Weve been trying to open the 1002 area for responsible oil and Gas Production for close to 40 years now. And we have come to a good place tonight. We recognize that we still have a little bit of process yet to go to get this over the finish line. But this is good for alaska, but more importantly, its good for the country. Xl combined with what we have done with tax reform, this is truly a win for america. Well take a couple of questions and i assume you will have to file your stories and go to sleep. Yeah. I just want to ask, the legislative victory obviously is important. But you have a lot of criticism for the process, the fact that the bill, the substitute amendment wasnt out until 8 30 p. M. The fact that things were written in the margins. Is this how you envisioned passing such a large legislative process . This was done through regular order. Democrats had plenty of notice. We had hearings, markups, everybody had plenty of opportunity to see the measure. You complain about process when youre losing. And thats what you heard on the floor tonight. Yes . Can you talk to us a little bit about the evolution from last december and over the summer when you talked about [ inaudible ] im totally confident this is a revenue neutral bill and a revenue producer. As we said over and over again, the 1. 5 trillion deficit only to be filled only requires us to grow 0. 4 of 1 over the next ten years. Goodness gracious, thats very much achievable. Im convinced this is a revenue producer bill that will get america going again. Good night, everyone. See you soon. You have just been listening to the Senate Majority leader mitch mcconnell. And just the looks on the faces of the speakers there, mitch mcconnell, orrin hatch, lisa markowski, in such stark contrast with the looks on their faces after the health care vote. And the multiple failures on the floor of the house, on the floor of the senate on the health care bill. If youre just joining us, this may be one of the best days so far in the trump presidency, at least on this side of things. So this is what just happened. The republicans have passed through a bill that will overhaul the american tax code, something that hasnt been done in 30 years, and something crucially that was promised by the President Donald Trump all throughout his campaign. Were joined by john thomas, dave jacobson. John is a republican consultant, dave a democratic strategist. Gentlemen, i know you both heard that. Mitch mcconnell was saying you have to file your stories now and go to sleep, speaking to the journalists. I think its already a tale of two stories, when i was listening to both of you describe this just minutes ago. Dave sorry, let me start with john. John, is there any any cloud on the horizon as far as this tax reform is concerned right now or is it a 100 victory . I think it is a big, beautiful tax cut and a victory for the republicans, i really do. Remember, pressure was mounting as we were marching toward the Midterm Election to deliver a win. Check, the president can take credit for that. He was not just involved in crafting this, but involved in selling this. So it got through. And now look, as much as i know my frenemy dave is going to disagree with me here, its time to watch what happens. The stock markets have been hitting alltime highs, and i think its because markets are forward looking. And the markets were anticipating that this tax cut would get through and they were shooting to the moon on that expectation. Now well see if the economy doesnt dont to grow, then dave is going to have a great narrative against us. But if it does grow, and i think it will, dave is going to be eating humble pie and trump will get four more years. John, dave, well return to you in just a moment. Well take a break. For our u. S. Viewers, back to regular programming now. See you after this. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. President trump has told you over and over and over again that nobody in his campaign had anything to do with russia. And we learned today thats simply not true. Michael flynn, former National Security adviser and a key member of the trump campaign, pleading guilty to lying to the fbi about his conversations with russias then ambassador to the United States. You cant call him peripheral. You cant call him a coffee boy. You cant even say he was only part of the administration for a short time. Even though white house lawyer ty cobb said exactly that today, to no surprise. Because Michael Flynn was right in the inner circle of the trump campaign. Theres absolutely no question about that. Donald trumps own words prove it. Where is general flynn . Hes around here someplace. [ applause ] incredible guy. How about general flynn. We love general flynn. Mike flynn. I want to thank general flynn for being a great guy. Great man. General flynn, who is here someplace. I love general flynn. Michael flynn, general flynn, is a wonderful man. This is no witch hunt as the president has repeatedly claimed. This is a search for the truth. Following the facts wherever they lead. Even into the president s own family. Cnn learning tonight that Jared Kushner himself, the president s soninlaw, directed flynn weeks before the inauguration to contact the Russian Ambassador about a u. N. Security council vote on israeli settlements. That is according to sources familiar with the matter. Heres a timeline of flynns contacts with russia. December 22, 2016. General flynn asks Russian