crimes and misdemeanors, and inserting the words any crime or misdemeanor. >> the constitutional provision for impeachment is a way to protect our government and citizens, not another weapon in the political article. >> history will show we've broken the seal on this extreme penalty so cavalierly, it will be used to fight political battles. my fear is that when a republican wins the white house, democrats will demand payback. >> you were right. >> they were all so young back then. >> they were. the strategy today was do no damage, and give the boss something that will please him. >> democrats used the same

tactics on republicans. is it effective? >> of course. it shows a certain obvious degree of hypocrisy on those issues. >> it requires amnesia, because there is a critical distinction between the facts then and now. someone can make the argument and say this is hypocritical, but what is the distinction, an alleged abuse of power involving a compromised national security, and withholding funds to ukraine. >> we have the presumption of wrongdoing, and actual bill clinton lying under oath, which is a violation. >> we heard from witnesses, and evidence. we haven't heard from witnesses and evidence. no evidence allowed. i've got to go. yeah. >> there's been quite a bit of evidence. >> the reality is, the house had all the ability in the world to

subpoena people. >> thank you all. i've got to go. my next guests spoke to over 200 trump officials and confidants for their best-selling book that is rocking the white house. you're going to want to watch the next segment. we'll be back after this break. this is the tempur-pedic breeze° and its mission is to make sleep feel cool. so no more night sweats. no polar ice cap air conditioner mode. no windows open... in january. because the tempur-pedic breeze° delivers superior cooling, from cover to core... ...helping you feel cool, night after night. during our presidents day event, save up to $500 on tempur-pedic. now ranked #1 in customer satisfaction with retail mattresses by jd power. find a retailer today at tempurpedic.com.

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mitch mcconnell telling republicans he doesn't have the votes to stop witnesses from testifying in president trump's impeachment trial. does that mean we'll hear from john bolton? in his upcoming book, he said he directly tied ukraine aid to the

investigation of biden. >> if you want to call that evidence, i'd call it inadmissible. but that's what it is. >> joining me now, two people who have done extensive reporting on the trump white house, the authors of the new book, "a very stable genius: donald j. trump's testing of america." thank you for joining us. phil, i'll start with you. you did a lot of reporting on john bolton's relationship with the president. and they're polar opposites. >> bolton has a clear agenda,

and he saw an opportunity to encontae enact what he wanted to get done, but over the course of a year, he somewhat has manipul e manipulated the president. he took notes that could imperil the impeachment trial for the president if he were to come forward and testify. and it's become a very dire situation for trump. >> it was a controversial hire, pick for the president. wasn't bolton the exact opposite of what trump ran out, getting us out of wars? >> bolton is somebody who is the third national security adviser, the president had been through two before. michael flynn, and the second, a person he mocked as not strong enough. the president used to brag that

bolton was so conservative and so much a hawk, he was actually tougher than me. which was a big compliment. >> you talked to over 200 officials and trump confidants for the book. tru is the trump in the bolton manuscript and your book the same? >> similar, but there's a similar theme. john bolton, like so many others, the president didn't like being reined in. he didn't like anyone giving him counsel and warning him away from people. increasingly, the trajectory of this presidency is a presidency of one. driving the grown-ups out of the room. bolton was driven out of the room, but he took his notes or at least a lot of

contemporaneous memories with him. >> in the opening arguments, they keep claiming president trump's priority was fighting corruption in ukraine. >> the president expressed concerns about corruption in ukraine. president trump shared his concern about corruption. >> the president raised concerns about ukrainian corruption. >> phil, you have new reporting that continradicts that. >> yes, he asked rex tillerson to start dismantling the foreign act, he thought it was unfair to businesses in america. he wanted to enable this sort of corruption. he asked the secretary of state

to get rid of the law. that's not anything that anyone in the executive branch has any authority to do. but the idea that trump is committed to going against corruption is not supported in this book. >> and you saw benjamin netanyahu at the white house just hours after he was indicted. he has a funny way of showing that he's fighting against corruption, doesn't he? >> multiple times the president said he wanted this aid blocked, and the chief of staff agreed to do that, even though at the time the accountability office said it was illegal. but the president wanted it badly, and they were willing to

break the law to do it. >> i'm going to play this real quick. this is the npr reporter and mike pompeo, he weighed in on that. >> that was very impressive, mike. that reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you yesterday, right? i think you did a good job on her, actually. that's good, thank you, mike. >> he's talking about the secretary of state berating a reporter, giving him a gold star. >> the president has made the media a separate party in a way in our democracy. that's not what we are. we're trying to report the facts, we're not at war with the administration. some of the facts are unflattering, and probably unwelcome. and the president hasn't really liked the things he's read about our book, but they're rigorously

reported, vetted, fact-checked, and we're very proud of what we were able to learn inside the room. >> we're not perfect. when we get it wrong, we apologi apologize. >> and the president's comment fits a pattern of behavior of his over the last three years of the authoritarian impulses that people that worked with him told us that they're concerned about that behavior, and they think it's a clear and present danger for the country. >> thank you very much. the book again is called "a very stable genius". new information about why kobe bryant's helicopter crashed. we'll have that for you, as tributes to the lakers legend are coming in tonight.

