donald trump now asking the supreme court to stay out, for

now, in one legal fight he's facing just as he could soon be asking the high court to jump in and please intervene in another. and new u.s. intel on hamas' growing influence. american officials warning the terror group is more popular since the horrific and brutal attack on israel. >> the holiday travel season is in full swing. today is expected to be the busiest day at the airports in this crazy holiday travel period. it's also officially the first day of winter. welcome. a look at the potential of storm cloud ahead for your travel plans. i'm kate bolduan with omar jim jimenez. sara and john are off today. this is cnn "news central." there's a new star taking the spotlight of the 2024 presidential election, no not a candidate but the supreme court. the justices could take up several cases that could decide

the fate of republican front runner donald trump including if trump is even eligible for the white house. trump's team is expected to file an appeal with the high court next week over colorado's decision to boot him off the primary ballot. the other issue, is he immune from prosecution for crimes he committed while in office. special counsel jack smith was hoping to skip straight to the supreme court to answer that question to keep the march start date for the federal subversion trial but trump's legal team is asking the supreme court sty out -- stay out of things for now. katelyn polantz we threw a lot at everybody but that's why we have you. >> reporter: the supreme court has heard from the justice department and trump's side. there is the special counsel that is hoping that the supreme court will take the case at this time. donald trump obviously doesn't want to do that.

he wants to drag things out as long as possible related to his criminal case and trial set for march, he doesn't want it to happen at that time. but jack smith, the special counsel, the justice department, they have made arguments about why the supreme court should look at the immunity question now, saying it's in the public interest and told the supreme court you're going to have to deal with this at some point or another. right now there's an intermediary, an appeals court in d.c. that is scheduling arguments, they're ready to look at the immunity question, does donald trump have immunity because he was president at the time after the election. can he go to trial because he was already tried in congress related to his impeachment, can he be tried in court too as a criminal defendant. there is an appeals court looking at that in january with oral arguments so the question on the table for the supreme court is do they wait to see what the lower court says or are they ready to go now?

trump's team in their filing yesterday warned don't do anything with reckless abandon, we don't want any rushes to judgment so the supreme court is going to be thinking about that as well as they decide what to do next. >> that effort stems from the federal election subversion case but in colorado that's the state case dealing with the 14th amendment over whether he's eligible to be president again at this point. so what happens knnext in the colorado state supreme court case? >> reporter: all of these are how the law grapples with donald trump, ha he did after the 2020 election and specifically that capitol riot. the question in colorado, can he be on the ballot if the courts find he qualifies as an insurrectionist, somebody trying to tear down the constitution. can he be an office holder again? so right now the big picture here is that colorado says not in our state.

they're putting some things on hold and so the next thing that would need to happen is trump's team would have to go to the supreme court to ask for their intervention. when you step back and look at it it's a question of are the states deciding this one by one whether donald trump can be on the ballot because of what happened after the 2020 election or is the supreme court going to determine the law of the land before the next election? >> of course, we've seen a lot of those efforts try to play out at the state level, places like michigan, colorado the only one close to this level. katelyn polantz, thank you so much. in the wake of colorado's ruling, republicans are mostly rallying around the former president, even his 2024 rivals. all of the top candidates coming out strongly against the ruling. attorney general, bill barr, not a fan of donald trump, does not

want him to be e relere-elected says but he is not a fan of the ruling saying it's going to only help trump. >> i think taking these hyper aggressive positions of trying to knock trump out of the race are counter productive, they backfire. as you know, he 23feeds on agre va grievance, like a fire feeds on oxygen and this is going to be a grievance that helps him. you've been talking with donald trump's team, elayna. how are they using it to their advantage? >> reporter: they have a playbook because donald trump has been indited four times over the past year now and they're going to use the same playbook to respond to this ruling by the colorado supreme court. essentially it's to attack the decision as political interference that because donald trump is currently the republican front runner, they're

