here at this nearly 2,000 polling sites across taipei. this is a neighborhood with older military veterans that tends to prefer the opposition view that a better relationship with china would help avoid war, a view that is shared by some voters who we spoke with in the rallies leading up to this vote. take a look. >> translator: if the democratic progressive party doesn't change their direction, i think that war could happen in our generation. >> reporter: but the ruling party says the only way to prevent war is not to try to recalculate the relationship with the u.s. but actually double down on that relationship. the u.s. has sold billions of dollars in weapons to taiwan over the last eight years of the ruling party's presidency under tsai ing-wen. the candidate says he's going to continue that policy with the u.s. but the opposition warns that could be a dangerous path leading taiwan and the u.s. and china right into a cross strait

conflict. >> all of that of course on the line tonight and of course this saturday morning where will is right now.w. thanank you all l for being g w and thanksks to will. it's time now for "ac 360." tonight, which candidate benefits when the roads to the white house freezes over. we're live in iowa where blizzard conditions and subzero temperatures threaten to be a decisive factor in monday's caucuses. also a night after the u.s. and british air strikes on houthi targets in yemen a new message from a top houthi leader. and later cnn's donee o'sullivan investigating how skeptical officials can face backlash from conspiracy theorists. thank you for joining us. we begin with iowa three days from the caucuses and the state is being hammered by winter weather. this is video of the capital des moines where the temperature is now 9 degrees. the wind chill is minus 13, and a blizzard warning is in effect. cnn's jeff zeleny is there for us tonight. jeff, i don't know how we

convinced you to actually stand outside. how's it feeling there and how's the campaign being impacted tonight and this weekend? >> reporter: anderson, it's chilly. there's no doubt about it. the wind is the biggest issue, but look this is as warm it's going to be between now and the caucuses. over the weekend it's going to increasingly become colder and colder. the snow is not necessarily a big concern. iowans are used to snow of course, but it's the dangerously cold temperatures that are really making the campaigns make backup plans how to get their supporters to caucuses on monday night. excuse me, it's hard to talk out here too in the cold. the candidates are also making big changes. we just learned former president donald trump will not be campaigning tomorrow here in iowa as he planned. he was planning four weekend rallies. he's now only having one on sunday. it's adjusted all the campaign planning. >> i don't necessarily as a floridian want to be in negative 20 degree temperatures, but i know we're the campaign that's

built to turn out our people. >> reporter: three days before the iowa caucuses, the closing arguments of the republican race come with a winter weather warning. >> yes, i know it's cold on monday but i'm going to be out there. >> reporter: a blizzard and the forecast for dangerous record setting cold spell are testing the fortitude of campaign organizations built by ron desantis and nikki haley and even front-runner donald trump who's been warning his supporters against complacency. >> pretend you're 1 point down, okay. you're 1 point down. you have to get out and vote, vote, vote. >> reporter: snow and bitter winds scrambled the candidates plans today designed to build momentum heading into the final weekend. desantis dropped by a campaign office. >> every phone call, every door, everything we do between now and caucus night is going to make a difference. >> reporter: as haley held telephone town hall meetings. >> please wear layers of clothes just in case there are lines so that you are staying safe. and please go in there and know

you are setting the tone for the country. >> reporter: those rivals locked in a bitter dual to become a leading alternative to trump. he spent the last year looking for a new choice. >> i think that it's time for this country to come together. i think it's time to put a leader in there that can bring us together and move us forward and heal from the past. we've had too much chaos. >> reporter: his wife connie is an independent. for much of their 45-year marriage they've canceled one another's vote. now they're both supporting haley. >> i feel like we have this opportunity to show a different side of what politics can be, and nikki is the person i feel that can do that. >> reporter: haley is hoping for a strong turnout in the suburbs. >> hi, how's it going? did you sign up online. >> reporter: while desantis has been working towards broader support in all corners of the state. >> we're excited about having gone all 99 counties. >> reporter: trump is counting on loyal followers particularly

