. >>> exclusive new reporting and getting calls from donald trump, and what one former mar-a-lago employee turned witness says he was offered by the former president. >>> and happening now, new details emerging on the pitch that the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is making to the u.s. lawmakers behind closed doors right now. the surprising topics that he is touching as he pleads for new money. >>> also on capitol hill, the house republicans are intending to take a big step forward towards the impeachment inquiry toward joe biden as others are calling it baseless and a sham investigation. where things are now. i'm sara sidner with john berman and kate bolduan. this is cnn "news central." >>> all right. in the breaking news, the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is about to meet with the house speaker mike johnson. he is trying to break through all of the u.s. politics and secure aid that he says that he desperately needs now to fight vladimir putin. we are getting new details about how he is trying to persuade u.s. lawmakers what subjects he is willing to discuss, and some th

that person, that former employee, had left his job after the fbi searched mar-a-lago and became verypparent donald trump could be charged with a crime and was being looked at by federal investigators. but before trump was charged. so the employee leaves his job. at that point in time, he remained in contact with many people from mar-a-lago but also was noticing just a pattern of conversation about what his status was. would he be using his own lawyer? or would he be hiring -- or be wanting to use a lawyer that was paid for by donald trump. some people were asking him about that. there was a close friend of his who also worked at mar-a-lago who essentially indicated to him that maybe trump would really love to see you in an up coming golf tournament. you could get free tickets and come. there was also this discussion with him where as he left his job at mar-a-lago, donald trump took the very unusual step of calling him on his personal cell phone to see why he was leaving the club, a couple months after the fbi search of trump's property in florida. all of this taken together, it's a p

there's a close-knit circle of people who worked at mar-a-lago, still work at mar-a-lago, under donald trump. and in the crucial period, there was the fbi search last august. and then an employee, a longtime employee, quite close to many people at mar-a-lago, leaves mar-a-lago having been a witness to many of the things that later appeared in the indictment of the donald trump, carlos deal vera, and walt nauta. this person, this former employee, is becoming a witness. and before donald trump and these other men are charged, there's just enough things that raised his attention to make it seem a little bit different because the amount of communication he was getting from not just carlos deoel vera and walt nauta, but trump himself, was unusual for him. these are his friends and people he is working with regularly. the things i have learned through multiple sources, as well as materials that i've gotten, have been able to have a bit of a insight into, is that this former employee at mar-a-lago, he was friends with carl carlos -- you should come to a golf tournament after he leaves working

former president trump made to a former mar-a-lago employee.employees know eyewitness amenities trials. those calls were apparently made for charges before the case was filed. we are following these major developing stories and many more, all coming up right here to cnn new central. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> thank you so much for joining us this afternoon, i'm boris sÁnchez alongside rahel solomon in the nation's capital, where political gridlock on the capitol hill maybe jeopardizing the fight against russia and ukraine. right now, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is in washington pleading for congress to approve more military aid for his country. next hour, he is scheduled to sit down one-on-one with president biden. this morning, he met with senators and house members and argued that the political bickering over ukraine aid is exactly what vladimir putin wants to see. >> and yet so far, republican seem unmoved. some gop senators walked out of their meeting. also today, we have newly declassified u.s. intelligence about russia's strategy and why the k

>>> dana, this is something that happened very serious between the surf at mar-a-lago last summer and the time that donald trump was charged. this employee had been a long time working under trump at mar-a-lago, had quit his job around november, and at that time, just days after, got a phone call from donald trump, something he very rarely did, and trump just wanted to ask him why he was leaving his job. i also wanted to communicate to him after they had that very gracious phone call that he was a good guy. this former employee had been a witness to quite a few things that ended up making the indictment of donald trump, and ultimately, notice that not just this phone call with trump, but there are several interactions he had with others who were also accused of being conspirators with donald trump in this case. that they want to know about his legal representation, why wasn't the using a lawyer paid for by donald trump, one of his quote friends in this case also, and talked about tickets to a golf tournament. the trump really love to see him very likely at that golf tournament, and th