trying to hurt his candidacy. they're also going after the judges on the bench specifically, something we've seen them do time and time again with his other legal challenges. arguing they're biassed against the former president and as he's done time and time again as well they're trying to fund raise off his legal misfortune. i think as you look to the bigger picture and how the republican party is responding, they are all rallying around him. many of donald trump's rivals and primary challengers have argued they do not think it's a judge's place to decide who's on the ballot in 2024 we heard from one candidate, nikki haley, in iowa who argued she wants to beat donald trump on the merits. listen to what she had to say. >> i'm going to defeat donald trump on my own. i don't need a judge to go take him off. i don't think he should be president, i think i should be

president. i think our country would do a lot better if i was. but we should have the race fair and square with him on the ballot just like everybody else. >> reporter: now, kate, you could hear there nikki haley arguing that she wants donald trump to be on the ballot and she wants to go head-to-head with him. i think bottom line here is that this decision has really put a lot of donald trump's challengers in a very difficult position. we're seeing the candidates kris cross iowa, new hampshire, trying to distinguish themselves from donald trump. but as we've seen over the past year, time and time again they're being forced to respond to legal troubles and defend him because most of the republican party does view the court battles as political persecution of donald trump. >> it's forcing them to focus in and talk about donald trump where they're talking about themselves. it was interesting to see ron desantis say here's another

example why we need to move forward and not go with someone with all of these legal troubles they're up against. they're trying. let's see. good to see you alayna. i'm joined by former manhattan prosecutor jeremy solan. i don't know that i've seen the politics and court system so intertwined when ballots haven't been count at all. i want you to listen to california's lieutenant governor on her reaction to where this could potentially go. >> the courts and the court in colorado to make a determination that he meets the threshold as an insurrectionist we have to consider that in determining whether or not he's qualified to be on the ballot in california. >> that's another state and efforts like this have failed in michigan and minnesota.

could this have a domino effect if it moves forward? >> it can and is. but it's not the right answer. i think the supreme court does step in and say no because there needs to be a guideline in this due process theory. not necessarily when people think proof beyond a reasonable doubt because he has not been convicted. but there needs to be a process and that's up to congress. this is where politics color things too much. on the merits donald trump should not be president and that maybe applies to the 14th amendment but this is not the way to do it now. unfortunately you're going to see a lot of this and it's going to invigorate its base not get to the result people want it to on the left. >> that's in colorado. in d.c. at the federal level also weaiting for a potential weigh in from the supreme court. because jack smith wants to take that case straight to the supreme court. at least one issue on whether trump is actually immune or not from facing prosecution here.

from a prosecutor's standpoint, trump's team has argued this should go to an appeals court keep the process going of what we would typically see. what -- is there a strategy to keep this from getting there and just going straight to the supreme court? why would a prosecutor want to do that? >> it's clear that one side is going to demand or request that it ends up before the supreme court. this is not ending, in the trial court or the circuit court, the appellate court, so ultimately the supreme court is going to have to render a decision on this. why not move it forward. the question is in part, among many other issues, it has already been favorable to smith and his team, is he in a position to make that demand and request. we know there have been times, roughly 20 since 2019 that this does happen. but trump's team is delay, you can see it as much as you want, delay, delay, delay, not

necessarily the substance but the procedural process. >> when you skip an appellate court and go straight to the supreme court is that something we commonly see and any down sides to doing that especially when it feels like they can see a road map where it ends up eventually. >> i wouldn't say it's typical but it has happened, 19 times i think since '19. you saw it with the watergate tapes, and more recently with affirmative action. it's atypical. typical, it's less common. but it makes sense for the prosecution to do this because we want, as a prosecutor, to have the trial go to trial march 4th. the circuit court, i think january 4th you need filings and the 9th there's arguments so this process is already moving in the court. >> and all of this is happening with cases playing out in

multiple jurisdictions all before the election. this could be the one to happen before the election. cnn is there as six americans arrive back on u.s. soil after months in a venezuelan prison. >> all you think about when you're in prison is how you didn't appreciate being free. >> details on the swap that got these people home and who the biden administration traded to get them free. and the governor of texas sends more than 100 migrants on a direct flight to chicago and now they're stuck at the airport as the city is scrambling to finds them shelter. hamas said no more negotiating over hostages until israel stops all military operations in gaza. so what now?

