Sh issue. First time they have r had interesting way to take over the magazine. That does it for me. Hardball starts now. Crime and punishment. Lets play hardball. Today Paul Manafort, the president s campaign. Facing years in a u. S. Prison. Whatever you choose to call it, it is past. For a year and a half our country has been contorted into a reality tv show. This is the day we discovered
reality bites. Good evening, i am chris matthews. Heading into round one now. Investigation is underway at a courthouse just across the potomac. He is facing 18 counts of tax evasion and bank fraud. Charges that predate his time on the Trump Campaign. If found guilty, he could get up to ten years in prison. Facing similar charges in Federal Court in washington. Manafort joined the Trump Campaign in march of 2016. Manafort did work overseas. He also had Business Ties with russia. And he took part in that Infamous Trump tower meeting with russians. Where the Trump Campaign was promis promised damaging
full house set to vote this week on impeachment. as senate democratic leader chuck schumer laying out his vision for the senate s all-but certain impeachment trial. he wants new documents and testimony from a number of administration witnesses, including mick mulvaney. that s different than the plan top republicans are putting forward, featuring a short trial with no witnesses. joining us here, princeton university historian and professor, julian zelizer. good morning. good morning. what mitch mcconnell said to shaean hannity and lindy lindse graham. partisanship is trumping over triumphing over governance. and so far what the republicans are signalling, they re not open to a trial.
week. both parties are keeping watch on their members for defection and advance of the vote which is expected before congress goes into recess on our around december 20th. that s when the recess is so we are expecting a vote before that. joining me now is senator chris van hollen. thank you for being with us. mitch mcconnell told shaean hannity that he s incomplete coordination with the white house and republican positions in the house are the same as those in the white house. he s essentially, you may call it leaving the jury. talk to me about this. it is not unexpected, it seems that the idea that the senate votes to hold a trial seems like the outcome may be predeterminepredetermin predetermined. it is very alarming. it is only expected in this upside down world we find us in right now because what you got
known. as far as what i have known about it. if i did not know anything, it is none of your business anyway. that s a flash back to june 27, 2018. shaean hannity enforced the hirg of his friend, bill shine. there were reports that hannity lobbied trump to hire him. bill shine is out and resigning his position. why now? according to vantty fair, trump has been not shining on him for months. trump needs someone to blame for his bad press. there is also another potential reason, shine s resignation came after days jane mayor, examines
him of that statement. they re reminding him that building the border wall was his key campaign promise, so you have some of his allies like ann coulter, shaean hannity on the r waves saying he s caving. he s folding, he s giving in to his last best chance of getting funding for the border wall. the question is will the president go in that direction or will he risk shutting down the government over christmas, which is going to carry its own political risks. so he s really caught between two bad options here. i can tell you that as this day started, some of his allies,ed members of his base were bracing for him to sign that cr. they were infuriated. they were lashing out. now it seems as though the tide may be changing. but again, we aren t hearing from president trump specifically about whether or not he s going to sign that cr. so a will tlot of unanswered qus at this hour. here s the thing, i thought just a few days ago the president said he could get his border wall money from ot