in rural areas to help build a landslide victory with an organization far stronger and sophisticated than in 2016. >> we've got to get out and vote because bad things happen when you sit back. >> reporter: christina voted for trump and considered doing so again but late last year had a change of heart. >> with the way the country's going right now i think people are looking for something else. >> jeff, is it clear which candidate could most benefit from possibly lower turnout because of the weather on monday? >> reporter: anderson, it's hard to know for sure, but one thing is clear there's not likely to be record setting turnout as republican officials have been projecting and predicting all year. but the former president just sent out a message on social media a short time ago. he says he's going to benefit because his people are the most committed. that's an open question. when you talk to republican strategists here who have been doing this for a long time, a lot of the trump support is in rural areas, and so that means they have to drive farther into their voting site. a lot of haley supporters, for example, are in the suburbs in

des moines, iowa city, cedar rapids so they don't have to travel as far. desantis has talked endlessly on his 99 county tour across iowa. he's kouchting on broad-based support. at the end of the day it's impossible to know which candidate is going to lose the most support if any. older voters are the question here. a wind chill potentially of 45 degrees below zero, so of course that will impact some older voters. cars may not be able to start, et cetera, so we'll have to see on monday night. for now at least haley and desantis back on the campaign trail tomorrow, and trump not coming back until sunday. and again, it is cold out here as you can hear me trying to talk. >> jeff zeleny, get inside. appreciate it. for a better what candidates and caucus goers like, let's go to the cnn weather center and meteorologist chad myers. what is the latest? >> 6 to 8 inches of new snow,

anderson, over iowa and now it is blowing around. blowing from the north across those east west roads, roads are being shut especially the rural roads he was just talking about. and this wind is going to continue all the way through the weekend and into next week. right now the wind chill in des moines is only 11 degrees below zero. and like you said this is about as warm as it's going to get. it gets colder from here. blizzard warnings are in effect. the winds are blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour right now. and blowing that snow across the roadways and shutting some of those roads themselves. now, the storm moves to the east tomorrow, and the winds die off from 40 to 30. but that 30 and 20 miles per hour will last all the way through monday into tuesday. still blowing that snow around, still making very cold air as it comes into monday night into tuesday. it will be cold. and i have more on that if you want. let me tell you, you might not want to hear it. >> how cold? >> 2004 was the coldest so far.

16 degrees was the high. we're not going to get above zero. and in fact, the wind chills will be closer to minus 40. there's your air temperature in des moines. the thermometer is going to say 9 below zero. and when you add in the wind that's still blowing were your wind chill is going to be 28 below. now, i grew up in nebraska, right? and when you're in nebraska and the wind chill is blowing 30 and you have a farm, you're trying to keep your live stock alive. you have bigger issues to worry about than to drive to town and go vote. so we'll have to see how that might affect that rural vote. >> chad myers appreciate it. thank you. want to get some perspective now from someone who's been there before, literally namely in that 2004 race. and at a time electrified the race and made it must see politics. governor dean, we just saw that live report from iowa. voters could be heading to the

coldest caucuses ever and not to say nothing of the blizzard impact. >> it definitely has an impact. i mean everybody talks about the speech at the end of the iowa caucus, but i lost iowa and i was supposed to win. and i think one of the reasons i lauls was because we weren't able to do the kind of organizing we need to do and get people out. i thought that comment that older people might not go out from jeff zeleny because they had other things to do, that's a huge deal. this weather is much worse than it was in 2004, so i -- i think it's going to be a real problem. and i sense a real haley surge, and i think that would actually be good for the country. i don't support her, of course. i think biden has a much better record that he gets credit for. that couple who said they were going to vote for nikki haley, i think that's a real sign of hope and i think haley can win this. >> if the cold weather does end up suppressing turnout, who do you think can benefit?

