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A Momentous Election Outcome in the United Kingdom; House Panel to Vote on Impeachment Articles Friday. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 13, 2019 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I am Christiane Amanpour. We are following two big stories at this hour, a momentous election outcome here in the U.K. --

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And more late night drama in U.S. presidential impeachment process with lawmakers due back on Capitol Hill for a vote in a matter of hours. A very good morning to you, I'm Isa Soares. It is 7:00 here in London.

AMANPOUR: It is indeed. British voters have spoken, and now there is no more ambiguity about Brexit. It is certainly going to happen. We can say that.

SOARES: Yeah.

AMANPOUR: Seven weeks from now or even earlier, if we know Boris Johnson and his ambitions. His Conservative Party secured the absolute majority in parliament in Thursday's election, well above the 336 threshold they needed.

SOARES: Get Brexit done. You've heard it. That was the slogan. And that seems proof that proved to be an effective and very clear message for a nation weary of the many stops and starts since the Brexit referendum starts (ph), if you remember, almost three years ago. For the Conservative Party, it was their best sharing since Margaret Thatcher's reelection back in 1987. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to thank the people of this country for turning out to vote in a December election that we did not want to call, but which I think has turned out to be a historic election. That gives us now in this new government, the chance to respect the democratic will of the British people, to change this country for the better, and to unleash the potential of the entire people of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: For the opposition Labour Party, this was an especially humiliating defeat. Seats that once reliably belonged to Labour went the other way. Even in winning his own reelection, the parliament, the leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was stunned by his party's huge loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Brexit has so polarized and divided debaters in this country. It is overwritten so much of a normal political debate. And I recognize that has contributed to the results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: We can see live pictures right now of Boris Johnson. We understand the prime minister is emerging from Downing Street. He is possibly going to be giving more in terms of a public address. And we will bring it to you when it happens. He is on the way there.

Corbyn is not the only political leader -- that is the Labour leader -- stepping down. The leader of the liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, is also resigning. That is the third party. The party says new leadership elections will be held in the New Year.

SOARES: Let's have a look at the final tally. Let's bring those numbers up for you because we've 647 constituents declared, three left to go. But look at that win, a very clear win, 362 for the Conservative Party, for Boris Johnson.

Labour is with 203. SNP -- pretty strong night for SNP and Nicola Sturgeon. No doubt she will be calling as she has done before for that independence referendum. And Lib Dems didn't do very well today, hence why, as Christiane was mentioning, the leader, Jo Swinson, stepping down after asking to revoke Article 50 and to cancel Brexit.

AMANPOUR: She lost her own seats as she doesn't have --

SOARES: Indeed.

AMANPOUR: -- much of a choice.

SOARES: Exactly. Let's bring in Melissa Bell, who is in Brussels. Another correspondent, Max Foster, is standing by at 10 Downing Street. Max, if I may start with you. We saw Boris Johnson already moving in action. Are we expecting to hear from him? What might we hear?

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we got a little indication of that clip you played. He is talking about one nation conservatism. This is conservatism for everyone in the U.K., not just in the business class but the workers as well. He is a centrist. He is declaring his centrist leadership here which is interesting because many people see him as a right-wing figure because of Brexit.

[02:04:58] FOSTER: He is arguing that once he got Brexit done, which is Christiane says is now going to happen, he can focus on these other projects such as the NHS. So I think that is going to be in the speech a little later on. The podium will be coming out.

Also, worth remembering that Boris Johnson has never campaigned for a hard Brexit, so what we are talking about is a deal with the E.U., an old-lead (ph) Brexit at the end of January. That is going to happen. There is going to be no referendum now over Brexit. We cannot see how that is politically possible.

We got Donald Trump tweeting now that a deal with the United States is almost certain. So that is good news for Boris Johnson. And to think that this was the politician that many people did not take seriously. He was seen as a buffoon. He was going to come out later with a biggest conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher.

So he is empowered. He is no longer beholden to the small groups in parliament. He can push through his agenda. The only issue, he points to it already, he might have this issue with the SNP, which dominates Scottish politics now. They want a referendum on Scottish independence and he has ruled that out.

AMANPOUR: Well, Max, if the relationship within the union, the United Kingdom, is unclear right now going forward, what about the all- important relationship that needs to be forged with the E.U.? For that, we go to Melissa Bell, who is standing by in Brussels.

