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Republicans and Democrats Are in Tug of War Over Impeachment Proceedings; Chinese Officials Struggling to Contain Virus Spread; Trump Impeachment Trial Adjourns After Marathon Sessions; Senate Rejects Impeachment Witnesses, For Now; Republican Blocks Efforts To Subpoena Documents And Witnesses; Davos 2020, Trump Meets With U.S. CEO's And Business Leaders; Trump Blasts Climate Activist As Prophets Of Doom; Rule Allows Lawmakers To Drink Milk On Senate Floor. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired January 22, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. From our world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom.

VAUSE: Well, the first day of the U.S. president's impeachment trial Democrats spent over 12 putting forward a dozen amendments to subpoena witnesses and documents, Republicans refusing to give an inch.

The debate over procedural rules drag on into the early hours of Wednesday morning and the longer it went, the shorter the tempers with the president's legal team and Democratic impeachment managers exchanging insults and accusations.

CHURCH: At one point, Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler accused Republican senators of a cover up. President Trump's lawyers shot back. The fireworks brought the first public rebuke by Chief Justice John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the House managers and the president's counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world's greatest deliberative body. One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoids speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse.

In the 1905 Swayne trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word pettifogging, and the presiding officers said the word ought not to have been used. I don't think we need to aspire to that highest standard but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And throughout the night, Senate Minority Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer introduced amendment after amendment including demand to subpoena White House documents, as well as for the acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton to appear. All of them voted down mostly along party lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D-NY): Ambassador Bolton has made clear that he is ready, willing, and able to testify about everything he witnessed. But President Trump does not want you to hear from Ambassador Bolton. And the reason has nothing to do with executive privilege or this other nonsense, and the reason has nothing to do with national security.

If the president cared about national security, he would not have blocked military assistance to a vulnerable strategic ally in the attempt to secure a personal political favor for himself.

PAT CIPOLLONE, WHITE HOSUE COUNSEL: They've come here, and they've attacked every institution of our government. They have attacked the president, the executive branch. They have attacked the judicial branch. They say they don't have time for courts. They have attacked the United States Senate, repeatedly. It is about time we bring this power trip in for a landing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well CNN's Athena Jones takes a look now all that back and forth that went on in the Senate. Here she is.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Today House impeachment managers will begin their opening arguments before the Senate. But the first order of business before that is going to be motions. There will be a debate and vote on motions filed by both sides. There is the deadline of 9 a.m. and a deadline of 11 a.m. for rebuttal to those motions.

We don't expect those motions to include anything having to do with evidence like witnesses or documents or other evidence. We also at this point don't expect there to be a motion to dismiss filed by Trump's legal team, even though we know the president wants this case to be over.

The thinking is that because they don't have vote, enough Republican votes to pass the motion to dismiss, that they won't end up filing such a motion. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens with those motions.

But all of this follows a very long day on Tuesday. Twelve, 13 hours of debate over the rules governing the trial. And what's interesting is that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made some changes to the rule's resolution after pressure from moderate Republicans like Susan Collins.

And so, for instance, now each side will still have 24 hours to make their opening arguments, but they will be able to do it over the course of three days instead of two days.

And also, the evidence presented in the House impeachment process will automatically be admitted unless Trump's lawyers try to throw out some of the evidence through motions.

[03:05:06]

So, I should tell you that during these 12 or 13 hours of debate, it was really a test of endurance for the senators. You saw over the course of all these hours, a lot of the senators some of them seeming to not off. There was no passing, there was whispering.

There were some light moments on the floor with laughter deep into the night. We saw senators getting up to stretch in Dion into pace. Senator Bernie Sanders was one of the pacers.

We also saw several senators, maybe a dozen or more taking copious notes throughout the trial. Of course, we don't know what they were writing but they were paying close attention. Some of those include Cory Gardner of Colorado. He is one of the GOP senators facing a tough reelection fight. Also, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Those are just some of the people who were taking serious notes.

And we expect more of the same today, perhaps not as long of a night, but probably more fireworks and possibly a lot of repetition of the arguments we've already heard on each side.

Democrats are arguing for a fair trial with witnesses and documents, and Republicans saying let's get this over with we are ready to go. And no need to discuss witnesses and documents just yet.