>> on the other side, i think it hurts vivek ramaswamy because his votes are primarily 18 to 29. and i think that it hurts donald trump because he has such a significant percentage of his vote is 75 and older. and in the end this is not as the governor said, this is not even 2004. this is temperatures that even iowans will find uncomfortable. >> so governor dean, it's interesting you're saying this could be -- you could see haley actually winning in iowa. if that happened, i mean that would really -- that would be a big deal not only for -- >> haley is going to win in new hampshire. if she beats desantis in iowa even if he doesn't beat trump, that will be the end of desantis' campaign and it's a two-person race. so i think this is a fascinating race, and i think it's much closer than people think. i'm here watching all the ads, you know, because you've got to buy vermont television to get

all of new hampshire, and it is really stunning what's going on. and i think haley is surging in new hampshire. and, you know, iowa is going to be a big deal because if she happens to win or even come close to trump in iowa, this is brand new race. >> and if -- you're saying if haley beats desantis in iowa, you think it's over, governor, for desantis. >> i think it is because he's certainly going to beat him in new hampshire and that's two states in a row. when you're a newcomer, that's tough. >> frank, as you well know the former president lost iowa in 2016 to ted cruz. though he tweeted afterward kind of a harbinger of things to come. either a new election should take place or cruz results nullified. how well does he have to do this time to meet or exceed expectations? >> he's got to get over 50%. that's been the excuse trump has used not to participate in debates, not to the gauge the other candidates. in fact, to try to force the other candidates out of the race. he would say i'm getting a

majority of the vote. so he has to deliver that. and i do not believe nikki haley is going to come close to him. i do agree with the governor she is moving. there's a law of physics in caucuses and primaries which is particularly true, which is things in motion tend to stay in motion. if she's gaining 2, 3, 4% a week, it is likely she will outperform polling data on election day. and desantis has now dropped into single digits in new hampshire. please remember the phrase people sometimes use. iowa makes a statement, new hampshire makes a difference. >> governor dean, do you expect chris christie dropping out the race to make a big significant difference? i obviously to a repeat -- a recent cnn poll, a majority of his supporters in new hampshire said nikki haley was their second choice. >> right, i don't think it'll

make any difference in iowa if he didn't show up in iowa. but i think it's going to make a significant difference. i really do believe haley might win in new hampshire. i know -- i respect frank's long history of accurate polling, but i can just feel the momentum, and i've been in this game. it is amazing what's happening in new hampshire. >> frank, under -- i mean is there any scenario that you could see donald trump not being the republican nominee, frank, in november? >> i would have said to you as recently as maybe ten days ago that i did not see -- that he's been so strong, his appearances, his town halls, the money that he's raised that his numbers are getting stronger and stronger. even everything against him, the indictments, the accusations, the challenges to his leadership. however, she has been so strong over the last two weeks that you now have to say never say never. and for her, if she can win in new hampshire and do reasonably well in her home state of south

carolina which comes next, then it's a brand new ball game. >> appreciate it. thank you. interesting. next, a live update on the backlash after american and british strikes on yemen. squt and what the houthi militants who control the country might do next. also later tonight the arizona election official found out even election skepticism is isn't enough in a conspiracy fueled political world.

breaking news. a new round of air strikes on iranian backed houthi targets in yemen. a day after american and allied forces hit dozens of locations there. cnn's oren leiberman is at the pentagon tonight. so what's happened? >> reporter: anderson, a second night of u.s. strikes in yemen. we've learned from a u.s. official that the u.s. carried out another set of strikes. these much smaller than what we saw yesterday where we saw the u.s. target 28 different houthi sites. this specifically targets a radar facility according to a u.s. official use by the houthis. also worth noting last night's strikes were effectively a coalition. the u.s. and u.k. carried out the strikes themselves, but they were backed by canada, and netherlands, australia, and bahrain. this is the u.s. acting unilaterally. it has to be noted after the u.s. strikes and repeated warnings i should say put forward by the u.s., the houthis launched another anti-ship ballistic missile. this one not into the red sea

but south into the gulf. it's unclear at this point if this specific and much smaller strike is either a response to that ballistic missile, a warning to the u.s. that for every launch against commercial vessels there will be a u.s. response, or if following yesterday's strikes the u.s. had the opportunity to do a battle damage assessment and saw there was a target that hadn't been destroyed. perhaps that will become clear here as we learn more about the strikes. but it is worth noting also the u.s. said they weren't interested in an escalation. still, a second night of strikes carried out against houthi targets. . the houthis have vowed respond. how do they respond in what direction? is it against u.s. assets in the red sea, or do they look at u.s. bases elsewhere in the middle east? those are still very much open questions here as we see another strike here or set of strikes by the u.s. against houthi targets in yemen. >> oren, how much is known about how many viable targets are there actually in yemen for u.s.