. >> reporter: a long time employee of donald trump's at his mar-a-lago club in florida left his job last year after that search at mar-a-lago and it became quite clear that the justice department was investigating donald trump. and then a series of very unusual interactions took place. now, i've googathered this thro vars various sources and material that i was able to see. what happened with this particular former employee was a pattern of communication that really gives you insight into how donald trump's world works around the people in mar-a-lago and particularly people wrapped up in this criminal investigation that led to the indictment of the former president for mishandling classified documents as well as trying to ob strstruct the just department investigation. this former employee received a personal call on his cellphone from donald trump just days after he left his job there at mar-a-lago. trump was calling him to see why he was leaving and then word got back to him after that call took place that trump believed that he was a good guy so gray thusnesst graciousness. but w

a level rarely seen before, writes in her boring new book that kev-en mccarthy said he came to mar-a-lago after the rigged election because, "the former president was depressed and not eating." "that statement is not true.

let me ask you about mar-a-lago because we've got some pretty exclusive reporting tonight that a former mar-a-lago employee, now a witness in the classified documents case -- there are a lot of cases -- that that former employee was contacted by trump and his associates the months after he quit his job and offered, of course, legal representation to this person who got complementary tickets to a golf tournament offered, repeated reminders to come back to work for trump. what do you see when you hear about these interactions and these come on back moments? >> donald needs to understand and so does his team that mar-a- lago is a cesspool for leakers and people who don't want to get caught up in donald trump's problems. so there's as many people as that are there are as many people who are potential witnesses for jack smith and other investigations. i'm shocked. first of all, when he offers them free tickets to a golf tournament, you realize that those tickets cost donald trump less than if he got him a burger at mar-a-lago. they cost him absolutely nothing. they're generally at his golf c

fair warning, if you have to be watching for mar-a-lago tonight, the catch-up might be flying. judge chutkan begins with a robust takedown of the trump claim that is a former president he is immune from criminal prosecution. here's what it says, quote, whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the united states has only one chief executive at a time, and that position does not confer a life long get out of jail free pass. former presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. they may be federal to federal mastication, indictment, prosecution, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office, and quote. judge chutkan goes on to explain why in america we have equal justice, quote, the public has an undisputed interest in promoting respect for the law, deterring crime, protecting itself, and rehabilitating offenders. all of those interests would be thwarted by granting former presidents absolute criminal immunity. most importantly, former presidents exposure to federal criminal liability is essential to fulfilling our constituti

let me ask you about mar-a-lago, we because we have exclusive reporting that a former mar-a-lago employeeswitness in the federal documents case, a lot of cases. there were contacted by trump months after the case after he quit his job, and offered legal representation to this person. you've got a golf tournament offer, repeated comment on back to work for trump. what do you see when you hear about these interactions of these come on back moments? >> donald needs to understand, and so does his team, that mar-a-lago is a cesspool for leakers and people who do not want to get caught up in donald trump's problems. and so, there is as many people that are there, are as many people who are potential witnesses for jack smith and other investigations. and i am shocked! first of all, when he offers them free tickets to a golf tournament, you realize that those tickets cost donald trump less than if he got him a burger at mar-a-lago. it cost him absolutely nothing. generally, at his golf course, with live golf, it costs him absolutely nothing to have the guy go there. there's thousands of people tha

. >>> cnn has learned that donald trump contacted a former mar-a-lago employee who witnessed his alleged mishandling of classified documents, repeatedly calling him in the months before trump's criminal indictment. we're going to get reaction to cnn's exclusive new reporting from legendary journalist bob woodward and carl bernstein. . welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> let's get straight to the breaking news tonight. president biden and president zelenskyy trying to present a united front here in washington as aid for ukraine right now hangs in the balance. our correspondents are standing by over at the white house, up on capitol hill, and in ukraine and in russia. first, cnn's senior white house correspondent, m.j. lee. what stood out to you from what we just heard from presidents biden and zelenskyy? >> reporter: well, wolf, in so many ways we heard exactly the kinds of things that we would have expected to hear from president biden and president zelenskyy. for starters, p

>> i did see him when i was in mar-a-lago. i sure did. >> did you ask for hissen dorment in the senate race. >> i will never discuss my conversations with the president with any media. >> this is a fascinating race. the primary so significant here. so viewers understand, that the dynamic here in the you the, there are 23 democratic seats that they're defending, including a purple state like arizona, like kyrsten sinema, but there are 7 seats held by democrats in purple swingish states and three in trump states and states that trump won and two pickup opportunities, florida and texas. so democrats are trying to hold on to all of the seats. if they lose montana, that would be the eighth of the majority and republicans are fearful of this primary. i talked to john thune, number to senate republican about the prospects of plat rosendale impacting this primary and potentially their chance of picking up the seat? >> do you worry that rosendale could put the seat at risk? >> i think changes the dynamic for sure in montana. but like i

