>> it's like i was going to say too clever by half, but it's like five times around by half. i almost kind of wonder whether the sort of -- it's going to be the one thing that kind of unifies everybody from both sides. dude, what is your problem? >> i'll say in closing thanks to you both. and i will say at the end of this week are the impeachment hearings. we can at least tell the kardashians we tried. thank you for watching "the beat." "hardball" starts now. coming up next, articles of impeachment. let's play hardball. good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. like the police tracing a sidewalk crime scene, the house intel committee has drawn a human portrait of an impeachable

offense. they've given a bold print count down of the next steps against the president. nbc news reports the house judiciary committee could take up article of impeachment right after thanksgiving. and the full house of representatives will vote on those articles before the christmas break. and today president trump appear today expect what is now looming as a certainty, his trial in the u.s. senate. trump spent this morning in his usual media bubble bath cuddling with "fox & friends." for nearly an hour trump was a spigot for conspiracy theories and attacked the enemies list that includes the usual suspects, the democrats and media but now expands to what he calls never-trumpers and the republican ranks and any public servant that dares tell the truth about his shenanigans. all together they drew a disturbing portrait as i said of a president's abuse of power. they established that by demanding investigations from ukraine. the president was seeking to

advance his perm political agenda. >> is it improper for the president of the united states to demand a foreign government investigate a u.s. citizen and a political opponent? >> i thought that the references to specific individuals and investigations such as former vice president biden and his son, struck me as political in nature given that the former vice president is a political opponent of the president. >> of course the president is pressing for a biden investigation before he'll do these things the ukrainians want. >> what we were trying to do was block us from straying into domestic or personal politics. >> in pursuing that agenda the witnesses established that the president used the power of his office to pressure ukraine. withholding a promise white house meeting as well as military aid, vital military aid. >> the possibility of a white house meeting was being held contuchgant contucco

contingent to an announcement. >> in order to get the white house meeting president zelensky would have to deliver these investigations. >> we all understood that these prerequisites for the white house call and white house meeting reflected president trump's desires and requirements. >> my clear impression was the security assistance hold was likely intended by the president either as an expression of dissatisfaction with the ukrainians or an effort to increase the pressure on them to do so. >> to with hold that assistance for no good reason other than help with a political campaign made no sense. >> finally in describing this scheme at the heart of this inquiry ambassador gordon sondland testified that everybody was in on it. >> everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. we kept the leadership of the state department and the nse informed of our activities. they knew what we were doing and

why. and secretary pompeo essentially gave me the green light. i mentioned to vice president pence before the meetings with the ukrainians that i had concerns that the delay in aid had become tied to the issue of investigations. again, everyone was in the loop. >> most striking is that after all this public testimony the president has mounted no actual defense. just the opposite. in blocking sworn testimony from all of his witnesses, he's prevented them from denying his involvement in the scheme. and that speaks volumes about his own guilt and awareness of it. for more i'm joined by betsey swan, david jolly, and michelle goldberg, "the new york times" columnist. michelle, thank you for joining us tonight. this is the summation of two weeks of testimony. now for your summation. did the majority of members of the house intel committee get

across the truth in the last two weeks? >> i think it depends on who were the audience for the truth. there's no doubt that donald trump did the thing he's accused of. there's no doubt that he basically extorted ukraine for help smearing his political enemy and undermining the cia and fbi and intelligence communities findings that russia intervened to help him win in 2016. so it was obvious he did that as soon as he released the transcript. these witnesses confirmed it. they elaborated on it. they explained the implications of it. none of them contradicted it, so it's obvious that he did it. but it's equally obvious i think that republicans don't care. and so it should be clear to any good faith viewer that the case was made, but we unfortunately don't have a good faith party who's going to be judging this evidence. >> let's talk about a couple. i want to unpack that a little bit what you say. it became clear to me early last

week that when you pick up the major metropolitan papers of this country that the committee testimony was getting through to your headline writers to your front page analysis people and main bar people. the truth as testified to in these committee hearings the last two weeks has gotten through the major newspapers who's put it in on the front pages. that's true. my second question is what about that third of the country that doesn't watch "fox & friends," isn't liberal, doesn't read the big newspapers, that middle of the country that watches other programming, some of the more entertaining programs of the year they choose over the political programs. do they get it? do people who don't read the regular news do they get it or not? >> i don't think we know yet. although there was almost 24 hours or maybe more than that of testimony, i think a lot of people were on the major networks and so probably a lot of people who don't watch cable

