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Don Lemon Tonight
House Judiciary Committee Voted on Two Articles of Impeachment; Rudy Giuliani Has a Lot of Information from Ukraine; President Trump and Rudy Giuliani Still Determined to Dig for Political Dirt on the Bidens; President Trump Meets with Rudy Giuliani to Discuss Conspiracy Theories on Day House Judiciary Approves Articles of Impeachment; Megan Rapinoe Endorses Elizabeth Warren for President. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired December 13, 2019 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Once again, they are doing us dirty.
That's all for us tonight. Time for watching CNN Tonight with the man, D. Lemon right now.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: That's the solution? Lower the bar? That's the solution? How many more excuses are you going to -- so don't change the behavior, right? Just how do we --
CUOMO: Hide.
LEMON: -- hide or how do we change things around? Don't try to curb the behavior or say something is wrong. You just keep allowing the behavior to continue, and then you scurry around and do everything, make excuses so that he can continue to do things that are wrong.
CUOMO: Not illegal, arguably within their power. They can do this. But dirty.
LEMON: It's not within your power if you possibly doing things that are --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: The word you're looking for is dirt.
LEMON: -- against the Constitution.
CUOMO: Rhymes with purdy. Dirty.
LEMON: Is that your saying now, dirty Donald?
CUOMO: Hash tag dirty Donald.
LEMON: But seriously, to have fewer people on the call --
CUOMO: I am being serious. That's the defense of him. LEMON: Here's what it says. So, it says, it says it amounts to a concerned effort -- a concerted effort to prevent Trump's conversations, these officials sometimes veer off into unguarded or undiplomatic territory from becoming known to those even inside the administration. I mean, why?
CUOMO: You are accused of handling the country's business the wrong way with the example being a phone call. Your response is to deny the allegation and limit transparency on those phone calls.
LEMON: Wow.
CUOMO: That is dirty, and the Republicans will say, but, Don, that's who he is, and people knew that when they voted for him. So, it's OK. And I have never heard a rationale like that let alone from the party of character counts, who went after Bill Clinton not because they were so impressed with the criminality but because they needed to cleanse the office. Now hash tag dirty Donald is OK.
LEMON: Wow.
CUOMO: Did I stump you?
LEMON: No, you didn't. I just -- I just --
CUOMO: Overwhelmed?
LEMON: I was wondering how many mirrors. I guess everybody has a mirror. It's just the audience. If you think that behavior is OK, I just -- turn on your phone and put your -- turn it on or go look in a mirror because you need to --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: And I'll tell you what it plays to. It plays to our cynicism. I hear it all the time, especially on my radio show. People say this is what they do, man. This is who they are. They're both the same. They're all terrible. They're dirty. But until you start --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: That's not true.
CUOMO: -- demanding better, that's all you're going to get.
LEMON: That's my whole point. I'm just speechless because I can't believe that people are allowing for this behavior to occur and making excuses for it. How many -- how many more excuses can you make? I really don't understand it.
CUOMO: Look at --
LEMON: I understand -- listen, I understand left versus right. I've been deal -- I've on this earth for a long time. I understand that. We can deal with that. I don't understand making excuses for someone who is not abiding by the Constitution, not abiding by presidential norms, not respecting the office of the presidency. It is just beyond belief. We have gone so far into the looking glass that we're coming out, we're in Willy Wonka land now. It is - it's crazy.
CUOMO: It's a naked play to power.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: It's fealty over loyalty to the oath. Look at the Greta Thunberg thing. The problem with that is a week ago you were saying, hey, let's not talk about kids in here. Let's keep it to the adults who were in office. Don't mention Barron even as a joke.
LEMON: We said that. I understood the analogy. She wasn't actually talking about him. She was actually -- she was actually -- it was meant as a hit on the president, not on Barron.
CUOMO: True.
LEMON: I got it. I understood. But she shouldn't have done it.
CUOMO: True. But even then --
LEMON: Right.