forces or any kind of coalition forces to actually target? i mean do we know much about the -- the military capabilities of -- of the houthis? >> the houthis are one of the strongest non-state actors in the middle east. potentially, one of the strongest non-state actors in the world. sort of like a hezbollah and lebanon. that's not the lebanese government, but they are incredibly powerful. the houthis are not the internationally recognized government of yemen, and yet they are very powerful. the u.s. tried to tailor today's strikes and yesterday's strikes to go after the sorts of weapons they use to target shipping in the red sea and in the gulf of oden. it was directed at that. it was not an attempt to go after houthi leadership or other facilities. there are certain targets left, and i'll answer from another sper spective as well. the saudis waged a yearlong battual the houthis, so there certainly is a vast amount of capabilities the houthis have.

the u.s. not trying to go after all of it but trying to go after what they used to target international shipping. >> talking about yesterday's strikes oren leiberman, thanks very much. i want to go to nic robertson monitoring developments from tel aviv. what do you make of the houthi strikes and what their capabilities are? >> reporter: yeah, i think what we saw the houthis do today which was by striking a ship in the gulf, all the coalition forces there in the red sea past yemen, hang a left and you're in the gulf there off the southern coast of yemen. and that's where they struck today. perhaps no surprise because the focus of a lot of the u.s. and british air strikes last night had been more focused down the west side of yemen, more close to the red sea. so this, i think, shows the potential adaptability of the houthis. they've got a lot of other options or at least a number of other options for launching

missiles, they've tacken them out or they've been taken out in one area of yemen, but they're still able to threaten into the gulf of adon. i think it's instructive and the united states and military planners at the pentagon will be very aware of this for many years -- eight years they were helping saudi arabia with intelligence and at one time even refuel aircraft for the saudi fighter jets to target the houthis when the saudis were trying to support the-nurse nationally recognized government in yemen and fight the houthis on the ground. and all those years of air strikes and all the criticism that saudi came under for all the killings of civilians even during all of that, the houthis managed to maintain the ability to fire complex sophisticated cruise missiles hundreds and hundreds of miles all the way to the capital of saudi arabia. so i think what's instructive about how the houthis have handled air strikes before is that they have found a way to dodge and evade and still come

back and attack, and that's what we saw them do in a limited way today. and i think that's what they're going to try and follow through with going forward. so i wouldn't be surprised if this follow-up -- these follow-up strikes today by the united states not the end of it certainly from the houthi perspective and everything they've been saying is they are going to come back and continue the fight. >> nic robertson, thanks. i want to check in with oren again. do we know how effective the u.s. thinks the strikes were yesterday? >> reporter: we know the u.s. believes they conducted significant damage against the targets they were going for. that is radar sites, command and control nodes, and then storage and launch facilities for drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles. but as of earlier today we got a briefing from a senior pentagon official who said they haven't completed the battle damage assessment. so there isn't a definitive here's the list of what we hit, here's the list of what we hit but weren't able to destroy. at least not as far as we know.

so the u.s. may still be going through that process, and that will likely factor into this decision to carry out another strike after yesterday's far more expansive strikes and certainly to carry this strike-out unilaterally instead of relying or using that broad coalition we saw yesterday. so we'll still wait for more information about the effectiveness of the strikes. one of the questions we had asked is, look, the strikes yesterday leaked pretty early from the u.k. did that affect the efficacy of what you were able to do? did it make it less effective or were the houthis able to move any of their assets? that could certainly play into this. we didn't get a definitive answer on that question, but it was telegraphed quite blatantly these attacks were coming, and certainly you can see a scenario that gives the targets a heads up to move, and that may be at play here. we'll have to wait to get a better sense of that. >> i want to turn next to fareed

