durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the minority whip. mr. durbin: i want to thank the senator from virginia for his clarion call for the united states senate to accept its constitutional responsibility when it comes to the prospect of war with iran. he has referenced many times the war powers act. the war powers act, students of history remember, was passed by the united states congress after the end of the vietnam war so that congress would assert with specificity its authority when it came to the execution of a war. the president at the time, richard nixon, opposed the war powers act and vetoed it. and because of what the united states endured during the course of the vietnam war, congress overrode the veto of president nixon. to make it clear with the war powers act that we would never ever by design find ourselves in the same moral predicament we did with the war in vietnam. almost 50,000 american lives lost in that war in vietnam, a war which was not a declared war under the constitution, but one which still exacted a heavy incalculable

senator dick durbin of illinois. n. durbin: thank you, lisa.udy: after more than two years of escalating threats, tariffs and trade wars, the u.s. and china signed a new trade deal today. ias nick schifrin tells 's known as "phase 1" of a potentially larger deal. but the administration, critics, and businesses all say it's crucial to make sure it's enforced, and that tlity matches the rhetoric. repoer: today, the world's two largest economies declared a partial truce. pres. trump: our efforts hrae yielding aformative deal that will bring tremendous benefits to both countries, we have a great relationship with china. reporter: standing next toto china's p negotiator, president trump predicted the deal would begin fundamental reforms to china's economy. pres. trump: this is the biggest n al anybody's ever sd it can lead to being a deal that's unprecedented, because china has 1.5 billion people and ultimately in phase two we're aning to be opening up china to all of your comps. announcer: -- reporter: under the deal, china agrees to purchase $200

but drew a cascade of democratic dissent risking further escalations, saying illinois senator dick durbin. chris murphy called the white house totally unprepared for the consequences. washington's adam smith accuse the president of bringing the country to a brink of another war. house speaker nancy pelosi complained that the action was taken without the consultation of congress. >> the question is why the administration chose this moment, why they made the decision to remove them from the battlefield with other administrations of both parties decided that would escalate the risks. >> they were similar concentration from democrats following the illumination abu bacaro alba dottie. this time, senator lindsey graham was read in before the strike. >> the last of the people you want to talk to about this is democrats in congress, republicans in congress. all the democrats but his eyes to be president, i was aware of what his options were.

. >> on monday virginia democratic senator tim kane and minority whip durbin came to the floor to discuss a war powers resolution would force a debate to prevent war and escalationof hostilities with iran. here are their remarks . >> i'm glad to be joined by my colleague from illinois is a personal mentor of mine today and we are here to talk about the threat of war with iran and about the constitution. i've been warning about this threat for some time, ever since president trump chose to ignore the advice of his key national security professionals and allies by abandoning america's commment to a diplomatic deal to limit iran's nuclear program. the president actions since that tragic decision and the easily predictable responses by iran's actions have resulted in an escalating set of hostilities between the united states and iran and its proxies. i'll state at the outset my conclusion. i believe that the us should not be at war with iran that indeed another war in the middle east now would be catastrophic. but i recognize that some of my colleagues may have a different point of view. so i

if there is evidence, i would like to see it. >> senator durbin, we'll leave it there. thank you for coming out and sharing your views. >> good to see you. >> on the republican side, senator perdue. welcome back to "meet the press," sir. let me start with the basics of this week. you said the senate should rndo something. what is that? >> the senate should set out to do what's right. what we are proposing to do right now is exactly what we did during the clinton hearing. and that is to hear both sides present their cases. we can talk about how long that might take in a minute. then let every senator ask a question, or several questions, then we'll go to a decision point at that point with the clint clinton case. >> let me remind you that the only witnesses they had called to come in only had testimony in the house, they just wanted clarification. >> it does sound like you don't want to see this dismissed immediately but you're not yet open on witnesses. are you still open-minded on witnesses? >> well, i am, only during the scope of these two articles in the impeachment.

that is a resolution that sender durbin and i i filed last friday.sident trump has engaged the u.s. in hostilities with iran. he had different points of view whether that's a good thing or bad thing, but now there are battlefield casualties on both u.s. and iranian sites, it is clear that this provision ofng the statute as we are engaged in hostilities with iran. not only are the u.s. on iran engaged in hostilities that have inflicted casualties on the other side, but the president has essentially acknowledging that we are in hostilities because he is sending war powers notices to congress one in november and one last saturday, reporting on his actions and saying the reports are consistent with the war powers act. he recognizes that hostilities are underway. the current hostilities are not pursuant to a previously passed congressional authorization. the 2001 authorization forli use of military force authorized military action against the perpetrators of the 911 attack. ironic is not a perpetrator of the 911 attack and there is no argument that they a

