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Trump Officials Struggle to Explain Soleimani Intel; Anti- Government Protests In Iran; Philippines Government Urges Total Evacuation Near Manila; Royal Separation Drama; Official: Melbourne Air Quality Now 'Worst in the World'; House Democrats to Vote on Impeachment Managers; White House Dreams of Winter Wonderland. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 14, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.

Coming up this hour on CNN NEWSROOM, in the absence of intelligence, evidence and a consistent rationale, the U.S. president's latest reason for killing Iran's top general: he was a bad guy, so, you know.

In the Philippines, a small but strong volcano is sending hot gas into the atmosphere and causing tens of thousands to evacuate.

And it was an informal statement from the queen but now, when she referred to Harry and Meghan, many are wondering, will the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lose their formal titles?

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VAUSE: It was enough to bring the U.S. and Iran to the very brink of war but now the White House just can't experience why, at least, consistently, they decided to kill the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

President Donald Trump and his allies say that Iran was targeting four U.S. embassies but they have offered no clear evidence and sources say State Department officials were not told of any specific threats. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more now on the shifting rationale coming from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that, honestly, we're arguing semantics here.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 11 days since the U.S. launched a drone strike killing a top Iranian commander, President Trump and his national security aides have struggled to explain, why now? GRISHAM: Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Esper, Ambassador O'Brien and the president have all said there was an imminent threat.

COLLINS: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo first claimed General Soleimani's attack was imminent, though he later raised eyebrows by admitting he didn't know when or where.

Today, the president insisted it was imminent, but argued it really doesn't matter because of Soleimani's horrible past. Despite being a move that brought two nations to the brink of war, explanations about the intelligent have shifted repeatedly.

ESPER: What the president said was he believed it probably could have been. He didn't cite intelligence.

COLLINS: After Trump asserted, without evidence, that four U.S. embassies were in Soleimani's sights, his defense secretary wouldn't back up his claim about specific threats with intelligence.

ESPER: I didn't see one with regard to four embassies.

COLLINS: Trump's national security team has argued forcefully a major attack was coming, but they said they're unable to share the intelligence, as lawmakers have complained even their classified briefings offered little detail.

ROBERT O'BRIEN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I'm not going to get into the details of those and give our playbook out to the other side. But we were very concerned about embassies throughout the region.

COLLINS: CNN has learned State Department officials involved in U.S. Embassy security were not aware of an imminent threat to four diplomatic posts and didn't issue warnings about the alleged risk before the Soleimani strike.

Amid the ever-evolving explanations, Trump is warning Iran not to kill protesters facing off with riot police after the government admitted it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing 176 people on board.

Now before that strike on Soleimani, the State Department did issue a warning to all U.S. embassies, but it wasn't specific and it didn't warn of any kind of an imminent threat, despite the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, repeating again today that, yes, there was a threat and, yes, he did believe that it was imminent -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The U.S. president is warning Tehran not to kill protesters but it seems leaders in Tehran may have ignored that.

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VAUSE (voice-over): Demonstrations spread over the weekend after the government admitted it had mistakenly shot down a commercial airliner. Now it is reported security forces are shooting at their own people again. Iran denies that.

But for days it also denied downing an airliner. CNN's Nic Robertson has more on what looks to be another bloody crackdown by Tehran.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You can see people who appear to be shot, who have what appear to be live bullet round holes bleeding on the streets.

Some of the protests, you can hear the gunshots being fired, you can hear what sound like tear gas canisters and you hear what sound like live rounds being fired.

And then you hear the crowd saying, "They are shooting, They are shooting, get down."

And there is a lady that says, "I've been shot in the foot, shot in the foot," and a man standing near her shouts, "Oh, my gosh, she has been hit."

Somebody else shouts, "Get bandages, get bandages."

So the evidence on the street speaks against this. You had, in the past 24 hours, senior Iranian commanders going on TV, saying they are sorry about the downing of the aircraft. They feel that this is terrible.

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ROBERTSON: In fact, one commander said he wished it was him that had been on the aircraft. The reality is, this contrition that the political military leaders are portraying is not the reality on the streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With us now is Nader Hashemi, an associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at the University of Denver.

Thank you for being with us. Protests against the regime in Tehran over the years have ebbed and flowed. But it seems hard to remember a time when they were actually on the streets chanting, "Death to the supreme leader." Here it is.

I thought we had that with sound but it's in Farsi I imagine anyway.