CUOMO: I'm OK with that rule.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: I say, yes, they were right. But where are they now? Where are they now?
LEMON: Yes. But there's no -- I don't think there's a difference between her and Barron. He should not have done it either. And especially someone who is reportedly, and I think by her own admission, her parents, has Asperger's, right? He should not be doing that. And the first lady should not be making excuses for her, whether she's in the public eye or not. It is just not done at all, just like Matt Gaetz should not be talking about someone's personal life, meaning Hunter Biden yesterday. It just should --
CUOMO: On two levels, one, he's got his own vulnerabilities like all of us. We're all fraught. And, two, if you care about mental health like they all say they do now, thank God -- finally at least they say it --
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: -- then don't weaponize it. Don't try to play to the stigma of it that somehow something's wrong with Hunter Biden if he's dealing with those kinds of issues.
LEMON: Especially addiction. What family in this country has not been touched by addiction? And you know you said that you --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Only ones that aren't being honest about what they've been touching.
[22:05:00]
LEMON: You said that you were surprised that Democrats didn't, you know, talk about the -- what was it? The Barron thing? What was it you said that you were surprised the Democrats --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Several things.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: That they didn't bring up the fact that the dossier guy was friends with Ivanka.
LEMON: That thing, right.
CUOMO: That they didn't bring up this thing and jump on it that you know, you were saying earlier at dinner, Biden should have jumped all over this.
LEMON: What family -- when I heard that coming out of Matt Gaetz' mouth, I was shocked. I was like, he just --he just lobbed a softball at the Bidens because almost every single family in this country has been touched by addiction.
And Joe Biden has lost two children and a wife, and he has one child left. Regardless of what happened in -- you know, with Burisma and with Ukraine, does it look bad? Yes. Was it nepotism? Yes. But look at the nepotism that's happening in the White House. That's a whole other issue. Go ahead and deal with that.
But every single parent who is dealing with addiction can understand what it's like to wait for a family member all night long who is dealing with an addiction, who has not come home, to worry about a family member or a child who is dealing with addiction.
And he has one child left, and I'm sure that he is concerned about that child. And so, you know, I'm sure it is concerning to him, and he's worried. He worries, and he still loves that child regardless of, you know, what Hunter has done or has not done.
So, I just think that Joe Biden has a case to be made there, and I'm just surprised that he hasn't, you know, talked about it and Democrats haven't talked about it. And I think that families can come out and discuss it, and it is something that he can use as a platform and make good of it to the people in America. And I just -- I don't -- you know, I don't get it.
CUOMO: I think you're 100 percent right, and I think it really showed how dirty this process has gotten.
LEMON: I'm sorry. He has a daughter as well. I'm sorry.
CUOMO: Yes. You know, Biden has a daughter as well. LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: But he's worried about -- you know, he had two sons.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: He has one now, and he's dealt with his problems. And that's not the issue. The issue is not what happened with Burisma. It's what you're using as a tactic here.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: We say we're trying to get rid of the stigma. Then you weaponize the guy's frailty and illness for political effect. And it's shameful.
LEMON: With opioid, heroin, and if you ever had a family member who has been addicted and you wait, are they going to come home tonight, you don't know what they're doing.
CUOMO: And we're trying to move past this stigmatization of this.
LEMON: Yes. I got to --
CUOMO: That's why people don't get help.
LEMON: I got to go. You know the thing we're getting tight --
CUOMO: Yes, I hear you. I love you. Happy Friday.
LEMON: Happy Friday. Happy weekend. I'll see you guys for dinner tomorrow night. See you later.
This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.
You know, this has been a week of history in the making. It is a - boy, what a long, exhausting week. The Judiciary Committee voting today to approve articles of impeachment against the president, charging that he abused the power of his office and that he obstructed Congress' investigation of Ukraine.