that is why senator durbin and i have introduced pursuant to the same war powers act by the president a resolution that will reinforce the removal of u.s. troops with the hostilities of iran unless congress independently votes that we should be at war. congress has the responsibility, and congress must act to shoulder its responsibility. i will offer more comments : >> for 40 years c-span has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the sipping court of public policy events from washington dc and around the country so you can make up your own mind. credit by cable in 1979 c-span is brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. c-span your unfiltered view of government. >> this week on the communicators we want to introduce you to adrian shahbaz with a group called freedom house where he is the research director in the areas of tech and democracy. mr. shahbaz, before we get into the freedom of the net report that freedom house has put out what is freedom house? >> guest: is an independent organization founded in 1941 to promote democracy both

durbin, mr. enzi, ms. ernst, mrs. feinstein. mrs. fischer, mr. gardner, mrs. gillibrand, mr. graham. mr. grassley, ms. harris, ms. hassan, mr. hawley. mr. heinrich, ms. hirono, mr. hoeven, mrs. hyde-smith. mr. inhofe, mr. johnson, mr. jones, mr. kaine. mr. kennedy, mr. king, ms. klobuchar, mr. lankford. mr. leahy, mr. lee, mrs. loeffler, mr. manchin. mr. markey, mr. mcconnell, ms. mr. markey, mr. mcconnell, ms. mcsally, mr. menendez. mr. merkley, mr. moran, ms. murkowski, mr. murphy. ms. murray, mr. paul, mr. perdue, mr. peters. mr. portman, mr. reed, mr. risch, mr. roberts. mr. romney, ms. rosen, mr. rounds, mr. rubio. mr. sanders, mr. sasse, mr. schatz, mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida, mr. scott of south carolina, mrs. shaheen, mr. shelby. ms. sinema, ms. smith, ms. stabenow, mr. sullivan. mr. tester, mr. thune, mr. tillis, mr. toomey. mr. udall, mr. van hollen, mr. warner, ms. warren. mr. whitehouse, mr. wicker, mr. wyden, mr. young. >> the minorit majority leader is recognized. administered as soon as possible. >> the proclamation. >> all persons are commanded to keep s

durbin, mr. lindsay, mr. ernst, mrs. feinstein, mrs. fisher, mr, mr. graham, mr. grassley, ms. harris, ms. townsend, carefully, mr. heinrich, mrs. corona, mr. bowen, mrs. kleinsmith, mr. inhofe, mr, mr. kane, mr. kennedy, mr. kingr langford, mr. lakey, delete, mrs. loeffler, mr. mansion, mr. markey, mr. mcconnell, mystic sally, mr. menendez, mr. merkley, mr. moran, ms. makowski, mr. murphy, mrs. murray, mr. paul, mr. perdue, mr. peters, mr. portman, mr. reid, mr. risch, mr. roberts, mr. romney, is frozen, mr. brown's, mr. rubio, mr. sanders, mr. south, mr. shots, mr. schumer, mr. scott of florida, mr. scott of south carolina, mrs. jean, mr. shelby, ms. cinema, ms. smith, ms. carbonell, mr. sullivan, mr. tester, mr. kuhn, mr. tillis, mr. toomey, mr. udall, mr. ben homans, warner, ms. moran, mr. whitehouse, mr. wicker, mr. wyden, mr. young,. >> any senator who is not in the senate chamber at the time the oath was administered to the other senators who make up that fact known to the chair so that the oath may be administered as soon as possible. speemac the sergeant at arms will m

joining me now is senator dick durbin of illinois. he is the assistance majority leader -- minority leader in the senate, the whip. senator durbin, thank you for being with us this morning. >> good to be with you. >> senator angus king of maine, an independent but caucuses with you, said he predicts anywhere between 5 and 10 republicans will vote along with the democrats for witnesses. now that's senator king's prediction. it's your job to know. so this morning, do you think you have the votes and where do you think the votes are? >> i hope angus is right, but i can't tell you the number of republicans who are likely to vote for witnesses. i do believe that the information coming out relative to john bolton is certainly relevant to the impeachment complaint itself. and i do believe he as well as mick mulvaney and the tworths members of the administration all should be called as witnesses. >> pat toomey, the republican senator from pennsylvania, has suggested that he would be open to what he calls a one for one swap, if you get john bo

that's why senator durbin and i have introduced pursuant to the same war powers act referenced by the president, a resolution that will force the removal of u.s. troops from hostilities with iran unless congress independently votes that we should be at war. congress has the responsibility and congress must act to shoulder its responsibility. i will offer more comments on the resolution later this week. but i appreciate the support of my colleague as i said in many ways, my mentor in the senate, the senator from illinois. i yield the floor to him. >> madam president. >> the minority whip. >> i want to thank the senator from virginia for his clarion call for the united states senate to accept its constitutional responsibility when it comes to the prospect of war with iran. he has referenced many times the war powers act. the war powers act, students of history remember, was passed by the united states congress after the end of the vietnam war so that congress would assert with specificity its authority when it came to the execution of war. the president at the time, richard nixon, oppos