So after, that the conservatives who would normally support the regime have been openly critical. The country's only Olympic medal winner has defected. Iran's most popular actress has criticized the government on social media.

Is it different this time? NADER HASHEMI, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: Well, it seems to be different. I think the level of anger and animosity toward the ruling elites and the senior leadership seems to be at a much higher level now than it was in a previous moments.

And I think this has to do with the immediate crisis relating to the shooting down of the Ukrainian airplane, the lies that were told.

But I think the anger and protest at the resignations are really rooted in 40 years of corrupt, incompetent, oppressive rule. And that is what is driving these protests. And whether they will manifest themselves into some sort of political opening, that remains to be seen.

A lot of this has to do with the international context, which actually undermines the prospects for democratic change because it allows the regime to externalize its problems by pointing to the aggressive policies of Donald Trump.

VAUSE: We'll get to that in a moment but just to stay with Iran right, now, they are not a democracy. There are no elections. People have limited rights, no right to protest, for example.

So ultimately, where is the influence here?

How can this unrest put pressure on the regime?

There is a warning from the president, do not go out and kill protesters but, in a way -- and we've said, before if the regime wishes, to it can shoot its way out of trouble.

HASHEMI: It can but every oppressive regime has to maintain some semblance of political order. There are limits to how far the regime could actually crack down.

About a month and a half ago, in the November protest, the regime sort of overreached and killed, by some estimates, over 1,000 people. I think the more accurate figure is around 600 and then the regime realized that there was large-scale public anger and outrage over what happened.

And the regime had to backtrack and to change its narrative and had to start to apologize and acknowledge innocent deaths that had been, lost calling for compensation.

So every repressive regime has to play this careful balancing act in terms of how far it can repress. Iran is an authoritarian regime but it is not North Korea. It does have to maintain some semblance of legitimacy.

And if it kills too many people, that will then result in a public uprising and protest, so these are the balancing acts that authoritarian regimes everywhere have to play, in order to maintain power.

VAUSE: Yes, before it was a pro democracy uprising, one of the reasons for the Tiananmen Square protest in China in 1989 was inflation, skyrocketing costs of basic supplies.

Look at this graph, for the past three, years the cost of basic goods in Iran has doubled. Iranians are well read; many would realize that it's the U.S. sanctions which were imposed last year after Trump withdrew from the nuclear, deal mostly to blame for that increase.

But are reaching a point where the blame shifts under Iran's leadership for not finding a way to ease those sanctions and do something about it?

HASHEMI: I think fundamentally, yes. There is anger at the United States but there is also anger at the corrupt leaders that have been in power for 40 years that refuse to relinquish power or share power.

All of the nation's wealth has being spent on these foreign policy adventurisms in places like Syria. And there is widespread, you know, economic discontent.

That economic discontent immediately translates into, who is making the decisions that has brought about this economic misery?

So you know, the anger is very much directed at those people who have been responsible for making the decisions that has brought Iran to this crisis point and that is the senior leadership of the Islamic Republic.

VAUSE: Just to go back to the Trump administration's lack of consistency for the reason for going after general Soleimani and killing him, forget imminent attack on Monday; it was about deterrence.

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WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, I do believe this concept of imminence is something of a red herring. This was a legitimate act of self-defense because it disrupted ongoing attacks that were being conducted, a campaign against the Americans, and it reestablished deterrence.

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VAUSE: You know, the secretary of state says this is a new policy of deterrence not just against Iran but aimed at Russia and China as well.

Given the fragility of the regime right now in Iran, if the Trump administration orders another drone strike for example, on a senior Iranian leader, military, leader whatever, will that end up again seeing protesters rallying around the regime in Tehran, if not supporting the regime, at least supporting the flag?

HASHEMI: Well, I think so, because what is misunderstood is that demands for democracy is not the only theme that shapes Iranian political culture. Iranian political culture is also deeply shaped by a strong sense of nationalism and anti-imperialism and so, in the strike that took out Soleimani, the regime was able to mobilize those other themes that I just mentioned, anti-imperialism and nationalism, to shift attention away from the demands for democracy and rally people around the flag.

In many ways, the hit on Soleimani actually was a lifeline for the Islamic Republic, it emboldened the regime and strengthened it. This is one of the big problems with the struggle for democracy in Iran.

You have a U.S. policy that inadvertently tends to strengthen hardliners in the Islamic Republic and undermine democratic forces and I think the events after the Soleimani assassination are a perfect illustration of that fact.

