Trump's Defense Team Tries to Undercut Dems' Case; Recording Shows Trump Talking with Lev Parnas about Ukraine Ambassador; NPR Reporter: Pompeo Screamed Obscenities when Questioned About Ukraine Policy.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. It is a busy Saturday night, and we're going to catch you up on all the big headlines. President Trump caught on a tape at a dinner in 2018, talking with indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, a man the president claims that he doesn't know. Trump demands the firing of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and asks how long Ukraine can hold back Russia without U.S. military aid. A new phase in the impeachment trial. President Trump's defense team begins opening arguments, trying to undermine evidence presented by House impeachment managers, evidence they say shows the president abused his office and obstructed Congress. NPR standing by its reporter, who was subjected to a profanity-laced tirade by the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, after she repeatedly questioned him about the Trump administration's policy on Ukraine. And the state of the race. With just over a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, Elizabeth Warren gets a big endorsement tonight, and there's also good news for Bernie Sanders. But let's get to President Trump's impeachment trial. His defense team beginning their opening arguments, trying to undercut the House manager's case that the president abused his office and obstructed Congress. CNN's Sara Murray has more now -- Sara.</s>SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, look, the arguments were brief. I think they were more reserved than a lot of people thought that they would be. And at the end of the day, the president's defense team really pleased President Trump in the first day of arguments.</s>PAT CIPOLLONE, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: The president did absolutely nothing wrong.</s>MURRAY (voice-over): President Trump's defense team took to the Senate floor arguing the Democrats have failed to make their case that Trump should be removed from office for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.</s>CIPOLLONE: Today we're going to confront them on the merits of their argument. Now they have the burden of proof, and they have not come close to meeting it.</s>MURRAY: They accused Democrats of trying to overturn the last election and preempt the next one.</s>CIPOLLONE: They're here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history, and we can't allow that to happen.</s>MURRAY: Trump's team aimed to poke holes in the arguments House impeachment managers presented, claiming the Democrats didn't provide context around witness testimony, and using clips of witnesses from the House inquiry that bolstered Trump's defense.</s>CIPOLLONE: The fact that they came here for 24 hours and hid evidence from you is further evidence that they don't really believe in the facts of their case.</s>MURRAY: They insisted Trump never made a White House meeting and security aid for Ukraine contingent on Ukraine opening investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election, noting Trump never explicitly asked for such a quid pro quo in the call with the Ukrainian president.</s>MIKE PURPURA, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: The transcript shows that the president did not condition either security assistance or a meeting on anything. The paused security assistance funds aren't even mentioned on the call.</s>MURRAY: And they raised testimony from some administration officials who believed Trump's call for investigations was simply a request, rather than a demand.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe, in your opinion, that the president of the United States demanded that President Zelensky undertake these investigations?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.</s>MURRAY: Trump's lawyers also made the claim that the president is legitimately invested in cracking down on corruption Ukraine and taking a tough stance toward Russia.</s>CIPOLLONE: You will hear that President Trump has a strong record on confronting Russia. You will hear that President Trump has a strong record of support for Ukraine.</s>MURRAY: But there's little effort of Trump's interest in corruption, save for the call of an investigation into the Bidens, which also directly involves the president's personal interests. And while the administration has taken steps to crack down on Russia, Trump's public statements have undermined those efforts. Over the course of their brief two-hour arguments, Trump's lawyers took shots at Democrats' lengthy and often repetitive presentations.</s>JAY SEKULOW, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: We're not going to play the clip seven times. He said it. You saw it.