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Leaders Demand Accountability As Iran Admits Downing Airliner; CNN Reporting Exclusively From Air Base Targeted By Iran; Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) Working With Small Group Of GOP Lawmakers To Ensure Trial Witnesses; FOX News Hosts Rally Around & Promote Trump's Policies; Rep. Collins Apologizes After Saying Democrats "In Love With Terrorist"; Democratic Frontrunners Locked In Four-Way Race & Many Iowa Caucus-Goers Still Undecided; Boeing Employee E-mails Mock FAA Certification Process, Question Safety Of 737 MAX Jets. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 11, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN NEWSROOM: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

The worldwide call for accountability grows by the hour after Iran admits to what multiple western powers already suspected, that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner traveling from Tehran to Kiev, Ukraine. Now, the incident happened mere hours after Iran launched missile strikes in retaliation for the U.S. killing of its top general, Qasem Soleimani. Iran says the military operator fired at that plane by mistake, thinking it was a counterstrike.

A warning, this video of the impact that you're about to see is disturbing. A security camera apparently caught the moment when the Iranian missile hit the jet, killing all 176 people on board. Ukraine's president says Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has apologized, adding, quote, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran fully acknowledges the tragedy was due to the erroneous actions of the military of this state. Official Tehran assured that all involved in the crash will be held accountable.

Sixty-three of those killed were from Canada. A short time ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the U.S. tensions with Iran contributed to that crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think that in times of conflict and tension, that's precisely when innocent lives are lost. Obviously, in this context, in the Middle East, these days, that contributed to this tragedy, but Iran did the right thing, and took responsibility for the downing of this plane, and for this tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward is in Ukraine for us. Clarissa, just a day ago, Iran said it was a big lie that it was behind this deadly crash. Do you know what led to this admission now?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're learning, Ana, is that basically it all came down to ten seconds, ten seconds, in which an IRGC commander, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander rather, had to decide whether or not to essentially take down that Ukrainian airliner which he erroneously believed to be some kind of a missile attack on Iran. He had just ten seconds to make the call. He said that after he realized he hit a civilian airliner, he, quote, wished that he was dead.

Now, this information was related to the highest levels of Iranian authorities, as early as Wednesday morning. But it was still another three days before the Iranians would come out publicly with their side of the story, and explain exactly how it was that this happened.

There's certainly many more questions that remain though, Ana, in terms of why it was that Iranians had not closed down the air space to civilian aircraft, why planes had not been grounded. We had heard reports also today that commanders had asked for civilian aircraft to be grounded, only to be told that that was not necessary.

So even though we know a little bit more as to how this unspeakable tragedy unfolded, there are still a lot more questions that will need be to be answered during the course of a thorough investigation. Ana?

CABRERA: And Ukraine was operating this commercial flight. What is Ukraine saying?

WARD: Well, it's interesting. Up until now, the Ukrainians have been very sort of tight-lipped and not wanting to point the finger at any one party. Today, we did see President Volodymyr Zelensky issue a much stronger statement, saying that while he was grateful that Iran had come forward with the truth, the time now was to ensure that the Ukrainian investigators on the ground in Tehran have unfettered access to complete their investigation, that the remains of the dead are brought back to Ukraine, and correctly identified, and also he wants to see the beginning of the process of getting some compensation for the families. 11 Ukrainians killed in this crash that will need to be a sort of judicial process that will begin.

And so the onus now for Ukraine, there's a sense almost slightly of relief at knowing the truth of what happened, but there needs to be a lot more answers, a thorough and deep investigation so that the process can begin for people to claim some compensation for this hideous and senseless tragedy, and also for the airline to be able to gain some compensation. They also had a press conference today, Ana, in which they really rejected criticism that they shouldn't have been flying and said that they did everything by the letter and had no indication that there was any danger in flying, Ana.

CABRERA: Right, and the flights were not grounded. That's the bottom line. Clarissa Ward, thank you for that reporting.

[15:05:01]

CNN National Security Analyst, Peter Bergen is with us now. Peter is also the author of Trump and his Generals, the Cost of Chaos.

Peter, are you surprised that Iran is admitting to downing of the plane after first so adamantly denying it and even calling it a big lie?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think they wised up, Ana. I mean, when you have the Canadian prime minister coming out so strongly saying it was clearly a missile attack. Bad stories don't improve with time as the facts are all against you. Just think about the Jamal Khashoggi murder a year ago in Istanbul. The Saudis didn't admit about what had happened to that journalist in the consulate in Istanbul for many, many weeks, which kept the story alive on CNN and other networks for many, many weeks.