VAUSE: Day one of the impeachment hearing began with a blizzard of misstatements and outright lies by the president's lawyers. Here's three examples starting with White House counsel Pat Cipollone repeating a lie that Adam Schiff, as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote to Congress and incriminating fake transcript of a call between Trump and Ukraine's Zelensky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CIPOLLONE: He manufactured a false version of that call. He read it to the American people, and he didn't tell them it was a complete fake.

The president has been given a minimal, a minimal due process. Nothing here, not even Mr. Schiff's Republican colleagues were allowed into the SCIF. Information was selectively leaked out.

JAY SEKULOW, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: The president was denied the right to cross examine witnesses. The president was denied the right to access evidence. And the president was denied the right to have counsel president hearings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK. So, we'll do with that in order for the record. The transcript was not fake. Schiff made it clear at that time, he was paraphrasing for dramatic effect.

CHURCH: Yes. The claim Cipollone made about denied access to the SCIF, the secured room in Congress where witnesses were deposed, Republican lawmakers were not only in attendance but were active participants.

VAUSE: And also, for TV lawyer Jay Sekulow at the end there claiming a denial of due process. The reality is the White House declining to be involved in the House impeachment inquiry.

CHURCH: All right So for now, we want to head to Los Angeles and standing by is Michael Genovese, political analyst and president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University.

VAUSE: Also, former assistant U.S. attorney for Los Angeles David Katz. Good to see you both.

And Michael, we will start off with you. It was striking to hear the president's lawyers repeating well-known and debunked lies with faith and enthusiasm like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CIPOLLONE: They are not here to steal one election. They are here to steal two elections. It's buried in the small print of their ridiculous articles of impeachment. It's long past time that we start this, so we can end this ridiculous charade and go have an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And you know, keep in mind, these were prepared remarks. They are reading from notes.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: This is perplexing, because the presentation by the president's lawyers was so uneven. It was mostly attacks. It was very thin on evidence. And the question is why?

Why with all this preparation that they had, was their case so poorly presented? I think the reason is because they were making Trump's case. They weren't making the case for Trump.

By that, I mean they were parroting what the president wanted them to say, the president's lines, the president's insistence that they attack, attack, attack. Because the president believes that what he did was perfect, and therefore, there is no need for a defense.

But in point of fact, they spent a lot of time attacking, no time defending. They didn't bother to defend the president's case, and that's because, I think, they were speaking to an audience of one, as you have to do with Donald Trump. Speak to him, satisfy his needs. They weren't doing what good lawyers do which is make a good case. They were doing what subservient followers of the president would do, which is saying what the president wanted said.

CHURCH: So, Michael, we can assume the president is very happy with his legal team as he watches the performance from Davos. But what about the political impact of all this obstruction essentially? How will that be received by the American people?

[03:10:01]

GENOVESE: Well, you know, the American people are tuning in and out at different levels. You know, people like myself and David here, you know, we're junkies. We watch this all the time. But a lot of Americans are only sort of being reintroduced or introduced to that now.

And so, a lot of the Democratic case, which was heavily evidence based, it was based on the assumption that they are allowed to new viewers who might be persuadable. The question is, does that translate into power within Congress? And that's much less likely because people have been digging their heels. And this is become a partisan battleground, not a place where evidence is going to be sorted out and you are going to decide the case on the basis of evidence.

VAUSE: Yes. If you're just tuning in, you'd think that maybe the president had a very good defense argument there. But, you know, when you -- when you look at the reality, it's not.

But David, Democrats put forward a series of, and lost a series of amendments, including a move to subpoena witnesses. It seems that, you know, for the White House lawyers they're arguing on the one hand it was too late to call any because the Democrats should have done their work before they got to this point.

At the same time, they're saying it was too early because we should wait until after the opening statements to see which of any of the witnesses might be needed. You know, they're not -- they sort of neither offer them here.

DAVID KATZ, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, there was a perfect call, John, in this case. And I think the perfect call was not the one that Trump foolishly and selfishly made to try to get a personal favor. It was the call Speaker Pelosi made when she made Adam Schiff, my former colleague in the U.S. attorney's office here, when she made him the lead impeachment manager.

Because he took the initiative today. I think he really threaded the needle. He showed the facts and the law, and that there really are strong grounds to not only impeached but to convict and remove the president.

And of course, if he is removed, that goes with it. The disqualification to hold a high federal office. That's what they mean, the Republicans, when they have this can't about stealing two elections. But the reason that Schiff and the Democrats could not wait around so

that they could go through the courts, as has been pointed out, they filed a subpoena back in April. Nine or 10 months ago for former White House chief of counsel McGahn. They haven't gotten a definitive ruling from the federal courts yet.