</s>MURRAY: As well as House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff.</s>CIPOLLONE: Do you know who didn't show up in the Judiciary Committee? Chairman Schiff.</s>MURRAY: They wrapped up just afternoon, leaving senators enough time to escape for a bit of the weekend.</s>CIPOLLONE: I thank you for your attention, and I look forward to seeing you on Monday.</s>MURRAY: Afterward, House Democratic managers argued the president's team did not refute the claim that Trump solicited foreign interference in a U.S. election.</s>REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): What was most striking to me about the president's presentation today is they don't contest the basic architecture of the scheme. They do not contest that the president solicited a foreign nation to interfere in our election to help him cheat.</s>MURRAY: The president's team has 22 more hours to make its case but says it's not planning to use it all.</s>MURRAY: Now, Don, the president's team has the run of the floor on Monday when they get back. But you can bet the Democrats are still going to be making their case in press conferences, and they're going to be pushing any moderate senators they think they can get to swing in their direction that they need to hear from more witnesses; they need to see more documents.</s>LEMON: All right. Sara, stand by. I'm going to bring in Philip Bump, a national correspondent for "The Washington Post"; also Guy Smith, a former Clinton impeachment advisor. Welcome to the program, guys. And speaking of the guys, Guy, you're going to go first. President Trump's defense team argued the president did nothing wrong when it comes to Ukraine. Since when is asking a foreign power to investigate a political rival OK? Since when is that right?</s>GUY SMITH, FORMER CLINTON IMPEACHMENT ADVISOR: Well, it's more of -- interestingly, it's more of the gaslighting that they do all the time, and it's staggering to do it on the floor of the United States Senate. And if you or I solicited a foreign -- a foreign person, not just a foreign government, it would be a violation of law. And -- and they are completely ignoring that that. They -- they were lawyerly. Notice they didn't even wear flags on their lapels, and -- and they were brief. That's nice. And then you saw the White House counsel on the floor of the United States Senate propagating a Russian spy service propaganda that Ukraine was involved in the election. Unbelievable.</s>LEMON: But even -- even President Clinton admitted that he did something wrong, but, I mean, it's not something Americans will ever hear from President Trump or even from anyone who is associated with him or your attorneys.</s>SMITH: You're right. Well, President Clinton did. He apologized repeatedly, but not at the beginning, but then he did. And he did it repeatedly. And he was genuinely contrite. And think about if we were at that point in the trial now to where President Clinton was at this point in his trial, if President Trump had said, you know, I really -- I really screwed up here, and I shouldn't have said that, and let me tell you what I really was trying to do. You're right, you'll never hear anything like that.</s>LEMON: Yes. Philip, Trump's defense team is trying to assert that the Democrats are trying to steal the 2020 election. Will that resonate with -- with Republican voters?</s>PHILIP BUMP, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Frankly, I'm surprised --</s>LEMON: With the senators, I should say.</s>BUMP: Well, that's a whole different issue. But I think you really hit the nail on the head in who he's actually trying to appeal to, right. So to first answer to your question, I'm sort of fascinated by the extent to which this -- they're trying to reverse the 2016 election narrative has taken hold. It's obviously not that. And this is a constitutional procedure for addressing things which can be addressed immediately through election. This argument about 2020, I think they see as obviously part of what has compelled Donald Trump to a lot of his base, is this fact that he's constantly being embattled. And so they think that they are going to be able to rise to his defense, stand with him, and say, no, he deserves to be on the ballot. We want to vote for him again. This is a way of getting them engaged and riled up about this. But at the same time, that's who everyone is talking to. The only people that Republicans -- that Trump's legal team knows to keep those Republicans in line, they just need to keep Republicans happy with Trump. And so they are making a case. Donald Trump needs you to stand with him. So Democrats are trying to keep him off the ballot in 2020. And those people are going to stand with Donald Trump, and therefore, the senators are going to stand with Trump.