Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20191210

Democrats have a sweeping new deal with mexico and canada as they tried to remove him from office, does the democrats just give the president a political win. Im wolf blitzer and youre in the situation room. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Were following breaking news. For only the fourth time in American History the house of representatives has drafted articles of impeachment against the president of the United States. They accuse donald trump of abusing the power of his office by trying to get ukraine to investigate his political rivals and obstructing congress in its efforts to investigate the matter. And there is new information just coming in about the impeachment timeline. The Judiciary Committee now said it will begin formal consideration of the articles tomorrow evening. Well talk about the breaking news and more with congressman eliot engel, the chairman of the Foreign Relations committee and our correspondents are standing by. First straight to the capitol and manu raju joining us. Manu, a historic day up on capitol hill that sets the stage for the president s impeachment so what happens next . Reporter exact action to happen quickly in the house. Tomorrow formal impeachment proceedings to take up those articles of impeachment will begin in the house Judiciary Committee in the evening. The 41 members of the committee will each deliver Opening Statements detailing why they are for or against the impeachment. Expect those arguments to come down along party lines. And then thursday, this is when the votes will occur in that committee. There is amendments and republican amendments to change or undercut the articles of impeachment. Democrats will beat back virtually all of the amendments and then the committee will vote to approve the articles of impeachment. Once the Committee Approves it it will go to the full house to move forward and almost certainly next week the democrats will have the votes to impeach the res on two counts, one abuse of power and the other obstruction of Congress Related to the president s handling of relations with ukraine and allegations he leveraged his office to push the country to open up investigations to help him politically. Today when democrats made that historic announcement chairman of the house Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee made the case to voters they had no choice but to move forward. The House Committee on the judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment charging the president of the United States, dond j. Trump, with committing high crimes and misdemeanors. We must be clear. No one, not even the president , is above the law. Some would argue why dont you just wait. Why dont you just wait until you get these witnesses the white house refuses to produce. Why dont you just wait until you get the documents that the white house refuses to turn over. Why dont you just let him cheat in one more election . Why not let him cheat just one more time . Why not let him have foreign help just one more time . Reporter now behind the scenes there is a debate for several days about whether or not to add a third article of impeachment on obstruction of justice detailing the allegations in the Mueller Report that shows the president sought to undercut that investigation. Im told that nadler advocated for article of impeachment on obstruction of justice and others did but there were concerns by going that route they could lose democratic support from freshman members concerned about going that route and wanted to keep it focused instead on the ukraine matter and ultimately nancy pelosi sided with the decision of focusing on the two articles of impeachment and which is why they are moving foerds forward on those and the votes will come in days. And youre learning there is disagreement about how long the senate trial should go. What is the latest . Reporter yeah, behind the scenes there are discussions about how long the trial should take place. Mitch Mcconnell Senate majority leader wants that to happen quickly. He wants it to be done and after opening arguments in january that is when they would move to dismiss the overall charges and that requires a simple majority of 51 senator to vote to dismiss but were hearing from white house that President Trump wants a longer trial. He wants actually something that would allow him to bring in witnesses, allow republicans and democrats to hear from various witnesses. That he believes would exonerate him. But that is something that a number of republicans are eager to avoid. Because they are concerned it could turn into a side show of sorts, a distraction. It could drag things out. Undercut what the Senate Agenda is the republicans want to focus on. And ultimately too, wolf, the question of whether or not there are enough senators agreeing to call the witnesses from coming forward. They need 51 senators to agree on anything and one republican senator told me today, mitt romney and he is, quote, an open mind when i asked if he would vote to convict the president. So there are some senators who want to hear the testimony, hear the evidence before they do anything else. So that is something theyll have to sort out behind the scenes before they decide how to proceed on the senate trial, wolf. Manu raju up on capitol hill. Thank you. President trump certainly has had plenty to say about the articles of impeachment. We expect to hear more from him later tonight. Our chief White House Correspondent jim acosta is joining us. The white house clearly knew this was coming. Reporter that is right. The president is on the way to a rally in pennsylvania where the white house said he is likely to respond to the articles of impeachment announced by House Democrats but the president had one other notable item on his agenda and perhaps the irony of all ironies, he had a meeting with the Russian Foreign minister