news or exposed to at least some of it, we don't yet know how they were able to process all this testimony. i don't think there's been polling that's been able to capture, you know, just the events of the last couple of days yet. and part of the problem is that there used to be institutions, mediating institutions whose job it was to try to explain the truth to people who don't have time to watch 24 hours of congressional testimony. and, you know, trust in those institutions has collapsed. and meanwhile we have places like fox news devoted to spreading disinformation and propaganda. >> i want to go to betsey with this without getting into media criticism, i will say this president chooses to get into that bubble bath every morning with "fox & friends" where he will not be challenged. he chooses only media that will not challenge him. >> one of the most important things that happened in this past week relates directly to that issue. and that is fiona hill said during her testimony that the notion tat the ukrainian

government rather than the russian government was responsible in meddling in the 2016 elections first is incorrect and second is being pushed by russian intelligence services as a new sort of species of disinformation operating in the u.s. this is so important because it gets right to the heart of the reason of the president's acute hostility. the reason he's so hostile toward kiev is the result according to fiona hill of literally a russian disinformation -- >> why does this president -- i don't hate them. i look down on them to some extent, but they're always driven to conspiracy theories. they always think when they go to a party and everyone's been talking about them before they get in the door. they're basically paranoid. why is this president paranoid? >> part of one reason there's such an appetite i think for conspiracy theories in this country is because there's been such repeated failure of institutions. that's a valid complaint. but of course it doesn't justify

buying into these notions. >> okay, i've noticed. by the way, the people that believe in a conspiracy theory, they believe in all of them. >> that's probably true. >> at the outset the drive to advance -- and trump is one of them. anyway, trump's political agenda in ukraine was described as a separate irregular channel of foreign diplomacy. here's ambassador taylor. >> there appeared to be two channels of u.s. policymaking and implementation, one regular and one highly irregular. the official policy of the united states was undercut by the irregular efforts led by mr. giuliani. >> as we learned now the irregular channel pushed out ambassador yovanovitch who stood in his way. >> sullivan told me there had been a concerted campaign against me. that the president no longer wished me to serve as ambassador to ukraine. i still find it difficult to comprehend that foreign and

private interests were able to undermine u.s. interests in this way. >> however we came to see that the so-called irregular channel was actually the trump channel, sanctioned by the president and his entire administration. here's ambassador sondland on that point. >> i'm not sure how someone could characterize something as an irregular channel when you're talking to the president of the united states, the secretary of state, the national security advisor, the chief of staff for the white house, the secretary of energy. i don't know how that's irregular. >> well said. anyway, dr. fiona hill was on yesterday. she says she now realizes that ambassador sondland had been empowered to pursue trump's agenda by trump. >> ambassador sondland is not wrong that he had been given a different remit. he was being involved in a domestic political errand, and we were being involved in national security foreign policy. >> one of the i think delightful

even delicious ironies of this is people who came to this country from other countries from the case of great britain and vindman from ukraine and another one of the witnesses from the soviet union, and they're all the most patriotic, of course, gut patriots and yet this cabal is being carried out by people like trump. but our last wall of defense are the people who just got here in one generation, and to me it's inspiring. >> sure, and i was part of that community myself as an intelligence officer and an immigrant working at the white house. i know fiona, i worked with her in the intel community and at the white house. she was poised, prepared, patriotic, professional. everything we would see every day showing up to work is what the american public saw yesterday. >> and she's one of those people whose economy of language, she

doesn't waste a word. >> she doesn't. she's very crisp in both her writing and oral presentation, but she's also very tough and can be sort of on point when she needs to, so i think her performance yesterday was really a credit. >> the president probable hasn't zeroed in on you, but i imagine you would be among his anti-trumpers, deep state. he's now included in his enemies list anybody who's sworn allegiance to the united states it seems. >> i have a letter from the president thanking me from the president and hopefully i don't show up on that list. >> he signed it? >> he did. >> so what do you think of this character assassination of people like fiona hill and the rest of them, and vindman? even the senator from tennessee, i have nothing but respect for her. but attacking vindman and just making fun of him today. >> it's unfortunate. because everyone of us in