AmbassadorSerge Kislyak to postpone that Security Council vote. December 29th. President obama announces new sanctions against russia. And flynn asks kislyak not to retaliate. November 30th, russian president vladamir putin says he wont retaliate against u. S. Sanctions. January 20th, 2017, President Donald Trump is inaugurated. January 24th, flynn lies to fbi investigators about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador. January 26th, then acting attorney general sally yates warns the Trump White House that flynn was lying about calls with kislyak. January 30th. President trump fires yates. February 13th, flynn resigns after misleading Vice President pence about his calls with kislyak. Now flynns bombshell guilty plea has thrown the white house into turmoil. Despite the president s efforts to make the investigation go away. Senator mark warner, the vice chairman of the intelligence committee, saying this today. Youve got this repeated pattern of the president of the United States, who is trying desperately to stop this investigation. Cost jim comey his job, because he wouldnt stop the investigation. He intervened with senators. He intervened with other Senior Intelligence officials. You know, i think the American People and a lot of us ask why is he so desperate to have this investigation stopped . Congressman adam schiff, Ranking Member of the intelligence committee, has a blunt assessment. In your view, has the president lied about what communications his team had with russia . Well, uh, abundantly and frequently and in just about every way. Cnn has learned that Senate Intelligence chairman richard burr suggested that republican senators avoid commenting on the Michael Flynn news. But questions tonight, what was Michael Flynn trying to hide . Why did he lie . And what did the president know and when did he know it . Lets get right now with cnns chief Political Correspondent dana bash, jim sciutto, and evan perez. Theres a lot to discuss this evening. A close source to the white house is saying that President Trump and his team are totally in a bubble, they should be treating this Michael Flynn guilty plea like a red alert. What are you learning about that . Thats reporting from jim acosta. I have been hearing from people in and around the trump orbit today and into tonight that the bubble has burst really . To the point where, at least in the notion that the president is in a very foul mood. Hes clearly very upset about this. That should not be surprising. And even separate from the white house, don, down pennsylvania avenue, because even though its late on friday night, the United States senate is still in session, and senators obviously republicans im talking about here, are on the senate floor saying to each other and saying to themselves, how is this going to end . And most importantly, the question is as much about how the president is going to respond as it is how the special counsel is going to continue this. Because that is one of the big, big concerns. Nobody ever expected the president to fire james comey at the end of january, showing the timeline. Of course, that led to special counsel Robert Muellers appointment and led to where we are today. And although theyre saying at the white house no one is even talking about firing Robert Mueller, you never know whats going to happen. If i was a senator, i would be wondering do i want to be on board with anything we dont know where this is going to end up. Do i want to be on board with approving something thats going to have his stamp of approval on it . Do i want to be lumped into that . I think that is a very legitimate question at this point. Well, it is, except that they now have their i mean, theyve had their own hides to watch for a while. Right. But even more so, the the burning desire and desperation really to get things like tax reform done, which theyre going to do in the next stage in the senate tonight, is even more critical according to i talked to one republican senator tonight, because they even more so have to prove that they can get things done. Even more so have to have a legislative accomplishment, given the political firestorm going on the russia side of this. Jim, flynns guilty plea is the first charge against a person inside the Trump Administration, and now cnn is learning that Jared Kushner was very senior transition member, the one who directed flynn to contact the Russian Ambassador. What do we know about that . Listen, the white house has tried to portray flynn, in these conversations with the Russian Ambassador during the transition, first they tried to portray them as innocent conversations, you had sean spicer, when this was first revealed, saying they were exchanging holiday pleasantries. We know thats not true. Secondly, they tried to portray this as something he did on his own. We know from the statement of offense, thats not true. Because he was very clearly keeping members of that very small Trump Transition Team aware of his multiple conversations with someone we now know is kt mcfarland, National Security adviser to the trump transition, and in addition to that, that he was getting directions on these conversations from a very senior, as was described in the statement of defense, trump transition official, which dana, gloria, and i reported earlier today was Jared Kushner. So there were conversations that Michael Flynn lied about and conversations he was having with the Trump Transition Team that he