here at white house and he visited the white house the same day mr. Trump took another step toward impeachment. There was no pressure whatsoever. Reporter with with the president now facing two articles of impeachment in the house, said say he is cleareyed about what lies ahead. A vote to impeach almost certain in the house and a trial to come in senate where the white house could call their own witnesses from the biden family to the whistleblower. Hes not relieved but we did expect this. We want it to be fair. If this in fact moves to the senate as we think it will, it needs to be fair and thorough. Reporter the president started lashing out from social media bunker tweeting to impeach a president who has Proven Results including the strongest economy in our countrys history to have one of the most suck ceaseful presidencies ever and done nothing wrong is sheer madness. Mick mulvaney who has been barred from testifying in the house said it is up to the president to decide who will participate. Well do whatever the president wants us to do. If the president directs us to do it, we will. If he directs us not to. We wont. And that dodgy answer is why House Democrats decided to move forward with articles of impeachment without the blockbuster witnesses and Rudy Giuliani to mike pompeo. The argument why dont you just wait amounts to this why dont you just let him cheat in one more election. Why not let him cheese just one more time. Why not let him have foreign help just one more time. That is what that argument amounts to. Reporter the white house strategy had been to paint democrats as donothing lawmakers. That is much tougher now that nancy pelosi is giving the green light to the administrations new usmca trade deal. There is no question, of course, that this trade agreement is much better than nafta. But in terms of our work here, it is infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration. Reporter just as House Democrats were accusing the president of pressuring ukraine to dig up dirt on the joe biden, the ghost of 2016 wh arrived the white house, lavrov and who didnt answer when asked if the russia will interfere in 2020 . [ inaudible ]. Reporter at a press conference lavrov denied moscow meddled in 2016 which is false. Translator weve highlighted once again that our interference in the processes in the u. S. Are baseless. There are no facts that would support that. Reporter pompeo politely warned lavrov not to try it. We will take action in response. Reporter now that the impeachment process is likely to move forward in the senate, lawmakers have a log jam in the making. Senate republicans expect to conduct a trial after the new year and before moving to pass the usmca trade deal which means one of the president s top domestic priorities will have to wait for weeks as his administration hangs in the balance. And as for the president s meeting with the Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, the white house put out a readout of the meeting a short while ago and just the last few minutes the white house said that the president did warn the Russian Foreign minister not to interfere in the 2020 president ial election. Of course, wolf, the president s critics will say he should have done that four years ago and now it is too little, too late. Wolf. Jim acosta at the white house. Joining us now eliot engel of new york, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee. Thanks so much, congressman, for joining us. As you know this is a historic day in the United States. How did you decide on the two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of congress . It was a consensus. The feeling those were the two strongest items and add to something that could be easily explained so the decision was made to go with two. Could have been three or any amount. But everyone felt that this was the best way to move forward. Privately were told the house Judiciary Committee chairman jerry nadler was advocating for including a third article, obstruction of justice, part of the making three articles of impeachment reflecting the findings of the Mueller Report. You said today that democrats are better off not including obstruction of justice. Just tell us why. Well, i think there is some concern about the clarity of it. Whereas as the other two articles that we went with were certainly Crystal Clear and easy to understand. And then it was just a better way to prepare and a better way to move forward on this. The Judiciary Committee, they just announced, will begin considering these two articles tomorrow at 7 00 p. M. Eastern. What are you expecting from that process . Well, of course, it is a lengthy process. It is probably going to go way into the night. But that is the process. And that will finish by thursday were told and well come back next week and that is when well vote on the articles of impeachment. So you think that the full house of representatives will have a vote by the end of next week at some point . I would imagine so, yes. Youve kept these two articles pharaohly focused, mostly completely on ukraine but do you still expect moderate democrats to break and vote against these two articles of impeachment . I dont know. I would hope we would have some middle of the road republicans who would break and vote for the articles of impeachment. But what was brought up and what is in these articles is really a horror show and not anything we should take for granted or look the other way and think it is equal to Everything Else were doing. I wish there would be some help from the other side because were not talking about political parties, were talking about the future of our republic. And i think that is what is pornlts important to all of us. A small group of vulnerable democrats are pushing for censurin steed of impeachment. Does that reflect the fear of losing their seats as result of this . Every person has to decide for his or herself what they are