government are still serving the government. you're there for the mission, for service, for the greater good. the last thing you expect to do is to be attacked personally just for showing up and doing your job. >> we've seen republicans defend the discredited conspiracy theory that ukraine, not russia interfered in our 2016 elections. and as dr. fiona hill warned yesterday it's a false narrative, a fiction that's been pushed by russia to cover their tracks. >> this is fictional narrative that's been perpetrated and propagated by the russian security forces thelselves. so this falls into a long pattern of deflection and the russian government trying to pin the blame on someone else. >> and this is probably the most important thing you'll hear tonight on "hardball." new reporting from "the new york times" tonight is backing up dr. hill's assertion. according to three officials now american intelligence official informed senators and their aides that russia had engaged in a years long campaign to

essentially frame ukraine -- frame ukraine as responsible for moscow's own hacking of the 2016 election. starting in 2017 russia intelligence officials conveyed the information to prominent russians and ukrainians who then used a range of intermediaries to pass that material to american political figures and even some journalists who were likely unaware of its origin. have you heard of this effort to push out -- push this poison of lies that it was the ukrainians, not the russians who did it? >> it's been very public. putin himself has talked about the notion the ukrainians meddled in the united states election. it's been pushed in a significant way by far right media outlets. one thing really important about this new york times story is every republican senator who was in that briefing and was paying attention knew as of a couple of weeks ago for sure that the notion the president was pushing

was not just incorrect but was the product of a russian -- >> in the days we had chronkite, he was the guy that put us to bed at night. we were watching the conventions all night and he was uncle walter. who is uncle walter toold? so we don't have nbd there as a gatekeeper. >> and we also have really a profound failure of loyalty by the republican party, right? republican senators got that briefing, they knew and yet none of them have publicly pushed back on this conspiracy theory. what a couple of republicans have done is tried to massage it. they've tried to suggest that when donald trump says ukraine intervened in the 2016 election, he was really talking about, you know, an ambassador writing an op-ed in the hill, criticizing trump's position on crimea as if that was election meddling. and trump has now made it clear,

no, he means crowd strike, a conspiracy theory that ukraine hacked the dnc and then framed russia. so the other thing i think is important about "the new york times" story if you read between the lines about the way russia used various cut outs in ukraine, businessmen and oligarchs, you can see rudy giuliani is basically a dupe witting or unwitting of russian intelligence. consider how alarming it is that our foreign policy has essentially been run on that basis. >> well, america's mayor is not looking too good right now. i thought that was a great report you gave what it looks and feel like to be one of these foreign policy experts. michelle goldberg, i love your writing. coming up a new face begins. adam schiff's intelligence committee will hand it off to jerry nadler's judiciary committee. this is going into the constitution.

what happens next and what would a senate trial look like coming up apparently in january with republicans control of that chamber. plus reports that trump is now totally consumed by the impeachment -- well, finally he's getting rational. you're in trouble, mr. president. and despite all the evidence against him, trump continues to claim he did nothing wrong, and his enemies list is growing and now includes an army of distinguished civil servants and diplomats. >> the ambassador, the woman, she wouldn't even put up she's an obama person. you know, i said why are you being so kind? well, sir, she's a woman, we have to be nice. but this ambassador, you know, that everybody says is so wonderful, she wouldn't hang my picture in the embassy. >> you know why the president calls in and never shows up an camera because he's in a bubble bath with these people. we've got much more to get to tonight. stay with us. we've got much more to get to tonight. stay with us after my dvt blood clot, i wondered.

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the bottom line is all of those witnesses, they're all shifty schiffs. don't forget there was no due process, you can't have lawyers, we couldn't have witnesses. we want to call the whistle-blower. you know who i want as the first witness because frankly -- >> that was president trump earlier today signaling that he would become -- he would welcome a trial in the senate that approves articles of impeachment, which they will. and that aseems where the process is heading right now. it appears the democrats have wrapped up the public phase of the investigation this week following 35 hours of testimony by 12 different witnesses. well, house intelligence committee staffers led by chairman adam schiff will begin work on a report next week laying out the committee's find gds, the case for impeachment which will then be sent to the house judiciary committee. republicans are also working on their own report. god knows what that's going to be. and then it will be up to the committee on judiciary to draft

