. >> geoff bennett prfeviewing wht will be one of the swiftest house debates we have having seen. i want to turn to the white

he championed progressive policies but was unable to catch on with democratic voters, lester >> geoff bennett thank you. >>> now to a story that hits close to home for us. the husband and parents of carley mccord, the sports reporter for nbc affiliate wdsu killed in a plane crash on her way to the peach bowl, are speaking out to our sam broke about their unimaginable loss and carley's legacy >> reporter: the connection between carley mccord and steven ensminger jr. was instantaneous. it took steven just a few months to propose. >> high cry, oh, my gosh >> words can't describe the kind of person she is. >> reporter: a lifetime of love for family, community, and sports, suddenly up-ended last week when a private plane carley caught a ride on crashed shortly after takeoff, killing five people on board, with one survivor critically injured that morning, steven says he missed a text from carley telling him one last time she loved him. >> did you message her back after that, knowing everything that had happened? >> yeah. i message her back every day. >> reporting from the saints practice facility -

>> geoff bennett, thank you. >>> let's talk about the weather now. a bitter cold night ahead. temperatures well below average for the southeast to new england and a storm threatening to cause a travel nightmare dave price is tracking it all. what are you watching tonight? >> lester, it begins with cold temperatures enveloping the northern tier of the country, with windchills all the way into the teens, stretching all the way into new england that is, of course, tuesday. wednesday, we have a storm system developing through the central plains heavy rains through texas pushing eastward, slick on the roads and in the air rolling on into thursday as this storm system continues to move rough weather for chicago, st. louis, new orleans and kansas city where air travel could be sloppy lester >> dave price, good to have you with us tonight. thanks. >>> we'll be right back in just 60 seconds with a potential major break in an infamous cold case dating back decades. >>> and prince harry making a new appearance after breaking his silence about that royal split. >>> we're back now with wor

geoff bennett, thank you. >>> a massive winter storm is barrelling across the country. tens of millions under weather alerts al roker is here al, how does this time out? >> lester, we have 64 million people under winter weather advisories as we put the radar in you can see an icy mix in texas and heavy rain down to the south. this system makes its way to the east with 48 inches of snow by friday six inches or more into interior new england and saturday upwards of an inch of rain, wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, airport delays tomorrow for minneapolis down to dallas and on saturday on this holiday weekend, looking at airport delays from new york, cleveland, chicago down to charlotte. lester >> sounds ugly. >>> there is fallout from that tense moment between elizabeth warren and bernie sanders. turns out it was captured on a hot mic. andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: elizabeth warren and bernie sanders shying away from the feud. a he said/she said after sanders denied telling her a year ago it would be tough for a woman to beat donald trump. >> i think you called

here is geoff bennett. >> reporter: in the sprint to the iowa caucuses, a pause in the peace pact between the progressive democratic presidential contenders senators bernie sanders and elizabeth warren sanders tonight slamming new reports he told warren during a private meeting in 2018 that he didn't think a woman could win the 2020 presidential election. sanders in a statement to nbc news saying it is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where elizabeth warren told me she was going to run for president, i would tell her that a woman couldn't win a senior sanders aide tells nbc news they believe warren's campaign intentionally leaked a false description of the conversation the warren campaign did not respond to nbc's repeated request for comment. the two also trading shots over a politico report that the sanders campaign instructed its volunteers to paint warren as the candidate of elites in conversations with voters. >> i hope bernie reconsiders and turns his campaign in a different direction. >> i have never said a negative word about elizabeth warren who is a friend of mine. >

geoff bennett reports. >> reporter: tonight a second republican senator now criticizing majority leader mitch mcconnell for working closely with the white house on president trump's senate impeachment trial. >> everything i do during this, i'm coordinating with the white house counsel. >> reporter: maine senator susan collins calling mcconnell's approach inappropriate. >> it is inappropriate, in my judgment, for senators on either side of the aisle to prejudge the evidence before they have heard what is presented to us. >> reporter: her comments echoing alaska gop senator lisa murkowski, also critical of mcconnell's pledge. >> well, in fairness, when i heard that, i was disturbed. >> reporter: democrats want key white house insiders to testify as witnesses about withholding aid to ukraine. if democrats can convince four republicans and win 51 senate votes, they get to set the parameters and call those witnesses before a trial starts democrats looking to pressure vulnerable gop senators like collins who faces a tough reelection >> i am open to witnesses. i think it's premature to decide