going to do. I generally think that if you feel a certain way, you make that vote and you explain it to your constituents and i think that every other person elected could do the same thing. So each one has their own decision to make and their own set of criteria. And again, i hope that everybody searches their soul. Wolf, this isnt a happy time. Not a happy time for our country. It is a very, very serious time. And that is why we thought that to just let this go happen and not do what we did would be detrimental to our form of government, detrimental to our country and we think we had to act the way we did. The white house just released a readout of the president s meeting in the oval office today with the Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying the president warned him about election interference here in the United States. Are you encouraged, mr. Chairman, by that . Well, i dont know how encouraged i am. Im kind of chuckling a little bit because we all know the russians were involved in the last president ial election and we know that President Trump seems to like mr. Putin and kind of believes what the russians say. I, on the other hand, dont believe anything that the russians tell us. They have showed time and time again that they the only trust you could get from them is they want to try to sabotage anything that the United States does. So the old shakespeare line, we think the lady doth protest too much. I think they doth protest too much. And they concluded the russian interference in 2016 and it was to sow political consent. Mr. Chairman of new york, thank you for joining us. Thank you, wolf. Up next, President Trump lashes out at his handpicked fbi director. Is Christopher Wray on thin ice because he accepted the findings of a watch dog report that undercuts the president s conspiracy claims about the russia investigation. With new creations to choose from; like rich, butterpoached Maine Lobster and crispy crabstuffed shrimp rangoon. How will you pick just 4 of 10 . It wont be easy. Better hurry in. Long before i had moderatee, to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Ive always been the ringleader. Had a zest for life. 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The report said the bureau acted properly when they opened the russia investigation. Brian todd is working the story. There is new reaction from the fbi director to this report. We just learned that Christopher Wray recorded a video message to the fbi rank and file about this Justice Department Inspector General report on the russia probe. Wray, according to an fbi official, reiterated the bureau did properly open the russia investigation but did say they would address some mistakes made. This comes as director wray finds himself the latest target in what has become Donald Trumps ongoing war with the fbi. Reporter President Trump vents his anger at another fbi director. In a twitter broadside today, the president saying i dont know what report current director of the fbi Christopher Wray was reading but it wasnt the one given to me. With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the fbi which is badly broken. A reaction after wray spoke how pleased he was that the Inspector General found the Russian Investigation was properly launched and there was no political bias influencing decisions in the probe. Wray brushed back on the president s claims that some in the fbi were part of a deep state conspiracy against him. I think that is the kind of label that is a disservice to the 37,000 men and women would work at the fbi who i think tackle their jobs with professionalism, with rigor, with objectivity and with courage and i think it is an affront to them. Reporter but wrays boss, william barr, triple down on the investigation. They kept on investigating the president. And well into his administration. After the case collapsed. Reporter trump had some notorious public battles with fbi directors and other bureau officials. He fired his first fbi director james comey after clashing with him over the russia investigation. Comey, lies and leaks. Hes a liar and hes a hasselbacker. Reporter then accused comeys replacement Andrew Mccabe and james baker of being out to get him. He repeatedly eviscerated former fbi agent peter strzok and lisa page who had a relationship with each other. Accusing them of being part of a cabal of trump haters inside of the bureau after their personal texts critical of trump were made public. Lisa page, who was forced to leave the fbi, and her lover peter strzok, who we got their Text Messages and what they said in those Text Messages was shocking when you talk about bias. Reporter in one tweet trump called comey, mccabe and strzok and page clowns and losers and wonder if the fbi will recover its once stellar reputation. Biographer said the president doesnt tolerate being challenged by those around him. It doesnt matter if it is a spouse telling the truth about his infidelity or a Law Enforcement officer trying to do his duty. The right thing to do where donald trump is concerned is to serve him. Any other duty is superfluous and hell be angry at you and really try to destroy you if you cross him. Reporter tonight analysts are concerned that trumps repeated attacks on fbi directors and their aides have serious security consequences. When the president is denigrating the fbi, hes hurting it as an institution, hes hurting the reputation with the American Public and that harms that is bad for its National Security in Law Enforcement mission. Reporter cnn has reached out to the white house to ask if trump has or will ask Christopher Wray to resign as fbi director. White house officials told us they believe that is unlikely but they acknowledged trump could act without warning. We should point out the Justice Department Inspector General report said there was Political Support for trump within the fbi. It said after trump won the presidency in 2016, one