Melissa, let us face it, the E.U. has been preparing for Britain to unhinge itself for a long, long time. They are probably quite pleased to see at least this step resolving the internal domestic issue.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Christiane. I think a great sense of relief really in Brussels that these long and arduous and complicated three and a half years at least are coming to an end. It was really a period in which they were this sort of unwilling partners, unwilling prisoners of a protest.

Once the deals were struck with successive prime ministers, those prime ministers who struck with E.U. partners simply could not get through the British Parliament. But that is over, clearly a relief for European partners.

But then, of course, all the questions about what comes next because, of course, there is for Boris Johnson, we are talking about the change in arithmetic of parliament, but beyond that, there is within the Conservative Party a change in the balance of power. Those who wanted a hard Brexit, hell (ph) disproportionate influence really in the party up until the deal was struck.

What happens now that it looks as though with that new parliamentary arithmetic, he will get his withdrawal bill through and a new phase open to try and determine post-Brexit, we're divorcing, what happens afterwards? What kind of relationship do we have? What kind of trade deal do we have? Will it be a bare bone WTO rule kind of trade deal or can we find something more constructive? I think now, Boris Johnson will have a lot more freedom in a sense with regards to his own party to bash on with the kind of construction of the European, the relationship of the European that he wants. Now, one question is what he does want?

One of the most remarkable things about this election that was so dominated by Brexit is how little we know about what kind of relationship the British prime minister wants in the future with the European Union. You get Brexit done, took us up until the 31st of January, what happens next? Boris Johnson has a clear mandate to get Europe, that relationship he wants. Which kind does he want? I think that is one of the big questions the European leaders here are going to be looking towards, Christiane.

SOARES: Thanks very much, Melissa Bell, there for us in Brussels. Joining is now is Justine Greening, a conservative cabinet minister under Theresa May. We also got Lib Dem Polly Mackenzie, was Nick Clegg's policy director. They are here with us now. Good morning to you, ladies. Thank you for being with us. We will get, first of all, your reaction to what we have seen tonight.

JUSTINE GREENING, FORMER BRITISH INDEPENDENT MP: I think it is a historic victory for the conservatives and clearly this message of Britain moving on was really something that Boris Johnson pushed on the whole way through this campaign.

I think he backed that up with a strong message on opportunity in the sense that bringing communities that have been left behind in Britain back with the rest of the country. I think those two things really resonate.

Of course, there is a scale of the victory for Boris, and then there is also a scale of defeat and what it means for Jeremy Corbyn and Labour and the lib Dems. There is no doubt that both of those oppositions parties ran. I think what we will be seeing is historically disastrous campaign. So perhaps Boris Johnson could not have been up against better opponents.

AMANPOUR: OK, Polly, disastrous, historically disastrous campaign. Your own leader, Jo Swinson, lost a seat. I mean, it is appalling.

POLLY MACKENZIE, FORMER POLICY DIRECTOR FOR NICK CLEGG: I am not a member of the party. I think it has been, as Justine says, extraordinary collapse for Labour Party. The liberal Democrats may end up in about the same place but to lose your leader, of course, is a devastating blow. To know her personally, she lost her seat in 2015, came back into parliament in 2017. I think this is now the end of her political career.

[02:09:58]

MACKENZIE: And what is fascinating is that she is a bit like Nick Clegg, who also lost his seat back in 2017. These are people of integrity and character, moderate centrists, and actually there's something about the political debate at the moment that does not suit those public leaders. AMANPOUR: Where did she go wrong? Where did Jeremy Corbyn go wrong in terms of the messaging, especially we are talking about labor heartlands.

MACKENZIE: I think the Labour Party has three components to it. The first is a sort of nasty toxicity or the anti-Semitism campaign.

AMANPOUR: The allegations --

MACKENZIE: Allegations, kind of endemic in the party in the way it sees the world. A world view that is actually quite alienating to the working class vote that Boris Johnson is now picking up, Brexit parties picked up. And the third is, of course, they are just way too socialist. They had a manifesto which was offering the people free broadband, free water, everything for free.