here's nbc geoff bennett. >> reporter: tonight hillary clinton unleashing on her one time rival bernie sanders clinton, in an interview with the hollywood reporter tearing open old wounds from their protracted 2016 primary that pitted clinton against the independent senator from vermont. "he was in congress for years. he had one senator support him. nobody likes him nobody wants to work with him he got nothing done. senator sanders today unfazed by clinton's comments ay, my your response wife likes let's clear the air on that one look, right now today i am dealing with impeachment. >> reporter: why do you think the secretary is still talking about 2016 >> that is a good question ask her. >> reporter: it comes as sanders consistently polls at or near the top of the democratic pack. it's just the latest dust-up for the senator. there was that clash with fellow progressive elizabeth warren and sanders now apologizing after a campaign surrogate wrote an inflammatory op-ed about joe biden. sanders tonight fighting fallout from this presidential race and the last geoff bennett, nbc news, was

. >>> geoff bennett has towelled off and is ready to go. he will speak to the color coverage behind the scenes tonight, what we couldn't see on camera as we watched the senate chamber on another momentous night, when our coverage continues right after this. covee continues right after this robinhood believes now is the time to do money. without the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. it's timcan it helpltimate sleep nukeep me asleep?he sleep number 360 smart bed. absolutely, it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus 0% interest for 24 months on all smart beds. only for a limited time >>> we are back as part of our breaking coverage of what we have just witnessed in the senate chamber and attached hallways tonight. i don't think correspondent geoff bennett will mind if i say that i could see hi

i'm geoff bennett. in for hallie jackson.t's 2020, which means we are now officially in a presidential election year and the candidates are in a fundraising frenzy. new numbers out show a huge boost for bernie sanders and the best quarter yet for president trump. we'll break down the campaign dash for cash. nearly a month until the iowa caucuses. joe biden picks up a key endorsement, while another democrat drops out. in just the past hour, julian castro announcing his exit. our nbc news team is on the ground from the early voting states and also here in washington. let's begin with our 2020 nbc news road warriors. shaquille brooster in chicago, mike is in iowa, and von is in iowa. a road warrior trifecta. some of the new campaign fund raising numbers out, what do they

i'm geoff bennett in washington, d.c.hat the country's military unintentionally shot down that ukrainian passenger plane on tuesday after initially claiming that mechanical trouble had doomed the jet liner. in a statement, the islamic revolutionary guard cor p,s blamed human error for the deaths of 176 innocent people adding they had been on highest alert after launching strikes against american assets in iraq. those strikes came as retaliation for the american attack that killed qassem soleimani. the administration has argued multiple times there was an imminent threat posed by soleimani and they would have been highly culpable if they didn't take action. yesterday the president very broadly addressed the situation. take a look. >> don't the american people have a right to know what specifically was targeted without revealing methods and sourc sources? >> well, i don't think so, but we will tell you that probably it was going to be the embassy in baghdad. you saw that happening. you saw it with all of the men, very few w

geoff bennett joins us with three things to watch today.rats and the white house, preparing to spar on the senate floor, with opening arguments in the president's impeachment trial expected to kick off tomorrow the house impeachment managers huddled on capitol hill this weekend, planning and strategizing how they'll prosecute the case against president trump. democrats released their outline for the case, writing, in part, that the president's conduct regarding ukraine is the founders' worst nightmare. president trump, for his part, is pushing back. look at this >> we're achieving what no administration has ever achieved before and what do i get out of it? tell me. i get impeached. that's what i get out of it. by these radical left lunatics, i get impeached. >> reporter: the president leaves this evening for the economic forum in davos. and lastly, a duel endorsement for the first time ever, "the new york times" editorial board endorsed two presidential candidates senator elizabeth warren and senator amy klobuchar. it says that radical and