fbi agent messaged another saying it was like watching a super bowl comeback. Wolf. Brian todd reporting. Thank you very much. Lets gettin sight from the fbi General Council jim baker. What do you think is motivating the attorney general of the United States bill barr to publicly and very force my contradict the results, the conclusions of the Inspector Generals report . At one level this is all very confusing and i cant really fathom what the attorney general is up to. On another level, at the end of the day, this is all about power. This is about the president maintaining his power, maintaining his status in office as president of the United States. That is what is going on with respect to his claims about the russia investigation and that is what is going on with what he tried to do in ukraine. That is as hes trying to stay in power and i think his administration wants to make sure that that happens and so it is reacting to anything that seems to be critical of the narrative that the president and others have created over the past couple of years. Watch this, how the attorney general william barr questions the opening of the russia investigation. The basic official version is that we thought the russians were hacking into the dnc and on july 23rd wikileaks dumped dnc mails. Then a foreign official comes in and said back in may this guy said something in a bar to me. It was a suggestion. A suggestion. And before they even interviewed that person, they opened the counterintelligence investigation on the whole campaign on the idea that this must reflect preknowledge of the hack. Im saying that when you actually look at the surrounding circumstances that was a bridge too far. I mean it wasnt reasonable for them to assume that. And the proper response was to talk to the campaign. You were at the time the fbi general counsel, was that how it happened. No, that is not how it happened. What we were worried about was russia. It is not about donald trump or the campaign. It was about the fbi obtaining foreign intelligence information to thwart the activities of the russians to interfere with our elections and to otherwise harm the United Statesment the fbi has been focused on russia for decades. That is what this was about all the way through. And so these claims that were somehow obsessed with or focused on undermining the president or trying to overthrow him or cause a coup or Something Like this is all just bologna. Now you were there i was there. I was one of the people involved. I was one of the people making the decisions and coy tell you that we were focused on russia, we were not focused on what the president was doing or whether his or his political fortunes. He was in private practice. You were there. And they repeated the claim that the trump the Trump Campaign was spied on by the fbi. When you hear that, what is your reaction . That is just false. To use those kind of terms as a technical matter given how the attorney general tried to explain it and i sort of of get what he said but it makes no sense and denigrating to the efforts that we undertook and if that is the case that americans are being spied on all of the time by bill barr Justice Department and the fbi because they engage in foreign counterintelligence investigations and Counter Terrorism all of the time using the same technics. Jim baker, thank you very much for coming in. Thank you. And stay with us for more on todays historic breaking news. The housin veils two articles of impeachment against the president of the United States. Its time to make mopping history. Introducing the new braava jet m6 robot mop. With an adjustable Precision Jet spray and advanced pad system braava jet breaks up messes and gets deep in corners. Braava jet. Only from irobot. So wim searching for info on options trading, and look, it feels like im just wasting time. 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Lets discuss with our experts. Ron brown stein, what does it say that the ukraine scandal push pushed democrats to this point. It is easy to forget the democratic leadership scotched the idea of impeachment but the ukrainian behavior was so egregious if they did not make a clear statement against this, knowing this president , knowing the way he understands weakness he would go further. And even if they impeach him and in both chambers they will defend things further beyond the boundaries. And one of the most significant things was not the articles of impeachment that we saw but the one that we didnt see. Despite reports that jerry nadler and others were advocates for an article related to mueller, the leadership decided not to do this. They wanted it clean simple narrative. And do you think that is a decision they might end up regretting in parts for the reasons that ron just mentioned which is that we have clear and convincing and if a lot of cases undisputed evidence that the president obstructed justice but the house decided not to impeach that will have longterm ramifications in terms of the message they are saying to future president s about what is acceptable conduct. And abuse of power and obstruction of congress. It was a political decision. I dont want to lose the socalled front liners, 31 31 districts that trump carries. 