They would have waited forever. They would have waited past the election, and the urgency was that if the president is trying to temper with this election, trying to cheat and steal this election by soliciting foreign interference from Ukraine and China in this upcoming election, what is the Congress supposed to do? Wait around so he can succeed? And then get court rulings in their favor? That would be pointless.

So, I think that actually it was a tremendous day today for the rule of law and for the facts to come out. And unfortunately, it's going late into the night. It's like those old dances until you drop concerts. We're having impeach trial until you drop.

But that's because the parties can't find middle ground and they're fighting tooth and nail, the Democrats and the Republicans, and that's what both the partisans want them to do.

CHURCH: Last man standing, right? So, David, Adam Schiff, at one point seem to have a warning that the White House would pay a high price for refusing to release documents and for preventing testimony from key witnesses. Let's just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The facts will come out in the end. The documents, which the president is hiding will be released through the Freedom of Information Act or through other means over time. Witnesses will tell their stories in books and film. The truth will come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And, David, that may be true, but of course, it doesn't do a whole lot right now, does it? Will the White House pay or will it reap the rewards here?

KATZ: Well, certainly, Trump thinks he is going to reap the short- term rewards and somehow win the electoral college later this year and try to turn this issue to his advantage. But I think the point that Adam Schiff was trying to make, and I think people should ponder it, whether they are left, right, or center, you know, we have had some centrist Democrat presidents in all of our lifetimes.

We had a president like FDR, and we had demagogues on the Democratic side like Huey Long. The Republicans ought to think long and hard, what would it be like to have one of those demagogic, Trump inspired Democrats in power run roughshod over the Congress, disregard all of the Congress' attempts at oversight, Trump wants to build a wall with money that was allocated for something else?

What happens if we have a Democratic demagogue who wants to fight for, you know, green, you know, green energy and takes all the energy that's allocated for the military or something else and starts to apply to that purpose?

What if the Democratic demagogue disregards the courts and says you know what, take everything to the Supreme Court because I'm not abiding by my legal duties? Is that the world that anyone in America really wants to live in going forward?

CHURCH: Interesting point. And, Michael, this was just the first day of the trial of course. If this is an indication of the coming days, what do you expect them to see?

[03:15:03]

GENOVESE: Well, I think they are going to see who, where is down first. I think the Republicans will be coming known as the I don't want to know party. And if that is registered amongst voters that would be very damaging.

They need to be stark to make a case based on some of the evidence. They need to confront the evidence as well. They can't keep just attacking. A fair trial presupposes and the oath of -- that they took demands you have an open and fair trial, and that probably almost certainly involves calling some witnesses.

The Republicans have been saying well, if you want to call some of your witnesses, we're going to call ours, Biden, someone who has nothing to contribute to this impeachment issue.

But I think what you are going to see is a lot more pettiness, a lot less focus on the evidence, and I think it's going to be who can wear down the other side the most.

VAUSE: I just want to picture very quickly with a legal question for David. Because there was one Republican witness who was called before the House Judiciary Committee last month. That was law professor Jonathan Turley who has now taken a very dim view of this White House defense of the president that to be impeached it must be based on a criminal code. Here's a part of his op-ed.

"The developing defense by the White House is also a mistake. It would again expand the space for executive conduct by reducing the definition of impeachable conduct to criminal code, the criminal code. It is an argument that is as politically unwise and as it is constitutionally shortsighted."

So, David, apart from the White House legal team right now with at least precisely zero lawyers who believe it's a good legal defense?

KATZ: No, I don't think that's a good legal defense. Because first of all, high crimes and misdemeanors had this particular constitutional meaning. And the founders, you know, Maddison, Hamilton, they knew what it meant. It meant an abuse of power, especially one for personal gain, especially one perpetrated in the interest or at the direction of a foreign power, which was suspected it would England and France in those days. But now it turns out to be Russia, China, Turkey, you name it.

And the whole idea is that our elections need to be untampered with and a president who is willing to allow tampering for his or her own political personal gain to try to extort a favor and damage the political rival. That is an abuse of power which is absolutely impeachable. It is the trifecta of what the framers had in mind.

VAUSE: On that point I think we'll leave it there. But David and Michael, good to see you both. Thank you for being with us.

CHURCH: Thank you so much.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

KATZ: Good to be with you.

