along with gop fear, frustration with the president. performances like wednesday in the oval office. >> the whistle-blower was so dishonest. >> reporter: and later in the east room. >> this is a fraudulent crime on the american people. >> reporter: his rambling, shoot from the hip comments, his stream of consciousness tweets not exactly an anti-impeachment road map for his fellow republicans. in fact, a source involved in senate gop discussions tells cnn he is taking it upon himself to tweet about every shiny object. that is not helpful right now. to be sure, lots of trump gop allies eagerly came out to defend the initial bombshell, the transcript summary of the president asking ukraine's leader to do him a favor and investigate his political opponent, joe biden. >> it was a nothing burger for me. the phone call with the president and the ukrainian president. >> reporter: but gop spin on behalf of trump is not ageing well, especially confronted with facts about the call. >> president trump replies, i would like you to do us a favor, tho

here's one possible answer from our nbc news first read team because the gop is running on empty. our political unit writing, if you want to know why house republicans decided wednesday to disrupt the deposition into the impeachment inquiry, it's probably because president trump and the gop are running out of defenses. here's congresswoman jackie speier. >> what happened yesterday was a high school prank by a bunch of 50-year-old white men. the republicans are whining because the president is whining and frankly i think they did what they did yesterday because the president was whining that they weren't fighting for him hard enough. >> the president liked the whole thing. watch this. >> i think they showed full support for the president.

meanti meantime, this gop pizza party. >> solid, well done. >> gop lawmakers tried to storm a secureto make a point, that they don't like the process of this impeachment inquiry. it's not a trial. it's an inquiry. they don't like things happening behind closed doors. a couple points, some of the lawmakers were actually on the committee. they had access already. >> they could have been in there. >> this was a publicity stunt. it may have pushed democrats to say, we want to speed up the impeachment process and make this open to the public. >> it could have. there's reporting in the past 24 hours that things may be changing on that front. i'm not 100% sure that if the democrats move to the public testimony that republicans are going to be all that happy with the outcome. wouldn't it be more damaging to the president to have these officials testify in public, in front of the cameras? the hearings will go on for hours. they'll dominate the coverage. that could sway public opinion that a few leaks here and there, in an article, doesn't really percolate. >> democrats are trying to figure ou

along with the gop fear, frustration with the president.ces like today's in the oval office. >> the whistle-blower was so dishonest. >> and later in the east room. >> this is a fraudulent crime on the american people. >> he's rambling, shoot from the hip comments, his stream of consciousness tweets not exactly an anti-impeachment road map for his fellow republicans. in fact a source involved in senate gop discussions tells cnn he is taking it upon himself to tweet about every shiny object that is not helpful right now. to be sure, lots of trump gop allies eagerly came out to defend the initial bombshell, the transcript summary of the president asking ukraine's leader to do him a favor and investigate his political opponent, joe biden. >> it was a nothing burger for me. the phone call with the president and the ukrainian pat. >> but gop span on behalf of trump is not aging well, especially when confronted about facts about the call. >> president trump replies, i would like you to do us a favor, though. >> you just added another word. >> no.

there was the appearance this was in response to some gop criticism that republicans have been complaining about as secretive, that the public should be clued into what was happening in the depositions behind closed doors. nancy pelosiou ask the steny hoyer -- and steny hoyer on the democrat side, this resolution is needed to lay out these rules for the next phase of this investigation, which will be in the public setting, led by the intelligence committee and its chairman, adam schiff. we have three committees participating in the closed-door session, but it looks like adam schiff will be taking the lead. -- lead in the public session that will allow the democratic leadership to control that environment more tightly. it means fewer lawmakers will be at least in the ukraine portion of the impeachment inquiry, and so that will be significant. closechiff obviously is a trusted ally of nancy pelosi. she is putting this in his hands. host: the criticism by republicans hasn't let up. in a briefing today, late afternoon statement from the white house press secretary calling the impeachment and i

. >> gop lawmakers stormed the secure hearing room, stalling the proceedings for five full hours. a quarter of them sit on these committees. they were entitled to be there without busting in, a quarter of them. there are republicans who are hearing this testimony. now, "the washington post" reports, house democrats are feeling the pressure to wrap up the private testimony and move on to public hearings in november. >> among the witnesses they hope to question, the top diplomat in ukraine bill taylor and marie yovanovitch, who expressed outrage to withhold aid to ukraine. also on the side of the democrats, john bolton, the former national security adviser. he made his steadfast opposition to pressuring ukraine well-known around the white house. here's phil mattingly. >> reporter: republicans have made no secret of their frustration about much of the democratic impeachment inquiry, up to this point, one month in, is taking place behind closed doors. they decided to let that frustration come out a little bit. going into a closed-door deposition, interrupting that closed-door accept s

