i talked about it just before air time with jeff merkley, a democrat of oregon.ator merkley, it's certainly been a long two days. i'm wondering what you think the biggest takeaway at the end of today is. >> well, i was really struck about two things today. one was we've all had bits and pieces of the story, but today it was painted into a large arc, an arc that covered nearly a year in which the strategy of investigating the bidens and ukraine went from the back burner before biden declared for office to the front burner right at the same time that a new government was being elected in ukraine and the new government, president zelensky became the pressure point, the person being asked to deliver on help for the trump administration. and just laying that out in this arc was very useful. and then it also really addressed the issue of to what degree was the u.s. government really trying to help zelensky, who campaigned against corruption, take on corruption. and the answer is we weren't. we weren't. we took out our ambassador yovanovitch, who was a champion for help

plus, senator jeff merkley on the crisis with iran. president trump's team is out with another explanation and something isn't adding up. as the focus has been on the two i words this week, impeachment and iran, the administration is still rolling back critical policies while no one's looking. we'll explain that too. >>> first it's nancy pelosi's world and we are just living in it. speaker nancy pelosi has announced that the house of representatives will consider a resolution next week to appoint impeachment managers and transmit the articles of impeachment to the senate. her announcement in a letter to democratic colleagues came shortly after the house ended its work week without taking a vote on the matter. she said she would consult with colleagues on how to proceed during a house democratic caucus meeting on tuesday of next week. now, the letter didn't indicate which day next week the actual vote might occur. pelosi targeted the end of her letter to the 100 men and women who make up the united states senate writing, quote, in an im

increase the bad things that can happen republican missouri senator roy unt and democratic oregon tor jeff merkley burke supportthe safe bankg act which was passed the us house last year. >>they say having a cash based industry creates a lot of problems lot souls because operators to break into stores becase >>changing your voice your taxes to the red birds but the bill also faces stiff opposition in the senate the chairman of the banking committee for example says he's concerned that giving the marijuana industry access to making will also make it sier for drug cartels to under money with thiis really about is federall lelizing rijuanalooking doses with smart approachesto marijuana, a group which lobbied hard to stop the bill the states that have said we don't want to have ite legalized will still deal with the consequences never otto's the new big tobacco and says his organization will fight any bils that helped th industry grow in washington alandra leigh mound. >>tragedy in indonesia where severe floodi here in jakarta has left a large part of the capital under water at least 30 people have ed

oregon senator jeff merkley. thank you for being with us tonight. >>> coming up, president trump embodies almost all of the seven deadly sins, but this week we'll talk about his envy. stay with us. this is "politics nation." at this point, i don't make compromises. i want nutrition made just for me. but i also want great taste. so i drink boost for women. new boost women with key nutrients to help support thyroid, bone, hair and skin health. all with great taste. new boost women. tracfone lets you keep your leftover data each month. unlimited carryover data! $20 bucks. what are you doing? i want to ask you about your data. oh, i thought you said dating. this is your wake-up call, people. the new tracfone wireless. now you're in control. (honk!) i hear you sister. that's why i'm partnering with cigna to remind you to go in for your annual check-up, and be open with your doctor about anything you feel - physically and emotionally. but now cigna has a plan that can help everyone see stress differently. just find a p

and you know that what he did was not right. >> let's bring in senator jeff merkley. senator, thank you. i know your voice is giving you trouble, but we really appreciate you taking the time after such an emotional night. >> you bet. >> so, adam schiff's closing seemed to command a kind of quiet and attention that we have not seen yet arguably, his most cogent moment. how did it resonate with you and in the room? >> absolutely, chris, it was riveting. the whole room was just focused on adam as he laid out the fact that we all understand from what's been laid out what the president has done. but the additional question exists, should he be removed from office? is there a risk to the united states of america? and then adam proceeded to sum up that, yes, indeed there is a very serious risk. whenever you have a president that puts his personal interests above the national interests, all sorts of bad things can happen to our nation. and that makes it unacceptable to keep this man in office. >> he seemed to play it two ways. that it's not just an analysis of potential actio

