President Trump Meets with Rudy Giuliani to Discuss Conspiracy Theories on Day House Judiciary Approves Articles of Impeachment
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Once again, they are doing us dirty. That's all for us tonight. Time for watching CNN Tonight with the man, D. Lemon right now.</s>DON LEMON, CNN HOST: That's the solution? Lower the bar? That's the solution? How many more excuses are you going to -- so don't change the behavior, right? Just how do we --</s>CUOMO: Hide.</s>LEMON: -- hide or how do we change things around? Don't try to curb the behavior or say something is wrong. You just keep allowing the behavior to continue, and then you scurry around and do everything, make excuses so that he can continue to do things that are wrong.</s>CUOMO: Not illegal, arguably within their power. They can do this. But dirty.</s>LEMON: It's not within your power if you possibly doing things that are --</s>CUOMO: The word you're looking for is dirt.</s>LEMON: -- against the Constitution.</s>CUOMO: Rhymes with purdy. Dirty.</s>LEMON: Is that your saying now, dirty Donald?</s>CUOMO: Hash tag dirty Donald.</s>LEMON: But seriously, to have fewer people on the call --</s>CUOMO: I am being serious. That's the defense of him.</s>LEMON: Here's what it says. So, it says, it says it amounts to a concerned effort -- a concerted effort to prevent Trump's conversations, these officials sometimes veer off into unguarded or undiplomatic territory from becoming known to those even inside the administration. I mean, why?</s>CUOMO: You are accused of handling the country's business the wrong way with the example being a phone call. Your response is to deny the allegation and limit transparency on those phone calls.</s>LEMON: Wow.</s>CUOMO: That is dirty, and the Republicans will say, but, Don, that's who he is, and people knew that when they voted for him. So, it's OK. And I have never heard a rationale like that let alone from the party of character counts, who went after Bill Clinton not because they were so impressed with the criminality but because they needed to cleanse the office. Now hash tag dirty Donald is OK.</s>LEMON: Wow.</s>CUOMO: Did I stump you?</s>LEMON: No, you didn't. I just -- I just --</s>CUOMO: Overwhelmed?</s>LEMON: I was wondering how many mirrors. I guess everybody has a mirror. It's just the audience. If you think that behavior is OK, I just -- turn on your phone and put your -- turn it on or go look in a mirror because you need to --</s>CUOMO: And I'll tell you what it plays to. It plays to our cynicism. I hear it all the time, especially on my radio show. People say this is what they do, man. This is who they are. They're both the same. They're all terrible. They're dirty. But until you start --</s>LEMON: That's not true.</s>CUOMO: -- demanding better, that's all you're going to get.</s>LEMON: That's my whole point. I'm just speechless because I can't believe that people are allowing for this behavior to occur and making excuses for it. How many -- how many more excuses can you make? I really don't understand it.</s>CUOMO: Look at --</s>LEMON: I understand -- listen, I understand left versus right. I've been deal -- I've on this earth for a long time. I understand that. We can deal with that. I don't understand making excuses for someone who is not abiding by the Constitution, not abiding by presidential norms, not respecting the office of the presidency. It is just beyond belief. We have gone so far into the looking glass that we're coming out, we're in Willy Wonka land now. It is - it's crazy.</s>CUOMO: It's a naked play to power.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: It's fealty over loyalty to the oath. Look at the Greta Thunberg thing. The problem with that is a week ago you were saying, hey, let's not talk about kids in here. Let's keep it to the adults who were in office. Don't mention Barron even as a joke.</s>LEMON: We said that. I understood the analogy. She wasn't actually talking about him. She was actually -- she was actually -- it was meant as a hit on the president, not on Barron.</s>CUOMO: True.</s>LEMON: I got it. I understood. But she shouldn't have done it.</s>CUOMO: True. But even then --</s>LEMON: Right.</s>CUOMO: I'm OK with that rule.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: I say, yes, they were right. But where are they now? Where are they now?</s>LEMON: Yes. But there's no -- I don't think there's a difference between her and Barron. He should not have done it either. And especially someone who is reportedly, and I think by her own admission, her parents, has Asperger's, right? He should not be doing that. And the first lady should not be making excuses for her, whether she's in the public eye or not. It is just not done at all, just like Matt Gaetz should not be talking about someone's personal life, meaning Hunter Biden yesterday. It just should --</s>CUOMO: On two levels, one, he's got his own vulnerabilities like all of us. We're all fraught. And, two, if you care about mental health like they all say they do now, thank God -- finally at least they say it --</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: -- then don't weaponize it. Don't try to play to the stigma of it that somehow something's wrong with Hunter Biden if he's dealing with those kinds of issues.</s>LEMON: Especially addiction. What family in this country has not been touched by addiction? And you know you said that you --</s>CUOMO: Only ones that aren't being honest about what they've been touching.</s>LEMON: You said that you were surprised that Democrats didn't, you know, talk about the -- what was it? The Barron thing? What was it you said that you were surprised the Democrats --</s>CUOMO: Several things.