Here now, there is some closure, and I think Clarissa raised the issue of compensation, we had a very analogous incident 20 years ago when an American warship brought down an Iranian airliner at a time of heightened tensions, 290 people were killed on board. Eventually, the United States government paid compensation to the families of the victims, and I'm sure this will happen in this case. So, certainly, it should happen.

CABRERA: So you think that's what it is when it comes to accountability or is there more that Iran we can expect to do moving forward?

BERGEN: I think it's an authoritarian state, Ana, and I would be so surprised. I mean, the Iranian -- the Islamic Revolutionary Guard is such a key part of the apparatus and it is hard for me to imagine that there will be more than a slap on the wrist for the person responsible. Obviously, he made a very bad call. But you know, that's so embedded in the nature of state. It's hard to imagine that he's going to be taken out and, you know, court marshaled or something.

CABRERA: Meantime, there are still questions about the timing of the strike that took out Soleimani, and the imminent threat that the administration cited. The president provided more information last night on Fox. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Don't the American people have a right to know what specifically was targeted without revealing methods and sources?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I don't think so, but we will tell you that probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad.

INGRAHAM: Did they have large-scale attacks planned for other embassies? And if those were planned, why can't we reveal that to the American people? Wouldn't that help your case?

TRUMP: I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: This information is new to even the lawmakers who had classified briefings. Pompeo, the secretary of state, had multiple opportunities to say this and wouldn't go there. Do you believe the president is telling the truth?

BERGEN: Ana, I just don't know. But what I will say is the Trump administration would be smart to say we are relying on precedents created by the Obama administration. Go back to the time when President Obama authorized for the first time since the American civil war, the assassination of an American citizen, which was Anwar al- Awlaki, who was leading al-Qaeda in Yemen.

The argument that the Obama administration used in secret and now declassified kind of arguments by the White House Counsel was even though Anwar al-Awlaki, there wasn't necessarily a specific target and plot and time and place, that he was constantly planning attacks against American targets and therefore he fit into this kind of imminent threat category.

And I'm actually surprised that the Trump administration isn't using this argument because it has already been used by another administration to instead of trying to get hung up on the actual details of the imminence of the threat, just say, Soleimani was constantly planning these kinds of attacks, and the Obama administration killed somebody on this basis, and we're using that kind of precedent.

CABRERA: But Soleimani, he may have been the head of the snake, but now with him gone, do these threats, these possible attacks that were in the works just go away?

BERGEN: No, of course not, Ana, although I think they're going to be well-calibrated. I mean, President Trump has made clear, one very clear red line, which is if you kill an American, whether it's a contractor or wound service members, you're going to get a big response.

So what we can expect is cyber warfare. We've seen a devastating attack on Saudi Aramco in the past from the Iranians, what we can expect proxy warfare type responses, perhaps Americans being kidnapped in countries like Lebanon. But things are stable over the threshold of really inciting a direct military operation in response is I think what we will see.

CABRERA: Peter Bergen, great to have you here. Thank you very much.

BERGEN: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Now something you will only see on CNN, an up-close look at the airbase in Iraq where U.S. troops rode out two hours of missile strikes and explosions this past week. And it was Iran's retaliation for the U.S. ordered killing of their top general. CNN's Arwa Damon is the only journalist from anywhere allowed access to the wreckage left by those missile strikes. She is at Al-Asad Airbase right now. ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These were living quarters, sleeping quarters, the troops that lived here lost everything. There was very little, if anything, that was salvageable, because there was also a fire that ended up raging here for a few hours after the missile impacted in this particular area.

[15:10:00]

The reason why no one was killed, not here, not in any of the other locations of impact, is because there was advanced warning. We don't know what. We don't know how. That is very sensitive information. But we are told that hours before the attack even began, they knew something was happening. They just did not know specifically what it was going to be. So precautions were taken.

By 11:00 P.M., troops who could hunker down were hunkered down in bunkers, some of them in Saddam-era bunkers. Others who had to man their posts because of the security situation, they were still out there, and then the strikes began at about 1:34 in the morning. This is the crater left behind by one of them.

