so ken sorenson said that he was going to defect over to the ron paul campaign.h shell bachmann said he was offered money to do that. today -- earlier today wes enos said i'm going to remain michelle back mane's political director but i em going to defend ken sorenson, he was not offered money to go over to ron paul. guess what, candy? just a short while as i mentioned we found out wes enos is no longer with the bachmann campaign. there was a press release saying he was fired. i talked with the press release for michele bachmann. she said he's no longer with it. we're trying to chase down, was he fired, did he quit? what is the case. this is major drama just a few days before the iowa caucuses, candy. >> surely, shannon, it's not the sort of thing if you're a candidate struggling to stay alive that you want people to be talking about this late in the campaign. thanks so much to our shannon travis. we appreciate it. >>> it's no surprise that corp raegss try to lobby and curry favors with legislators on capitol hill, but now high-profile internet companies are mobi

the iowa campaign manager, state senator ken sorenson defected to one of the her biggest rivals, ron paul. >> in 2010, when i was running for the state senate. >> congressman paul came and actually did three separate events for me and i felt like that he was by my side, i had a tough race. now it's my duty to be by his side. >> reporter: bachmann fired back calling the move a sellout. >> ken sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to ron paul's campaign. >> reporter: ron paul is in second place in the gop race for the white house. a bigger surprise, rick santorum surged to third place. the former pennsylvania senator has campaigned in iowa more than any other candidate and says he knew his ship would come in. >> i say the same thing been saying it for months. i'll get that bump on january 3 when the people of iowa make the decision as to who they believe should step forward in this process. >> reporter: a new poll shows mitt romney is at the top, 25% of the republicans polled in iowa saying they would vote for him. >> hi, how are you? >> >> reporter: the

and i'm here to help him. >> but bachmann claims his decision wasn't just based on politics. >> ken sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> paul's team insists it did not pay sorenson accusing bachmann of slandering the state senator. >> bachmann already had her work cut out for her. a new cnn times poll said only 9% would vote for her at next tuesday's caucus. the poll's biggest surprise, rick santorum, after struggling for months, he suddenly surged to third place with 16%. that's an 11-point gain since the beginning of december. one-time front-runner newt gingrich, on the other hand, has plummeted to fourth place. ron paul is second. three points behind mitt romney. >> the president says he wants to fundamentally transform america. i kind of like america. >> last night, the former choose governor drew one of his largest crowds yet at a town hall meeting in iowa. he is hoping for an even bigger turnout at next week's caucuses. duarte geraldino for cbs news, washington. >>> still ahead this morning, we're already paying mor

>> reporter: but bachmann claims his decision wasn't just based on politics. >> ken sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> reporter: paul's team insists it did not pay sorenson accusing bachmann of slandering the state senator. bachmann already had her work cut out for her. a new poll of iowa republicans shows only 9% would vote for her at next tuesday's caucus. >> hello. >> reporter: the poll's biggest surprise, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum after struggling for months suddenly surged to third place with 16%. that's an 11-point gain since the beginning of december. newt gingrich on the other hand has plummeted to fourth place ron paul is three-point behind mitt romney. >> the president wants to fundamentally transform america. i kind of like america. >> reporter: last night the former massachusetts governor drew one of his largest crowds yet at a town hall meeting in iowa hoping for a bigger turnout at next week's caucuses. duarte geraldine for for cbs news, washington. >>> the other major republican jon h

ken sorenson is a tea party favorite before michele bachmann announced candidacy. this behavior and the super pack incident say about loyalty within the tea party itself? >> they will have to answer to say it was about money, but former campaign operative of his has spoken and said the same thing. that's behind us now. we are looking to the future. he has to answer to what he did. a lot of work to do between now and next tuesday. we will continue our 99-county tour. it's important for michelle to do what she does best. they are about 45% of the electorate. it's critical for the people to have the opportunity to talk with the candidates. that's what she wants to do. we had a lot of people, hundreds of people come up to theç effes on the tour saying they are undecided and the solutions for how to turn the economy around and the confidence with the people in this country are on our camp. this is a valuable tour to connect with the people and sway the undecideds to our camp and solidify the support. >> to that point along with sorenson, it is reported that evangelical

so ken sorenson and i had the conversation on the phone and yesterday, kent even came out to our stop in iowa and he was there with me yesterday. he left our event and then went to the ron paul event. this is about money. >> well, let's see if it is about money. i want to bring in john avalon, senior columnist for "news week" and "the daily beast." gentlemen, is someone lying here? john avalon, i'll begin with you because you're sitting right here. why would the poll camp pay? is there any sense in that. >> what michele bachmann has set up is a he said/she said. the tie-breaking vote is her political director in iowa said, look, i'm sticking with michelic bahman, but ken sorenson is telling the truth he was not offered money and he was summarily dismissed. michele bachmann has a trueing telling problem. >> there's a pinocchio potential here and someone is not telling the trueing. >> do you think the senator is a big enough player to be bought? >> if true, this is a story. it violates state law. it also takes a little bit of the lid off the way iowa operates and a lot of people have be