AMANPOUR: And nationalizing major industries --

MACKENZIE: -- pay taxes for everyone --

AMANPOUR: Relieving school debt and university fees would be -- all very nice but obviously did not suit the voters at this time because it was a one issue election, Justine Greening. It was a one issue election. To Polly's point, this has been a divided country. Brexit is now being internalized. The Brexit Party is the Tory Party.

You stepping down, how does -- how can you seriously -- Boris Johnson says he wants to be a one nation Tory, after all this divisiveness, this polarization, this partisanship. How does he bring into the Conservative Party this new constituency in labor heartland, working class heartland?

GREENING: I think, first of all, he now has the mandate to get Brexit done. But that is exactly what those communities will expect. So there is no parliament and different competing groups holding Boris Johnson back from delivering the Brexit that he sold Britain. He can now go over to the E.U., negotiate that, and make a decision.

The second thing is -- you are absolutely right. He needs to deliver for those communities. I grew up in one in them. I grew up in Rotherham in South Yorkshire, very strongly voting area. I represent the party in London, a remained area.

Both communities were united by one thing, which was the concern about lack of opportunity for young people in our country. And the way in which people growing up in different parts of the country have very different life (ph) prospects and lack of acceptance about that being the case.

Boris Johnson has been given a chance to now start to fix those underlying problems in Britain. I expect him to do that. Those are communities that have given Labour chances time after time after time. To tackle those issues and feel that they have been let down, they are now turning to Boris Johnson, but he needs to deliver and fast.

SOARES: Not just on Brexit -- apologies, Christiane -- but deliver on those key issues that he has promised throughout the labor heartland.

MACKENZIE: It is different. He has got new constituencies, new voters that Conservative Party doesn't have to sort of look after before and to be able to offer those people what they want while maintaining support from conservatives, hedge fund managers, the still very traditionally conservative membership. It will be a challenge. And he has an empty manifesto. We can see any prime minister (ph).

AMANPOUR: It is very interesting. We will keep watching. We need to take a break. We are waiting for Boris Johnson to come out and speak. But we will go to a break first.

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[02:15:00]

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Active weather pattern continues across the United States with streams of moisture coming off of the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Atlantic. Two separate weather systems but nonetheless allowing for copious amounts of moisture, rainfall, and even some higher elevation snowfall to impact the country.

Here is a look at the broader weather map. You can see a mountain of snow just falling across the spine of the Rockies. Sunshine, however, for Southern California and to Texas. Rain and thunderstorm across the Deep South and that moisture will spread the entire east coast through the course of the weekend. We have a clipper system that will bring snowfall to the northern plains and into the Great Lakes as well.

Look at the copious amounts of rain for places like Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, and to the D.C. region, as well as New York and Boston. Double check your flights. This could impact them. This will stay rain, which is good news. The further north you travel like upstate New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, the area where we could some accumulating snowfalls especially in the higher elevations.

But will keep it all rain along the coastal cities and the potential excess for over 50 millimeters of rain through the next three days, so something to monitor. You can see the watches and warnings ongoing across the western U.S. Winter storm warnings just outside of Denver right into the cascade mountains of Washington, where we will measure snowfall in feet for these locations, great news for the skiers and snowboarders.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: It seems 14 long hours of almost continual bickering and feigned outrage masquerading as debate just wasn't enough. Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee seemed intent on delaying a vote on the articles of impeachment. But just after 11 p.m., the Democratic chairman of the committee adjourned and delayed the vote until Friday morning. After that, the articles move to the full House for approval. The debate on Thursday was the last public hearing in the impeachment process and the last chance for lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, to grab some attention on primetime television. They ranted, pounded the table and traded insults, bracing (ph) what seems to have been years of bitterness and anger.

Republicans continued with weeks-long effort to undermine the case for impeachment, accusing Democrats of being motivated by blind hatred for the man who beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. There was, however, one point of agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO): Facts matter. And I hope that each and every one of us will agree at least on that simple point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, they all agree facts do matter, but they could not agree on the conclusions drawn from the same set of facts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R-WI): The facts speak for themselves. There was no impeachable offense here. And that is why Article One of the impeachments ended up falling flat on his face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now from Los Angeles, CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein. Ron, the big picture, after two public hearings, hours of testimony, not one Republican lawmaker can find anything questionable about the president's behavior despite officials from within his own administration, forget about the Democrats, repeatedly testified they were really troubled or they were concerned or they were alarmed.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The contrast between any career foreign service professionals and the Republicans in Congress has grown more and more striking as the story has evolved. We saw several of the officials in President Trump's own White House going to the lawyer of the National Security Council because they were so alarmed by what they heard on the call and in some cases, you know, what they experienced in other settings like the meetings with the Ukrainians in early July.