There are so many stories that we're hearing of heroics, so many stories that we're hearing of really extraordinary close calls, those who lived through this say that it's clear that Iran wasn't that concerned with trying to save U.S. lives. A lot of these impacts did happen in places where they could potentially have caused significant U.S. casualties.

And this is Lieutenant Colonel Staci Coleman. We've been speaking all day, and I mean you were telling us what was that night like, how do you even begin to describe it?

LT. COL. STACI COLEMAN, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's very hard to describe it. I will tell you, it was extremely scary. Some of my team and myself were hunkered down in one of those bunkers. And when the first wave started hitting, you could feel the shockwave. And even inside the bunker, the pressure was so strong that we watched our bunker door sink in towards the inside of the bunker and then escape back out. About seven of the impacts were in very close proximity to where we were hunkered down, and like I said, you could feel every last one of these shockwaves. It was extremely scary.

DAMON: And very lucky, or was it the training, the precautions that were taken that there were no U.S. casualties?

COLEMAN: I'd say it was a combination of God looking out for us. It was a combination of, you know, the little bit of intel and advanced warning that we got, and then it was the smart commanders on the ground, making on-spot decisions to get people out of harm's way.

DAMON: And how do you beginning to describe, I mean, what this was like, and then, of course, what Kind of security precautions you're having to take now given this

situation?

COLEMAN: This was, like I said, we knew something was happening, but we didn't know exactly what. As the time drew closer, we kind of felt we had an indication of what it might be, but we were still uncertain.

So we had advanced warning that there may be some rockets followed by a base incursion. And so we had to keep our security forces out to make sure that we were safe from that, so there were a good number of folks out along the perimeter, and within the airfield, keeping it secure.

DAMON: Out there, on the perimeter, keeping it secure while these missiles are coming in?

COLEMAN: Yes. They were outside during every last one of the missile strikes.

DAMON: It would seem that it was very fortunate and also, as we have been saying, because of this advanced warning that just because these precautions that were taken, there is the sense that while this phase of what is unfolding has concluded. Everyone here is still very much on high alert.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq.

CABRERA: Thanks to Arwa and her team there for us.

He is the one person Democrats badly want to hear from. But now, President Trump says he'll likely try to stop John Bolton from testifying.

Plus, deadly storm, dangerous winds, heavy flooding, hitting the Midwest and the southeast, right now. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[15:15:00]

CABRERA: Right now, a series of deadly storms have claimed at least eight lives across the Southern U.S., including three in Louisiana, two in Texas and three in Alabama. Now, this is Missouri, one of the several states already reporting tornadoes. More tornados expected to hit across the southeast.

At Chicago's busy O'Hare International Airport, high winds and snow are prompting hundreds of flight cancellations.

Meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us now. So much going on in so many places, Karen. Where are things the most urgent right now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now, Ana, the deep south, this ferocious line of storms, and as you reported, deadly line of storms moving across the deep south. We have seen these severe thunderstorm warnings pop up but also several tornado warnings in extreme Northeastern Alabama.

I will say at this point, if you have a weather radar or radio, also maybe an app on your phone, please pay attention to that, because this is so dynamic now, moving so quickly, encroaching across Atlanta. Right now, temperatures are in the 70s, but once the front moves through, we are looking at dramatically colder temperatures.

Pretty much from Kentucky, all the way to the panhandle of Florida, this is where we're seeing the worst. So if we start to see watches and warnings, we will keep you advised on that. If there is a warning, that means the worst situation. And that means severe weather is imminent.

Already, nine tornadoes reported. Also, in the deep south, the atmosphere is very moisture-laden. And we get the dynamics of the frontal system moving through. And that's what's causing this weather to become so violent. Lots of wind reports. So even if there is not a tornado, you may get some straight line winds or you may see some wind gusts, already wind gusts reported around 70 miles an hour in some cases.

[15:20:04]

So the worst threat, damaging winds, as I just mentioned, the possibility of tornadoes, also some large hail reported. We could see the size of golf balls, as we already have, throughout the afternoon.

On the backside of this system, it's winter time. Ahead of it, it feels very much like summer time temperatures, or at least springtime, with temperatures in the 70s. But behind it, we're looking at 20s, and 30s.

And ice is a big problem too, especially across Central Michigan, Ana, so many dynamics to this system and we will stay on top of it through the afternoon.

CABRERA: Weather all over the board. It's 60 plus degrees in New York today. And then you hear what's happening elsewhere. Karen Maginnis, thank you for that update. We will come back to you as the news warrants.

Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton says he will testify if he gets a subpoena from the Senate. Ahead, President Trump's fight to block it.

Plus, we are just days away now from the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. The new CNN poll shows that it's a tight race at the top. How can the candidates tip the scales before the nation's first election?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[15:25:00]

CABRERA: Welcome back. It is becoming increasingly likely that the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump will include witnesses. All it would take is for four Republican senators to vote with every Democrat to allow testimony. And Senator Susan Collins says she is working with a small group of fellow Republican lawmakers right now to do just that. We know at least one witness Democrats are insistent on hearing from is President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton. The reason being, he would appear to be in a position to have firsthand knowledge of the White House move to withhold military aid, and a White House visit from Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

Consider this timeline. July 25th, President Trump has that now infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky in which he asks him for a favor though, that favor involving investigations related to the DNC server and the Bidens. Now, just 90 minutes after that call, a White House official tells the Pentagon to put a hold on congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine.

On August 12, a whistleblower files a complaint about the aid, concerned the president is pressuring Ukraine for political favors. Later that same month, John Bolton meets with President Zelensky in Ukraine.

On September 9th, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff learns about the whistleblower complaint, and three House committees launch investigations. One day later, the president announces he's fired Bolton. And one day after that, the hold on Ukraine's aid is lifted.

So with the Senate poised to allow witnesses and Bolton ready to talk, where does President Trump stand? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Why not call Bolton, why not allow him to testify? This thing is bogus. Why not have Bolton testify?

TRUMP: I would have no problem, other than one thing. You can't be in the White House as president in the future. I'm talking about future, many future presidents and have a security adviser, anybody having to do with security, and legal, and other things, but especially --

INGRAHAM: You're going to invoke executive privilege?

TRUMP: Well, I think you have to for the sake of the office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now, National Politics Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Sabrina Siddiqui, and Washington Post Congressional Reporter, Karoun Demirjian.

Sabrina, what happens if the president claims executive privilege?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it would certainly slow down the prospect of John Bolton appearing before the Senate by tying it up in the courts. And legal experts certainly point out that this administration has time and again sought to assert a very broad interpretation of executive privilege when it is not, in fact, all encompassing. It certainly would not apply to conversations, for example, that Bolton may have had involving Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, who does not work within the administration, and was really the point man on this pressure campaign against Ukraine in the pursuit of the investigations that were sought by the president.

But as of now, there is no indication that Mitch McConnell or the Republican-led Senate, I should say, plans to subpoena Bolton. McConnell has been pretty clear that he would like first for House impeachment managers and the president's counsel to make their arguments before the Senate, and he will then see if there are additional witnesses to be summoned. And so it really depends on whether or not four Republicans are willing to break with McConnell and demand that they subpoena Bolton as well as acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and other officials who did not testify before the House.

CABRERA: Let's talk more about that, because as we understand it, Karoun, Senator Collins, Republican from Maine, is working with a small group of other Republicans to ensure witnesses. What can you tell us about their efforts and the likelihood they will be successful.

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, there are a group of moderate Republicans who have said that they don't like this idea that the GOP leaders are projecting that they're in lock-step with the president, that they think that it might be valuable to hear from witnesses who were not part of the House's impeachment inquiry. And, of course, there was a standoff between the House Democrats and many of the people that they subpoenaed, although Bolton actually never received a subpoena from the House.

But now that you have Bolton saying he's willing to testify, others who are on the Democrats' list who might have information that's relevant, there are a handful of Republicans who are seriously considering this, and looking to see if they will end up working with Democrats, to join them, to give them the 51 votes that they'll need, as Sabrina was saying --

CABRERA: Tell us which senators you're watching specifically, who they are.

[15:30:00]

DEMIRJIAN: Right, so we're watching -- I mean, it really is kind the usual suspects. It is Senator Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Mitt Romney from Utah, and people like Lamar, Alexander, who are the more senior members of the Republican caucus, who are traditionalists in a way, that may have some sort of inclination not to do that.

And then people from swing states that are in tough re-election contests like Corey Gardner.

And so it is a list of people that is both made up of ideology, of them being centrists, or their general institutionalism or their current election prospects. And they have to be able to make the case. Look, this does not necessarily mean that these Republicans will end

up voting to convict the president. But there's a debate in Congress, what does a fair trial look like. And if you block certain witnesses from coming forward, is that a fair trial?