. >>> plus, why donald trump kept reaching out to a former mar-a-lago employee-turned-witness months after the fbi raid on his florida residence. >>> and new signs inflation could be slowing. the closely watched consumer report just up. >>> you are looking at live pictures from inside capitol hill. shortly we will hear from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. he is behind closed doors right now meeting with u.s. senators in what might be a futile effort to secure new funding for his war against vladimir putin and russia's invasion of his country. we will bring this to you as soon as it happens. in the meantime, breaking this morning, one of the biggest endorsements of the presidential primary season. cnn has learned that new hampshire governor chris sununu is poised to endorse nikki haley, appearing with her as soon as tonight. also tonight, one of the people who did not land that endorsement, florida governor ron desantis, he appears in a town hall in iowa where a poll shows he trails donald trump by 32 points. cnn's jessica dean is in des moines. we just learned of this immine

, and the president reached out and we visited >> seth: no one just ends up at mar-a-lago that's likeour spouse after a guys' trip, "we just went to a movie, got dinner, and then one thing led to another and we ended up at the playboy mansion, it happens. [ laughter ] mar-a-lago is a place you go to for one of three reasons kiss up to trump a real bad wedding or if you're a foreign spy looking to overhear our nation's nuclear secrets at the dinner buffet [ laughter ] side note -- what a plum gig to be a spy sent to mar-a-lago. i mean, you don't have to know how to break into a safe or avoid those crisscross lasers. never have to put on a "mission impossible" mask just walk in the front door and say, "anyone here know anything about submarines?" and then the next thing you know, "i actually know quite a lot, i've got pictures of them, i'd love to show you, i'd love to show them to you. [ applause ] "before, i just want to make sure, you are an american? "yes, he is from cincinnati. [ laughter ] "go bengals. [ laughter ] and as if things couldn't get any more chaotic for republicans, co

that's because judge cannon's low key slow walking the mar-a-lago documents case, and d.a. bragg's said his manhattan prosecution can wait until after the federal trials. so ayman, i think the most important development will be the appeals court ruling about the gag order in the federal election interference case. if trump loses, he will certainly appealed to the supreme court. if the supreme court takes that case, that could have a huge impact on the trial date, which is now scheduled for march 4th. i don't see how the supreme court could decide this case on the merits by then, which would mean that that trial would have to be -- and that raises the possibility, eamonn, of trump being on trial during the republican convention -- next fall in either fulton county or the district of columbia. >> paul, correct me if i'm wrong here, and there's so many different legal scenarios that can play out in all of these political trials, i think it's safe to say all of them will be unprecedented. but one thing -- what happens if in the georgia fulton county case, donald trump is convic

even as he is landing in mar-a-lago, and joe biden is getting inaugurated?ll, even teed it up there, we've heard all this reporting coming out about the final days, the final hours of trump administration. they were planning to filter out these detailed aspects that were being declassified from crossfire hurricane, russian investigation, from various friendly reporters, media outlets that within push all the stories in the weeks and months after biden took over in which we try to reframe the narrative about what had happened in 2016. try to prove trump's point that the whole investigation was a joke, that it was a hoax, there was no legitimacy to it. this was part of his ongoing media campaign. because they kept waiting until the last minute, because it was literally the last full day that he was putting out this declassification order than directing the attorney general to implement, there was no time for this to be put into effect. political appointees were gone, civil servants were preparing for the turnover the very next day with biden because when presi

mar-a-lago and the case there. cnn has this new reporting that trump himself and his allies were reaching out to a former employee who was a key witness for the government. cnn says this witness is somebody who moved boxes, heard conversations between trump and codefendants. yet trump was reaching out to this person? wouldn't that the witness tampering? >> generally, yes. i think the thing that is so interesting about this particular story is the timeline. when trump begins to reach out to him and other people from the trump organization are contacted -- you have to understand he is a 20-year veteran of mar-a-lago who has basically resigned suddenly. and so, at that point, they are not necessarily a witness. and there is nothing illegal about that contact. however, as you begin to see the amount of contacts and the nature of the contacts in terms of what is being offered to him, complimentary tickets to come to a golf tournament saying that mr. trump knows that you are a good guy -- all of these things do sort of l