articles of impeachment. i think it's important to focus on those men and women there because they're going to be the ones who make history. the full house will debate those articles and only vote whether to impeach the president probably before the christmas break. for more i'm joined by victoria, she's chief council to vice president biden from 2015 to 2016, and michael beschloss. let's just talk about the picture that the members of the judiciary committee, because in the end we're going to watch on television as each of those men and women votes a ye to article of impeachment. >> it is the biggest vote of their lives. what people don't understand is this is not ordinary politics. their name is going down in the history books and they will be remembered. it is the most important vote, and we're going to see a very somber deliberate hearing, nothing like the kind of theater

you have seen at some kinds of hearings on this -- >> what do you think the republicans would do -- they're all going to vote nay on articles. >> no way. no how. >> of course not. 1,000% no. what are you going to do to dramatize their resistance? nixon he didn't get this far as you know. but the committee did it. how many articles do you think they're looking at this time? >> i would assume if history gives us any guide two or three. >> first one being -- will it be bribery or abuse of power? >> could be well one of those two and then probably something have to do with -- >> i think it's going to be three, four perhaps. >> what's the fourth? >> they're all going to be abuse of power. if you look at the nixon lines and clinton the way the lawyers

draft these -- >> and the clinton people try to model theirs on nixon. >> and they try to avoid -- >> first of all abuse of power and maybe bribery and then what's it called obstruction of congress. >> obstruction of congress. that was also in both clinton and in nixon. and also there's something i want to emphasize because it came out in fiona hill's testimony. anyone who's ever been a top lawyer in the white house knows there's a key statute and says you cannot use american taxpayer money for political purposes, and it's a felony. and i think they're going to include that as well. >> how would they be doing it here? >> well, because it's a congressional aappropriation. >> you cannot with hold it for the purpose of personal political gain. >> even though harry truman in

1948 entirely using federal money. >> yes, but you can no longer use this. clinton got into trouble in part because of this. it's a very broad statute. and the lawyers go around telling everyone in national security council you cannot use taxpayer money to promote republican or democratic causes. >> when you have to explain this to your grandkids, we have to explain this to people, nixon, there was a break and he covered it up. what about this one? >> the president was responsible for our national security and made decisions that were more the interest of his political campaign. >> he sacrificed our security and alliances, right? >> yeah, and thez threatened our elections. that was 2016 and it's coming up again. >> bringing foreigners into our election process. >> exactly. that's the biggest problem in this. >> explain why no republican whereas back in watergate days a lot of republicans voted for impeachment on that committee.

it's always amazing. i watched it again recently. notice the republican hands go up and say aye. you're taking on your party. >> these were two parties that overlapped a lot. there were republican liberals and moderates and conservatives. >> what happens this time when no hands go up on the other side innon none, zero on that committee. >> we're going to see a party line vote, there's no question about that. i want to see what happens in the senate. >> who would you be hoping for? >> well, murkowski, collins, romney. >> you put it in the right order. i think she's got more guts than anybody i've seen in politics. she loses a primary, she goes back to win a general. >> they have to write in her name. >> alaska is very much a pioneering tough count state. i don't know about collins. collins got to fight for re-election very carefully up there in maine.

thank you. up next, how's president trump handling the threat of impeachment? apparently not well. his enemies list keeps growing. for more the main chore is expanding that enemies list. the new people he hates. you're watching "hardball." e ne. you're watching "hardball.

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they're going to win. they've got nothing. all they have is a phone call that was perfect. they're interviewing ambassadors who i've never heard of. i don't know who these people are. don't forget many of these people were put there during obama, during clinton, during the never-trumper bush era. you have heard of those. those people might be worse than the -- the never-trumpers. >> the list grows, the enemies list. that was president trump a month ago sounding unconcerned really about the house impeachment investigation. with the president accusing some witnesses being never. trumpers or human scum, his enemies list is expanding. the president lashed out this morning in an interview with "fox & friends." here he goes. >> this was an overthrow attempt at the presidency. they tried to overthrow the presidency. this is a disgrace. now, with this guy who, by the way, i hardly know him, okay? >> sondland?