we have geoff bennett who's on the hill who's been reporting there throughout the day. geoff, what's the expectation right now on capitol hill about what happens next? >> reporter: chris, as you mentioned, the senators are in the back half of their 30 minute dinner break. we should say, though, that senate time is very much unlike realtime so this 30-minute break could last, who knows, potentially an hour or so. i'm told by our team that is really canvassing the hill, speaking with members and their aides that during this break, the democrats are going to have a conversation, they're having a conversation about how many more amendments they plan to introduce. at the start of the day, we were told they would introduce somewhere in the ballpark of six amendments. you do the math on that, each side, they have an hour to make their case. neither side so far that i can tell has used the full hour, but mike brahm, the senator from indiana expects today's proceedings could go another three or four hours. what's interesting is the democrats started with subpoenas from the docume

lets bring in from iraq nbc news chief foreign country richard ennel, ali allowsy, and geoff bennett. ali, the ayatollah has promised that this wasn't the end of it. what are you -- yesterday when we were talking to you a couple days earlier, you said the iranians feel that a revenge is a dish best served cold. to drag the phrase out a bit, we're still in the warm zone. should we be expecting something else down the line maybe through a proxy? >> reporter: definitely. i mean, things haven't really changed, katy. for now in this scen areaio iran is billing this as a victory. they're saying that their message got across. they are saying we're going attack some u.s. sites in evej for qassem soleimani and don't attack us otherwise we'll enflame the region. that message got received by president trump. there was no attack here. for their domestic audience here, they're saying this is a victory. they attacked america. there was no reprisal. but nothing has really changed can be katy. today, the prem leader made a fiery speech again saying that attack last night was just the slap in the face

i'm geoff bennett. in for hallie jackson. it's 2020, which means we are now officially in a presidential election year and the candidates are in a fundraising frenzy. new numbers out show a huge boost for bernie sanders and the best quarter yet for president trump. we'll break down the campaign dash for cash. nearly a month until the iowa caucuses. joe biden picks up a key endorsement, while another democrat drops out. in just the past hour, julian castro announcing his exit. our nbc news team is on the ground from the early voting states and also here in washington. let's begin with our 2020 nbc news road warriors. shaquille brooster in chicago, mike is in iowa, and von is in iowa. a road warrior trifecta. some of the new campaign fund raising numbers out, what do they say? >> that's right. let's start with the democrats. senator bernie sanders, a big impressive number, raising about $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of last year. that's a quarter that began with him being sidelined from the campaign trail because of a hea

for my, my colleague geoff bennett is picking it up back home in washington. >> great to see you. good morning. i'm geoff bennett here in washington where we're following breaking news with massive global implications. the u.s. killed an iranian general in iraq in an air strike ordered by president trump. now everyone is watching the see how iran will respond as its leaders promise forceful revenge. it's all unfolding as democratic leaders in congress are demanding an immediate briefing from the trump administration on its next steps. >>> let's get to our team opinion nbc news correspondents covering all the angles on this breaking story. hans nichols is with the president in florida, courtney kube at the pentagon and matt bradley following developments from london. hans, what's the latest we're hearing from the white house? >> reporter: geoff, a couple new developments this hour. number one, the president is answering this criticism at least through the retweet that he didn't read in congressional leaders and suggested they might have tipped off the iranians. he's not directly sa

geoff bennett has more. >> reporter: tensions are running high in virginia after the arrests of more more suspected neo-nazis connected to what authorities call a white supremacist group. the fbi arrested three other members of that same group which calls itself the base. who officials say had obtained weapons and discussed attending a pro gun rally in virginia next week. governor northam declaring a state of emergency. >> we have received intelligence that they have malicious plans. >> reporter: and the supreme court upholding the decision to ban firearms on capitol grounds. one of the organizers pushing back. >> we've done it since 2003, not one incident. >> reporter: and president trump weighed in tweeting your second amendment is under very serious attack in the great common well et of virginia. protestors are expected to voice their opposition to tougher gun laws being propose in the state. and including requiring background checks on all firearms purchases. limiting handgun purchases to one per month, and letting localities ban guns from certain events and government buildings.

