eastern. it's time now for "up with david gura." >> this is up, i'm david gura. we begin with breaking news about the role congressman devan nunes played. a client is willing to tell investigators that nunes met with ukraine's prosecutor and they talked about investigating joe and hunter biden in 2018. >> late last night, a cache of documents were put together. a paper trail from rudy giuliani to mike pompeo back up maria's

testimony last week. president trump is trying to win over republicans. buying them lunch and giving them access to camp david. my guests today. the senior washington corporate for wbur. both msnbc political analysts and with us from washington, the white house bureau chief for the washington post. i want to start off with that new reporting from several outlets including nbc news about deaf on nunes. he's played a big role in the impeachment hearings and we are hearing he's played a big roll in the scandal at the center of it. he is willing to testify lawmakers congressman nunes met with a ukrainian official to get dirt on the bidens.

if he's willing to say specifically he met with the prosecutor shokin that told lev parna that he met with nunes in vienna in 2018. pointing out the time of the trip, congressman nunes was the chairman of the house committee. this was first reported by the daily beast on wednesday. the next day, it was entered into the record by the congressman. >> mr. chairman, i ask consent to put into the record the daily beast story lev parnas helped nunes investigation. an indicted associate helped arrange meetings and calls for rep nunes in 2018. nunes and harvey participated in

the meetings when were arranged to help nunes' investigative work. he did not specify what the investigation entailed. >> no objection. >> you have been falsely accused as being a quote/unquote fact witness. now if this story is correct, the ranking member may have been projecting and in fact he may be the fact witness if he is working with dooinindicted individuals around our investigation. >> phil, i'll start with you. congressman making the point there that devon nunes may be a key piece. >> it is significant development because of the role that congressman nunes has been playing. he's been helping shape the

direction of that investigation and narrative about the case. we should keep in mind that nunes for years now has been a close ally of president trump and has been doing the president's committee as chairman and now ranking member. it shouldn't come as a surprise for him to be implicated in this situation with ukraine. it is something certainly the democrats will want to get to the bottom of. >> to that point, you remember that nighttime visit nunes made to the white house and he shared information with the president. your reaction to all of this. as you've watched the hearings unfold. >> i think anyone who watch the hearings saw nunes take the role as prosecutor for the president. what is fascinating is you would think sometime in the last couple of weeks, he might mention, by the way, i had

dealings with the man who was indicted by the u.s. government a few weeks ago in relationship to this scandal. he was hiding this from the american people as he was launching his attacks i think undermines to the degree anyone needed to hear, undermines the case of the republicans. they are not just covering for trump. he's essentially covering for himself. i think the fact that he didn't say this to anyone is a sense that he was trupt as well. >> this is part of something bigger, isn't it? >> you look at the trip reported. this was a four or five-day trip. deric harvey was on the trip that cost taxpayers $60,000. you were in the room. >> this scandal is not an onnon.

it is a basket of onion you have to keel peeling. there are so many components. the parnas angle which rules rudy giuliani and other business deals as well as the political campaign to get dirt on the bidens and help with the conspira conspira conspiracy theory that would help absolve russia of hacking. i sat on the front row and staired at nunes for hours. >> i'm sorry. >> somebody has do it. i do get paid to do it. it is my job. if not him, it was jim jordan. maybe i need combat pay. to think that while this was going on, he met with shokin.

it was telling that after the hearing was over, all the republicans run to the microphone to try to spin what happened and how it was a great day for the president. he was absent. he doesn't want to answer questions on this. there may be one reason why democrats may not be able to wrap this up quickly, there may be more to dig up. >> kimberly, let me ask you about the trove of documents that came out. this nonpartisan watch dog group gets their hands on e-mails of the secretary of state schedule. the envelop that rudy giuliani delivered. what does it tell us? we now know there are conversations rudy giuliani had several times with secretary of state mike pompeo. >> i think that's what you

prefer to as receipts. >> in pdf form. >> that have to do with getting yovanovitch out of her post. in this case, with the more information that comes out, it may be more difficult for democrats because there is clearly more to get into. they went into this looking at a clear narrative that stemmed from first a phone call for military aid that is expanding.

>> the wichita lineman mike pompeo is still on the line. what does it mean for him. has been in brussels and has been answering questions. where does it put him as he eyes the senate seat in kansas. >> i think what this indicates is people who aren't speaking is not because they think of this investigation is a problem but because they are more guilty than it looks. mike pompeo's role in this affair, the information has grown. the fact that we have a public servant we all pay who is secretary of state who is unwilling to testify. won't testify on whether his own role in a scandal is outrageous. the one challenge we have is

that republicans are going to court in order to make this go on and on and on into the next year so that they can then argue, let the voters decide. the longer this goes, the easier that argument will be. we should just assume guilt at this moment. everything has been confirmed. all the defenses of the republicans have been one by one collapsing. >> we'll get back to that in a second. walk us through this piece your colleagues wrote about camp david. this is something different. mulvaney inviting republicans to camp david to spend the weekend there. >> it is a straight up charm offensive by the white house here as the impeachment inquiry mick mulvaney the chief of staff

has used the presidential retreat as a place to bring republican lawmakers, to court them essentially. give them a weekend at camp david, roast smores in the campfire and in exchange, they vow their loyalty to the president. that has been the strategy of the acting chief of staff at the white house. it is worth noting that trump does not go to camp david very often. he much prefers mar-a-lago. but the staff is very much taking advantage. >> i love that he calls in to dinner and no phones are allowed. >> an historic two weeks of impeachment hearings are over. is the story of what happened clearer than it was when the proceedings began?

♪for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.♪ we go the extra mile to bring your holidays home. yeah. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. con liberty mutual solo pagas lo que necesitas. only pay for what you need... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ man 1 vo: proof of less joint pain woman 1 oc: this is my body of proof. and clearer skin. man 2 vo: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 2 vo: ...with humira. woman 3 vo: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,

including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. man 3 vo: ask your rheumatologist about humira. woman 4 vo: go to humira.com to see proof in action. lashmakes every lash fullyrom maybsensational.ork. our fanning brush volumizes every kind of lash... ...for a sensational full-fan effect. lash sensational. only from maybelline new york.

>> this is up. i'm david gura. the house seems to have wrapped up the public portion of the investigation. they don't anticipate there will be anymore depositions or hearings. we've heard from 12 witnesses and vital confirmation of what other witnesses have seen, heard and alleged. >> on july 25, along with several of my colleagues i listened to a call between president trump and president zel. i found the phone call unusual because in contrast to other calls i had observed, it appeared to involve a domestic political matter. what i heard was inappropriate. >> it is improper for the president of the united states to demand investigation of a u.s. citizen and opponent.