[02:20:07]

BROWNSTEIN: John Bolton described the entire episode, according to one of his agents, as a drug deal. Now, every Republican in the House is basically saying they are OK with it, at least some Republicans on the intelligence and the judiciary committees.

And the one thing we know, John, is that President Trump is a student of power or more precisely a student of weakness. And he, I think, correctly interprets this episode as Republicans being afraid to defy him on anything. But one thing we can be sure about is that this won't be the last time that he will put them in the position of defending what is previously may consider indefensible.

VAUSE: Yeah. After a few days of this, the second day just seemed kind of nasty and louder. There was one Republican congressman who seemed ready to call out the absurdity of it all. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R-CA): I have not heard a new point or an original thought from either side. In the last three hours, the same talking points have been repeated over and over again, ad nauseum, by both sides. Repeating a fact over and over doesn't make it true and denying a fact over and over doesn't make it false. Everybody knows this. Everybody watching knows this. This hearing has been enough of an institutional embarrassment without putting it on an endless loop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He is right about the repetition by Republicans. That is the point, right? And it seems to be working. You see the polls. The impeachment is taking off.

BROWNSTEIN: First of all, it is that kind of wedding moment where everything has been said and not everyone has said it. That is what he was trying to allude to. Yes, one of the goals -- first of all, one of the goals of the Republicans has been to act in the process in a way that caused --

AMANPOUR: We are going to bring you some breaking news right now because Boris Johnson, who has just been elected with a massive majority is speaking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNSON: Glorious, glorious pre-breakfast moment for a new dawn rises on a new day and a new government. I will personally say -- we lost their seats to no fault of their own in the elections that just gone by. Of course, I want to congratulate absolutely everybody involved in security, the biggest concern of the majority since the late 80s.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: Literally as I look around -- literally before many of you were born.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: And with this mandate and this majority, we will at last be able to do what?

CROWD: Get Brexit done.

JOHNSON: You are paying attention.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: This election means that getting Brexit done is now the imputable, irresistible, and arguable decision of the British people. And with this election, I think we can put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: I say respectively -- I say respectively to ask the friend in the blue hat (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: That's it. Time to put a stop in the megaphone.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: I have a message to all those who voted for us yesterday, especially for those who voted for us conservatives for the first time. You may only have lent us your vote. You may not think of yourself as a natural Tory.

And as I think I said 11 years ago to the people of London when I was elected in what thought of as a Labour city, your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper before you put your cross in the Conservative box, and you may intend to return to Labour next time around.

And if that is the case, I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and that you have put your trust in us. And I, and we, will never take your support for granted.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: And I will make it my mission to work night and day, flat out, to prove you right in voting for me this time, and to earn your support in the future.

[02:24:58]

JOHNSON: And I say to you that in this election you voice has been heard and about time too. Because we politicians have squandered the last three years, three and a half years, in squabbles about Brexit. We've even been arguing about arguing, and about the tone of our arguments. And I will put an end to all that nonsense, and we will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes.

Leaving the European Union as one United Kingdom, taking back control of our laws, borders, money, our trade, immigration system, delivering on the democratic mandate of the people, and that the same time, this one-nation Conservative government will massively increase our investment in the NHS, the health service that represents the very best of our country, with a single, beautiful idea that whoever we are -- rich, poor, young, old -- the NHS is there for us when we are sick, and every day that service performs miracles. And that is why the NHS is this one-nation Conservative government's top priority. And so we will deliver 50,000 more nurses, and 50 million more GP surgery appointments and how many new hospitals?

CROWD: Forty!

JOHNSON: And we will deliver a long-term NHS budget enshrined in law, 650 million pounds extra every week, health secretary.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: And all the other priorities that you, the people of this country, voted for. Record spending on schools, an Australian-style points-based immigration system, more police, how many?

CROWD: Twenty thousand.