more news right now with geoff bennett. >> thanks. i'm geoff bennett in for hallie jackson. reveal new exclusive details about that deadly drone strike on a top iranian general saying president trump gave the okay to take out qassem soleimani months ago. why that newest time line could undermine the rationale for the strike as publicly senior administration officials struggle to explain the intelligence leading to the attack. the president's own defense secretary unable to confirm his boss' claim regarding threats against u.s. embassies. >> are you saying there wasn't one? >> i didn't see one with regard to four embassies. >>> plus, we're on the ground in the middle east getting our first look inside the iraqi base and protests in tehran grow violent, not against the u.s. but against the government and their response to that downed passenger jet. our team is here with all of this coverage from here in washington and around the worl

nbc's geoff bennett on capitol hill. kelly cobiella. jake sherman with msnbc's kelly o'donnell over at the white house. jeff, i want to start with you. tell us what we expected this morning and what we're hearing from senator mcconnell on how this is going to progress on what is frankly a day of, as one of our colleagues put it, historic formalities if you will. >> that's right. a day of ser mope and rceremonyr the third impeachment trial for a sitting president in u.s. history. this kicks off at noon eastern. we'll see that group of newly appointed house managers proceed from the house to the senate. articles of impeachment in hand just like they did yesterday. yesterday they transmitted the articles of impeachment. today the senate will formally receive them. so after that happens, the impeachment managers will then go to the senate floor and read aloud the text of both articles. one, abuse of power. the other, obstruction of congress. following that at 2:00 p.m. eastern, chief justice john roberts will be summoned from the supreme co

. >> geoff bennett is on the hill for us. normally he's part of our white house correspondent team. but this being the only story in town, has focused his attention. jeff, give us some color and try to take a swipe at answering the question. i started with senator mccaskill. and that is any evidence that any minds were changed during this long day's journey into night? >> reporter: well, brian, i'll tell you, i spent the final portion of the evening in the senate gallery, which is basically the senate balcony. we're about 10 or 20 feet above the senate floor. and my eyes were trained, of course, on those 100 senators watching silently from their seats. and so adam schiff was delivering that emotional ending, that really lyrical recitation of all of the facts and evidence where he moved from that into this portion where he implored the senators to invite in more evidence and more witnesses into these proceedings. i can tell you that all of the senators were watching him and paying attention. my colleague frank thorpe, who is a producer here on the senate side of the capitol, happened

jonathan allen at capitol hill, geoff bennett at the white house. we mentioned at the top of the show, got breaking news in terms of how the trial might proceed. what can you tell us? >> credit lee ann caldwell who is working hard this morning, over the weekend, along with others. what we're hearing is that the resolution that senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is working on which has been seen by some republicans, not all of them, certainly none of the democrats, is going to set up to basically have democrats present their arguments, house managers over a two day period, 12 hours each day, which would run each of the days well into the evening, basically into the midnight hour, probably into the wee hours of the morning, and the president's team present after that. you're likely talking wednesday, thursday for the democrats, friday and saturday for the president's team. this will anger democrats and maybe anger the president who wanted to have attention to this. that is a tension point with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell who wants to ge

. >> nbc news correspondent geoff bennett on capitol hill. pelosi said she's willing to send the articles over soon. i get it. she wants it on her terms. but does she have any leverage? mitch mcconnell does run the show. >> reporter: you're right about that. that's the reason you saw a handful of democrats make the case that this delay strategy has really outlived its usefulness. of course, by this morning you had those democrats walk back those statements and get lock step behind house speaker nancy pelosi. i tell you, her public position is the same as it was the day after they adopted two articles of impeachment. she's making the case that the thing that triggers articles of impeachment is her having to name house managers, house lawmakers that will prosecute the case on the senate floor. her position is she doesn't know how many people she would need or who those people would be until she sees the rules. she's saying this is much in the same way a commander sends troops to the battlefield, you have to know the terms of engagement. she is

david jolly and from the southern district of new york, geoff bennett outside the room where speaker s about to begin. we have much to get to. we begin with geoff. what do we expect to hear in this press conference that really kicks off everything leading to the senate trial? >> right, well, ari, good morning to you. well, look, some four weeks after the house adopted the two articles of impeachment against president trump the house speaker is formally bringing the house portion of the proceedings to a close. by doing two things. naming these house impeachment managers and then ultimately transmitting both articles of impeachment over to the senate. as you mentioned, the house impeachment managers that's the group of house lawmakers who will present and then prosecute the case against president trump on the senate floor. as i know you know back in the '90s during the '99 impeachment trial house republicans who were in control at the time they picked 13 members of the house judiciary committee. all of them at the time happened to be white men to prosecute the case against then presiden