>> i don't think raising 2016 elections or vice president biden or these things i consider to be conspiracy theories of the ukrainians, they are not things that we should be pursuing as part of our national security strategy with ukraine. i don't think pursuing these things serves a national interest. >> mr. giuliani's request were a quid pro quo for arranging a white house visit for president zelensky. mr. giuliani demanded ukraine make a public statement denouncing the investigations of the 2016 election, dnc server and burisma. mr. giuliani was expressing the desires of the president of the united states and we knew these investigations were important to the president.

was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting, the answer is yes. we all understood that these prerequisites for the white house call and meeting reflected president trump's desires and requirements. state department was fully supportive of our engagements and aware commitment to the investigations was among the issues we were pursuing. >> based on questions and statements i have heard, some of you appear to believe that russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country and perhaps somehow ukraine did. this is fictional that has been propagated by the russians itself. i ask that you please not

promote falsehoods. >> it is remarkable how quickly all of this has happened. in may, it was reported rudy giuliani was going to ukraine to push for inquiries that could help the president. that was six months ago. we know those centered on the investigations of joe and hunter biden and the alleging that ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. then up to the call on july 25. a call released in the summary that was not a transcript, a summary that revealed after president zelensky mentioned buying military equipment, president trump asked for a favor. the reminder here is con ssensu is that it played no role. it was said he asked them to look into the bidens. and that the president withheld hundreds of millions of aid.

and learning more, while the trump administration would like it to, it has tried to rescind stams made. the white house was not exactly pushing back. >> what exactly did you hope zelensky would do about the bidens from your phone call? >> i would think if they were honest about it, they would make an investigation into the bidens. it is a simple answer. they should investigate the bidens. likewise, china should start an investigation. what happened in china is just about as bad as what happened with ukraine. >> the factors, he also mentioned to me that the corruption related to the dnc server. absolutely. no question. that's it.

that's why we held up the money. i was involved in the process which the money was held temporarily. three issues. corruption in the country, whether or not other countries were acting in support and whether they were cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our department. >> did these stories con voe loot or complicate it. >> the facts are known. it is more confirming what we know happened. how did the hearings help as you see? >> i think they helped a great deal. i think that you saw so many public servient serve servants worried about this. the lieutenant describe why this

is deeply problematic from his perspective. he's working in our national security and how it undermines it. fiona hill debunking the ukrainian conspiracy in real time is also important. republicans are trying to create an alternative narrative in an alternative universe through their own channels using facebook and creating a narrative where ukraine is guilty of hurting us, not the russians. it is all fake information. it's important that information is debunked. >> what came out in these hearings. the july 25th call and reinforcing what democrats said all along that this wasn't going to be a reputation of what happened behind closed doors. new things were brown bound to come out. >> is yes. more information came out that

backed up that narrative that made it more difficult for republicans to refute these claims, which is why they essentially stopped trying. still now, they talked about the whistleblower. at this point, the whistleblower is a nonissue. you don't say, hey, the guy who called 911 didn't actually see the crime. the big factor now is public opinion. you have a break, holidays. people will be talking to each other. in california and michigan, people would stop me in the street and ask me about this. this is on the minds of americans. now democrats are hoping there is that push that continues to be a call for articles of impeachment and that helps them bolster the case forward. >> you've bathed over the course

of the hours. you know something will be happening. adam schiff will be writing a report out of this. they need to disstill what took place into something that is easy for the american public to consume and understand. >> adam schiff tried to do that at the end of the day with a closing statement. and unlike devin nunes it wasn't the same one. >> i'd like to raise another point that i did find disheartening. we didn't argue over reality. >> facts. >> we didn't argue over what things mean. we argued over reality. the republicans refuse to accept any of the facts that were coming out. that there was any issue with the phone call or rudy giuliani. they just came up with their own conspiracy theory. it was a stunning moment.

fiona hill said we have to stay away from conspiracy theories. >> don't go down the rabbit hole. >> they said exactly right. the russians orchestrated the fbi investigation to pin it on trump and blame the russians falsely to divide us. he took a reality and turned it into a con sir spi theory to prove her point. they are so committed to these alternative narratives that whatever we talk about is going to be very hard. a third of the public is wedded to these guys and will stay in this ses pool. >> i totally agree that is their strategy. on the other hand, their own appointees are saying, there was a quid pro quo.

it came out of sondland's mouth. >> i asked jim jordan after his testimony. i said, so is there a quid pro quo. he said no quid pro quo. he's still out there saying this is not true. >> coming up, he's on twitter. ambassador john bolton seen. are we being trolled or has the publicity campaign from his book started early. more coming up.

needles. essential for the sea urchin, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". 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 and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines,

serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™". most people think of verizon as a reliable phone company. (woman) but to businesses, we're a reliable partner. we keep companies ready for what's next. (man) we weave security into their business. virtualize their operations. (woman) and build ai customer experiences. we also keep them ready for the next big opportunity. like 5g. almost all the fortune 500 partner with us. (woman) when it comes to digital transformation... verizon keeps business ready. ♪ we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. even a- (ernie) lost rubber duckie? (burke) you mean this one? (ernie) rubber duckie!

(cookie) what about a broken cookie jar? (burke) again, cookie? (cookie) yeah. me bad. (grover) yoooooow! oh! what about monsters having accidents? i am okay by the way! (burke) depends. did you cause the accident, grover? (grover) cause an accident? maybe... (bert) how do you know all this stuff? (burke) just comes with experience. (all muppets) yup. ♪ we are farmers. ♪ bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum dana-farber cancer institute discovered the pd-l1 pathway. pd-l1. they changed how the world fights cancer. blocking the pd-l1 protein,

lets the immune system attack, attack, attack cancer. pd-l1 transformed, revolutionized, immunotherapy. pd-l1 saved my life. saved my life. saved my life. what we do here at dana-faber, changes lives everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. >> this is up, i'm david gura. john bolton has logged on with a tweet after two months of silence. he claims the white house withheld his access to twitter. since resigning, the white house refused to return access to my personal account out of fear of what i might say. one thing to tweet, another thing to face lawmakers or

cameras. props to this tmz video they shot last night. >> are you concerned they are trying to stop you from testifying? >> you'd have to ask the white house. we have regained control of the twitter account. twitter detached the white house software. >> when is your book coming out. are you going to provide information about why you were fired? >> i resigned. >> what if they try to block you? >> i have no comment on any of that. >> taken together, the testimony of 12 witnesses highlight how important it would be to hear from john bolton. first tweet, john bolton is on my train. going to go over and say hi. got a nice handshake and head shake. he's not answering any

questions. >> what do you make of this? the piece talking about how those two tweets got everybody excited maybe he was going to tell all in 280 characters or less. >> there is this wave for him to tell far more than 280 characters and under oath. it is stunning to me when he is clearly at the center of this question that is going to lead to the impeachment of the president of the united states and he and other officials from the white house are just refusing to testify or participate in the process at all unless being forced to by a court which won't happen before the impeachment articles are written. it underscores the notion that they don't have a defense. the narrative put forward by

these 12 others is correct. the best thing is to be silent in order to not further confirm this narrative or the instances of maybe some folks to protect themselves. >> let's listen to what fiona hill, his former deputy had to say. >> i brought to ambassador bolton's attention the attacks and smear cam ban against yovanovitch. i asked if there was anything we could do. he said in that discussion that rudy giuliani was a hand grenade and he was going to blow everybody up. >> how crucial is it for them to hear from john bolton before a senate trial if we get to that

fact? what are we missing by not having john bolton? >> the issue is we don't know what we're missing. he was the national security advisor. they have one-on-one conversations with the president regularly. he may have had multiple conversations. i think people think the twitter account is funny. i think of him as a moral you coward. the people under him are coming under intense attack while he sits silently by and goes on amtrak trips. this man during his life has lectured everybody about american patriotism. the constitution is at stake. he's tweeting instead of testifying. it's ridiculous.