was having with the Russian Ambassador. So others knew that he was doing that. That belies all what weve heard for months and still were hearing today we didnt know. Whatever he did, he lied to us. Vice president pence said he knew nothing about it. That those stories have all been blown up about what we see in the statement of offense, and thats a real problem going forward. This was a small transition team. The president was a micromanager, involved in many things. Does it stand to reason that the president had no knowledge of these conversations . And crucially, now that flynn is cooperating with the special counsel, is he prepared to say that the president told him to have these conversations . Open question, we dont know. But a very reasonable question. When people lie so much, you dont know what to believe. But usually what you end up believing is none of it. So evan perez, walk us through this. What did flynn admit to exactly . He admitted to really just one count of false statements, but really contained within that one count, don, were four separate lies to the fbi about his conversations with the russians. In addition to that, there is also as part of that statement, a statement of offense that jim is referring to, theres also a mention of his failure to file declarations of being a Foreign Agent for work he was doing on behalf of the government of turkey. There were three multiple filings that he made as part of that, that essentially were false. So really all together, were talking about up to seven lies that are contained in this one count plea that he made, the guilty plea that he made today. We have his statement that he issued right at the end of the hearing today. Ill read part of it, which says, my guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsels office reflect the decision i made on the best interests of my family and our country and i accept full responsibility for my actions. Don, were looking at somebody who served the country for 33 years in the u. S. Military, and he was looking at some really, really big legal bills here, and he decided that it was time for him to cooperate. Evan, i have another question. You have new information about another Administration Official involved, kt mcfarland. What do you know . Just before this happened, we know that kt mcfarland, who was flynns deputy, a former fox news contributor, she had left the white house earlier. She went in for to provide information to the special counsel, don. So even before we knew all of this had happened, all of this information that was contained in this guilty plea, it appears that the special counsel was working very hard to get in people who might have information relevant to what mike flynn was talking about. So we know Jared Kushner came in earlier in november, and we now know that kt mcfarland also came in for an interview with the special counsel. Dana bash, i want to play this moment from general flynn. It was during the rnc. Watch this. Lock her up. Thats right. Yes, thats right, lock her up if i did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, i would be in jail today. All right, dana, listen, a lot of people are say thing is karma. And we can get to that. But we have breaking news i wanted to speak to you about. Were just getting in. According to a senior white house official, says that flynn pardon not under consideration. A white house official says that a pardon for Michael Flynn is absolutely not under consideration. Surprising . Uhh, yes, that they closed the door on this, because the president likes to leave things like this open for himself. But given the severity of this, both legally and politically, its the smart thing to say. As i mentioned, the concern that i was hearing from republicans on capitol hill in particular how the president was going to react with regard to flynn, the potential of a pardon or firing mueller, was and is very real. You just played that clip from Michael Flynn. That was at the republican we were both there convention. I cant believe there was a general saying that at the podium. He didnt just say it there, he said it on the campaign trail all the time. And it was unusual. Apparently, evan was there today. There was somebody holding up a sign that said lock him up. When hes leaving, you can hear on the audio people are screaming lock him up, and if theres any indication that karma is real, it is today. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. When we come back, much more on our breaking news on the Russian Investigation. Michael flynn, President Trumps former National Security adviser, pleads guilty to lying to the fbi. Now hes cooperating with Robert Muellers investigators. How this latest development directly puts trump in legal jeopardy. Is this a turning point . And were keeping an eye on the senate floor. Thats where a vote could come soon on this massive gop tax bill. Directv has been rated number one in Customer Satisfaction over cable for 17 years running. But some people still like cable. Just like some people like wet grocery bags. Getting a bad haircut. Overcrowded trains. Turnstiles that dont turn. And spilling coffee on themselves. But for everyone else, theres directv. For 1 rated Customer Satisfaction over cable, switch to directv. And for a limited time get a 100 reward card. Call 1800directv whats going on . Oh hey thats it . Yeah. Everybody two seconds dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance. Through the