The next stop, the full House, which could vote as soon as Wednesday. This is huge. The president is all but certain to be impeached by Christmas, which a Senate trial is likely to happen in January. This is his reaction. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a very sad thing for our country, but it seems to be very good for me politically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, if you think this president is going to suddenly start to care about, well, I don't know, the norms of government, abuse of power, what's good for the country instead of what's good for Donald J. Trump, here's a spoiler alert for you.
He is not because as far as the president is concerned, all of this is working for him, and his party is -- all they're doing is enabling him. He's got no problem with foreign election interference. In fact, he encourages it. He's been doing it for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: They were listening all right. On the same day, the very same day, a group of intelligence officers in Vladimir Putin's military launched their efforts to hack Democrats' e-mails during the 2016 campaign.
And then there's president Trump shamefully taking the word of Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence community. Nope, nothing to see here. No Russian attack on our election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Even joking about it, again, side by side with Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you tell Russia not to meddle in the 2020 election?
TRUMP: Yes, of course we will. Don't meddle in the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:10:00]
LEMON: And let's not forget this stunning moment when the President of the United States says he doesn't see anything wrong with taking election help from a foreign source.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: OK. Let's put yourself in a position. You're a congressman. Somebody comes up and says, hey, I have information on your opponent. Do you call the FBI? I don't think --
(CROSSTALK)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CHIEF ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: If it's coming from Russia, you do.
TRUMP: I've seen a lot of things in my life. I don't think in my whole life I've ever called the FBI in my whole life. I don't. You don't call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you --
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the FBI.
TRUMP: Well that's different. A stolen briefing book. This is somebody that said we have information on your opponent. Let me call the FBI. Give me a break. Life doesn't work that way.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI director --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: He said all of that out loud, right out in the open. And when you look at the time line, it is crystal clear exactly why the president keeps inviting all of this. He keeps getting away with it. That's why.
The day after Robert Mueller testifies to Congress in the Russia investigation, the president launches the Ukraine shakedown with that infamous call. And here's a quote. "I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with the whole situation with Ukraine. They say CrowdStrike. I guess you have one of your wealthy people. The server, they say Ukraine has it."
And this. "I would like to have the attorney general call you or your people, and I would like you to get to the bottom of it." And this. "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that. So, whatever you can do the attorney general would be great -- with the attorney general would be great."
And despite team Trump's efforts to bury the transcript of that call on a highly classified server, the president says it out loud again, this time on the White House lawn, speaking to reporters. And just for good measure, asks China to investigate the Bidens too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I would think that if they were honest about it, they'd start a major investigation into the Bidens. It's a very simple answer. And by the way, likewise China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Just when I said that about the server, hiding it on the highly classified server, and, you know, when Chris and I talked about how they're going to limit the phone calls. So, if the call was perfect, why do they try to hide it? Why did they put it on that server if it was perfect? And then why would they limit his phone calls, people who can listen to it, and who they have distributed to if it was perfect? Why would they make changes? It was perfect.
But hearing him right there, like I said this president has no problem with foreign election interference. He didn't think it's wrong. He said to China, do it. The party is enabling him. They didn't think it's wrong, then why change anything? They're enabling him, telling him exactly what he wants to hear. He's right, and everything he's doing is OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE (R-TX): Is it ever OK to invite a foreign government to become involved in an election involving a political opponent? The answer is yes. It better be. We do it all the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sometimes the truth just slips out, like it does when Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera concedes there was probably a Ukraine quid pro quo. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you agree that of course he was withholding the aid and the White House visit?
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: Probably.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right? I mean --
RIVERA: Probably.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean probably?
RIVERA: Probably.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, is there any other rational explanation?
RIVERA: I think when you look at how foreign policy is made, how foreign aid is distributed and dispensed, if you don't think there's this kind of back room wrangling almost every time with Israel or with Albania or with Australia, of course there is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Good job. That was Dan Abrams' radio show. Good job. And is it any coincidence that this morning, moments before the House Judiciary Committee voted to send articles of impeachment to the full House for a vote, the president apparently was at it again.