along with gop fear, frustration with the president. performances like wednesday in the oval office. >> the whistle-blower was so dishonest. >> reporter: and later in the east room. >> this is a fraudulent crime on the american people. >> reporter: this rambling shoot from the hip comments, his stream of consciousness tweets not exactly an anti-impeachment road map for his fellow republicans. in fact, a source involved in senate gop discussions tells cnn, he is taking it upon himself to tweet about every shiny object that is not helpful right now. to be sure, lots of trump gop allies eagerly came out to defend the initial bombshell. the transcript summary of the president asking ukraine's leader to do him a favor and investigate his political opponent joe biden. >> it was a nothing burger for me. the phone call with the president and the ukrainian president. >> reporter: but gop spin on behalf of a favor though. >> you just added another word. >> no. it's in the transcript. >> he said i'd like you to do a favor though? >> yes. it's in t

assailing the former gop presidential nominee's lack of loyalty. the democrats are lucky they don't have any mitt romney types.

let's talk about what your gop colleagues have to say. i want to cite a couple of them, lindsey graham, by abandoning the most dangerous signals america is an unreliable ally and just a matter of time before china, russia, iran and north korea act in a dangerous way. they have been warriors and brothers who battled along the way, potus is right to end the endless wars, turks wiping out the kurds, not an acceptable outcome for that. that said you support the president's decision. >> i support the decision, he did the right thing. should not be difficult to take us out of a war zone. what we have to be thanking him for doing this, some of my colleagues in the senate, republicans or democrats over disagreement with that they should bring forward a proposal to declare war, we've been there without a declaration of military force. we shouldn't do this without buy-in from the american people following the prescribed constitutional for, donald trump recognizes there is no declaration of war. shannon: what do you say to the kurds and other groups

that's the first time that we've heard this from a gop congressman. so it's going to be an interesting week, particularly as we have more testimony on capitol hill. >> kristen holmes for us at the white house. kristen, thank you. >>> now to new reporting on president trump's personal attorney, rudy giuliani. we've learned that he tried to use his clout with the white house to get victor shulkin, a former ukrainian official, a visa to enter the u.s. >> let's go to marshall cohen in washington with more. marshall, so tell us more about his efforts to get a visa for shulkin. first off, why was he trying to do that. >> reporter: good morning, guys. sources tell cnn that in testimony this week a senior official from the state department told lawmakers that rudy giuliani did press the state department for a visa for this former ukrainian prosecutor. the man is victor shulkin. he was forced out of his job several years ago during the obama administration. he claims because of joe biden. and so he was going to bring those allegations to guiliani. guiliani wan

i think he's a strong moral voice that we need in the gop. it will be interesting to see how many will follow versus to continue to support a president that has put his political interests in a foreign country ahead of american interests. and while we were joking earlier, this is very serious. i know john knows it's very serious. but more mitt romneys, if they stand up like a few other senators, will understand that this is not only serious but our american democracy is at risk and that's no laughing matter. >> i want to ask you about some of the other news that's making headlines this morning. house foreign affairs committee aide telling cnn that secretary pompeo again missed yesterday's subpoena deadline to turn over documents. secretary pompeo has been in the house for six years. he served in the house. he understands the role of congressional oversight, john. so what are -- what can committees do at this point, and why would he not cooperate? >> well, adam schiff seems to have a different revelation every day. it was the whistle-blower, t

yesterday dozens of gop lawmakers barged into a closed door meeting with a key witness.peachment investigation for about five hours. >>> mandatory evacuations were issued overnight after a wildfire exploded in california's wine country. yesterday california's largest utility company, pg&e, began to shut off power to roughly 180,000 homes and businesses due to dangerous fire weather. the outages will last about 48 hours. >>> and now a special salutes to the oldest living american who stood watch at the tomb of the unknown soldier. david martin introduces us. >> reporter: they're called honor flights, and they have flown nearly a quarter million veterans to the nation's capital to visit the monuments built in their honor. safe to say no veteran has felt prouder or just plain happier than 100-year-old jackie -- >> 38, 39, 40 -- >> reporter: 80 years ago he stood guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. the awesome monument to america's fallen that has the power to silence teenagers. it has been guarded around the clock since 1937. eaton became a sentinel in 1938 and served