Tuition Assistance program, every day mcdonalds helps more people go to college. Its part of our commitment to being americas best first job. Breaking news. The Russian Investigation reaching further into President Trumps inner circle. The former National Security adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the fbi and now cooperating with Robert Muellers investigation. So what is he telling them . Lets discuss now with john dean and carl bernstein. What a day for news, gentlemen. Thank you for joining us. John, a senior white house official is telling our jim acosta that a pardon for flynn is absolutely not under consideration. What is your reaction . Thats certainly the intelligent thing to say, because the only reason he would pardon flynn at this stage would be to obstruct justice. And that couldnt be more conspicuous. So i think thats certainly the safe message to put out there, if hes back channeled Something Else to the general, he better do it quietly. Yeah. Some are saying that maybe they forgot for now, i dont know if it would be prudent for that to do that. Carl, i want to ask you, it feels like we learned so much today. You say we are still only seeing a small part of where this investigation is going right now. What do you think mueller will do next . I dont know. But i think hes going to keep indicting people. He has now gotten a plea from the person who is closest in many ways to donald trump during the campaign, and in the National Security area, who knows the most about what went on with russia, with dealings with russians not necessarily trumps business dealings, but in terms of the campaign, and policy. And i want to ask john dean, bob woodward and i were talking today, and we asked each other, is general flynn going to be john dean . Does he have enough knowledge and was he part of a conspiracy that he admitted, admits to he was a criminal conspirator . Is that what were seeing, john . What do you think . Carl, i certainly think he has enough knowledge. He has more knowledge than i did. He was much closer to trump than i was to nixon. I had like 20 meetings with nixon, 39 total where other people were there. But some 20 one on one, where flynn was meeting with trump throughout the campaign, and throughout the early 24 days of his job as National Security adviser daily and frequently. So i think hes much more knowledgeable than i am. And if there is collusion, if there was a conspiracy, nobody is more likely to know it than he is. Lets talk more about that then, since you have such knowledge of this. Explain the details of this cooperation agreement. Im wondering what flynn is getting and what mueller is getting, because it seems like what he copped to was the lesser of what they could have charged him with. What mueller is getting for john. Im sorry, go ahead. Well, they left a lot on the table. As came up in the last segment, there were seven lies or potential lies that he admitted to that were in the plea agreement. That could have been a sevencount indictment. But there could have been the turkey business where he was dealing improperly. There could have been the failure to register under f. A. R. A. , which he failed to do. There was a lot left on the table. It was a good deal for flynn. And i cant believe that bob mueller is a turkey in the other sense and didnt get a good deal for it. Carl, do you think because theyre hoping to extract so much information from him that he theyre trying to give him the best deal they could possible they could possibly give him so they can get a bigger person or get more information . Because if they shut him down and charge him with all these things, they may be thinking he may shut up. I think theyre playing a very strong hand, that they know they had him and they could send him to jail for a long, long time. He would be in the slam for half of the rest of his life if he was charged with everything that could be on the table. And this is a minimal sentence, if he is willing to cooperate and deliver what apparently he says that he can deliver. But im very interested in another aspect of this, and that is the possibility that the logan act might be in play here. It seemed inconceivable to me for a while, the idea that its illegal to aid a foreign power. Its never been invoked really in modern history. And at the same time, theres some signs pointing that way, and i started to think about nixon, and that nixon, had we known at the time of watergate, what nixon did to undermine the paris peace negotiations, he would have as a candidate for president of the United States, he would have been charged in those articles of impeachment with violating the logan act. I have very little doubt about that. The idea here that what were seeing are attempts by the candidate for president of the United States and his National Security aides, to undermine the Foreign Policy of the president of the United States, and the existing government of the United States, may really be in play here. I think its a possibility. Ive heard some wonder that, but most legal experts i have seen quoted have said they dont believe that the logan does apply. Well see as it plays out. But a very good question. Before i let you go, john, i want to ask you about this. This is a statement from the white House Counsel ty cobb, saying today Michael Flynn, a former National Security adviser at the white house, for 25 days during the Trump Administration and a former obama Administration Official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the fbi. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than mr. Flynn. Listen, i know you were taken aback by this statement. I know why, but explain to our audience. Well, its certainly not candor, and it made me frankly pull out the model code of the aba to look at where the limits are for lawyers and what they can say publicly about their clients. This is right on the borderline. So its a pretty close statement. Not to mention that the Obama Administration warned the Incoming Trump team about Michael Flynn and said perhaps they should not consider him for any post at all. Thank you, gentlemen. When we come back, former intelligence officials and a former federal prosecutor join me to weigh in on what flynns guilty plea means for the investigation. Theyll tell me where it all goes from here and who else could be in trouble. Just look at those two. Happy. In love. And saving so much money on their Car Insurance by switching to geico. Well, just look at this setting. Do you have the ring . Oh, helzberg diamonds. Another beautiful setting. Im not crying. Ive just got a bit of sand in my eyes, thats all. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Everyone deserves attention, whether youve saved a lot or just a little. At pnc investments, we believe youre more than just a number. So we provide personal Financial Advice for every retirement investor. When food is good and clean and real, its ok to crave. And with panera catering, theres more to go around. Panera. Food as it should be. Wifiso if you cant live without it. T it. Why arent you using this guy . It makes your wifi awesomely fast. No. Still nope. Now were talking it gets you wifi here, here, and here. It even lets you take a time out. No no yes yes, indeed. Amazing speed, coverage and control. All with an xfi gateway. Find your awesome, and change the way you wifi. In june, james comey testified under oath that President Trump said to him i hope you can see your way clear to letting flynn go. Knowing what we do now, how does that conversation work into Robert Muellers investigation . Lets discuss. Phil mudd joins us now. Cnn National Security juliette kiyem, who has been predicting todays news for a while now. And robert ray, a former white water counsel and former federal prosecutor. Good evening to all you. Juliette, you predicted a lot of what has taken place, and you predicted that Something Big from mueller, you said around thanksgiving. And here we are. So what does this tell us about the investigation . So despite what i think Trump Supporters will tell you, its really remarkable what mueller has done in six months. Hes gotten two indictments against Senior Members of the trump team, including his former Campaign Manager manafort, a lower level plea arrangement with a campaign adviser, and today, the National Security adviser. Lets say those words again, the National Security adviser for donald trump has pled guilty for a very, very minor offense, right . So thats where this now leads, is that why would he plead guilty to relatively minor offense and why would mueller accept that . Thats because you and i and phil and robert and everyone will be here for the next couple of months determining where the next shoe will drop. Is it Jared Kushner . Is it pence, who sort of has an interesting role right now, or is it donald trump . And thats the way that this has unfolded. But flynn has always been the center of it, because he got fired, because he had so many liabilities against him, and because he really had no other pathway forward as a father, as a person in debt, and as a person who knows a lot. And mueller basically is saving him at this stage. Given what juliette just said flynn is cooperating. Where does this investigation go now . Who is vulnerable . Where does it go . It goes ugly, don. Lets put some time frames in place here. You look at the document that was released today as part of the plea bargain, the prosecution, the phone calls with the Russian Ambassador going to december 29th, a year ago. The conversations with the fbi that involved mike flynn lying. That goes to january. Were now ten months ahead. What do you think happened in those ten months in terms of the fbis acquisition of data to support Robert Mueller and the case against mike flynn . They acquired a ton of data. So why did they decide to drop the prosecution of flynn . Let me cut to the chase . Thats because flynn said i have a lot to offer, and then less than a month ago, investigators go talk to Jared Kushner about mike flynn. Do you think they wanted to know about mike flynn . Or do you think they wanted to know about what Jared Kushner would say about what he told mike flynn . I think where this goes next is questions about whether white house officials are honest in their conversations with federal investigators about what they advised mike flynn to do. And the backdrop to this is that flynn, in cooperating, has already given mueller the information to put white house officials on the hook. This is fascinating and i expect to see more in the next month. Robert, youve been listening to the analysis here and some of the conversations ive been having. What do you think . The last bit, thats nothing in my judgment other than wild speculation about where this goes. The second thing, i disagree with the first point. A federal plea to a false statement is not a little deal. Try being on the receiving