behind. detained american paul whelan tells the bbc that's what's on his mind as he sits in a russian prison. >> i know the u.s. has come up with all sorts of proposals, serious proposals but it's not what the russians are after so they keep going back and forth. the problem is, it's my life draining away while they do this. it's five years. it's unfathomable to me that they left me behind. >> despite two prisoner swaps with russia, wpaul whelan is still in russia. and last night, six of ten released men from venezuela

landed in an antonio. ed lavendera was there. >> reporter: the release happened so quickly families didn't arrive in time to greet them where six of ten walked off the plane with state department officials who negotiated their release. >> free at last, free at last, thank god almighty free at last. >> reporter: savoi wright was one of six who arrived in texas. he was wrongfully arrested in october accused of conspireing with the political opposition of venezuelan president nicolas maduro. he said he was kidnapped by authorities and held for ransom. >> did you think you were going to see this day any time soon? >> i didn't know if i was going to make it out. it's scary to be in a place you're used to having freedoms and locked into a cell. sometimes with four other people, a tiny cell.

and to realize am i ever going to get out of this. >> roger carston is the u.s. government special presidential envoy for hostage affairs and was part of the team involved in negotiating the prisoner release. >> we left with everyone. there are no more americans left in venezuela held in prison facilities. >> reporter: the deal also included the return of the corrupt military contractor known as fat leonard francis. the master mind of the largest bribery scandal in u.s. history and escaped to venezuelan last year after his conviction in 2015. in exchange the u.s. agreed to return alex saab, a close ally of the venezuelan president. >> if you don't make a decision like this, you're basically writing these guys off. the other side never asked for anything easy. >> i'm incredibly grateful.

>> reporter: hernandez was wrongfully imprisoned in venezuelan for 630 days said he was held in a makeshift prison and endured psychological mistreatment. they keep you there in inhumane conditions and they make your life a living hell. they do everything in your power to lose that peace and make you go crazy. >> reporter: despite this hernandez said he doesn't hold any anger for those who imprisoned him and hopes the u.s. and venezuela can have peaceful relations. >> all you think about in prison is you didn't appreciate being free while you were free. there's no way to understand what it's like to be in prison unjustly and not have anyway out. so it's been a long time coming. >> reporter: the men said they woke up in their jail cells in venezuela yesterday morning and

flown to an island in the caribbean which turned out to be a meeting point where they waited for six hours before they were told the final details of the deal between the u.s. and venezuela had been hammered out and they were put on a flight back home. one other note. fat leonard francis is expected to make his first court appearance back in the u.s. in southern california later today. >> thank you so much. coming up for us, migrants are caught in the middle. roughly 10 0 people are stuck in limbo at chicago's o'hare airport after being flown there by the governor of texas. and what ron desantis is pitching as what he'd be doing differently from former president trump's language.

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact. so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this, it restores a lot of faith in humanity.

new this morning fresh data on the strength of the u.s. economy right now. economic growth expanded 4.9% in the third quarter that's revised down from an earlier number slightly lower than expectations but still seen as very strong looking at the gdp. it shows the economy growing at the fastest pace since 2021. and consumer confidence is up growing for the third month in a row. in chicago, city officials are trying to find shelter for 100 migrants who landed at o'hare airport last night. sent there by texas governor greg abbott.

the white house is responding to the flight this morning saying the move by governor abbott quote adds to his tally of extreme policies which seek to demonize and dehumanize people. joining us is whitney wild. were the people on the plane made aware of what was happening? >> reporter: a source tells our colleague rosa flores that when these migrants were approached about taking the flight they were given a voluntary consent form we were not there when that happened, we don't know what they were told, what the form said but generally what happens in situations like this, sometimes volunteers approach migrants and say this is a voluntary form it's going to say that you are agreeing to take this flight to whatever city, new york, denver, chicago. it just depends. so again, a source telling our rosa flores that migrants were approached with the consent form and generally i can tell you in my own experience migrants i've spoken to have intended to come

to chicago, so that's the greater context although we don't have the details on the language on the form. this is coming at a difficult time for the city of chicago. winter is about to hit. we reported recently that when there were wind chills down to zero degrees, physicians treating migrants were seeing upticks in thing like pneumonia and other upper respiratory illnesses and the greatest context is the last several months in chicago, the number of migrants surged significantly. it strained the resources here in chicago. at one point earlier this fall there were more than 3,000 migrants living on the floors of police station and airports. it was only just within the last couple of weeks that the city was able to partner with churches and open up more shelters to try to get the migrants off the floors of police stations, out of airports. and so in the last couple of weeks the number of migrants

