Testimony: Mulvaney Was Point Man on Quid Pro Quo; Mayor Bloomberg Enters Democratic 2020 Race
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Impeachment testimony provides new details about who orchestrated the push by the White House to investigate Joe Biden and his son. Also the Bloomberg effect: the impact the billionaire former mayor of New York is having on the race for the White House. Plus, anniversary of freedom: Germany remembers the day the Berlin Wall came down and east and west came together. Yes, it's been 30 years and we take you to Berlin for the commemoration. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world and in Germany. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen. This is CNN NEWSROOM.</s>ALLEN: Thank you again for joining us. An attorney for former White House national security adviser John Bolton says his client has relevant information about the Ukraine scandal that has not yet been disclosed. Even so, Bolton failed to show up for a deposition Thursday. Meantime, newly released testimony puts acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney squarely in the middle of the Ukraine scandal. CNN's Alex Marquardt begins.</s>ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Two of the most central players in the relationship with Ukraine putting the president's chief of staff at the center of the scandal and delivering the harshest blow to the president's claim there was no quid pro quo.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a hoax. This is just like the Russian witch-hunt.</s>MARQUARDT: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on National Security Council, telling lawmakers there was no ambiguity, that, in order for Ukraine's president to get a meeting at the White House, they had to investigate the Bidens. Vindman was on the call between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents on July 25, which he said left no doubt that this is what was required in order to get the meeting that the Ukrainians had been aggressively pushing for. Vindman also heard that message from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, who was relaying a message from acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Mulvaney admitted to the quid pro quo last month.</s>MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy.</s>MARQUARDT: The decorated colonel testified he responded that it was inappropriate and had nothing to do with national security.</s>REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, I want to thank Colonel Vindman for his courage in coming forward, his willingness to follow the law, to do his duty.</s>MARQUARDT: Vindman wasn't alone. His then boss, Dr. Fiona Hill, read the transcript of the call and said she was shocked. "I sat in an awful lot of calls," she said, "and I have not seen anything like this." Hill had also been told by Sondland that Mulvaney stated that the Ukrainians would get a presidential meeting if the Ukrainians started up these investigations again. Hill testified that Sondland told this directly to the Ukrainians in the July 10 meeting. John Bolton, who was National Security adviser at the time, suddenly ended the meeting. Bolton then told Hill to report it to the top NSC lawyer, saying: "I'm not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up." Vindman, who was also disturbed by the meeting, reported it as well. Hill and Vindman had both known about the role that Rudy Giuliani was playing in Ukraine, pushing the conspiracy theories and working to get the U.S. ambassador removed. After he was successful, Bolton told Hill that Giuliani was a "hand grenade that's going to blow everybody up." Dr. Hill left the White House in August and said that, during her time there and since then, she has gotten all kinds of threats, including death threats, calls with obscenities to her house, people hammering on her front door. She was called a mole for George Soros, which is common anti-Semitic slander. And she was accused of colluding with enemies of the president -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.</s>ALLEN: Let's talk about these developments with Amy Pope. She's an associate fellow at Chatham House in London and most recently served as the deputy Homeland Security advisor to President Obama at the White House. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.</s>AMY POPE, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning.</s>ALLEN: Let's begin with Trump's close advisers. A lot of talk there in that report about acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Then there's the president's former national security adviser John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani. They have one thing in common, they will not testify. Without their input, does that damage the inquiry?</s>POPE: I think we have enough here that suggests something was going very, very wrong.</s>POPE: We know from Fiona Hill's testimony that John Bolton directed her to stop the interaction between Ambassador Sondland and the Ukrainians. That is extraordinary, to go down and interrupt a meeting happening with foreign officials because the national security adviser is very concerned about the path that is being taken. We certainly have the foundation. Ultimately, I believe these witnesses will testify. In what context I think remains to be determined. But once the full story comes out, it all looks to corroborate the initial allegations of the whistleblower.</s>ALLEN: You believe they will testify. An attorney for Bolton says his client has relevant information about the Ukraine scandal that has not yet been disclosed. But it seems the committee, right now, is not going to hear that because Bolton doesn't want to come forward. It sounds like he's kind of teasing the committee with, I've got stuff but you're not going to get it voluntarily.</s>POPE: My suspicion is there is a negotiation happening behind the scenes regarding his testimony. If he is ultimately subpoenaed to testify, there are very few options for him. I don't see him putting his future at risk by not testifying but I'm certain he would want to lock down as much as he possibly can the parameters of that. So that is what I suspect is happening. The fact that they're putting this information out there suggests that he will ultimately come forward. His lawyer wouldn't do that if that wasn't his intent.</s>ALLEN: We know next week the public hearings get under way. Will that be a significant paradigm shift?</s>POPE: It's interesting because the Republicans have complained for some time that the closed door depositions were unconstitutional, violating the president's due process. And then you see the president himself, saying I can't believe we're now going to have public hearings. There is an odd contradiction at this point. Ultimately in past impeachment hearings we've seen on the record testimony. So in terms of paradigm shift, I think we're moving towards a paradigm alignment and a situation that may look more like past impeachment hearings.</s>ALLEN: Ambassador William Taylor is expected to be the first to testify, called an astoundingly incredible witness in part because of his understanding that there was a quid quo pro linking military aid for Ukraine to investigate the president's political rivals. Any surprise that he is the first witness?