iowa caucuses and republican michele bachmann's campaign chairman in that state has defected. >> ken sorensonsonally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> sorenson endorsed ron paul in des moines yesterday just hours after takenning a bachmann campaign -- after attending a bachmann campaign event. a spokesman for ron paul denies that sorenson was paid to switch sides. >>> this comes as support for bachmann is sliding among iowa republicans. the polls have her in 6th place with only 9%. mitt romney holds a slim lead over second place ron paul. the big surprise is third place rick santorum whose 16% is triple the number that he had earlier this month. newt gingrich has fallen to fourth. >>> let's check in with gianna with what's going on on the commute. >> lots to deal with this morning. word of a developing situation in the south bay. police activity may affect your drive on capital and snell. not a lot of details yet but we are sending a camera crew there to get more information. not too far from there an accident at phelan avenue at 7th stree

. >> ken sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> the paul campaign and sorenson deny that any such offer was made. >>> not your typical banking experience. why this bay area branch is more like an internet cafe. >>> two things can't go in one can. the mixed drink banned in california come the new year. >>> hi, i'm meteorologist lawrence karnow in the cbs 5 weather center. plenty of clouds around the bay area and some fog too. another storm headed our way. will we see some rain before the end of the year? we'll talk about that coming up. that's what customers can order nk in san franci >>> coffee snack or check deposit? >> i'll take all three. that's what customers can order up at a new bank in san francisco. on the consumerwatch, julie watts reports that it's a bank that's not really a bank. >>> reporter: there's a new cafe in san francisco offering free wi-fi, free access to conference rooms, 1700 square feet of meeting space, a good deal on a cup of coffee and, oh, by the way, your barista is also a banker. >> all of

thursday, she lost her political director a day after iowa campaign chairman ken sorenson defected joining ron paul's team. bachmann showed reporters her phone. >> clearly this is something that they generated and it shows again that we have powerful momentum. >> reporter: both sorenson and the poll campaign deny the allegations. >> that was duarte geraldino reporting there. >>> probably a big fight over texass in maryland. governor o'malley will not shy away from proposing even the popular tax hikes he's been talking about. the governor gave a sneak peek of what to expect in 2012. some type of increase in the state's gas tax which has not changed since 1992. >> there's no way to build $100 million bridge for $10 million. there's no innovation in the arsenal that allows that to happen. >> the idea they're going to be able to afford additional taxes in this time of economic struggle is wrong. >> another possible tax hike up for debate, on grocery bags as well as an increase in sewage fees, also known as the flush tax. but some state lawmakers in annapolis told us in these tough economic tim

then he goes on to say, i cannot in good conscience watch a good man like ken sorenson be attacked asellout. can you reconcile the statements between you saying ken sorenson took money in your political director saying, no, he did not take money? >> i continue the conversation i had directly with ken sorenson -- [unintelligible] slipping away from ron paul. they're deciding to vote for michele bachmann. that is when the ron paul campaign offered money from ken sorenson to my ears telling me he was offered a great deal of money, and that is why he left. >> thank you for your call, sir. taking what you previously said about the fed, you would get rid of the current? >> yes. >> what about the fed itself? ron paul says he would get rid of it. he has called for it to be audited. you share his similar economics point of view. is it time to get rid of the federal reserve as a system? >> i think that is a concept that should be evaluated. i am on the legislation for auditing the fed. if you look at the act that created the federal reserve, the scope of power that congress give to the federal

i think his appeal this year is somewhat broader than it has been and also as ken sorenson, michele bachmann's recently departed campaign chairman as he was joining ron paul forces, he said these people who support ron paul, it doesn't matter if there's five feet of snow on the ground caucus night, which thankfully it does not look like there will be, these people are going to show up. gwen: intensity, jeff? >> i think there is intensity, no question. the only question for ron paul is what is his ceiling of support? you hear every other candidate, really every single candidate from mitt romney to newt gingrich to rick perry to michele bachmann going after ron paul on his foreign policy views. they say he has dangerous views. rick santorum perhaps crystallizes this argument as good as anything. he said, the things you like most about ron paul, the slashing the -- slashing the size of government, cutting the deficit, he won't be able to do because he can't pass a bill in congress, according to rick santorum. the things that you maybe sort of worried about, his foreign policy views, he will be ab

