eli honig, ross garber, david gergen, thanks to all of you.emocrats pushing forward, introducing, we learned, two articles of impeachment against president trump. we'll get reaction from one lawmaker on capitol hill just ahead. ( ♪ ) only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. tylenol®. for fast pain relief. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal b

josh rogin, david gergen, appreciate you both. >> thanks, erica. >>> next, a question david raised earliereaders mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer play nice and come up with some agreement on how the president's impeachment trial will be conducted? we'll talk about that and the comparisons with the clinton impeachment trial with someone who had a front row seat to the clinton trial. ♪ work so hard ♪ give it everything you got ♪ strength of a lioness ♪ tough as a knot ♪ rocking the stage ♪ and we never gonna stop ♪ all strength, no sweat. ♪ just in case you forgot ♪ all strength. ♪ no sweat secret. all strength. no sweat. to take care of yourself. but nature's bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and well-rested. because hey, tomorrow's coming up fast. nature's bounty. because you're better off healthy. (children laugh and scream) nature's bounty. (dog barking) ♪music it's the final days of the wish list sales event. hurry in to your lincoln dealer today to get this exceptional offer. little things can be a big deal. psoriasis, that's why there's

josh rogin, david gergen, appreciate you both. >> thanks, erica. >>> next, a question david raised earliercan senate leaders mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer play nice and come up with some agreement on how the president's impeachment trial will be conducted? we'll talk about that and the comparisons with the clinton impeachment trial with someone who had a front row seat to the clinton trial. she wanted to move someplace warm. but he wanted snow for the holidays. so we built a snow globe. i'll get that later. dylan! but the one thing we could both agree on was getting geico to help with homeowners insurance. what? switching and saving was really easy! i love you! what? sweetie! hands off the glass. ugh!! call geico and see how easy saving on homeowners and condo insurance can be. i love her! the wait is over. t-mobile is lighting up 5g nationwide. while some 5g signals go only blocks, t-mobile 5g goes miles... beyond the big cities to the small towns... to the people. now, millions of americans can have access to 5g on t-mobile. and this is just the beginning. t-mobile, the first and onl

resolved all those issues then they can start talking about certification again ok business reporter david gergen thanks for that . now let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. a breakthrough in the trade war between the u.s. and china has propelled stocks on wall street to another record high investors are relieved that the prospect of an escalating conflict has receded it was the 3rd straight day of stock market gains. british prime minister boris johnson has welcomed 1st time lawmakers a 109 new conservative m.p.'s won seats as the party powered to a landslide victory in last week's election the new parliament will be sworn in on tuesday with johnson's bracks a deal on the agenda on friday. the architect of france's controversial pension reform has resigned over alleged conflicts of interest jump old del of was departure comes 12 days internet into nationwide strikes against his plans his departure is a blow to president emanuel mccraw whose government isn't locked in a standoff with trade unions. india has been rocked by more violent protests over a controv

david gergen joins us. kirsten powers as well and elliot williams. as i said, this is really history in the making and also being broadcast in prime time, something that is new here. i'm personally glad that the american people got to see it in prime time. usually these things happen during the day when folks are at work. a historic day, marathon three hours plus. what have we been watching? >> what we saw was the democrats basically laying out their case, talking about the testimony, talking about the transcript, talking about the founders and their concerns about foreign interference and, you know, really making the case for impeachment. and what you saw with the republicans wasn't really so much a defense of donald trump or even engaging on those facts. it was a lot of invoking the boogeyman of liberals, of the scary liberals, jim jordan saying, they don't like us. you know, one of the congress people brought up something robert de niro said, something kathy griffin did. they were talking about people that had nothing to do with this and staying a