Would you look at that. There's Rudy Giuliani at the White House. What are the odds, the president's loose cannon attorney was there to peddle his discredited conspiracy theory, seemingly discredited by everybody except Giuliani and the president, that Ukraine was behind the interference in the 2016 election, not Russia? I'd say those odds are pretty good.
[22:15:01]
But let's remember it was Giuliani's pot-stirring in Ukraine that kicked off the whole impeachment inquiry.
Now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that as Giuliani was returning last Saturday from a trip to Ukraine, while his plane was still taxing down the runway, the president called to ask, quote, "what did you get?" Giuliani's reply, more than you can imagine, which seemed to please his client.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He says he has a lot of good information. I hear he's found plenty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Another thing that's likely to please his client, Giuliani is not just digging for dirt in Ukraine. He's reportedly working on a TV series about it because as far as the reality TV president is concerned, if you didn't see it on TV, it didn't happen.
So, to recap, one day after Robert Mueller testifies on the Russia investigation, the president makes a call that launches the Ukraine shakedown. And now on the very day the Judiciary Committee votes to approve articles of impeachment, the president has Rudy Giuliani come to the White House to report on his efforts to double down on the investigations in Ukraine.
Seeing a pattern here? A president emboldened every time he breaks the rules and gets away with it. A president facing the looming prospect of impeachment before Christmas. But John Dean says the House shouldn't hand off to the Senate just yet. He's here to discuss along with Susan Glasser, next.
[22:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The House Judiciary Committee voting today to approve two articles of impeachment against President Trump. Next stop, the full House for a vote next week where Trump is expected to be impeached.
I want to bring in now John Dean and Susan Glasser. Wow, just said those words. Pretty stunning. Good evening to both of you. John, this president's one step closer to impeachment. Full House vote next week. But you don't think the House should send this over to the Senate just yet. Tell me why you say that.
JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think the House is confronted with taking their case to a trial that can't begin to be fair, can't begin to be impartial, notwithstanding the oath the members of the Senate have to take.
We've got a majority leader who is openly colluding with the White House on what kind of theater they're going to put on, and it would be very simple -- I have had my nose in the rule book all day today to find some reason that Nancy Pelosi would have to send over the articles of impeachment after the House votes on them, and there is no rule.
She could sit on them as long as she wanted until she thought the American people, who the House is representing in this instance, could get a fair trial in the Senate. And that might be after the election. It might be in the next Congress.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Have you been in touch with her or anybody?
DEAN: Only by -- only by Twitter and privately to some of the staff.
LEMON: What did they say? Did they agree with you?
DEAN: Well, I haven't had a response yet. I just did it this afternoon.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: No response. All right. Because you make a very good point. OK. So, let us know if you hear back.
Susan, let's -- this is exactly what John is talking about. This is the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Fox News talking about how he's in lockstep with the White House. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I'm going to coordinate with the president's lawyers, so there won't be any difference between us on how to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, it seems like Democrats have some right to be concerned about this. Aren't senators supposed to be neutral jurors here?
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, that's right. I mean John pointed out they actually have to swear an oath to conduct impartial justice as part of the duty, if you will, of being a juror in this Senate trial.
Unfortunately, you know, you're seeing this almost ritualistic approach to the impeachment. This is one of those situations where because Washington presumes it knows the outcome both of the House vote and of the Senate trial, you know, I think to a certain extent both sides are going through the motions here in a way that does a disservice to the process. I mean, of course it was pretty rich to hear President Trump today
talking about, you know, they are debasing the impeachment process, degrading it. You know, he is often portrayed as, you know, benefiting from this politically. He himself has said that, you know, I'm going to be the political winner from this.
The answer is we don't know, and what's really hard is that I think the political reality has taken over from the reality of what actually happened here, and can we fairly judge it? John's point is a very excellent point. Unfortunately, the inherently political nature of this process, I think, means there's not going to be a fair trial, number one.