thursday she lost her political director a day after ken sorenson defected joining ron paul's team.achmann shoulder reporters her phone insisting sorenson called her about a bribe he received from paul's camp. >> clearly, this is something that they generated and, uhm, it shows again that we have powerful momentum. >> reporter: both sonja shin and the paul campaign deny -- both sorenson and the paul campaign deny the allegations. >>> are you ready for new year's eve? > ism. i'm also drinking coffee. i was hiding it. i saw frank look at it. i was totally busted by frank. >> gin and tonic or something like that. >> just coffee, elizabeth. >> paper cups not allowed onset. a little behind the scenes info. >> you're letting all our secrets out. >> the one hand? whenever you notice one hand behind the desk, we're hiding something down there. here's your temperatures outside. if you are about to step outside, the temperatures are mild. we are all in the 50s this morning. but we have a lot of fog a lot of cloud cover out there. so that's what's keeping us mild. it's also a little drizzly. i

one person who did speak out on his behalf was iowa state senator ken sorenson. >> i believe when we see polls where it's two-point race between mitt romney and ron paul, i believe we have to make a tough decision. >> the tough decision is that right up until last night he was michelle bachmann's iowa chairman. he quit and joined the paul campaign. >> she wasn't going to win iowa. >> and so, he left. bachmann said he sold fought for 30 pieces of silver, meaning he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign. sorenson denies it. and saying no, he didn't take money. that statement from bachmann's political director was sent out on ron paul letterhead. today, he, too, left the bachmann campaign. >> this keeps changing. sit going to change again? >> newt gingrich thinks so and said to reporters today between a third and a half of everyone who shows up at caucuses on tuesday night will come in with an open mind. you know the way they work. you try to pull people. so newt gingrich believes we're in for more surprises and we'll see. >> sounds like we are based on this polling. >> ye

bachmann is likely to face questions about the decision by state senator ken sorenson to jump ship and throw his support behind ron paul. we're keying an eye on bachmann's media event and we'll take you there live for some of the q and a session. >>> he may be the front-runner but mitt romney isn't predicting how he will do in the iowa caucuses. he started the day in cedar falls talking about the job and the economy. speaking with wolf blitzer he responded to kplats from newt gingrich about attack ads. >> i don't know why he's so angry. look, this is a campaign about the things we believe in. i believe the country's being led in a very unfortunate and destructive way by a president that doesn't really understand our economy or america. i can get america working again. that's why i'm running. >>> activists say this video posted on youtube shows syrian security forces firing on protesters in a damascus suburb today. cnn cannot authentically verify the integrity of the video. we spoke with one journalist there who we are not naming for security reasons who says syrian cities have been und

bachmann says ken sorenson was offered a large sum of money and told her, quote, everyone bails out in iowa, why shouldn't i. t i. >>> millions of americans take them every day but it turns out multiviolet viet minutes may not be doing as much good as first -- turns out multivitamins may not be doing as much good as first thought. >>> an update on the toll prison is taking on a maryland native, alan gross. >>> priests in the holy land getting a little rowdy at church. we'll tell what you caused abrawl after the break.  i love teaming with the best that's why i'm here, at st. jude children's research hospital. our research has changed the way the world treats brain tumors, leukemia and sickle cell. we help kids all across america. now, these kids have hope... and a sense of humor. where did you get this color? it's natural. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to st. jude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. i sweated the details. all the phone calls, the emails, the lost weekends. and then after twenty-two years, just lik

. >> state senator ken sorenson was with bachmann hours before he jumped ship and didn't speak to theowd in that event because he said he was from dental work. the campaign shake-up comes as two minstersç acknowledged the asked bachmann or santorum to dropout to avoid splitting the vote. i am joined by clarence paige. just when you thought you heard it all, the novocain explanation. i am about to go to another campaign, but it's about my hurting tooth. >> that's a new one. >> it was crazy. what does it mean for michele bachmann? she is in single digits. >> it hurts her because he's a popular guy in his state. he was her iowa campaign chairman and he quit and apparently notified her through a phone call on his way to a ron paul rally. he said he had known ron paul a long time and he was helpful in his own campaign. bachmann was angry and came back saying ron paul's campaign paid him a lot of money and that's how they got him. ron paul's campaign and sorenson denied. it was voluntary, they say. that doesn't make bachmann look good either. this couldn't have come at a worse time for her

