joining us now john avalon, anna palmer, and michael smerconish. we'll get to roberts and murkowski in a moment. first, i want to look at the big picture here. let me read you part of this statement. quote, there is no need for more evidence to prove that the president asked ukraine to investigate joe biden and his son hunter. he said this on television on october 3rd and during his july 25th telephone call with the president of ukraine. there is no need for more evidence to prove he withheld united states at least in part to pressure ukraine to investigate the bidens. here's the crazy part. the house managers have proved this with what they call a mountain of overwhelming evidence. so john avalon, my question to you is what's the long-term impact of this? of acknowledging the house managers proved their case. the president of the united states asked for foreign assistance in a campaign. he withheld aid -- >> taxpayer money. >> -- in order to get that assistance. what's the wimplications of saying they proved it, it doesn't matter? >> it's massive.

cnn political commentator, thank you, michael smerconish is here, he's host of cnn's smerconish. michael, you just heard mike bender's reporting there. does this confirm that politics was a factor in the president's decision to take out soleimani? >> i thought it was an interesting report in the wall street journal, but i find it hard to believe that the president thought he needed to safeguard 20 republican votes in order to go ahead and carry out this killing of soleimani. so it's curious, but it's in conflict. >> and then just looking at all of this through the lens of 2020, i love it when you relay anecdotes from your callers. are people telling you do they see president trump as finally killing this really bad guy or as someone who nearly took the u.s. to war? >> well, it's complicated, and what i heard from callers on my radio program i think is borne out in susan page's analysis in usa today with some polling data that shows there's a plurality of americans who are supportive of the president having taken out soleimani. at the same time, people seem to be believing that the

michael smerconish our cnn political commentator. always a pleasure.py new year my friend, a lot to talking about. heard several contradictory statements about the describe. secretary pompeo saying it prevented an imminent attack. bolton said this was a long time in the making. pompeo claiming americans in the region are safer, but americans in the region ordered to evacuate. what do you make of that, michaelened ened michael? does the hurt the white house credibility on the no ed to really take this action? >> i feel a little foolish already on january 3rd because yesterday was my first return day on radio and i said to my producer, brooke, i think it will be a quiet week. i don't think -- >> you jinxed us. >> a quiet two days. wow, was i wrong. everything you just said is accurate but it takes whatever oxygen may have been remaining for impeachment out of the room, because now our focus is shifted to this iranian situation, because of the stakes. i will tell you, i had a number of wag the dog telephone callers today. he' people who see a cause and ef

joining us now, michael smerconish, host of cnn's "smerconish." the conventional wisdom is it's a problem for bernie sanders, elizabeth warren, amy klobuchar, michael bennett that they're stuck in this trial. but as usual, you have a counterintuitive view of this. why? >> i see some commentators acting as if they are joining, you know, a cloistered religious sect. they are going to be in the eye of the storm. all the attention of the world is going to be on washington, d.c. and so i recognize that the rules don't permit, for example, cross expectatiamination of a s and so forth. but nothing precludes their providing kmen tour to what's going on to members of the media. some things that need to be considered is if the republicans have their way of defending the case the way they'd like to means you're going to hear a lot more about hunter biden. i don't know that that's necessarily a good thing for joe. and frankly from the perspective of mayor pete, i think there's a juxtaposition here that he's not in washington because, well, he was the mayor of

if the question is between the cnn email and the defense going on michael smerconish's show, that is part of the bigger picture, and you can't pretend that it's not a factor. >> richard? >> yeah. i just thought again, fred, i think that it's going to -- see how well these women hold up when they testify on direct examination. lets see. let's see the holes that are punched in their testimony. the defense has spent a lot of money in preparation. unless it's airtight, i don't think it is, i think there are holes. just think, there's two, of all the 80 claims that he sexually harassed, there was only two now. it's going to be interesting. >> so that statement that email went to our chloe melas, and then returned you said, there's a certain advantage that donna rotunno, the lawyer for weinstein has over you if you were defending him. how does that translate you believe in the courtroom? >> it's in the minds of jurors. if a man defense attorney, just in your mind, is beating up a female victim, it doesn't play out well, look well. >> we'll see. >> but you will have women who will take the