end of that. Whether he goes to jail ultimately or not is beside the point. Youre talking about a former three star general, the former National Security adviser pleading guilty in connection to a federal investigation. Thats separate and apart the fact that theres a special counsel investigation involved. Werent there things in there that could have sent him to jail for a longer time . Theres things in there, but they would be things that you would exercise some prosecutorial discretion about. Charging somebody for failing to register representing a Foreign Agent is technically a violation of the federal criminal law, but prosecution in that area is not one that traditionally has been brought. Thats the first thing. The second thing is making false statements on Financial Disclosure forms is a bit of a tricky prosecution to bring, because people have innocent reasons as to why they dont capture everything that should be disclosed on a Financial Disclosure form. This one is different. This one is a false statements charge where the Justice Department knew exactly what Michael Flynn had been discussing with kislyak, because the conversations were recorded. Ive got to get to a break. We only have one hour tonight. But i have to say, in my colleagues defense, both of whom predicted pretty much exactly what has happened now, and you said its wild speculation. But both juliette and phil had said months ago this is where we would be theres no question we were going to get here. I think any reasonable observer looking at things back as far as may understood that two people in this investigation had exposure. Paul manafort and Michael Flynn. Whether anybody else has exposure, no one has speculated about, and no one really knows. Stick around, everybody. Stay with me. When we come back, i want you to weigh in on the president s attempts to shut down the Russian Investigation. Well talk about who he pressured, when, and what it could mean. Were back now. From the very beginning, donald trump slammed the Russian Investigation as a phony democratic excuse for losing the election. But now that his former National Security adviser is an admitted felon, and a number of trumps people with verified russian contact growing, it looks difficult for the president to claim this is all a hoax. Back with me now is phil, juliette and robert. Lets talk more about this. There was some disagreement among you guys where this would go next. Juliette, you say Jared Kushner you believe. I think if you read the plea agreement today and the talk of senior transition officials, that leads to Jared Kushner picking up on what phil said, the fact that Jared Kushner was brought in last month. Look, you can put as robert was saying, you can try to put this into a little box and say oh, its just Michael Flynn and ignore a year and a half of essentially lying by the Trump Administration and the people around him about any contacts with russians. Remember, this began with them saying there were no contacts with russians. So take step back and ask why have they consistently been lying . Its not because theyre afraid of the logan act, let me tell you. Something else is going on. We know Something Else is going on, because flynn has now pled to maybe its not an insignificant crime, but its not as bad as some of the other stuff we heard about flynn, and another shoe, if not two or three will drop, and there are more than hins of it, and you guys are reporting on that, that next shoe may be Jared Kushner. Phil . Lets be clear here. I spent 4 1 2 years working for Robert Mueller. The man is a hammer. He decides not to bring a hammer against Michael Flynn, who is not peripheral here. Why does he not bring all the charges he could bring . I agree, its not clear what those charges could be, but it appears they could have extended into various financial irregularities. Then we learn that flynn flips and finally, the last piece is that after flynn flips, feds go to talk to Jared Kushner and Jared Kushners lawyer says, its not a general conversation, its a conversation about mike flynn. Let me give you where this goes. Why are they talking to Jared Kushner about Michael Flynn . Because they need more information to prosecute flynn . No. They had that last january. Its because they want to see if kushner is going to lie about what flynn has already said happened in his conversations with kushner. I think this is clear. You want to respond . Good luck with that. Jared kushners well represented by abby lowell. The difference is that sofaras i understand, general flynn talked to the fbi without a lawyer, which was obviously the benefit of hindsight a huge mistake. We agree on that. And with regard to Jared Kushner taking on if the investigation decides to take on Jared Kushner, theyre going to be in for a real battle, because theyre taking on the president s soninlaw. In terms of speculation where this is going, on the assumption that Jared Kushner is the very Senior Member of the president ial transition team, what is alleged in the statement of facts is simply that there was a direction to contact officials from foreign governments in december of 2016, well into the transition, including russia, to learn where each government stood on, in this example, the resolution and to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution in connection with israel. Isnt that when the sanctions were placed . Sure, but i guess the question is, whats wrong with that . And even