. >>> coming up, our correspondent geoff bennett has just reached our camera. he has toweled off.dy to go. he will speak to the color coverage behind the scenes tonight. what we couldn't see on camera as we watched the senate chamber on another momentous night when our coverage continues right after this. managing lipids 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

. >> we have this covered from every angle starting with geoff bennett. we just saw colleague eric haake in the hallway. jeff, let me start with you here. speaker pelosi this morning actually responded to some of that democratic criticism. the pressure that seems to be building on her. as we get ready to hear from her really in about 30 or 40 minutes here. >> yeah. in the sense among democrats, some democrats, those at least who are willing to talk about this publicly, hallie, is that the pressure campaign has really outlived its usefulness. before the break, holiday break, one of the reasons the house speaker didn't immediately transmit articles of impeachment i'm told us because she was trying to give time and political cover for chuck schumer, top senate democrat to work out a deal, if he was going to work out a deal, with mitch mcconnell. since there was no potential for the senate trial to start in the holiday break, it wasn't that big of a deal. the delay wasn't that big of a deal. now that both chambers have been back for days and mitch mcconnell m

as we watch all of this, i want to bring back geoff bennett who's been in the thick of this. had a good post position right outside of that formal announcement by the speaker this morning. what's happening in the house and what will happen on the floor? >> yeah, let me walk you through what we expect to see unfold over the next half-hour or so. any minute now, the house is going to begin debate on this house impeachment resolution. a quick debate. ten minutes split evenly between democrats and republicans and then they will proceed directly to the vote. the vote on this resolution is the trigger that then clears the way for the transmission of these articles of impeachment from the house to the senate. this resolution does a couple of things. first, it funds, pays for the senate trial and it also names the house impeachment managers, those seven house members who nancy pelosi in this very room today named. that group is led by adam schiff, chair of the house intelligence committee whose command is really unmatched when it comes to this impeachment case. you have chairman jerr

geoff bennett among our white house correspondents who is standing by at the capitol. geoff, what do you have? >> reporter: hey, brian. first i can tell you this serves as a reminder that senate time is very much unlike actual time. we have exceeded the hard five minutes that mitch mcconnell said that this break would last. but in that time, you have white house legislative affairs director eric euland talking to us reporters, still not ruling out the potential for the white house to bring forward this motion to dismiss. they have until tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern. that's the deadline. so they're holding that card in their back pocket. he also says that the white house, when they do present their opening arguments on the case, that they will mount a robust and substantive debate -- defense, moving beyond sort of the process arguments that we've heard. and i suspect just in listening to him speak, that we will see the white house -- president trump's legal defense team do what house republicans did during the house portion of this impeachment process. and that is rath

geoff bennett, great job on "hardball." michael steele and nadeam elshami, thanks.haping up to be a knockdown drag out fight for votes in the early primary states. it is getting strange. steyer is back. tom steyer is back in the debate. you're watching "hardball." the good news? our comfort lasts all day. the bad news? so does his energy. depend® fit-flex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. because, perfect or not, life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. and when you open a new brokerage account, your cash is automatically invested at a great rate. that's why fidelity leads the industry in value while our competition continues to talk. ♪ talk, talk while our competition continues to talk. you're stronger than you know. so strong. you power through chronic migraine, 15 or more headache or migraine days a month. one tough mother. you're bad enough for botox®. botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for almost 10 years, and is the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. botox® is for

for my, my colleague geoff bennett is picking it up back home in washington. >> great to see you. good morning. i'm geoff bennett here in washington where we're following breaking news with massive global implications. the u.s. killed an iranian general in iraq in an air strike ordered by president trump. now everyone is watching the see how iran

off following her claim that he told her a woman could not win the presidency in 2020 here is geoff bennett on the growing feud. >> reporter: tonight family feud. progressive democratic presidential contenders bernie sanders and elizabeth warren sparring over questions of gender and electability warren now confirming sanders once told her that he didn't think a woman could win the white house.or more than two hours in december 2018 to discuss the 2020 election, our past work together and our shared goals, warren said in a statement to nbc news came up was what would happen if democrats nominated a female candidate. i thought a woman could win. he disagreed sanders fiercelys an sad. his campaign going further, calling warren's account a lie.>> they clearly have different recollections about this senator sanders never said a woman could not win the race in 2020 hillary clinton beat trump by 3 million votes. how could you say a woman couldn't win for the presidency >> reporter: sanders and warren set to share a stage at tonight's democratic debate in des moines, the final face-to-face encounte

