to some degree, he is under the influence of some people like paula white and dr. jeffers and others that he listens to. he is by all accounts deepening and his faith. he is receiving correction from then, i will be the -- use the "mentorn toward." -- ed." i agree with the caller about the lies, and "the washington post" is my hometown newspaper. this is donald trump and i cannot reconcile those two. you have a man who makes the kind of statements that we just heard, who says he is a champion of religious liberty, who talks about the gospel of jesus, a war on christmas, the johnson amendment, and at the same time will lie apparently according to the post and at the same time will treat anti-white supremacist protesters and white supremacist protesters at the same level of culpability. i cannot reconcile that, but i can report it. you have two things happening at donald the crass, harsh trump, and a man that is definitely by all accounts on a deeper religious journey. welcome to the more -- world of donald trump. typical "christian values," it is -- when there is a

his long time spiritual advisor paula white joins us next. >> this new york firefighter was trapped undercott from "happening now." have yourself a merry little christmas and my new year's resolution? i'm going to brush my dog's teeth more often. he has a worst breath in the world. have a great christmas, everybody. breathe freely fast with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! i can breathe again! vicks sinex... breathe on. >> president trump: remember i told you two years ago when we started, only one thing missing, the words merry christmas. they are using those words again, do you notice? they are using those words again. >> he talked about it on the campaign trail and still does. he delivered on another promise proudly putting christ back in christmas. >> so explain why it's so important to him is his long-time spiritual advisor paula white. first, merry christmas. >> merry christmas. it is so good to be with you. >> tell us, why is this so important to the president? >> well, isn't it nice to be able to say merry christmas and to put jesus christ back on the white

white house. thanks, major. justice reporter paula reid is at the u.s. courthouse in washington. paula, as you heard major just say, the white house insists the mueller investigation is nearing the end. is that what you're hearing? >> reporter: no. former federal prosecutors tell me an investigation of this scope could take years. and don't forget, the special counsel is still investigating whether or not the president or anyone else could have possibly obstructed justice in trying to tamp down this inquiry into mike flynn. now flynn and former campaign adviser george papadopoulos will be used possibly in a new round of charges against a new round of targets. additionally, you also have paul manafort and his associate richard gates. they're headed to trial, and that won't even start until midway through next year. so, anthony, this is not going to end any time soon. >> mason: paula, what did today's developments tell us about mueller's approach? >> reporter: robert mueller is a man of secrets and surprises. we knew it was possible that mike flynn could be inching towards a plea d

to some degree, he is under the influence of some people like paula white and dr.rs and others that he listens to. he is by all accounts deepening and his faith. he is receiving correction from then, i will be the -- use the "mentorn toward." -- ed." i agree with the caller about the lies, and "the washington post" is my hometown newspaper. this is donald trump and i cannot reconcile those two. you have a man who makes the kind of statements that we just heard, who says he is a champion of religious liberty, who talks about the gospel of jesus, a war on christmas, the johnson amendment, and at the same time will lie apparently according to the post and at the same time will treat anti-white supremacist protesters and white supremacist protesters at the same level of culpability. i cannot reconcile that, but i can report it. you have two things happening at donald the crass, harsh trump, and a man that is definitely by all accounts on a deeper religious journey. welcome to the more -- world of donald trump. typical "christian values," it is -- when there is a "good

paula reid. >> reporter: as the president left the white house this morning to head to new york, he made his first remarks on news that former national security adviser mike flynn had struck a deal with special counsel robert mueller. >> no, i'm not, and what has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. there's been absolutely-- that's been absolutely no collusion, so we're very happy. >> reporter: in court yesterday, flynn admitted to lying to f.b.i. agents about the details of two phone calls he had with then-russian ambassador to the u.s. sergei kislyak, during the presidential transition. flynn nowat of admits he discussed u.s. sanctions against russia with kislyak at the direction of top transition officials. in his tweet, the president acknowledge of acknowledged for the first time that he knew flynn had lied to federal investigators before he was fired. "i had to fire general flynn because he lie to the vice president and the f.b.i." lying to the f.b.i. say felony. flynn was a loyal trump surrogate during the campaign, but he was fired as the president's national security adviser after jus

