thank you for taking time to join us. >> thank you. >> senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. >>>ll ahead the president suggests he's open to pardoning two members of his orbit with significant legal troubles. stay with us. that's next. ificant legal troubs stay with us that's next. hooks me up. getting more for getting away. traveling lighter. getting settled. rewarded. learn more at the explorer card dot com. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum... ...with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. cascade platinum. skip to the good part with alka-seltzer plus. now with 25% more concentrated power. nothing works faster for powerful cold relief. oh, what a relief it is! so fast! >>> okay, this is not the type of legal filing you like to see from your lawyer, particularly around the holidays. quote, mr. parnas' apparent inability -- mr. parnas' ability to fund his defense has diminished. it thu

thank you for taking time to join us. >> thank you. >> senator richard blumenthal of connecticut.pump motors) (lamp crashes) ♪music it's the final days of the wish list sales event. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first month's payment. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum... ...with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. cascade platinum. >>> okay, this is not the type of legal filing you like to see from your lawyer, particularly around the holidays. quote, mr. parnas' apparent inability -- mr. parnas' ability to fund his defense has diminished. it thus would constitute significant hardship for mr. parnas to continue to be represented by two attorneys in this matter. i've discussed this matter fully with mr. parnas consents to my withdrawal from this criminal matter. that was the lawyer from giuliani associate lev parnas request

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we'll talk about the breaking news and more with senator richard blumenthal of the judiciary and armed services committee and our correspondents and analysts are standing by. but first straight to capitol hill. our correspondent manu raju is on the scene for us. we're minutes away from the house intelligence committee members going behind closed doors to review the committee's impeachment report. what is the very latest information you're getting? >> reporter: yeah, just a matter of moments members of that committee will go behind closed doors and review this report and that is something they can do up until tomorrow when the committee will release the report and send it to the house judiciary committee and they will use this report as the basis of articles of impeachment against this president. expect this democratic report to be long. potentially hundreds of pages long detailing the findings of this two-month investigation into ukraine. the democrats allegations the president abused his power and dealings with that foreign country and his ask for ukraine to investigate his political

joining the now is richard blumenthal. the senate judiciary committee and will take part in these today. what do you want to hear today in. >> what i want to hear is a clear, explicit picture of how this investigation was in no way the result of anti-trump animus or bias. no caused by a deep red state animus against trump. i want to hear him confront directly and rebut the real insult from attorney general barr against all federal law enforcement but most particularly against the integrity of his report. because what the attorney general seems to be doing is simply festering and supporting the right wing conspiracy theories about this russia investigation which produced very dramatic convictions. 37 indictments and 7 convictions. five prison sentences. not a bogus narrative as the attorney general says and that's what i want to hear from mr. horowitz. >> to remind people again, the horowitz report found the investigation was legal and no evidence in political bias in how it was launched. yet as you say, the attorney genera

now joining me senator richard blumenthal. what is your feeling about this action by the speaker to with hold transmission of the articles until some announcement about the basic procedures for the framework are announced? >> this decision is nancy pelosi's, and it is perfectly understandable that she wants some assurance of a full, fair proceeding. after all of the extraordinarily good work and the courage that it took to reach this result, she wants to make sure that we're going to avoid that sham and charade that mitch mcconnell has said in effect he is going to engineer. remember what he said, there's no chance the president will be removed from office, he's going to take his cues from the white house, in effect putting the defendant in charge of the trial. and he has enablers here. equally complicit are my republican colleagues because he could not get away with this charade without at least 51 votes. >> one of your republican colleagues lindsey graham said the whole thing is a sham, he wants to get through as soon as pos

senator richard blumenthal, member of the judiciary committee and a democrat from connecticut. thank you so much for being with us. will there be a senate trial? >> there will be a senate trial. it is required by the constitution. the issue of when the articles of impeachment will be sent to the senate is a decision for nancy pelosi to make and very understandably she wants some assurance that it will be full and fair, not the sham and charade that mitch mcconnell is apparently going to give the president. and what's striking about the report that you've just heard, excellent reporting by jim acosta, is the assumption by the president that he can set the terms of his own trial. and that assumption is well warranted by mitch mcconnell saying he's going to take his cue from the white house. he has said there's no chance that the president will be removed, and he in effect is making himself and his republican colleagues complicit in the cover-up, the denial of documents and witnesses that are necessary for a full, fair proceeding, and that's why we are insisting that there be some