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: That they didn't bring up the fact that the dossier guy was friends with Ivanka.</s>LEMON: That thing, right.</s>CUOMO: That they didn't bring up this thing and jump on it that you know, you were saying earlier at dinner, Biden should have jumped all over this.</s>LEMON: What family -- when I heard that coming out of Matt Gaetz' mouth, I was shocked. I was like, he just --he just lobbed a softball at the Bidens because almost every single family in this country has been touched by addiction. And Joe Biden has lost two children and a wife, and he has one child left. Regardless of what happened in -- you know, with Burisma and with Ukraine, does it look bad? Yes. Was it nepotism? Yes. But look at the nepotism that's happening in the White House. That's a whole other issue. Go ahead and deal with that. But every single parent who is dealing with addiction can understand what it's like to wait for a family member all night long who is dealing with an addiction, who has not come home, to worry about a family member or a child who is dealing with addiction. And he has one child left, and I'm sure that he is concerned about that child. And so, you know, I'm sure it is concerning to him, and he's worried. He worries, and he still loves that child regardless of, you know, what Hunter has done or has not done. So, I just think that Joe Biden has a case to be made there, and I'm just surprised that he hasn't, you know, talked about it and Democrats haven't talked about it. And I think that families can come out and discuss it, and it is something that he can use as a platform and make good of it to the people in America. And I just -- I don't -- you know, I don't get it.</s>CUOMO: I think you're 100 percent right, and I think it really showed how dirty this process has gotten.</s>LEMON: I'm sorry. He has a daughter as well. I'm sorry.</s>CUOMO: Yes. You know, Biden has a daughter as well.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: But he's worried about -- you know, he had two sons.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: He has one now, and he's dealt with his problems. And that's not the issue. The issue is not what happened with Burisma. It's what you're using as a tactic here.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: We say we're trying to get rid of the stigma. Then you weaponize the guy's frailty and illness for political effect. And it's shameful.</s>LEMON: With opioid, heroin, and if you ever had a family member who has been addicted and you wait, are they going to come home tonight, you don't know what they're doing.</s>CUOMO: And we're trying to move past this stigmatization of this.</s>LEMON: Yes. I got to --</s>CUOMO: That's why people don't get help.</s>LEMON: I got to go. You know the thing we're getting tight --</s>CUOMO: Yes, I hear you. I love you. Happy Friday.</s>LEMON: Happy Friday. Happy weekend. I'll see you guys for dinner tomorrow night. See you later. This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us. You know, this has been a week of history in the making. It is a - boy, what a long, exhausting week. The Judiciary Committee voting today to approve articles of impeachment against the president, charging that he abused the power of his office and that he obstructed Congress' investigation of Ukraine. The next stop, the full House, which could vote as soon as Wednesday. This is huge. The president is all but certain to be impeached by Christmas, which a Senate trial is likely to happen in January. This is his reaction. Watch this.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a very sad thing for our country, but it seems to be very good for me politically.</s>LEMON: So, if you think this president is going to suddenly start to care about, well, I don't know, the norms of government, abuse of power, what's good for the country instead of what's good for Donald J. Trump, here's a spoiler alert for you. He is not because as far as the president is concerned, all of this is working for him, and his party is -- all they're doing is enabling him. He's got no problem with foreign election interference. In fact, he encourages it. He's been doing it for years.</s>TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.</s>LEMON: They were listening all right. On the same day, the very same day, a group of intelligence officers in Vladimir Putin's military launched their efforts to hack Democrats' e-mails during the 2016 campaign. And then there's president Trump shamefully taking the word of Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence community. Nope, nothing to see here. No Russian attack on our election.</s>TRUMP: My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.</s>LEMON: Even joking about it, again, side by side with Putin.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you tell Russia not to meddle in the 2020 election?</s>TRUMP: Yes, of course we will. Don't meddle in the election.</s>LEMON: And let's not forget this stunning moment when the President of the United States says he doesn't see anything wrong with taking election help from a foreign source.</s>TRUMP: OK. Let's put yourself in a position. You're a congressman. Somebody comes up and says, hey, I have information on your opponent. Do you call the FBI? I don't think --</s>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CHIEF ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: If it's coming from Russia, you do.