white house. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula. this is a crucial week at the white house. counting down to the holidays and gearing up for major developments on two fronts. the president, of course, hoping to sign that big tax reform bill by week's end. and his lawyers are preparing to sit down with special counsel bob mueller and his team for a rare meeting. and then this morning, a new line of attack. today, the trump transition team is accusing the special counsel of illegally obtaining tens of thousands of private e-mails from the president's inner circle. this seven-page letter, sent last night to key senate and house committee leaders by a lawyer for the transition is the latest effort to challenge robert mueller's investigation. >> they're spending millions and millions of dollars. there is absolutely no collusion. i didn't make a phone call to russia. i have nothing to do with russia. everybody knows it. >> reporter: the president himself has blasted that investigation as a witch hunt. questioned the objectivity of some inv

white t-shirt, simon, come on. i love how she can't get over it. paula and simon forever.h fun touring this year with new kids on the block and boyz ii >>> still ahead, matt damon rates his favorite movie look. sflit was like a fruit rollup on my head. >> going bold for the new film. how does it stack up against his infamous ban money? >>> i'm a natural born fighter. >> forget the singing. how the bellas are taking the action to the next level in "pitch perfect 3." >> experience the wrath. quake in fear. tremble. ♪ >>> closed captioning provided by -- ♪ ♪ ♪ [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] [ laughter ] >> merry christmas, everyone! and to all, a great night! >> harry styles, the all-star carpool karaoke. christmas edition. and that was a moment. >> i mean, harry really went for it. how real do you think that was? >> i think we both agreed. i love that harry grabbed james' face. >> i'm hoping for a carpool karaoke edition with the bardellass. >> it's always fun bonding with the bellas. >> get ready to meet rebel the action star. >> people wouldn't think i'm a natural bo

white t-shirt, simon, come on. i love how she can't get over it. paula and simon forever.h fun touring this year with new kids on the block and boyz ii men, it was great. >>> still ahead, matt damon rates his favorite movie look. sflit was like a fruit rollup on my head. >> going bold for the new film. how does it stack up against his infamous ban money? >>> i'm a natural born fighter. >> forget the singing. how the bellas are taking the action to the next level in "pitch perfect 3." >> experience the wrath. quake in fear. trembl >>> closed captioning provided by -- all of us want to make a difference. as veterans, we committed to protect our country. we served and sacrificed for the things that mattered most. those experiences shaped our lives, even if it isn't always obvious to those around us. and now that we've served, our commitments have taken on a new meaning. we're husbands, wives, parents, friends, and neighbors. but sometimes we still feel alone. need it. the veterans crisis line is here for all veterans, service members, and their loved ones. dial 1-800-273-8255

white t-shirt, simon, come on. i love how she can't get over it. paula and simon forever.uch fun touring this year with new kids on the block and boyz ii men, it was great. >>> still ahead, matt damon rates his favorite movie look. sflit was like a fruit rollup on my head. >> going bold for the new film. how does it stack up against his infamous ban money? >>> i'm a natural born fighter. >> forget the singing. how the bellas are taking the action to the next level in "pitch perfect 3." >> experience the wrath. quake in fear. tremble. ♪ >>> closed captioning provided by -- ♪ [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, my gosh. >> i'm not going to say that. mer willry christmas, everyone. >> and to all great night. >> james corden, harry styles, having a moment. there's corden. in his holiday special. >> it caught me by surprise. i almost couldn't taulk right there. meanwhile, carly steele, i'm hoping there is a carpool karaoke episode with the barden bell las. i love the movie. >> i have to say this go-round, rebel wilson proves she's not only great singer. get ready to mee

white t-shirt, simon, come on. i love how she can't get over it. paula and simon forever.uch fun touring this year with new kids on the block and boyz ii men, it was great. >>> still ahead, matt damon rates his favorite movie look. sflit was like a fruit rollup on my head. >> going bold for the new film. how does it stack up against his infamous ban money? >>> i'm a natural born fighter. >> forget the singing. how the bellas are taking the action to the next level in "pitch perfect 3." >> experience the wrath. quake in fear. tremble. ♪ >>> closed captioning provided by -- sfx: tinny headphone music sfx: feet shuffling life can change in an instant. be covered when it does... ...with a health plan through covered california. we offer free expert help choosing the best plan for you. and all of our plans include free preventive care. financial help is available, so check for yourself to see what savings you qualify for. for health insurance starting january 1st, enroll by december 15th. because you never know when life... ...will change. get covered today. ♪ [ laughter ] [ ch