zakaria and general clark. what's your reaction to those drone strikes? >> i'm glad we followed up. we've got to do a better job of targeting. and the way you do it is you strike. you put the eyes and ears back on the area. you watch the reaction. you look at it carefully, and you build your target packages. but in every case i would hope that we would try to achieve escalation dominance over the houthis. if they fire one missile, we take out three targets. if they fire three missiles, we take out six targets. in other words, we try to stay away from a tit for tat. and ultimately if we can't take out the assets they're using to strike these ships, then we've got to go and find assets they value more highly. >> fareed, one of these strikes both last night and this latest round, what do you think it means for the prospects of a wider conflict in the region? >> so it definitely increases

the prospects, and it has always been true that this is a conflict that has poised to turn into something larger. and the reason is iran has many allies, and most of its allies are like the houthis. these are proxy fighters. hezbollah, the houthis, hamas, of course. and what the houthis have done is they have found a way way to inflict a cost on, you know, business as usual. so the united states has to respond, and it has to try to achieve escalation dominance as wesley clark was saying. but it also has to try to not let this spread out of control. and that's a very delicate balance, and it's trying to re-establish deterrence while at the same time not itself produce a widening of the war. i'm not sure -- there's a lot of

danger here because the united states could get drawn into precisely the thing that washington was telling saudi arabia to be careful of, which is drag yourself into a yemeni civil war, siding with one side, attacking the houthis. that could go on for a long time. so there's that danger. on the other hand, you've got to make sure that shipping can go through the persian gulf. this is the lifeline for much of the world. this is where oil flows to a lot of places all over the world. >> fareed, assuming the houthis are rational actors, what's in this for them? obviously they're saying this is about israel's war against hamas, what's going on in gaza. is it simply that, or are they doing the bidding of iran? why would they be doing this? >> yeah, i think you have to view this in a broader strategic

context, which is iran has been trying to essentially assert that the american-led middle eastern order is not viable, that it -- you know, that it contains iran, it presses iran. iran has been tried to put into a box. it's undersanctions, so the iranians have been trying -- presidentriaingssi in an interview said you will not be able to do this. we have ways of opposing the american-led middle east ern order. the idea that they were trying to make a happy peace, that is what they're trying to prevent. it is helping hamas, helping hezbollah, helping the houthis. in that sense the hooktys are part of this larger strategy. i don't think they in a particular sense -- a very good question, anderson, because you would think of it as the

houthis, the hezbollah, assad, iran, this larger group of forces in the middle east they are all opposed to an american-led strategic stability in the middle east. that's -- you know, that's the big context. >> so general clark, given what fareed just said about the larger context of this, you know, there are reports the houthis fired a ballistic missile at a ship today but mised. under this scenario, do you expect more off that, more attempts at retailiation, staying in this -- trying to keep this game going? >> well, i expect them to continue to do this because iran wants them to do it. as fareed says this is iran's quest for regional hedgemony.

the leaders they know what the stakes are. they want america there. even in iraq, they want us there. they're looking to the united states for strength and leadership. so when we strike back, they like it. no matter what the protests say about it and all that and also no matter what we say about not wanting to escalate, they want escalation. our friends in the region, they want to see a strong america. now, they want to see us effective, so we have to really -- now we're engaged with military force. we've got to really do that targeting well. and we better not -- not try to tit for tat it. so we've got to try to cap this off. the alternative is we go closer to the source. iran's playing a very cagey game. they do not want the united states or israel to strike their nuclear facilities. they may be very close to a nuclear weapon. they're asking themselves should they get it, should they declare

it? should they cast it? what will be the consequences? they're very sly and clever dancers around this nuclear issue. and in the meantime, they trying to discredit the united states. and we're looking at it and saying can we stop this without going to the source, iran? >> fareed, the role of saudi arabia in all this is fsinating. their response "a" to this latest round but also their war against the houthis. i mean, they bombed extensively a lot of civilian casualties, fatalities. they came under a lot of criticism for -- what do you make of saudi arabia's role in all this? >> well, you -- you put your finger on it, the saudis waged a multi-year, very expensive war, a lot of bombing. and what they found was that the houthis were extraordinarily resilient, that they could