VAUSE: Just 17 minutes past three here on the east coast. Time for break.

CHURCH: Right. We'll take a short break. But still to come, officials are struggling to contain the new Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. It's already infected hundreds in Asia and now it has reached the United States.

[03:20:00]

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VAUSE: China's deadly never seen before coronavirus has now been found in four other countries including the United States. The total number of cases has risen to at least 440, with nine people confirmed dead.

CHURCH: Now in the coming hours, the World Health Organization will meet to decide if the virus represents an international public health emergency. And if so, what should be done to contain the outbreak.

Airports around the world are stepping up health screenings on passengers arriving from Wuhan in China, the epicenter of this outbreak.

VAUSE: The first case in the U.S. was found in Washington State. A man in his thirties is now under observation. He recently returned from Wuhan. Washington Governor Jay Inslee though seems to be playing the potential risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAY INSLEE (D-WA): There isn't a risk level that would suggest people should be doing anything differently than they normally would. Like I said, this is not a moment of high anxiety. We should all do exactly what we always do, which is this is flu season so we wash our hands, we cover our mouths when we sneeze, and when we are ill, we stay home from work so we don't expose other people to infection.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: well, meanwhile, the city of Wuhan has set up stricter

measures to stop the virus from spreading even further.

CNN's David Culver is there and he joins us now live. Good to see you, David. Now you traveled to Wuhan by train from Beijing. So, what were people telling you? What had they've been telling you about this? And of course, what are the stricter measures being put in place to try to contain the virus?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: hi there, Rosemary. Good to see you.

Yes, coming to you from what is the epicenter of the coronavirus. It is from here that this is believed to have spread out and is now causing this growing concern.

As to your point on as to coming here by train, that was interesting. I mean, we're wearing a mask. And that's something that when we boarded the train, health authorities have been saying that they would encourage people to do that amidst a massive holiday travel season.

I mean, this is generally when hundreds of millions are traveling for the lunar New Year. And we say leaving Beijing about half the number of folks wearing the mask. When we got on the train that seem -- the number seem to go up especially as we approach Wuhan. Five and a half hours later when we arrive getting off the train, it seems like 95 percent of the people were wearing these face masks.

And going around today, I would say that number is pretty consistent for the most part. You'll notice people in less they're eating walking around, you see it right here. let's see everybody that were even near having this face mask on.

Now coming off the train, it was also worth noting that one by one, each of us passengers had a thermometer put to our head, and they were checking to see our temperatures and seeing if we in fact were running a fever. And then they would watch you continue on through.

Today, we also made a visit to the wildlife and seafood market. That is where health authorities here in China today said that they do believe that is the source of the coronavirus. It is shut down, it is blocked off, it is guarded. No one in, no one out.

And even as we got out to try to get some exteriors from a distance, security came up to us and asked us to leave rather quickly.

We went to another market nearby to try to see how folks there were dealing with all of this given that they are living amidst a lot of unknowns, uncertainty.

[03:25:02]

And one vendor there told me that they are seeing health inspectors come at least three times a day. It was a fruit market, and they are normally bustling at this time of year. Packed and it's leading up to one of their biggest holidays. It was empty. She said that she is somebody who travels from another

city. She came in to sell her sugarcane. She said is simply no business, her daughter and loved ones have been calling her saying, please leave the city, come home, it's not worth it. She said I can't. Financially I can't risk the loss.

Looking around here, I mean, this is -- this is pretty empty to be honest. I mean, you've got to think about Fifth Avenue leading up to Christmas. Right? It's normally packed shoulder to shoulder. That's the celebratory mood that you're usually seeing. Here it's not the case.

The streets are mostly empty in some parts. The folks who do go out are being mindful as to what they are doing and what they're wearing, more than anything else, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. A lot of people across the globe are very worried about this. Talking there with our David Culver who is at the epicenter of the Wuhan coronavirus. Many thanks to you.

VAUSE: Well, coming up, our continuing breaking news coverage of the president's impeachment trial. And while Republicans seem determined not to give an inch, they did make some small concessions. Very small. Details after the break.

[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and of course, all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause. It's just gone 3:30 in the morning in the East Coast. And a marathon session in the U.S. Senate has now been wrapped.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the first day of President Trump's impeachment trial was marked by acrimony, anger, and partisan votes. For more than 13 hours, Democrats argue to subpoena witnesses and documents, which they say would prove the president should be removed from office. And for more than 13 hours, Republicans voted no.

