weijia, what did they say? >> reporter: elaine, haley says during a closed door meeting former secretary of state rex tillerson and former chief of staff john kelley asked her to join their resistance of the president because they were "trying to save the country." in a statement to cbs news, kelly says it was his job to present both pros and cons of policy changes to the president so he could make informed decisions. >> quijano: all right, weijia jiang there outside of trump tower in new york, thank you. president trump will mark veteran's day in new york city tomorrow. he will kick off the veteran's day parade-- the nation's largest-- along fifth avenue. it is a tradition that began 100 years ago with a huge ticker tape parade for returning troops from world war i. in mexico today, a somber caravan of fundamentalist mormons fled their homes in a rural part of the country following the brutal massacre last week of nine family members. but as jonathan vigliotti reports, some are staying behind, looking for just

wa weijia jiang is traveling with the president in new york. >> reporter: open naergs the impeachmentnquiry including hunter biden, the whistle-blower and anyone relied on by the whistle-blower in drafting the complaint. >> we're not going go back in time and revisit conspiracy theories that are implicated in the president's call. >> reporter: the chairman of the house intelligence committee, adam schiff, warned republicans in a letter he would not approve their request to hear from the whistle-blower writing in light of the president's threat, the individual's appearance before us would only place their personal safety at grave risk. president trump is demanding the whistle-blower testify as he defends himself against accusations that he used military aid and a white house meeting as bargaining chips to get ukraine to investigate political rival joe biden and his son hunter, a quid pro quo. >> the president acted criminally and extorted in the way a mob boss would extort somebody, a vulnerable foreign country. it's probably best not to use latin words to explain it. >> reporter: swor

weijia jiang joins us now from florida. weijia, how exactly is a surprise like this by a president pulled off? >> reporter: well, david, president trump took off from here in florida for joint base andrew, where air force one was hidden inside a hangar, and after it was wheels-up, the plane flew in darkness before landing on a pitch-black tarmac. president trump made his first trip to afghanistan under the cover of darkness, flying 13 hours to serve thanksgiving turkey at a dining hall at bagram airbase. >> there's nowhere i'd rather celebrate this thanksgiving. >> reporter: the trip was mr. trump's second to a war zone, and was so secretive, even the president of afghanistan wasn't told until just before air force one landed. the two men sat down briefly, the president said to discuss peace talks between the u.s. and the taliban, which once harbored al qaeda. >> the taliban wants to make a deal. we'll see if they want to make a deal. it's got to be a real deal. >> reporter: in late august, it appeared the two sides were cl

thanks, weijia. this weekend's arctic blast is only a precursor of what could be a deep freeze for the record books. temperatures are forecast to plummet from the northwest to the southeast. some 300 cities could set record lows, 20 to 30 degrees below normal, and that's over the next few days. part of the northeast are also getting hit with snow. eerie, pennsylvania, saw its first measurable snow of the season, more than an inch of snow falling at the city's airport last night. nine americans, including six children, have been laid to rest in the wake of that deadly ambush in mexico. ♪ ♪ as manuel bojorquez reports, the brutality of the killings shed new light on the increasing violence just south of the border. >> reporter: as relatives bury the last victim of the bam ush today, some now worry about the mormon community safety here. are some people leaving the area? >> there's been talk of it because of the tragedy, and they just don't want that to happen any more of the families. >> reporter: whet

weijia jiang is at the trump tower in new york. >> reporter: democrats say ey t let the whistleblower or joe biden's son testify in the impeachment inquiry in. a letter, intelligence committee chairman warned he will not approve their request to hear from the whistleblower, a demand president trump has made multiple times. one of the president's closest allies says that would make the case a non-starter if it reaches the republican controlled senate. >> if they don't call the whistleblower in the house, this thing is dead on arrival in the senate. >> reporter: the key factor is the president's motive on his phone call. >> if it can be demonstrated that the president asked for and had the requisite state of mind -- that the president asked for an investigation of a political rival, that's over the line. but if he asked for an investigation of possible corruption by someone who happens to be a political rival, that's not over the line. >> reporter: democrats promise the hearings will be fair and they say an inquiry into president trump's actions is justified. >> this is a very strong ca