>> what is your thought about the tweeting. he's been such a principaled conservative his whole life. >> it is a very stark divide. we saw fiona hill, david holmes testimony was remarkable. they come out somber out of an obligation. so no one enjoys being there. >> not even you. >> not even me. listen, yesterday. senator marsha blackburn. >> i should get that tweet. >> get that tweet. >> she called vinman a coward. >> he is a guy who won a purple

heart. still serving in the military. what the heck has she done? he worked for john bolton. to your point. he and fiona hill worked for john bolton and he's playing cute si about the twitter account. he confirms this is what i know. also rudy giuliani, america's mayor. he played that role for decades and turned into a lot of money as well. he has a duty to come forward. so much of what he's done has nothing to do with attorney-client privilege. you have bolton, mulvaney, giuliani and pompeo and the people who testified below them. that second tier level, none of them are talking. >> because they are all guilty.

rudy giuliani maybe was america's mayor at one point. what all of this demonstrates is that he was engaged in very shady behavior during the entirety of this. if you are not testifying, it means you have information that is negative about you. john bolton probably has a lot of information about things he learned and didn't do a damn thing about until the president basically fired him. >> at this point, this stuff is going on. i know it is bad. i know it is wrong. i know it is a hand grenade and that it is going to explode. any time it came up, he told them, you go to the lawyers. he didn't do anything himself. with trump, you can't control his craziness. giuliani is crazy enough. he's going to keep far enough

away assuming responsibility and trying to do something about it. >> on the issue of what they are waiting for. about his obligations to offer information. we are going to let this legal process play out. is that a red herring, do you think? >> i think that is. that is an easy out. we can sit here and be quiet while john bolton softly promotes his book. breaking news out of baghdad. arriving in western iraq whereabout 5,000 troops are. the vice president's trip comes about a year after the president went. what are you hearing this morning about the vest from the vice president? >> reporter: the vice president

is there with mrs. pence. they are meeting troops west of baghdad at a base many u.s. troops are stationed. there are about 6,000 troops there in iraq. this is a thanksgiving tradition. the first one was in 2003 when then president george w. bush made a trip to the region. we don't know if there are other stops we do know of one other stop in the region. it is always a chance for the vice president to rally the troops and also take the temperature with local officials. we know he's had a phone call with the prime minister and to get the back and forth and have conversations about what this looks like on the ground. there have been a lot of protests and questions about iranian response. then also a nice moment for the

troops away from their family. they get to meet the vice president. they get a coin from him sometimes when they shake his hand. the troops really appreciate any high-level visit. they get a nice meal with all the trimmings. they will helicopter a thanksgiving meal to make sure you get a little taste of home away from home when you are serving your country. we'll have more when more comes in. we have a pool with him that will give us some video and update on what he is saying. >> breaking news that the vice president is in iraq on an unannounced visit to that country. i want to take a look at gordon sondland and his giving an account to the involvement in

the ukraine scandal. >> i know that members of this committee frequency frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question. was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously with regard to the white house call and meeting, the answer is yes. >> getting details about rudy giuliani and others on the decision to freeze $400 million in aid to the ukraine. >> secretary perry, ambassador volker and i worked with mr. giuliani on the ukraine matters at the express direction of the president of the united states. we did not work with mr. giuliani. simply put, we were playing the hand we were dealt. we kept the leadership of the state department and the nfc

informed of our activities. that included communications with secretary of state pompeo, his counselor, his executive secretary and communications with ambassador bolton, dr. hill, mr. morrison and their staff at the nfc. they knew what we were doing and why. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via email on july 19 days before the presidential call. >> here is how the washington post testified that testimony. it was potentially historic, hotly disputed. potentially damaging for mr. trump. in the days that he often does, he distances himself from that individual. a short excerpt from that phone call he made to fox and friends

on friday. >> now with this guy who by the way, i hardly know him, okay. >> sondland? >> i've spoken to him a few times. all of those witnesses, there was no due process. we can't call witnesses. i want the whistleblower. >> the special watergate prosecutor and joins us on the set. this was called the john dean moment. i want to get your reaction. >> i heard him firsthand in the senate. i watched it from the prosecutor's office at the time. this was not completely a john dean moment. sondland certainly put the screws to this whole issue and

certainly provided major prove there was a bribery extortion scheme. if you take what david holmes said which was we overheard the conversation with sondland in the restaurant which you could hear because he had to hold the phone away. it was obvious that sondland was trying to back himself away from direct conversations from donald trump. as john dean testified, when you have a conversation with the president of the united states, that's not something you forget. john dean who went to prison was counsel to the president of the united states. he didn't have that much conversations with richard nixon. he was able to detail conversations he had down to the

most minute detail. at the time, he had no idea there was this taping system. everybody was saying is he telling the truth or nixon? when the tapes came out, it was clear john dean had almost a photographic memory of what occurred. this is different. sondland had a lot of talks. a lot of four-letter words. there is no way he didn't recall. >> he had that great line. if you call trump in the morning, and he's a bad news. >> don't call him in the morning. is it noon yet. >> he took himself out of the soup on ob restriction and on perjury. his lawyer prepared him really well. he went in and looked at

everyo e-mails and refreshed miss memory. >> a lot of refreshing. >> it is the og quid pro quo. can republicans and democrats each take something away? >> i think they can. he got to that point by a lot of pulling. a lot of remembering and changing of testimony. the more gravity that hit him about these proceedings and what could happen to you. perhaps roger stone getting convicted made it really clear that you should cooperate with congress when they order you to could so brought him to this moment. in this case, again. it falls right into the narrative. he is giving damning testimony still there at his job and trying to not completely throw

the president under the bus but maybe a few tires of it. again, just another piece of a very clear narrative. >> this was different. richard nixon had been in politics from 1947 to 1974. he had people willing to take a bullet for him. people would come into congress and they would lie. there was so many people that lied. if we prosecuted everyone for perjury, i'd still be there. if they really pushed, they are going to to talk. maybe two people would back up donald trump. his daughter and his son in-law and who knows. >> we'll leave it there. >> thank you for being here.

tune in tomorrow, aidian elrod will be here as bell as zerlina maxwell. up next, powerful personal history front and center. witnesses reminding us what is really at stake. i wish i could shake your hand. granted. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

like very high triglycerides, can be tough. you diet. exercise. but if you're also taking fish oil supplements, you should know, they are not fda-approved, they may have saturated fat and may even raise bad cholesterol. to treat very high triglycerides, discover the science of prescription vascepa. proven in multiple clinical trials, vascepa, along with diet, is the only prescription epa treatment, approved by the fda to lower very high triglycerides by 33%, without raising bad cholesterol. look. it's clear. there's only one prescription epa vascepa. vascepa is not right for everyone. do not take vascepa if you are allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. tell your doctor if you are allergic to fish or shellfish, have liver problems or other medical conditions and about any medications you take, especially those that may affect blood clotting. 2.3% of patients reported joint pain. ask your doctor about vascepa. prescription power. proven to work.

doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪ we♪ because it's made withan, plants.♪ ♪ we switched to tide purclean,♪ ♪ it gets stains out of his pants.♪ ♪ tide purclean, they don't put phosphates in. ♪ ♪ no dyes or chlorine

♪ it's gentle on my skin. ♪tide purclean, it has nothing to hide. ♪ ♪ it's made with plants and ♪ has the cleaning ♪ strength of tide. the first plant-based detergent with the cleaning power of tide.

welcome back to "up." i'm david gura. 12 witnesses testified over the past two weeks, and several of them spoke movingly about personal history, why many of them have spent years in government. >> next yoor will mark four years since my family arrive in the country as refugees. >> we arrived and then we went to -- >> our mother died so we went to italy. then we came here. >> ken burns featured a young lieutenant colonel vindman and his twin brother, who also works at the white house, in a documentary he made in 1985. >> when my father was 47 years old, he left behind his entire life and the only home he had ever known to start over in the united states, so his three sons could have a better and safer

lives. his courageous decision inspired a deep sense of gratitude in my brothers and myself and instilled in us a sense of duty and service. >> dr. fiona hill also mentioned her dad. he was a coal miner who wanted to move from the coal fields of northeast england to pennsylvania or to west virginia. >> while his dream was thwarted, my father loved america, as well as a beacon of hope to the world. he always wanted someone in the family to make it to the united states. >> she rose through the ranks in washington to work at the white house. fiona hill became a u.s. citizen in 2002. >> years later, i can say with confidence that this country has offered me opportunities i never would have had in england. i grew up poor with a very distinctive working class accent. in england in the 1980s and 1990s, this would have impeded my professional advancement.

this background has never set me back in america. >> gratitude. that is a word we heard over and over again during those hearings. >> my service is an expression of gratitude for all that this country has given to me and to my family. >> for a time, maria yovanovitch's mother was a woman without a country, fleeing the soviet union. >> their personal history, my personal history, gave me both deep gratitude toward the united states and great empathy for others, like utilize cranian people, who want to be free. >> for months now ambassador yovanovitch has been attacked and after more than three decade s of service to her country she was ordered home without explanation. the president of the united states did that. he recalled her and he attacked her. >> how has it affected your family? >> i really don't want to get into that, but thank you for asking. >> politicians and pundits

attacked these witnesses before they testified and the attacks continued as the hearings began. lieutenant colonel alexander vindm vindman. >> when he made this offer to you initially, did you leave the door open? was there a reason he had to come back a second and third time or was he just trying to convince you? >> the whole notion is rather comical that i was being asked to consider whether i would want to be the minister of defense. i did not leave the door open at all. >> okay. >> that exchange was not about fact finding. as congressman jim himes pointed out, it was something much more sinister. >> the three minutes that were spent asking you about the offer made to make you the minister of defense, that may have come cloaked in a brooks brothers suit and parliamentary language but that was designed exclusive ly to give the right-wing media an opening to question your loyalties. >> it's an opening that they have continued to exploit. in his closing statement, the

chair of the housing committee said the immigrant stories we've heard are among the most powerful, i think, we have ever heard. all of that biography reminds us of how we are connected, what it this place stands for and how it is seen but above all that this, the yunited states, is not something to take for granted. >> dad, i'm sitting here today in the u.s. capitol, talking to our elected professionals, talking to our elected professionals is proof you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the soviet union, come here to the united states of america in search of a better life for our family. do not worry. i will be fine for telling the truth. >> lieutenant colonel alexander vindman. i'll be joined by a lawmaker whose story is also central to his government service. his government service and are gluten & dairy free.

they're all clean. all the time. even if sometimes we're not. sundown vitamins. all clean. all the time. i've always loved and i'm still going for my best, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'll go for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? sharing my roots. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any 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 planned medical

or dental procedures. eliquis, the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you. you don't let a cold ruin your day. you take dayquil severe liquicaps and crush it. dayquil severe. the daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy-head, fever, sore throat, power through your day, medicine. i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424. there's a company that's talked than me: jd power.people 448,134 to be exact. they answered 410 questions in 8 categories about vehicle quality. and when they were done, chevy earned more j.d. power quality awards across cars, trucks and suvs than any other brand over the last four years. so on behalf of chevrolet, i want to say

"thank you, real people." you're welcome. we're gonna need a bigger room. lashmakes every lash fullyrom maybsensational.ork. our fanning brush volumizes every kind of lash... ...for a sensational full-fan effect. lash sensational. only from maybelline new york. is your business still settling for slow internet? well time is money. switch to comcast business now and get a great deal

when you get fast, reliable internet. with a 30-day money-back guarantee, installation when it works for you, and 24/7 customer support. so what are you waiting for? get this great deal when you sign up for fast, reliable internet. call 1-800-501-6000 today. comcast business. beyond fast. this is "up." i'm david gura. new details emerging overnight that devin nunes, ranking member on the intelligence committee formerly met with a prosecutor about joe biden and hunter

biden. congressman nunes is one of trmp's fiercest supporters. congre congressman nunes is threatening legal action, responding in part by saying these demonstrably false and scandalous stories published by the daily beast and cnn are the perfect example of defamation and reckless disregard for the truth. we've reached out to mr. nunes but have not received a response. there have been 43 subpoenas, 7 public hearings, 34 1/2 hours of public testimony from 12 witnesses and 15 closed door depositions with roughly 122 1/2 hours of testimony behind closed doors with 17 witnesses. >> a member of my staff asked

ambassador sondland what president trump thought about e ukraine. mr. sondland replied the president cares more about the investigations of biden, which jew giuliani was pressing for. >> what were you concerned about? >> assess going to go through some things. it didn't sound some things. it didn't soun good. it sounded like a threat. >> relating to ambassador sondland and to the president i did so out of duty. >> was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously with regard to the white house call and the white house meeting, the answer is yes. >> i did say to him, ambassador sondland, gordon, i think this is all going to blow up, and here we are. >> i think heard president trump ask, so he's going to do the investigation? ambassador sondland replied he's going to do it, adding president zelensky will do anything you ask him to do. >> adam schiff tied it up with a

bow before he gavelled that last hearing to a close. >> and in my view there's nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes they are above the law. and i would just say to people watching here at home and around the world, in the words of my great colleague, we are better than that. adjourned. >> with me this morning, author of "the opposite of hate," congressman espaillat, msnbc contributor and joel payne is a democratic strategist. also with us this morning i was down in washington on the hill. you knew this was happening. people were ducking in and out. just describe what these last two weeks were like, how this has advanced the story and