And, number two, it is a very deeply frustrating situation that the key witnesses in this have never been heard from. Obviously, that's now the basis of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress. But the bottom line is there's so much that we don't know. What we do know is extraordinarily alarming about what the president did and largely unrefuted --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: But, Susan, let me ask you this. OK. To either of you. So, if -- you know, John says, John, you said you didn't see any rules, right, that let's say that they have to turn the articles over. OK. So, most people know if you're on trial or whatever, you know, if the trial is happening, the jurors don't usually hang out or collude with anyone who is on trial, with the plaintiff or defendant or what have you. It does seem odd.
[22:24:59]
So then is there any sort of recourse? Is there, I mean the chief justice is going to preside. Can the chief justice go, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute? Is there any sort of recourse?
DEAN: There are motions that can be filed, and that's something that did not happen --
LEMON: Yes.
DEAN: -- but there was an opportunity to do it in the Clinton proceedings.
LEMON: Yes.
DEAN: The rules provided for motions. For example, one of the motions that occurred to me, what has changed about the White House counsel today is they no longer represent the president himself. They represent the Office of the President.
LEMON: Right.
DEAN: And if they're stacking up and the taxpayers are paying for this defense, the House could object to that, and they could say, listen, he has to hire outside counsel as Mr. Clinton did and proceed that way and not -- this doesn't go on the taxpayers' dollar. There are all kinds of things they can do and hopefully they will do.
LEMON: OK. Do we have time for this? I want for -- I want to -- this is Alan Dershowitz. He is expected to handle the constitutional piece of this. He was on CNN earlier, for a Senate trial. Listen, this is the argument he's making. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN DERSHOWITZ, PROFESSOR, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: Particularly after today, the Supreme Court today granted in three cases, indicating that they're going to review the subpoena power of both Congress and the prosecutor, and it seems to me that substantially undercuts the second article of impeachment that basically says you obstruct Congress if you refuse to comply with subpoenas absent a court order.
So, I think the president's constitutional arguments were strengthened today, and he'd be well advised, I believe, to limit himself to those constitutional arguments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's his impeachment defense. What kind of impact would that have? Does that work for you?
GLASSER: You know, again --
(CROSSTALK)
DEAN: It does not work at all for me.
GLASSER: -- the goal here is to convince the jury, right? John, you know, this is, in the end, the jury of the Senate that you're appealing to. And you know, even in the case of those motions, am I correct in understanding that Chief Justice John Roberts will preside but that a majority of the Senate has the ability to vote on those motions?
DEAN: That's correct.
LEMON: Yes.
GLASSER: Yes. So, you know, 51 Republicans can have the trial be anything that they want it to be.
LEMON: All right. Thank you both. I appreciate it.
The Judiciary Committee voting to advance articles of impeachment against President Trump today, but that's not stopping his personal attorney from digging dirt -- digging for dirt on the Bidens. So, what's Rudy Giuliani been up to in Ukraine? We'll talk about that.
[22:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump is on the verge of all but certain impeachment over his shakedown of Ukraine. But it looks like he and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, are still determined to dig for political dirt on the Bidens. So much so that Giuliani was in Ukraine last week and before his plane even landed back in New York, the president was reportedly calling him for the lowdown. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, showed up at the White House early Friday with notebooks in hand. The timing of his arrival the same morning the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Trump on two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstructing Congress.
And while critics say Giuliani is partly to blame for what happened to Trump, Giuliani and his client, President Trump, remain intent on his quest to dig up dirt on Trump's political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter.
Last week, Giuliani travelled to Ukraine to meet with officials while back at home, constitutional experts were testifying on Capitol Hill about the parameters for different articles of impeachment. On Monday, Giuliani appeared on a podcast and promised to reveal what he says he has found in Ukraine.
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR (voice-over): I was going to do an outline of it and try to present it at the convenience of the Republicans in the Congress and the attorney general at the end of this week. I should probably have it ready on Wednesday or Thursday. I don't know exactly when it will be made public, but it should be ready by then. I worked on it all weekend.