JOHNSON: Colossal new investments in infrastructure, in science, using our incredible technological advantages to make this country the cleanest, greenest on earth with the most far-reaching environmental programme. And you the people of this country voted to be carbon neutral in this election. You voted to be carbon neutral by 2050 and we will do it. You also voted to be Corbyn neutral by Christmas by the way and we'll do that, too.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: You voted for all these things and it is now this government, this people's government, it's our solemn duty to deliver on each and every one of those commitments and it is a great and a heavy responsibility, a sacred trust for me, for every newly elected Conservative MP, for everyone in this room and everyone in this party.

And I repeat that in wining this election we have won votes and the trust of people who have never voted Conservative before and people have always voted for other parties. Those people want change. We cannot, must not, must not, let them down.

And in delivering change, we must change, too. We must recognize the incredible reality that we now speak as a one-nation Conservative Party literally for everyone from Woking to Workington, from Kensington I'm proud to say to Clwyd South, from Surrey Heath to Sedgefield, from Wimbledon to Wolverhampton.

And that as the nation hands us this historic mandate, we must rise to the challenge and to the level of expectations. And Parliament must change so that we in Parliament are working for you, the British people. And that is what we will now do, isn't it? That is what we will now do.

Let's go out, let's go out and get on with it. Let's unite this country, let's spread opportunity to every corner of the U.K., with superb education, superb infrastructure, and technology. Let's get Brexit done. But first, my friends, let's get breakfast done, too. Thank you all. Thank you all very much for coming.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: Thank you all very much. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Boris Johnson, prime minister, who -- let's be absolutely clear now -- has actually been elected by the people. Up until now, he was nearly appointed by the inner leadership of his own party. And now he has been elected with a massive majority by the British people. To quote unquote, get Brexit done. Let's also be very clear that this is chapter one in the long Brexit divorce and renegotiation story.

SOARES: And what we have heard today, as you saw from him, as he was speaking in the podium, now he then branding themselves as people's government.

[02:30:04]

SOARES: He said we are one nation. We are one-nation Conservative Party. He -- it was a celebratory speech, congratulations speech.

Basically, thanking the people up and down the country, those who voted Conservative for the first time for putting their trust in him. But we also say -- we also said we'll get Brexit done by January 31st. No ifs, no buts.

AMANPOUR: And I -- there are many people betting that he might try it earlier because he's got the mandate in parliament. We're going to take a break and we'll be back with a lot more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:35:09]

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to our continuing live coverage of the results of the U.K. general election. I'm Christiane Amanpour, along with Isa Soares. Boris Johnson has received exactly what he asked for, a commanding majority in parliament to endlessly get Brexit done.

This after all, though, is only chapter one. Voters across the U.K. pushed the number of Conservative seats well beyond the 326 seats that it actually needed.

SOARES: Now, that was the Conservative. There was a dismal night, however, for the opposition Labour Party. It was showing, in fact, in some 80 years. Jeremy Corbyn has already announced he will step down. Although, it's not clear when. He basically said he will not leave the Party at the next general election.

AMANPOUR: And who knows when that might be.

SOARES: Exactly.

AMANPOUR: With this kind of commanding majority in this system, there could be an endless Boris Johnson government. Another political casualty, though, is Jo Swinson of the Liberal Democratic Party. She lost her seat and is stepping down. Swinson was in that position as head less than six months.

Now, British prime minister Boris Johnson spoke at a victory rally just moments ago. Take a listen to some of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: We put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum. And I say respectfully, I say respectfully to our stentorian friend in the blue 12-star hat. That's it. Time to put a sock in the megaphone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And there you heard Boris Johnson on the right of your screen. You're seeing Boris Johnson arriving at 10 Downing Street. It's been a busy few hours for him. We spoke in the last few minutes, but here he is arriving, just not far from where we are at 10 Downing Street. CNN's Nina dos Santos is live at the Conservative Party headquarters where Boris Johnson, the prime minister, was speaking.

Nina, he said no ifs no buts, we'll get Brexit done by January 31st. The question now is, what happens after that?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: Well, I'm actually outside the Queen Elizabeth Center, which is not far from the Conservative Party headquarters. This is the building where he just delivered that speech just a moment ago (INAUDIBLE) driving just in front of our cameras, and then heading over towards Downing Street, just a few minutes' walk away from here.