we now found out that he took a lot of documents to mar-a-lago that were not declassified.to be concerned about that. i think when we say things like intelligence or understanding information it sounds pretty vague, we don't know what we are talking about. intelligence could be people. people who are working for the united states government, trying to help us protect our democracy abroad. that could be outing them, right? these are really important national security secrets that were a part of our january six investigation. it was a broad investigation. this is something that we were concerned about. what happened to this binder? cassidy hutchinson, of america knows now, was there for a lot of important events. she saw mark meadows take this binder, this ten inch thick binder, to your poin iis pretty noticeable! it is still out there. we don't know where. it is highly concerning for our national secuty >> something else we are closely watching is one of jack smith's latest court filings whh shows he has access to white house cell phone data from january six, 2021. he plans

after the mar-a-lago raid a lot of threats. we saw an fbi field office can attack by someone who is at the capitol on january 6th. so there is just a lot of this and it's a lot for federal law enforcement officers and law enforcement officers across the country to deal with because it's tough to sort out the wheat from the chaff. what rises to the level of threat is just this sort of volume of these threats is just incredible and it's like which person is gonna be the person who's actually gonna act on that? it's a really huge challenge for law enforcement. >> a great point. we should know there's 1 million examples of the one that thinking about that some of the litigation revealed that the court from the judge in the civil crime -- receiving like 50 harassing and threatening messages a day. some of them antisemitic. one of the things that is worth taking a second on. i think people have a conception that these folks like the colorado supreme court justice is kind of more fortified than they are. these are people imagine the d

one of the experts expected to take the stand today is a person who has said that mar-a-lago could beued anywhere from $1 billion to $1.5 billion. so, the judge has already found that trump had inflated the value of mar-a-lago on his financial statements. bup this person is going to testify based on the various factors and potential buy yerps saying it could be anyone from a head of state or royalty who could pay that much for mar-a-lago. so, this is all part of trump's defense that they didn't inflate the value of assets, that there are different ways to value properties. so, this will be a day we'll hear from several witnesses, including the valuation experts. then eric trump will be on the stand. we think donald trump will come to court on thursday, and he will take the stand to testify again in his defense. >> good to see you. thank you. >>> expelled congressman george santos' latest role -- cameo troll. why a democratic senator bought his services on cameo. >>> next hour, fbi director corpus chri christopher wray will testify, topping the agenda, oversight of the fbi. evan perez

>> i've always considered the mar-a-lago case to be the most -- the biggest threat. you know, the claims in there if it can be proven about the obstruction, i think that is the case that is most likely to -- if he is convicted, to survive an appeal. you know, i think that the other cases all have structural, legal, and some factual issues that would likely face a very strong attack on appeal. but on the mar-a-lago case, if jack smith can get over the hump of some prosecutorial misconduct in bringing the case, i think that's probably the one that is most likely to survive an appeal. >> old grudges die hard. the special counsel's office, tim, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> and still ahead, the ukrainian military striking russia on its own soil just one day after russia launched the biggest air attack on ukraine since the start of the invasion. we'll have the latest on the escalation. >>> plus, prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel is fighting on all fronts. defense forces s they've destroyed a hideout belonging to a leader

'cause in another other federal case, the classified documents trial, the mar-a-lago thing, he's beenng it to lean on potential witnesses. we just learned that, earlier this year, trump did something he rarely does. he called a former mar-a-lago employee on his cell phone to ask why he was leaving after two decades of working at the resort. "hey, buddy, just checking in, it's donny. just checking in like i do with all the other valued employees i have a strong personal relationship with, like roast beef carving guy, guy-with-hose-on-lawn, and of course toilet unblocker fellow. so sad how he passed away. plunged his own lungs out. he will be missed, 'cause i feel a big clog coming on." [laughter] [applause] no, no, no. no. of course, the former employee had a hint that he was getting a call from trump when his screen said "prison risk." thing is, why was trump so interested in this particular employee leaving? well, he quit his job after moving several boxes for trump and was privy to conversations referenced in the indictment, which could be why the message later got back to the forme

