robert blare and brian mccormack have said they won't answer the committee's question. eisenberg is citing executive privilege. the rest are refusing to appear because they can't have a house lawyer present. several democrats telling cnn there's more than enough evidence to move on to the next step, which is public hearings. >>> the whistleblower who ignited the impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions if republicans want to commit them. but that offer is being rejected by president trump and his allies. >> the whistleblower should be revealed. the whistleblower gave a false story. some call it fraud. i won't go that far. but if i read it closely, i probably would. but the whistleblower should be revealed. >> the whistleblower should come forward in an open hearing. and the six people he talked about that talked about other issues, as well. he needs to answer the questions. we need an openness to understand that. >> mark zaid says the fixation on the whistleblower is because the president and others are at a loss on how to address the investigations by

you've already told us that lisa ken is the executive secretary for secretary pompei oh who's brian mccormack the chief of staff for he was the chief of staff for secretary perry. and then we has we see mr mo veiny secretary perry and secretary pompei oh can you read what you wrote on july 19th so this group please. he is prepared to receive a call will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation will turn over every stone it would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so you can put out some media about a friendly and productive call no details prior to ukraine election on sunday so sunday was the 21st which was the date of the parliamentary elections in ukraine is that right that's right when you say we'll assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will quote turn over every stone unquote what do you mean there i'm referring to the brewery sma and the 2016 slash d.n.c. server investigations later that evening secretary perry responds just to you and brian mccormick saying make just confirm the call being set up for tomorrow by n.s.c.

you know get to the get to the bottom of whether there is any any link to the aide in the maybe brian mccormack the chief of staff or secretary perry who was involved in and out as well ok. now the the aide was ultimately lifted on september 11th correct i believe that's correct and senator johnson. in his letter on page 6 quotes the president on august 31st. ron i understand your position we're reviewing it now and you'll probably like my final decision. so even on august 31st and this is before any congressional investigation started the president was signaling to senator johnson that he was going to lift the a letdown but sounds like it's ok and. most of the other witnesses we talked to whether it's from the department of defense or o.m.b. or. you know have have told us that all along during this $55.00 day period they genuinely believed the hold would be left lifted was that your feeling too at the time i didn't know because every time i asked about the hold i was never given a straight answer as to why it had been put in place to begin with and what do you know about the ukrainians knowled

get to the bottom of whether there is any any link to the aid maybe brian mccormack the chief of staffved in and out as well. the aid was ultimately lifted on september 11th correct. and senator johnson. in his letter on page 6 quotes the president on august 31th. ron i understand your position. we're reviewing it now you'll probably like my final decision. so even on august 31th, and this is before any congressional investigation started the president was signaling to senator johnson that he was going lift the 8. let's on the south ok and. most of the other witnesses we talked to others from the department of and the. you have to have told us that all along during a 55 day period. they genuinely believed. the hold would be left lifted was it your feeling to its time. i didn't know because every time i asked about the hold i was never given a straight answer as to why it had been put in place to be in love. what do you know about the ukrainians knowledge of the home. oh that's very vague. i don't know if the politico article triggered it, i don't know if they were told by mister giulia

and you mentioned brian mccormack wright the chief of staff for secretary perry. you are aware that the committee subpoenaed him. and that he refused to come testify. are you also aware that mister mulvaney was subpoenaed by the committee and refused to come testify. robert blair was subpoenaed and refused to come testify. i think i'm aware that and that secretary perry was asked to come testify, and refused. so would you include them, unclear as well as secretary pompeo is key witnesses. that would be able to provide some additional information on this on this inquiry. i think they won. this was not the first time. as you indicated that mister mulvaney. i heard about these investigations into and the 2016 election. >>i don't know what mister mulvaney heard or didn't hear i think there's been a huge amount of exaggeration over my contact with mister mulvaney it was actually quite limited. >>well he certainly in didn't indicate. he certainly indicated a familiarity with what you were talking about in this july 19th e-mail. >>right because i think mister mulvaney wa

who is brian mccormack? >> the chief of staff -- he was the chief of staff for secretary perry. >> and then we see mr. mulvaney, secretary perry and secretary pomp crow. can you read what you wrote on july 19th to this group, please? >>. >> he is prepared to receive potus call. will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so he can put out some media about a friendly and productive call. no details. prior to ukraine election on sunday. >> sunday was the 21st, which was the date of the parliamentary elections in ukraine, is that right? >> that's right. >> when you say will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will, quote, turn over every stone, unquote. what do you mean there? >> i'm referring to the burisma and 2016/dnc server investigations. >> later that evening secretary perry responds just to you and breen mccormack, saying, mick just confirmed the call being s