bounce back, that it was very hard to destroy them completely. eventually the uae, which was saudi's allies, pulled out because essentially they thought it was an unwinnable war. so that's why i say this is a delicate balance. wes is right, you want to achieve some kind of escalation dominance or re-establish deterrence, but you do want to get sucked into this because all the houthivise to do is survive. it's the classic problem of this kind of warfare. they win by not losing. we lose by not winning. and that's a dynamic -- you know, that's a tough tradeoff. so establish escalation norms, show them they can't do this kind of reckless attacks on ships. it makes a very interesting point is that some way to convey a signal to the iranians. i'm not sure that i would be in favor of military strikes at

this point, but in some way indicate like this is crossing lines that you haven't crossed before. because otherwise this could -- this could really spin out of control. >> fareed zakaria and general clark, thank you. we'll continue to bring any developments as they come in tonight. coming up an election official finds out the hard way once believing in election conspiraracy theorories s just enouough for somome extrtremist. details nenext.

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join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. last month we brought you a report about the rising number of profanity related death threats left on voice mails for public officials. messages that threaten lynchings and other forms of violence. they're just a few examples of an increasingly toxic environment facing officials around the country as well as election workers. well, tonight donee o'sullivan reports what happened today one arizona election official that once believed the maga land conspiracy theories but then discovered it wasn't extreme enough. >> you should be in jail, you should be killed, you should be fired to just people screaming into the phone. i mean just -- and 24/7. >> lisa was the director of elections in arizona's cochees

county for six years. >> we actually had to hire armed security because the people that worked in the office with ballots were concerned people were going to break the door down. >> reporter: lisa had enough of intimidation and threats and last year she quit. your successor is a man named -- >> bob bartalesmeyer. >> reporter: this is bob. >> the election itself just didn't seem like it had been in the past elections. there was just something off. >> reporter: back in 2020 he shared these facebook posts falsely claiming trump legally won by a landslide. >> sometimes it's hard for me to accept that there wasn't some errors made in the election. but i'm not sure that it was to the extent that it would have changed the election. >> reporter: for some of the election conspiracy theorists who forced lisa out of her job in cochise county, bob's doubts about the 2020 election made her

an ideal candidate to replace her. to maybe some candidates in cochise your critics water saying this is an election skeptic. >> denier. >> denier. some people would view that as a disqualification. >> correct. >> there's people in cochise who raprobably saying this is our guy, he knows what's up, he knows the election been's stolen. so when you got there some people were probably happy to see you coming. >> yes. >> reporter: but then something happened he never expected. >> you weren't extreme enough. >> they found out from the beginning that i was going to follow the laws and procedures. >> reporter: and they weren't happy about that? >> some were not. >> your actions, sir, are not that of a conservative. >> if i had the authority i'd fire you. >> reporter: at public meetings in cochise county some voters who believed conspiracy theories about the election decided bob

was not maga enough and began to mandate he overhaul the entire voting system. >> to do away with the machines, do away with mail ballots. those are things that have to be changed legislatively, and it's not permissible legally for me to do away with all this stuff. >> -- can understand we the people don't want voting machines or mail in ballots. >> reporter: after just four months bob quit. >> at my age i don't need that. i need less drama. >> reporter: a trump supporter also left her election job in another arizona county last year. >> i've never been treated so poorly, so disrespected. >> reporter: so much of the vitriol directed at election workers like bob, lisa, and jerri is fueled by false beliefs about voting machines, about ballots and election workers themselves. >> i had a guy tell me that he

could hack into our election equipment through the power outlet. >> what do people believe? >> nonsensical. it never has been like this before. it's not stupidity. they don't care about truth or integrity. they just want their outcome. i think that's it. >> reporter: she's spent most of her life working in the court system as a county attorney, but she says the abuse she received as an election worker topped it all. >> i have been treated better by murderers, child molestermolesters, thieves, rapists, than the political parties and the elected representatives. >> reporter: harassment is one of the main reasons election officials across the country have called it quits. across 11 western states more than 160 top local election officials have left their positions since november 2020. >> we're asking a lot of our elections workers to deal with not only the general misinformation out there but

