who said i cannot watch kent sorenson be attacked as a sell-out. when he made that statement, enos may have planned to stay with bachmann, but tonight he, too, is gone. enos told nbc news quote it was a mutual thing, i knew when i undermined bachmann's statement last night that i was effectively tendering my resignation. you can decide who is most credible in this scenario. but bachmann's other claim is less debatable. >> we had kent sorenson's former campaign manager who told me that kent is getting money. we saw incredible momentum, including the fact that last night we had 150 new people calling us, saying they want to stand up for me in the caucuses, we had thousands over the last ten days and that caused the ron paul campaign to be very nervous, because they saw the momentum shifting here in iowa to my campaign. so then they came up with this plan apparently to offer a lot of money to kent sorenson. >> paul has 22% of the vote in the latest poll. that's up 5% from the start of the month. let's get into the raw politics in des moines iowa. cand

six minutes later, i see kent sorenson on stage endorses ron paul. sorenson and reasons why he may have done it. >> kent said to me yesterday that everyone sells out in iowa. why shouldn't i? then he told me that he would stay with our campaign. the ron paul campaign has to answer for its actions on these events. >> now, now kent sorenson told me last night that claim is absurd and incorrect. the campaign chairman went even further, he said that she doesn't have a clue, he also said that her campaign is floundering. and a that's the why she would making these allegations. >> unbelievable. anthony,ç thank you for stayin on top of it. >>> newt gingrich's campaign has been a roller-coaster ride, where does he think he stands now? let's go back to chuck in des moines, what else did gingrich tell you, fascinating interview on the bus, what else came of it that's worth our time. >> well, look, there's a lot in there. you should hear his back and forth, for instance, on what we could have do prevent north korea from getting nuclear weapons. but we talked a

sorenson was very outspoken afterwards in his criticism of romney.ple who want romney -- don't want romney to be the nominee are looking for a candidate who can beat him in iowa, and right now, you have to say paul's the best bet to do that. the crazy thing about it is, if you want to stop mitt romney long term, ron paul winning the iowa caucuses is the worst possible outcome, because the romney campaign would be fine with that. romney would be able to go on from here knowing that, in his view, he can't lose to paul, and no one else would come out of iowa with a head of steam who might be a bigger threat to him down the road. >> five days from now, they will q%9 iowa. i know caucuses are almost impossible to handicap, but sitting here five days out, mitt romney, ron paul clumped together at the top, santorum coming up, how does it look to you? >> look, i think romney right now is in the captain's seat. he has the establishment support locked up. people focused on the tea party andç evangelical vote. those are important, but the establishment vote in

ken sorenson is a tea party favorite before michele bachmann announced candidacy. this behavior and the super pack incident say about loyalty within the tea party itself? >> they will have to answer to that. not only did senator sorenson say it was about money, but former campaign operative of his has spoken and said the same thing. that's behind us now. we are looking to the future. he has to answer to what he did. a lot of work to do between now and next tuesday. we will continue our 99-county tour. it's important for michelle to do what she does best. they are about 45% of the electorate. it's critical for the people to have the opportunity to talk with the candidates. that's what she wants to do. we had a lot of people, hundreds of people come up to theç effes on the tour saying they are undecided and the solutions for how to turn the economy around and the confidence with the people in this country are on our camp. this is a valuable tour to connect with the people and sway the undecideds to our camp and solidify the support. >> to that point along with soren

sorenson denies he was lured away by cash.k, is this significant signe sense that it's blotting out any other news. i was at the event last night where sorenson did that. pretty dramatic. he's obviously not a national figure. he's not even particularly well known broadly in iowa, but it does show that there are these efforts going on, lots of rumors and accusations, efforts going on to try to settle on a candidate to stop mitt romney. sorenson was very outspoken afterwards in his criticism of romney. people who want romney -- don't want romney to be the nominee are looking for a candidate who can beat him in iowa, and right now, you have to say paul's the best bet to do that. the crazy thing about it is, if you want to stop mitt romney long term, ron paul winning the iowa caucuses is the worst possible outcome, because the romney campaign would be fine with that. romney would be able to go on from here knowing that, in his view, he can't lose to paul, and no one else would come out of iowa with a head of steam who might be a b

bachmann was stunned and accused sorenson of selling out for money. >> he told all of our campaign he definitely on board. then he got in his car and went and announced he was going with the ron paul campaign. he told me specifically he was offered money, great deal of money from the ron paul campaign. that is why he was leaving. >> the conversation did not happen. even her own campaign staff who is her iowa political director made a statement last night denying that. coming to my defense. that is within her own ranks. >> romney is increasingly confident. his crowds are swelling and the aides say the counties he won last time are mostly safe this time. >> sure, i want to win iowa. everybody wants to win iowa. i want to make sure that your vote backing me is a vote that leads me to become the nomine nominee. santorum crowds are surging and he knows it. >> they are looking at the campaign and doing analysis and deciding we stack up better than everybody else. i alias believed that would be the case. i'm gratified that iowans see it the same way. >> perry is trying to halt surging santor