VAUSE: I'm just curious: if you were to make an assessment of the anger on the streets, is it being driven by the incompetence involved in shooting down the Ukrainian airliner?

Or is it because of the cover-up that came after it, the lies and the lack of transparency?

HASHEMI: I think it's many things. It is the loss of life. It's the lies that were told in the first three days, that it was a mechanical problem, it is the fact that the regime was very careful not to hit American troops in Iraq but, at the same time, they showed no care for the lives of the citizens flying out of the main airport in Tehran.

And it's fundamentally about 40 years of corrupt authoritarian rule, the demands for political change and the refusal of Iran's leader -- Iran's leaders, to agree and to share power and to meet the demands of a largely young population that aspires to more freedom and democracy. So I think that is fundamentally what is driving these protests.

VAUSE: OK. Nader, thank you for being with us. We appreciate your insights.

HASHEMI: Thanks.

VAUSE: To the Philippines, where they are bracing for a potentially massive eruption from one of its most active volcanoes. Time-lapse video shows the Taal volcano, which has been spewing steam and ash high in the air since Sunday.

The ash has rained down on nearby towns, turning everything gray. Streams of lava were seen gushing on Monday and experts fear they could actually reach into neighborhoods. A state of emergency has been declared in one province and everyone living within a 17- kilometer radius of the volcano has been told to evacuate. CNN's Blake Essig joins us now from Hong Kong with more.

What's the latest on these evacuations?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Philippine government has ordered up to 1 million people to evacuate and that is within that 17 kilometer radius of the active volcano. At this point, government officials are saying that only 18,000 people

are currently in evacuation centers and that number does continue to fluctuate.

With the idea that the government is urging people not to go back to their home and stay out of that evacuation area because of the fact they believe another massive eruption is imminent.

VAUSE: Out of curiosity, volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable. No one really knows what they will do.

So how have they been managed to work out, if there is a worst-case scenario here, are they prepared for that?

ESSIG: They continue to monitor the situation. Scientists have raised the alert level to a 4 out of 5. They believe this volcano is going to erupt, there are another massive hazardous eruption imminent. They don't know if that will happen in hours or days but they do believe it is imminent.

Since it started erupting, it has not stopped spewing that ash. And just today from early this morning there have been 200-plus tremors. All these factors that lead them to believe that something else big is about to happen.

VAUSE: The airport was reopened for a brief period, allowed some people to get out, what do you know about the situation moving forward, because a lot of people have been left stranded?

ESSIG: The Manila International Airport on average has about 750 flights, per day going in and out. More than 500 flights have been impacted as a result. They've stopped for about two hours per day to clear the ash from the runway. They're trying to get flights in and out.

It remains partially open. So if you do have flights, it is a good idea to check the status of those flights, because it could close at any time depending on winds shifting.

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ESSIG: More ash falling on to the runway, preventing flights from being able to leave or land.

VAUSE: It's a terrible situation and it's so unpredictable. So many people have been caught up in this. Thank you, Blake.

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VAUSE: And unprecedented family gathering for Britain's royal family ends with details of Harry and Meghan's future still being worked on. We'll have the queen's informal statement ahead and a hint of what may be in the future for Harry and Meghan.

Also the "Joker" leads the packed Academy Award nominations, 11 in all. But some say this year's Oscars are no laughing matter for women and minorities.

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VAUSE: Britain's royal family now officially in a period of transition after Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan's, announcement they would be stepping back from their royal duties.

Queen Elizabeth convened a crisis summit on Monday.

In a statement she wrote, "My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred for them to remain full-time working members of the royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."

Sandro Monetti covered the House of Windsor for years as a royal reporter. He joins us now from Los Angeles.

Let's start with that statement of the queen, because not once but twice she makes reference to Harry and Meghan. Here's the second time.

"Harry and Meghan have made it clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives."

Nowhere in that statement has she used their titles like, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, only referring to them as the Sussexes. She refers to Prince Charles and Prince William, official titles are used on official statements.

Is this a hint?

Are they losing their royal titles?

SANDRO MONETTI, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Her Majesty picks her words very carefully. She has years of experience of doing it. And I think this is the first shot in a negotiating tactic because, clearly, one of the things still to be resolved is, do they keep the titles?

