>> jordan sondland said the beginning of december he presumed there was a quid pro quo. then there was a telephone call on september the 9th. had he ever talked to you prior to that telephone call? >> let me just tell you, i hardly know the gentleman. >> he has done that before. i heard that before. i don't know the guy. anyway, of course, this is the first time the president has used the i hardly knew him defense to minimize his ties to people who may pose a threat to him. >> james comey, i hardly know the man. i'm not going to say, i want you to know. >> i never mitt him. >> i don't know putin. >> i don't know matt whitaker. he worked for jeff sessions. >> manafort has nothing to do with our campaign. >> that's why they have a ricoh charge. who loves to pull this, set it up like this? they have everybody doing what they want them to do but they can deny all the relationships. >> one thing we've also seen through trump's presidency is that when he tries to use this