31 members who didnt get elected saying they wanted to impeachment and didnt want to impeach after mueller and were nervous about this and i think nancy pelosi wants to return after the next election as speaker of the house. And so they decided to make it narrow. And, by the way, are you hearing a lot of complaints about that . No. Im not. Agree with gloria, the two articles were designed, wolf, for consensus. The speaker knows how to count votes. There are 231 democrats excuse me 431 and she needs 216 votes. As long as she has those and if they could kick this to the senate and get it off their plate, that is the topic how do you make the case this is not about politics, this is about a solemn boundary on the president and make very obvious political calculations. I do think that undercuts the message that the speaker has been trying but susan, the one thing i dont think theyre saying that the president didnt do other impeachable conduct. Theyre not saying that the Mueller Report they agree with the attorney general there was nothing wrong but simply saying we are able to move forward as a caucus with these two articles. The problem is you cant make a neutral statement by not impeaching him they are saying but they want to win. If they impeach, they will win the votes. And hell be impeached. And when clinton was impeached the republicans advanced four articles to the floor and two were voted down. Only two went on. So they could have done it it that way and try to satisfy everybody to allowing a vote on the floor on the broader ones but they made as decision as david said to maximize consensus within the party and the fact is at the end of the day, it sure looks like he will become the third president impeached. I understand your argument. I understand it and there is a part of me that agrees with it but the other part of me said wait a minute, a. , they had to win. B. , they know that republicans are united and dont think they wanted to put articles of impeachment on the floor that would be voted down or not get a unified or almost completely unified democratic caucus. On the Political Considerations that might be right but there is no credible way to make the case that is the constitutional function for the house to be applying. That is an important point. We have a lot more we need to discuss. Much more on the breaking historic news right after this. Its easy to move forward when youre ready for what comes next. At fidelity, we make sure you have a clear plan to cover the essentials in retirement, as well as all the things you want to do. And on the way, youll get timely investment help to keep you on the right track, without the unnecessary fees you might expect from so many financial firms. Because when you have a partner who gives you clarity at every step, theres nothing to stop you from moving forward. Who gives you clarity at every step, wean air force veteran made of doing whats right,. Not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa were back with our experts. Gloria, the president had time to invite the Russian Foreign minister to the oval office and a statement by the white house said he warned interference in the United States elections. Well, there you are. Better late than never, wouldnt you say. And well see what mr. Lavrov has to say about his conversation with the president. I mean, it is not surprising that the white house would put out this statement saying the president really gave it to him this time. And if, in fact, he means it, there is the deterrent, the act that marco rubio and cory gardner and Chris Van Hollen are sponsored in the senate, both parties that would impose automatic severe sanctions on russian if they intervene again in 2020. Mitch mcconnell has refused to add a vote and it doesnt look like it will happen and the view in the senate is it is being held because the administration doesnt want it to go forward. If he doesnt want to send a clear message to russia, he has a vehicle to do so at his finger tips. But we dont know whether or not the president said this because he excluded u. S. President from the room and once again met with lavrov a russian official at least there werent russian photographers there. Without having the transparency and credibility and letting the kremlin shape the narrative or put people in a position in what we are not sure what was told. And this is the second meeting for lavrov before zelensky, the president of ukraine, has even had his first meeting. So in some ways this is the president sort of thumbing his nose on the very day hes being impeached that is the message. The message is whatever i said or didnt say is toothless because i give multiple meetings to lavrov while president zelensky, a. , doesnt get a meeting, and also, what is so urgent that the president of the United States needs to meet with the Russian Foreign minister on the day impeachment articles are coming out . It is a little reminiscent of the president talking to zelensky the day after the mueller testimony. And this goes back to what we were talking about before, susan, i know your point about the democrats but the bigger point is the president is a student of weakness and if every republican in both chambers said this behavior is okay, i see nothing here to sanction, they could be assured that they are going to get more of it and get behavior that is perhaps more extreme and theyre going to wake up some point down the road, six months or 12 months and if he is reelected 18 months defending things they couldnt imagine becauser interpreting that they will defend him no matter what he does. I agree with you. But i believe weve already crossed the rubicon on that. There is more news. A shocking new investigation by the Washington Post exposing years and years of lies and failed promises about the war in afghanistan. Tech dont wait for a chip like this to crack your whole windshield. With safelites exclusive resin, you get a strong repair that you can trust. Plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. Customer really . singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Long before i had moderatee, to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Ive always been the ringleader. Had a zest for life. Flash forward then ra kept me from the important things. And what my doctor said surprised me. She said my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage. And enbrel helps relieve joint pain and helps stop that joint damage. Ask about enbrel, so you can get back to being your true self. Enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. Serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. Tell