gotten your colleagues to a different place. >> i think it advances because we heard from don mcgahn. his testimony was different from what he had testified before. we heard from holmes. and all these testimonies from immigrants. fiona hill and vind land, in his uniform. of course, yovanovitch. these immigrants coming to congress to testify on behalf of america. what a story. >> where are we now? we're here, recess period. what happens next? >> i think we completed but there's still some loose ends out there. maybe bolton comes in and wants to testify. of course, you know, there's still information we must get

that we have not gotten. and then we'll submit the body of evidence to the judiciary committee and they will, i think, draft articles of impeachment and we will impeach him in the house of representatives. >> let me turn to you, nancy pelosi had a press conference, talking about what happened the last couple of weeks. you cover that for bloomberg news. is she echoing what the congressman at the table said, we don't know how long this is going to last or where it's going to go? >> nancy pelosi has been very careful. and she has to be. she can't say this is going to end in impeachment. she has to say we're following the facts where they lead us. she's leaving the timeline open, not committing to ending this by the end of the year. although there is a pressing election calendar next year. all of her members will be up for re-election. that has to be on her mind as she goes through these proceedings. >> you have this story

percolating overnight, that devin nunes may have met with this ex-ukrainian official. let this breathe and emerge. new paths are going to emerge and let it take those paths. >> yes. what's interesting in your caucus and how this is playing out, everything i hear, the speaker has the votes to impeach. there's some question exactly about what articles they would all vote for, if they would all vote for every single article that's presented. ultimately, you do have about 30 members of congress who are in districts that are on the bubble. they're very swingy. and in those districts, public opinion does not look like it does in the national polls, which is pretty much decidedly for impeaching and in some cases removing the president. nancy pelosi does have to worry about holding on to the house next cycle. and if republicans are

successful in messaging impeachment as a democratic witch hunt, a fool's errand, what are they doing on health care? what are they doing on drug prices? which republicans trying to do. i don't know how successful it's going to be ultimate ly, but that's where they're going. and i know there are a lot of democrats in swing districts that are worried that could be a very effective counterpunch. >> if you're in the cafeteria, and she has political concerns that are different than yours, how sympathetic are you to those? >> it was painful to move in that direction but the weight of the american opinion they felt compelled to move in that direction. we're doing lots of work. mitch mcconnell is holding up all that work we send over to the other side. so we continue the message on the work we've done, price of prescription drugs, gun these are all important pieces of legislation that -- bawa.

we've already approved in the house of representatives and they're being held up in the senate. so the do-nothing congress will fall flat on its face. >> representative for the democrats, goldman, had the 45 minutes so well charted out. he told the story. it was emblematic to me of how this was all conducted. democrats seemed aware of the facts as much as they knew them. new stuff came out in light of this phone call on july 26th. what they had to convey, yes, to other lawmakers and to the public over the two week. >> there's two kind of parallel processes here, right? one is the legislative process and how this moves through, presumably, depending on the articles to impeachment in the senate. it's interesting to note that you now even have the white

house saying look, when this comes to the senate, we don't want senate leadership to dismiss this out of hand. we want a full trial. we know there's enough evidence that there needs to be a serious public reckoning. >> trump will probably be acquitted. >> that may be, but at least they sort of feel we have the political xapt to say this is a complete and total sham, they now don't feel that way. the other thing is that the public narrative and public messaging on this, that polling on impeachment, there's evidence that it didn't shift because of what came out about trump, it shifted when pelosi and the democrats announced they were going to do impeachment hearings. the narrative will shift when we see articles of impeachment. they shift when we see moments of clarity from the leadership. what's important is that the quid pro quo has to be clearly messaged for democrats as the icing on the cake. the core issue here is the president putting his personal agenda before public interest, period. case closed. the case has been made.

>> and i'll turn back to you on that point. yes, they're making the case to each other, trying to as much as they can. what are they saying about that messaging apparatus, what was communicated to the american public in a way that's digestible, in a way that will be easily understood by the electorate? >> i had a very interesting conversation with with nancy pelosi, asking her what out reach are you doing to republicans? she said i'm not doing ooh out reach to anyone. i'm not whipping republicans or my own members. this is such an important issue, members have to decide for themselves. while they are looking at public opinion, especially those moderate members you mentioned, they're looking at their constitutional duty. lorain loria sheerks got to the point that said what we've seen from this president is so egregious that i, as part of my constitutional duty, have to support this impeachment process. she put out a very compelling ad saying she has taken the oath of office to protect the

constitution many times in her navy career and now as a member of congress she's doing her duty to the constitution. >> that's a slick ad. a personal decision that lawmakers have to make, going back to what the congressman said about the immigrant stories, personal history we heard there as well. there was an effort to elevate this conversation beyond the political fray we saw in that hearing room. >> sure. and there's another interesting frame here. it's the fact that the president has been leading an insurgency campaign against these types of folks for the last three years in government. his enemies are fiona hill, marie yovanovitch and colonel vindman because they stand for something that he doesn't stand for. they stand for truth. they stand for honor. they stand for the oath, things that donald trump, that doesn't mesh in his world. so he doesn't understand how they live their life. and i think what you're seeing here on display is that frame versus the frame of donald trump thinking it's the wild, wild west and he can do whatever he wants.

>> anna edgerin, thank you for joining us this morning. back in their home districts, our attention turns to what happens next. "up" on the timetable and impeachment and more when we come back. hment and more when we come back. .♪ ♪when you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze.♪ ♪for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.♪ the united states postal service goes the extra mile to bring your holidays home.

wean air force veteran made of doing what's right,. not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa i'm a regular in my neighborhood. i'm a regular at my local coffee shop and my local barber shop. when you shop small you help support your community - from after school programs to the arts! so become a regular, more regularly. because for every dollar you spend at a small business,

an average of 67 cents stays in the community. join me and american express on small business saturday, november 30th, and see how shopping small adds up.

this is "up." i'm david gura. lawmakers heard nearly 35 hours of public testimony from 12 witnesses over five days, pointed to what democrats in the house say is clear evidence of

quid proquo with ukraine. adam schiff working on a summary report. he has not ruled out the possibility of more hearings and key players we've yet to hear from like the president's personal attorney, rudy giuliani and mike pompeo. the story is still developing. they appear to show a clear paper trail between rudy giuliani and mike pompeo right before ukraine ambassador marie yovanovitch was recalled. how did you react to that? this is not something that congressman was able to obtain. they filed a request, got these documents and now we have call logs that say rudy giuliani and mike pompeo spoke. we have email exchanges. the paper trail is there. what does this say about the course of investigation? are you content to put this chapter behind us now and move on to whatever jush is going to do? >> i think there's still a

little bit more. >> more time? >> i think there's just a little bit more. obviously giuliani, pompeo, bolton, these folks have so much knowledge about what happened. they're knee deep into this, so hopefully we'll hear from at least one of them, but we'll leave that to our chairman. certainly, i think we have enough on the table to submit that to the judiciary committee, and then they'll decide on the articles of impeachment. >> joel, how patient are you, waiting for ambassador bolton to set up a meeting on capitol hill or are you content to move on? >> i may have slightly less patience. mostly as a communicator. i understand how short the attention span of the american people is, and i'm sure we all do. this is probably not something that you want to linger for month to month to month for two reasons. one, it loses salience as an issue, two, it interferes with democrats trying to find their next nominee that will go up against donald trump next year.