here is the official gop tweet on this. their agendas align. have the government take control over every aspect of american life. next in virginia, good afternoon. >> bernie is probably the best candidate to take on trump. bernie always tells the truth, authentic. carryk he will probably the midwest, michigan, wisconsin. trump'she will sweep base. >> bernie sanders will be heading to iowa. with rashida to leave, the congresswoman. is obviouslyders the best of all the candidates. not only for his platform and the way he shows he will pay for all these things, you really have to go to his website because in 2016 he explained how those things would be paid for. the other issue is some of the people, like one of your previous collars talked about fears of socialism. what they don't realize is the best part of our society are socialist programs such as the military, social security, the fire department. bridges.chools, roads, there is nothing to fear. >> i'll ask you what i asked a previous color, what does bernie have to do to climbed the ranks? >>

on capitol hill yesterday a group of gop lawmakers stormed the secure room where a deposition was set to take place, a house intelligence committee official telling nbc news more than two dozen republican members participated. the testimony of laura cooper, the top pentagon official overseeing u.s. policy toward ukraine was delayed by five hours, because of the outburst. house intelligence committee chair adam schiff suggested the demonstration was a response to ambassador bill taylor's explosive testimony just the day before. watch this. >> the testimony yesterday, they have been successful in stopping witnesses from cooperating. and so the president has elicited allies on the hill to see what they could do to stop the witnesses but we will go forward with the testimony and make sure that the facts come to light. >> and democrats have accused republicans who participated in the outburst yesterday, of compromising security. by taking their cell phones, into the secure room, known as a skiff, which is a permitted. one house intel official telling nbc news, some republicans lawmakers re

lots of trump gop allies eagerly came out to defend the initial bombshell.transcripts summary of the president asking ukraine's leader to do him a favor and investigate his political opponent, joe biden. >>it was a nothing burger for made that phone call with president ukrainian president. >>but gop span on behalf of trump is not aging well, especially confronted with facts about the call president trump replies i would like you to do us a favor though. we just added another word. no it isn't i a favor though yesterday in the it's in when runs and about the whistleblower you had a bureaucrat who didn't like the president. >>are we talking about we know he didn't like the president no don't base list attacks like that on the whistleblower. plus repeated brazen threats from the president did compel iow republican chuck grassley, a longtime champion of whistleblowers to release a statement warning. no one should be making judgments or pronouncements without hearing from the whistleblower first and carefully following up on the facts also noteworthy senate major

while gop lawmakers attack in public. are they worried? >>> messaging mess, the white house admits its anti-impeachment communication strategy needs some work. the trump team insisting it was okay for the president to call members of his own party human scum. >>> trump's personal lawyer is offering a new explanation of his central role in the uk sk n scandal. as he looks to hire an attorney of his own. is rudy giuliani facing more legal danger every day? >>> and fire emergency, a raging i object fer no forces people from their homes. cnn is on the scene where 5,000 acres were scorched in just three hours. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. >>> we're following breaking news on republicans attempting to put more fire into the fight against impeachment. senator lindsey graham announcing a new resolution condemn iing the process democrs are using to investigate the president. this as trump is praising gop lawmakers who took his call for a more aggressive def

when we may call back some of these witnesses and those in open session but we will do so giving the gop members at opportunity to ask questions also mindful of the needs of the investigation because we are not unconscious of the fact people have come before our committee and lie to our committee. one has pled guilty, one is in trial. we want to make sure we get to the truth and this is the process early in the investigation that makes the most sense. >> if you keep witnesses from testifying you say they've all come before you are they able to answer every question and not being prohibited to do so quick. >> they have been fully cooperative they understand their legal obligations. they have often sought guidance from the white house. are you invoking privilege? where is the doj opinion that accompanies privilege to set out specifically what questions you believe would call for the elicitation of privileged information. the white house doesn't want to do it and they haven't so they're not giving guidance to the witnesses. part of this is designed to intimidate the witnesses to say were no

the gop, they are the dividers.icans, they are the ones being divisive. -- my friends are republicans, they are the ones being divisive. and they are like children, they call everybody names when you back them into a corner. one more thing about c-span. on the west coast, it is really early in the morning to get up to watch you guys, and i am wondering if you can take a few more calls on the last hour from the west coast because it is 6:30, 7:00 here and it is 10:00 on the east coast. i am wondering why all the gop people are not at work when they have time to call. suggestionis a good and our producers are listening and we will pass it along. michelle in chicago, donald trump had his personal interest invested in the call with ukraine. he could have answered the reported yesterday that asked about the purpose of investigating biden. he could not because he was extorting ukraine for his personal gain. according to andrew taylor of or associated press, responding to andrew taylor, one person tweets this, the democrat