And in the 15-minute speech that he made, maybe even shorter than that, he pressed home as you heard before 50 points won is that for anybody who had any illusions that Brexit could be reversed at this point. He now has a big mandate to get it done as soon as possible and in the most forceful fashion as possible.

He said that basically, that would -- and this is something that he said all the way through this campaign, in fairness. That he would give his government license to then start and focusing on the domestic agendas and so on, beating up the police numbers to beef up education and spending in infrastructure, things that this country has been hamstrung in doing over the last three years because of the paralysis in the political sphere that Brexit has brought.

He also alluded to the number -- a significant number of Labour voters who voted Conservative for the first time, helping to swing key Labour seats, that have been voting Labour for generations. And both the northwest of the U.K. and the northwest as well. And he said, you know, I value your support and I aim to be a prime minister for you as well. Isa? Christiane?

AMANPOUR: OK.

SOARES: Thank you very much. Nina dos Santos there. Thank you for that. Joining us now is Robin Oakley. Robin, what was your take on what we saw today?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Boris Johnson has now got a completely new task, with a new kind of party. He's going to reflect the kind of people who have come in from the Labour heartlands, largely because they were previously lead voters in the referendum.

He's going to wrap them into a Conservative Party, a Conservative Party whose activists are completely unrepresentative of the country as a whole. And, in fact, you could say that at both major parties. But he's got to change his style. He's got to produce a more inclusive Conservative Party.

And he's not going to be the kind of vindictive figure we saw when he was dealing with the rebels in his own party who were trying to stop a no-deal Brexit. The way in which he dealt with that, is pretty ruthless way. He dealt with that. It showed a very tough side to Boris Johnson. The question now is, you know, will the real Boris Johnson stand up? And if so, what is the real Boris Johnson.

AMANPOUR: And we're going to ask you that after we take a break, as we do have to take a quick break, and we'll be back with much more from Robin Oakley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:00]

AMANPOUR: Welcome back. Let's bring in CNN political contributor, Robin Oakley, to talk more about what he last said. Will the real Boris Johnson now, please stand up. So, the Boris Johnson has said, get Brexit done. That's his slogan and that is what won him this election. It was clear. People on both sides of the Brexit divide just want to get on with it, and he succeeded in that.

But just tell us and tell our viewers, so that everybody is clear that this is not the end of the Brexit debate, even if he divorces Britain from the E.U., he is still going to create a deal.

[02:44:54]

OAKLEY: From it, yes. Brexit stage two begins the moment that he gets through. This is just getting Britain out of the mechanics of the European Union. As you say, Christiane, the whole business now is getting a new trade deal with Europe, while simultaneously trying to get trade deals with the rest of the world, particularly with the United States.

And getting those two things to mesh together is going to be very difficult for a start. But, the curious thing is that you know, Boris Johnson, he doesn't carry a lot of ideological baggage.

And when it came to the referendum vote in 2016, he was a journalist, and he had two articles written. One in favor of joining -- staying with Europe, and one against. And it was almost on the toss of a coin seems that he decided he would go with the referendum campaign and the Brexit campaign, and he played a big part in that.

But now, he's got a freedom, and the European leaders actually wanted him to have a big majority last night because they wanted clarity, they wanted to know what Britain was actually going to do.

He's now got the strength to put through Brexit on his terms. Every Conservative M.P. elected through the night, signed up to a manifesto saying no extension of the intervening period beyond next year. It's got to be done by the end of the year.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Which means we could be facing a no-deal again.

OAKLEY: That's a very, very tight timetable, it could mean no deal.

SOARES: Thanks very much, Robin, appreciate it. We'll talk -- we'll talk after the break. We'll be back after a very short break. Do stay right here with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:42]

VAUSE: After 14 long hours of often angry and heated debate, the first vote on the Trump articles of impeachment has been unexpectedly delayed until later Friday.

Just as it seemed, the House Judiciary Committee was winding down for procedural vote, the Democratic chairman, adjourned. Republicans were accused of stalling, so the vote would take place in the middle of the night.

If the Judiciary Committee approves the articles, where it could means later on Friday, the next step will be a full House vote likely next week.

