court they will side with reason and perhaps the majority the chief will want? >> that's the tradition of the court. for example, justice kagan was put on the court by obama but in her first year she voted to strike down a big piece of president obama's obamacare initiative. so that's the way judges normally operate. we saw it best this week because who voted on the acosta case to say trump, you're wrong, cnn and acosta you're absolutely right? it was a trump-appointed judge. that's the way judges work. that's the way they always have worked. and what the president is doing is despicable and dangerous. >> neal katyal, our thanks for joining us by telephone tonight on short notice. happy thanksgiving to you and your family. and with that let's bring in our lead-off panel on what is after all a wednesday night broadcast. robert costa, national political reporter for the "washington post," moderator of "washington week" on pbs. john heilemann, national affairs analyst around here. he's also co-author of "game change" and co-host of "the circus" on showtime. and maya wiley is back with us, a former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. currently a professor at the new school here in new york. good evening and welcome to you all. mr. costa, you get to go first. describe the scene as it's been described to you tonight at mar-a-lago. >> talking to white house officials and confidants of president trump it's clear that the president is isolated down there at mar-a-lago. isolated from many of his cabinet officials to many of his advisers.