</s>LEMON: But it's interesting how they always say he's embattled. He's always being attacked. He's always attacking other people, or he's always counter-punching. He's always attacking and punching other people. It's just -- it's fascinating to hear the Republican senators, especially the ones who are supposed to be, you know, on the fence, right, who are saying they're so offended. And like, oh, my God, I have the vapors. Somebody said a bad word on the Senate floor. Have they ever heard this president? Do they -- have they met Donald Trump before?</s>SMITH: Well, they are all having a case of the vapors. And for your viewers, the vapors are, Oh, my God, this is really happening to me, for those of you who aren't from the South. But -- but what's happening, think about this when they were all upset, this fake being upset about talking about head on a pike. Yet, when Marsha Blackburn, the senator from Tennessee, attacks the patriotism of Colonel Vindman, not one of them said a word. I mean, this is an example of this -- this dichotomy of -- it's just hard to describe.</s>LEMON: It's just -- it's really -- it's outrageous. I can't -- I can't believe it. Listen, Democrats are saying, Guy, that -- that the Trump folks, the lawyers helped their case for witnesses today.</s>SMITH: Yes.</s>LEMON: Did they?</s>SMITH: I think they did. And the reason was they created more questions. And the only way to answer those questions is to hear from Mulvaney and Pompeo and Bolton, for sure, and the whistle-blower.</s>LEMON: What are we going to hear Monday?</s>BUMP: Well, I just want to say on that point, they specifically said that no one has tied Donald Trump directly to these actions, except that Mick Mulvaney did in a press conference, and it just really made the case. OK, let's get Mick Mulvaney in here. What are we going to hear Monday? We're going to hear a lot of misdirection. We're going to hear Jay Sekulow continuing this culture war fight that he's been pushing --</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>BUMP: -- for days and days now. And frankly, I think we're not going to hear a lot that's -- really undercuts the evidence of the hard facts (ph).</s>SMITH: And we are going to have witnesses.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>BUMP: Is that right?</s>LEMON: OK. We shall see.</s>SMITH: You heard it here.</s>LEMON: Thank you, Guy. Philip, you're going to hang around. The new recording that shows President Trump talking at length with Lev Parnas, the indicted Giuliani associate the president claims that he doesn't know. The tape made public tonight by an attorney for Parnas. I want to bring it back to us. CNN political correspondent Sara Murray, who is working all the big stories tonight. Sara, thanks for rejoining us here. President Trump and Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, they're talking Ukraine, and they're talking about firing Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, right?</s>MURRAY: That's right. I mean, this is a very curious conversation for the president to be having with somebody he says he doesn't know. It lasted, the tape, around 90 minutes. And there's a portion about it where they talk about Ukraine and Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Listen to the president talking to Lev Parnas about her.</s>LEV PARNAS, RUDY GIULIANI ASSOCIATE: The biggest problem there, I think, where we -- we need to start is we've got to get rid of the ambassador. It's -- she's still left over from the Clinton administration.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Where -- the ambassador? Where, Ukraine?</s>PARNAS: Yes. And she's basically walking around telling everybody, Wait, he's going to get impeached. Just wait. I mean -- It's incredible.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She'll be gone tomorrow.</s>PARNAS: Yes, well --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't remember the name.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So one of the things that will be -- now that we have a secretary of state that's been sworn in --</s>TRUMP: Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out, OK? Do it.</s>MURRAY: So you hear him say, "Get her out. Take her out." This is in the spring of 2018. So it's long before she's actually removed from her position as the ambassador to Ukraine. But it's telling, Don, that you see President Trump there. You hear President Trump there, essentially taking the word of Lev Parnas that Marie Yovanovitch is saying these things about him. Remember, Marie Yovanovitch testified that she never said these things about the president, but he seems all too willing there to take Lev Parnas's word on this issue.</s>LEMON: Let's bring Philip back, as well. Also Matthew Rosenberg joins us, investigative correspondent for "The New York Times." So Matt, a donor at the dinner can apparently manipulate the president into dismissing an ambassador on the spot. Really?