. >> i had a conversation with kent sorenson. and in the direct conversation i had with him, he told me he was offered money. he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign to go and associate with the ron paul campaign. no one else knows about that conversation other than kent and myself. i know what he said to me about that. >> he says he went to the paul camp because ron paul has the best change of beating romney and president obama. in his statement, he says as for the ridiculous allegations that congresswoman bachman made, i was never paid. here is what he said on fox news with megan kelly. >> was money offered to you by anybody from the ron paul camp to jump ship? >> absolutely not. i did not accept money. i was never offered a nickel from the ron paul campaign. >> or anybody associated with it? >> never offered a nickel. >> it's a he said/she said. we don't know what conversation, if any, took place between them. tonight, there's another he said in the mix. another bachmann campaign official who came to sorenson's

why am i looking at kent sorenson on my tv this morning?mething tells me we're going to forget the name kent sorenson within a matter of days. >> days? >> within hours. >> what a classy guy. who wouldn't want him in their corner? obviously this is a huge joke. and he's transparent about it, too. michelle wasn't going to win. >> i want to go with the guy who is at least going to be number two. >> plus they threw in some cash. >> i'm going to try -- bachmann is famous for throwing out statements that actually make no sense whatsoever upon close skr scrutiny. >> forget kent sorenson and let's talk about where ron paul is. he's right there at the top with romney. a lot of these independents who can switch at the door could go to ron paul. where does he fit in here? >> he's got a great platform right now for iowa. he is just devoted followers. a lot of them are college kids. these kids are instate kids, they're going to be in iowa. he has a built-in base that no other candidate can match. but the thing is, the expectation is he has nowhere else

. >> i had a conversation with kent sorenson. in the direct conversation i had with him he told me that he was offered money. he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign to go and associate with the ron paul campaign. no one else knows about that conversation other than kent sorenson and myself and i know what he said to me about that. >> what does sorenson say? stick around. in just a few minutes he will join me live to explain himself. it is his first tv interview since he changed camps. don't miss it. >>> poll numbers have not been especially encouraging to president obama but the pew hispanic center finds by more than a margin 2-1 they favor the president over mitt romney or rick perry, despite the fact they don't approve of increased deportations on the president's watch. hispanics are the fastest population group in the country and a major voting bloc. >>> arab league monitors on the ground in syria have failed to stop deadly clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters. opposition activists say

campaign. >> sorenson endorsed ron paul in des moines yesterday just hours after attending a bachmann campaign event. a spokesman from the ron paul campaign denied sorenson was paid to switch sides. >>> this comes as support for bachmann slides among iowa republicans. the cnn poll has her in sixth place with only 9% of the vote. mitt romney holding a slim lead over a second place ron paul. the big surprise is third place rick santorum whose 16% is triple the number he had earlier this month. he has practically lived in that state. newt gingrich by the way has fallen to fourth. >>> federal charges may be filed against several bp employees over last year's oil spill in the gulf of mexico. the "wall street journal" reports federal prosecutors accuse the employees of providing false information to regulators about the risks of the oil rig. the accident that led to the spill killed 11 people. >>> 5:11. a push for pipeline safety in the new year. the changes designed to prevent another san bruno disaster. >> and it's a bay area hotspot for deadly crashes. how a new crackdown could cost you

thursday, she lost her political director a day after iowa campaign chairman kent sorenson defending joining ron paul's team. bachmann showed reporters her phone insisting sorenson told her about a -- she received from ron paul's camp. >> clearly, this is something that they generated and it shows, again, that we have powerful momentum. >> reporter: both sorenson and the poll campaign deny the allegation. according to a new poll, if there was a contest between mitt romney and president obama, mitt romney would win about 45% of the vote while president obama would only get about 39%. >> duarte geraldino in washington, thank you. >>> romney's fortunes are rising in iowa. newt gingrich who led a month ago has fallen back in the pact. campaigning yesterday gingrich said he wouldn't respond to the negative ads that have hurt his campaign. gingrich asked if he will continue if he finishes fourth or lower in iowa. >> considering that i'm 20 points ahead in some other states, it would be foolish for me not to stay in the race. >>> looking beyond iowa. a gingrich supporter is suing to have gi

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

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

state senator kent sorenson served as bachmann's iowa chairman. last night he announced he is now supporting ron paul, bachmann's rival. >> when i was running for the state senate, congressman paul came and actually did three separate events for me and i felt like that he was by my side. i had a tough race. now it's my duty to be by his side. >> ken sorenson personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> the paul campaign and sorenson deny that any such offer was made. >>> not your typical banking experience. why this bay area branch is more like an internet cafe. >>> two things can't go in one can. the mixed drink banned in california come the new year. >>> hi, i'm meteorologist lawrence karnow in the cbs 5 weather center. plenty of clouds around the bay area and some fog too. another storm headed our way. will we see some rain before the end of the year? we'll talk about that coming up. that's what customers can order nk in san franci >>> coffee snack or check deposit? >> i'll take all three. t