weijia jiang reports from florida where she's traveling with the president. >> reporter: cbs news has learned president trump is likely to reject a democratic offer to allow him or his lawyers to appear at impeachment hearings next week. this even as he continues to call the inquiry unfair, attacking democrats at a rally in florida. >> not giving us due process. not giving us lawyers. >> reporter: and there are new questions about what mr. trump knew and when he knew it. at the rally, the president gave his version of the call with eu ambassador gordon sondland who had testified the administration wanted the ukrainians to investigate the bidens in exchange for military aid and a white house visit. >> last week, sondland testified that i told him, quote, what do you want from ukraine? i said, i want nothing. this is a quote. "i want no quid pro quo." >> reporter: the president was reportedly briefed about the whistle-blower's complaint alleging the quid pro quo in late august. he spoke to sondland several days after that on september 9th and released the nearly $400 million of u.s. mil

more now from weijia jiang. >> reporter: president trump made his first trip to afghanistan under the cover of darkness, flying 13 hours to serve thanksgiving turkey at a dining hall at bagram air base. >> there's nowhere i'd rather celebrate this thanksgiving. >> reporter: the trip was mr. trump's second to a war zone and was so secretive even the president of afghanistan wasn't told until just before air force landed. the two men sat down briefly. the president said to discuss peace talks between the u.s. and the taliban which once harbored al qaeda. >> the taliban wants to make a deal. we'll see if they want to make a deal. it's got to be a real deal. >> reporter: in late august it appeared the two sides were close to reaching a deal to end the war. but president trump abruptly canceled a planned summit after being criticized for offering to host it at camp david. >> as far as i'm concerned, they're dead. >> reporter: questions still linger over president trump's plan to withdraw troops from afghanistan. the pentagon says it has a plan to cut the number of troops from 12,000 to 8,6

weijia, thank you.ate today, house speaker nancy pelosi weighed in on today's testimony in an exclusive interview with margaret brennan for sunday's "face the nation." >> reporter: why do you think he was tweeting about her? >> because he-- he knows-- well, he made a mistake, and he knows her strength, and he was trying to undermine it. of course presidents appoint ambassadors. but people don't insult people, especially when they're giving onsty fore t cons the unedtate >> o'donnell: and margaret joins us now. margaret, i want wee learni about some testimony that was behind closed doors today about david holmes' deposition. what have we learned? >> reporter: yes, this is the american diplomat who was in ukraine and had firsthand knowledge. he overheard a phone call between the u.s. ambassador to the e.u., and president trump. it happened on july 26 at a restaurant in ukraine. immediately after the ambassador had met with ukrainian officials, and i'm looking now at notes here from a copy of holmes' testi

weijia jiang says that includes the president. >> i know nothing about that. first time i've heard it. >> reporter: speaking alongside the turkish president today, mr. trump denied ever talking to e.u. ambassador gordon sondland about investigations in ukraine. >> i don't recall. no, not at all, not even a little bit. >> reporter: their relationship is what president has tried to downplay since last week. >> let me just say, i hardly know the gentleman. >> reporter: and despite claiming he's paying no attention to the impeachment inquiry. >> i did not watch it. i'm too busy to watch it. >> reporter: mr. trump found time to tweet 30 times about the hearings. cbs news has learned the white house unleashed a plan to dial up its defense of the president during the public hearings with a rapid-response team reacting in real time. the white house posted this video on twitter, showing the chair of the house intelligence committee, adam schiff, as pinocchio, calling the impeachment investigation "a new hoax, same swamp." throughout the day, officials also blasted out

weijia jiang is with the president in florida. >> reporter: president trump returned to florida thisning, without an apparent plan for peace in afghanistan, or a desire to talk about it. on thursday, mr. trump told reporters who came with him on a secret trip to greet troops in afghanistan that the u.s. was talking to the taliban. >> the taliban wants to make a deal, and we're meeting with them, and we're saying it has to be a cease-fire. they didn't want to do a cease- fire, but now they do want to do a cease-fire i believe. >> reporter: today, the white house didn't offer details of what if any conversations have taken place. a taliban spokesman was less definitive, telling cbs news the group is open to restart talks with the americans at any time where they were stopped. >> they're dead. >> reporter: in september, the president declared the talks were "dead," after he was criticized for offering to host the taliban at camp david. sources say the president wants to reach a deal prior to next year's election after promising to cut the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan from 12,000