</s>MATTHEW ROSENBERG, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Apparently so. I mean, this has got to be great if you're, like, foreign intelligence service, or like, a businessman in the U.S. who wants to get some deal done got some regulatory issue, just get in with the dinner with the Trump -- with the president. Get a donor who's -- maybe you know. Tell him to, you know, tell the president what you want him to hear, and hey, maybe he'll get rid of an ambassador for you. It's amazing how casual. The president just kind of dismisses an ambassador on the word of a guy whose business, you know, was known as fraud guarantee. You know, it really is something. It really is.</s>LEMON: Philip, I want you to listen to President Trump and Parnas talking about Ukraine at this dinner. Here it is.</s>PARNAS: They have everything there. They're just right now waiting for your support a little bit to make sure, because obviously, if they go on their own, Russia won't let them do it; because they'll cut off a lot of their revenue.</s>TRUMP: How long would they last in a fight with Russia?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not very long.</s>PARNAS: I don't think very long. Without us, not very long. But Russia, also keep in mind, talks a big game, but they're not ready to play -- he's not -- they're not ready to play.</s>LEMON: Wow. You hear President Trump, he asks how long Ukraine would ask without aid a full year before he withheld aid. This is outrageous.</s>BUMP: I mean, it's -- it is something. There's a lot in there. There's another point in which Donald Trump, they're talking about oil exploration in Ukraine. Donald Trump says Ukraine has oil? I mean, then he asks this random guy, this donor. It's not even like this is a GOP meeting. This is at a separate PAC called America First Action that Parnas bought his way into. And Parnas essentially just makes these cases. And he's asking for, you know, foreign policy advice from this random guy who he may have met or has met a couple of times before. But I think there's also an interesting subtext here that's really going unnoticed, which is that the next month Parnas and his associate, Fruman, go, and they talk to this Texas congressman, Pete Sessions. Sessions then calls for Yovanovitch's ouster. Then he gets in with Rudy Giuliani. And then Giuliani starts his push. It's possible that Parnas is the through line of all of this, and it's why Yovanovitch got ousted. Why? Who knows at this point? We know at the time she actually got pushed out. It was in part because this Ukrainian prosecutor, who was mad at her, was really advocating for it. But it really goes back a lot farther than we realize.</s>LEMON: This is where the -- our foreign policy is possibly coming from?</s>BUMP: The back room of the Trump national hotel from random donors, I guess so.</s>LEMON: Wow. OK. So -- this is crazy. Matt, the fact that Parnas associate Igor Fruman was able to tape this entire conversation, remember, this is the president of the United States. At the beginning, you can see video of what appears to be President Trump. I mean, you can see it, right? There it is right there. Aren't there security risks there? Matt?</s>ROSENBERG: Yes. You know, of course there are. Look, I think that any kind of ordinary presidency, you know, who gets to bring electronic devices into these dinners is limited. This is a casual dinner. Also, the president is not talking about affairs of state, you know, with random donors and previous presidencies. Now it's kind of a free-for-all. And I think that's one of the issue here, is the president doesn't get to have to behave like the rest of us do. I can go to dinner with friends or some random people and complain about work or talk about things that are on my mind. That's fine. The president, you know, he chose this job. He ran for it. And one of the responsibilities that comes with it is, you know, discretion. You know, minding who your audience is, remembering who they are, and what they might be. And then moderating yourself and not just kind of pawing off, asking for advice or deciding you're going to fire an ambassador because some donor who you don't really know that well told you it was a good idea.</s>LEMON: This is unbelievable. Really, I just -- I've got to play more, because this is really, really unbelievable that this is happening. I just -- and it's unbelievable that this is not part of what's happening now in Washington, this trial. I want to play another big chunk from the recording where they talk about everything from Ukraine to the Bidens. Listen.</s>PARNAS: We're in the process of purchasing an energy company in Ukraine right now. That should help cut off Russia's --</s>TRUMP: And how's Ukraine doing? Don't answer.</s>PARNAS: They love you, though. I can tell you that much. They love you. Great.