if you think about mar-a-lago take mar-a-lago raid, he had the power to declassify materials, whether if he had it or not he has the power to declassify, documents found in joe biden's home when he was a senator and a vice president and did not have the ability to declassify. pete: if you go to mar-a-lago they claim it's worth $18 million have you seen that. rachel: i want to buy it if it's $18 million. i don't know what the valuation but it's hundreds of millions of dollars at a minimum. pete: i remember in december 2019 january of 2020 reading stories that were not on the wall street journal but somewhere in the newspaper about this disease, this virus coming out of china. i remember catching my attention because i was always into the movielike pandemic what was the movie pandemic. rachel: one with gwyneth paltrow, matt damon and one before that with the '90s with dustin hoffman, always scary and it caught my attention when the news article came out was like what is going on now we know and three years later we treat the stories with the level i think of appropriate seriousness and

property manager and trumps body man, putting the former employee in a unique group of mar-a-lagoo investigators. trump pleaded not guilty to the 40 county was charged with this summer. joining the conversation, peter strauss, they are all back with us. describe to us what the dynamic is like, the way that trump issues orders without ever saying them out loud. >> well, i think you are exactly right. and analogizing the to an organized crime family boss, let's keep in mind this is not for trump, back doing during the mueller investigation one of the attorneys called mike flynn's attorney to remind him that the president had certainly strong feelings for him and those remained, cassidy hutchinson before she testified before the january 6 committee received a message from somebody that was close to trump saying we know you are loyal and you are going to do the right thing. so, this behavior time and time again is exactly what you indicated, this is not trump directly saying i want you to lie or i want you to obscure the truth, this is his way of conveying exactly what he wants done.

mar-a-lago at over a billion dollars. and the judge valued it at $18 million.ttorney general is the one that convinced the judge to say that. it is a fraud. the whole case is a fraud. what they've done is weaponizeed justice. it is coming from the white house because i'm beating biden by a lot and this is coming right out of the white house. you know it, i know it, and they know it. just to end this, the expert witness one of the most highly respected people in the country for doing this kind of work absolutely no accounting fraud. this case should be ended. also, the judge as you know, was rebuked and he was overturned by the appellate division of the new york state supreme court, which is a higher court, much higher court than where we are right now. the judge refused to acknowledge it. this case would be over. that was about 90% of the case having to do with statute of limitations. this case should be over. this case should have never been brought. this was a political witch hunt by an attorney general who is out of control and trying to get elected governor

>> given all that kevin mccarthy has done to support donald trump and going down there to mar-a-lagon he supposedly couldn't eat after he lost, donald trump certainly should have had his back. this is a classic case of loyalty with donald trump is a one-way street. mccarthy was loyal to trump. he did not return the favor. he encouraged matt gaetz to oust him from being speaker, and he didn't do anything to help him win. the votes were mounting up against him. i would have dropped the f bomb and a lot more. his campaign says he didn't say that, says they have a good relationship, work well together, talk often, they've agreed and disagreed in the past. it's much better to talk about the f bomb than kumbaya. >> here's what was also interesting in that piece. it talked about people were saying kevin mccarthy's rationale for why he had an endorsement -- that was one of the issues trump had -- concerns about fundraising, concerns about protecting vulnerable members. so, that also -- i think that's a very important point that we should underscore. i know the f bomb is exciting, but that te

kevin mccarthy went to mar-a-lago because his ability to raise money had dried up after january 6th. kevin needed money. trump had lists of small dollar donors, but kevin would have to go beg trump for them. and in order to use those lists, kevin would have to help donald trump cover up the stain of his assault on our democracy. it was a price kevin mccarthy was willing to pay. joining me now was congressman jamie raskin, democrat from maryland, former member of the january 6th committee and ranking member of the house oversight committee. congressman raskin, thank you so much for being here tonight. i wonder what you make of kevin mccarthy's closing words about his legacy when the stakes were the highest, we rose to the challenge, simply put we did the right thing. what do you think of those? go ahead. >> he clearly did the wrong thing, and when stakes were highest he completely fell apart. the only part i agree with is when he says he risked it all, which is true if all means our democracy, our constitution, and the american republic. i mean this is a guy who called donald trump fr