. >> reporter: connecticut democrat richard blumenthal pressed horowitz on that point. >> did you find any evidence that the fbi tapped the phones at trump tower? >> no. >> reporter: democrats also focused on another conclusion from horowitz -- that the fbi investigation into the president was launched legitimately and without political influence. >> there is no deep state. simply put, the fbi investigation was motivated by facts, not bias. >> reporter: despite the republicans' repeated attacks on the fbi during the hearing, the chairman lindsey graham said he still has faith the fbi director, christopher wray, can fix the problems. cbs news, washington. >>> investigators in new jersey are trying to determine a motive for tuesday's deadly shoot-out that left six people dead. police in jersey city say they found a pipe bomb at the scene. the newly released surveillance video suggests that the shooters targeted a kosher market. more from don dahler. >> reporter: this video shows why so many people believe this was not a random attack. the suspects are seen getting out of their u-haul van

. >> reporter: connecticut democrat richard blumenthal pressed horowitz on that point. >> did you find any evidence that the f.b.i. tapped the phones at trump tower? >> no. >> reporter: democrats also focused on another conclusion from horowitz, that the f.b.i. igvestigation into the president was launched legitimately and without political influence. >> there is no deep state. simply put, the f.b.i. investigation was motivated by facts, not bias. >> reporter: despite the republicans' repeated attacks on the f.b.i. during the hearing, the chairman, lindsey graham, said he still has faith the f.b.i. director christopher wray can fix the problems. norah? >> o'donnell: catharine, thank you. the final frenzied push toward impeachment begins tonight with a rare evening debate in the house judiciary committee. this as president trump is openly mocking the articles of impeachment while some democrats think they don't go far enough. nancy cordes is just outside the committee room. nancy? >> reporter: norah, there are some democrats who would have gone further, but the party is rallying around

richard blumenthal of connecticut joins us, on the judiciary and armed services. thank you for being with us. >> thank you very much for having me. >> when you hear your fellow senator, republican lisa murkowski saying she's disturbed by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell's promise of total coordination with the white house even, as we know, she really took a hit at the house democrats for how they proceeded, does this make you think there is a crack forming in the republican party? >> her statements certainly reflect cracks in the mcconnell wall. from having talked to a number of my colleagues, i know her misgivings reflect the strong reservations that a number of my republican colleagues feel about this charade and sham that apparently mcconnell wants at the behest of the white house. for him to say that he will not be impartial, that he will take his cues from the white house, that he will be acting hand in glove, as senator murkowski put it in effect puts the defendant in charge of his own trial. and that offends a number of my republican colleagues and, f

senator richard blumenthal a liberal member of the judiciary committee, seems to have no idea mitch mcconnellas all the leverage. >> this decision is, indeed, nancy pelosi is to make. her position is fully understandable that she wants some assurance that there will be a full, fair, honest trial with witnesses and documents. there is a court of appeals here. it is the electric, the court of public opinion. >> laura: wait a second, wait a second. he was basically the chief while you're in my home state of connecticut for year after year after year, okay? state attorney there. he doesn't know that the constitution says the senate has full power of impeachment, really? nancy gets to call all the shots in the senate. does that apply the other way? does mitch get to call the shots in the house? because this would have come down a lot different. harvard law repressor alan dershowitz read the constitution and he said, i can imagine nothing more unconstitua house impeachment without sending it to the senate. it would be as if the prosecutor decided he had insufficient evidence to get a conviction so

it isn't just the media excited about senator murkowski but so is richard blumenthal. >> her courage could be contagious but remember that these witnesses and documents may in fact contain very incriminating additional evidence. my strong feeling is that we will avoid any unnecessary delay and should move forward with purpose. >> how big deal is this? >> i don't think her comments are that big deal, she stating something that is rather common sense that there should be a fair trial and a fair hearing. i think leader mcconnell is committed to that. he said clearly this is a political exercise and when they say he's being impartial is suggesting he will be he says let's put aside the charade. does anyone think chuck schumer hasn't made up his mind or bernie sanders or elizabeth warren or cory booker, kamala harris, amy klobuchar, they all said donald trump should be impeached. everyone goes into this with their own political biases and even their previous statements but that doesn't mean you can't have a meaningful trial and i think the president is ready for this. >> nancy pelosi must