joining us now is democratic senator jeff merkley from oregon. thank you very being with us.re the facts. at best it seems democrats will get a tie on witnesses or lose that vote. my question is in the larger sense if that vote fails, if the president is acquitted overnight as everyone expects he will be, what then? >> well, ki tell you first, lamar's decision, it's an offense against the senate. it's an offense against the rule of law. and it's an offense against the american people. the american people will never know the true facts. the senate will now have the first-ever so-called trial that is a kangaroo court without witnesses and without documents. and it's certainly an insult to the rule of law. so it's a tragedy in every possible way that this is where we're headed. what next comes after that? well, certainly we got to make sure this is not an exoneration. if you do not have a fair trial for the prosecution and the defense, it's not an exoneration. we can't let it be seen as that. >> what specifically do you think the offense against the senate is that lamar alexande

before we expose theamount of corrption that existed within the administration oregon senator jeff merkley says the whithouse is pressuring republicans to vote against callinwitnesses arms are being twisted as we we speak and and presse is being applied at least 3 republican senators appr to be resisting that pressure so fa but senator cory gardner who may have been the deciding vote for witnesses nosays he's seen enough and so s republican senator marsha blacurn of tennessee, you know what we don't ed more witnesses. e house called 17 witsses but washington senator patty murray argues witnesses are critical to a fair trial making it all the morurgent that we he not just from john bolton. but from other key advisers to the president who are inolved in his actions in ukraine but the white house se a letter trying to block the release of portions of bolton's book saying the book contains top secret classified information new mexico, senator martin heinrich says he wants to know exactly how much the president's legal team knew about bolton's book the white house was sitting on a manuscript th

senator jeff merkley. >>> coming up, michael moore is going to be our next guest.eachment and donald trump's actions in iran. >>> this weekend i'll be joining ayman and yasmin for a look at the conflict between the united states and iran. that is sunday night at 9:00 only on msnbc. we'll be right back with michael moore. we'll be right back with michael moore. is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. sorry! he's a baby! my body is truly powerful. i have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. trulicity is for people with type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. i take it once a week. it starts acting in my body from the first dose. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic

joining us is oregon senator jeff merkley., the president is saying soleimani targeted four embassies. have you seen any intelligence to back up that claim? >> absolutely not. when there is a specific threat, you see intelligence which says these are the type of information we're getting and these types of matters, these sort of things were mentioned. this is how we've reinforced it by checking on other sources. embassies did not come up at all in the briefing we received. i must say as i thought a lot about the briefing we received, the picture that you walk away with is general soleimani was somebody who traveled the region as a general, planning on ways that the quds forces, the iranian militias to exercise influence and take actions. that's what he's done year after year after year. so you can say he's always planning, always thinking. thus we had him coming back from meeting with hezbollah. well, he may have been discussing future activities. but there was no decision, no target, no time, no acting force, no details and c

senator jeff merkley. >>> coming up, michael moore is going to be our next guest.t a lot to say about impeachment and donald trump's actions in iran. >>> a wick programming night, this weekend, i will be joining amin and yasmin sunday night at 9:00 p.m., only on msnbc. we'll be right back with michael moore. michael moore. ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ are you currently using a whitening toothpaste, but not seeing results? try crest 3d whitestrips. its enamel-safe formula lifts and removes stains to provide 100% noticeably whiter teeth or your money back. try crest 3d whitestrips. i need all the breaks, that i can get. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ but maybe not fo

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and type jeff merkley or the tight ol' the book, america is better than this, into the search box at the top of the page. ... the founder of the rise amanda when and the reason were here tonight

senators jeff merkley and ron wyden pushed for that f.b.i. lesson to be released they warned that saudi will continue its behavior if trump's administration doesn't act. now people in hong kong are preparing to celebrate chinese new year but the government has canceled some events because it's concerned about violent protests and it's also banned the sale of items with any political messages sara clock reports. the streets a decorated in traditional chinese new year style markets of victoria park essential to the busy and colorful festival plants and flowers signifying hope and promise for a new year. but the government is bad the sile of water known as dry goods any items with a political reference that hasn't stopped pro-democracy groups holding their own independent markets because of the protests and also we think that people should take more control on their own freedom and in the moment so we plan to set up this market. hopefully hong kong people can have their freedom on how to use them on the basis this is one of the number of crowd f