>> i have enormous respect for senator durbin. but understand this. what i said is enough evidence has been presented and so far donald trump has offered absolutely no defense. it is not like they have come forward and said, oh, wait, we want to present some other evidence and the other evidence is going to show something different, and they have done nothing, and in fact, they have done worse than nothing and what they have said is that you can't hear from the witnesses who have first-hand information and you can't get the documents that you need to see to have more evidence about what is happening. they are defying a court order and remember about separation of powers? they are under an order to release the documents and refusing to do so. and the way i look at it, i will see the evidence in front of us and i will see the fact that they are not putting forward any defense and i see that they are trying to block any access to additional first-hand information. and boy, that tells me that this is someone who has violated the law. this is someone who n

dick durbin, here in illinois and in lake county where i live, we are pushing the red wave, and it'smy feeling that, you know, maybe someday illinois will become a red state because we've already had a governor put in place that was a republican, but hopefully we can make something happen here. i just want to point out that with this trial -- and i don't even like calling it a trial because at some point you would be able to cross-examination whether you want. and as a republican, to go out on a limb, from what i'm seeing i think that we need to just go ahead and bring on the witness is because john bolton is a flat-out neoconservative. he will get up there. he's been on the stage before plenty of time, and that man can tap dance like no other, so i don't see why everybody is so afraid of john bolton up front, and if that's what they want to do, fine, go ahead and get biden and then hopefully behind him, get the whistleblower and then with adam schiff, or even if it is a staffer she claims have contact with the whistleblower, let's put them in there, too, because if that is the path

senate, illinois's dick durbin. >>> but first, remember this? >> everybody thought hillary clinton was unbeatable. right? but we put together of benghazi special committee. a select committee. what are her numbers today? her numbers are dropping. why? because she's untrustable. but no one would have known any of that had happened -- >> i agree. >> yeah. congressman kevin mccarthy said the quiet part out loud back in 2015 and it sure seems like senator joni ernst just did the same thing. >>> you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. (whistling) (whistling) ♪[ siren ] & doug give me your hand! i can save you... lots of money with liberty mutual! we customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ saving for ava's college. being able to retire on our terms. taking care of dad. why ameriprise financial? my advisor cares about my personal goals. he gives us comprehensive advice. i feel prepared for what's expected in life and even what's not. she helps us fee

. >> my guests this morning, senator minority whip democrat dick durbin of illinois and republican senator david purdue of georgia. >>> plus, elizabeth warren's refusal to shake hands with bernie sanders. >> i think you called me a liar on national tv. >> let's not do it right now. >> has stirred fear in the left that this threatens the chances of securing a democratic nominee. >>> and the nbc news county-to-county project. >> you have to speak to us. >> but i've been hearing people will change and get behind the nominee no matter what. >> we talk to african-american voters in milwaukee about 2020. joining me for insight and analysis are hugh hewitt, formed maryland congresswoman donna edwards, and the authors of a new book on president trump, phil rucker, white house bureau chief for "the washington post" and carol leonnig, also of "the washington post." welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> good morning, everyone. last week we witnessed the dignifie

durbin: thanks madam president. i've come to the floor many times to speak to the american people about an industry, the most heavily federally subsidized industry in america today. no, it's not a defense contractor, has nothing to do with american agriculture. what i'm speaking of is the for-profit colleges and universities of the united states. these colleges and universities, sadly, have i think weren a notorious record when -- have written a notorious record in comes to their students. they have often cheated them, luring them to sign up for expensive, often worthless college courses with false promises about inflated outcomes, if they graduate. at the end, the students are left with massive student debts, a diploma that is worthless, hours that can't be transferred anywhere to any other reputable college or universities, and the prospects of a job, which are almost impossible to typed. in many cases, the sham operations actually go out of business in the middle of the student's education. as an industry, for-pr