CHURCH: By a party line vote of 53 to 47, the tired lawmakers finally adopted the Republicans rules to govern the trial. They are due back in the coming hours to hear opening arguments.

VAUSE: So, for now, the question of whether the Senate should subpoena witnesses and documents will have to wait until later in the trial. Right now though, it seems Republicans are dug in.

CHURCH: CNN's Sarah Murray has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Senate will convene as a court of impeachment. SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: On the first day of President

Trump's impeachment trial, Democrats tried and failed to convince the Senate to hear new evidence at the outset.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Documents matter. Evidence matters. The truth matters.

MURRAY: One by one --

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT: The amendment is tabled.

MURRAY: Republican Senators blocked efforts by the Democrats to obtain witness testimony, and documents from the White House, the State Department, and the Office of Management and Budget. The day kicked off with a surprise concession from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. After concerns from Republicans, including Susan Collins of Maine that the opening arguments scheduled would force proceedings to stretch overnight, McConnell caved. Each side now gets three days instead of two to present 24 hours of arguments.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: This is they fair roadmap for our trial.

MURRAY: The move reveals the close tabs McConnell is keeping on his parties moderates, knowing he can't afford to lose more than four Senators and still keep control of the trial. But the concession did little to tame the partisan tensions flaring on Capitol Hill.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): When you hear them attack the House managers, what you are really hearing is we do not want to talk about the president's guilt. We don't want to talk about how the expressions to ask backwards it is to have a trial and then ask for witnesses.

MURRAY: Democrats took aimed at the president's conduct in the Ukraine scandal, which prompted articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

SCHIFF: That will be the president's defense. His conduct was perfect. It's perfect. Perfectly fine to coerce an ally by withholding military aid to get help cheating in the next elections.

MURRAY: While the president's attorneys accused Democrats of trying to upend the presidential election.

PAT CIPOLLONE, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: They are asking the Senate to attack one of the most sacred right we have as Americans, the right to choose our president.

MURRAY: The House impeachment managers, Democrat lawmakers serving as the prosecutors for the trial, spent much of the day trying successfully to persuade Senators to hear new evidence.

SCHIFF: The House calls John Bolton. The House calls Mick Mulvaney. Let's get this trial started, shall we?

CIPOLLONE: I asked if the case be mooted. And now they come here and they ask you to issue a subpoena for John Bolton. It's not right.

MURRAY: The president's legal team argued that even if the Senate calls witnesses, they would be largely mooted, thanks to executive privilege.

JAY SEKULOW, PRESIDENT TRUMP' LAWYER: Here's the law, communications made by presidential advisers in the course of preparing advice for the president come under the presidential communications privilege.

MURRAY: Senators will have another chance to vote on whether to hear new evidence later in the trial, and Democrats are sure to keep up the pressure.

REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): It cannot let the president play a game of keep away and dictate what evidence these Senators can and cannot see bearing on his guilt or innocence. He is trying to cheat to win.

MURRAY: Sarah Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Ryan Lizza joins me now from Washington. He is a CNN senior political analyst. He is also the chief Washington correspondent for Politico. Always good to have you with us.

[03:35:00]

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, ESQUIRE MAGAZINE: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, efforts by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to rush the impeachment trial of the U.S. President were thwarted with an extra day added for opening arguments. But the Democrats push for new documents of witnesses, so far has had very little success with voting strictly along party lines, 53 to 47. Where is this all going?

LIZZA: Well, I think there was a lot of -- there was a magnifying glass on a few Republican Senators, who either considered moderate or people who had difficult Senate races this year, to see if they would break with their Republican colleagues and joined the Democrats on some of these process issues. And none of that has come to pass on the first day of -- first real day of this trial.

So, far it is headed in the, you know, the direction that a lot of people have predicted since the beginning, which is a strictly partisan trial. Now, there will be other issues that come up, there will likely be other votes. So, you know, it's still possible for some of the process issues that the Democrats are raising in terms of testimony and witnesses. It's still possible for some Republicans to join them.

But so far, we saw a lot of very, very familiar arguments. If you paid attention to the House investigation and the hearings in the House, then you will be very familiar with what was presented today in the Senate, so not a lot of surprises and things breaking along partisan lines. CHURCH: Yes. And presumably, that is to keep the American public up

to date with where this is going. So, how can Republicans get away with holding the trial first, then perhaps bringing witnesses? And why is it critical to hear testimony from acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and of course, former National Security Adviser John Bolton?