it's no accident that mitch mcconnell will probably push this into 2020 to interfere with the primary schedule a bit. those are things that the democrats are also focused on. >> how key is that, to joel's point? you heard the mantle leader in the senate indicating he would like to push -- talking in krooel concrete terms of what it trial may look like. as he often does, seeing it in a political light, seeing how he might use that. >> right spl how concerned should i be, were a senator kamala harris or someone thinking about this campaign going forward and wondering about what's going to be dragging back in washington, d.c.? >> that's exactly right. trump always consumes so much oxygen. so, imagine what it will look like when there's a vote on impeachment, when there is a trial in the senate and this goes on for weeks. it's going to basically wipe the democratic primary, not quite off the front page, but it will maybe be the second lead story instead of the first lead story and that has a real impact, even though that information is going to be primarily negative about president trump, you're not going to have the focus on the

democrats that they would like to have. i think it also reinforces that narrative that republicans will push that the democrats are doing nothing but focusing on getting rid of president trump when, in fact, they're not going to be able to do that because he's not going to be convicted in the senate. and that's what i wonder. i do hear a little nervousness on that. like is this all for nothing? and what happens when republicans start pointing that out? you guys aren't going to get rid of him. why are we wasting time here? i think democrats would be vulnerable. >> sally, a messaging point to you on that point. very quickly, he was reading from the book, telling me all the democrats had done. he has an answer for that who say you're just focused on this one thing. but how resonant is that as people have made up their minds already? what more can democrats do to convey to folks that this isn't the only thing they're focused on. >> david, that's a very good

question as we're all sitting here, discussing it. i don't friggin' know. at some point, this can't be political. this has to be it's the right thing to do. you stand up for the constitution, values of this country, right or wrong, no matter what. and that's where they -- can i make one other point? >> please. >> all right this here is a donut. >> oh, geez. >> you started in your lead with the quid pro quo thing. it drives me crazy. take the icing off, it's still a donut. the quid proquo is the icing. the quid proquo is the icing. underneath the quid pro quo, you still had a president who, beyond a shadow of a doubt used his office to advance not the good of the people but his own personal political agenda. icing or no icing, quid pro quo or no quid pro quo, that's wrong. i think there's a way in which democrats, progressives, whatever, we're getting too focused on the icing here. underneath it all, what this

president did was immoral, unethical, illegal with or without that icing. >> here on out this donut is known as quid pro quo to every guest here. picking up off what sally said there. >> no one is going to eat that now. >> i don't want that impeachment donut. >> in the hearings like the with ones we saw, how do you combat that among colleagues, when you said what the republicans said in response to some of these witnesses' testimony? we talk about it among the electorate but on capitol hill, how despairing are you that you can't agree on a set of facts? >> the american people are very sma smart. they may try to change the reality of what it is pu the american people understand that. good government is good politics at the end of the day.

whether or not he gets, you know, he goes through that trial -- by the way, they'll be going on that trial and mitch mcconnell will be sitting on all that legislation in the house. that argument that they knew nothing has visshifted to the senate. i think many of them have made up their mind. i feel comfortable where we are right now. whether the republicans agree with us or not, i think the body of evidence, shows that a lot bad stuff went on and people smell it. >> happy thanksgiving. after the break, the price tag of an ambassadorship. how and why those with no diplomatic experience manage to nab assignments around the world and why it's not as rare as you might think. y it's not as rare might think. [ applause ] thank you.

it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

introducing new vicks vapopatch easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. new vicks vapopatch. breathe easy. doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb;

don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. ♪ without asking your doctor in the human brain, billions of nefor people with parkinson's, some neurons change their tune, causing uncontrollable tremors. now, abbott technology can target those exact neurons. restoring control and harmony, once thought to belost forever. the most personal technology is technology with the power to change your life.

there is a perception that diplomats lead a comfortable life. let me tell you about some of my reality. it has not always been easy. i have moved 13 times and served in seven different countries, five of them hardship posts.

>> that's yanukovych. the united states has a long history of naming political appointees to big posts. nearly 30% of appointees have been political. president nixon put a price tag on ambassadorships ambassadorshs . >> one of the appointees donated

$300,000. that led to her quid pro quo scandal into the foreign service act of 1980 which was designed to separate donor money. presidents obama and trump appointed some of the biggest donors to major positions in western europe. you can see the robes gallery. one of the appointees is gordon sondland. he donated nearly $1 million and now he is the u.s. ambassador to the european union and is at the center of the impeachment inquiry. we've heard this cry on the campaign trail saying this shouldn't be the case. ambassador got his job after writing a check to donald trump's committee. this is washington corruption at it's worse. i have pledged never to give ambassador positions to wealthy donors and every candidate should do the same. some said they would.

why the resistance? is it a supply and demand thing? what's the reason this country does it this way and how powerful a tool is this? >> the united states is really the only country that does it on this scale, rewarding the ambassadorships to wealthy donors. i think there is a difference between giving a wealthy donor and an ambassadorship to rome or london where the countries where there is not incredibly sensitive diplomatic relationships. trump put people like in the eu, the ambassadorship to the eu, there is a lot of sensitivity there. maybe that shouldn't go to somebody who is just a contributor. the other thing that i think is interesting is the constitutional donors for the republican party, the typical people who gave did not give to trump's campaign.

they gave to the inaugural committee. this committee is under investigation at multipresident levels here in new york there are several investigations going on into this. and it kind of stems from the special counsel's investigation. you have a former trump campaign aid who has been indicted. i believe he pleaded guilty. so there is a lot going on there that federal prosecutors think has not been on the up and up. we don't know how this is going to shake out and what might have been involved for contributions in abdommbassador-type roles. just how he embraced it as though he had a long career. it's remarkable to look at the transcripts of where he was when and how he inserted himself into the conversations. he embraced it with the kind of gusto that i think will be

regrettable now. i guess you see that to verying degrees. >> what stands out to me is the pride that the president had in acknowledging that he had no idea who these people are which is hard to believe considering there are documentations of him having details of them. either he is a liar or bad at his job. i'm talking about donald trump and gordon sondland. i think the pride that he talks about not knowing these people. he says he doesn't know who fiona hill is. if you are so obsessed with corruption in the ukraine and this is your national security apparat apparatus, what does it say about you as an administrator that you don't have relationships. >> you look at kelly craft now, ambassador to canada and u.n., she gave a million dollars, as well. these donors come with a huge

personal history, married to a -- there are things attached to these folks that you wouldn't have to someone who rose through the ranks? >> it's wrong on every level, even if they were qualified. in other words, i suppose we could weave a story where they have done business. it's just wrong. it's stark to notice how republicans and conservatives in general reacted to the college bribery scandal, this idea that it was hollywood liberals who were buying their kids' way into college. the idea of multibillion air millionaire ceo wealthy people who are benefitting from the disproportional tax schemes and business give aways from the right, they're not then bothered when they turn around and buy