Civil rights attorney and CNN legal analyst Areva Martin joins me now from Los Angeles. So, Areva, once we get to the Senate, there'll be a trial. And the leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell told Fox News, he is working closely -- he is coordinating with lawyers for Donald Trump. Here he is, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The president's council may or may not decide. They want to have witnesses. The case is so darn weak coming over from the House. We all know how it's going to end. There is no chance the president's going to be removed from office.

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VAUSE: So much for checks and balances on an impossible trial. This is -- what it's like the jury -- chairman admitting he's taking his orders from the defendant's attorneys? AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it's like the defense attorney and the jury getting together and conspiring and predicting the outcome before even the trial begins -- before any witnesses before any evidence is presented.

And that's really unfortunate, John because the Senate has a separate and independent obligation under the Constitution to be a check and balance on the executive branch. And this is not inspiring and the least but to see Mitch McConnell pretty much predicting the outcome of the trial even before it's began.

VAUSE: Yes, I think most people or a lot of people assume that -- you know, this sort of thing would happen anyway, that McConnell is behind the scenes, would be -- you know, betting of a backward for the president. It's astounding, though I think that he would actually declare publicly on television?

MARTIN: Yes, I think it just plays into what we've seen throughout the day, the 14 hours we saw the insults, we saw the derogatory statements made by the Republicans. We saw the histrionics, the outrage machine.

And I think this is just an extension of that. It does not appear, John, that the Republicans are taking this process is very somber process seriously. And the statement by Mitch McConnell, I think, just echoes what we heard and saw today by some of these House Republicans, some of it was just outright, shameful conduct, particularly the personal attacks only Hunter Biden, you know, the comments about his substance abuse and other personal issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the conduct to the president.

VAUSE: That was a new low in this entire impeachment process, the Florida congressman went down that path, but just very quickly from a feed of point of view, once the Senate delivers a verdict, that's the final word, right? There's nowhere else to take this.

MARTIN: Nowhere else. This will not go before the Supreme Court. Donald Trump presumably will have his bragging rights that he was acquitted in the Senate. But guess what? There will forever be asterisk by his name as the third president in the United States that has been impeached in the House.

And we know that despite whatever he says publicly, that is bothersome to him as it should be. It's very troubling to us, I think, as Americans and it should be troubling to this president, given his outlandish and, at this point, we can call it, unlawful conduct.

VAUSE: Very quickly also, we know that they need the two-thirds majority for a supermajority for the president to be removed and that is not going to happen. That's 20 senators from the Republican side who needs to fake.

They could, however, be three or four, who decided that the president has actions rise to the level that he should be removed? If it gets over that 51 plus, is that a win of sorts for Democrats? MARTIN: I think if even one Republican, you know, stands up and show some courage, a job in this process, it's a win not only for the Democrats but for the country. And I think we should look at this not as such, and you know, through these bipartisan lenses in terms of Republicans versus Democrats.

This is a very serious issue. This is a constitutional crisis that this president has put us in, and I think the American people are expecting some of these Republican congressmen to put country before party, and to look at the facts has -- that have been established, that are very persuasive and compelling. And to do the right thing and to make a vote that's consistent with those facts that clearly prove that this president has abused his power.

VAUSE: Yes, it is one of those moments of history where it does seem that the Republicans have lost sight of where they stand and all of this, and how they will be viewed, you know, five, 10 years from now.

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MARTIN: Yes, and we can imagine, John, if this were President Obama, President Clinton, or any democratic president, that you would see the kind of arguments, you know, the kind of distorted arguments being made by the Republicans, and they're just willful overlooking of the conduct of this president.

And I think history will not be kind to any of these Republicans that continue to defend him in the face of such persuasive evidence against him.

VAUSE: Yes, absolutely. And Areva, of course, we will continue to follow the reconvening of the House Judiciary Committee, which is at 10:00 am. Eastern Time.

MARTIN: Yes.

VAUSE: That be live coverage here on CNN for everyone to follow along. And it should be a vote fairly soon, we expect. Areva Martin, thank you there in Los Angeles.

MARTIN: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Also, I'd like to thank our viewers over around the world. A big news day here. We're following the developments in the U.K. with the general election there with Boris Johnson winning a big majority in parliament.

Christiane Amanpour and Isa Soares have all the details. I'll be back after a very short break. You're watching CNN.

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