CARROLL (voice-over): According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump called Giuliani Saturday as soon as Giuliani's plane landed in New York and asked what did you get? The journal reports he replied, more than you can imagine.
TRUMP: He's going to make a report, I think, to the attorney general and to Congress. He says he has a lot of good information.
CARROLL (voice-over): Giuliani is a central character in the House's impeachment inquiry into Trump and a constant source of fuel for conspiracy theories seized on by right-wing media. He has made a number of unsupported allegations, asserting corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, though there is no evidence of wrongdoing by either of them.
And he continues to push unsubstantiated claims Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election when the entire Intelligence Community concurs it was Russia. FBI Director Christopher Wray is cautioning Americans to be careful about where they get their information.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR OF FBI: There are all kinds of people saying all kinds of things out there. I think it's important for the American people to be thoughtful consumers of information, to think about the sources of it and to think about the support and predication for what they hear.
CARROLL (voice-over): Giuliani was a loyal lieutenant to the president even before he was hired as an unpaid personal attorney in April 2018.
[22:34:59]
CARROLL (voice-over): But lately, there are debates in political circles as to whether Giuliani should be sidelined. Two Giuliani associates linked to his efforts in Ukraine pleaded not guilty for allegedly funneling foreign money into U.S. elections. Prosecutors accused one of them, Lev Parnas, of failing to disclose that he received $1 million from a Russian bank account the month before he was charged.
According to The Washington Post, in several conversations in recent months, Attorney General William Barr counselled Trump that Giuliani has become a liability and the problem for the administration.
CNN has previously reported investigators have been looking into Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine and have dug into everything from possible financial entanglements with alleged corrupt Ukrainian figures to counterintelligence concerns raised by some of those business ties. According to people briefed on the matter, Giuliani has denied any wrongdoing and Trump has his back.
TRUMP: Rudy Giuliani was one of the great crime fighters of all time. He's also a friend of mine. He's a great person. He's like an iconic figure in this country.
CARROLL (voice-over): There is a long list of onetime Trump allies that have since been written off by the president. Just ask Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen. For now, the Giuliani/Trump bond seems intact.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Jason Carroll, thank you so much. So, why is Rudy Giuliani still doing all of this, and what's he really looking for? There's a whole lot to talk about. Catherine Rampell is here, Philip Bump as well. They're next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Moments before the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance the articles of impeachment, Rudy Giuliani arrived at the White House to meet with President Trump. Giuliani is recently back from a trip to Ukraine promoting fringe conspiracy theories and meeting with questionable characters. Giuliani telling The Wall Street Journal he is preparing to deliver a 20-page report on his findings. Joining me now to discuss are Catherine Rampell and Philip Bump. Good evening. It never ends, does it?
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It doesn't.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Catherine, so he's reporting back to President Trump today, meaning Giuliani, about his investigations on Ukraine the day the House Judiciary Committee passed two articles of impeachment to the full House. Brazen, you think?
RAMPELL: Yes, I would say pretty brazen. I mean, he spent last week returning to the scene of a crime like a perp on "Law & Order" basically. And this week, it seems like he is intent on getting his client, if he can, into even more trouble. He is kind of like -- I like the reference in that segment just now to Michael Cohen.
He's kind of making Michael Cohen look like a competent attorney because I feel like if you're a doctor, you know, the number one rule is do no harm. I think if you're a lawyer, the number one rule should be don't do things that get your client impeached, and he seems to have broken that.
LEMON: Ukrainian President Zelensky never announced that investigation, right? But I think the president got what he wanted, right, because now everyone is talking about Hunter Biden, right?
PHILIP BUMP, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, that's exactly right. I mean, there's no need for Ukraine to actually do this investigation at this point because all of this is already out there. Every time we in the media talk about this, we have to, you know, talk to some extent about what is being alleged as well.
And I think it's important for people to understand the irony here, which is that while President Trump is arguing that Ukraine has this level of corruption, which certainly is the case there is some corruption there, the people with whom Giuliani is meeting are people who have been accused almost to the man of corruption.