durbin, mr. enzi, miss ernst, mrs. feinstein. mrs. fischer, mr. gardner, mrs. gillibrand, mr. graham. mr. grassley, ms. harris, ms. hassan, mr. hawley. mr. heinrich, ms. hirono, mr. hoeven, mrs. hyde-smith. mr. inhofe, mr. johnson, mr. jones, mr. kaine. mr. kennedy, mr. king, ms. klobuchar, mr. lankford. mr. leahy, mr. lee, mrs. loeffler, mr. manchin. mr. markey, mr. mcconnell, miss mcsally, mr. menendez. mr. merkley, mr. moran, miss murkowski, mr. murphy. mrs. murray, mr. paul, mr. perdue, mr. peters. mr. portman, mr. reed, mr. risch, mr. roberts. mr. romney, miss rosen, mr. rounds, mr. rubio. mr. sanders, mr. sasse, mr. schatz, mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida, mr. scott of south carolina, mrs. shaheen, mr. shelby. ms. sinema, ms. smith, miss stabenow, mr. sullivan. mr. tester, mr. thune, mr. tillis, mr. toomey. mr. udall, mr. van hollen, mr. warner, ms. warren. mr. whitehouse, mr. wicker, mr. wyden, mr. young. >> the majority leader is recognized. >> a senator who is not in the senate chamber at the time the oath was administered to the other senators will make that fact k

issues and issues involving ukraine government signed by senatorat mendez senator leahy d senator durbin. i am doing this to put this in entire perspective. house managers try to tell you that the important, the whole discussion and my colleague talked about this between president zelensky and president trump in the bilateral meeting in the oval office of the whiten house. as if an article of impeachment to be based upon a meeting not taking place in the white house but taking place but taking place somewhere else like the united nations general assembly. where in fact it did take place. doctor fiona hill was clear with saying the white house meeting with supply the ukrainian government the legitimacy it needed especially the russians in ukraine viewed the white house meeting as a recognition of their legitimacy as aia sovereign state. but here's what they did not play. here's what they did not tell you. and i'm going to quote from doctor hill's testimony on page 145 of her transcript. these are her words, this is what she said under oath. it was not always the white house meeting per se

durbin: mr. president,. the presiding officer: the democratic whip. the i ask conse quorum call be suspended. i would like to address comments made this morning by the majority leader, the senator from kentucky. the first related, as most of his comments recently on the pending impeachment trial in the united states senate. i listened carefully to his arguments that the house and senate have moved too quickly on this matter. it is true that they moved with dispatch, and i think it reflects the fact that the charges that have been made were timely, important, and relevant to the election campaign cycle which we now face. the charges in the impeachment articles suggest the president, in conversation with the president of ukraine, asked for help in the campaign that is about to ensue, asking specifically for investigative material on the son of former vice president joseph biden. and at the same time, the president was withholding military assistance voted by the appropriations committee in congress to ukraine as they continue to battle with russia. thes

durbin, mr. enzi, ernst, missus feinstein missus fisher, mr. gardner, missus gillibrand, mr. graham mr. grassley, ms. harris, mr. holly mr. heinrich, ms. coronel, mr. hoven, missus heidi smith mr. inhofe, mr. johnson, mr. jones, mr. kane mr. kennedy, mr. king, ms. chloe char, mr. langford worcester marquis, mr. mcconnell, ms. mcnally, mr. menendez mr. merkley, mr. moran, ms. makowski, ms. murphy missus murray, mr. paul, mr. perdue, mr. peters mr. portman, mr. reid, mr. risch, mr. roberts mr. romney, ms. rosen, mr. rounds, esther rubio mr. sanders, mr. sass, mr. schultz, mr. schumer mr. scott of florida, mr. scott of south carolina, missus sheena, mr. shelby missus cinema, ms. smith, missus stabenow, mr. sullivan mr. tester, mr. thune, mr. tillis, mr. toomey, mr. udall, mr. mr. van holland, ms. warren, mr. warner mr. whitehouse, mr. wicker, mr. wyden, mr. young >> any senator who is not in the senate chamber at the time the oath was administered to the other senators we will make that fact known to the chair so the oath may be administered as soon as possible. >> the sergeant

. >> on monday virginia democratic senator tim kane and minority whip durbin came to the floor to discuss a war powers resolution would force a debate to prevent war and escalationof hostilities with iran. here are their remarks . >> i'm glad to be joined by my colleague from illinois is a personal mentor of mine today and we are here to talk about the threat of war with iran and about the constitution. i've been warning about this threat

joining us now democratic senator dick durbin. he's the minority whip. thanks so much for joining us. republican senator rand paul just told me here in "the situation room" in the classified briefing today you guys were given, in his word, no specific information of a specific attack that would justify the killing of general soleimani. do you agree with that? >> that's true. i was in the same briefing and reached the same conclusion. they gave us the most general conclusions about threats to the united states but when it came to any specificity it just wasn't there. >> do you believe the administration has been telling the truth about the intelligence used to justify this strike? >> well, i can't tell because there's so much that was left off the table. there was a briefing for the top eight members of congress yesterday that i understand went into more detail. when the rest of the united states senate for today, for example, today, came together, they just wouldn't give us the details. they said the conclusions were based on what they characterized as e