</s>POPE: Not at all. If I were advising the chairmen of the committees, I would want to put on the most non-partisan people with the longest experience across multiple administrations, who can credibly testify as to why this particular behavior triggered so many alarm bells. And the reason to have someone like Taylor is that he does have that credibility; he served in the State Department for many, many years across several different administrations. And the committee hearing is going to showcase why this particular behavior was so out of line with traditional norms, regardless of whether we're talking about Republican administrations or Democrat administrations.</s>ALLEN: Amy, thank you and please stick around because we want to get your thoughts on our next story. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has given the clearest signs so far he is considering running for U.S. president. The former New York mayor filed paperwork on Friday to get on Alabama's Democratic presidential primary ballot. As CNN's Arlette Saenz reports, this could mean trouble for Joe Biden.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All right. Where do I sign?</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Joe Biden filing papers, placing his name on the New Hampshire's primary ballot as he faces the threat of a new challenger. Michael Bloomberg taking steps to make a late entry into the 2020 race but Biden saying he's not worried.</s>BIDEN: Welcome into the race. Michael is a solid guy and let's see where it goes. I have no problem with him getting in the race.</s>SAENZ: Bloomberg seen in New York City, not answering questions as his team was set to file the primary paperwork in Alabama, whose deadline is today. The former New York City mayor ruled out a 2020 bid in March as he saw a narrow path to victory with Biden in the race.</s>SAENZ (voice-over): As recently as September, Bloomberg said he was comfortable with his decision.</s>MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: When you look at the layout of who's going to vote and where the country is, I would be very unlikely to get re-elected.</s>SAENZ: In fact, Bloomberg was among the lower polling candidates in early surveys. A CNN national poll last December showed him registering at just 2 percent and in recent polling has shown the overwhelming majority of potential Democratic voters are satisfied with their options in the current field.</s>BLOOMBERG: Smaller group --</s>SAENZ: But now, advisers to Bloomberg say he's concerned the current crop is not well-positioned to beat President Trump. His potential rivals firing back. Bernie Sanders tweeting: The billionaire class is scared and they should be scared.</s>SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is not enough just to have somebody come in, anybody and say they're going to buy this election.</s>SAENZ: For years, the billionaire Bloomberg was a registered Republican, later becoming an independent before registering as a Democrat last year. He's poured millions into progressive causes like combating climate change and gun control.</s>BLOOMBERG: We've got to send a message to elected officials: vote for common sense gun laws or we will throw you out. Enough!</s>SAENZ: As Bloomberg gets closer to jumping into the 2020 race, President Trump predicts a Bloomberg candidacy will fail.</s>TRUMP: He will not do very well and, if he did, I'd be happy. There is nobody I'd rather run against.</s>ALLEN: All right. Trump wants to take on Bloomberg. That could be interesting. Joe Biden says, Amy, he's not worried about Bloomberg getting into the race. Do you think he should be?</s>POPE: I don't think so. When you look at the issues Joe Biden has confronted in terms of whether he should be the nominee, most of them center around his age, the fact that he's an older, white, more middle of the road man. So you put in another candidate who is even older than Joe Biden who was a registered Republican, you know, it's just no contest. I mean, I think here Biden has so much more relevant experience, especially when it comes to things like foreign policy. If you're going to compare like to like, it doesn't seem like this is something Biden should be worried about. The Democrats as a whole need to narrow down the field if they are going to get some momentum behind any one of them.</s>ALLEN: What about the reasons Bloomberg gave for running? He says he's worried the current field can't beat Donald Trump.</s>POPE: It's not clear why he thinks his entering the race is going to change that calculation. He certainly is a credible candidate. He has relevant experience. But he has not been part of the debates that have happened to date. It looks like his strategy is to skip some of the early primaries. All of that sends the wrong signal to voters. So I am not sure why he believes this strategy is ultimately going to put him into the center of the debate or will actually result in a better situation for Democrats.</s>ALLEN: If voters in Iowa or New Hampshire aren't for Biden yet after eight years as Obama's vice president and 30 years in the Senate, why would they suddenly decide they are for him?</s>POPE: Well, look, this is a very unpredictable race. So I -- and I'm not a pollster. What I do know is he's a very centrist candidate. We know from the midterm elections that has appealed to voters. We know from what we saw in the recent elections with Virginia and with Kentucky that people are looking for candidates who will reach across the aisle, who will not increase the division, the partisan rhetoric and who are looking to get meaningful change done. So I think Biden offers a credible way forward. Whether that persuades voters, we will see. But I wouldn't discount him at this point.</s>ALLEN: Donald Trump lost suburban support in state elections this week. There is a belief that people that have voted for Trump that might consider not would be looking for a moderate on the Democrats' side. That makes sense. I want to ask you, how will a billionaire candidate Bloomberg fair against the anti-billionaires on the ticket, Warren and Sanders?</s>POPE: I believe that the voters are frustrated in general with a system they believe hasn't worked for them. When you look at the reasons why President Obama won in 2008, 2012 and you look at the people who then voted for Trump, there is this clear line of frustration that whether it's wealth inequality, manufacturing, jobs, all of that really matters to people and their bottom lines. So having another billionaire is not the answer. People want to see how you're going to change my day-to-day.</s>ALLEN: All right. We appreciate your insight so much. Thanks for getting up early in London to come on.</s>POPE: Thank you.</s>ALLEN: And his Monday, Joe Biden takes questions from voters in a CNN presidential town hall. CNN's Erin Burnett moderates live from Iowa Monday night 9:00 Eastern. A seismic historic event occurring in Germany. We take you to Berlin where world leaders are remembering the symbolic end to the Cold War. They're celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago. Plus, Muslims and Hindus have been fighting over a religious site for more than 100 years. We'll see who India's supreme court finally awarded the title to in a live report for you. Much more ahead here.