your doctor if youve been some place where fungal infections are common or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Visit enbrel. Com to see how yor joint damage could progress. Enbrel. Fda approved for over 20 years. Im finding it hard to stay on a faster laptop could help. Plus, tech support to stay worry free. Worry free. Boom boom get free next business day shipping or. 1 hour instore pick up shopping season solved at Office Depot Officemax or officedepot. Com. Creais back at red lobster. Ast with new creations to choose from; like rich, butterpoached Maine Lobster and crispy crabstuffed shrimp rangoon. How will you pick just 4 of 10 . It wont be easy. Better hurry in. Hour 36 in the stakeout. Limu emu doug as soon as the homeowners arrive, well inform them that Liberty Mutual customizes home insurance, so theyll only pay for what they need. Your turn to keep watch, limu. Wake me up if you see anything. [ snoring ] [ loud squawking and siren blaring ] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. phone ringing a phones offers big button,ecialized phones. And volumeenhanced phones. , get details on this state program. Call or visit and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. phone ringing get details on this state program call or visit also tonight, a bombshell series of investigative reports in the Washington Post exposing heartbreaking truths about the u. S. War in afghanistan which has claimed some 2,400 u. S. Lives and cost nearly a trillion dollars. The post said over three administrations, george w. Bush and barack obama and now donald trump, the u. S. Failed to deliver on its promises and officials routinely lied to the American People about the war. Lets bring in our security correspondent jim sciutto. This is truly a bombshell. So heartbreaking. Tell us more, jim. Yeah. Wolf, and i know you agree i think the documents bare reading by every american. The afghan war is the longest war and a thousand have died and a trillion dollars in u. S. Taxpayer money have gone there and what we learned from the papers is a Campaign Across multiple administrations of both parties to mislead the American Public on the essential question of whether the u. S. Was or even could win the war. Reporter officials lied to the American Public about the afghan war since the beginning, 18 years ago. The objective to conceal widespread fears that america was losing. The post says its obtained more than 2,000 pages of documents. Some part of a lengthy government report called Lessons Learned and that quote, several of those interviewed described explicit and sustained efforts by the u. S. Government to deliberately mislead the public. They said it was common at military headquarters and the white house to distort statistics to make it look the United States was winning the war when that was motte the cno. It included more than 600 people with first hand war experience. It includes memos from Donald Rumsfeld who wrote six months after the war began, i know im a bit impatient but the fact that russia and iran have plans for afghanistan and we dont, concerns me. He ends the note with help, exclamation point. Hes quoted in the report saying we were devoid of a fundamental understanding of afghanistan. We didnt know what we were doing. Were looking at something that calls into question not only are military operations but also is a dishonor to the sacrifices that have been made by the servicemen and women in afghanistan over these years. This is an inexcusable way to run things. Reporter its reminisce sent of the pentagon papers. They were first made public in 1971 when they were published by the new york times. Its similar to what happened with the pentagon papers because a strategy is being called into question. The rosy picture thats being painted is not the real picture on the ground. Reporter to date the u. S. Has not carried out a come prehence iive accounting of how much it went in the war. The government spent or appropriated between 934 billion and 978 billion according to an inflation adjusted estimate. 90 of what the u. S. Spent was over call. The post obtained the documents from the freedom of information act after a three year request. Monday it was said theres been no intent by d. O. D. To mislead the u. S. Or congress. Most of those speak did so with hindsight. The military spent decades following the lies how they taught commanders or account for success in the cawar. Its remarkable to see similar problems happen yet again. I suspect there could be some horrifying news as far as that is concerned. Thanks very much to you. Thanks to the Washington Post. Theres more breaking news werenology in the situation roo room. Arms of impeachment against President Trump have been unveiled and were learning the next key steps in the process will begin tomorrow. K. 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So were in this little town near salerno and everyone has dads eyebrows. Help your family discover their unique story, with a gift from ancestry. Happening now, breaking news. Impeachment charges. President trump is accused of high crimes and misdemeanors becoming only the fourth leader in this country to face articles of impeachment. House democrats may take the next step even more quickly than expected. William barr is speaking out refusing to accept the knew finding that the fbi was justified and unbiassed in opening its russia investigation. Why is he publicly contradicting his own departments Inspector General . Trump hosts russia. As the president facing impeachment on charges he invited election meddling by yun crane hes been meeting with the kremlins top diplomat. Did they discuss russian interference in 2020 . We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and an the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Were following breaking news on the new articles of impeachment against President Trump accusing him of