joining us now is michael smerconish, host of cnn's "smerconish." and we will see six of them at least on the debate stage next week. how big of a role do you feel that the tensions will iran will play? and how will it factor into the candidates' posturing on that stage? >> i think it's completely changed the dynamics. i've either attended or watching all of the debates thus far. and foreign policy often played second fiddle to the domestic agenda. if you asked me about a particular issue that dominated, i would say health care. i would say the conversation about medicare for all. i don't know how foreign policy won't dominate. so the question then becomes who benefits, who might this be an issue for? i don't think it helps elizabeth warren. i don't think it helps amy klobuchar. i don't think it helps mayor pete although he's got military service going for him. the dichotomy that most interests me is between bernie and biden. because i think as between senator -- as between senator bernie sanders and vice president biden, you get two dramatic views

>>> i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia and they're off. at long last, voting has begun. forget iowa. i'm talking about the hawkeye state's neighbor to the north, minnesota. they were able to cast early absentee ballots 48 days before on march the 3rd. 39 states and the district of columbia allow early voting. it's game on against the backdrop of the impeachment against the impeachment of president trump. on the same day senators were sworn in, the dow closed at a record high. also the same day the senate passed the new u.s./mexico/canada agreement replacing nafta. one day prior a trade deal with china committed china to buy an additional $200 million of goods an services by 2021. expected to ease some of china's tariffs and most of the tariffs that trump placed on chinese goods. we'll get to it today with two members of the united states senate, doug jones and chris coombs are here. plus presidential candidate tom steyer. first one of the latest additions to the president's legal team, alan dershowitz. he's also the author of the case against impeaching trump and guilt b

joining us now to talk about all of this, we have michael smerconish, david gregory, and jen spsaki. grateful to have all of you. michael, i'll start with you. the president and his military advisers say they will not present evidence to the public and congress that there was any imminent attack. attack planned. so here are the polls. here are the latest poll numbers and to see if this is having an impact on people. president trump's handling of the current situation with iran, 43% approve, 56% disapprove. and then this next interesting one in terms of the air strike that killed general soleimani, 52% of americans say they feel less safe as a result of it. rather than the 20% who say they feel more safe. do you think there's a political impact for them? >> i think the data on the surface is contradictory. usa today had a survey they released a the end of last week saying the plurality of americans are supportive of having taken out soleimani. and at the same time they feel less safe. and you initially say how can both be true. but when you think about it, i think the conclusion is pro

you can watch that interview with weinstein eastern in full on "michael smerconish" coming up on cnn.till to come, we talk with some americans about the death of qasem soleimani due to a drone strike. we'll get their reaction in just a bit. if you listen to the political debate in this country, it sounds like we have a failed society. but nothing could be further from the truth. americans are compassionate and hardworking. we aren't failing. our politicians are failing. that's why i'm running for president. to end the corporate takeover of the government. and give more power to the american people. that's how we'll win healthcare, fair wages, and clean air and water as a right. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. iranians. it's the second largest area in the world. >> reporter: at a citizenship seminar for iranian immigrants in l.a., no one would talk to us on camera. no one wanted their face shown. >> lots of people have families ore there. their chance of being in danger is high. >> reporter: many we spoke to say they watched on tv the brutal repression of anti-government pro