with me now is senate minority whip tick durbin. you said glimmer of hope. said you know where senator alexander is going to go. senator murkowski, we don't know. she asked a fascinating question when she said why should this body not call ambassador bolton. do you have a sense on where she'll sit with witnesses? >> she's shown courage in the past when others did not and i will respect her judgment whatever it might be. but that glimmer of hope that i had a few days ago disappeared last night with lamar alexander's decision. i don't see the fourth vote that's necessary. >> you just said that you will respect senator murkowski's decision either way. do you respect the decision that lamar alexander made by essentially threading the needle saying that the house made the case. the president's behavior was inappropriate but it's not enough to impeach him? remove him from office? >> listen, in this business, you can respect a person and vehemently disagree with their conclusion of their vote. tomorrow is always another day. and i have worked with lamar over the ye

joining us now is the democratic whip, senator dick durbin. senator, thank you very much for being here with us. i want to get your impressions of what happened last night. roughly two dozen of these ballistic missiles launched by iran. into iraq air bases, towards u.s. troops, but no casualties reported. how do you see what happened? >> well, of course, the missiles were sourced in iran. they were better precision military equipment than we have seen in the past. the net result appears to be no loss of american life. but, clearly, we have to decide what the next step will be. i sincerely hope this administration will take a breath at this moment and step back and really measure how far we want to go into this escalation. and i also think that there's a responsibility, a clear responsibility under the constitution for the united states congress to make it abundantly clear to the president that we have a constitutional responsibility when it comes to these types of escalations or any possibility of war. >> it sounds like lindsey graham has a sl

dick durbin now.the last couple of days introducing and voting on a resolution that would essentially limit the president's military options when it comes to iran. the senate has talked about doing that as well with senator tim kaine from virginia. on the other side of the aisle, we have heard from house and senate republicans talking about supporting the president's decision. here is senator kennedy. >> when the president took the step he took, it was, in my opinion, just. it reverberated throughout the middle east, including the world. and number three, the ayatollah in iran understands the united states of america is serious and four heart attacks and a stroke. 's >> shannon: thank you so much mark meredith stick around special coverage of the irani and strake of u.s. forces and iraq, and the fighter pilot, mark, next. have a good day, sir. with geico, the savings keep on going. just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. (glass shattering) (frustrated yell) (car

durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i come to the floor of the senate today at a moment that will be remembered in history. in just a few hours the chief justice of the supreme court will come to this chamber and will be sworn in as the presiding officer in the impeachment trial of president donald john trump. he will then administer an oath to each member of the united states senate. it's an oath that's included in our senate manual. it's very brief, only 35 words, and it bears repeating for the record at this moment. each senator will be asked to make the following oath and affirmation. i quote, i solemnly swear that in all things appearer taining to the trial of the impeachment of donald john trump now pending, i will do impartial justice according to the constitution and laws so help me god. in just 35 words, that oath binds all of us, republicans and democrats, who swear by that oath to do impartial justice. the founding fathers and others could have been much more ee will be rate in descri

senator dick durbin of illinois. >> thanks, lisa. >> woodruff: after more than two years of escalatinghreats, tariffs and trade wars, the u.s. and china signed a new trade deal today. as nick schifrin tells us, oit is known as "phase ona potentially larger deal. st the administration, critics, and businesses a it is crucial to make sure it is enforced, and that the realitytc s the rhetoric. >> schifrin: today, the world's two largest economies declared a partial truce. >> our efforts have yielded a transformative deal that will bring tremendous benefits to both countries. >> schifrin: standing next to china's top negotiator, esidenump predicted the deal would begin fundamental reforms to china's economy. >> this is the biggest deal anyone has ever seen, and it can lad to being a deal that's unprecedented, because china has 1.5 billion people and ultimately, phase two, we're going to be opening up china to all of your companies. >> schifrin: under t deal, china agrees to purchase $200 billion over the next two years of u.s. agrilture, energy, manufacturing, and financial services. and t

i'm going to go with durbin at the appropriations committee to make sure it goes for 2019.ortman called the same day. it's pretty clear to me that when rob called and i called, and i was going to join forces with durbin, they were going to lose the vote. that theory, that it was released, that i know about, that you didn't hear. so, the point is let's see what the other side says, and then we will make our decision about what the president actually did or didn't do. you asked me about why i left when the president is on video, if you thought he was doing something wrong, he would probably shut up about it. in october, he so somebody needs to be looking out the bidens. he told me that yesterday. the president believes that what happened in the ukraine with the bidens was inappropriate. now, whether or not that will withstand scrutiny, i don't know. to the president believes that the ukraine interfered in our elections. i can tell you without any doubt it was the ructions who hacked into the dnc. it was not the ukrainians. i cannot say that there was nobody in the ukraine who