david. >> begnaud: weijia, thank you.e have new reporting tonight from our david martin, who has confirmed that the navy has canceled what's known as "review boards" for three navy seal officers who are all suspected of covering up for chief petty officer edward gallagher. you may recall, president trump intervened and restored gallagher's rank after he was convicted of a single charge of posing with a corpse in iraq. like gallagher, those three officers will be allowed to keep wearing their trident pins, which signify they are navy seals. on the eve of thanksgiving, there's a food safety alert regarding romaine lettuce that has been tainted with e. coli. the c.d.c. is telling us tonight, 67 people have gotten sick in 19 states. officials say the contaminated lettuce was harvested in salinas, california. tainted lettuce can be lethal. meg oliver reports. >> reporter: the concern over people eating e. coli- contaminated romaine lettuce continues to grow. the centers for disease control issued a food safety alert reporting

cbs reporter weijia jiang is in trump tower. >> democrats say they won't let the whistleblower or joe son hunter testify in the impeachment inquiry. in a letter to house republicans, intelligence committee chairman adam schiff warned he would not approve their request to hear from the whistleblower, a demand president trump has made multiple times. one of the president's closest allies says that would make the case a non-starter if it reaches the republican controlled senate. >> if they don't call the whistleblower in the house, this thing is dead on arrival in the senate. >> reporter: louisiana republican senator john kennedy said for him the key factor is the president's motive on his july 25th phone call with the ukraine leader. >> if it can be demonstrated that the president asked for and had the requisite state of mind, that the president asked for an investigation of a political rival, that's over the line. but if he asked for an investigation of possible corruption by someone who happens to be a political rival, that's not over the line. >> it's important that the president has

weijia jiang, cbs news, the white house. >>> the hearings kick off wednesday with hearings from two key witnesses. we will bring those hearings to you live. facebook and youtube are pledging to remove any and all content featuring the whistleblower's name. it violates the social network's policy prohibiting content outing a witness, informant, or activist. facebook says it will revisit the decision if the whistleblower's name becomes widely publicized. >>> well, port of oakland is reporting a healthy increase and exports despite the trade were. exports were up more than 10% in october compared to a year earlier. most of them went to asian markets. port officials are seeing increased shipments to asian companies other than china. >>> anger and unrest in northern syria where turkish and russian forces are moving in after the u.s. moved out. charlie d'agata is on the ground with people trapped in the middle. >> reporter: they came with whatever weapons they could find from sledge hammers and rocks to shoes and bottles and stacks of eggs. kurdish residents who have seen hundred of their peo

. >> meanwhile, weeka yank report -- weijia jiang reports that president trump may release details on success call to ukraine's president on tuesday. >> reporter: the president touted the economy and slammed the impeachment inquiry as he left the white house for the lsu versus alabama college football game. >> so the stock market hit an all-time high yesterday. the country's doing really well. the 87 hunt continues. >> reporter: president trump is willing to release the transcript of an april phone call he had with the ukraine leader, probably on tuesday. >> you tell me if you think there is anything wrong with why it. >> that call came months before the july conversation investigators are trying to determine if president trump abused his power by pressuring ukraine to investigate joe biden and his son hunter. the house republicans support a letter saturday try. >>> adam schiff, the chairman of the intelligence committee, requesting witnesses they want to recall during public hearings next week. hunter biden, the whistle blower and anyone relied on in drafting the complaint are on the

weijia jiang cbs news the white house. >>> house speaker, nancy pelosi spoke today about the upcoming impeachment hearings at a union event in san francisco. she talked about the importance of informing the public. >> we want them to know the truth, that is what the proceedings will bring forward and clear away in the public hearings. this is a sad time, a prayerful time, we don't want to think our president could be in such violation of our national security, the integrity of our elections or his oath of office to the constitution. the facts show possibly he has. >> next week, the house intelligence committee will hold its first open impeachment hearings and we will have special live coverage wednesday morning. >>> port of oakland reporting a healthy increase in exports despite the trade work between the u.s. and china. exports up more than 10 % in october compared to a year ago. most of them went to asian markets and court officials say they see increased shipments to asian countries other than china where volumes are in fact down because of the ongoing tariffs. overall, and for the