They are all accused of having done corrupt things, which one would think would taint his perspective on the information that they're giving him, but he appears to be accepting what they're saying without question.
LEMON: Giuliani, he's continuing to spread -- he's become like a conspiracy -- not like a conspiracy theorist. He has become --
RAMPELL: He is a conspiracy theorist, yes.
LEMON: -- for a conspiracy theorist, right? But just imagine his storied and legendary past, right?
RAMPELL: Yes.
LEMON: This is what he said when he thinks there's a deep state. This is what he said on right-wing media. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: Oh, yes. State Department is filled with them. I mean, they want to take -- it isn't that they disagree with his policies. And even they try to undermine his policies. That's been going on for years, particularly with the State Department. The State Department had done --
ERIC BOLLING, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's that --
GIULIANI: They want to get him out of office any way they can. How you can miss that this is a coup attempt is beyond being intelligent?
BOLLING: Who is leading the coup?
GIULIANI: The Democrats are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: They're all too happy to just gobble up and listen to these.
RAMPELL: Yes. And actually further on in that clip, he says it's not just the State Department. It's also the FBI that is taking part in this coup attempt, led by the Democrats, because as everyone knows, of course, the FBI is a hotbed of democratic activism, right?
I mean, it doesn't matter how flimsy these conspiracy theories are. It doesn't matter how little scrutiny they hold up to, how ridiculous they are. That's all they have because the facts are not on the president's side. The facts are not on Giuliani's side for that matter since the two are sort of one and the same in terms of that narrative. So they just have to throw out crazy conspiracy theories.
LEMON: Yes. Now he says he's got a 20-page report that he's going to draw up and give to his Republican friends in Congress. We'll see what happens with that. Thank you both. I appreciate it.
Soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe is endorsing Elizabeth Warren for president. She is here to tell me why and talk a little Donald Trump, too. There she is, next.
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[22:45:00]
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LEMON: Now to the state of the race, 2020. Elizabeth Warren picking up a big endorsement today from Megan Rapinoe, the soccer star and social activist who was named Sports Illustrated's 2019 Person of the Year earlier this week. Rapinoe called Warren to let her know that she was on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MEGAN RAPINOE, MIDFIELDER, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER: I would love to endorse you and be on your team and help in any way that I can, so consider me Team Warren.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we got this, Megan.
RAPINOE: Well, we have a little saying on the National Team that we like to say. I don't know if you can cuss on here, but it's LFG.
(LAUGHTER)
RAPINOE: Let's do this.
WARREN: All right, Megan, you and me. LFG.
RAPINOE: LFG. Good luck in the debate.
WARREN: Thank you. Bye-bye.
RAPINOE: Take care. Bye. Well, there we go. Team Warren. Let's do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Megan Rapinoe joins me now. Thank you, Megan. It is so good to see you again. I appreciate you joining us.
RAPINOE: Great to see you.
[22:49:59]
LEMON: Congratulations on being, you know, named all of those "of the year" everything. We're going to talk about that in a moment.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: So congratulations to you. But, listen, so I'm sure every candidate would love to have had your endorsement. Why are you Team Warren?
RAPINOE: Oh, man. I like her. She's fire, like, I mean, I've been tracking the whole thing obviously for a while. But honestly, I think we need -- I said in the video -- I think we need really big, bold, brave progressive policies. There are a number of things that are happening right now in the country that need to change. And the way I see it like they're all interconnected. And I love the way that she is right from the jump.
She put it all out there. She's like, this is my vision, this is what I believe in, and I think it's something that people can start to hang on to. Like the more your hear her speak, the more that she talks, the more you get into her policies. You're all starting to see it's a different vision of America than what we have right now. Frankly, a different vision of America than we've really ever seen before.