Now they presumably want to, considering that Meghan and Harry have trademarked over 100 products under their @Sussex Royal brand. They would argue there's precedent for this because Prince Andrew's daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, do not take taxpayer money. They have their own jobs; one runs an art gallery, another works in business and they are allowed to keep their titles as princesses.

However, what they don't do is commercially exploit their royal ties, whereas Meghan and Harry, it seems to me, are going to go for those big money commercial deals under their brand. If they play it right, they could make millions, hundreds of millions.

I think the cash would really roll in and the queen does not want the for sale sign put on the royal title.

VAUSE: One of the issues is the cost of security for the royal couple, especially during this period of transition.

"The Times" reports, "Senior police are concerned that Harry and Meghan's demand to be regarded as 'internationally protected people' could see the royal bodyguard budget spiral out of control.

"A former Scotland Yard chief said last night that the couple 'have not thought out the security implications of their move and have put the Met in an impossible situation'."

In the grand scheme of things, how big is this issue of cost?

Not just cost of security but that is the main thing.

Is that what it comes down to?

MONETTI: Yes, it is huge and, also I, mean security is going to be key and they're going to need it as well, not least for baby Archie. The British press has a tacit agreement with the royal family that they do not intrude on -- they do not have photographers in the trees, taking pictures of royal children, something like, this.

But the arrangements are different when they move abroad. And so, they currently have six permanent bodyguards.

But with all of this sort of traveling back and forth, this, after all, is the most famous couple in the world so, who is going to foot the bill for the security, which is an essential part of their lives?

VAUSE: Questions to get to, Harry and Meghan (INAUDIBLE). Here's part of an interview Harry did last year with ITV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Part of this job and part of any job, like everybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of this stuff.

But again, for me and for my wife, you know, of course, there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when the majority of it is untrue. I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Quite telling in the end. One thing that has them upset is lack of support from the crown for Meghan when Meghan was being vilified by the tabloids; exactly the same thing happened to Diana, the Princess of Wales. She was vilified and hounded and there was no support coming from the queen, either, back then.

MONETTI: This is very much on Harry's mind. 2020 is a very emotional year for him. He turns 36 this year; that is the age at which his mother died.

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MONETTI: And, yes, also his emotional words there were perhaps driven by the fact that his previous two long-term romances broke up when the women involved hated the level of media intrusion that goes along with it.

History shows us that life is never easy for most women who marry into this family because of all the life in a fishbowl aspect that goes with it. And it is not easy.

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VAUSE: Compare the way Meghan and Kate are treated by the British, press here are some of the headlines.

From the "Express," "Kate's morning sickness cure? Prince William gifted with an avocado for pregnant duchess."

The other one, "Meghan Markle's beloved avocado linked to human rights abuse and drought, Millennial shame."

"Why you can always say it with flowers."

And "Royal Wedding: How Meghan Markle's flowers may have put Princess Charlotte's life at risk."

And this one from the "Daily Mail" read in part, "Not long to go. Pregnant Kate tenderly cradles her baby bump."

And then, "Why can't Meghan keep her hands off her bump?"

It is so bleeding obvious, why is it that Meghan received the nasty in the Fleet Street?"

MONETTI: Because there is a perception out there that Kate maybe hasn't put a foot wrong and plays by the rules and Meghan is more of an independent operator.

But it is interesting; you talked about sort of managing the press, very difficult to do. But as they have moved forward -- let's hope they are very happy as they move forward -- I think managing their media profile as much as they possibly can is going to be key to the future of their brand, their income, their perception and their happiness.

So it's not like they're running away from the spotlight. If they said, oh, we are moving to Botswana in Africa, somewhere else where they've been very happy in the past, maybe they would.

But they're going to be in North America still in a media fishbowl. So their relationship with the press has to be managed. And just as they sat around the table with the queen to hash things out, maybe it is time to sit around the table with the world's leading media organizations and come up with a sense of understanding. VAUSE: People did not buy the papers and the photographs, they

wouldn't (INAUDIBLE).

Sandro, thank you for being with us.

MONETTI: God save the queen.

VAUSE: The nominations are out for this year's Academy Awards.

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JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR, "JOKER": One small thing, when you bring me out can you introduce me as Joker?

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VAUSE: "Joker" leads the pack, 11 nominations for Best Actor and Best Director for Joaquin Phoenix.

Other movies Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman,", "1917" and the surprise hit from South Korea, "Parasite."