without shelter dropped dramatically when we saw a peak of 3,000 migrants that was the high water mark now it's around 300 migrants waiting for shelter at o'hare it's 296 is the latest number. so just as the city is starting to get a handle on this, starting to be able to find shelter for these migrants, there are more flights coming in, continuing to strain the resources and finally, omar, to put it plainly, governor greg abbott said this is in retaliation for a city ordinance that allows them to impound buses that drop migrants off at places that aren't to take migrants. we know one bus was impounded upsetting governor greg abbott. >> thank you so much. seeing the crisis at the border continue, donald trump is

leaning in as only donald trump would. he was criticized as we've been talksing about this week after his anti-immigrant comments on the trail, telling supporters that migrants are, quote, poisoning the blood of the country. the anger over that rhetoric not showing signs of hurting him among key republican voters. a new poll shows 42% of likely iowa caucus goers saying they are more likely to support trump after his poisoning the blood comment, not less. ron desantis is now talking about trump's campaign, trump's immigration campaign pitch. here's his take. >> when you start talking about using those types of terms, i don't think that helps us move the ball forward. i would not put it in those terms. i want to stop the invasion at the border 100%. but legal immigration should be for people that buy into our core values as a country and

want to assimilate into american society. joining me now anchor john avlon and political commentator scott jennings. thanks for being here. john, 42% of likely republican iowa caucus goers saying they're more likely to support trump after his poison comments. is this not the lesson of what we have learned from eight years of donald trump in public life, which is he says this and he gets more support amongst his core republican base? what does it tell you? >> i appreciate you saying what have we learned the last eight years. >> i'm big on lessons. >> yeah. clearly donald trump has a hard core sqconstituency inside the party. and for some folks on the far right, the poisoning the blood of our country language, which is lifted from sort of demagogues and dictators

throughout history apparently resonate gs. i will say, iowa which is one of the most educated states in the country this seems to be out of step with that. >> they hear strength. they don't -- that's what you have to think. iowa republican voters, they hear strength, stronger on the bo border. >> the most educated state in the country per capita distinguish between strength and demagoguery that demonizing people for whatever frustrations you may be feeling. but it does require republicans to look in the mirror and for the grass top leaders in the state to say that's not who we are. we have a constituency but it can't define the republican party or the state. >> we heard ron desantis saying he doesn't think the comments are helpful, doesn't move the ball forward. how does that fit into the case he's trying to make to republicans? >> he's trying to argue that

rhetoric and being tough in rhetoric is different than being tough in actually trying to get something done. part of the overall desantis pitch no matter what trump said he made a lot of promises on illegal immigration that he didn't keep. once again on another topic that's the core of the desantis argument. effectiveness over rhetoric. you asked what we have learned. one thing we learned, republicans do not like illegal immigration. it's a crisis they want someone to be tough. but who's going crazy about this? the press, the media. when the republicans see the media go crazy about something that trump said, they rally to trump. have we learned anything in the last eight years? no. that's what republicans are looking for, who's mad about it? if the right people are mad about it i'm backing trump. >> the three of us have talked

about this. the need to discuss something that is newsworthy to discuss and the need to not just going to use the word hyper ventilate because i can't think of a word. how to get that right is the eight years long question i'm trying to get right. let me add this, the fight at the border is now also becoming center stage on capitol hill too. democrats, republicans are negotiating over the immigration rules linked to the sup lemental blah blah blah. and mcconnell and schumer seem to be playing nice trying to work together. then you have jeff mercury who told me he thinks republicans don't want an immigration deal because they want to preserve it as an election issue. and then you have schumer saying this in a new interview to "the washington post," which i thought was interesting, i think they republicans realize it's

the right thing to do and democrats have moved to the middle much more on border security going on to say i think republicans are seeing the democrats are real about border security consistent with our principles. i saw that and it made my ears pop up. because it's telling me how strong a factor of immigration could be this cycle scott. >> look, everybody needs a deal here. worst of all, joe biden. if i were joe biden i'd go to capitol hill and say i will literally sign anything you put in front of me and not listen to the carping from the left he's getting right now. this is dragging him down, the people think he failed on it. he needs to rekindle the conversation he started in 2020 about being a bipartisan deal maker and b inoculate himself if he signs off on what the republicans want to do, when the attacks come in the fall he can say i don't know what your problem is, i signed your bill. failure to get a deal here for him is bad. that's why he should sign whatever.