durbin. aye. mr. enzi. no. this is feinstein. aye mrs. fisher. no. mr. gardner. no. mrs.brand. aye. mr. graham. no. mr. grassley. no. ms. harris. aye. mr. hawley. no. mr. heinrich. aye. mr. hoven. no. mr. inhofe. no. mr. johnson. no. mr. jones. aye. mr. kane. aye. mr. kennedy. no. mr. king. aye. miss amy klobuchar. aye. mr. langford. no. mr. lahey. aye. mr. lee. no. mrs. leffler. no. mr. mansion. aye. mr. markey. aye. mr. mcconnell. no. miss mick sally. no. mr. menendez. aye. mr. merkley. no. ms. murkowski. no. mr. murphy. aye. mrs. murray. aye. mr. paul. no. mr. purdue. no. mr. peters. aye. mr. portman. no. mr. reid. aye. mr. rich. no. mr. roberts. no. mr. romney. aye. ms. rosen. aye. >> emily: what you are seeing there is the senate voting on impeachment witnesses. let's go to chad pergram right now. you speak of this is where they to cut standard roll call vote. this was the seminal vote we have been hearing about. a gateway vote about whether or not they would open the door to call witnesses or not. this is a pretty important vote. susan collins from maine and mitt ro

senator durbin from illinois. one of the voices may have sounded familiar to your old colleague, russ feingold who is giving us reference points on what happened in the clinton impeachment trial. so let me start with the gravity of today. and where we're going forward. we heard the outline of the next two days. how will you convince them to open it up? >> i just left the floor of the senate where they delivered the articles of impeachment and in thissers escorted them over to the senate chamber. i'm sure my friend russ feingold remembers a similar experience. there is change almost instantaneously in the senate chamber. an air of seriousness. this is an important constitutional responsibility that happens rarely in american history. i noticed it on the floor as we waited quietly. which is unusual. for the house clerk to arrive. when it comes to the actual conduct of the trial, i am hoping members on both sides will rise above what senator mcconnell called petty partisanship. and understand that we should put toget

senator durbin. >> thank you, senator schumer.his very first day of the impeachment trial we learned that senator mcconnell for nor mcconnell political loyalty to the president is more important than respect for the constitution, the integrity of the senate, and standards of common decency and decorum prevalent in the body from the start. with this organizing resolution, outlining the course of the trial, senator mcconnell and those who enable him demonstrate that republicans believe the american people are not entitled to judge for them receives whether president trump abused the power of his office and obstructed this congress in the discharge of its constitutional duties. senator mcconnell and those who enable him believe that if they hurry the proceedings, restrict the evidence, limit the witnesses, and force the whole enterprise into the midnight hour, they can conceal misconduct by the president. they believe the american people will not take notice. they're wrong. the american people are not asleep at the wheel of this demo

shokin, but before thehim, a bipartisan group of senators, including senators portman, durbin, shaheen, ron johnson, murphy, kirk, bloomberg and sher rod brown, sent a letter to president pofto urge him to mak changes. the month after the senator sent that letter, mr. shokin was fired. he was fired. so let's be very, very clear. vice president biden called for the removal of this prosecutor at the official direction of u.s. policy. because the prosecutor was widely perceived as corrupt. and with the support of all our international allies. his actionswere, therefore, supported by the executive branch, congress, and the international community. common sense would tell us that this allegation against joe biden is false, and that there was no legitimate basis for any investigation. but there's several other reasons, you know, that the only reason president trump wanted ukraine to announce the investigation into biden that was sole for this very own personal benefit. so if you look at tslide, it will summarize some points. first, none of the 17 witnesses in the house's inquiry said there w

senator durbin. >> thank you senator schumer. from its very first day of the impeachment trial we learn editor mcconnell and his political loyalty to this president is more important than respect for the constitution, the integrity in the senate, the standards of common decency and decorum which have been prevalent in this body from its start read with this organized resolution outlining the course of the trial, senator mcconnell and those who enable him demonstrate the republicans believe the american people are not entitled to judge for themselves whether president trump abused the power of his office and obstructed this congressin the discharge of its constitutional duties . senator mcconnell and those who enable him believe that if they are a the proceedings , restrict the evidence, limit the witnesses and force the whole enterprise into the midnight hour, they can conceal misconduct by the president. they believe the american people will not take notice. they are wrong. the american people are not asleep at the wheel of this