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new developments in the kobe bryant helicopter crash investigation. the ntsb says it was descending over 2,000 feet a minute. we have the story of how the nba legend spent his final hours. >> reporter: in his final hours, the record will show kobe bryant was living his best life. he retired from professional basketball in 2016. but his love of the game and family was everpresent. one day before the fatal crash, this photo snapped. bryant and his 13-year-old daughter gianna watching shaquille o'neal's daughter practice. she said, i knew y'all was watching over me. i was trying my best to impress both of you. social media was also where bryant last posted, to lebron

james as he surpassed bryant's scoring record. saturday, 10:39 p.m., bryant tweeted continuing to move the game forward, king james. much respect, my brother. number 33,644. the number of baskets james had just made. and james saying, i literally just heard your voice sunday morning. didn't think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we'd have. wtf. i'm heart broken, and devastated, my brother. bryant began his sunday in prayer. >> he was quite a man of faith. >> too early for mass, he went to the prayer chapel before 7:00 a.m. at a church in newport beach. >> he came here as a person of faith and prayed along with the rest of us. >> then he headed off to be

there on a big day for gianna. it was supposed to be the first day of her tournament at the mamba academy. they took this helicopter. this shows their chopper as they flew in dangerously cloudy conditions. the aircraft was flying so low, air traffic control said they couldn't follow its path on radar. before 10:00 a.m., it crashed, in an area investigators call a logistical nightmare. all nine people onboard perished. the bryants, a basketball coach, a baseball coach, his wife, and gianna's childhood friends and teammates, and one of their mothers, as well as the pilot. all of them, gone. this is the moment news of the

crash made it to the mamba academy tournament. stunned silence ending the sound of joyful play. the crash left families destroyed and fans distraught. >> you have tears in your eyes, sweetheart. >> i miss kobe. >> i can't fathom to know vanessa's pain, losing her husband and a daughter in the same day. and the other families, losing a mom, dad, and a daughter. it's just unthinkable. >> this father noted kobe spent his last hours in a house of prayer. >> he gave his life to the lord, and yesterday, he had to give it back. >> shaquille o'neal with an emotional remembrance tonight. ♪

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. basketball fans and people around the world mourning the tragic loss of kobe bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others killed in a helicopter crash sunday. shaquille o'neal spoke emotionally tonight during tnt's basketball coverage. >> it just makes me think that in life sometimes instead of

holding back certain things, we should just do. we up here, we work a lot. and i think a lot of times we take stuff for granted. i don't talk to you guys as much as i need to. the fact that we're not going to be able to joke at his hall of fame ceremony. life is too short. i could never imagine nothing like this. i was thinking the other day, i've never seen anything like this. all the basketball idols that i grew up with, i see them. they're old. i used to be at home when you came to interview me, i used to want to be dr. j. my father would tell me about

the three great big men. i've met them, i've seen them. and now we've lost probably the world's greatest laker, the world's greatest basketball player. people are going to say take your time and get better. but it's going to be hard for me. >> joining me now, bomani jones. it's you can hear it in shaq's voice, it's a rough time for him. >> kobe's thing was so ruthless and cutthroat as a basketball player. i don't think you would have viewed him in the first 10 or 15 years of his career like that. but when this happened, so many people from the last two days have been in a bit of a daze about this. we grew up with this dude. we've known him since he was 17

years old. we saw him go through the ups and downs of growing up before people realized how to manicure teenagers before they became 18 or 19-year-old superstars. we got him in a rawer form. people that they fee like the stork dropped off a basketball phenom in 1996 and took him to the place where he was by the time all is said and done. i get exactly where he's coming from. looking at it now i'm stunned by the personal connection i had that i didn't realize i had. >> someone said to me the other night as i came into work, like this is the first time i've cried about someone that i didn't know. i mean, you're right. we know him from lower merion high school and brandy and going to the prom. all that stuff. his first acting experience. i mean, what shaq alluded to was -- in his answer there, he said he's sort of feeling robbed of what else kobe -- kobe was sort of robbed of. and i guess we were too. of what else he was going to