i think republicans want a deal. i think their constituents are screaming for border security and they all know it. i know there's a lot of cynicism around the conversation right now but i'm hopeful the political circumstances can produce something that everyone can be proud of. >> me cynical? how dare you scott. >> please. we all know cynicism passes in washington but it's good to see mcconnell and schumer working together to get a deal. if it is done it's because there are 60 senators who support it, that's how things get done at the end of the day. i agree with scott about the problem needing solved. >> new year's resolution, kate will be less cynical and scott will be nicer to me. real quick, bill barr talking to jake tapper saying regardless he

disagrees with the legal basis of colorado removing trump from the ballot he thinks it's only going to help him. he's like a -- i'm going to read it. he feeds on grievance just like fire feeds on oxygen. do you think that's it in a nutshell? >> i think that's a good description of the short term political impact but the wrong reasoning why you shouldn't apply the law. the constitution said what it says. the 14th amendment exists. feeling like it shouldn't be imposed because it's difficult politically is a terrible idea. this should applied without partisanship just looking at the underlying principles. with that, my analysis, respect to bill barr, it was designed for people who give aid or comfort to an insurrection and designed to give aid to a president. >> if the supreme court upholds this thing i'll wash this car for a year.

no way this court is going to uphold this. >> now who's cynical? >> now i can't be an unbiassed ash a arbiter of this. clearly i need my car washed. talks to free more hostages held by hamas have hit a wall. what hamas is declaring this morning. the terrorist organization drawing a hard line. and harvard is responding now to new allegations against the school's president. why congress is launching a new investigation into the harvard leader. we'll be right back.

new this morning hamas says

there will be no talks about releasing anymore hostages until israel ends its military operation in gaza. they put out a statement this morning saying just that. this comes after israel has said it had proposed a week long pause in fighting in exchange for the release of 40 hostages. a similar deal to the one last month that brought about a temporary truce. let's talk about this. joining us is democratic congress from massachusetts seth moulton. thanks for coming in. >> good to see you. >> one of the assumptions all along was that hamas would always hold some hostages because it's their only leverage. the cia director, bill burns is central in trying to get hostage release going. what do you think the administration can do or should do or what to advise israel right now after hamas declares this this morning? >> first of all, let's be

honest. there's not too much the administration can do but the administration has been central to getting the hostages returned that have been given back. it's important to remember that the only reason a lot of hostages were returned in the last deal is because there was a deal. it wasn't a unilateral cease-fire by israel. a lot of people in america have been calling for a unilateral cease-fire and if israel just had a cease-fire without a deal, those hostages would be in custody still. there has to be a dialogue, that is in qatar happening today. but it's really up to israel and hamas to make the deal. >> you signed on a letter this week sent to the biden administration with other committee members imploring them to do israel to shift the military strategy away from the

high intensity strategies and bombings we've been seeing in gaza. but there's evidence that they've already been doing this. biden has done the same, saying he thinks israel is losing international support because of the bombing of gaza. if it hasn't happened, what do you think is going to bring about that shift that you think israel needs to turn to and still take out hamas? >> it's a fair question, kate. because i think there was good evidence that israel was listening to the administration at the beginning of the war. in fact, we in congress were briefed in a classified setting that the invasion would start sooner than it did. they delayed the invasion based on administration advice to take it more slowly device a better plan before going into gaza. it's hard to say that israel is listening now, doubling down on the same tactics. but all of us, including the veterans in congress who wrote this letter, want to see israel

