Biden Clarifies Comment On Impeachment Trial Subpoena
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN NEW DAY: Former Vice President Joe Biden is now trying to clear up whether or not he will be a subpoena to testify on President Trump's Senate impeachment trial.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN NEW DAY: Yes. His campaign is setting its sights on Iowa with the critical Iowa caucuses, of course, looming right around the corner. CNN's Maeve Reston has more.</s>MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Many of the Democratic presidential candidates here in Iowa this weekend trying to get their message out to voters with just five weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Joe Biden going all across the state but still getting caught up in these questions about Ukraine and the impeachment trial coming up in the Senate. During a meeting with a Des Moines Register Editorial Board on Friday, he was asked whether he would comply with a subpoena to talk about his own dealings with Ukraine as well as those of his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. And during that meeting, Biden suggested that he would not comply, but then spent a lot of time on Saturday trying to clarify that point on Twitter, saying that he believes there is no legal basis for a subpoena, and also that he has no more knowledge of the president dealings of Ukraine than any other random person on the street who has been watching this unfold on television. He was pressed on this point about the subpoena during a gaggle with reporters on Saturday and here is what he had to say about that.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that's going to happen. Again, let's cross that bridge when it comes. I would, in fact, abide by whatever was legally required of me and always have. This is a trial that relates to Donald Trump's behavior. Did he violate the Constitution, pure and simple. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that stays the focus, not anything else.</s>RESTON: So Joe Biden there saying the focus should not be on impeachment but should be on his campaign and the issues that he has been trying to talk to voters about here, whether it's climate change or healthcare or the economy. Many voters here in Iowa are still undecided with that very close race among the four candidates at the top. But some of the voters that we have talked to at Joe Biden's events say they are about 90 percent of the way there. Coming to their final decisions, really, deciding that they are going to go with what they view as the safe comfortable choice, someone who is familiar and has been through the paces of the White House. Maeve Reston, CNN, Washington, Iowa.</s>PAUL: Maeve, thank you. So what is outside your window this morning? It could be rain, wind, snow, ice, because there is a messy mix of weather for millions of you across the U.S. this weekend. In Minnesota, it wouldn't surprising to have snow and freezing rain there but it is making it downright treacherous for drivers.</s>BLACKWELL: It's so cold.</s>PAUL: How cold is it?</s>BLACKWELL: Thank you, Christi.</s>PAUL: I'm leaving you hanging there. Again, I'm sorry.</s>BLACKWELL: It's so cold that even a school bus pulling a trailer couldn't keep from sliding on an icy road.</s>PAUL: Oh, my goodness.</s>BLACKWELL: For more on this weather storm, let's check in with CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison would have gone to ask how cold is it.</s>PAUL: How cold is, Allison?</s>ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's cold enough to go curling in your backyard. Actually, literally, I saw videos of people doing that in Minnesota yesterday. But that really could just be any average Saturday in December in Minneapolis. But, yes, we are talking about potential travel issues with some of these cities here. Let's start in Minnesota, because you have some very heavy snow in the northern portion of the state, Minneapolis, right now, getting rain. But that is expected to change as we go throughout the day, eventually, the freezing rain, and eventually, the snow. Because of that, that is going to be one of the big bad travel spot for today. Same thing for Chicago, Cincinnati, D.C., New York, Boston all likely to have some travel problems today, even on the south end, Atlanta and Memphis looking at very heavy rainfall, that could cause some travel problems. And out west, take a look, San Francisco and Sacramento bracing for the next system sliding in. That, again, could also cause some travel problems there, not only in the air but also on the roads as well. Here is a look at the live radar. Again, we mentioned Minneapolis right now getting rain. That is expected to change as we go late into the afternoon and into the evening hours. Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis right now, all looking at rain showers. Good news for St. Louis. You're finally starting to see at least an end to the rain for now. But, again, this very heavy rain is expected to push from the Midwest into portions of the northeast as we go through the day. So even though places like New York and Boston aren't dealing with right now, they are expected to as we go later into the day. Winter weather advisories, winter storm warnings in effect for portions of the Midwest. This is where we expect some of the heaviest snow, also expecting snow and even ice across portions of the northeast. For the Midwest, most areas likely picking up widespread, up to about four inches. But there will be some spots the closer you get to the Canadian border. It could pick up an additional six to eight inches. Into the northeast, your heaviest snow spots are likely going to be in the higher elevations for Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. But the biggest concern in the northeast is ice. We are talking a potential large icing event. Look at this. some of these totals could reach up to a quarter or three-quarters of an inch of ice, potentially even as much as one inch of ice. Keep in mind, folks, this not only causes problems on the roadways, this will bring trees down, this brings power lines down. So you will have some pretty big issues with that, and also into the southeast looking at the potential for some strong thunderstorms as well. Victor and Christi?</s>PAUL: All right. Allison, thank you so much for the heads-up.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. We're closing in on 2020 and it's time to talk about resolutions and turning them into reality, eliminating debt and setting obtainable goals, smart advice on how to improve your finances in the New Year.