LIZZA: Yes, I mean, and even since the impeachment was voted out of the investigative committees of the House, there has been quite a lot of information that has come out through various ways, through investigative journalism, and through public releases of documents because of some lawsuits.

So, there's a lot that has been added to the public record that we all have access to that the Senate trial just won't have access to. And that is part of what today's voting was about is, Democrat saying, hey, we know this witness can probably shed light on this big question. You know, we know these documents can help us fill the hole in this part of the story, and Republicans just saying, no, no, no. You know, we don't want any of that.

CHURCH: Of course the Democrats lead Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff explained Tuesday why John Bolton was not issued a subpoena by the House. And that is because he apparently threatened to sue if they did. Yet Bolton recently said he would testify if subpoenaed by the Senate. If that is his intent, why not go public with his story?

LIZZA: You know, that's a great question. And I don't think anyone has really been able to figure out what is going on in John Bolton's head. Some people have argued he has a book and he wants to maximize the promotion and sales of the book. And that's how he's playing this.

The argument from Republican we have heard a lot today is, we are not going to do the Houses job for them. In other words, the House that was supposed to investigate this thing, and we will take, you know, and this wasn't a sure thing until this morning, but they've agreed to serve take what the House documented, but nothing beyond that, despite the fact that there are some holes in the story here. And there are identifiable witnesses and documents that could fill in those holes. So far Republicans are saying, no, we don't want to see that stuff.

CHURCH: Yes, of course, it was difficult, because the House couldn't do that, because there wasn't a response to the subpoenas.

LIZZA: Exactly.

CHURCH: So, what will be achieved in the end, considering Senators will vote along party lines on the president's guilt or innocence? Are there any signs that for Republicans would eventually vote with the Democrats?

LIZZA: There really aren't. And there are not many signs that are two thirds majority of the Senate would vote to convict.

CHURCH: Then what has been achieved in the end really? LIZZA: I do think, you know, I think one argument and this was always

the debate among Democrats, should they pursue impeachment or not given the makeup of the Senate, was it just, no matter what Trump did, was it just a, you know, foolish to pursue impeachment, because no matter what, the Senate would acquit?

[03:40:11]

The other side of that, argument from a lot of Democrats was, well, if you believe he committed impeachable offenses, then you need to put Republicans in the Senate and in the House for that matter on record. You need history has to record that the Democrats believe this behavior is beyond the pale, so future presidents at least know that, you know, that some, you know, that a majority in the House at least believes that, and a whole lot of Senators. And Republicans would be forced to defend this in the Senate.

CHURCH: As Adam Schiff asked, will president and the American people get a fair trial in the end?

LIZZA: Well, you know, the way that this is looked at in Washington right now is almost exclusively through a partisan lens. Republicans have been insisting that the process has been unfair since the beginning. Democrats have been insistent that the process has been routine and has been the subject of completely unprecedented stonewalling by the White House and Republican allies who have just sort of gone along with this. You know, future presidents who just can say, well, I don't have to hand over anything to the House or the Senate, they're going to have, you know, there's going to be a precedent now for that.

CHURCH: Ryan Lizza, always great to hear your analysis and perspective. Many thanks.

LIZZA: Thank you

VAUSE: Donald Trump is far away from those discorded voices in Washington. Coming to Davos to threaten European allies with tariffs and insult teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. We are live from the World Economic Forum in a moment.

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[03:45:00]

VAUSE: And just moments ago the U.S. President Donald Trump began his day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he will be meeting with American business executives. There will be a working lunch -- breakfast, I should say. Apple boss Tim Cook is expected to be meeting with the president, as well. He is one of the few bosses in Silicon Valley who is on good terms with Donald Trump. Now, before heading over to Washington, Trump is scheduled to meet with the president of Iraq and the Kurdistan regional government.

CHURCH: This follows his meeting Tuesday with the European Commission president, Mr. Trump sounded up (inaudible) about trade talks with Europe, but he did not abandon his threat top of tariffs on European cars and car parts. Our Nina Dos Santos joins us now from Davos with the very latest. So, Nina, there was of course, much anticipation about how President Trump would be received at the World Economic Forum. Talk to us about that and the overall assessment and certainly, his interaction with teen environmentalist, Greta Thunberg.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, good morning to you Rosemary and John. U.S. President -- sitting U.S. president are a rare sight here in Davos. So obviously, President Trump's three quarters an hour long speech yesterday was a big draw for many of these elite as indeed.