success in the mission to eliminate hamas. hamas has to be eliminated if israel is going to be secure and the palestinians are going to be free. hamas is an organization with the destruction of israel written into its charter. an organization that uses its own people, the people of the gaza strip, as human shields in this conflict. so we want to see israel succeed in getting rid of hamas wand we're concerned the current tactics are not going to achieve that goal. you can't win what is fundamentally a counter insurgency fight by killing your way out of a solution. every time you kill innocent civilians and we know that israel has done a lot of that. you help recruit terrorists to the cause. so my hope is that ultimately israel will see what we're trying to tell them. we're trying to share lessons we learned painfully after years of fighting in this iraq and afghanistan, our hope is that israel will finally see their

success is dependent on their changing their tactics. >> i have to add to this something secret blinken raised yesterday. talking about the growing pressure for israel to back down and stop the war as opposed to hamas. the way the secretary talks about it he said it's striking to him to hear countries urging israel to stop the war, virtually everyone demanding that but no one saying that hamas needs to stop and hamas needs to stop hiding behind civilians. hamas isn't -- he says that hamas could end this tomorrow. hamas isn't going to do that. so how do you get this right, then? >> you're right. we can't stop to emphasize that all of this would end if hamas, this terrorist organization, would simply give up. it would be good for them, fewer of them would get killed, better for the palestinians it would save lives in gaza and at the end of the day that's what we

want to see happen for israel. so yes, this is true. this is similar to why it's so absurd that you hear people like donald trump pressuring ukraine to essentially surrender and negotiate with the russians, between putin could end that war in a heartbeat by stopping his illegal invasion. so the bottom line is, yes, just like putin is the aggressor in ukraine, hamas is the aggressor here with israel in gaza. but the reality is, as you said, kate, they're not just going to stop on their own. so what israel needs to do is change tactics to a way that envisions a political solution that both sides can buy into. and ultimately tries to not just eliminate hamas terrorists but also win over the people of palestinian to that idea, that political future. international support is important for this because i don't think anyone believes you can have a successful political two-state solution without the

support of arab nations. so when secretary blinken cautions israel they're losing international support that's not a backhanded way to put pressure on them to change the tactics, that's a serious recognition if you want peace at the end of the day you're probably going to need an international coalition to make it happen. >> nothing easy about this in the slightest. >> no. >> congressman, thank you for coming in. good to see you. >> good to see you, too, kate. we still have a lot more news to cover this morning. for one, today is expected to be the busiest day for holiday air travel, we have a live look at how thinings are movoving. stayay tuned..

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(♪♪) (♪♪) get exclusive offers on select new volvo models. contact your volvo retailer to learn more. if your holiday plans start today, you are in good company, but just not my company and i am still working, but the aaa forecast between christmas and new year's with the back-to-back three-day weekends driving up the holiday numbers, the transportation secretary is warning that severe weather could cause major delays, and pete muntean is live at reagan

national airport and why can't we have a normal holiday travel without weather being a concern? >> that would be. >> and pete, what are things looking like this morning and what are things looking out for this morn iing? >> yes, because in boston, the wind is low, but only about 50 cancellations and 40 delays, but today, it is the official start of the holiday rush according to the tsa and anticipated 2.5 million people, but they updated it to 2.65 people today and 2.69 people tomorrow. and think about a year ago today, it was the official start of the southwest airlines official 10-day melt down with 70,000 flights canceled and over 2 million people stranded. the good news is that the airlines have done better this year especially looking at

thanksgiving, and 1.2% of all flights canceled this year, and about 20% of all flights delayed though, and average of 52 minutes, and i asked secretary of transportation pete buttigieg about that and he said there has to be work on the delays. >> on the cancellation, we are 1.2, and below 2.0 is healthy and around 1% is encouraging, but it is helping us to look at pressing on the delays and how the airlines are behaving. >> according to the transportation secretary, we could have weather snag things, but the good news, today is relatively smooth for all of those people traveling. the faa says that 49,000 flights are anticipated to be handled by the air traffic controllers. >> i know that people try to forget, but if we made it through the meltdown of last

season and travel, bar is pretty low of how things go around, and sounds like it is starting out smoothie. pete muntean, thank you. >> the mayor of reagan airport back at it again. and now, donald trump's campaign is crafting a strategy to directly capitalize off of that colorado supreme court ruling. we'll be right back.