But critics are again pointing to a lack of diversity among the nominees. Women were shut out completely from the Best Director category. Only one actor of color was nominated out of 20 actors. We will take a closer look at this next hour on CNN NEWSROOM.

Still to come here, Melbourne is shrouded in a thick haze as smoke from Australia's bushfire blows in. We are live from Melbourne in a moment.

Also, Donald Trump's impeachment trial likely to begin as early as next week. But House Democrats still have one important decision to make over the next few days.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.

[00:30:53]

Iran is denying its forces shot at protestors furious over the military's downing of the Ukrainian commercial jet, but gunshots can be heard on video from protests and some people appear to have suffered bullet wounds.

The anti-government demonstrations spread over the weekend, with some chanting, death to the supreme leader.

Complex matters need to be worked out, but Queen Elizabeth is agreeing to Prince Harry and wife Meghan's desire for an independent life. She held a crisis summit with Prince Charles, William and Harry on Monday to discuss the couple's future. The queen said final decisions will be made in the coming days. Officials in the Philippines have announced a state of emergency in

the area surrounding the Taal volcano. It's been spewing ash and steam since Sunday. Experts fear a more violent eruption is imminent. At least 25,000 people have fled their homes and have been moved into evacuation centers.

To Australia now, a thick haze is enveloping Melbourne as smoke from the brushfires shrouds the city. Victoria's chief health officer says the air quality in Melbourne is currently, quote, "the worst in the world." Here's how one resident describes it.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This wasn't going to stop me, although I'm struggling a little bit with the air, but it's actually not too bad. I'm just amazed at, like, how the city looks at the moment, but it's just never seen it like this before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There is some good news, though. We're expecting some much- needed rain there in the coming week. Officials are hoping that, along with a drop in temperatures, will help bring these fires, at least, under control maybe.

Brett McLeod from 9 News is with us. That is just horrendous, that sight behind you, because I know what it normally looks like. So it was worse overnight. It's clearing up a little, but this is going to be around for months.

BRETT MCLEOD, REPORTER, 9 NEWS: This, unfortunately, John, looks like the new normal. That is a live shot here in the afternoon in Melbourne, and that's better than it was this morning.

We woke up to the worst air quality in the world, according to the Air Quality Index. It's now just the second worst in the world, with a taste of things to come.

And that's, of course, because these bushfires which have been burning for several weeks now, the eastern part of this state, Victoria and the Southeastern part of New South Wales, millions of tons of smoke has gone into the air. It's continuing not only to swirl around this part of the world, but the initial smoke has now drifted across the entire planet. NASA says it's now covering part of South America and will make its way back here.

So unfortunately, health authorities are saying get used to this as much as you can, because we're going to see more of it during this summer in Australia. They've already warned people to stay indoors, unless you have to go inside. Public pools are closed. A race meeting was canceled. We've seen -- even seen tennis matches leading up to the Australian Open canceled because of this horrendous smoke haze.

VAUSE: And one of the things here is this is so bad, it is so toxic no one is safe from this. I mean, normally, you put out warnings for children, the elderly, those with, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) conditions. This is just dangerous to everybody.

MCLEOD: It is. They're saying that people have never had asthmatic conditions before may very well be affected today. They had a run on people buying the P2 face masks that many have adopted. They've sold out. You can't get them anymore. A lot of people thought it's the most safe thing to do is simply to stay inside.

But not everyone has that choice. For a lot of people who work outside, for example, construction workers we're told to stay in. Some chose to ignore that. Some ended up in hospital as a result.

In New South Wales, where there are similar conditions, at least one person is known to have died as a result of respiratory problems brought on by the smoke haze. So it's certainly no laughing matter. It's an issue that people had to take very seriously.

And unfortunately, as the fires continue to burn, the smoke will stay with us. The estimation is, the best estimate that these fires probably won't be put out any time before match.

VAUSE: Well, and you also have to question, you know, just how effective those masks are for filtering out all this, because it's small particulate matter which does the damage.

We're out of time, but good to see you. Thank you for the update. We appreciate it. The White House refusing to comment on reports that Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is lobbying to be part of the president's legal team when his Senate impeachment trial gets underway.

CNN's Sara Murray reports the trial could begin next week.

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SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After nearly a month of sitting on the articles of impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ready to take the next step, almost.

[00:35:08]

Tomorrow, Pelosi meets with her caucus to decide when to vote on House impeachment managers, a vote that could come as soon as Wednesday.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We'll determine in our meeting when we send them over, but I've always said I would send them over, so there's -- there shouldn't be any mystery to that.