a few weeks after the insurrection on the capitol, mccarthy traveled out to mar-a-lago to have dinner with donald trump. in so doing, mccarthy effectively brought donald trump into the good graces of the party and set the stage for his political comeback. in her new book, liz cheney explains why kevin mccarthy made that fateful trip. the truth was pretty simple. kevin mccarthy went to mar-a-lago because his ability to raise money had dried up after january 6th. haven't needed money. trump had a list of small dollar donors, but trump kevin would have to go big trump for them. in order to use those lists, kevin enough to help donald trump cover up the stain of his assault on our democracy. it was a price kevin mccarthy was willing to pay. joining me now is congressman jamie raskin, democrat from maryland, former member of the january six committee and ranking member of the house oversight committee. congressman raskin thank you so much for being here tonight. i wonder what you make of kevin mccarthy's closing words about his legacy, when the stakes were the highest, we rose to the chall

you can get a 3d replica of mar-a-lago. you can buy a mini faux gold trump hotel.ou can get a cody foster-designed blown glass donald trump head, a hand-made trump christmas stocking full of slovenian sudafed. there is a donald trump elf on the shelf. don't worry kids if you do anything bad, he's done worse. and finally the greatest donald trump gift of all. >> introducing the one and only original and newly redesigned trumpy bear. trumpy bear's thumbs-up lets everyone know he will always be there for you. just find the secret zipper and pull out the american flag-themed blanket and show your patriotism by proudly displaying trumpy bear in your home. >> jimmy: what comes out of the secret zipper? you know, if you buy two trumpy bears you get his son, cocaine bear for free. but we are going to need something lovable to hang on to, because george santos is officially a former congressman. on friday, santos was expelled. [ cheering ] by a vote of 311 to 114. so back to stealing puppies from the amish i guess, i don't know. the house maintenance crew wasted no time, ch

it has not turned up at the search of mar-a-lago, according to law enforcement officials begin to cnntelligence that the allies connected on russians and russian agents. what kind of damage could documents like these do to u.s. national.? >> there is a reason why we take sources and methods and put them in what is called compartments where they have a very limited number of people allowed to know how intelligence was collected in the first place. that is what we call the ground use of the intelligence committee. the way this information was handled strongly suggests exactly that. i would was obtained, that is the type of information that can get people killed if it is released publicly. the names use, electronic means of surveillance that might have been exploited, other sets of capabilities that the intelligence committee. again, people risking their lives to pain. that is a federal crime for a reason. and not only can put those sources at risk, it can put ongoing operations ran by the american intelligence committee at grave risk and put american lives in danger. this is a very seri

he was asked about all this in the interview. >> he went to visit trump at mar-a-lago. you threw him a lifeline. he might have been finished if he didn't go. would you do it again? >> well, that's your opinion. >> okay. that's your opinion. we also spoke to someone who is not just well-known for leading the jan sixth committee, and her recent book tour, which you probably seen in the media, but let's remember, liz cheney was in the private meetings with mccarthy. she was part of leadership. she was on the private calls, some of which later leaked. she was part of this three or four people who actually ran in the republican party, except unless they decided to let donald trump, the ex president and triple indictee, run it. so, listen to what she said about this man she served with. >> kevin mccarthy is, throughout this period, he had multiple opportunities to be doing the right thing, and each time, he did the wrong thing. and it isn't just that it is now costume's career, but it's that it cost the nation greatly. that the leader of the republicans in the house didn't le

mar-a-lago, what the hell, kevin? he tried to downplay the whole thing.id he'd been in florida anyway when trump staff called him. they're really worried he said, trump is not eating. they asked me to come and see him. what? you went to mar-a-lago because trump is not eating! yes, he's really depressed. i was still trying to process this unexpected rationale, when given added, he keeps trying to talk to me about january six. and i tell him we can't. we are under oath. kevin said, we are under oath in the present tense as though he'd already been sworn in as a witness. as soon as one of kevin's lawyers warned him not to talk to trump about january six because they thought trump might be in serious legal jeopardy, apparently, kevin was trying to say back to me what he had been told by his lawyers. the truth was pretty simple, kevin mccarthy went to mar-a-lago and got his ability to raise money had dried up after january 6th, when it nearly every major corporate donor announced it would stop making campaign contributions to republicans who voted to object to

oversaw the search at mar-a-lago. good morning to you. what do you think? >> i read the decision and i think it was stunning to me for how much it ignored federal law. that is statute that says if you are convicted of this section, then you are disqualified from holding office. for a state court to go around that statute to implement their own standard and decide even though all these grand juries sitting in d.c. declined to charge insurrection, we find there was insurrection is not appropriate and it is state court wading into a political argument as opposed to legal argument. >> lawrence: they say there was no strict compliance with due process here, how is that fair and how can we expect colorado to embrace this outcome as fair. how do you answer that question to the people of colorado? they won't have a candidate if this holds up, i think it will go to the supreme court. how do they have a free and fair election. it goes back to the message donald trump put out in 2016, the ruling clas is not listening to you and don't trust voters to make a decision on