white house. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula. the holiday rush looks a little different here in washington as republican lawmakers scramble to pass a tax break before they break for vacation themselves and the pieces do seem to be falling into place. the president even pushing back his departure for palm beach hoping to sign that first big piece of legislation. republican lawmakers believe they have the votes needed to pass the biggest tax overhaul in a generation. the house and senate compromise bill more than a thousand pages long. >> i know everyone's lives will be better o >> reporter: republicans can afford to lose two votes in the senate and still have the measure pass. with vice president pence breaking the tie. tennessee's bob corker was the only republican to vote no on the initial senate bill. insisting he couldn't support anything that adds to the deficit. >> never, never ever, ever. >> reporter: now he's come around. so has florida's marco rubio and maine's susan collins making it likely this measure will pass. the fi

paula, it's a very serious charge that michael flynn has pleaded to. he's agreed to plead to lying to the fbi while he was in fact in the white house as national security adviser in january, but he was being investigated for some more very significant charges, was he not? >>reporter: absolutely. least half a dozen witnesses have come here to federal court to testify about michael flynn's business dealings, specifically the lobbying that he did on behalf of turkey and russia, so that tells us that very likely robert mueller had more than enough information to indict mike flynn and potentially his son as well on what are called failure to register as a foreign agent violations. those are very significant charges. there are also some other legal questions whether or not he could have violated federal law in talking about u.s. policy without formally being in the add mrption, but, anthony, the special counsel has been willing to overlook all of that evidence that has been presented over the past six to eight months and allowing him to plead guilty to making false statements. that told us that michael flynn had something really valuable to offer robert muel

. >> all right, paula, thank you so much. >>> the white house is pushing back against claims that president trump's tweet about a female senator is sexist. the president said yesterday that kirsten gillibrand of new york came to him in the past begging for campaign contributions and he tweeted she, quote, would do anything for them. ji gillibrand, who has called for the president to resign in the face of sexual abuse allegations, says the tweet is a sexist smear. >> it's not going to silence me. it's intended to silence me. it's not going to silence the women who have stood up against him directly. >> the house oversight committee denied a request yesterday from more than 100 house democrats to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against the president. >>> the widow of a man killed by an arizona police officer is speaking out after the officer was found not guilty of murder charges. body camera video was released after the verdict last week. we have to warn you here that this video is very disturbing. it shows daniel shaver pleading for his life just before he was shot back in 201

paula is off. happy to have my friend, everybody's friend, white house correspondent cecilia vega with us. >> everyone's friend. >> you're here on a day when there's a lot of news coming out of washington. >> there's not a lot coming out of washington? >>> another day, another controversial tweet. this time, the president's team saying he's not to blame for the tweet about michael flynn. the former national security adviser who pled guilty to lying to the fbi. flynn also said he would cooperate for the special counsel. eet.aturday, trump sent out a indicating he knew that flynn lied to federal law enforcement. but this morning, trump's personal lawyer is saying that he, the lawyer, drafted that tweet. >> we'll get to that in a second. >>> we'll dive into the $1.5 trillion tax bill passed by the senate in the middle of the night. o loses?? will this make it to the esident's desk? >> we have team coverage this morning. george is standing by. we start with david wright, right there at the white house. where the president is back on twitter this morning. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning

white house it appears it will ring in a staff reshuffling. david wright, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan and paula.he president is clearly enjoying the holiday break but also gearing up for the battles ahead in the new year, not only are there some big issues he's hoping to tackle but the midterm electionses in 2018 and he needs to be at the top of his political game. this weekend brought a rare glimpse of the president teeing off. trump has made more than 60 visits to golf courses he owns since he took the oath of office but the white house usually refuses to say if he actually picks up his clubs. on friday, no such >> 17th hole and i think all of you were watching my shot, right? did you see it? >> reporter: as his first year in office wines to a close trump is already gearing up for 2018 including a reshuffle of his political team at the west wing. >> we need a republican in the house. we need a republican in the senate. >> reporter: the white house is eager to avoid a midterm repeat of recent political debacles. in alabama the president's first candidate -- >> luther strange is our man. >> repo