tonight we'll tally up the extent of the change within the gop and we'll ask how putin is likely viewing all of this. >>> and far from politics tonight, the concern is life or death in california, where a historic warning has been issued because of what's about to begin tonight as "the 11th hour" gets under way on this tuesday evening. >>> well, good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. day 1,013 of the trump administration, and the breaking news we're covering at the top of the broadcast here tonight is an indication that today's testimony by an active duty army officer might have been more damaging to the president than we first knew or thought. his testimony wrapped up tonight after ten hours. "the new york times" has new reporting on today's testimony from lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, an army officer who works, is detailed, inside the white house, and overheard the president's phone call to ukraine. the "times" writes, quote, that he told house impeachment investigators on tuesday that the white house transcript of a july call between president

do you think that's fair and triggered the gop stunt or sit-in, whatever you want to call it? >> the substance is going to drive and eclipse the process here. bill taylor is someone i worked with. he worked for me actually at the u.s. institute of peace. americans are going to look or hear from bill taylor and they're going to say wow, this is really the american hero of the story. he's a straightforward, blunt, honest incredible man who gets sent to ukraine and sees this unbelievable chaos unfolding. >> quickly, john thune, the number two republican in the senate, said the pitting out of taylor's testimony is not a good one. mitch mcconnell contradicted the president about a phone call the president said he had with him. do you see these small cracks as being potentially something that could grow into a bigger problem for the president? >> i think members are having a hard time on content now. and you can only pound process so long. >> yeah. >> ukraine is a friend of the united states. russia not so much. and until we get our head around the content i have a feeling the proce

saying that the gop is being kept in the dark but republicans are involved. the ones who sit on the committees can ask questions and attend the hearings. few gop members would talk about the damning testimony from baltimobill taylor, the top diplomat to ukraine and testified that gordon sondland told him that president trump held up u.s. military aid to ukraine until that country agreed to reopen an investigation into the bidens and the 2016 campaign. >> the opening statement said very clearly, this is not -- this is what -- >> hold on. let me finish what i'm saying. finish my question -- >> he's relying on it. >> why shouldn't i rely on his public testimony. >> if you were in a court of law, would you rely on the opening statement of an attorney. >> reporter: democrats call the protest a stunt to distract from taylor's testimony. >> it is a pathetic stunt. it is going to -- all of this is going to be forgotten very soon because the real story is what did the president do and why and the harm that it has done to our national security. >> our republican collea

you know the vast majority of gop voters still support this president here. are you concerned as your fellow potential challenger to trump on the gop side, mark sanford, is that impeachment will actually rally those gop voters more around this president rather than less? >> no. mark's a good man, but i do not agree with mark on that. he has said he would support mr. trump if mr. trump is the nominee. that's not my position at all. you know, i agree with there's a lot of politics and impeachment proceedings and one number we're going to be watching is what percent of the country favors not just impeachment but removal of the president. and i believe i saw a nationwide poll by the "economist" a few days ago, 51/41, u.s. in favor of removal. that is removal by the senate. people are going to watch that number. if that grows, then the republican senators, even if they can't find it in their conscience to do the right thing, are going to have to be concerned. my concern on behalf of those republican senators, most of whom i know, the senior ones, is they're going

as the president urges republicans to hold the line on impeachment, some of his gop allies have come out swinging against his decision to pull u.s. troops from northern syria. a move that prompted turkey to launch a military offensive against the kurds long-tanding allies of the u.s., i'll be speaking with joaquin castro of the foreign affairs and intelligence committees and our correspondents and analysts have full coverage of the top stories. let's begin with cnn chief white house correspondent jim acosta. and how is president trump responding to the latest pressure from the democrats pushing impeachment. >> reporter: president trump just wrapped up the latest rant about being impeached and he's taking aim at joe biden, calling on mr. trump to be thrown out of office and house democrats are talking tough after demands for information from the white house were rejected and the president is not cooperating in any way and not committing to any kind of cooperation. tonight the president has one other mounting crisis on his hands though, as turkey's invasion of syria which was green-lig

here's how gop conference leader liz cheney. >> questioning the patriotism, questioning the dedication of country of people like vinldman, lieutenant colonel vindman who will be coming today. we're talking about veterans who is served the nation and put their lives on the line. we should not be involved in that process. >> on the other side of the capitol, the number two republican john thune and mitt romney were both calling the attacks on vindman's patriotism a quote, mistake. >> meanwhile ted owe ho has. attended any. that ins the vind man deposition on tuesday. here's what he told cnn on why he was a no-show. >> why are you not there? >> because i have other responsibilities in the house and i see this as a side show. >> respectfully, congressman, as glad as i am that you're on this show, you don't need to be on the show. you could be deposed -- >> the gop accused them of running this behind closed doors. >>> meanwhile curt volkurt volk trump employee who communicated with ukraine officials about the investigation into biden. katherine kroft focused ukraine. in the afternoon kroft'