he's going to have exclusive interviews with senator david purdue, senator dick durbin on "meet the pressmorrow morning at 8:00 right here after nbc bay area. >>> hundreds of german protested today near berlin where tesla plans to build a new giga factory. the crowds convinced the construction will endanger the water supply and wildlife in the area, tesla made the announcement last november to build its first european car factory in eastern brandenburg west of we are lynn. politicians welcomed the move saying it would bring jobs to the region. activists want the site of the factory moved to a less sensitive area. >>> a close call for a driver in tua what. watch . the truck, whoa, coming right at you. 9 truck loses control on the road and smashes into a stranded car. barely missing that guy walking down there. this is just one of the crashes as severe weather hits parts of the country. snow and ice creating a dangerous mix causing spin outs and pile ups. take a look in pennsylvania. a multi-vehicle crash involving 15 tractor-trailers. that's a lot. that's a huge mess. in nebraska a man was

for me, it's having dick durbin and barack obama say, tammy duckworth, you need to run for office. they were my 2 illinois senators. i kept bugging them about the fact that veterans work getting -- veterans were not getting very good health care. dick durbin looked at me as a wounded warrior in a wheelchair. he didn't see somebody to be pitied. he didn't see someone who no longer had abilities. he looked at me and saw potential. and acknowledged that potential, and said, i think you should run. but i had to say yes. and most women will say no seven times before they decide to run. if more women would actually say yes in the beginning or just motivate themselves to get out there, we would be much further along to 50% representation. and it should be 51%, because there are more women than men in this country -- in the halls of power, so we can change the laws of this country to reflect those values that are important to all of us. harris: i took notes while you were speaking. >> me, too. harris: right? i know. you want to get this stuff. what did you write down? get to yes. that's wh

durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the minority whip. mr. durbin: i want to thank the senator from virginia for his clarion call for the united states senate to accept its constitutional responsibility when it comes to the prospect of war with iran. he has referenced many times the war powers act. the war powers act, students of history remember, was passed by the united states congress after the end of the vietnam war so that congress would assert with specificity its authority when it came to the execution of a war. the president at the time, richard nixon, opposed the war powers act and vetoed it. and because of what the united states endured during the course of the vietnam war, congress overrode the veto of president nixon. to make it clear with the war powers act that we would never ever by design find ourselves in the same moral predicament we did with the war in vietnam. almost 50,000 american lives lost in that war in vietnam, a war which was not a declared war under the constitution, but one which still exacted a heavy incalculable

investigations when three of you, three members of the senate, senator menendez, senator leahy and senator durbin, they wrote the letter to the prosecutor general of ukraine. they said they're advocates, talking about the congressmen, strong advocates for robust and close relationships with ukraine and we believe our cooperation should extend to such legal matters regardless of politics and their concern was ongoing investigations and whether the mueller team was getting appropriate responses from ukraine regarding investigations of what? the president of the united states. and you're asking about whether foreign investigations are you,. >> i sent a question to the desk on behalf of myself, senator ernst and senator crapo. >> thank you. >>> the question from senator langford and the other senators is for the counsel for the president. house managers have described any delay in military aid and state department funds to ukraine in 2019 as a cause to believe there was a secret scheme or quid pro quo by the president. in 2019 86% of the d.o.d. funds were obligated to ukraine in september, when in 20

the national security of the country i talked to -- first thing this morning i ranen intoor richard durbin. i said, what do you think? he said schiff was phenomenal, i'mkeptical he moved any votes, we're not seeing movement from the republicans. robert: what matted, kim, abt the case thatchiff and others made on the senator floor? what stood out to you? kimberly: they did a very good job. but they had two competing interests, right? one saying we have this lockedf case o impeachment against the president but at the same time need these peo to testify.d we and they did a really good job painting a pictu but pointing out the holes in it that they say can be filled in with the testimony of people like john bolton, with documents that can me from o.m.b. or the defense department. so overall they had thatlye on the bf trying to move forward. it looks like realistically, the best win they could possibly get would be getting thatestimony and it seemed that was a core part of both theirtr otion case and even their abuse of power case, reallyrying to make the case to the republicans who are movable

and would the country.curity of i talked to -- first thing this morning i ran into senator richard durbin. i said, what do youhink? he said schiff w phenomenal, i'm skeptical he moved any votes, we'reg not see movement from the republicans. abt the case that schiff and others made on the senator floor? what stood out t you? kimberly: they did a very good job. but they had two competing interests, right? this lockede have case of impeachment against the president but at the same time we need these documents and we need these people to testify. and they did a really good job painting aut picture pointing out the holes in it that they say can be filled in with the stimony of people like john bolton, with documents that can come from o.m.b. the defense department. so overall they had that eye on the ball of trying to move forward.it ooks like realistically, the best win they could possibly get would be getting that testimony and it seemed that was a core part ofoth their obstruction case and even their abuse of power case, rinlly tto make the case to the republicans who are movable, a also th