david gergen, jeffrey toobin, jen psaki, gloria borger, and mike shields. does the president's letter make sense? is it just to capture the news cycle on this day? this is the headline going into the impeachment. >> that's not what he said. he said it's his bid for history. i think right now it's going to go down as a letter from a two-bit dictator in a banana republic. it has that kind of quality to it. but you just think about our history and the people we've had, the men of letters who have been in this office. you mentioned the gettysburg address. when you think about donald trump's letters, this letter and his other pronouncements going up against jefferson, going up against lincoln on the second inaugural or gettysburg, against franklin roosevelt and the fire side chats, jack kennedy and his inaugural, this is going to be in those annals as a representation of this president, for a man who apparently, as we were told by his close folks, that he cares mostly about his legacy these days? this is what he's contributing to his legacy? >> i mean it is extr

substance but more about process and his read of how impeachment should go constitutionally. >> david gergen, one of the arguments that professor turley made and we've had him on the show for years, is that there's not enough evidence. of course the democrats then say, well, there's not enough evidence -- if there's not enough evidence, it's because the white house has successfully not given over documents and witnesses. >> right. well, that's true. listen, i thought that the republicans made some gains on arguments about fairness and they're not being treated fairly. i thought it was a mistake. it's a symbolic mistake to have three lawyers out there for the democrats and only one lawyer for the republicans. it seemed to me that sent an automatic signal this is rigged in favor of the democrats. having said that, i thought the lawyers they brought did an excellent job. they're well spoken, especially, you know -- well, all three were actually very good. but i think they helped to bring light on the central questions of the day. you know, that essentially the republicans have been arguing this

. >> all right, david gergen, let's talk about fatigue. the trend line on public support for impeachment is not a good one for democrats. cnn's latest polling just out this morning shows nationally now just 45% of americans believe that president trump should be impeached and removed from office. that's down from 50%, but look at the breakdown among democrats, republicans, and independents because the biggest decline there in support democrats from 90 to 77%. that is not statistically insignificant. in effect, did democrats fail to make the case convincingly? >> i think the polls are all over the place. you have to look more at averages. there's another poll out today which has among democrats 85% support. >> true but if you look nationally, and cnn there's a poll of polls, i believe the average is 46%, so not above 50%. we did have democrats come on this broadcast and others say, listen, wait until we have the public hearings. when americans see the evidence, that will change minds. >> and it didn't. >> i think it's really important to ac

we're joined now by senior political analyst david gergen and a bona fide impeachment expert, jeffrey engel, founding director of the center for presidential history at methodist university. with speaker pelosi and mitch mcconnell, you really do have two of the preeminent masters of congressional strategy. they are at the top of the top historically speaking. how do you think this ends? >> it's not clear. you're absolutely right about these two veterans. they're both wily, and very strategic and tough. they do not give in easily, and you've seen that this past week. mitch mcconnell hasn't been moved at all, and nancy pelosi is hanging right in there. both of them have a lot of support in their caucuses. how this ends, listen, i do think there's legitimacy to what nancy pelosi is trying to do, certainly in the short term, it's to shine a light on the unfairness of the people on the democratic side who have never been given access to documents, who have never been able to interview the key witnesses, that this should not be resolved without those people coming forward. i think they have

and david gergen, senior cnn political analyst. david, does the white house not participating in the house's impeachment inquiry undermine the president's case at all because i mean nadler says, well, he can't argue it's unfair. he certainly will continue to as many republicans will argue it's unfair. >> well, i think it certainly undercuts the argument that they're not being allowed to participate. they've been arguing that was very unfair. they didn't have a voice. and behind closed doors of course during the depositions, they did have equal time in terms of asking questions of the witnesses. there have been aspects of it the democrats have control, but i'm not -- i guess i'm not surprised but i'm extremely disappointed the white house is not taking part in this. this is so unlike any other impeachment we've seen and certainly with nixon and clinton. both presidents were much more cooperative, sent witnesses, sent documents, made their case. here i think the trump white house is simply not taking the constitution seriously. they'r