connecticut senator richard blumenthal. >> i am very, very wary as a jew of labeling judaism as a nationality. it smacks of not only what happen in the soviet union but also nazi germany. >> of the white house and says that changes the president is proposing will not change free speech, but it doesn't affect federal funding for colleges and universities. this is attracting an awful lot of attention. >> bret: john roberts live on the north lawn. we are less than an hour away from another big impeachment meeting among lawmakers. chad program up on the hill tonight to tell us what's going on tonight. good evening, chad. >> a day night doubleheader on capitol hill. in just about an hour, the house judiciary committee will start what's termed a markup session, a fancy word for going through the impeachment session, getting them down to the final for them. one resolution, they want to break it out into those two articles of impeachment and possibly put that on the house floor next week. that schedule is up in flocks, spoke with the house majority leader steny hoyer today, said they are working it o

as of right now, we don't know, aside from those comments from richard blumenthal, whether or not there are enough republican senators to put pressure on senator mitch mcconnell to fundamentally alter the contours of what a senate trial would look like. >> but certainly a few of them right now are under the magnifying glass as a result of those comments. hans, see you again. thank you so much. joining me, abigail tracy from vf vf and josh gerstein, senior writer at politico and msnbc contributor. big welcome to you both. josh, you first. the president's tweetstorm against nancy pelosi. what is the intended effect here and how does it actually play out? does it suggest he's worried? >> oh, it certainly suggests he's worried, and even in those recent speeches that he's given, you know, seems to be joking around about impeachment, but you can tell that it's really gnawing at him. he keeps talking about history, so there's no question that he's aware of the severity of the stain of the vote of impeachment even as he tries to play it down. i think in terms of the impact on pelosi, i don't kn

. >> senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. thank you. >> thank you. >> the president's rational for putting the g-7 at his own resort debunkend in black and white. that's next. debunkend in black white. that's next. wow. thanks, zoltar. how can i ever repay you? maybe you could free zoltar? thanks, lady. taxi! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ are you currently using a whitening toothpaste, but not seeing results? try crest 3d whitestrips. its enamel-safe formula lifts and removes stains to provide 100% noticeably whiter teeth or your money back. try crest 3d whitestrips. >>> tried to convince everyone that the president was just forced to award himself a multimillion dollar government contract to host the g-7 and have a bunch of world leaders to come to south florida in the middle of the summer. we have people that understand what it's about. it's not about me. it's about getting the right location. >> the folks for the citizens of responsibility and ethics in washington requested it and you'

senator richard blumenthal said about lisa murkowski's comments, it seems there is a crack in the mcconnell wall. is there? >> the point is to hear democrats complaining or republicans like senator murkowski complaining about senate problems when the trial hasn't even begun and in light of the hijinks of what i would consider to be they kangaroo trial of adam schiff which led to all of this, he lied right from the very beginning about his staff's contacts with the so-called witness who might be more than inside dealer than he is an actual whistle-blower, there is all something very rich about this. they were complaining about something that hasn't even begun yet after what happened with the adam schiff trial and we have the judiciary committee as well. bottom line i think, as of the foot dragging of nancy pelosi, maybe they don't want a trial until the election itself. the foot could be dragging all the way to november with -- in the meantime, all these charges about republican problems with the senate trial being fed out to a very accommodating news media because that's essentially what th

richard blumenthal, the senator from connecticut has said that he wants mr. to testify, so the pressure is still very much on for boeing. >> richard, you know, when i was in business school, boeing was lauded. they won the beverage award for quality multiple times, and so this is sort of striking to see this fall from grace for this storied american company. one of the big debates we're having now, the business round table saying ceos should value long-term value creation over short-term shareholder value. is this part of a process perhaps that boeing let some quality standards fall due to an emphasis on share price by the ceo? >> not due to share price. i wouldn't say, the share price has been very good over the last few years, so it wasn't share price. it was market share that they were going for. had introduced the a 320, it was selling very well, very well, and boeing didn't really have a competitor for this, so they rushed through the max, and there the problems began and multiplied. it was boeing's wish to get the max into production and flying as soon