he is a dictator. >> joining us now is senator dick durbin, democrat of illinois, the democratic whipthanks for making time for us tonight. >> thanks, rachel. >> what are your reflections on this side of the trial? you have seen the house managers make their opening arguments. tomorrow me mawe make a big shi >> i think the presentation of the managers was masterful. adam schiff led it, and i couldn't think of a better presentation. a command of the facts and understanding of the law and the ability to stand there for an hour or more and to lay out his case effectively. then he had a wonderful team with him. i think they put a pretty high bar for the president's men to say that they're going to match them tomorrow. >> in terms of how this is playing for the public, one of the things that's happening for all of us watching this at home is that we're also aware of public reporting about new evidence and new information and new documents being released, for example, by court order from foia lawsuits and things, where we, the public, are learning more stuff about what the government did an

that is the resolution that senator durbin and i filed last friday. president trump has engaged the u.s. in hostilities with iran. we all have different points of view about whether that's a good thing or bad thing. but now that there are battlefield casualties on both the u.s. and iranian sides, it is clear that this provision of the statute has been met, that we're engaged in hostilities with iran. not only are the u.s. and iran engaged in hostilities that have inflicted casualties, but the president is acknowledging that there were hostilities because he is sending war powers notices to congress, one in november and one last saturday, reporting on his actions and saying that the reports are consistent with the war powers act. he recognizes that hostilities are you understand way. -- are under way. the current hostilities are not pursuant to too a previously passed congressional authorization. the 2001 authorization for use of military force authorized military action against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack. iran was not a perpetrator of the 9/1

republican senators must try to be a cation senator durbin. in your interview for your. democratic senate minority leader chuck schumer speaking to reap forces there ahead of the start of the impeachment trial of the president in the senate democrats say the process is being considered for this upcoming senate trial of the rules for post by the republican leader mitch mcconnell are not fair and chuck schumer is saying mcconnell's resolution is nothing short of a national disgrace mcconnell he says wants to cover up president trump earlier we heard from the democratic house managers of this trial including adam schiff and jerry madden of the democratic house and agent managers also expressed their disappointment with these rules we need democrats really angry about these rules and the process that's been proposed by the republicans that's bringing. who's on capitol hill for us covering this story for them and just remind us heidi i view was why democrats a so upset with these rules that the lion well in a sense you know for the weeks that have ensued democrats were hopefu

government or law enforcement officials that signed by senator menendez senator leahy and senator durbin i'm doing this to put this in an entire perspective house managers try to tell you that the importance of the whole discussion and my colleague mr perot talked about this between president of zelinsky and president trump and the bilateral meeting in the oval office of the white house as if an article of impeachment could be based upon a meeting not taking place in the white house but taking place someplace else like the united nations general assembly where in fact did take place now dr fiona hill was quite clear in saying that a white house meeting would supply the new ukrainian government with the quote legitimacy it needed especially these would be the russians and that ukraine's viewed the white house meaning as a recognition of their legitimacy legitimacy as a sovereign state but here's what they did not play here's what they did not tell you and i'm going to quote from dr hill's testimony on page $145.00 of her transcript these are her words this is what she said under oath it w

durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, the senate as it's currently meeting is in the normal course of business, but in just a few days this senate chamber will change. it will no longer be the senate considering resolutions and legislation, but it will be a senate considering an impeachment proceeding. it's a piece of history for those who are watching. this will only be the third time in the history of the united states of america that the senate will be convening for an impeachment proceeding relative to the president of the united states. it's a matter of the most serious constitutional gravity, and i hope that all of us as members of the senate will consider it and approach it that way. under the constitution, we have a unique role as members of the senate. we are the jurors. we are the jury, 100 senators will decide whether or not the articles of impeachment should be voted on and the impeachment of the president of the united states proceed. we are also in a unique role in the constitution i

senator dick durbin who is a democratic web in the house and from illinois. first day of questioning, house managers and presidents lawyers debated the meaning of bolton and mulvaney's statements and conflicting the accounts of white house meetings. there's one way we can do to the bottom of all these issues. calling witnesses and key documents. genie in paris, texas. did you learn anything today by the senators questions? >> caller: i learned a lot, but my comment is that every time adam schiff or the other house managers state that the president's team come if they don't want witnesses that means they don't want a fair trial, i would like for someone to remind that they are trying to deny the most basic right that we all have which is innocent until proven guilty and that it is not the president's burden to prove innocence. it's their burden to prove guilt. and if they are satisfied that they have an airtight case, then there need be no more. >> host: do you consider yourself a political person? has this attracted your attention because of that or for other