is it a straw breaking the camel's back moment for the gop?nd where in the world is attorney general william barr? hunting for conspiracies, that's where. new reporting on that front. we'll bring it to you. and as the president's allies tie themselves in knots trying to defend trump's collusion in plain sight, we will show you one senator who says the fbi and the cia are not to be trusted. all those stories coming up. min. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doc

gop congressional sources telling us that the diplomat's deposition was so precise, it was a game-changer in the probe. ma ma manu ragu has more. >> reporter: the investigators have a busy week. thursday, a top white house official, national security council, tim morrison is expected to testify. he is a top russia adviser, someone who has knowledge what about what happened to the ukrainian aid. he is going to back up bill taylor, who is the top diplomat for ukraine, who testified before the house committee and said clearly, he was told, that the president has withheld private information that could helple the president politically. he mentioned morrison's name many times. the democrats will finish out the impeachment probe. the republicans will push back. there's concerns by republicans on capitol hill. you can learn things in the first hand. that could be one area that the republicans decide to push back. we'll have to see what he decides to say. guys? >> manu, thanks. >>> democrats are discussing the scope and scale of articles of impeachment and more explosive testimony could be on the

but as one gop source told our jamie gangel, how do you defend the indefensibility?at? >> well, it's one thing for the president to say the call was completely above board and followed all the letters of the law. but when you have someone like vindman come out and question the accuracy of the transcript of the call, that raises questions. and, look, i think what we're going to see moving far, we'll continue to see republicans question the process moving forward because when you have the facts and law on your side, you pound the facts and law on the table. when you don't have the facts and law on your side, you pound the table. and that is what we're going to continue to see. but here's the thing. republicans asked for the house to bring this to the floor for a vote, to have full and open transparency. that's exactly what they're getting. we're putting this out there, getting the information out there for all to see. i think that's important. but mark my word, we're going to see nancy pelosi is good at math. she has the numbers. i expect to see the house vote for impe

and the few who are speaking out, well, listen to house gop leader kevin mccarthy this morning. >> you saying china -- >> reporter: actually, he did. >> china should start an investigation into the bidens. >> reporter: some republicans tried to explain that with deflection, claiming trump was just kidding. >> well i doubt if the -- the china comment was serious to tell you the truth. >> reporter: cnn contacted more than 80 gop congressional offices about the president inviting china to investigate his political rival. barely a handful responded. most notably, mitt romney who said the president's brazen and unprecedented appeal to china and to ukraine to investigate joe biden is wrong and appalling. in response, the president went after romney calling him pompous and a fool. clearly intended as a warning to other republicans weighing whether to speak out. it didn't stop maine's susan collins who did criticize the president. which plays well with democrats. she needs to win re-election in her blue state and said the president made a big mistake by asking china to get involved in investig

gop senator from colorado, a swing state, cory gardner, twisted himself into rhetorical knots, avoidingaine. have a listen. >> but the question is, is it appropriate for a president to -- >> i think we're going to have an investigation. it's a nonpartisan investigation. >> but, senator, it's a yes or no question. >> it's an answer that you get. >> is it okay for you to ask a foreign rival -- >> this is about -- >> we want to hear from you. you're a smart guy and know the debate. >> this is about the politics of the moment. this is why they're trying to do this now. >> joining me to discuss, mark sanford, former congressman from south carolina. we appreciate you taking the time this morning. >> yes, sir. >> so you saw that interaction there. painful, you might say. why can't republicans say simply, it's wrong for a u.s. president to ask a foreign power for help in the election? >> because they want to be on the receiving end of a bad trump tweet, end of story. and i get that. i've been on the receiving ends of trump tweets. it's not a pleasant place to be and it can have an electoral con

. >> and keeping gop senators in line is what he wants to do.hink the end game, he knows if he's going to be removed from office, kirsten -- >> he's not going to be removed from office. >> but what's the strategy here? >> we actually disagree on this because i actually think -- you know, whether it's -- you know, maybe he goes back and forth and starts to freak out like if he sees this fox news poll, for example, although most republicans still don't support impeach and remove. it was only 13% in the fox news poll. you know, he is losing some independents. but i think he thrives in chaos, and he likes to create chaos. and i think that he believes that they wouldn't be pushing -- they wouldn't be pushing for this vote if they didn't think it was going to work to their benefit. there's no reason to do that. i think on some level he does believe that it will work against the democrats. they particularly want to get them on the record, right, so that the democrats who are in districts that trump won could be in peril. so i'm not saying that he's rig