senator jeff merkley, thank you for joining us. >> thank you as well. iran's foreign minister said his country is willing to negotiate despite the drone attack that killed tehran's top general. >> in an interview, iran's top to that would not relax future talks but is waiting on donald trump to make the first move, quote, the trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and come back to the negotiating table. we are still at the negotiating table, they are the ones who left. a stop in ireland on the way home, mike pence met at fort bliss, in el paso, texas, roughly 20,000 more us troops have been sent to the reason bringing the total to 80,000. >> all our information continues to stand down and we demonstrated american strength, military personnel that responded with incredible professionalism. >> two weeks since they fired 11 short range ballistic missiles at a base in iraq house american troops. the us solitary cannot ascend shooting those missiles down because there was no defense assets in place, a plan exploited by iran's foreign m

senator jeff merkley with the crisis with iran. something isn't adding up. as the focus has been on the two i words impeachment and iran. the administration is still rolling back critical policies. first, it is nancy pelosi's world and we are just living in it. the house will discuss impeachment matters. her announcement came shortly after the house ended its workweek without taking a vote on it. she said she would look into how to succeed. the letter didn't indicate which day the vote might actually occur. writing, quote, in an impeachment trial, every senator now faces a choice, to be loyal to the president or the constitution. no one is above the law, not even the president. speaker pelosi said this. >> are you satisfied there will be a fair trial in the senate? >> no. >> what feedback have you gotten from your colleagues? >> absolutely total cooperation. it cracks me up what we see on tv. they don't have a story. >> the stage is starving to be set for the historic impeachment trial if john bolton offering to testify wasn't enough of and indicator that he

citizens jeff merkley and wyden pushed for the f.b.i. letter to be released they warned that saudi will continue its behavior if president trumps administration doesn't act. the trump in ministration and government doesn't get tough now it will happen again and again and again so what i'm going to be pushing for is for the trust in ministration to step up the saudis are supposed to be our allies well that's fine but they're not above the law and i'm going to make sure that this administration pushers now to protect the people of war again and our country mexico's government is promising jobs to nearly $3000.00 migrants hoping to get into the u.s. at the moment there in guatemala as they make their way north towards mexico central american countries have come under increasing pressure from washington to stop migrants crossing into the u.s. john holdren reports now from guatemala city. die another and dead mother from honduras thought the family had finally made it when they reached the u.s. knox for asylum instead you a sufficient sent th

ron wyden and jeff merkley slamming the proposal to ease restrictions on transporting liquefied naturaling to a 2016 explosion that set off when oregon trade deal rail when carrying a flammable substance. pipelines are used to transported but many opponents of train transport oppose the use of pipelines. the republican assemblywoman from california, her claims the state democrats are changing gop voters registration to know party preference, couldn't find any evidence of them doing it intentionally but admits it did find some voters whose registrations were changed in california, no exchanges were likely accidental. >> ♪ hey! you know, i do think it's weird you've started commuting when you work from home. i'll be in my office. download audible and start every day off right. ♪ walk through this storm i would i'd do it all ♪ ♪ because i love you, ♪ i love you unconditional, ♪ unconditionally i will love you unconditionally ♪ there's a booking for every resolution. book yours, and cancel if you need to. at booking.com >> this is based on a simple phone call, the foreign minister said they

and type jeff merkley or the tight ol' the book, america is better than this, into the search box at the top of the page. ... the founder of the rise amanda when and the reason were here tonight [applause]. zero my gosh. i am so excited to be here. she can't outdo me in excitement. this is a woman. >> it was super good. i'm foremost an activist i'm a rape survivor and i'm just so thrilled to be here. i'm not here today without you. i did not expect that. a little housekeeping thing. i'm so glad to welcome you all to the book club. for this evening's perp performance. for those of you who are using cart please turn off the sound on your mobile device and for all others please turn off all electronic devices. the first time i saw you in person. it was at the 2,017th i remember feeling scared. afterwards there is a hush silence of all. at that moment i didn't feel nervous anymore. i just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart is so hard to be what you can't see and you showed us what it was like to be fighting for decades in the arena and because of you we all aren't nervou