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geoff bennett describing some of the republican senators. final break until we bridge the top of the hour. take you inside the senate chamber for the invocation and the start of today's proceedings. ♪ ♪ applebee's new irresist-a-bowls starting at $7.99 for a limited time. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor

geoff bennett in richmond for us this morning with that story geoff, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you the virginia capitol is bracing for violence ahead of next week's gun rights rally. officials are concerned it could be a rerun of the deadly charlottesville protests from three years ago. concerns have been heightened by the arrests of three alleged white supremacists who, officials say, had weapons and discussed attending next week's rally. this morning, virginia on high alert. just days before thousands of gun rights activists are expected to rally at the state capitol. the fbi arresting three alleged members of a violent white supremacist group on gun charges. the group is known as the base, the english translation of al qaeda law enforcement officials say the men had obtained weapons and discussed participating in the rally. just one day earlier, governor ralph northam discussing a state of emergency, after learning armed militias and hate groups planned to join the protests >> we had receive credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there'

joining me to talk about it, geoff bennett, kasie hunt. geoff, i know the 110 pages were only released in the past minutes, but what are we learning about the white house arguments and the strategy? >> great to see you. our team of producers and i have been reading through this document. what it offers is a sweeping condemnation of these two articles of impeachment. the president's defense team makes the point that a rigged impeachment process, as they put it, led to those two flimsy articles of impeachment that they are trying to characterize. in the first one, abuse of power, to some arise president trump's position, the position of his legal team, it's show me the violation. show me the broken law. it makes the point that president clinton, former president clinton, his violation was lying under oath. andrew johnson, with 17 th president, his violation was running afoul of the tenure of office act. here they're saying the coordinated pressure campaign does not represent an impeachable offense. on obstruction of congress, you have the pre

nbc's heidi przybilla on capitol hill and geoff bennett life at the white house. geoff, the white house has until the new deadline to file a brief with the senate outlining its arguments. what should we expect to see in that brief? >> reporter: craig, good to see you. i tell you what. over the weekend, the house democrats, house impeachment managers filed their brief, their written plan for how they intend to proceed through a senate trial. president trump's defense team issued a six-page written response that included the all-too-familiar republican talking points about how they say impeachment has been a rushed process, they've tried to subvert the will of the american people by overturning the results of the 2016 election. republicans say although we should be clear, if president trump were to be removed from office, it would be mike pence that would take his spot. not as if hillary clinton would trot into the oval office. come noontime when the white house has to release its legal brief, we hoped the president trump's legal case would speak to the substance of

. >> joining me, geoff bennett from capitol hill. geoff, what happens tomorrow. articles of impeachment and then the naming of the managers. how does this go? >> reporter: right, the house tomorrow, ali, will vote on the resolution that names the house managers, those house lawmakers that will prosecute the case on the senate floor when opening arguments start, expect potentially sometime next week. it funds, pays for a senate trial. then the vote itself is the trigger that transmits the articles of impeachment from the house to the senate. the vote we expect will be quick, just ten minutes of debate on the floor and then after the vote, at some point after the vote you'll see the articles of impeachment themselves be tucked into wooden boxes and physically carried from the house to the senate by the sergeant-at-arms. in effect, the house will be formally wrapping up its portion of the impeachment proceedings that started way back in september, even though they say the investigation into president trump's alleged wrongdoing continues, ali. >> talk about the house

i'm geoff bennett in washington. right now hundreds of u.s. soldiers are making their way to iraq where a highly volatile situation threatens to get worse. for a second straight day, pro iranian protestors swarmed the u.s. embassy. and the latest on the u.s. military response and what president trump is saying about it. >>> plus it is only the first day of the year, but it will surely be one of the biggest stories of 2020. the looming trump impeachment trial. the defiant new comments from the president and a preview of what we can expect once the senate reconvenes in just days. >>> and now officially an election year. how the candidates are sharpening their messages before the iowa caucuses. >>> and we begin with breaking news out of iraq. the u.s. is on high alert for a second day as protestors remain outside the u.s. embassy in baghdad a day after thousands of iranian backed xwlglo demonstra stormed the embassy. this is unfolding as defense secretary mark esper announced tuesday that the administration is sending 750 troops to the region. pr