. >> when donald trump announced his 2024 campaign at mar a lago out there, melania was there but she laying low. as trump traveled the country entering not guilty pleas melania was not there. she is yet to show up on the campaign trail. with a month before the iowa caucuses, c's on september meet the press trump also tried to defuse speculation about his wife's whereabouts. >> she is a very confident person and she loves our country very much. she'll be at the appropriate time she'll be out there. >> so where has melania been? she's been spending time at various trump properties though reportedly rarely mixes with club members at mar a lago. she focuses on barron, made a handful of appearances last year that earned her about half a million dollars for both the log cabin republicans and a group called fix california. just last month, another rare appearance at another appearance in atlanta for former first lady rosalynn carter pr. this one titled melania's vision comes with a drawing as well as this recorded audio-message. >> my vision is look toward with inspiration, strength and cou

nick fuentes went to mar-a-lago and had tea and dinner with the former president and so did connie weste right to this country has a problem with neo- nazis, we've seen the rallies in the marches, in florida and other places and we see people in the republican party just be silent and they are silent because unfortunately those are there voters, the same thing is happening with the democratic party, we see cease-fire marches, we see people of the crowd was sign saying kill the jewish people and cleanse the jewish people, we don't see a lot of people on the left: that out, the signs didn't happen, or posters of hostages being ripped off of light poles rub the country as if jewish people don't exist and need to be erased, we see people and left being quiet, we have to call it out. this cannot be normalized. so this is a bipartisan issue, we are losing bipartisanship in this country, it's unfortunate that the one place we see it is when you're an anti-semite. >> your two democratic colleagues introduce a resolution condemning hamas' use of sexual violence, do think there will be some democ

want to make here is that earlier in the week there was a witness who took the stand who said that mar-a-lagoas worth more than a billion dollars, and this is a witness that was called by donald trump's team, and that is what donald trump wants to hear. remember, we have talked about this multiple times, and he is fixated on that number particularly when it is coming to mar-a-lago, and he is believing that it is worth more, and it is really going to the core of who he is, because he has built an entire business empire on this idea that he was a rich business mogul who has expensive properties, and this is cutting to all of it, saying that it was inflated for tax purposes, and so he is really invested in this case, and it is interesting to watch, because at times he is more invested in this case than he has in several of the criminal cases in the criminal charges that he is faced with. >> that is a really good point. i do want to mention that this is not just about the $250 million fine, but it is about the dissolution of his businesses here in new york, and to be able to do business here, and

getting florida federal district judge aileen cannon to appoint a special master, which set the mar-a-lago documents case back for months. his recent maneuver suggests that scheduled may trial may not actually be held until after the 2024 election. and in his d.c. federal election interference case, trump's numerous appeals have resulted in a prolonged pause in that trial and may end up delaying its scheduled march 4th start date for some time. so when these historic federal criminal changes actually begin, well, that is a very open question. and then, of course, there is the question of what happens when donald trump is found innocent or when he is found guilty. and if that judgment comes when he is outside of the white house or back inside the oval office. 2023 has been a historic year. the rule of law has been tested in ways unseen in american history. but, wow, does 2024 look like it's going to be an even greater challenge to the basic foundations of our democracy. here goes nothing. joining me now is former missouri senator and current msnbc political analyst, claire mccaskill. claire

for jack smith, does that include the mar-a-lago classified documents business or is it just january 6 part? reporter: this is just related to january 6 case. he was changed in washington. attempts to try to overturn the results of the election. jack smith brought up the january 6 riot at capitol in that case, but did not charge him specifically for january 6, mar-a-lago is a separate case, documents that are down in florida, this is just relating to the attempts to overturn the election, alleged attempts. larry: great, david spunt thank you there you're welcome. larry:ly bring in gregg jarrett, fox news legal analyst, author of constitution of united states and other patriotic documents be we heard from jack smith is trying to do, good or bad move? >> well, i agree with you. you are right about your legal analysis. you could have been next clarence derrel, you missed our calling, agree that special counsel jack smith wants to butt in front of the line. and take it to supreme court for an expedited ruling, the supremes don't like that, the prosecutors want trial to happen in march in