>> i've spoken to him a few times. how about the guy with the telephone? how about that one? that was a total phony deal. that was a -- again, call it -- >> mr. president -- >> the bottom line is all of those witnesses, they're all shifty schiffs. don't forget there was no due process. you can't have lawyers, we couldn't have any witnesses. we want to call the whistle-blower. >> you think about trump in his bubble bath and little ducky, those are his duckies, those three people there. anyway, the president saved the brunt of his attacks for marie yovanovitch, accusing her of being not an angel. >> look, the ambassador, the woman, she wouldn't even put up she's an obama person. why are you being so kind, well, sir, she's a woman, we have to be nice. this ambassador that everybody says is so wonderful, she wouldn't hang my picture in the embassy. okay, she's in charge of the embassy. she wouldn't hang it. it took like a year and a half

or two years for her to get the picture up. eshe said bad things about me, she wouldn't defend me and i have the right to change an ambassador. this was an obama person, didn't want to hang my picture in the embassy. it's standard you put the president of the united states' picture in the embassy. this was not an angel, this woman, okay? >> he knows his picture is not hanging in kiev. the former ambassador's legal team told nbc news that embassy hung the photos as soon as they arrived from washington. in fact "the washington post" reported in september of 2017 eight months after his inauguration that federal buildings were still waiting for photos because, quote, the president and vice president had not yet decided when they will sit for high quality official photographs. but the president's nasty comments about the witnesses these weeks, these two weeks apparently reflects his difficulty handling the threat of impeachment. we've got brand new reporting coming up on that question, his condition. you're watching "hardball." hat condition. you're watching "hardball.

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welcome back to "hardball." for weeks president trump has publicly insisted he's not concerned about the house drive toward impeachment, calling it a hoax. but according to politico behind the scenes it's his singular focus. quote, trump has become monmaniacally focused on impeachment. policy meetings and listening sessions have taken the back seat as his indignant tweeting and his live announcement of witness testimony. the live report is the president is increasingly interested with how the investigation is affecting his political standing and more maurnoparanoid than ev about republican deflections. today one republican made it clear she's standing by the president and willing to do his dirty work smearing witnesses. tennessee senator marsha blackburn tweeted an attack on lieutenant colonel alexander

vindman writing vindictive vindman is the whistle-blower's handler. for more i'm joined by jonathan lemire and charlie sykes. charlie, i want to start with you. what is it in the water that's causing, you know, pretty good conservative republicans who i have no problem with over the years, and i've covered marsha blackburn, she's a public servant, certainly further right than i'd like, but why is she making fun of a guy who served the country all these years? vindictive vindman, what is she in this game for? >> well, trumpism corrupts and it apparently corrupts absolutely. the fact you have a united states senator who is adopting this sort of purile and it's the spread of the hackry in this era that's really so amazing and the way in which republicans and i

wonder whether they listen to that phone call they realize what they're defending, that really what's happened is they're now becoming coconspirators to what donald trump has been doing. and this is an ongoing scandal, the attempt to demean and to degrade the whistle-blowers and the people -- the public servants who are coming out and speaking, the attempt to run cover for the russians who are continuing to attack the electoral process. this is not a scandal that took place in the past. this is happening in realtime. and so when you have jurors in the senate trial who decided that they're going to lower themselves to donald trump's level, yet they have to realize what role they're actually playing in history, and frankly, in this ongoing attack on america. >> well, if you roll around with dogs you get fleas. anyway republicans have relied on contradictory arguments throughout this week's hearings. here they go.

>> the fact is the aid was given to ukraine without any announcement of investigations. >> that's correct. >> and president trump did in fact meet with president zelensky in september at the united nations, correct? >> he did. >> and there was no announcement of investigations before this meeting? >> correct. >> and there was no announcement of investigations after this meeting. >> they get the call, they get the meeting, they get the money. >> the president of the united states, commander in chief was concerned about the 2016 elections in burisma. at the end of the day isn't it the commander in chief who makes those decisions? >> reasonable people could look at all of this and come to different conclusions? >> as charlie savidge writes in "the new york times" the democrats are trying to paint a coherent picture while republicans only muddy it. i thought that from the beginning and i've said the comparison of a guy in an nba game trying to make a foul shot and the people in the stands behind him waving those stupid