associate counsel to the president and deputy legal adviser to the national security council, and brian mccormack, associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the office of management and budget. the impeachment inquiry is investigating whether president trump withheld military aid to ukraine in order to pressure the ukrainian president to investigatate trump's political rival joe biden and his son . the lawyer for the whistleblower who went public about trump's july 25 phone call with the ukrainian president says he will answer written questions from republicans, who are demanding the whistleblower testify in person. trump has previously compared the whistleblower to a treasonous spy who deserveved te death penalty, raising concerns about the officials' safety. in northern syria, turkish-backed forces fighting dish accused of committing war crimes against syrian kurdish troops. in one graphic cell phone video, turkish backed troops are shown stomping on a dead woman's body, calling her a whore. the woman was a member of ypj, no woman unit that played a significant role in th

this email was sent -- this email was sent to secretary pompeo, secretary perry, brian mccormack, who is secretary perry's chief of staff at the time, miss kenna, who is the acting -- pardon me, the executive secretary for pompeo, mr. mulvaney and mr. mulvaney's senior adviser rob blair. a lot of senior officials. a lot of senior officials. here is my exact quote from that email. i talked to zelensky just now. he is prepared to receive potus's call. will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so that he can put out some media about a friendly and productive call, no details, prior to ukraine election on sunday. chief of staff mulvaney responded. i asked the nsc to set it up for tomorrow. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via email on july 19th, days before the presidential call. as i communicated to the team, i told president zelensky in advance that assurances to run a fully transparent election and turn over every stone were necessary in his

deputy for mick mulvaney, robert blair and former chief of staff for the manager independent, brian mccormackuestions about the role the energy secretary rick perry played in all of this. yet to get commitments for those ideas. and then later in the week top officials from the office of management and budget, when the office of management and budget indicated they have no interest in complying with the democratic request. and the big one later in the week in john bolton. someone who is said to have been very concerned about the efforts to push for -- to withhold ukrainian aid to push for these investigations into the president's rival. someone who has been mentioned throughout these closed door depositions, but he has yet to commit to coming through an attorney and said he would only come if he were yet to get a subpoena. he'd definitely come if he got a subpoena. if the democrats don't get any cooperation next week, adam schiff is warning this could ultimately all get rolled into more evidence in the democrats' view of obstruction of congress before they move into that public phase which cou

mick mulvaney, john eisenberg, nsc top legal adviser, michael ellis, deputy legal adviser, and brian mccormack, the director of the office of management and budget. what is most significant is john eisenberg. he is the one that fiona hill, trump's top russia adviser and colonel alexander vindman, the ukraine expert, approached over their concerns about trump's telephone call with the ukrainian leader. he is also the one who told vindman not to discuss this call. and he's mentioned in the testimony as someone responsible for taking that phone transcript and moving it into a classified server. what was he trying to hide? what was behind that potential move? now, democrats are trying to play this down, saying they don't need the testimony from these individuals. obviously, they're disappointed, but they say they're now ready to move forward in a new phase of the investigation, that would be the public testimony, alisyn. >> suzanne, thanks so much. please keep us posted. meanwhile, a really important development in the impeachment proceedings. republicans including the president seeming to retreat

and brian mccormack. he's rick perry's chief of staff.believed to be part of some of the major events under scrutiny. nbc news has learned that most of the witnesses scheduled for closed-door testimony, the remainder of this week are not expected to appear as requested. house democrats have already insisted they won't go to court to compel those witnesses to testify. instead they will consider their efforts to stonewall lawmakers as part of a separate obstruction article of impeachment. that is, it seems, republicans are starting to circle the wagons around a new defense of the president in a development equal part stunning and predictable, "the washington post" reports trump's allies are ready to acknowledge, wait for it, there was a quid pro quo. but it wasn't an illegal one. and it doesn't rise to the level of an impeachable defense. joining our conversation former deputy assistant attorney general and whistle-blower lawyer harry litman. it might've been a quid pro quo. i mean, what? >> yeah. well, it is this kind of legal cloud. the f

help us you know get to the bottom of whether there was any link to the aid and the -- >> maybe brian mccormack, the chief of staff for secretary perry who was involved in and out as well. >> okay. now, the aid was ultimately lifted on september 11th, correct? >> i believe that's correct. >> okay. senator johnson in his letter on page 6 quotes the president on august 31st. ron, i understand your position. we're reviewing it now and you're probably like my final decision. so even on august 31st and this is before any congressional investigations started. the president was signaling to senator johnson that he was going to lift the aid? >> sounds like it, yeah. >> okay. and most of the other witnesses we talked to, whether it's from the department of defense or omb or, you know, they have told us that all along during this 55-day period they genuinely believed the hold would be lifted. was that your feeling too at the time? >> i didn't know because every time i asked about the hold i was never given a straight answer as to why it had been put in place to begin with. >> now, what do you know about

this e-mail was sent to secretary pompeo, secretary perry, brian mccormack who is secretary perry's chief of staff at the time. miss kenna who is the acting -- pardon me, who is the executive secretariat for secretary pompeo, chief of staff mulvaney and mr. mulvaney's senior adviser rob blair. a lot of senior officials. a lot of senior officials. here is my exact quote from that e-mail. i talked to zelensky just now. he is prepared to receive potus' call. we'll assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so that he can put out some media about a friendly and productive call, no details, prior to ukraine election on sunday. chief of staff mulvaney responded. i asked the nfc to set it up for tomorrow. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via e-mail on july 19th days before the presidential call. as i communicated to the team i told president zelensky in advance that assurances to run a fully transparent investigation and turn over every stone were necessary