and ari, by the way, democrat senator jeff merkley thinks anyone too biased to be a juror should stepside. >> going to have to search their heart and ask if they are able to set aside their preconceptions -- all of us, all 100 of us -- and if we are unable to do that, if we are unable to come in good faith, say we will set aside our preconceptions and look at the exact language of the house articles of impeachment, the exact evidence and how it fits, then we should recuse ourselves. >> laura: so ari, that is his iinput on the jury selection pir 2020 democrat candidate in the senate should also recuse themselves? the former candidates, senator mcsally suggested. >> it is such a joke on its face, because they're trying to pretend they are a real court of law, they are not. if the founders wanted to put this in a real court of law with a real trial, they would have come in impeachment have gone to a jury. it's not, 22 political body. what's gone to the house, not to the senate. the framers didn't intend it to be political because they want politicians accountable to the people to make th

senator jeff merkley of oregon. >>> senator, thank you for joining us. >> oh, you're welcome.ood to be with you. >> what's your reaction to senator lamar alexander saying no need for witnesses? >> well, it's definitely a big disappointment because 100 senators should stand up to the responsibility of the senate to hold a fair and full trial. so it's, it's really disappointing to hear that news. >> looking forward, if it is a 50/50 vote tomorrow, do you think that your caucus will decide to make an argument directly to the chief justice? the rules are vacant in terms of what he can and can't do. >> i think we would. we'd like for every possibility to have the senate fulfill its constitutional responsibility. and there has been one case in history where a chief justice did break a 50/50 vote. >> yes, obviously it was in the andrew johnson impeachment. it was highly controversial. they said he had political motives. he did it again later in the trial. he was stopped by the senate. here you might get into a situation where they would need a majority vote. they would need it to ove

. >> i spoke to senator jeff merkley in the asked hour, enough of them to vote in favor of calling witnesseshe said he doubts there will be four republicans who vote along with democrats, assuming all democrats would vote yes. you are not mcconnell's whip, but based on your reporting and speaking to republicans and hearing their public statements, is that still an open possibility or an unlikely one? >> reporter: it's definitely an open possibility. i think everybody can identify three. senator mitt romney has made clear he wants to hear from ambassador john bolton. collins and murkowski, kind of the two moderates have made clear they are at least open to witnesses. the real issue is when you go through the roster of 53 republicans is finding who that fourth vote would be. you need four votes to get 51. 51 is the magic number. you could make that trial look however you want it to be. and it's that fourth vote right now that people are having difficulty trying to identify. look, you talk to democrats. they believe that somebody will come up for air and somebody's willing to join them, whether

. >> senator jeff merkley, pleasure to have you on the program tonight. >> good to be with you, jim.so once those articles of impeachment do reach the senate, what should you expect? how is the process all going to play out? we'll explain it next. sfx: [sneezing] i am not for ignoring the first sign of a cold. i am for shortening my cold, with zicam! zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines, zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam! oral or nasal. yeah, i've had some pretty prestigious jobs over the years. news producer. executive transport manager. and a beverage distribution supervisor. now i'm a director at a security software firm. wow, you've been at it a long time. the thing is, i like working. what if my retirement plan is i don't want to retire? then let's not create a retirement plan. let's create a plan for what's next. i like that. get a plan that's right for you. td ameritrade. why fingerstick when you can scan? with the freestyle libre 14 day system just scan the sensor with your reader, iphone or android and manage your

. >>> out front now, democratic senator jeff merkley, a member of the senate foreign relations committee. i appreciate your time tonight. what was your main take away from the president's defense today as it launched? >> well, the defense launched with these three keywords, burden of proof. and they were absolutely right. that is what the house managers have, the burden of proof. and that's the heart of any trial. but there's three other word that is go with the burden of proof and that's witnesses and documents. and every american understands that in a trial of both the prosecution and the defense have access to witness and documents to make their case. but in this situation, the lawyers for the president were saying they have the burden of proof but we are going to block them from access to the witnesses. they have the burden of proof but we're going to block them from access to the documents. so, that's what you would expect in a trial in ush arussia or ch not here in the united states of america. we're pushing for a full and fair trial and clearly the president's lawyers are pushing