And then it is a matter between the parties and you have a handle of Republicans in the middle, in the Senate, that could decide this one way or another.

CABRERA: Sabrina, why do you think we are seeing this push for witness from some Republicans, especially given the reporting that White House officials and the president's allies want this trial over before this State of the Union address. That is about three weeks away. And the trial hasn't even started yet.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Some of these officials have first-hand knowledge of the allegations that have really been at the heart of this impeachment inquiry.

Although Bolton did not appear voluntarily before the House and was ultimately not subpoenaed by investigators in the House, he, according to the testimony of other witnesses, was vehemently opposed to this freeze on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, likening it to a drug deal.

Also, there's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who admitted before cameras that there was a quid pro quo and people do it all the time, only to try to walk those comments back.

But I think you need to see more Republicans really break in a meaningful way with McConnell, to see some of those additional witnesses appear on Capitol Hill before the Senate.

If you look at what Susan Collins is saying, she says she is working on a resolution that would include language that would perhaps allow for the consideration of witnesses.

McConnell has not ruled out allowing for the consideration of witnesses.

It is more about the timeline. And so that does potentially give some of those moderate Republicans an out to say that they did have a process in place that may allow for witnesses. But whether or not the Senate would go so far as to issue a subpoena, that's a separate matter.

CABRERA: Karoun, up until now, the president's acquittal has been all but certain. Does that change if witnesses are allowed?

DEMIRJIAN: Well, I think that you -- look, you still have to sway 20 Republican Senators in order to get a conviction. And that's a very high bar, given the number of Senators that have spoken in favor of the president.

Now granted, we haven't heard from these witnesses and potentially they could come forward with something, very, very damming that could force people's hand. So there's always that possibility. The way the political winds are blowing, it doesn't seem likely.

But remember, acquittal or conviction is not the only ultimate verdict. Yes, it is, as far as the formal proceedings go. But the country will be watching. If there's additional testimony, they will be watching that, too.

And remember, there's an election not too far away. And so people like Bolton or Mick Mulvaney end up coming forward with things that are condemning the president.

In a way it doesn't necessarily matter what the outcome of the trial is in the Senate, if that convinces enough of the American public that they're not comfortable with the administration.

So we have both juries basically watching as we go through these procedural steps, whatever they may be, before getting to the final vote. And it will be interesting to see of what comes out of the Senate, and what is the verdict in the 2020 election in November.

CABRERA: Karoun Demirjian, Sabrina Siddiqui, thank you so much. It'll unfold in the next few weeks. Thank you both for being here for us.

DEMIRJIAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Television advice. Is President Trump getting national security and foreign policy ideas from his favorite morning-show program?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:56]

CABRERA: After Iran launched missiles at military bases in Iraq this week, the White House's favorite morning television program closed ranks around the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FOX HOST: The president was going to make a comment and decided to wait until the morning, which is probably a good move to think more about the strategy. Because as our show has progressed for the past three hours, all of the experts say they don't think we need to respond now because it looks like they are shaking in their boots. They're afraid of us. They're striking -- just to say they can strike without any casualties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, that wasn't a unique point. A lot of guests and analysts and military veterans have similar opinions on cable news shows that morning.

But a FOX News program went so far as to suggest to the president what his next move should be and directed messages to the government of Iran.

One of Fox's on-air presenters urged Trump to threaten even more U.S. military action, like bombing targets in Iran.

Our chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, is here with us now.

Brian, FOX News, in its response to the conflict in Iran, I know, it really struck you. You wrote a long article about it on Wednesday. And that network, of course, makes no effort to hide its support of the president.

What was it about this situation that had you really homed in on what you were hearing on the "FOX and Friends" show?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in the same way that cooler heads perhaps have prevailed in Washington, cooler heads were prevailing on television as well. And I don't think that is something that should be taken for granted.

There was certainly, the Iraq war, in 2003, no shortage of hype an encouragement of U.S. military action in Iraq on FOX and other cable news channels as well.

This time, we've seen I think a lot of rational, reasonable sober responses, even on the president's favorite channel. So some of the folks you would expect to be war mongers or hawks, had actually been rather cautious.

And I think that speaks to how the Republican Party has changed, and how the country has perhaps learned a lesson from the Iraqi years.