. >> richard blumenthal was talking to him last night and he said he hopes mitch mcconnell's splittingar matter could be contagious. do you agree? do you think murkowski's carriage in saying this could catch on and who is most likely going to catch on with? >> well, i do think it opens the door for others to say i like the position she took. a few weeks ago she said you should be able to reach the same conclusion as you would if the president was of the opposite party. that's the way i'm looking at this. that's what it means to be impartial. what if you had the same evidence and information and the president was in this case a democrat? how would i look at it? i need to be able to reach the same conclusion in either case. lisa was right when she said that a few weeks ago. she's certainly right in supporting a fair and full trial, a process that seeks justice is going to involve key witnesses, and i think that ad really pointed to the fact there are folks really central to this story who know a whole lot and the president prevented them from testifying in the house, but an indictment wh

out front for me now democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut.nk you for coming in. >> thank you. >> you oversee the military on the house arms services committee. were you surprised by what you saw in these videos? >> as a member of the senate arms services committee, i was deeply disturbed and frankly, these reports are absolutely repugnant, likely to be regarded as so by the military itself because in no way do they reflect the integrity, discipline, values of our military, not to mention our special operators and they also reflect, quite frankly, the courage and concern of these s.e.a.l.s who came forward. remember, the s.e.a.l. community and our special operators are intensely tightly knit and loyal, so it took tremendous bravery for them to come forward. >> we have heard, of course, president trump champion eddie gallagher time and time again. do you think that he was aware of these vitd yos before he intervened? >> whether or not he was aware, his outrageous and reprehensible interference erodes trust in the command structure and in the ru

mike: richard blumenthal said there are five to six republicans with severe misgivings about senate strategydoes delay bring out more concerns? >> people can question strategy. people might have own tactics when they go about it. every impeachment when you had a republican, divided house and senate with the white house they have always negotiated with the white house to have a fair process. that i think is what is missing in this. there was never an attempt by the speaker to have any kind of negotiation on a fair process with the white house t was done with a republican house and a democrat president under clinton. it was done with the democrat house and republican president under nixon. they negotiated fair terms and process so that you could have a fair trial. they didn't have that in the house. it was very clear that pelosi didn't want a fair process in the end it will end in acquittal. why don't we focus on real things that matter for hard-working families. mike: leader mcconnell doesn't sound like he is in rush. president trump is down in mar-a-lago stewing s there tension there? >> i d

richard blumenthal singh earlier today that he is very wary as a of labeling judaism is a nationality. it smacks not only of what happened in the soviet union but also of nazi germany. he thinks that there are other tools to fight discrimination. the white house and the adl insist that this executive order will do nothing to limit free speech. he's too saying that it's not a legal move, it's more of a directive to federal agencies. it could affect funding, federal funding at college campuses if they are found to not be in line with the executive order. all of this coming at them the next few minutes. >> john roberts thank you very much. we'll be going there soon as the president takes to. she said this was, did a change in mind? >> neal, i've watched more hours of hearings over the past two weeks on a character. one thing that came to the four again is that a lot of questions were asked again and again and again by both sides. knowing that they had been asked before. democrats focusing on the determination that there was no political bias and the launching of the investigation. republ

. >> the democratic senator richa richard blumenthal from connecticut thinks there might be at least -- >> i talked to anywhere from five to ten of my colleagues who have severe miss givings about the direction that mitch mcconnell is going. >> who is on your short list? who might be the other republican senators who feel the same way here? >> so, i really heard four names and they've been murkowski, susan collins, mitt romney and cory gardner. some of the conversations have been asking -- i've received answers being like probably not going to get the four votes that you need, four of the senators to vote, four of the -- one thing that some have been telling us, mitch mcconnell has been behind the scenes, went up to mitt romney saying you need to tone down your criticism of the president especially into the impeachment weeks. that's a sign that he's putting in the effort behind the scenes to say, you can't be out there campaigning against the president. we need to have a united front. >> that's interesting about romney and mcconnell. romney may be the most likely person to hear from

and i hedge that, because we heard from senator richard blumenthal earlier and the senator from connecticutked about how there might be five to ten republican senators who want to see a different process in the senate. potentially a process with witnesses. fairness is the watch word that he is using. and what blumenthal is doing is he is seizing upon those comments from senator murkowski, the republican from alaska where , she was critical of the way mcconnell has been handling the process, and that is to say in total coordination with the white house. as always, we will be monitoring the twitter's feed of the president, and that seems to be his main portal. and now the president is an official resident of florida and ivanka trump is expected to call washington home on a full time basis if the president wins re-election and spends another four years at the white house. richard? >> hans nichols, floodwatch. >>> joining us, hannah trudeau, politics reporter for daily beast. and david mark, deputy news examiner for the washington examiner. where does the impeachment trial stand right now? any