if you even if you have issues about one government at a time and one administration at a time, theres nothing unlawful about that. Go ahead, phil. Ill give robert that. Im going to give robert that. Robert, well give you that. In other words, it was a mistake of jared to try to influence it while president obama was still president obama. Why are they always lying about it . Thats the question that i think i can answer that one. Youve got five seconds. If you can tell me in five seconds. If not, well have to wait. In five seconds, it was politically problematic to be acknowledging contacts with russian government officials. And i think what probably went on, which is the danger of every administration is lying because you think that its helpful to the administration. Thats a problem. Turned out to be a federal felony. Are you going to lie to federal investigators, phil, for something politically . I mean, thats not very bright. Yeah. But this is not a political case. Every person in the seat sits there and says, they dont know what i know, and if i dance around this, im not going to everybody in washington does that. You see it in terrorism cases. And apparently he didnt realize his conversations were being monitored. Thank you all. Weve got another huge breaking news story. The senate expected to vote on the massive gop tax bill. Phil mattingly has more. Good evening to you, phil. Its incredible this is still going on. Whats happening . Reporter only a matter of time, thats what one gop senator told me, that theyre going to get this done. But don, this has been a remarkable day. This morning, republicans knew they had the votes to move this forward. About an hour and a half ago, they actually had a final bill. The idea that they are about to pass something that literally will affect every single individual, every single industry, every single company, and just a few hours ago got ahold of the bill itself, is remarkable. However, its worth noting, this also underscores whats been going on over the course of the last two months up here. The political imperative for republicans to move forward on this, to have a legislative victory, to have a victory and a tax overhaul, has overcome Everything Else thats going on. The big issue right now, as they move towards the final vote should be around 1 30 or 2 00 a. M. At the current pace. People are finding out whats inside the bill. People are starting to read the bill. Democrats are seizing on specific provisions. They talked ant about a particular carveout for a particular college. Republicans have changed the language since that time, to try and broaden out that carveout. But the interesting thing is when you only have the bill for two hours before you vote on it, the odds are, youre going to find a lot more of those issues in the days and weeks ahead. Still, republicans are on track right now to pass in the u. S. Senate a tax overhaul, something that hasnt been done in 31 years. That is a huge step for them. Something they will have to complete by reconciling two different versions of the house. Theres no question about it, theyre almost there to a major legislative victory. Phil mattingly, thank you. We appreciate it. When we come back, the president or family . Looks like general flynn picked his son over the president. Im going to ask Fareed Zakaria what he thinks about that. Thats next. phone maddie. You have everything you need right inside you. 9 out of 10 u. S. Olympians grew up drinking milk. Its got natural protein and balanced nutrition to help your kids grow strong and milk life. Give a little bit give a little bit. Hello. Give a little bit. Of your love to me oh, haha. Theres so much that we need to share so send a smile and show that you care ill give a little bit of my love to you this after americas former National Security adviser pleads guilty about lying to the fbi about conversations with the Russian Ambassador. Michael flynn and his wife went to visit his son and grandson in virginia. Michael flynn jr. Who went to russia with his father in 2015 was a target for investigators early on. What happened during those conversations that compelled Michael Flynn sr. To lie . Fareed zakaria is here, host of Fareed Zakaria gps on this network, cnn. Before i get to that, can i ask you about the white house saying pardon is off the table for Michael Flynn. I think one of the way mueller has constructed the case is going in a careful way and indicting on specific issues. He has made it hard for the white house to obstruct the investigation or to issue pardons. So notice the count for flynn is lying to the fbi about contacts with a foreign government. It would just look very bad for the white house to pardon somebody for that. This is not a minor infraction. This is a pretty important thing. You know, how can the chief Law Enforcement officer of the country, the president , pardon somebody for lying to the federal agents . Yeah. So lets talk about Michael Flynn jr. And Michael Flynn because this move was his move was widely interpreted as the only way he could possibly guarantee that his son avoided jail time or didnt get further, you know, into this than it was. Flynn jr. Tweeted today, family is the most important thing in life, dont ever take yours for granted. Thanks, everyone, for your support. It was quite a decision that Michael Flynn sr. Faced, right, his son or the president . Absolutely. When people talk about it as a minor it is a single count and