>> criticism, the gop led panels doing enough in the face of impeachment push.enator lindsey graham chairs the committee. what are you doing in the face of people and the president saying he wants the gop to be tougher. >> lindsay came up with one of the first votes, we confirmed a historic number of circuit court judges and district court judges, made great progress, we need to get the president reelected so we can literally transform the article 3 court. on the subject of impeachment the first thing i would like to see and what lindsay talked about is have the house follow the regular order for impeachment the way they did with clinton, the way they did with next. have a minority have the president's counsel present in public forums to go through the allegations they are making against the president. if they do that and do it the way they've done it in the past, the republicans are going to have more opportunities in the house and the democrats have more problems building a real case for impeachment against donald trump. >> what power of persuasion to you in t

but we will do so, giving the gop members every opportunity to ask questions, and we will also do so, though mindful of the needs of the investigation, because, you know, we are not unconscious of the fact that people have come before our committee and lied to our committee. one has pled guilty to lying to our committee, michael cohen. one is in trial charged with lying to our committee. we want to make sure that we get to the truth and this is the process i think early in an investigation that makes the most sense. [talking simultaneously] reporter: there's been some concern that the white house would invoke executive privilege to keep some of your witnesses from testifying fully. i know you don't want to go into the content what have people are telling you, but can you say if all of the witnesses who have come before you thus far have been fully cooperative? are they able to answer every question and not being prohibited from doing so once you get them in the room? rep. schiff: they have been fully cooperative. they understand their legal obligations. they have often sought guidance

it comes after trump was forced to retreat on issues like syria and the g7 following gop pushback.nd after one house republican became the first to say that he's open to impeaching trump, fox news host chris wallace revealing rumbles on capitol hill against the president. >> i talked to a very well connected republican in washington this week, somebody whose name you wouldn know well who says if the house votes to impeach and it gets to a trial in the senate, there is now a 20% chance, he believes, obviously it's just an estimate, 20% chance enough republicans will vote with the demonstrates to remove the president. >> all right. betting markets have in fact increased the odds since the ukraine scandal exploded recently. in fact, skeptics might say reality is closer to this scene from "dumb and dumber." watch. >> what do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me ending up together? >> i'd say more like one out of a million. >> so you're telling me there's a chance. yeah! >> so there is a chance, guys. joining me now, matt welch, editor at large for reason magaz

gop members will probably wait a while, i would think. they have another year or so until the elections. and i think there's no interest they have in coming out and voicing too many concerns. even mitt romney and those criticizing president trump, are still getting attacked from the right. things are changing, but they will change very slowly. >> an interesting wind to follow there. live in london with perspective. thank you. >> thank you. >>> also in the united kingdom, the issue of brexit. european union saying it will need a few more days to figure out if the uk is asking for a brexit extension or not. what does it want? that's the question. boris johnson sent several be contradictory letters. one was boiler plate language asking for a three-month extension, along with a cover letter saying it was set to fulfill the legal requirement. then mr. johnson followed with another letter asking the eu to turn down the request. and that could land him in hot water with the courts. live in london as well is our anna stewart. anna, it gets confus

the gop members. >> rick, what do you think? >> no, i hear -- i hear the congresswoman saying, it is possible. rick, 45 states, what do you think of this prediction? >> look, right now we've -- the republicans lost 42 seats in the last cycle, they already have 15 retirements, 7 of those 15 are in districts that are going to go to the democrats by almost every model. there's almost no chance of them getting their house back. god knows they have trouble organizing a two-car motorcade sometimes. but there's a political downside to the president here, in the few republican seats that are vulnerable, where people are not loving the fact that this country has been submerged into an impeachment side show, and 50% of that blame or more rests with the way donald trump has behaved in office as the president, where he's engaging in things like the ukraine scandal, and engaging in the whole spectrum of corruption large and small. >> appreciate the conversation, nice to have you both on. >>> a former whistle-blower speaks out about what it's

is this vote on thursday a result of gop pressure?ow, the republicans continue to flounder about, looking for something that they can do to distract the american people from the truth that is emerging here. so what we have here is what we've always said. we are going to let the facts dictate the timeline and the process. and this resolution that we're taking up this week is a signal that we are moving from the private interviewing that is a process that was held up by the courts as recently as friday. republicans know that. moving to public hearings. and it is important that we have this resolution to set out how the evidence goes from the intelligence committee to the judicial committee. a more public viewing of these transcripts and live witness testimony moving from a confidential, highly secure setting to one that is public. that is all that is happening here. the republicans know it. but again, when you cannot say there have not been abuses of power, when the evidence is mounting daily against this president and what he's done, t