joining me now is democratic senator jeff merkley he serves on the senate relations committee.r years ago you endorsed bernie sanders for president, this time around you have not endorsed a candidate yet. as we get ready for this last debate before the iowa caucuses what are you looking for? is there anything a wand dat could say or address that could win your endorsement? >> probably not, john. i have many of my friends who are there still in this competition and i just believe that any of them would be a tremendous improvement over our current commander in chief, donald trump, and that it's been very valuable to have their perspectives, their variety of emphasis ranging from everything from the fundamentals of jobs and health care and education and those challenges we face with climate change. so it's been a very productive primary. >> what's the most important issue you think they could address tonight? >> well, i think right now the country is riveted on three issues, one is impeachment and iran, or two of them, and the third, and i know this because i just did a series of

joining me now is democratic senator jeff merkley from oregon who serves on the foreign relations committee and was in that briefing. good evening, sir. what is your view of how the briefing went? do you share the concerns of your republican colleague senator lee? >> this briefing was incredibly patronizing. the whole argument being presented was that there was an imminent threat, but if you asked any of the questions about who, where, when, how, was a decision made, nothing amounted to the fact that there was an imminent threat, and the argument that bringing a debate to the floor of congress about intervention in iran or war with iran would be a factor disrespecting our troops. that idea that congress is not here to have any role in the issues of war and peace is exactly contrary to the constitution. a constitution that this president doesn't respect. >> so you're saying, just for folks processing this because this is all new relatively recent breaking type news, you're telling us that the administration sent people down, and they told you -- and this may be why so many are outraged in bo

senators jeff merkley and ron wyden pushed for the f.b.i. letter to be released they warned that saudi will continue its behavior if trump subpoena strafe doesn't backed the trump and ministration and government doesn't get tough now it will happen again and again and again thought well i'm going to be pushing for it for the trumpet ministration to step up the fight eve are supposed to be our allies well that's fine but they're not above the law and i'm going to make sure that the ministration pushes now to protect the people of oregon and our country. after a season of devastating bushfires severe floods are now affecting parts of australia heavy rain soaked coastal areas of queensland new south wales for the last few days charlotte ballasts reports. risky from fire now carry from floods last week bushfires came within 10 kilometers of the straining reptile park never got it coming in the park a war. since thursday heavy rain has left parts of australia is east coast for queensland and new south wales plagued by record breaking busch guys t

senators jeff merkley and ron wives and pushed for the f.b.i. letter to be released they warn saudi will continue its behavior if trump's administration doesn't act. the trump administration and government doesn't get tough now it will happen again and again and again so what i'm going to be pushing for is to trump the ministration to step up to fabius are supposed to be our allies well that's fine but they're not above the law and i'm going to make sure the ministration pushes now to protect the people who are going to our country ukraine's president saddam is lenski has rejected the resignation of the prime minister on friday all askew offered to step down after all the recordings were leaked where he criticizes the president's limited political experience has not confirmed the voice of his boss on social media he said that he also to step down to remove any doubt that he respects and trusts the president. now water levels and one of asia's longest rivers the have dipped sharply after china began testing equipment and one of the rivers up the

senators jeff merkley and ron wyden pushed for that f.b.i. lesson to be released they warned that saudi will continue its behavior if trump administration doesn't act the trump administration and government doesn't get tough no it will happen again and again and again so what i'm going to be pushing for is for the trump ministration to step up to far the youth are supposed to be or our well that's fine but they're not above the law and i'm going to make sure that the ministration pushers now to protect the people who are going to our country now thousands of people in the philippines forced to leave their homes after a volcanic eruption had been allowed to go back but briefly they can only stay for a few hours a day to collect their belongings and to start cleaning up rabbit bride reports from the town of talisay in the danger zone. the to hollar option has turned this part of toa sign into a ghost town population normally in the thousands it's no deserted. it's residents are only allowed to come back a few hours each morning to collect belon

jeff merkley said this is why democrats are still pushing for the administration to release all documents is really struck by was the emphasis on the july 25 transcript. and by the way it's not a transcript it was a memorandum. the transcript is never been released of this phone call. why not? but even this memorandum, when the president of ukraine brings up the issue of the investigations that you wanted us to undertake. >> the white house legal team is now an offense of the democratic impeachment managers concluded their case on friday night. that's why it lead impeachment manager immediately showed up in the senate press gallery after the president's lawyers concluded the remarks on the floor. >> at this point the president's team will have the last word. they can mischaracterize what we say or mischaracterize witness testimony, and in those questions, we hope to have the opportunity to respond and rebut. >> now the trial takes back up on monday and tuesday, then we get into senator's questions, maybe resolution of witness later in the week. the republicans tell me this is their word.