bachmann accused sorenson of taking a large sum of money to work for ron paul. charge is absolutely false. >> the fact of the matter is i did not accept any money from the ron paul campaign. >> but you know, as you know, accept is different than offered. and i want to make clear you're also saying they never offered it? no one, not ron paul, not anyone affiliated with ron paul's campaign or supporting his campaign offered you any money to support ron paul? >> i was never offered a nickel from the ron paul campaign. >> during sorenson's interview it seemed like the bachmann campaign was keeping a close eye on him. take a look at the bachmann truck in the background, as well as the bachmann campaign bus, justç happened to be rolling b. there's nothing like a do or die election to bring out the paranoia in politicians. more than interesting. let's turn to rick green. he is the vice president and editor of the "des moines register" newspaper. also with us tonight, john nicholls, washington correspondent for the "nation" magazine, who has spent quite a bit of time o

paul and sorenson flatly deny it. is this helping any of them? >> no. it's absolutely not. funny. we talked about the report last night and talk about the iowa surprises. here, we have one. who knows how to explain this? we have explaining on fox news earlier someone still working for michele bachmann essentially get his back saying there is no money involved here. i don't know where the claims are coming from. >> chris: a guy working for michele bachmann? >> yes. >> no longer working for michele bachmann. he was fired. >> right. not surprising. >> a little offmessage. >> this doesn't help anybody. i mean it's one of the process stories. when you have candidates who are doing poorly, as i think michele bachmann is, she hasn't been registering in the polls anecdotally people say you are not seeing much enthusiasm for her on the ground there. ron paul is now sliding to some extent. based on the newsletter story. >> real quickly. we have a minute left. mitt romney leaving in all -- leading in all the polls. charles points out some well within the margin of error. but the tell as they

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

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

. >> reporter: arne sorenson will take his place. he'll be the first nonmarriott to take the role as ceo. he'll take the title of executive chairman. >> i thought for years pity the person who tries to follow bill marriott and fill his shoes. he's a man we all love. i don't think i will try to fill his shoes in that sense. >> reporter: the marriott family has been known for flil ant pi donating millions to those with disabilities and mr. marriott known for his charisma and jokes. this is the right time for him to hand over the reigns. he promises to remain hands on. >> i'm not retiring. i am not retiring. i'm still going to be around here. >> reporter: sorenson will step up into the ceo position at the end of march. in bethesda, maryland, news 4. >>> okay. right here, two local developers want you to help them revolutionize the h street corridor. they are taking ideas from neighbors for what to do with a building setting empty. bars and restaurants helped bring business to the area. the developers put a huge sign out hoping to bring

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

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

he said he took money for the switch and sorenson said no way. >> that conversation never happened. the fact of the matter is it just didn't happen and i think it's unfortunate that they're resorting to these type of tactics. the fact of the matter is she warrant going to win iowa, and i believe we had to make a clear choice and it was a duty to my family and the other state and to say they weren't accepting the frugal socialist. >> she is standing by her claim that money drove him to drop her. listen to what she told wolf blitzer not too long ago in "the situation room." >> he told a lot of people and there were people a mile long that he told that he was getting money and all of those people were coming out of the woodwork making themselves available. so ken sorenson and i had the conversation on the phone and yesterday, kent even came out to our stop in iowa and he was there with me yesterday. he left our event and then went to the ron paul event. this is about money. >> well, let's see if it is about money. i want to bring in john avalon, senior columnist for "news week" and "th

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

kent sorenson has now defected to one of her biggest rivals ron paul. >> in 2010 i was running for thete senate congressman paul came and did three separate events for me and i felt like he was by my side and i had a tough break. now it's my duty to be by my side. >> kent sorenson told me he was paid a lot of money to go to the ron paul campaign. >> once they cast their ballots tuesday night, they're all tallied up in the room and the reports given to the gop. it's announced a couple hours after the process begins. >>> new at 11:00, an attorney is taking it upon himself to try to get newt gingrich on the ballot in march. he failed to get the necessary 10,000 signatures to make the list of republicans running for president. jonathan moseley has contended that many signatures were improperly thrown out. he is acting independently of the newt gingrich campaign. >>> meanwhile, rick perry has lost his bid. they declined perry's request for an emergency order requesting his name appear on the ballot. the ballot requirements are overly burdensome and unconstitutional. the judge will hear more

kent sorenson says he supports ron paul now.ere in iowa at a crucial point. i believe two top-tier candidates running right now. i believe the race has come down to mitt romney or ron paul. >> michele bachmann says sorenson was offered a large sum of money to work for ron paul. >> kent campaigned with us earlier this afternoon in iowa and then he went immediately afward to a ron paul event and announced he is changing teams. kent said to me yesterday that everyone sells out in iowa, why shouldn't i? then he told me he would stay with our campaign. the ron paul campaign had to answer for his actions on these events. >> paul's campaign said it was not paying sorenson and was puzzled why bachmann would make such a claim. >>> one candidate, jon huntsman is not competing in iowa but is focusing on the new hampshire primary on january 10th. earlier, huntsman told jeff the results in new hampshire may surprise some people. >> the rap on me has always been we know he can win the general election but can he win the primary phase of this

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