things trying to distract him. but republicans are happy to wave those dumb things in the air like the utah jazz fans, the toronto fans, they all do it. why is the republican party reduced to distract and diffuse, don't they have a case to make? >> i mean, this is right, this is similar to what the republicans did during the mueller probe, too. they weren't really fighting on the facts, they just wranted to confuse things. rudy giuliani certainly did that, the president's allies on the hill. and we're seeing that again this week. but the answer is clear, they're pointing to -- they're saying, look, he may have not gotten a white house meeting but zelensky got -- we're saying he may not have had a news conference to announce the investigation. the aid was eventually released, eventually released. it was delayed. that's what set this in motion there's some pressure from the armed services committee on the

hill, and more than anything the whistle-blower came forward. they got caught and therefore they stopped. they released the aid and they moved forward. that is why the republicans argument this past week, frankly, is in bad faith. >> are they saying it didn't happen or it's no big deal? >> they're now arguing that, well, it depends on who you're talking to. some republicans are still insisting nothing happened at all. others are saying it's the president's right to hold up aid but move forward. we've heard from certainly those in the senate who have suggested, well, maybe there was a quid pro quo. maybe it's not the ideal way of doing things but it's not impeachable, and that is where the republicans have landed. as much as trump wants them to defend, you know, tooth and nail his actions and not just fight on process, other republicans are taking a slightly bigger view, taking a step back suggesting maybe this wasn't the most proper course of action, but it shouldn't be one that

costs the president his job. >> yesterday republican senator lindsey graham sent a letter to secretary of state mike pompeo requesting documents on former vice president joe biden's communications with ukrainian officials. as "the washington post" puts it, graham's document request suggest he's seeking to legitimize trump's accusation biden, then vice president put pressure on ukraine to investigate biden's son, a claim without evidence. what do you make of that, charlie? i think lindsey is doing the dirty work here. >> that's extraordinary when you think about it. again, this is part of the ongoing scheme to smear the bidens, that lindsey graham is going to do what donald trump wanted the ukrainians to do but failed to accomplish. and the fact that in the past lindsey graham has spoken so highly of joe biden and of his family and of his honor and of his honesty. the cynicism of lindsey graham

is really, really striking here. and again, i do think that there's a distinction to be made between republicans who are saying at least proval your case beyond a reasonable doubt or, yes, this happened, it was improper but it's not impeachable and guys like devin nunes and lindsey graham who are fully prepared to push forward these conspiracy theories no matter how bizarre, how discredited and debunked they are to really do trump's dirty work. that means they've gone beyond defense to really be coconspirators. >> what do you think, jonathan, do they have to accomplish here? because he tried to get the ukraine president that he was at least announcing he was investigating biden and that would be enough because then he could say biden's being investigated over in ukraine. this time he's got to go further, doesn't he, that the united states senate is investigating biden's dealings and his son's dealings and their overlap over there in ukraine. is that enough or is he going

for dirt here all the way? >> he's trying to reverse engineer he was right. they're trying to go back and suggest this makes my call to the ukrainian president that much more perfect. look, there was dirt. there was corrupt dealings by the bidens. again, let's be clear, no one was ever charged with any wrongdoing over there. lindsey graham, senator graham carrying the president's water, it validates the sort of thesis behind this whole scandal, behind this whole impeachment inquiry, they're trying to argue there was a there there and that it's worth investigating even though of course the ukrainians never did follow through because eventually, again, the president, the white house, they got caught in their move. >> i think you have to say that again. joe biden, whatever you think about hunter taking that contract, that is question, joe biden's done nothing wrong here. no evidence of that. thank you jonathan lemire and charlie sykes. up next as we continue to wonder why obama hasn't endorsed joe biden yet a new book explores the close but

occasionally rocky relationship between those two political figures. the author of barack and joe joins me next on "hardball." f be joins me next on "hardball." or could it play out differently? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98% of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling numbness or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planed medical or dental procedures.