. >> joining us, dana bash, elliott williams and david gergen. dana, do you have any sense that this impeachment standoff, nobody is holding their breath that anything is going to happen. with that being said, is there a chance it will work itself out? >> yes, there is a chance it will work itself out. how it will work itself out, that's to be determined. the reason is because it's in the democrat's interests to try to find a way to start this trial for many, many reasons. because if you listen to mitch mcconnell, his argument is why are they holding it because if they think that by holding it it's going to make me negotiate and give something away that i don't want to give away or maybe agree to, witnesses that i don't want to agree to, that's not going to happen because no skin off my back. if we don't start a senate trial, we'll move on to other thing. confirm more trump judicial nominees. having said that, that is his argument and there's a lot to be said for that. there are also republicans who are running and if he's not re-elect re-elected

. >> i'm joined by david gergen, a former adviser to four presidents and bob barnett who has coachedferent campaigns for presidential debates, ten different campaigns. good to have you both, gentlemen. >> i haven't had $900 bottle of wine in a wine cave, but, you know, this is -- it's going to stick, right, if there are things from debates that stick, i think wine cave was it last night. bob, let me begin with you. it seemed like one of the most obvious clashes that will continue throughout is about money and politics. is that what sways voters? >> you can't get to the general unless you pass through the caucuses and primaries. and i'm acutely aware of that having gone through ten presidential campaigns. but i'm disappointed that we didn't spend more time last night after the first ten minutes talking about the general election opponent. i'm not sure this election ultimately will be decided by money and politics or whether rich people get free college tuition or how we pay for medicare for all. i realize you've got to debate those things and show the differences for purposes of winni

david gergen who served four u.s. presidents said it reads like a two-bit dictator. late today, the speaker was asked about the document. >> your reaction to the president's letter? >> no reaction. it's ridiculous. >> you have no reaction? why not? >> i haven't really fully read it. we've been working. i've seen the essence of it, though, and it's really sick. >> tonight the trump campaign is also using language similar to that letter to pelosi in a fund-raising email to supporters. under the subject line "impeachment war," it reads, "by proceeding with an invalid impeachment, democrats are violating their oaths of office, breaking their allegiance to the constitution, and declaring open war on american democracy." as the house prepares for tomorrow's impeachment vote, the senate is getting ready to hold the president's trial expected in early january. this morning the majority leader mcconnell responded to the minorities leader schumer's proposal for senators to subpoena documents and call witnesses forward, including white house chief of staff mick mulvaney, former

. >> out front now, david gergen, cnn senior political reporter nia malika henderson and former assistant fbi director and republican senator of nevada greg brower. what do you think that he does not have the republican votes to dismiss a potential senate trial if president trump is impeached? >> well, he may have two different groups and we're not quite sure how many members are in each group and one group, mitt romney would be behind and he's not sure there's enough there to justify a trial and he wants to get it behind us and there's another group, how many republicans think actually that they will benefit politically from having a trial. they haven't had a chance yet to run and the house democrats have been running the show and this is the first opportunity on the republican side and they can make rhetorical points and factual points, i hope, that will reverse public opinion and bring a majority against the whole proceeding and i just don't think we know at this point how many people are in each group. >> so, nia, here's what we've heard from republicans in the house about this impeac

. >> david gergen, from a political standpoint, what did you make of today? and historic as well. >> wow is right. i don't think any of us saw this coming. it's important to understand in the last days, there are a number of people who have been making the argument that they don't need to be impartial in a trial. they've already made up their minds. lindsey graham and others. under senate rules, you're supposed to be impartial. take an oath of impartiality. so they feel, the democrats feel, you're already in violation. along comes larry from harvard law school who writes an article that has gotten a lot of private attention in washington, suggesting you can do something like this. when it appears the trial is going to be partial. and this gives you leverage to negotiate. now, i think it is tough. nancy pelosi has had a remarkable record so far this year. the last two years working with donald trump. and she's outsmarted them on many occasions and is well regarded within democratic circles. but for weeks, the democrats have been arguing, let's get this over wi