. >> does this anything to do with the fbi searching for classified documents at trump's mar-a-lago back in 2022? >> no, it does not. we've been too old told the search at mar-a-lago, the subpoena, everything they're not looking for these documents specifically. we know from the documents that they did retrieve from the search, these were not among the documents. and you can look at the court record in jack smith's case. and that's not -- this is not mentioned. we do know, though, that the fbi certainly spent months and months and months fighting off efforts by the former president and people in congress trying to get their hands on the full, full version of this binder, and they were very very concerned that this would be damaging if it ever got out. >> when it comes to national security and the upcoming presidential election -- >> some were so sensitive, they were only allowed to view it at the headquarters. the binder contained sources and methods, the most sensitive information the government possesses. the means by which the intelligence community acquires the information. there's n

, and it also was not among the items that the fbis looking for when it searched mar-a-lago. it's one of those things that we are still trying to unravel and get to the bottom of this mystery, jim. >> jeremy herb on the case of the missing binder. that you think very much. joining me now to talk about this is democratic congressman eric swalwell, he was a member of the house intelligence committee when it reviewed some of these classified documents, if i have that correct. did some of the members of the intelligence committee have a look at some of this? it went through some processes of redactions and so on or attempts to declassify, if i understand some of the reporting correctly. what do we know about these documents? >> yeah, jim, so we certainly reviewed everything around russia's effort to interfere in our election. the work, you know, with the trump team, the president's own invitation to the russians, and how he wanted them to interfere. we looked at all of that. as to the specifics on what the trump white house had and what is missing, i can't speak to that, but shoc

asking him about things like well, you said mar-a-lago two -- was worth 27 million, now you're saying it's worth half a billion, a billion dollars. things like that. in the cross-examination i think will be the much more interesting part of this. we know the fundamental story they're going to put forward, i'm an honest man, i've never done anything in my life that's required me to apologize to anybody. >> -- thank you, -- as well. quick reminder to stay tuned for laura coates live tonight, when -- a former attorney general eric holder, that's night 11 pm, eastern here on cnn. next for us, more breaking news. the latest in the follow after president of some of the country's most prestigious universities were asked by lawmakers to unequivocally condemn calls for the genocide of jews, and then appeared to equivocate. plus, the latest on the fighting in gaza, and the progress israeli forces say they are making on the ground there. >>> >> news that, it comes on the first night of hanukkah, and two months in the day since hamas perpetrated the mass massacre of civilians, most of them jewish

of r real estate brokers that property mar-a-lago, i was just there, that thing is probably worth a billion dollars. not 18 million. "kcal news come -- open come back to silly new york case there, is no victim, or fraud, no statute violation, no intent, and there are no ill gotten gains. as with all these trumped-up charges by the democratic regime, there is no nothing. okay. that is my take. disagree, i understand. that is the way i see it jonathan turley will come around later on, talking more about this. lelet's go to fox business ash webster with stats behind despite. gavin newsom versus ron desantis. oh, my gosh. ash, what are your stats? you know ashley, i'll take you over both. what are your stats? reporter: i would quit right there. and take it to the bank. ron desantis has more to lose tonight even though florida governor has a huge advantage over his california opponent with bragging rights, but the question is, can he make it count, big government versus small government and stats show a clear winner. i will prove it, look at tale of the tape,. looking at employment. 2019

let's say you are invited to mar-a-lago. >> [ laughter ] >> and you had the chance to say a few words directly to donald trump. what would those words be? >> it's not something i haven't said to him anyway. but like, -- let me make this family-friendly. i would call him a d bag. i would tell him that he is got to live with the fact that -- you know, if i couldn't appeal to him, which i couldn't, i would tell him he has to live with the fact that his name will be seen as a stain on history. and he has to understand that. people are not going to look back at donald trump with any affection. there's not going ton be statues built to him. is not going to be a trump library. there's not going to be a trump highway because is going to be seen as a national embarrassment. and he has a chance to fix that. because he could come out and admit everything he did and try to make amends. he won't. but his memory will be a complete joke for this country. >> in the book, he does use a clinical term -- >> i said he was nucking futs. >> final question and i am combining a few together. asking for comme