directly people being attacked. >> reporter: republican bill gates is on the board of supervisors for arizona's largest county. how concerned are you about the fact there are election conspiracy theorists now becoming election officials? >> i'm very concerned about that. we're seeing that in some small counties. we are only as strong as our weakest link. >> it's very sad because we need experienced election workers. >> reporter: fortunately for bob, he returned to his old election job in a different arizona county where he says he is no longer being harassed. as for the election conspiracy theories he shared in 2020 -- do you regret sharing those facebook posts? >> yes. the 2020 chapter should be closed and we should move forward. we have to believe the process of the certifications in each state of the secretaries of state. >> reporter: so you think voters should trust the 2024 election? even if trump loses?

>> yes. >> he says he hopes people will accept the result. did he actually say if he believes they will accept the result? >> well, i think he's kind of nervous like all of us. he actually did say he think this year is going to be a bad year for the nation, it's going to be hostile, very brutal. i think to give some credit to bob there, he has these doubts personally still about the 2020 election. he is an election official, but as you saw in that piece there, he did the right thing. right? he didn't give into the extremists and the conspiracy theorists and do things as an election official that one would have been illegal, but two could have damaged the safety and security and integrity of elections there. what's really i think fascinating about bob, he has another election job now in arizona. he said his politics aren't going to come into it, and he said we should trust the process, but he has does have those lingering doubts about 2020, and he couldn't necessarily articulate why there

is that doubt there. he's pushing out different things about vote counts and things like that. still someone really grappling with that. i do encourage viewers to go onto cnn.com. my colleagues have an article that dives in a lot deeper to just how misinformation perhaps has influenced how this person views the integrity of american elections. >> it's fascinating to hear. next allegations of an affair between fulton county d.a. fani willis and the man she picked as the lead prosecutor in the georgia election subversion case against the former president. accusations the lead prosecutor spent money he made on the case to take her on lavish vacations. anand now the e judge in thehe has set a hehearing on i it t a. detatails ahead.d.

this election is a choice between results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug cost, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senat. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. not just any whiteboard... ...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects.

katie porter. focused on your challenges - from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. today the judge in the georgia election subversion case against the former president set a february hearing to discuss allegations of an improper relationship between fulton county d.a. fani willis and her pick for lead prosecutor, a man named nathan wade. when mr. trump's attorney brought up the topic today mr. wade was in court as it was discussed. earlier this week in a court filing aimed at getting his case dismissed a trump codefendant alleged wade and willis were having an affair. cnn's nick valencia has more on all this tonight. >> good afternoon, judge. >> reporter: when nathan wade was selected as prosecutor by fani willis many judges in the

county that practice law wondered why him. she also had more experienced felony prosecutors to take on the former president and his allies. former u.s. attorney and one-time federal prosecutor michael moore says if the allegations of an improper romantic relationship between willis and wade are true, it's an unforced error by willis and challenges the integrity of the case. >> cases are not lost because of some matlock moment, which moment you see where suddenly someone finds the evidence. cases die the death of a thousand cuts. this is cut on the case. >> i was pretty shocked. i was pretty appalled. >> reporter: criminal defense attorney scott grubman faced off against wade while representing one-time trump codefendant ken chesebro. what stood out for grubman was not the alleged romance between wade and willis that's shocking, it's the exhibit in filing which showed some of wade's billable

hours. so far wade has earned more than $650,000 for his work on the case. >> he's doing things like billing 24 hours in a day. >> why is that? >> elwith, look, attorneys work hard, and technically it is possible to bill 24 hours in a day, of course. i have never met an attorney ever and i don't think anyone i know has ever met an attorney who has billed 24 hours in a day. and this 24 hours in a day isn't being billed to a private client. it's being billed to the taxpayers of fulton county. >> reporter: no doubt the 127-page legal filing from trump codefendant and former campaign official michael roman has been fodder for gossip but noticeably missling was any direct evidence of an improper relationship. bad optics is something willis has already been reprimanded for once when she held a political fund-raiser for a political rival of one of the case's codefendants. >> i don't think it's an actual conflict. it's a what are you thinking moment if the optics are horrific. >> reporter: persecution not