ken sorenson who serving a as state chair announced that he switching his support to ron paul. sorenson says it was the toughest decisions in his life. bachmann campaign said it is clear this is a deliberate move by the ron paul to discredit our campaign. she went on to same, tim sorenson says he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the paul campaign. also developing tonight, the story, two pastors not to split the block there. terry gordon. he simply toward our colleague steve broen brown there was, indeed, a plan and he had a face to face meeting with them to do it. i asked congresswoman bachmann, was she approached by anyway, she denied it twice. >> great interview with michele bachmann. >> straight ahead a big endorsement for newt gingrich and someone who is backing herman cain's 999 plan just a few months ago. find out who it is. >> and battled between the u.s. and iran heats up and the world's oil supply is at stake. both sides sending out sharp warnings. >> and tim tebow suddenly linked to brad pitt and angelina jolie and jennifer anniston. it's not what yo

in fact, let's listen to what the state senator, ken sorenson, said why he wanted to leave bachmann forbeen serving as michele bachmann's state chair over the last year. while michelle has fought try men dousely for my conservative values, i believe we're at a turning point in the campaign. when the republican establishment is going to be coming against him over the next few days, i thought it was my duty to come to his aid. >> reporter: now it was bringing more drama to this situation, hala, is that michele bachmann once she found out that ken sorenson had left his campaign she came out and accused him of leaving the campaign because the ron paul campaign offered the state senator money. now he flatly denies that is true. to add even more intrigue, just in the last hour or so our own peter handy got a statement from another staffer from michele bachmann, her political director here in iowa, and he says that it isn't true either. clearly, somebody is lying, hala. >> okay. well, let's talk about newt gingrich who may have peaked early, as we said earlier, based on the cnn polling. he saw

bachmann's iowa campaign chairman, a man named state senator ken sorenson has jumped ship, going to ron paul's campaign. bachmann says sorenson is a quote sellout and said he was paid to go to the paul campaign. >> i had a conversation with kent sorenson and in the direct conversation that i had with him, he told me that he was offered money, he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign to go and associate with the ron paul campaign. no one else knows about that conversation other than kent sorenson and myself. and i know what he said to me about that. >> sorenson says he went to the paul camp simply because ron paul has the best chance of beating mitt romney and president obama in his opinion. in a statement sorenson says quote as for the ridiculous allegations that congresswoman bachmann and her surrogates have made, i was never offered money from the ron paul campaign and would never accept money. >> was money offered to you by anybody from the ron paul camp to jump ship? >> absolutely not. the fact of the matter is that i did not accept any money from the ron paul campaign

. >> susan page, let's talk about ken sorenson, this somewhat amusing change of pace.'s a he said, she said as to whether money for a campaign organization or ground troops was on the table. but the bottom line is he's following the momentum. >> yeah, this could have been a little bit of a boost for ron paul but now it's kind of one of those political muddles and so i think it makes it a little bit of a side show. michele bachmann although campaigning hard here and won the aims straw poll does not seem to be in the mix for the top tier. >> to susan's point, michele bachmann, $162,000 spent on television advertising this year in iowa. and has not run a single television ad since august. i understand she's back up now but that just speaks to can't raise money,ç can't run tv and get your message out. the story of the campaign may wind up being mitt romney is is the candidate best able to raise money and put together both television and organizations in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina and florida. given the competition, no one else is going to be able to match h

with the minnesota congresswoman at an event wednesday, her iowa campaign manager state senator ken sorenson defected joining ron paul's team. >> i think there are two tiers of candidate. i believe ron paul is in the top tier and i'm here to help him. >> reporter: but bachmann claims his decision wasn't just based on politics. >> kent sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> reporter: paul's team insists it did not pay sorenson, accusing bachmann of slandering the state senator. >> bachmann already had her work cut out for her. a new cnn times poll showed only 9% would vote for her at next tuesday's caucus. the poll's biggest surprise, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum after struggling for months, he suddenly surged to third place with 16%. that's an 11-point gain since the beginning of december. one-time front-runner newt gingrich has plummeted to fourth place. ron paul is second with 22%. just 3 points behind the leader mitt romney. >> the president said he wants to fundamentally transform america. i kind of like am

people supportive of ken sorenson, that the folks out here, that they expect, and all of a sudden bachmannappen? no, maybe it's already happening. michelle bachmann doesn't have the money to do the organization she did during the straw poll. maybe her 9% or 10% ends up being a 2% or 3%. and suddenly that 50% of the vote being split among the conservative candidates isç suddenly instead of being divided by four, getting divided by three. and depending on how gingrich or perry survive here, you know, and whether santorum can take advantage of this moment, is it divided by 2, 2 1/2. if that happens, somebody can get a shot in the arm. there does seem to be an attempt by the sort of activist community here in iowa to make sure if romney or paul win, they think it's a blow to them long-term, sort of a blow to their power structure. >> all right. chuck todd, tell them to keep the coffee warm for us. >> you got it, brother. >> we'll have more of your interview with newt gingrich, by the way, coming up at the "daily rundown" 9:00 eastern time. >>> kocoming up, a "morning joe rewind, what happened