weijia jiang. >> reporter: good morning. how much is unfolded with the president knowledge are essential in the house. many witnesses have already testified under congress that it was rudy giuliani leading the administration campaign to pressure ukraine to announce investigations into the president's political rivals. rudy giuliani has denied that he tried to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars from private business deals with ukrainian officials. >> he's acknowledging that he did consider working for one company. in a statement on wednesday, his lawyer says bottom line he did not seek any business and turned down the business that saw giuli ukrainian officials came pursuing damaging information about the bidens. >> reporter: president trump defended rudy giuliani. while also claiming he did not send rudy giuliani to ukraine. >> i didn't direct him. he's a warrior. rudy is a warrior. rudy went and possibly - >> reporter: eu ambassador gordon sondland describes rudy giuliani as the master mind of pressuring ukraine to in

weijia jiang has the story. >> reporter: president trump took off from here in florida for joint baseere air force one was hidden inside a hangar. and after it was wheels up, the plane flew in darkness before landing on a pitch-black tarmac. president trump made his first trip to afghanistan under the cover of darkness, flying 13 hours to serve thanksgiving turkey at a dining hall at bagram air base. >> there is nowhere i'd rather celebrate this thanksgiving. >> reporter: the trip was mr. trump's second to a war zone and was so secretive, even the president of afghanistan wasn't told until just before air force one landed. the two men sat down briefly. the president said to discuss peace talks between the u.s. and the taliban, which once harbored al qaeda. >> the taliban wants to make a deal. we'll see if they want to make a deal. it's got to be a real deal. >> reporter: in late august, it appeared that the two sides were close to reaching a deal to end the war launched there after 9/11. but president trump abruptly canceled a planned summit after being criticized for offering to host

weijia jiang is here in studio 57 with more on this story. good morning to you. what else is nikki haley saying? >> good morning. nikki haley told cbs news the former trump aides should have quit if they didn't like the president's actions and said their attempts to circumvent him go against the constitution. this isn't the first time we're hearing of staffers' attempts to go around president trump. >> to undermine a president is really a very dangerous thing. >> reporter: speaking to norah o'donnell on sunday morning, former u.n. ambassador nikki haley doubled down on claims that senior white house officials asked her to subvert president trump. haley writes in a book out this week that then-chief of staff john kelly and then-secretary of state rex tillerson, quote, confided in me that when they resisted the president they weren't being insubordinate. they were trying to save the country. >> the secretary of state tillerson went on to tell you the reason he resisted the president's decisions was because if he didn't, people would die. do you memorialize that con

trump's former national security viserlso tes against weijia jiang is at the white house this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to everybody. president trump says the only thing that matters is the summary of his call with ukraine's leader. and now he is considering releasing a transcript of their first call, and you are so right. we have learned through court filings that former national security adviser john bolton could be dropping new bombshells about all of the stuff that was happening behind the scenes. [ chants ] in atlanta friday, president trump addressed a crowd chanting "blacks for trump," trying to drum up support for his re-election bid. >> the democrats have taken african-american voters totally for granted. >> reporter: earlier at the white house, the president brushed off the vivid picture unfolding in the impeachment inquiry, painted by several witnesses who described a quid pro quo with ukraine. >> i'm not concerned about anything, the testimony has all been fine. i mean, for the most part i never heard of these people. >> reporter: they include the fo

weijia jiang is traveling with the president in florida. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, don, good morning, everyone. let's start with the latest developments in the impeachment inquiry as the house judiciary committee prepares to hold its first hearing on wednesday. democrats have invited president trump and his legal team to participate in the proceedings, but so far they have not formally responded. also coming up, we are expecting the house intelligence committee to issue a full report after collecting evidence for weeks. while president trump was playing golf at his resort on friday, chairman of the house judiciary committee, jerry nadler, sent him a letter giving the president until friday to decide if he and his attorneys will participate in the impeachment proceedings ahead. cbs news has learned it's unlikely mr. trump will send a lawyer to the first hearing on wednesday because it would, quote, legitimize the sham process, according to a source familiar with president trump's legal strategy. at a campaign rally in florida