influence in government. they're both offensive and both wrong. >> i cannot let this pass without acknowledging the under whelming nature of the people who work for donald trump. it's in his white house. you have a press secretary who bumbled all over herself. that's coming after sarah huck be sanders. >> just bringing it back to politics, what is elizabeth warren doing here? this is one where you think there would be more democrats who would get on board with this. how much is this testing or prodding the candidates. >> she knows they are not going to agree, because money is still central to running for president

in the united states of america. that's just the way it is. elizabeth warren did swear off large donors early on in her campaign, and it created a big rift for her. i think it led to the departure of some senior staff. she is doing what bernie often does which is to take a position that is unique in a field that is going to test the others and basically daring them join me or risk looking like a hypocrit or at the very least like a transactional politician. >> russia's conspiracy theories take hold on the president. new report how one of the main talking points is part of a campaign. we'll talk about it with world chess champion. there are a lot of names to keep track of when it comes to the ukraine scandal including one i did not expect to hear so many times during the course of the public hearings. that is asap rocky. ambassador gordon sondland

called president trump to catch up. >> the primary purpose was a rapper named asap rocky. >> what triggered my memory was a reference which was i believe the purpose of the phone call. >> he was giving president advice on how to deal with the asap rocky situation and should have released them on your word and you can tell the kardashians that you tried. >> i he is not the first to have mad the mistake. this was me back july 21st. >> i just want to talk about exemplars. you have the president reaching out on behalf of this rapper asap rocky. my apologies once again to mr. rocky. we'll be right back. mr. rocky. we'll be right back.

mom! maria! maria ramirez... mcdonald's is committing 150 million dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs... prof: maria ramirez mom and dad: maria ramirez!!! to help more employees achieve their dreams. (burke) at so we know how to cover we'almost anything.verything mom and dad: maria ramirez!!! (bert) even a "not-so-handy monster." (johnson) what is going on in here! i can't hear myself think! (grover) what does it look like, sir? i am here to help you with your water heater. (johnson) oh! [sighs defeatedly] (grover) do not worry sir. i also fix cars! [johnson groans] (bert) grover is a monster of many talents! (burke) and we covered it. at farmers, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. (bert) mmm. ♪ we are farmers. ♪ bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum

i'm a verizon engineer, and i'm part of the team building the most powerful 5g experience for america. it's 5g ultra wideband-- --for massive capacity-- --and ultra-fast speeds. almost 2 gigs here in minneapolis.

that's 25 times faster than today's network in new york city. so people from midtown manhattan-- --to downtown denver-- --can experience what our 5g can deliver. (woman) and if verizon 5g can deliver performance like this in these places... it's pretty crazy. ...just imagine what it can do for you. ♪ bill's back needed a afvacation from his vacation. an amusement park... so he stepped on the dr. scholl's kiosk. it recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain. so you can move more. dr. scholl's. born to move. it nice?ce. this is the most-awarded minivan three years in a row. the van just talked. sales guy, give 'em the employee price, then gimme your foot. hands-free sliding doors, stow 'n go seats, man, y'all getting a hook up and y'all don't even work here. pacificaaaaa!

there was a loud warning at this week's impeachment hearings. you heard from feowna hill followed by this bombshell in the "new york times." american intelligence officials informed senators and aides that russia had engaged in a years-long campaign to frame ukraine as responsible for the hacking of the 2016 election. the chairman for new democracy and former world chasz champion, as well. let's go back to that morning in

the transcripts for testimony read behind closed doors. taking republicans to task for lying, your reaction to that to the lack of awareness that folks had on the republican side of what was at play here. >> it would happen. we said putin was our problem. putin recognized that a free world was too weak and decided to go for a home run. i was calling him -- he succeeded in spreading doubts. what is true. you never know. he's exhausting critical

thinking. so it's not denying the facts because they know they're there, but pretending it is complicated. they want people to get tired. and the latest revelations, it's played by putin's scenario. and at this point, i'm surprised that doesn't make his opening statements in russian. to that point, when you listen to jim jordan loudly yelling just a string of these conspiracy theories together so clearly designed to confuse and to have folks. this isn't worth your time or attention. >> like so many moments, it's hysterical if it wasn't so dangerous and just sad.

and to the clip you showed a little while back, we have the situation where you have immigrants come to this country because they believe in the idea of the country, the freedom, liberty, democracy of our nation working day after day without the spotlight, without salaries to defend our values in our nation and our democracy. and meanwhile, you have the president of the united states of this country and his lackeys in congress who are not only not even just believing the findings, the unquestioned findings, but they're about to go do it again. and they're pedaling all of these conspiracy theories instead of protecting the elections in 2020. it's horrifying. >> you read it on twitter and social media the comments from the so-called true americans.

so why people testify against -- my question is i'm still waiting when they will be ready to testify. all of those defending trump refuse to testify. >> when you listen to -- are th they -- we also know the president has made explicit threats that he's going to revoke funding and blockade people in the party if they don't support him. i think they feel that they are between a rock and a hard place. i think the mistake was letting donald trump take over the party and not showing the back bone before this. you've already let the bully

win. you can't try to fix things and put the horse back in the barn. >> we have been reporting mike pence making the visit to iraq. >> president trump's decision to maintain troops in syria to secure the oil fields so that they don't fall into the hands of isis or iran but rather than those oil resources are available for the kurdish people in syria. i was encouraged to hear how president trump trump's resolve in holding turkey to the cease fire that they agreed to when our delegation went last month and my sense is that now with our troops in the region and in

the air that kurdish forces, syrian democratic forces as well as kurdish population here in the kurdish region know that the american people are with them. these are allies who have fought shld to shld with us, sacrificed greatly to defeat isis not only in iraq, but in syria. they know now that while president trump is absolutely determined to bring our troops home, and that was the basis of the president's decision in moving our troops out of the border region that nevertheless we're going to continue to maintain a presence in syria and of course here in iraq that reflects the strong and enduring partnership that we have with the iraqi people including the kurdish people in iraq and in syria. >> thanks, guys.