. >> a former arkansas state worker, paula jones, accused then-governor bill clinton of sexually harassing her in 1991. the whiteng. >> it's just humiliating what he did to me. >> true or not, this lawsuit is a major embarrassment to president clinton. if his lawyers can't get this suit dismissed, he may be forced to answer these charges under oath. >> there was scandal, scandal, scandal, scandal. it was a really concerted attempt to eat away at his moral authority. >> the midterm election is two weeks away, and the republicans, to put it bluntly, smell blood. >> house republicans are presenting what they are calling a contract with america. >> as much as anything else, this was a rally for congressman newt gingrich, possible speaker of the house. >> we offer this contract as a first step towards renewing american civilization. >> during the 1980s, newt gingrich had gained this reputation as someone who investigates scandal, use the media, every tool available. that's the gingrich who had his eyes set now both on president clinton but also on retaking control of the house. >> good evening. there's a seismic shif

paula jones ruled that the attorneys for paula jones could depose bill clinton while he was president in the whiteells trouble for donald trump. >> if you look at that as a template for the open case right now in the new york supreme court, carrie, comment on that. should this go forward even though we're talking about the sitting president? >> sure. well, bill press did say correctly that the supreme court did rule that no office is too high in the land to not have justice served. so i want to see justice served. i want to make sure that any case brought against any accuser does follow due process, so absolutely, i think that should proceed, and i think nikki haley, again, i'm proud of her for making the statement, and my guess is she didn't make the statement without the white house knowing she was going to make it. she is very much a team player. so i think that the white house is all singing from the same song book here. i think let justice run its course. >> i just have to say, alex, i don't think the white house is saying that donald trump -- >> i was going to ask you. >> no. i have to disag

white house. anthony, it appears they were looking for a plea deal. it seems to have closed the deal the past several weeks. >> paula, why do you think he agreed to the plea deal and accepted it? >> it's not only mike flynn under scrutiny but his son mike flynn jr. they were both potentially exposed to the foreign loniing crimes we talked about. when you don't disclose income and work on be half of a foreign government. a incentive to avoid federal prison, there is even more of a incentive if your child is potentially looking at a federal prison sentence. based on the evidence we know and the charges that robert mueller could of brought, all of these things come together as an attractive intensive to start talking. >> as paula reid has reported there is evidence that michael flynn was directed by senior officials of the trump team to contact the russians. he has accepted charges of lying to the fbi in january as national security adviser in the trump administration. we want to thank paula reid outside of the federal courthouse and our washington bureau. there will be more on your local news on your cbs station and o

paula. >> all right, mary bruce reporting from capitol hill. thank you very much. george. >>> also breaking this morning the white house calling on north korea formally blaming kim jong-un for that crippling ransomware attack last may that affected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world. our senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, is in washington with the latest. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: george, good morning. the u.s. is blaming north korea for a cyber attack which paralyzed hundreds of thousands of computers in companies and homes worldwide. in an op-ed release last night, thomas bossert writes, the attack was widespread and cost billions. north korea is directly responsible. it's not the first time. george, you remember in 2014 the u.s. accused north korea of hacking sony pictures for an unflattering movie about their dictator. bossert is calling on the international community to improve cybersecurity, and we could see the u.s. look to improve more sanctions. this latest salvo is likely to add to the ongoing tension with north korea, george. >> it certainly will. let's talk about it

paula, do these joint air drills signal any move towards some level of war footing on the part of the u.s., given white house national security adviser h.r. mcmaster insists the u.s. and north korea are close to war? >> well, rosemary, what we're hearing officially from u.s. forces korea, they released a statement a few hours ago saying this happens every year. it is an annual drill. it is a comparable size to previous years. it's it's some 130 aircraft, 12,000 personnel. so it's a significant drill. but they also say it's not in response to any incident or provocation. that being said, they yacht often say this when it comes to annual drills. but they do insist it is annual. the fact that you have the f-22 raptors, the stealth fighters, the top of the line stealth fighters coming to the korean peninsula, they arrived over the weekend. they're carrying out these military drills above the korean peninsula and around it right now that of course is going to strike a nerve when it comes to north korea. these are the kinds of fighter jets according to experts that would likely lead any kind of military acti

