lot, brooke. you cannot say this is necessarily a cause and effect all the way through, but when you look at it that way you can look at that phone call and you can say, if you're a critic of the president or skeptical of his explanations, sure looks like you set this guy up, you made him want something, then called him and said, you know, i just need a favor, if you'll give me that favor, maybe we can work something out. it's not proof. but that timeline tells you a lot. >> so far into the leads of this complaint and talk a 30,000-foot view of the start to finish. tom foreman. thank you for that you're welcome, brooke. as we hear about the alleged cover-up of the president's actions, do his reported comments about the whistle-blower just past couple of hours constitute witness tampering or obstruction? stand by. it's cnn special live coverage.