It's one that takes into account all people's voices. You can see that in her policy. It's not just from her perspective or her background. She's spoken to people. She's taken the time. She's gone to rural America. She's gone to West Virginia. She has gone into some of these districts that have, you know, been historically red line. She might not be talking to the ultra-rich but she's definitely talking at them and telling them that they're going to have to pay their part a little bit more.
LEMON: Let's dig into that. Let's dig into that a little bit more, all right?
RAPINOE: I trust her, you know.
LEMON: You know, Democrats say that they want someone who can beat Trump. I'm sure that you wouldn't endorse her if you didn't think that she could beat President Trump. It's a single most important quality for Democrats that they're looking for in a candidate. Why do you think that she has what it takes?
RAPINOE: I'm not sure it's the single most important quality. I think even more than that, we need to show people --
LEMON: That's what the Democrats say in the polls. That's what the polling shows.
RAPINOE: Yes. I mean, we need to show people that there's a better way forward. We need to show people that health care is important. It's a right and there's a path towards that. We need to show people that child care is important, and we need to show people that there's a path towards that.
Obviously we're doing -- you know, with an opioid crisis, we need to show people we not only work to find justice for what has happened in the bad actors in that, but we're going to have a holistic approach not only to treatment but to sort of round about -- policies that are going to address housing, that are going to address jobs, that are going to address health care and mental health care.
So, for me, I just feel like we cannot focus like too much on Donald Trump. Obviously, he's a crazy force that is happening right now. But I also think that we need to show people --
LEMON: Can I talk to you more about that?
RAPINOE: Yes, you can. I feel like we need to show people though that there is another path forward. She's so smart and so bold. And I think she's just so relatable in that way. For me, that's how I see the world. We're all interconnected. We have to work together to find a better way. It's more than just what is happening in the White House right now.
LEMON: I want to talk to you more about that because you have been very outspoken about -- you said you were a walking protest when it comes to the Trump administration. Have you been following the impeachment battle? What is your opinion on that?
RAPINOE: I, of course, have been following it, Must-See TV. I think the Democrats have done a really amazing job of trying to stick to the story and really give the truth to the America people, which I think is what we deserve and what honestly we have been kept from. I think that's what this administration tries to do.
I don't know if he will get impeached or not. Obviously, I think that he should be. But I think it is very clear he uses the office of the presidency to personally enrich himself, his family, and the people around him. He abuses power. He cuts people out of the communication. He doesn't give all the information. For me, it's impeachment for sure. I don't know if we will get there. Obviously, we have to get the votes to the Senate.
LEMON: I think he's going to be impeached. But removed from office, he may not be.
RAPINOE: Yes. We'll see with that. That is something that a lot of the Senate Republicans are going --
LEMON: Let me -- before we run out of time -- I don't mean to cut you off before we run out of time because we are running short here. So, I want to -- let's talk about U.S. women's soccer team -- was just named Time magazine Athlete of the Year.
You were also recently named Sports Illustrated 2019 Sportsperson of the Year. You have managed to have success in your sports career while engaging meaningfully in politics. Have you paid any price for your political stance as you think?
RAPINOE: I don't think so. I don't know. Honestly, I don't really look at it like that. I don't really calculate things like that. I feel like at the end of the day, I'm just, you know, another concerned citizen. Yes, this is my job, playing soccer, but also I feel like it is my responsibility and honestly a great honor to be able to use the platform that we have to try to in some way make the world a better place.
[22:55:04]
RAPINOE: If anything, I feel like it's been a benefit for us where, you know, obviously, you know, widely popular as a team. I also think that we're helping people and empowering people. And really we're all sort of the part of the fabric of what's happening right now.
LEMON: Listen, I think that you're amazing. You're greatly admired and keep on keeping on. Congratulations to all the -- to you and you deserve all the success that you have. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Enjoy, OK? Please come back.
RAPINOE: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
LEMON: Thank you. So many lies are coming from the White House and their supporters that it is becoming harder to find the truth. We're going to dig into their attack on the facts and what it's doing to this country. That's next.
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