>> let me just say that i didn't -- i don't think there was any confusion now among the leadership here in the kurdish region that president trump's commitment to our allies here in iraq as well as to those in the kurdish force whose fought along side us is unchanging. but look president trump is always going to look for opportunities to bring our troops home, to take these men and women out of harm's way, but making it clear to our allies in this region as the president has done that those who fight along side us, we will stand with them and ensure their ability to create the kind of stability and long term opportunity for prosperi prosperity. it will continue to be a goal. but i can tell in speaking to president and his team that they know the american people are

with them. and we're going to continue to build this long term relationship with all the people of iraq and we're going to continue to ensure that our kurdish allies in syria have access to the oil reserves that will make it possible to see their interest. >> thanks, guys. >> that's the vice president mike pence traveling to the region to try to put a shine on something that looks different from what he is describing there, describing the rationale for the decision to withdraw troops from that part of the country, saying there is no confusion now. we're lucky to have you with us as we process this and listen to all of this and the imposed amnesia of what happened over the last few weeks and where things stand now. >> i'm sorry for the vice president. he had to correct himself five times. just going around trying to reconcile.

if you remember when trump made the announcement about withdrawal from syria, on october 6th he spoke and on october 7th he made the announcement. there are so many coincides. i just didn't think that i would live to the day when the party of reagan would be doing -- >> want to get in on this? >> there really is no more powerful symbol of trump's complete and utter take over of the republican party than what he has -- the position he has forced republicans into. the evil empire. the republican party and democrats, too, always understood russia's danger, the danger they pose to our national security and their willingness to try to disrupt democracies all over the globe. that's exactly what's happening now. this republican party is willing to look the other way because the president has such a stranglehold over their voters.

they are terrified of them. >> you asked if it was willful. it's almost like you set it up that way. that is willful ignorance of the facts. the fact that donald trump because of a temper tantrum probably cost scores of people their lives, put our alliance with these curds, he put their lives in jeopardy. this is all because of donald trump and his ego. >> i think that is also because if trump is reelected, i bet the same will happen. trump will destroy -- fbi is an enemy. it's the old institutions that secure the free world for decades now are just all in doubt because donald trump just doesn't care and is also shamelessly pushing the putin

agenda. >> thank you very much for joining us here in new york as we got that tape. i want to turn to the 2020 race for joe biden took aim at his long-time friend lindsey graham after the senator announced he would be looking to other connections to hunter biden. the vice president expressed his anger and disappointment saying lindsey graham should be embarrassed. you have covered politics in washington for a long time. this was a classic friendship in the washington sense, a bipartisan friendship. these two guys travelled around the world together to show off that there could be bipartisanship in american policy. what do you make about what that says? >> i think there are two republican parties right now. there is the republican party in washington -- they can't say

that because of the other republican parties. and the republicans in washington are terrified of that base of voters and will not do anything to kind of stand up to president trump, confront him on anything. they can't say that they think that what he did was wrong. you heard this over and over from republicans, they have basically taken his words verbatum. so what if i did, a president can do this anyway. they are so terrified of scarinp control every -- the words coming out of they are mouths. >> i want to play a bit of tape here. this has got some currency over the last few hours, talking about his relationship with joe biden and talking about how he

contacted joe biden after the death of joe biden's son bo biden. let's take a listen to that tape. >> if you can't admire joe biden as a person you probably need to do some self-evaluation. what's not to like? here's what i can tell you that life can change just like that. don't take it for granted. don't take relationships for gramp granted. i called him after bo dyad and he basically said well, bo was my soul. we talked for a long time. he came to my ceremony and said some of the most incredibly heart felt things that anybody could ever say to me and he's the nicest person i think i've ever met in politics. >> is that right? >> she as good a man as good ever created. >>en a emotional instagram there and a line stood out there life can change and i guess political

life can change as well. i want to quote from that interview joe biden gave last night. he goes on to say i'm disappointed and quite frankly i'm angered by the fact he knows me, he knows my son, there's nothing to this. trump is holding power over him that even ukranians wouldn't yield to. there is nothing to investigate about biden or his son. >> so it -- i think what joe biden is channelling is how a lot of us who have been in politics, who have friends in politics, have friends across the aisle have come to feel over the last two to three years which is the sort of raw shock that people who you thought and in all fairness we can disagree about ideas, we can disagree about a number of president trump's ideas, but a lot of people who thought, we thought we were all better than this and we certainly thought that our friends or colleagues on the other side of the aisle were better than this. that even is just at the

political level. honest to god i thought lindsay graham was better than this. we've disagreed on a number of things across the years. this line where you're now personally attacking people with completely made up lies, that -- it's just a new -- we keep sinking to new lows or i should say they keep sinking to new lows and those of ustion who are apolled shub e should bould be. >> is it an unrecognizable place and one that we can't come back from, do you think? >> things are changed but yes, i can envision this and here's why. let me lay out the case. you know, we saw actually after john mccain passed away lindsey graham admitted that relationship was personally advantageous to him. which is llying?

i would also remind us and i know we like to hold up john mccain as a paragon of virtue, i'm old enough to remember when he was building a dang wall and when he after donald trump attacked him would not revoke his endorsement of him. so there is something fundamental in the water of the republican party that allows their party to be taken over and allows them to be so politically craven that judges and low taxes mean that they sell their political soul. >> last question here and it's funny the way this is all being engineered because joe biden is addressing lindsey graham through an interview. it's one of these funny washington friendships when you wonder how much of an actual friendship is there. what does that say about our politics as well? we talk about the ambassador and the president and who might contact whom, gone is the time you can contact that person direct liz. what do you make on the friendship? >> one thing that president trump has done over and over and

over again the people who end up working for him, the people who form alliances with him end up getting tainted and in a lot of cases indicted actually and some thrown in prison. but it speaks to the corruption, the corrosion within the republican party that's taken place since trump has taken it over and on the other side, it's gotten to the point where because trump is such a toxic presence in american politics, joe biden gets yelled at every time he says well, i would go and work with republicans. i have friendships with republicans. he's praised certain republicans that probably he shouldn't have praised, but he gets just absolutely annihilated for any suggestion of bipartisan cooperation that he would undertake as president and that says a lot about where we are right now as a country. >> thank you very much. make sure to tune in tomorrow when lindsey graham's challenger

is going to be here with me. again, that's tomorrow on up. where the house impeachment inquiry goes next with adam smith with am joy next. h with at if you live with diabetes, why fingerstick when you can scan? with the freestyle libre 14 day system just scan the sensor with your reader, iphone or android and manage your diabetes. with the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you can check your glucose levels any time, without fingersticks. ask your doctor to write a prescription for the freestyle libre 14 day system. you can do it without fingersticks. learn more at freestylelibre.us you can do it without fingersticks. we're oscar mayer deli fresh your very first sandwich,m... your mammoth masterpiece.

and...whatever this was. because we make our meat with the good of the deli and no artificial preservatives. make every sandwich count with oscar mayer deli fresh. whether your beauty routine is 3or 57,... make nature's bounty hair skin and nails step one. it's the number one brand uniquely formulated for silky hair, glowing skin and healthy nails. nature's bounty, because you're better off healthy. fthe prilosec otc two-weekymore. challenge is helping people love what they love again. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. and now for their service to the community, we present limu emu & doug

with this key to the city. [ applause ] it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. and now we need to get back to work. [ applause and band playing ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

that does it for me. thank you for much for watching. a.m. joy with joy reid starts right now. >> was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously, with regard to the requested white

house call and the white house meeting, the answer is yes. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. again, everyone was in the loop. >> good morning. and welcome to a.m. joy. well, donald trump isn't the most complicated president in our nation's history. he doesn't seem to read. even the crimes he's accused of are pretty straightforward. an extent to bribe a foreign government using our tax money acts for which he will in all likelihood be impeached. but the saga of trump's corruption can seem complicated because well, there's so much of it and because there's such a large cast of characters involved. now, you would be forgiven if you're having some trouble keeping track of who's who and trump does have one job