. >> with us now, david gergen, former presidential adviser to four u.s. presidents and liz wheel. david, let me begin with you and drawen your decades of experience including through impeachment processes like the one we're witnessing now. a back and forth as to who benefits politically from this. i've spoken to republican law make ers who claim their internal polling shows they are benefitting in swing districts and you hear from democrats that while they have no choice, but they expect that american people might reward them for this. where do you think it comes down political ly? >> i don't think it has come down yet sh jim. i think it's got to play further. right now, both sides have having to crow about , but both sides have disappointments. if you are a democrat activist, you hoped the hearings in the house would have broken this open. that there would have been a clear momentum in favor of impeachment and removal. that has not happened. on the other hand, if you were a a republican, you were hope iin the case would go away by now. the country just simply split and i have to t

. >> david gergen and bill crystal are back with us.has been on trump's mind today, he's tweeted about it several times. he seems gleeful in comey's interview and admitting he was wrong. do you think this is the last word or will trump continue to use comey and the fbi as a sort of siren call for votes in the next 2020 election? >> trump of course has been doing this before and will continue to do it suppose. and what strikes me, a, nothing has been done to delegit mass at all the actual investigation. the fisa warrant for page was after the investigation had begun, and it had some procedural irregularities. the sloppiness seems like they might have still gotten that warrant. i give comey credit for saying they messed up at the fbi. you know, trump really wants -- again, if you look at actually the report and what's wrong it's stuff they shouldn't do, but it's the kind of stuff that happens in a country where the rule of law is very strong and there are very complicated judicial and legal procedures and agents take a little bit of short

political correspondent dana bash, cnn legal analyst elliot williams, and cnn senior political analyst david gergen. as we look at all of this, dana, do you have any sense that this impeachment standoff -- i don't think anybody is holding their breath that anything is going to happen over the next two weeks of this holiday break. but that being said, is there a sense that it will actually work itself out sometime soon, even in the early days of january? >> yes, there is a sense that it will work itself out. how it will work itself out, that's, you know, to be determined. and the reason is because it's in the democrats' interest to try to find a way to start this trial for many, many reasons because if you listen to mitch mcconnell, his argument is why are they holding it because if they think that by holding it, it's going to make any negotiate and give something away that i don't want to give away or maybe agree to witnesses that i don't want to agree to, that's not going to happen because no skin off my back. if we don't start a senate trial, we'll move on to other things, confirm more trump judi

take a deemer dive what is ahead this week and in the coming weeks with cnn political analyst david gergen. also here with me is cnn counter terrorism analyst fill mudd. he was a cia counter terrorism official and a senior advisor to the fbi. gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me this evening. >> thank you. >> david, i want to start with you. we've been talking about this deadline all weekend long, this first one. whether or not the president would be sending a legal team to attend the first hearing on wednesday. that deadline passed an hour ago. we still have not heard anything from the white house or from capitol hill, as a matter of fact. david, what does the president gain or lose by not participating? >> well, i think this is a no-brainer. i'm puzzled why the white house seems to be divided on whether he should send counsel or not. earlier part of these proceedings the white house has complained along with republicans he couldn't have counsel there, and they couldn't participate, they couldn't take notes, come back and tell the president or talking to some of the witnesses, what

let me bring in david gergen, cnn political analyst. what we heard from speaker pelosi and though she did shut down questions about the impeachment process, very clearly saying she's not going to take anymore, she did say when asked what the process is, that we're going to wait and see essentially. when we see what they have in terms of the senate process we'll know who and how many in terms of the house managers they're going to send over. does that answer the question? >> no. she left herself some wiggle room here, kate, but i think very importantly what i got out of what she said was that she's lowering the temperature on this whole controversy about whether she may hold up intentionally and get into a fight with the senate over what the process is going to be on the floor. last night there was lots and lots of talk and speculation that she was going to insist on having witnesses, having a process that was fair from her point of view and that she wasn't going to send over names until she got the witnesses and mcconnell basically said