</s>TRUMP: I tell you, they're great fighters.</s>PARNAS: They're great fighters. They love you.</s>TRUMP: They're great fighters. They've been fighting for so long, they don't know what to do without fighting.</s>PARNAS: Russia's had them on their -- on their -- under their wing for so long. They need directions. They're waiting for direction, I can tell you that much. They're ready. I think there's a definitely good opportunity for --</s>TRUMP: But it's a problem, though.</s>PARNAS: A big problem.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you just sent an order of javelin missiles over there, right? They're the anti-tank missiles.</s>PARNAS: Yes. Yes.</s>TRUMP: Today?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw -- I read about it today. I don't know what happened, but it must have happened within the last couple days.</s>PARNAS: They're getting it, but --</s>TRUMP: Do you think Russia ever goes in and gets Ukraine?</s>PARNAS: I -- They would love to. They would love to, but they're scared of you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they got what they wanted. They wanted access to the sea.</s>PARNAS: Not really. No, they want Ukraine. Ukraine is a vast -- Ukraine, not even Crimea, the resources in Ukraine are tremendous.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like West Texas.</s>PARNAS: Exactly. And right now, not only that, but Ukraine is a sore thumb in their throat because of supplying the pipeline, because all of the pipeline goes through Ukraine to Poland.</s>TRUMP: Ukraine has oil?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>TRUMP: Ukraine?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>TRUMP: How come they --</s>TRUMP: -- they don't have any money?</s>PARNAS: Exactly.</s>TRUMP: Why aren't the companies going in? Too risky?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot.</s>PARNAS: Exactly. Right. They were supporting the Clintons for all these years and hoping that, you know, they won. Obviously, you won. Biden. Biden, yes, that was a big thing.</s>LEMON: OK. Listen, I don't know that that -- I believe that one of the sons, Don Jr., was part -- was at this meeting. It sounds like -- I can't -- listen, I'm not sure if it was him. It sounds like him. But they're discussing javelins. They're discussing, like, foreign policy. And he doesn't know him: I take some pictures. I take pictures with a lot of people. Why is this not part of the -- why is this not part of the trial? He's talking about the Bidens. He's talking about the -- Why is this not part of it?</s>BUMP: Well, the reason it's not part of the trial, because it just came out. But this is the risk for those Republican senators. Who knows what recordings is out there? Who knows what could emerge in a month, or in two months, or tomorrow, or you know, in six hours that impugns Donald Trump more directly than that? I will say, though, one of the defenses that his attorneys raised today, was Donald Trump was so strong on Ukraine. He gave them this military aid, yada, yada, yada. You hear him in that recording. Donald Trump didn't know the javelins had gone to the Ukraine. He said, "Today?" He said, Well, I guess I just read about it.</s>LEMON: How are they doing?</s>BUMP: The first time Donald Trump hears about military aid is in a June 18 message from the Department of Defense last year. He sees it in the news. And that's the point at which he decides he's halting aid to Ukraine. There's no indication the state undercuts severely his argument that he was on board with Ukraine from the start.</s>LEMON: Matthew.</s>ROSENBERG: I mean, look, we know from other officials, previous reporting, that they really had to really push and kind of sneak this Ukraine aid in. That this wasn't something Trump wanted to do. I think to Philip's point there, he seems totally oblivious to it. He's like, They got the missiles today?</s>LEMON: But aren't you flabbergasted by this? What's happening in this --</s>ROSENBERG: Completely. I mean, he's going from javelin missiles. Then there's the oil --</s>LEMON: He's talking to guys who have no -- why are they -- why is he talking about this to these people who don't have clearance? They're just two schmoes who just showed up at the White House?</s>ROSENBERG: On top of that, the way his mind is working in this situation is, like, Wait, they've had oil, coal, whatever. Why aren't there companies going in? Why aren't they rich?</s>LEMON: Oh, my gosh.</s>ROSENBERG: This is the secret to wealth. You know, just get some oil, some coal, you're all good.</s>LEMON: I've got to go. This is nuts. Thank you both. Thank you. A reporter asks the secretary of state a question about Ukraine, and he screams obscenities and demands she proves she can find Ukraine on an unmarked map. It's conduct unbecoming of the secretary of the United States, but is it the new normal for the Trump administration?