</s>TRUMP: I've seen a lot of things in my life. I don't think in my whole life I've ever called the FBI in my whole life. I don't. You don't call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you --</s>STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the</s>FBI. TRUMP: Well that's different. A stolen briefing book. This is somebody that said we have information on your opponent. Let me call the FBI. Give me a break. Life doesn't work that way.</s>STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI director --</s>LEMON: He said all of that out loud, right out in the open. And when you look at the time line, it is crystal clear exactly why the president keeps inviting all of this. He keeps getting away with it. That's why. The day after Robert Mueller testifies to Congress in the Russia investigation, the president launches the Ukraine shakedown with that infamous call. And here's a quote. "I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with the whole situation with Ukraine. They say CrowdStrike. I guess you have one of your wealthy people. The server, they say Ukraine has it." And this. "I would like to have the attorney general call you or your people, and I would like you to get to the bottom of it." And this. "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that. So, whatever you can do the attorney general would be great -- with the attorney general would be great." And despite team Trump's efforts to bury the transcript of that call on a highly classified server, the president says it out loud again, this time on the White House lawn, speaking to reporters. And just for good measure, asks China to investigate the Bidens too.</s>TRUMP: Well, I would think that if they were honest about it, they'd start a major investigation into the Bidens. It's a very simple answer. And by the way, likewise China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.</s>LEMON: Just when I said that about the server, hiding it on the highly classified server, and, you know, when Chris and I talked about how they're going to limit the phone calls. So, if the call was perfect, why do they try to hide it? Why did they put it on that server if it was perfect? And then why would they limit his phone calls, people who can listen to it, and who they have distributed to if it was perfect? Why would they make changes? It was perfect. But hearing him right there, like I said this president has no problem with foreign election interference. He didn't think it's wrong. He said to China, do it. The party is enabling him. They didn't think it's wrong, then why change anything? They're enabling him, telling him exactly what he wants to hear. He's right, and everything he's doing is OK.</s>REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE (R-TX): Is it ever OK to invite a foreign government to become involved in an election involving a political opponent? The answer is yes. It better be. We do it all the time.</s>LEMON: Sometimes the truth just slips out, like it does when Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera concedes there was probably a Ukraine quid pro quo. Listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you agree that of course he was withholding the aid and the White House visit?</s>GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE: Probably.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right? I mean --</s>RIVERA: Probably.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean probably?</s>RIVERA: Probably.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, is there any other rational explanation?</s>RIVERA: I think when you look at how foreign policy is made, how foreign aid is distributed and dispensed, if you don't think there's this kind of back room wrangling almost every time with Israel or with Albania or with Australia, of course there is.</s>LEMON: Good job. That was Dan Abrams' radio show. Good job. And is it any coincidence that this morning, moments before the House Judiciary Committee voted to send articles of impeachment to the full House for a vote, the president apparently was at it again. Would you look at that. There's Rudy Giuliani at the White House. What are the odds, the president's loose cannon attorney was there to peddle his discredited conspiracy theory, seemingly discredited by everybody except Giuliani and the president, that Ukraine was behind the interference in the 2016 election, not Russia? I'd say those odds are pretty good. But let's remember it was Giuliani's pot-stirring in Ukraine that kicked off the whole impeachment inquiry. Now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that as Giuliani was returning last Saturday from a trip to Ukraine, while his plane was still taxing down the runway, the president called to ask, quote, "what did you get?" Giuliani's reply, more than you can imagine, which seemed to please his client.</s>TRUMP: He says he has a lot of good information. I hear he's found plenty.</s>LEMON: Another thing that's likely to please his client, Giuliani is not just digging for dirt in Ukraine. He's reportedly working on a TV series about it because as far as the reality TV president is concerned, if you didn't see it on TV, it didn't happen. So, to recap, one day after Robert Mueller testifies on the Russia investigation, the president makes a call that launches the Ukraine shakedown. And now on the very day the Judiciary Committee votes to approve articles of impeachment, the president has Rudy Giuliani come to the White House to report on his efforts to double down on the investigations in Ukraine. Seeing a pattern here? A president emboldened every time he breaks the rules and gets away with it. A president facing the looming prospect of impeachment before Christmas. But John Dean says the House shouldn't hand off to the Senate just yet. He's here to discuss along with Susan Glasser, next.