So even Sean Hannity, for example, is saying, no boots on the ground. And Tucker Carlson is advocating strongly as an anti-war voice on FOX News. Striking to see the difference. And true on "FOX and Friends" as well.

[15:40:05]

CABRERA: I want to turn to someone else who drew controversy this week by appearing on FOX News, and that was Georgia Republican Congressman Doug Collins.

Here is what he said about Democrats in the wake of that strike on Soleimani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): I did not think she could become more hypocritical than she was during impeachment. But guess what, surprise, surprise, Nancy Pelosi does it again. And her Democrats fall right in line. One, they're in love with terrorists. We see that. They mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: In love with terrorists. And not a single one defended Soleimani.

Here is how Senator and Purple Heart recipient, Tammy Duckworth, responded. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): I am not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don't need to justify myself to anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Then yesterday morning, Collins went back on FOX. He toned down his claim to a point. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Do all of them love terrorists? No. I think the issue we have here, though, is the fact that they won't acknowledge that he was a terrorist. They won't acknowledge the fact that this was a good thing for the world for Soleimani to be taken out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Stay with me here, because, after that, he finally apologized. And here he is, with a series of tweets.

So, Brian, Collins, two day, almost 24 hours after Duckworth response, and another two hours after he went on FOX News and, in some ways, doubled down on his initial claim, just kind of softening it a bit to finally apologizing. And he could have gone on FOX News and made that apology two hours earlier.

Is this another example of FOX News viewers only getting one side of the story?

STELTER: Yes, one side of the story. It happens on FOX and the cleanup happens here on CNN or on Twitter. And that's what we've seen in this instance, with Collins.

Look, he is sort of known, as the words were coming out of his mouth the first time, that they were heinous. But this has become a popular talking point on the right. Even President Trump saying the Democrats have spent the last three days defending Soleimani's life.

This is the ugliest kind of politics. And I think most people in American life know better.

But, unfortunately, some of these politicians are just, -- they're digging really deep. And at least Collins gets a little bit of credit for apologizing finally --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: -- the lowest possible bar. The lowest possible bar. And he didn't do it on FOX, he only did it on Twitter. CABRERA: Brian, it's good to have you here with us.

STELTER: Thanks.

CABRERA: Thank you for your take.

STELTER: Thank you.

CABRERA: And don't miss, "RELIABLE SOURCES," with Brian Stelter. It airs tomorrow morning, 11:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

For some of the 2020 Democrats, the Iowa caucuses may make or break their campaign? Voters may have their favorites but how deep will the voters' loyalty run?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:27]

CABRERA: Believe it or not, we are just 23 days away now from the first official vote in the 2020 race. And new CNN polls show Senator Bernie Sanders is on the rise. Take a look at this. Keep in mind, there's a margin of error 3.7 percentage points, so no clear leader in the top tier.

Sanders has 20 percent. Elizabeth Warren with 17 percent. Pete Buttigieg with 16 percent. And Joe Biden at 15 percent. Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang at 6 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Look at these numbers comparing candidates' standings now versus two months ago in November. And you can see Sanders and Buttigieg have essentially swapped places. Warren, Biden, posting similar numbers.

Here is a point worth noting. Around one in eight likely caucus-goers say they still have no first choice, even with caucus-day less than a month away.

CNN's Kyung Lah is in Davenport, Iowa.

Kyung, what are you hearing from voters there? And are you hearing from people who are just undecided?

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, plenty of people who are undecided. As heavy as this snow is, we're hearing all of the questioning when you sit down at these coffee tables and kitchen table and talk with Iowa voters, have you made up your mind yet.

Those top four candidates we talked about, among them, Joe Biden. You can see I'm in front of his bus. His campaign, that is, having a surrogate event here, organizing people, trying to convince some of those undecided people to come over into their camp.

And how many of them are there? Take a look at this one section of the CNN poll. We were talking about those undecideds. So how solid is your support was the question in our poll. And 40 percent say they have made up their mind. But 45 percent say they could change their mind. And 13 percent say they still don't have a choice, a first choice.

Now, that changes when you sit down with a Bernie Sanders supporter. We sat down with a couple of them, and here's what they told us, they're solidified, especially after this week's news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG: What have you thought about what he said in regard to Iran?

UNIDENTIFIED IOWA RESIDENT: I support what he said, honestly. I feel like, I don't know, I feel like war is a cheap tactic of distraction, and certainly is in this particular case. And I feel like anybody who is willing to stand up against that is somebody that I'm voting for.