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i just wanted to get some folks together to pay tribute to somebody who's not only been by my side for the duration of this amazing journey but somebody who has devoted his entire

professional life to service to this country. the best vice president america's ever had, mr. joe biden. this also gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was then of course president obama joking about his bromance, that was his word, with his vice president joe biden as he awarded him the presidential medal of freedom. and that was just one of many moments like that during the obama presidency such as this unforgettable off-the-cuff remark before obama signed the affordable care act into law. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states of america, barack obama. >> with the mic on, he made his comment. in his book writes as the president and vice president who

worked harmoniously together, had mutual respect and even loved each other barack and joe was unlike anything america had ever seen. there was a unique and renegade quality that delivered into the realm of beauty and for eight years filled the american mind with wonder, hope and optimism. tell us about what brought you to write this book and what stood out in this partnership. >> i've always been interested in people of power and these two had power, and i was just amazed by how they both over came their great differences and found much to admire in each other. they found they were able to respect and show much compassion for each other. they brought in a way -- they did what we're not doing now, and that was they showed moral leadership from the white house, and they showed it through their relationship where they were able to get over their differences and, they were able

to project respect, compassion and dignity for each other. >> let's talk about the debates. you write about biden's struggle with stuttering. i didn't really know about this growing up, noting biden relied on sheer force of will to blast through his obstacles. he didn't shrink in the face of his stuttering. eventually he overcame the stutter. one thing we keep asking about in the debates and why does he jump in? there was a piece in the atlantic. john hendrikson pauses that biden may still stutter which could explain his recent gaffes. he writes bidens verbal stutters have folks worrying about his mental fitness. points out that biden appears to intentionally not stutter by switching to an alternative word which can yield mangled syntacs. i'm guilty of that critique, i don't say it out loud but i think about it. he's trying to fight the word

and he can't get to that word or take a chance on that word. >> most people across the nation don't know he stuttered as a child, and he overcame it, did it by sheer will and used that in a sense to put the fight into himself. when he was in high school he became a stall football player because he wanted people to look at him for his ability rather than his disability. he continued to fight that stuttering all the way to today where i think a lot of the gaffes attributed to him are related to his stuttering. his mama used to say this, his mind worked a lot faster than his tongue, and that caused a disconnect between his head and his mouth. and a lot of the times when he misspeaks or when people jump on him for his stuttering it's really not very fair because they're jumping on him for something that god created in him. >> and i think people who overcome those problems and challenges are the best people. why hasn't obama endorsed him?

>> well, that's a very tough question. it's a tough question for joe. but i think as you know obama is the most popular democrat, and he has basically one big shot for an endorsement. and he can't endorse anybody really until after he has a nominee. i mean, he's starting to suggest maybe deval patrick is his nominee. >> he clearly wants to push a moderate. >> he wants to push a moderate, and it's not clear if he wants to push his old friend joe but we'll have to wait and see. >> you're a book editor at "the washington post," so you'll give it a good review. thank you so much. up next this is john bolton's moment to make some history. okay, john, your chance. you're at bat. let's see if you've got it. you're watching "hardball." t's t you're watching "hardball. xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling

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john bolton has a rendezvous with destiny. should donald trump's recent national security advisor step forward in the next few weeks and tell the country what he's called the drug deal between trump and the president of ukraine. if he talks about that history will rein down justice. he may as well for all historic purposes hold his peace because now and by that i mean the days between today and the days before christmas the u.s. congress will be writing and in all likelihood approving articles of impeachment. if john bolton testifies to what he witnessed, his words won't

matter, his service won't matter where, his role in history, but if he stays silent in these critical days of advent he would have missed his chance to matter. i stayed on the other side of the positions he's taken in recent years regarding his championing of the u.s. war with iraq, his call for bombing of iran and other calls for u.s. military action. but i think we both care about our country. i do, and though wildly different in the beliefs we hold in how to advance the cause, i believe there's no doubt that john bolton cares about this country as well. so now, sir, mr. bolton, it's the time to show it. you made it clear you have a story to tell. you've been out there tweeting. now's the time to share the truth. call the hour, invite the cameras and speak clearly about what you witnessed of a president willing to trade america's interests and that of an endangered ally for a cheap political advantage. it'd be very good for the

country and our constitution for all including you who have honestly sworn to protect and uphold it. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on a special edition of "all in." >> this president believes he is above the law, beyond accountability. >> two weeks into the impeachment inquiry, and the case against donald j. trump is strong. >> here's the big truth -- the president did it. he did it. >> what we know after a dozen officials testified, and are articles of impeachment next? >> frankly, i want to try. >> and the all corruption trump's not being impeached over and i sit down with legendary journalist bill moyers on the dangers of so much dishonesty. "all in" starts right now.