the person speakin person asking the question as corey gardner just did there becae if you hear the case made, maybe you have toddress the point of the question, inead of frame this alls paisan, which allows you to tune out the substance of what is described. so there's not actually a conversaon about what the president has done or said and as you heard, the preside t, eden this week,rmon eveen h tugh the republican talking point had been it wasasa joke. robe: the republicans are being vocal on another front. presidenedtmp annouhis week a u.s. troop withdrawal shift american foreignmarking a policy. days later, tyurke ora uti.speoe fight against isis, t kurds. turkish president erdogan threatened to sendreat are buffr zone. many republicans were outraged by the president's move betrayae kurds. the group included evangelical christian leaders. senator lindsey graham introduced a bipartisanti resoluon this week to put sanctions on turkey and tweed friday "every concern i had about president trump's syria decision is coming true in the re-emergence of isis is on the way." even as the presid

the person speaking over thein person a the question as corey gardner just did there because if youe hear the c made, maybe you have toddress the point of the question, instead of frame ts alls paisan, which allows you to tune out the substance of what is described. so there's not actually a conversation about what the president has done or said and as you heard, the president, even this week, confirmed he does wan china to invtigate even tugh the republican talking point had been it wasasa joke. robe: the republicans are being vocal on another front. presidenttmp announced this ek a u.s. troop withdrawal from northern syria,t marking a shift in american foreign policy. days later, turkey launched a milita opetion in the area targeting a u.s. ally in the fight against isis, the kurds. turkish president erdogan threatened to send troops over ere border to create afere b zone. many republicans were outraged by the m presidente and kurds.out about betrayal by t the group includ evangelical christian leaders. senator lindsey graham introduced a bipartisan resolution this week to put sanc

what do some of these republicans and some of these swing states whether it is corey gardner or susan collins from maine,do they start to feel pressure on the political side of things as well? >> politico are calling these the smoking texts. i mean that's a big statement. republicans knowing that the smoking texts are out there, and they're not saying much. that does not move the immedine for them? >> we'll not know until they get back into town. it is a lot easier for them to stay quiet now. you know a lot of senators have stayed very quiet. house members are unusually quiet. some of the president is defe's defenders are having a hard time on what to say. many of them are on the record about 2016 and how it was inappropriate to have a foreign government interfering in the election. that appears to be exactly what the president is asking china and other countries to do. >> ambassador, you know bill taylor and kurt volker for years. ambassador sondland, something you don't know. the president cited his text with "no quid pro quo." is that enough of a text to help the president get out

here is corey gardner. >> do you believe it's appropriate for the president of the united states to ask foreign leader to investigate a political rival? yes or no. >> look, this is what we're going get into. the senate intelligence committee is having an investigation, a bipartisan investigation. unfortunately, though, what we've seen is a very political process take over. >> but is it -- >> i've answered your question. >> no, you didn't. >> is it. >> it's a yes or. no. >> here's what we see in the house of representatives. you see a very partisan process taking place. why is it when you all do stories or we see reports in the news, it's about four states, colorado, arizona, maine, and north carolina. it seems to be about politics and elections other than the serious process that it is. >> but the question is it appropriate for a president to -- >> we have an investigation. >> to ask a foreign government to investigate? >> james, that is -- that is torture to watch unless you really enjoyed that answer or you're teaching a class in obfuscation. >> i'd like to see that up with johnny arc

like corey gardner, a republican senator from colorado, who yesterday refused to answer whether it's appropriate to ask a foreign power to investigate your political rival: we want to hear from you. >> this is abilities the politics of the moment. >> reporter: the president is serving as his own attack dog. >> he was only a good vice president because he understood how to kiss barack obama's ass. >> reporter: going after the biden family in his most personal attacks yet in minnesota thursday night. turning the former vice president's son into a campaign prop. >> where is hunter? i want to see hunter. hunter, you know nothing about energy, you know nothing about anything, frankly. hunter, you're a loser. >> reporter: today trump faced blows from congress and the courts after the former ambassador to ukraine testified that he personally pushed for her removal. >> she may be very much a wonderful woman. if you remember the phone call i had with the president -- the new president, he didn't speak favorably. but i just don't know her. she may be a wonderful woman. >> reporter: on a day of

corey gardner's agony maneuvering to say it's wrong to take money from a foreign government.er the question. they can't. >> it's something they've said and ringing the alarm for years and years, there is no way we can have foreign entities, the constitution says it, the framers talked about it all the time, and up until donald trump became president they were against it and now they're not. >> what happens to donald trump in this impeachment inquiry? there used to be this theory he wants to be impeached. it's going to be his finest hour. doesn't look like it. >> it's early stages and money is involved. susan rice was very smart earlier when she mentioned we're still trying to explain why he's always beholden to putin. in most of these cases it comes down to money. >> will people find out about the money? >> look at ukraine. part of the ukraine probe. these guys were all maneuvering to get control of the biggest gas company in ukraine. >> money is always the answer. >> it's always the answer. it's getting hard to get people to stay is in line. telling the truth. thank you for

and in particular, i'm thinking people like susan collins of maine, and corey gardner of colorado, androlina, and martha mcsally of arizona, four senators all running for re-election in 2020, all of which are states that are battleground states where impeachment is something where as we've seen in those recent national polls, impeachment support has in fact grown of late. and so they would all be in a really difficult position where they would have to sort of weigh support among the trump base, and against support among swing voters who may want to see them take a stronger stance on impeachment. it puts the squeeze on all of those senate republicans as they head into a very key battleground year. and in fact, even senate democrats of late, my colleagues have been reporting on the hill that senate democrats are giddy at the possibility that this gives them an opening to potentially flip the senate given that they only knee toledo seats to do so. >> we like to think that republicans or politicians and democrats in general may not necessarily be paying attention to polls or try to dismiss

can't shut this down quickly, that in order to protect his senators who are up next year like corey gardnercollins in maine, that he has to have what's perceived to be a full process. >> it's very clear to me that mitch mcconnell says it's going to be a full process. now, he wants to get it done by the end of the year. this is the great calculation. if democrats really thought this was a slam dunk, they would vote on an inquiry in the house. she clearly -- congresswoman pelosi, speaker pelosi, is not certain yet how this is going to play out and she is keeping her cards close, and so she is timing this in a way where i think she thinks it's going to be most advantageous but she's not certain. >> i don't know, i think she's lost control of the timing and part of the timing is driven by how many witnesses they have to speak to. >> we have to remember one thing. the hearings haven't even been on tv yet. the last three weeks have not been good. wait until the hearings and you get somebody to testify and they have to take oath. look, i agree he's not going to get impeached, removed in the senate

. >> reporter: but vulnerable republican senators like corey gardner of colorado are now facing tough> this is what we're going to get into, the senate intelligence committee is having an investigation -- >> the question is is it appropriate for a president -- >> i think we're going to have an investigation, a nonpartisan investigation. it's an answer that you get from a very serious investigation. >> reporter: president zelensky of ukraine said he didn't feel pressured by the president and today told tom llamas he didn't think the president did anything wrong. >> what do you think of a president asking a foreign nation to investigate a political rival? is that corrupt? >> i think that this is not corruption because it was just a call. >> reporter: the house intelligence committee has subpoenaed energy secretary rick perry for information about his interactions with ukraine. perry just last week said that he would cooperate with congressional investigators, but a white house official now tells me they will instruct him to defy the subpoena, as they have all others. jonathan karl, abc