isn't just the media excited about senator murkowski speaking out, so is connecticut senator richard blumenthal. >> her courage could be contagious. but remember that these witnesses and documents may, in fact, contain very incriminating additional evidence. my strong feeling is that we will avoid any unnecessary delay, and we should move forward with purpose. >> mike: congressman, how big of a deal is this? >> i don't think her comments are that big of a deal at all. she is stating something that is rather commonsensical, that there should be a fair trial and a fair hearing. i think leader mcconnell is committed to that. he has said very clearly that this is a political exercise, and when they say that he is being impartial or suggesting that he will be, he says, let's put aside the charade. i mean, does anyone think that chuck schumer hasn't made up his mind? or bernie sanders, or elizabeth warren? cory booker, kamala harris? makeover sure? all of them have said the donald trump should be impeached. everyone goes into this with their own political biases, and even their previous statements, b

well, i'm thrilled to bring in two experts, a current member of the united states senate, richard blumenthal who is on the critical judiciary committee, and acting solicitor general neal katyal, who has argued dozens of cases before the supreme court in the obama administration and his new book fittingly called "impeach: the case against donald trump." good evening to both of you. >> good evening. >> senator, what does a fair trial look like in the senate? >> a fair trial in the senate is a full trial with witnesses and documents that donald trump has so far blocked in his attempted cover-up. the american people deserve to see and hear these documents and witnesses. they deserve a trial with the dignity and integrity and decentsy that this paramount constitutional constitution provides, and they deserve to understand the continuing threat that this president poses by failing to show any remorse or regret. clinton at least apologized again and again and again to the nation. donald trump says it was a perfect call, and he is continuing to support and suborn in effect the threat to our national

of conversation about what lisa murkowski's potential defection would mean, you have senator richard blumenthal hinting that there are five to ten senate republicans that have similar misgivings about mitch mcconnell's pledge to work this total coordination. it's a staring contest at this point. mcconnell has said there will not be any conversations until congress gets back january 6th. into that void, into that silence the president is trying to alter the conversation by going after house speaker nancy pelosi. so i suspect it will keep up today, we will see if it does and we will see if house speaker nancy pelosi decides to respond in any way, shape or form. >> thank you. >>> joining me now daniel lippman, reporter at "politico" and susan del percio republican strategic and msnbc political analyst. daniel, this feels like a tale of two temperaments, nancy pelosi maybe getting under the president's skin a little bit. are the tweet storms from the president and the silence from the speaker strategy or is this just a function of two very different personalities and political styles? >> i think it

. >> mike: richard blumenthal says there are 5-10 republicans with severe misgivings about mcconnell'strategy. it does for the delay risk bringing out more senate g.o.p. concerns? >> representative scalise: you know, people can question strategy and everybody might have their own tactics of how they go about it. every impeachment -- when you had a republican -- divided house and senate with the white house, they've always negotiated with the white house to have a fair process. that i think it's what's missing in the spirit it was never an attempt by the speaker to have any kind of negotiation on a fair process with the white house. it was done with a republican house at the democrat president under clinton. it was done with the democrat house and a republican president under nixon. they negotiated in fair terms and process so you could have a fair trial. they didn't have that in the house, it was very clear that pelosi didn't want a fair process, but in the end it's going to end in acquittal and so when we focus on real things that matter for hardworking families? >> mike: later mcconn

. >> for more i'm joined by senator richard blumenthal, democrat from connecticut.'m joined also by cynthia schneider, you're a good witness to have tonight. senator, the president -- i know you have to be particular in talking to people like mr. horowitz who's a good public servant, but this president's trashing of every american institution is just his pattern now. they're all scum including republicans who don't like him. >> that's absolutely right, chris. and i specifically asked mr. horowitz do you agree with the characterization of our courageous and dedicated fbi as scum, and he said no. but the point here is that the president has disparaged and demeaned law enforcement generally. and he is absolutely wrong when he says it's destroyed lives. in fact, three of the four people who were involved in the investigation have been convicted. >> wow. let me go to cynthia on this because the question -- i watched the politics today and i watched republican members of the congress and senate mostly the senate today, just acting like a report said the absolute opposite