And having said that, though speaking to people yesterday afternoon, particularly big business leaders and so on and so forth from outside of the United States, some of them confessed to being slightly underwhelmed by President Trump's speech. They said he focused a lot at the start on the start of the speech on statistics to support his claims that he had made life better for average Americans and had bettered the economy for the world's biggest economy.

Some of them said they would have liked to have heard more about his economic vision for 2020 and beyond. But of course, remember, this is an election year, so they did concede that this was always going to be a speech that was pretty heavily skewed towards campaigning mode.

One thing that they didn't appreciate, many of them said was, what appeared to be a sideways swipe at the climate change move, that is so big here in Davos, spearheaded by another high-profile. Yes, indeed that President Trump has clashed with on multiple occasions.

Greta Thunberg, as he mentioned there, Rosemary, the Swedish climate change activist, she had to panels, got a lot of air time, and she accused many of the companies, and also leaders of countries, have basically making promises, but not doing anything of any significant substance at the moment to try and tackle the climate change emergency.

President Trump is trying to keep the message focused on his safe ground which is the economy and as you pointed out John earlier in your introduction, he is having a business breakfast with a number of top level CEO's of European companies and U.S. companies here in Davos. That is taking place imminently, as we speak. A largely male affair, I might just add, because I looked at the guest list earlier and it appears there is only one female CEO who had been invited, the CEO of a Spanish bank.

But his pitch to all these business leaders is come and invest in America. Hire our workers. And he also pitch that to his many millions of followers on Twitter, saying earlier today on Twitter, quote, making great progress at Davos tremendous numbers of companies will be coming or returning to the USA. Hottest economy, and then in capital letters, which is often his style, three times he wrote the word jobs, so JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.

He's also backup in this initiative with the likes of Larry Kudlow, who is with him, but his daughter Ivanka Trump as well, because she spent much of the evening tweeting about how she had managed to get Honda, the Japanese automotive company, to sign up for an initiative that she is also pushing here at Davos, which is trying to get investments into U.S. workers to retrain them to cope with the robotization of the workforce and also to get people to hire more American workers, bilateral to the rest of the morning. And then the U.S. president is expected to leave Davos around lunchtime. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. A lot going on. Our Nina Dos Santos bringing us that live report from Davos. Many thanks.

VAUSE: And we'll take a short break, back in a moment, we will go skiing, I think after this.

[03:50:00]

CHURCH: OK. I'm with you.

VAUSE: We'll see you then.

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VAUSE: Now the first ever in the third impeachment trial in U.S. history is over. The voters in on social media and the vote is dull. Dull, dull like this water (ph).

CHURCH: What a surprise. So slow it seems, that many people went looking for the slightest distraction, like what exactly was Senate Leader Mitch McConnell drinking? CNN's Jeanne Moos reports, some Senators are asking, got milk?

VAUSE: You just gave it away, Rosemary.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Mitch McConnell found himself coughing in mid speech, he reached for, what else? Water. But it floored folks to learned it on the senate floor, he could have had this. Milk four Senators parched during impeachment?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you ask, you actually (inaudible) can have milk.

[03:55:00]

MOOS: The unexpected dairy trivia inspired an outpouring of milky gifts and doctored milk mustache, even dairy herd management milk the story. There was speculation, who on the Senate floor do you think is drinking the milk? Judging from this photo, dairy friendly Vermont Senator Sanders and lay he might hanker for a sip.

We know that some definitely act like babies. Senator Everett Dirksen, may he rest in peace, was the one who asked back in 1966, is it in violation of the Senate rules if the Senator from Illinois asks one of the page boys to go to the restaurants and bring him a glass of milk? Senator Dirksen got the OK. Though we only have footage of him sipping water, I thank the chair, because water becomes pretty thin after a period of time. My lunch today will be a tall glass of milk. And thus, the U.S. Senate became lactose tolerant. No coffee allowed, no food. But on the Senate floor, the answer to this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got milk?

MOOS: Is apparently yes, even if Senators won't look as macho as the rock guzzling it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to go to work.

MOOS: No punching each other, Senators. And doesn't the capital look a little like an upside down utter? Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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CHURCH: How about that? There's a candy door as well.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: How do you know?

CHURCH: I read. Thanks for joining. I'm Rosemary Church.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause, Early Start is next with Laura Jarrett and Christine Romans.

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