shocking. we stress this is uncorroborated information coming from an anonymous source and nbc news does not know who the writer was nor whether they were in a position to witness what they say transpired. the president has previously called the writer a gutless coward and questioned whether the person even exists. joining us from washington, d.c., white house reporter for "politico," meredith mcgraw. great to have you back with usion this hour. i want to discuss republicans here for a moment and the reported plans to combat the impeachment inquiry, the strategy keeps shifting almost week by week. the people they are looking to annex have been all selected by the president at one point, very loyal foot soldier, the jim jordan, the mark meadows of the world, how do you think this strategy will play out? >> republicans are trying to undermine the testimony that's gone on, on capitol hill, and by focusing on these people, they're saying that they acted on their own, they didn't act on behalf of president trump. and it raises questions about