achieve. where else he was going and we were going to watch him achieve. >> yeah. i talked to somebody yesterday who knew kobe, and he said that all these other things he's gotten into and the breadth of his interests that we got to see. he said that when the injuries started happening he realized that there was something else other than being the best basketball player in the world there, was going to have to be something else and that would be an investment in being a husband and father and those sorts of things. once that happened we got to see him ease into retirement because normally these guys kind of get thrust into it. he had about three years to ease into what the rest of his life was going to be, and we saw it develop in this really interesting way. and then there's the happenstance of this man was then born with all these daughters. so that wound up being apparently a sort of awakening for him. and then the role he played in his daughters' lives. and then what that then broadcast to all these people who love him and the way he goes about it and the & they see this and it all comes together. on the day we lost him i think for a lot of people you really looked at it and realized there was no cynicism to have associated with it, you just looked at it. and i think we saw a total human being that ten years ago we

might not have expected to have seen in this place. >> the first person on espn you that ever spoke to in the locker room? >> yeah, the first time i ever went into a locker room it was a charity game for hurricane katrina in houston in 2005. and i've never done anything like this. but nobody around seems to know that i've never done anything like this. and i'm petrified. i was just standing filip and then kobe was there and i looked over, there's kobe, but i don't know. i literally don't know what to do. like i don't understand the circumstances. and he kind of gave me a way over and went and talked to him. and he could not have been nicer. at that point in my life i'm more a fan than anything else. and i'm not a fan of this dude. right? i'm not aligned with him in my random basketball fandom thing. and i just remember how nice he was to me in that time and later looking back at it and realizing that this is like the most fearless dude in the world. it's really nice of that dude to look at something he personally cannot relate to. he's like scared? i don't know what that is. and then being like i know you're scared, come on over. that stuck with me for a very, very long time.

>> he was that way with a bunch of people i hear. he just sort of took them under his wing and made them feel comfortable. and he made us feel comfortable, and we loved watching him and watching him grow up really as you said. thank you, bomanni. i really appreciate you joining us. i wish it was under better circumstances but we appreciate you coming in and sharing that. and thanks tore watching, everyone. our live special coverage of the impeachment trial of donald trump continues with anderson cooper. give me your hand! i can save you... lots of money with liberty mutual! we customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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good evening again. a special late impeachment edition of "360." the republican effort to resist it. the pressure reflected in new polling out tonight from quinnipiac showing 75% of registered voters wanting to hear testimony at the trial. among that number 49% of republicans. the resistance, though, is being led by senate majority leader

mcconnell, and as that unfolds the trial itself is about to enter the next phase. cnn's manu raja will be there for all of it. >> they don't have the votes to move forward on witnesses and mitch mcconnell doesn't have the votes yet to block witnesses from going forward. that's because a number of key republicans are still holding back how they'll vote. they're not committing one way or the other. they're saying they still want to deal with the questions that will occur tomorrow and ultimately we'll get a decision in the days ahead. i can tell you anderson coming out of a closed door conference meeting tonight republicans are telling me they're confident they will defeat that motion on friday to move forward on witnesses. they believe they'll eventually get there. in large part because of the arguments they're making behind the scenes. mitch mcconnell is warning that having one witness could lead to a flood of new witnesses, they could be tied up in courts for some time, and that is concerning senators including ones up for re-election in 2020 who don't want to be in the middle of a court fight and a prolonged trial. and the argument that john thune, the number two, republican made to me earlier today was that the fact that the

calls for john bolton wouldn't add much to the case that has already been presented to the senate and ultimately would not change the outcome that the president would be acquitted. >> wouldn't it be helpful for senators to know exactly what he knows about the president's actions? >> well, i think there is already on the record from the house managers that sort of evidence. so like said, you could -- you say he could reinforce it. he could put different context to it. but if you start calling him, then the democrats are going to want to call mulvaney and they're going to want to call pompeo because i'm sure they will get referenced. and our guys are going to obviously start wanting to call witnesses on the other side. to illuminate their case. and that gets us into this endless cycle and this drags on for weeks and months in the middle of a presidential election. >> and that's the concern among republicans right now, anderson. so at the moment we only have two republican senators who are signaling that they're going to vote to move forward on witnesses. that's susan collins of maine,

mitt romney of utah. but others are still being mum about their intentions including lisa murkowski of alaska who i caught up with earlier tonight. she still won't say where she comes down on it, other than the fact she's curious about hearing from bolton. and lamar alexander another wild card here, still is waiting for the question period to play out. we'll see if others defect. but the reason why they're at 51 votes is because of that pressure, the push being made by the republican leadership and the republican leadership believes it's working at the moment. >> so the actual vote on whether or not to have witnesses, that might be on friday? >> that might be on friday. that would be after the question and answer period that would occur starting tomorrow. a little bit about that question and answer period, anderson. that's going to be expected to be eight hours tomorrow, eight hours on thursday, and then those will go back and forth between democrats and republicans. it would actually pass a note over to the chief justice, who will actually read the questions to each side. so after those 16 hours are completed over two days, that's when we get into that crucial vote