. >> reporter: democratic senator richard blumenthal, who would be one of 100 senate jurors in the president's senate impeachment trial, supports house speaker nancy pelosi's decision to withhold the articles of impeachment until democrats can ensure a fair process. >> mitch mcconnell is sabotaging this proceeding. >> reporter: alaska republican senator lisa murkowski says she was disturbed by these comments by republican leader mitch mcconnell -- >> i'm going to coordinate with the president's lawyers. so there won't be any difference between us on how to do this. >> reporter: some house democrats are concerned about republicans' impartiality. >> some of them have decided already that they will not be impartial. they actually have to take an oath to say they will be impartial. >> the game in the house was rigged. it was rigged. this is a carnival ring toss. >> reporter: republican john kennedy wants the senate to act differently. >> i want people to walk away saying the senate gave everyone due process and an opportunity to be heard because they can't say that in the house. >> reporter: even

one more from senater richard blumenthal from last night.he democrat from connecticut saying i hope we in the senate will approach our upcoming task, a full fair trial with witnesses and documents with the same kind of steadfast commitment to the facts and to our constitution. colorado, in cortez, republican, good morning to you. caller: good morning, thank you for allowing me to talk. i don't do well on the phone. president trump, they have been calling for his impeachment the day after he was elected. personally didn't care for the man, don't care for the man, he is egotistical, he might border on narcissism. but i did not want hillary clinton and so i voted for trump and i have not been sorry. the big picture here is that america is missing is that we are about to engage in a civil war while the rest of the world is watching us. there is name-calling on both sides from people who haven't researched any of the information in the past few months. trump's had some positive accomplishments. he has said some things that weren't right, i will a

and i just spoke with senator richard blumenthal and i think it was already up on our story he says thatthe fix. dave is part of this culture and in his interview with me, he called on him to testify as soon as possible. because he believes that dave is representative of the same culture that got us where we are today. >> scott, how do you think this plays out, especially in light of those comments right there? we've already had guests on our air today push back and made the argument that the entire board needs to be looked at, skrut ny scrutinized and revamped right now. >> well, boeing obviously has a public relations crisis that they need to address, but they really need to focus on fixing the issue and getting this plane back in the air. faa is clearly going to take its time, make sure they get everything done, as appropriate. i know the faa administrator sent oa message around to all fa personnel recently saying, get this job done right. don't feel you need to be rushed in any way in the meantime, boeing is, you know, having issues with their customers, making big payouts to jetblue

i'm joined now by richard senator blumenthal of connecticut, a member of the senate judiciary committee. barbara boxer, and noah feldman, professor at harvard law school, one of the witnesses to testify to the house judiciary committee earlier this month about the legal arguments on impeachment. i want to start with senator blumenthal about this. where do you stand on the constitutional question, does pelosi have the prerogative to hold back the articles? >> this decision is indeed nancy pelosi's to make. and her position is fully understandable that she wants some assurance there will be a full fair honest trial with witnesses and documents. after all of the extraordinarily able work done by the house committee and the courage of those dedicated public servants who have come forward. she wants to make sure that we will have more than the sham charade that mitch mcconnell -- keep in mind he has said there's no chance donald trump will be removed. he has promised he will take his cues from the white house, and he has enablers in my republican colleagues. he cannot do this sham without th

one of the last guys in that clip is richard blumenthal.hat's as legitimate as this process democrats pursuing in the senate. democrats in the house tried it. they thought prospects for impeachment were going to improve. do senate democrats think that the spaghetti a they are throwing against the wall is going to improve their case? >> no. they will see what the house democrats are seeing. independents, in particular, are fed up. they are frustrated. i think the dems are cried wolf one too many times between mueller cohen, lewandowski, if it's not this, then it's that again, at the end of the day, what's going on with healthcare reform, with immigration, with transportation and infrastructure all the things the american people elected us to tackle up here, none of that is getting done. i think the senate is about to hear that, the senate democrats, in particular, loud and clear, just as the house has. rachel: congressman, did you go back into your district. you talk to the people there you are seeing what they are seeing which is democrats

blumenthal. if you look at the constitution, the standing rules of the senate, the essay and analysis by the congressional research service and the case law, nixon v u.s., not richard nixon, a federal judge named nixon, if you look at the case of portus v barron and the rule is there is no substantive rules. it is not a criminal trial. the senate is not really a jury. it is both jury and judge. the chief justice is not the judge, he's the presiding officer. there are no standards of proof. there are no rules of evidence. and every senator, unless we pass a new rule by 51 votes in the senate, is entitled to approach it his own way. i think many positions by many senators are kacal sieve eyed. i want to be fair to both sides. when i thought that the house proceedings were unnecessarily unfair and when the american people walk away from the senate trial, if we ever have one, i don't want them saying well we were just run over by the same truck twice. it was unfair in the house and it was unfair in the senate. i want people to think that it was a level playing field. >> so you said earlier this month that in the name of fairness, you would vote, theoretically, to allow