this email was sent, this email was sent to secretary pompeo, secretary perry, brian mccormack who is secretary perry's chief of staff at the time, ms. kenna, who is the executive secretary for secretary pompeo. mr. mulvaney and his senior advisor rob blair. a lot of senior officials. a lot of senior officials. here is my exact quote from that email. i talked to zelensky just now. he is prepared to receive potus's call. will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so that he can put out some media about a friendly and productive call, no details, prior to ukraine election on sunday. chief of staff mulvaney responded. i asked the nfc to set it up for tomorrow. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via email on july 19th, days before the presidential call. as i communicated to the team, i told president zelensky in advance that assurances to run a fully transparent investigation and turn over every stone were necessary in his call with president trum

who is brian mccormack? >> the chief of staff -- he was the chief of staff for secretary perry. >> and then we see mr. mulvaney, secretary perry and secretary pomp crow. can you read what you wrote on july 19th to this group, please? >>. >> he is prepared to receive potus call. will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so he can put out some media about a friendly and productive call. no details. prior to ukraine election on sunday. >> sunday was the 21st, which was the date of the parliamentary elections in ukraine, is that right? >> that's right. >> when you say will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will, quote, turn over every stone, unquote. what do you mean there? >> i'm referring to the burisma and 2016/dnc server investigations. >> later that evening secretary perry responds just to you and breen mccormack, saying, mick just confirmed the call being s

this email was sent -- this email was sent to secretary pompeo, secretary perry, brian mccormack who is secretary perry's chief of staff at the time, miss kenna who is the acting -- pardon me. who is the executive secretary for secretary pompeo. chief of staff mulvaney, and mr. mulvaney's senior adviser, rob blair. a lot of senior officials. a lot of senior officials. here's my exact quote from that email. i talked to zelensky just now. he is prepared to receive potus' call. will assure him that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation, and will turn over every stone. he would greatly appreciate a call prior to sunday so that he could put out some media about a friendly and productive call, no details, prior to ukraine election on sunday. chief of staff mulvaney responded, i asked the nsc to set it up for tomorrow. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via email on july 19th. days before the presidential call. as i communicated to the team, i told president selzelensky in advance to insurance is to run any investigation, and turn over any stone

>> maybe brian mccormack, the chief of staff for secretary perry who was involved in and out as well. >> okay. now, the aid was ultimately listed on september 11th. correct? >> i believe that's correct. >> okay. senator johnson in his letter on page 6 quotes the president on august 31st, ron, i understand your position. we're reviewing it now. and you will probably like my final decision. so eventhon august 31st and this is before any congressional investigation started, the president was signaling to senator johnson that he was going to lift the aid. >> it sound like it, yes. >> okay. most of the other witnesses from the department of defense or omb or you know have told us all along during this 55-day period, they genuinely believed the hold would be lifted. was that your feeling too, at the time? >> i didn't know because every time i asked about the hold, i was never given a straight answer as to why it had been put in place to begin with. >> now, what do you know about the ukrainian's knowledge of the hold? >> oh, that's very vague. i don't know if the politico article triggered i

the fourth witness brian mccormack from the office of management and budget expected to shed light on the decision to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from ukraine. all eyes on capitol hill now on intelligence chairman adam schiff to see what he is going to do to try to compel testimony from these witnesses. there is also a major time crunch. jim hime said over the weekend, public hearings in two or three weeks. schiff will have to get these done before then. >> sandra: a lot happening on capitol hill this morning. >> bill: let's go through. tom dupree, former assistant a.g. under george w. bush. no shows, no problem. what does it mean? >> no surprise to me. the fact is these are white house lawyers, people who are very close to the president who are giving the president legal advice on a daily basis. so i think from the white house's perspective this is the case where you invoke executive privilege and the case where you draw the line and don't allow these people to testify. the fact that there are four no shows today, no surprise whatsoever to my mind. >> bil

state department emails, there is a july 19th email i sent to secretary pompeo, secretary perry, brian mccormack mick mulvaney and senior adviser robert blair. a lot of senior officials. here is my exact quote from that email. i talked to zelensky just now. he is receiprepared to receive potuses call. he will run a transparent investigation and will turn over every stone. everyone was in the loop. >> mike pompeo was in the loop on page 18, state department is fully supportive of our engagement in state affairs, was aware that a commitment to investigations was among the issues that we were pursuing on tuesday, september 3rd, i sent secretary pomp deo an email to express my appreciation for his joining a series of meetings in brussels following the warsaw trip. i wrote, mike, thanks for schlepping to europe i think it was really important and the chemistry seems promising. really appreciate it. pompeo replied, all good. you're doing great work. keep banging away. state department leadership expressed total support for our efforts to engage a new ukrainian administration, which of course he now sa