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>> i'm here with senator jeff merkley.t's start with something mitt romney told my colleague manu raju a short while ago, that he would be open to effectively a witness swap, if republicans want -- if democrats want a witness, say john bolton, then republicans should be able to get a witness too. can you see yourself and your democratic colleagues agreeing to that at all in a matter of who the democratic witness -- the republican witness would be rather? >> philosophically in a trial, both sides going to choose their own witnesses. i'm supportive of the general concept. but the republicans have introduced something completely inappropriate, to try to continue the assault that trump was taking on the bidens and make that the core of the trial. that's something laid out in that manner i could not support that. >> meaning you would be okay for them in theory to pick a witness, but not if it is hunter or joe biden? >> yes. for example, the core argument is that the president had a motivation that was based on policy. perhaps c

guest: here's some reaction from today's vote including jeff merkley, and in reaction to the announcementrom yesterday, he is sending out a tweet saying " lamar's decision is an offense against the senate, rule of law, and against the american people." some of the states where the president enjoys support have democratic senators who will have to make a decision. arizona being one of those states. being in theinema focus. it wouldmnist adding " not surprise me if she votes for acquittal, she may be the first democrat arizona has sent to the senate, but she is not exactly a democrat's democrat. she broke with her party to confirm william barr and was one of three to vote against the green new deal. she has voted for the many of the president's judicial nominations and signed on a bill increase immigrations screening. she has little to lose by siding with republicans." if you go to the alabama news an interview with senator doug jones on the topic of impeachment. here's what he had to say, "as i said, i am waiting until the end of the trial to make up my mind, this is willie what you expect

i talked to jeff merkley who said his office has written more than 20 questions.tled down. and there are questions that are designed to illicit actual information, questions that designed to highlight what witnesses could tell us that we don't already know and some questions that are designed to embarrass the managers or democratic politicians. the republican from missouri put out his list of questions and a lot of them are going to be what did adam schiff know about the whistle-blower and what conversations did schiff's office have with witnesses. the gambit of questions is large. i can hear claire mccaskill laughing. >> thank you, garrett. before we hear from claire mccaskill, over to kasie hunt who has talking with mitt romney. >> reporter: hey, guys. it's been fun to listen to your conversation today. we are sort of here down in the basement tracking all of these critical votes here and senator graham just actually blew right by our cameras which is unusual behavior for senator graham. he put out a statement earlier today essentially -- it read to me like a wa

. >> reporter: that's right, senator jeff merkley thank you so much for coming out during the break. >> you're welcome. >> my first question is about the changes that senator mcconnell made last minute to allow the documents to -- that the house gathered as part of their investigation to be included in the trial upfront and then to give the arguments a little bit more time so they won't be made in the dead of night as democrats have been saying leading into the changes being made. >> actually, the changes isn't very significant. what he did is he said that the house documents will still not be entered into evidence now. they'll only be entered into after the initial days of argument pro and con, which was the plan all along. the difference is between having a vote and saying that they can be entered unless there's an objection. so he'll still control what gets entered, and it's still not entered upfront the way it was in the clinton trial. so the other thing i want to ask you about is something that mitt romney said to my colleague manu raju, which is that democrats have to be carefu

senator jeff merkley from oregon, a democrat. a member of the senate foreign relations committee.al consequence if any of mitch mcconnell now having proposed rules that wouldn't formally bring in the evidence automatically? many say that's a tell, it showed something about his state of mind but in your view does it actually affect the running of the trial? >> oh, absolutely. this is a profound effort to ram the trial through in as little time as possible. compromise the ability of the jurors, the senators, to absorb the information and the public to be able to follow the sense of the trial. the sense of the arguments. but then you have this profound constitutional question as we serve as a check on the executive but the executive has blocked witnesses and documents and now the senate majority leader is doing everything possible to enable and extend and support and reinforce the blocking of witnesses and documents. completely violating the sense of a fair and full trial. >> senator, i imagine you have read the four-page draft rules for today? >> yes, i have. yes, i have. >> when yo