MURRAY: After the impeachment managers are named, the House can transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, where a trial can begin after some procedural steps takes place. But it's still a mystery who the impeachment managers will be even to the Democratic lawmakers jockeying for the job.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, that will be the speaker's decision.

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): I really can't comment on any of this. I really have zero information.

MURRAY: It's also unclear when a Senate trial will actually begin, what it will look like, and whether Democrats will succeed in their demand for witnesses. Senator Susan Collins says she's working with GOP colleagues on a potential agreement to call witnesses.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I am working with a group of Republican senators and our leaders to see if we can come to an agreement on some language that would include an opportunity for the House to call witnesses and the president's counsel to also call witnesses.

MURRAY: Former national security adviser John Bolton has offered to testify in the Senate, has added another wrinkle to the fight over witnesses, even prompting the White House to addressed its plans for the president's defense.

Over the weekend, Pelosi took aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for supporting a resolution to dismiss the two articles of impeachment against President Trump.

PELOSI: Dismissing is a cover-up. Dismissing is a cover-up. If they want to go that route again, there are senators who are thinking now about voting for witnesses or not. They will have to be accountable for not having a fair trial.

MURRAY: At the White House, the president expressed his support for an outright dismissal, tweeting, "Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, 'no pressure' impeachment hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree!"

Trump's attorneys, meantime, are laying out the main arguments in Trump's defense in a brief that is nearly completed.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who is expected to take the lead on the president's defense, spent the weekend working from his West Wing office. While he will represent the president, along with outside counsel Jay Sokolow on the Senate floor, Trump is already asking who will defend him on television, and making it clear he expects House Republicans to hit the airwaves on his behalf.

(on camera): Now, nothing is set in stone yet. But the Senate trial could begin as early as next week. The president's allies, though, want to wrap this up quickly. They're pushing for everything to be done by the State of the Union on February 4.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And then there was 12. They started with 28.

Just 12 Democrats now running for the White House after Senator Cory Booker decided to end his campaign. An aide tells CNN Booker made the decision over the weekend. He emailed supporters on Monday, citing a lack of funding and his failing to qualify for the next debate.

Booker also says President Trump's impeachment trial will keep him in Washington and off the campaign trail.

Programming note here. Six Democratic senators will take part in the next U.S. presidential debate, hosted by CNN and "The Des Moines Register." That's Tuesday at 9 p.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in Hong Kong. You will see it only here on CNN.

The White House celebrating Washington's first snow of 2020. There it is. Somewhere. Apparently, everyone else missed it. We'll have more after the break.

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VAUSE: On a day in Washington where temperatures were around 20 degrees Celsius, or 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the White House sent out a bizarre tweet celebrating the first snow. So what gives? Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "First snow of the year" read this White House tweet Sunday, snow or snow jaw. "What are they on?" Temperatures in Washington Sunday reached a high of around 70. First snow?

(MUSIC: "LET IT SNOW")

MOOS: The response was frightful. "People were wearing shorts today in Baltimore. My son asked if we could put on the A/C."

At the time the White House snow tweet was posted, "It's 54 degrees. Is there anything you don't lie about?"

Actually, the snow fell almost a week earlier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe we'll see some wet snow.

MOOS: That day, the White House first posted its snow shot on Flickr, but when they tweeted up on a Sunday so warm it generated fog, the tweet got roasted.

The last time the weatherman in chief got slammed was when "The Washington Post" reported he used a Sharpie to doctor a hurricane map.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one right here.

MOOS: Even his discussion of the weather at his inauguration got cold water poured on it.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But God looked down, and he said, we're not going to let it rain on your speech. JOHN OLIVER, HOST, HBO'S "LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER": No he

didn't. First, it did rain while you were speaking. That's why your wife was holding up an umbrella and people behind you were wearing ponchos.

MOOS: Already, critics are calling the snow tweet "Early entry for stupidest Trump lie of 2020."

(on camera): Our forecast is that they're saying maybe a 70 percent chance that the White House tweet was posted accidentally.

(voice-over): Maybe someone tweeted an earlier draft.

The GOP's rapid response director suggested that hostilities with Iran meant there were more important things to communicate, so the White House just saved the tweet.

Or maybe we're just looking at it wrong. What you're actually seeing is the ashes of the Constitution.

(MUSIC: "LET IT SNOW")

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is next.

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