i think it's been shocking to the gop, who are scrambling to figure out how do they defend this?ation right now that i think everybody is bracing to see what the next stage is. but it seems like the united states is not going to push turkey hard on this to take any hits in order to actually re-establish the fire that it can be lasting on both sides. >> have a great weekend. we know you won't. you'll be working all weekend long. thank you. >>> the son of notorious drug kingpin, el chapo, now said to be free after being detained by forces. listen. a mexican security official telling reuters they released guzman lopez to protect lives. gunmen believed to be members of the powerful drug cartel appeared to overpower security forces who later suspended operations. many residents fled in panic or locked themselves in their homes. >>> chicago officials say the city and the teachers union are still far apart, negotiating a deal to end the strike that began yesterday. classes are canceled again today. here's cnn's omar jimenez. >> reporter: dave and alison, these are teachers marching thro

>>judge ross: lawmak-- gop lawm some heads back-up what was to be.oblematic is that for the president? >> i don't think it's problematic for the president, but it is problematic overall, and it is indicative of how donald trump handles foreign issues, anyway. taking troops out of syria is something he did without speaking to the pentagon. and the reason he says he didn't tell about al baghdadi's death, he said, there are issues of leaks, i don't want to deal with the leakers. well, there are a lot of leaks coming out of your administration, so i don't buy that argument. he's really distrustful of people he's working with and he can't be making these decisions unilaterally. he needs to be speaking to lawmakers and giving them the proper warnings before he moove forward with his plans. >> listen to what republican senator lindsey graham told reporters yesterday. >> i want to commend the president for coming up with a model in syria that we probably should have done in iraq. this is a game changer with the killing of al baghdadi. this is a moment for ou

encouraged by the president to tougher on the attempt to impeach and gop lawmakers today disrupted the democrats impeachment inquiry on the hill preventing a pentagon official from testifying for hours. 17 pizzas arrived to serve members or hold up in the house intelligence committee blocking the deposition of laura cooper. colorado representative doug lamborn arrived with what he described as relief supplies which included two large bag of chick-fil-a. cooper overseas ukraine and russia matters and was due to testify behind closed doors but was delayed by several hours. after months of secret interviews gop lawmakers today decided to storm the deposition breaking house rules because adam schiff has obliterated them during this sham of a process. >> we have the adversity to want to know what is going on behind closed doors were democrats engage in a policy of secret interviews, selective leaks, theatrical weird performances of transcripts that never happened at lies about whistleblowers it is reasonable to suggest we would want more transparency on behalf of millions of people we repre

they're really reluctant to be drawn into this process that the gop is trying to drag them into that'soing to be really time consuming. >> to your point about the federal judge yesterday saying this is house purview. the courts have traditionally said this is the house purview when impeachment or questions like this have come before the court. it's rare, but the courts have said this is the house. read the constitution, the constitution says the house has this power, which is why the white house letter is so striking because it's a political document on paper if you will. i just want to read a little bit more from it. never before in our history has the house of representatives under the control of either political party taken the american people down the dangerous path you seem determined to pursue. you seek to overturn the results of the 2016 election and deprive the american people of the president they have freely chosen. any time the house impeaches, yes, the effect would be to overturn the results of the election like when the republicans were impeaching bill clinton, a democrati

some other voters in the county not at the gop breakfast tell me they feel very differently. president live on television admitting what he said to the ukrainian president. they told me they support an impeachment inquiry. representative mcbath was not available for an interview but did give us a statement saying she voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry september 12th and she supports it to uncover the truth and defend the constitution. natasha chen, cnn. >>> that stharnatasha, thank yo. a witness in a murder trial has been found shot. he testified at trial about the night of the killing. brown was found shot several times outside his apartment complex on friday. he died at a nearby hospital. just days earlier, guyger was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. she said that she mistakenly entered jean's apartment thinking it was hers and shot him thinking he was an intruder. >>> ukraine, it is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. the former soviet nation is facing its own troubles as well. at this hour, thousands of people are expected to protes

while gop lawmakers attack in public. are they worried?hite house admits its anti-impeachment communication strategy needs some work. the trump team insisting it was okay for the president to call members of his own party human scum. >>> trump's personal lawyer is offering a new explanation of his central role in the uk sk n scandal. as he looks to hire an attorney of his own. is rudy giuliani facing more legal danger every day? >>> and fire emergency, a raging i object fer no forces people from their homes. cnn is on the scene where 5,000 acres were scorched in just three hours. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room.