prosecution is a theme the former president has tried to get to stick in all of his cases. >> this is a political witch hunt. >> reporter: after allegations of the willis-wade romance surfaced trump again seized a at the chance to appeal himself as the victim of a witch hunt. >> and wonderful defense attorneys and there a lot of them that are left in this case, i can absolutely guarantee you they're going to avail themselves. >> i'd tell her to get out of the case. i really think in this type of case with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor. i and i think probably to preserve the case is to show that what's most importance to her is the facts of the trump case as opposed to her political career at this moment. >> reporter: if the world wasn't already watching fani willis' every move, they likely are now. everyone that we've spoken to in the legal community says if these allegations are true, the optics are just horrible. when fani willis leveled this indictment against the former

president the expectation of those around her, anderson, would be that she would be flawless in her prosecution or at the very least not make unforced errors like this if they are true. >> nick valencia, thank you very much. we'll continue to follow that. at the start of the nfl football season, harrer epten was here to take me through all the preseason hype, which i don't very much about. we're on the eve of the playoffs now, and since i don't know much about it i'm bringing harry back to explain what i'm missing. i'm hoping somehow taylor swift is involveved. we'll l be right b back. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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that massive winter storm meeting the iowa caucuses is also playing in this nfl playoffs. here with an nfl playoff preview our senior reporter harry enten. it's amazing tee me there were playoffs. >> who knew. >> i didn't know. >> who knew? but because of popular demand we have to ask you some questions. >> you have questions for me. >> of course i have questions for you. about the teams who are playing. you know this. let's start off with one of the matchups right here. we have the logos for the teams. who are these teams? >> one of them are the buffalo bills? >> no, no. i can see the red and the blue that's kind of there, right? >> new england patriots? >> no, they're not anywhere

close? >> the fighting toroes. >> the fighting toroes. how about those are the houston texans on your right. >> on the left i assume it's not princeton. >> it's not princeton. they do not play professionally. neither of us went to pristine those we were ivy league men. it's actually the cleveland browns who interestingly enough in orange. they're complementary to each other. we have another one. member you can get this one. >> that looks the same to me. >> let's move -- there we go. >> well, the l.a. rockets. >> l.a. rockets, close. no, that's soccer. how about the l.a. rams? >> the rams and the blue lions. detroit lions. >> i feel we're making great progress here. >> i was at the airport and i didn't have a hat. turned out to be a sports hat

and i guess it was a team playing another team and i was in chicago. the whole reason i'm wearing the hat so i cut down on interactions, and the hat made all these people come up to me like we don't have you people here, the supporters of that team. >> i wonder if it is in our logo in number three. >> yes, that's the hat i bought this weekend. it had a "g" on it. what does that mean? >> green bay packers. >> okay. >> what about the other team? >> the cowboys. >> yes, the packers versus coy boys. >> i had that that and everyone was making inside jokes and i didn't know how to respond. >> do not wear a green bay packer hat in chicago. >> milesson is do not buy a sport related hat. >> unless i give it to you. >> no, i just don't know who the characters are. >> i will explain the characters, the wonderful characters. there's another game going on this weekend. >> i did not. so what's happening with it

playoffs? who's going to win? >> here's the big one for you. perhaps the kansas city chiefs will win. they are of course playing the miami dolphins, and it's going to be freaking freezing. >> who's doing the half time show? >> there is no half time show for the wild card round, i'm sorry. >> have to wait for the super bowl. >> you have to wait for the super bowl. >> is taylor swift going -- >> actually this is big thing. let's flip over to this slide, guys. let's ask you the question of who does taylor swift date? we'll get to the coldest games in a second. who does taylor swift date? >> i know, it's travis kelce. doesn't his brother play in a sport? >> very good. jason kelce also plays. let me just say we have to wrap, but go bills. go bills. there we go. bills. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. you wear it well.

that's it for us. have a great weekend. the news continues. "the source" with kaitlan collins begins now. and tonight straight from the source, donald trump and his gop rivals now