[15:50:02]

UNIDENTIFIED IOWA RESIDENT: I knew exactly how he would respond to something like this. He is very anti-war. He always has been. I'm very anti-war. I appreciate what he's doing there. They were trying to pass the War Powers Act. I'm proud of what he's done for that fight.

I think the number-one goal of the Democratic Party is to beat Trump. And that's my number-one goal. So if this isn't the election for Bernie, it's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: She's talking about if Bernie Sanders is not nominee at the end of the day, because what she wants, what many Democrats have told us is, regardless of who the nominee is, they do want to support that nominee, at least the people we have spoken with -- Ana?

CABRERA: Kyung, there's so much attention on Iowa because it's the first state to cast any votes or with the caucus being first. How unpredictable is Iowa when you look at the bigger picture historically?

LAH: It is absolutely unpredictable. The surrogate who is here from Joe Biden, John Kerry, certainly speaks to that. In the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses in 2004, he wasn't the frontrunner. A month out, he still was not polling great. He was not the expected winner. And yet, he still pulled it off. There's plenty of surprises.

If you look back in history, this state has proven that it will pick what it wants, the candidate they want. When you talk to candidates like Amy Klobuchar, for example, she says that that's her opportunity. They are looking at that history -- Ana?

CABRERA: As you pointed out, a lot of people with undecided minds still.

Kyung Lah, thank you for that reporting.

The last debate before the first vote airs only on CNN in partnership with the "Des Moines Register." Watch Tuesday night at 9:00 Eastern, live from Iowa, here on CNN.

Ahead, we have a CNN exclusive. We are on the ground at the Al-Assad Airbase in Iraq. We're the only network -- the only reporter on the ground there is Arwa Damon just days after American forces hit in bunkers when Iran fired over a dozen missiles at that facility. Stay with us.

And as Boeing works to fix their grounded 737 MAX aircraft, new troubling documents showing some of the airline maker's own employees questioned the aircraft's safety. Even mocking the FAA certification process.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[15:57:14]

CABRERA: New disturbing e-mail released by Boeing show employees of that aviation giant mocking the FAA and expressing doubts about the now grounded 737 MAX airplane's ability to fly safely.

Last March, the planes were grounded worldwide after two crashes, killing 346 people just months apart from each other.

E-mails in April of 2017, before the first crash, and one month after the first version of the plane was certified, show an employee describing the airplane as, quote, "designed by clowns who, in turn, are supervised by monkeys."

CNN's Cristina Alesci is joining us now.

Cristina, that is just one example of what one employee said. What else do these e-mails reveal?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I've covered corporate crises, dozens of them, and this is bad. It calls the company's culture into question.

And these e-mails show that employees were worried about what they were telling regulators.

For example, in May 2018, one employee wrote, "I really would struggle to defend the simulator in front of the FAA next week."

Another employee responds, "Yes, I still haven't been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year." Referring to another event that involved the agency.

Another message reads, "Would you put your family on a MAX simulator- trained aircraft? I wouldn't." Another employee, responding, "No."

That's just incredible.

And if there's any kind of silver lining, it's that the company handed over these messages to the chief regulator, the FAA, a couple of weeks ago. The FAA determined there are no new safety risks associated with the discovery and the analysis of these e-mails.

Boeing's troubles are not over. It's spilling over into other companies. The plane, the 737 Max, is still grounded. And now Boeing suppliers are having to layoff thousands of employees.

CABRERA: Wow. You mention job losses. How many have been -- bigger picture of the economy when talking about manufacturing, for example, and the broader economy?

ALESCI: When it comes to Boeing, specifically, just yesterday, one of its biggest suppliers said it will lay off 2800 people.

To your point, we're already in a manufacturing recession. Look at this chart and you'll see 12,000 manufacturing job losses for December alone. Look at that. That's pretty pathetic.

It is a small part of the economy but it's also an important part economy. So that's what we're facing here.

I spoke to one Trump adviser, former economic adviser, yesterday who told me there's only more pain to come with Boeing, specifically, because Boeing, even though it grounded its jet last year, it kept buying parts. Now it will halt production for a while. Nobody knows how long that will be.

[15:59:02]

CABRERA: Again, safety first.

Now the government also released its job market and the latest employment numbers and jobs added. There are some good signs there. It's still strong, right.