according to nbc's geoff bennett, in order to give schumer some room to negotiate. but pressure is on for bottom sides of the aisle from the senators to get the senate trial out of the way. democratic presidential candidates in the senate do not want this to be lapsing over into of course february, when the iowa caucuses take place. joining me now, former house democratic caucus chair joe crowley, and "usa today" washington bureau chief susan page, welcome, both, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> did nancy pelosi give herself an exit ramp for this insiste e insistence? because there are some moderates in the caucus that i'm hearing from who are not that happy with withholding the articles of impeachment. >> a couple of things to keep in mind. one is nancy pelosi went to this game knowing all the rules. she knew every aspect or any path it could policy take. she always knew she had this in the back pocket. she worked it out and talked over different scenarios with her staff. she's also very mindful, very mindful, of the elections this year. she's mindful of maint

nbc's geoff bennett on capitol hill.it seems like pelosi holding the article until she likes the rules is starting to crumble, isn't it? >> reporter: that's the case on the senate side, steph. you have a growing number of senate democrats calling on the house speaker to transmit articles of impeachment, which would trigger the start of a senate trial. that list includes joe manchin, chris coops, richard blumenthal, dianne feinstein of california. feinstein best sums up the position of the senate democrats. she made the case the longer this goes, the less urgent impeachment becomes. if democrats believe impeachment is serious and urgent as they say they do, they should transmit articles of impeachment without delay. but look, you can add to the list of senate democrats, at least one house democrat, adam smith, who chairs the house armed services committee, here's what he had to say about this. >> yes. i think it is time to send the impeachment to the senate and let mitch mcconnell be responsible for the fairness of the tr

geoff bennett for us on capitol hill. >>> we've got breaking news right now. prosecutors just filed criminal charges against disgraced movie mogul harvey weinstein. the charges are in connection with at least two instances in which weinstein allegedly sexually assaulted women. >> that's him walking with a walker. he's had back surgery. he faces charges of rape and sexual assault. more than 80 women have come ford accusing him of sexual miss conduct. he's pleaded not guilty to all accusations of nonconsensual sexual activity. >>> we'll look at what could be the biggest threat from iran, and it's not nuclear. you've you're watching "velshi and ruhle." lshi and ruhle. american senior, ruhle." ake your home. ruhle. learn how homeowners are strategically using a reverse mortgage loan to cover expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve your portfolio and so much more. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any other. big difference is how you pay it back. find out how reverse mortgages really work with aag's free, no-obliga

nbc's geoff bennett has more from richmond. >> reporter: tensions are running high in virginia aftert group. earlier this week, the fbi arrested three other members of that same group, which calls itself the base. who officials say had obtained weapons and discussed attending a pro-gun rally in virginia next week. virginia governor ralph northam declaring a state of emergency. >> we have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans. >> reporter: the virginia supreme court now upholding the governor's decision to temporarily ban firearms on capitol grounds. one of the organizers of monday's rally pushing back. >> we've done this since 2003, every year always peaceful, no the one incident. >> reporter: president trump weighed in tweeting your second amendment is under very serious attack in the great commonwealth of virginia. protesters are expected to voice their opposition to tougher gun laws being proposed in the state including requiring background checks on all firearms purchases, limiting handgun purchases to one per

geoff bennett, thank you for joining me now. >>> joining me now is ann guerin and matthew cognetti andonna edwards. ann, let me start. i want to play the following exchange between speaker pelosi and a reporter yesterday and try to understand what has changed. take a listen. >> are you satisfied that there will be a fair trial in the senate? >> no. >> what feedback have you gotten from your colleagues on not sending the articles? >> absolutely total cooperation. it cracks me up to see on tv, oh, the pressure, the pressure. >> no. >> i have news for them. you don't have a story. >> we have a thousand flowers blossoming. >> yesterday she was waiting to get indications. mcconnell didn't do anything. >> no. >> mcconnell has done what -- look. pelosi and mcconnell might be the two best leaders that either party could have. this feels like she was trying to smoke out mcconnell and she failed. >> well yeah. a couple things happened. to your point, nothing happened between yesterday and today that at least as far as we know was -- had significantly changed the playing fild. what changed was th