things like that, look, it is a felony charge. He never will be able to vote again. This is a man who was the National Security adviser of the United States, three star general. He never will be able to own a gun in his life. Theres all of these things that go along with being a felon. So it is a big deal. Any one of us who has, you know, children knows it is a nobrainer in the sense of the tradeoff you would make for your children, but i think that the larger policy issues remains, you know, lets not forget what this is all about is the is, you know, the continuing conundrum as to why the Trump Administration was trying to be so nice to russia. So when it happened, what happen, the question is why was it during the campaign, after the campaign, in the transition, after the transition that they were trying to be nice to russia. All right. So then why . Why . Why would they lie about this, especially i think thats thats the part thats the core question. That looks fishy, which is they were trying to be uncharacteristically nice to russia of all countries in the world, and every time they forgot to mention the contacts on forms, they lied about it to federal officials. The white house lied about it publicly. Why . We have time for the Fareed Zakaria sound byte with jake tapper . You heard fareed talking about the core issue, and i guess that is why are they lying. Basically many people saying theres much more to come. This is sort of the beginning. Some people say, oh, this is the end, theyve got Michael Flynn, thats all they have. This is the beginning. One would have to assume, if you think of mueller as a careful prosecutor in the way that your previous guests were describing him, if this were the end presumably he would have thrown the book at flynn, and there were a lot of things that could have been thrown, some of them minor, some of them maybe not so. The fact with flynn he chose this one charged suggests what flynn you know, what flynn is giving in return are bigger things. So it is very unlikely this is the end. Now, where it leads i think none of us know. But as i say, you just have this extraordinary pattern of having, you know, tried to change policy toward russia, then lied about contacts with russia, long island to the fbi about russia, and, of course, the president tried to dismiss the investigation. Lets remember what he told james comey when he called him in was, i hope you can let flynn go, hes a good man. You can see it. And then when comey seemed resistant thats when he fired him. So the whole thing, if there isnt something there, it is the most bizarre case of trying to coverup a noncrime. As i was reading at the top of the show, just the timeline of what would take place, you know, someone would say something, something would happen and then this action would take place. It is just odd behavior, it is odd. Thank you. Always a pleasure. Dont miss cnns Fareed Zakaria gps sunday at 1 00 p. M. Eastern. Well be right back. When food is good and clean and real, its ok to crave. And with panera catering, theres more to go around. Panera. Food as it should be. Well, tonight voting is underway for the cnn hero of the year. Here is one of this years top ten heroes. His name is aaron valencia. Custom cars, set me and my life in a whole different directions. I started smoking meth at about 14. About 15, the first time i ever shot heroin. Robbing and stealing. The judge committed me to a year of drug treatment. I walked into rehab and never looked back. My life completely changed. I opened up a small shop. You came here to work . Thats what i like to hear. Kids were kind of gravitating towards the shop to see what was going on. How are you . It was like, lets have them come here and they can learn a trade, learn a lesson, learn something to better their life. Taught us like to put the wheels on there. He inspired me because i always wanted to be a mechanic. We cater to foster, at risk and low income youth in the community. Were not looking for perfection, just better than yesterday. Im just trying to be someone who sees where theyre at right now and what theyre going through, and offer a bit of stability. If any of you guys ever thought maybe youre out there in the world alone and nobody has got your back, a lot of people got your back right now. Theyre learning theres somewhere positive. It was a win for all of us. Well, vote for aaron, any of your favorite top ten cnn heroes. You can do it at cnnheroes. Com. Make sure to stay tuned for Anderson Cooper and kelly ripa. That special cnn heroes that will air later on this month. Thats it for us tonight. We thank you so much for watching our coverage, our special coverage continues now. Jim sciutto and pamela brown, they will be live for you in washington. Im don lemon. Make sure you have a great weekend. This is cnn breaking news. This is a cnn special report, the russia investigation. We are following breaking news this evening on the most consequential move yet by the special counsel, reaching for the first time into President Trumps inner circle. Im pamela brown. Im jim sciutto. Tonight fired National Security adviser Michael Flynn is cooperating with investigators after striking a deal and pleading guilty to repeatedly lying to the fbi about his contacts with russia. We are putting the pieces together this hour with our correspondents and analysts who have been leading the way on this story. Michael flynn is the first senior white house official to