paula, do these joint air drills signal any move towards some level of war footing on the part of the u.s., given whitese national security adviser h.r. mcmaster insists the u.s. and north korea are close to war? >> well, rosemary, we've had an update from u.s. forces korea in just the past couple of hours. and they have specified that this drill, which is annual, is not in relation to anything that is happening at this point. it's not in response to anything that's happening on the korean peninsula. also saying it's comparable in size to previous years. but this is 230 aircraft, 12,000 personnel. it is a sizable joint air force drill between the u.s. and the south koreans. but of course the one point that is interesting, you alluded to it there in the introduction was the fact that these f-22 raptors, these top of the line stealth fighters are right now on the korean peninsula, or flying around the korean peninsula. these are the sort of planes that could potentially according to experts be leading any kind of strike militarily on north korea should it degenerate to that kind of situation. they're the

show, "the west wing" but this is a white house that's seen plenty of upheaval. 16 resignations and 7 firings so far and more expected in the new year, dan and paula yeah, more reshuffling to come. thanks, david. >> aaron sorkin thanks you david, appreciate it. >>> we want to move on now and matthew dowd.ews political matthew, good morning to you. >> good morning, paula. >> so after the president's win on the tax bill he's expected to focus on infrastructure next which he says will fulfill another campaign promise rolling out a plan late next month. he is saying this will be, quote, matt, the easiest of all. in reality what kind of obstacles could he face? >> well, i think he would be smart politically and for the country's sake if he did that. 80% of the country wants something done on infrastructure. the problem he has is that he's entering the midterm zone of the elections as david talked about and it's going to be very difficult to get democrats on board because they have no incentive, 80%, 85% of their base wants them to fight donald trump on everything and republicans because they took a trillion dollars and increased the federal deficit to

paula, good morning. >> good morning. now, there were several clues this plea deal was coming. sources confirm to us that mike flynn's attorneys had stopped cooperating with the whiteng information with them about the investigation. sources also told me that certain witnesses who were expected to testify about nike flynn before the grand jury had been told to hold off. they had been pushed bawe also attorn were two possible things he could be charged with. the first was violations of requirements that you have to register when you're lobbying on behalf of a foreign country. we know that at least half a does witnesses have gone before the grand jury here at federal court and testified about mike flynn's lobbying work on behalf of turkey and russia. we knew that was a possible charge and it at peers here in this plea deal, special counsel has pushed aside that charge for now, and allowed him to only plead guilty to making false statements to the fbi about his meetings with russian ambassador sergey kislyak. now this is an incredibly significant witness for robert mueller, because you have to remember, mike flynn would have been there for all the initial -- the discus

white house correspondent cecilia vega for more. good morning to you, cecilia. >> reporter: hey, paula. good morning to you.ou know what, the president said he wanted that bill on his desk by christmas and it looks like he'll get it. let's look at what it would do for so many deductions so many american families claim. it will reduce the amount you can claim on your mortgage up to $750,000. it also expands that child tax credit. republicans really can't afford to lose many votes on this one. senator john mccain is suffering and -- suffering from that rare form of brain cancer. he is back home in arizona in in the wake of treatment, so he is expected to miss this vote. two key republican senators did end up flipping their votes from nos to yeses to it looks like it's all but a done deal and calling it a gift for middle class families, but this nonpartisan congressional tax age analyst says that those who stand to benefit the most, paula, are the rich and big corporations. >> moving on, cecilia, today in washington the president is also going to lay out a new u.s. national security policy. what can we expect?

white house since february. a lot of questions to ask. >> we will be there as soon as the president comes out in the rose garden or inside. c cecilia vega, thanks very much. paula? >> if the bill is designed before the end of the year, many americans could start to see the impact as soon as february in the form of bigger pay checks. our senior congressional correspondent mary bruce is on capitol hill with more on what the public can expect. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, paula. well this, is the most sweeping overhaul to the nation's tax code in a generation, likely to impact almost every single american which has many this morning wondering how and when this will impact you. republicans are promising more money is coming to your wallet. >> today we are giving the people of this country their money back. >> reporter: most households would get a tax cut at first. the bill doubles the standard deduction and the child tax credit. >> come february, check your check. >> reporter: the irs says you could start to see less money withheld from your paycheck as soon as february, but those tax cuts for individuals may not last forever. they're set to expire afte