. >>> i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. presidential candidate pete buttigieg is being hammered for seemingly blaming president trump for the downing of ukraine international flight 752 that killed all 176 on board. iran just admitted that it mistakenly shot down the plane on wednesday january 8th, just hours after iran fired more than a dozen missiles at u.s. forces in iraq. five days after u.s. drones took out general qassem soleimani. the missiles fired into iraq were sent in the middle of the night about 2:00 a.m. local time. plane was shot down after it took off from tehran at 6:12 a.m. buttigieg tweeted this, innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat. high thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all 176 souls left aboard this flight. well, here's the head line that generated from new york post, buttigieg scorched for saying u.s. tit for tat with iran doomed ukrainian ailerliner. there were a number who tweeted, uh, pete, they wer

joining us now, michael smerconish.just read you a little more of this new information that just came to light from this character robert hyde? the connecticut congressional candidate. hyde suggests somehow that he's surveilling or involved with surveillance of a u.s. ambassador. he says they're moving her tomorrow. the guys over there, they asked me what i would like to do and what's in it for them. wake up, yankees man. she's talked to three people. computer is off. she's next to the embassy. private security. been there since thursday. they will let me know when she's on the move. they're willing to help if you would like a price. i mean, this sounds like dark stuff. and again, it's just coming to light now. so the bigger question is what role does this play in a senate trial? how does this impact the ultimate decision about whether to get new evidence, see more documents, or hear new witnesses? >> both you and alisyn have asked me previously if i thought that speaker pelosi had aided her case, the case for impeachme

. >>> i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. president trump for the downing of ukraine international flight 752 that killed all 176 on board. iran just admitted that it mistakenly shot down the plane on wednesday january 8th, just hours after iran fired more than a dozen missiles at u.s. forces in iraq. five days after u.s. drones took out general qassem soleimani. the missiles fired into iraq were sent in the middle of the night about 2:00 a.m. local time. plane was shot down after it took off from tehran at 6:12 a.m. buttigieg tweeted this,

because michael smerconish planted this for us yesterday. is hunter biden that big of a poison pill? maybe he can say no, i -- i mean, whatever he's going to say, maybe it won't be as scary as democrats are thinking. >> so i think two things. i think that, one, i think there is a concern among former vice president biden's senate colleagues, former senate colleagues that they don't want to see him have to deal with that. i think that's part of it. i think the other part is they believe this is a smear effort to try to hurt his presidential efforts. but i would say there are democrats who think the contract that hunter biden had was just on appearances not a great look. and they don't want to be heading into 2020 with this. >> and also just if you belie believe -- the concept of relevance is in an impeachment trial. to look at the conduct of the president of the united states whether he committed high crimes and misdemeanors. the conduct of hunter biden is irrelevant. it is not relevant to that question. so the idea that we -- that the democr

at booking.com >>> i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia and they're off.t iowa. i'm talking about the hawkeye state's neighbor to the north, minnesota. they were able to cast early absentee ballots 48 days before on march the

. >>> i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. finally it is here, 201020.n talking about it for months, the election year that seemed like it might never come, finally beginning. and i has started with a bang, literally. the assassination of an iranian general and a new releece of unredacted emails that suggest the order to keep the freeze on ukrainian aid came directly from the president. if history is any guide, that will be just the start of an election psych thal no one can predict. think about it. who could have anticipated that in 1960, richard nixon's debate performance would be remembered more for his lack of makeup than his prose or that 1970 mitt romney would say his campaign was brain washed while in vietnam. that in 1976 in a debate against jimmy carter, gerald ford would say, quote, there is no soviet domination of eastern europe, that in 19

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michael. >> pretrial conference on monday, jury selection on tuesday. trial expected to last about eight weeks. what's come in from social media. i think this comes in from twitter. smerconish perhaps today's survey question should have been "will harvey weinstein have an advantage by securing a female attorney." male, female, she's sharp. you'd have to say that. >>> still to come, a person burning an american flag is practicing their right of free speech, but a person who is accused of burning a gay p.r.i.d.e. flag is guilt of a hate crime and may spend five years in prison. a hate crime is only a step away from a criminalalizing thought. that's ahead. you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. so, can it help us fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. don't miss the final days of the lowest prices of the season. the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only $1299, save $400. ends sunday that's ensure max protein, with high protein and 1