well, one little wrinkle, and a gop lawmaker pointed me to this. an ethics complaint has been filed against adam schiff by an outside republican leaning group, the tea party group of america against adam schiff saying that he essentially has put forward misleading statements about his contacts with the whistleblower. they list a whole host of issues. the reason this is important, this republican lawmaker said is because back in 2017, democrats were saying the same thing essentially about then house intel chairman devin nunes and his contacts with the white house. and the only reason really that nunes stepped aside and recused himself as head of the russian investigation into election interference is because of an ethics complaint that he was dealing with in the house. so that's why this republican lawmaker said look to that. but again, to jonathan's point, republicans are arguing on process right now and personalities. they're not really going to the heart of the matter. >> okay, john, give me a reality check. it may call for your reasoned judgment

i think for the united states, outside of the authority of the president and the gop is much lower.ut i will say this is going to go a bit broader than as well, because as i understand it the trump administration announced $39 billion of arms sales to ukraine in the near future. as well as what i was talking about the prosecutor reopening some old corruption dacases in e ukraine. it looks like it's going to take a lot of people down with it. >> it's widely believed that inviting china to investigate, the president is attacking the sovereignty of the united states. are the democrats, in your opinion, doing an ample job of pointing out of the gravity of the president's behavior? >> well, as i said, their focus appears to be very much intelligence, national security related and the initial whistle-blower is said to have contacted the intelligence committee staff or chair for guidance before even contacting the inspector general. that means that they are -- they're planting their flag on the gnash security intelligence question and so on. and i can see the grounds for that. the presiden

i think the big question is whether the gop continues to stage various sit-ins and walk-ins like this. they certainly occupied the morning. it delayed the testimony of deputy assistant secretary of defense laura cooper by five hours. >> right. >> but they also disbanded it. they didn't come back in the afternoon to try it again. has the point been made or maybe it didn't work as well as they thought it would in terms of winning the political point. and we can only look ahead to see if the tactic will be repeated. >> shan, final question on the different but really important topic and amazing argument i want your take on. an appeals court argument yesterday over the president's tax records. the attorneys for the president and manhattan da's office argued over the scope of the immunity. like how broad is presidential immunity? the district attorney's office asked if the president pulled out a handgun and shot someone on fifth avenue, would we have to wait for impeachment proceedings to do anything about it? the judge put the question to the president's lawyer who essentially said, corre

. >>> still ahead, reporting that gop senator ron johnson winced when he heard ukraine aid was beingied to the investigation of the bidens. >>> former secretary of state collin powell has a message for the republican party, get a grip. those stories and more coming up. . >>> welcome back, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside ayman mohyeldin. a second whistle-blower has come forward with information about president trump's phone call with the president of ukraine. while attorneys say this new whistle-blower has firsthand knowledge of the events, the white house is dismissing it. >> we get the very latest from nbc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: good morning, the whistle-blower whose story led to the impeachment inquiry is getting some backup. lawyers for that cia employee tell me they are now representing, quote, multiple whistle-blowers. they wouldn't be more specific about the number, except to say it's at least two. a second witness is challenging president trump's ukraine call and the foreign help he sought to investigate the bidens. the new whi

gop lawmakers are remaining loyal to the president. >> the president is asking all of you to defend him against the substance of these allegations. will you do that? will you all go on the record and say that the president did nothing inappropriate? >> i think you heard members up here being very clear. >> one other thing the president said today during his interview with nigel faraj, he would never say anything inappropriate. the problem for the president, and this began with the whistle-blower, is that a growing number of administration officials have stepped forward to testify mr. trump was wrong when he sought ukraine's help to investigate joe biden and there are more officials, as we know, wolf, that will testify on this in the coming day. >> when he asked zelensky for a favor, according to that transcript. let's get more on this historic house vote today and all the impeachment news. a member of the foreign affairs committee. thanks so much for joining us. what's your reaction? how important was this vote on the house floor today? what's it mean for your inquiry going forward? >>

so let's bring in gop congressman chris stewart of utah.ts on the house intelligence committee. he says he's heard from almost every witness behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry. congressman, i talked to eric swalwell just a moment ago about fairness. let me talk about it with you. under this resolution that the house just passed, when the intelligence committee holds hearings in the next couple weeks, they said that republicans will be able to subpoena witnesses and documents, but subject to the approval of adam schiff. do you think that schiff will block gop subpoenas? >> i'm certain he will. i know there's some witnesses that we want to hear from that he certainly doesn't want to hear from. i'd be shocked if he doesn't block them. unless he completely changes his demeanor and attitude on how he's governing as chairman. chris, this is an interesting proposition we're in. as you said, it's historic. you can't impeach a president in secret. the american people know you can't do that. we've been arguing that for months. apparently