february. we're getting new nfc about the search now that stephen breyer has made his retirement plans official. and a strange courtroom drama unfolding. michael avenatti acts as his own attorney, examining stormy daniels and former ally against donald trump. she's accusing him of theft and lies. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> let's get state to the bankruptcy. cnn just learning new details of the phone call between president biden and ukrainian president zelensky. a official tells us that the call, quote, did not go well. with the two leaders disagreeing about the risk of a russian invasion. that comes as the pentagon said it has seen for buildup of russian forces in the last 24 hours. we're covering all angles of this story with cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. our senior correspondent sam kiley is in the ukrainian capital of kyiv and diplomatic editor nic robertson in moscow. jim, let's start with you. what are you learning about this phone call? >> reporter: well right now the white house onnior ukrainian of quoted by our colleagues. this is an on the record statement from emily horn, spokesperson for the national security council saying anonymous sources are leaking falsehoods. president biden said there is a distinct possibility that the russians could invade ukraine in february. he's said this publicly and we've been warning about this for months. reports of anything more or different from that are completely false. so an usually straightforward statement here. not disputing sort of the characterization, but straight out saying that characterization of a difficult phone call that somehow went off the rails is straight up false in the words of white house. as you said, wolf, the description from a senior ukrainian official to our colleague matthew chance have been that the president used phrasing along the lines of prepare for impact and in attack may be imminent and that kyiv could be this. is that my understanding is that the u.s. intelligence assessment of the chances of a russian invasion have not changed. they've been consistent for a number of weeks here. that there is a strong possibility of russian military action in february. this is a combination of things. including the weather there, the ground will be frozen and it would allow heavy armor to cross the border an that assessment has been there for sometime. i've been told by those briefed on the the intelligence that the timing of mid-february and the real seriousness of an attack has been the assessment for sometime. so what the white house is saying tonight is, yes, that word imminent is one they've used but it is no more imminent today than the assessment was a week ago or a month ago. so, a tale of two different assessments of that phone call i think we could say safely today. >> very contradictory. let's go to the ukrainian capital, what are you hearing? how imminent an invasion could be? >> reporter: that does seem to be a very serious public disagreement. at any rate, because for some days since the first recent use before this phone call of the term imminent by the u.s. president, the ukrainian president, mr. zelensky, kax out on facebook and and other broadcast media in order to reassure hisopulation and say don't panic. it isn't imminent. it could be weeks away. his defense minister has gone on to say that they don't anticipate any attack imminently. stressing that the position of russian forces which are building up, not only in russian territory, but also in belarus and that there are plenty of exercising in the black sea and elsewhere. but all of this was not yet in a war making posture. they weren't getting into the position of being ready to attack. and yet this -- then they've just come out with this phone call version of the phone call coming from zelensky's office to matthew chance saying that the president said an attack is virtually certain and that kyiv could get sacked. that is if -- if that is the case, if that is the way that the americans are characterizing it, then it is an increase in a sense of their levels of concern. but as jim is saying there, ultimately the intelligence picture coming from the united states and i've been talk people elsewhere in europe and trillion dollars community and there is a strong feeling that there is a strong possibility of a russian attack among intelligence sources. therefore it is probably imminent. but the ukrainians trying to downplay it somewhat. >> let's go to moscow now. nick, you're there on the ground for us. russia, as you know, has repeatedly denied it plans to invade ukraine. what is the most recent word from officials from sources there? >> reporter: yeah, certainly the perspective from here will be that if there is division between washington and kyiv, then that is to russia's advantage. and some of what our colleague matthew chance has from his source there, who was -- has knowledge of that phone call, seems to indicate that president biden in part essentially telling the ukrainian president that there will be nothing that the united states will be able to do to support ukraine if there were an invasion. so from the russian perspective, from president putin's perspective, that kind of pressure on ukraine to make whatever concessions russia wants them to make, like to say they don't want to join nato, is exactly the sort of thing that president putin wants to see happen. but russia's stated position has been despite these military training exercised going on and the continued buildup, that they have no intention of invading at all. but the real perception is the analysis that we have from the foreign minister today and the written response from the united states does not address the core concerns that ukrainian should be denied access to nato. that is an indicator that there is a track of diplomacy at the russians feel is shut down. there is a small area where they think on secondary issue they could have communication. but does this mean that russia is arriving at that divide in the road and i think we're going to get an indication of that in the next few days, wolf. >> it is surprising that ukrainians are pushing back on the u.s. so publicly here? >> yes. in the simplest terms, yes. here is the piece that is more understandable. ukrainian president, officials, they've got a country to run right now. with a lot of human beings in there who might rightfully be fearful of these predictions and they don't want panic. they don't want people to be crowding into airports and driving out of the country overnight. so that is understandable. and that difference in messaging is one that white house officials understand. you have two different audiences to speak to here. the other piece i would say is this, any time you have intelligence, particularly when it involved a former kgb agent who is now the president of russia, these are imperfect intelligence assessments that people could look apt the same intelligence and the u.s. has shared its intelligence with ukrainians and come to different conclusions. and one of the hardest people to read in all of this is vladimir putin, by descrign. so you could have different interpretations of same intelligence, but the officials have different jobs. the president of the u.s. has a different job in terms of the president of ukraine speaking about the nature and imminence of the threat. >> sam, you're there in ukraine. are the ukrainians downplaying this threat in order to keep their citizens in kyiv where you are and elsewhere calm? because by the latest estimate, there mie be 130,000 russian troops at the border? >> yes. and those estimates, wolf, are ukraine estimates that have gone up. recently we've heard from the u.s. that they believe, they've seen evidence of a build up of yet more russian troops in the last 24 hours. but here in kyiv, you wouldn't know it. this first of all i think it is important po note, as you well know, that the ukraine was invaded by russia, the crimea was seized in 2014, 2015 and the dunn bass region has remained under the tutelage of russian backed rebels ever since. there is supposedly a cease-fire there. so people are used to conflict. they just see an escalation as somewhat frightening. >> we're going to stay in close touch with you. this is a very dangerous situation. thanks very much. just ahead, there is more news we're following here in "the situation room." president biden announcing he'll nominate justice breyer's nominee by the end of february and will pick the first ever black woman to serve on the u.s. supreme court. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." welcome to the next level. this is the all-new lexus nx. with intuitive tech... 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[echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ tonight president biden is putting the nomination of the first black female u.s. supreme court justice on a fast track. he revealed his timetable during the formal announcement of stephen breyer's retirement. let's go to kaitlan collins. the president said he expects to make his choice by the end of february. what are you learning about this search? >> reporter: right now making that choice is still in the very early stages, wolf. of course today was just the first time president biden acknowledged that, yes, justice breyer does plan to retire after he announced it and hand delivered a letter to president biden here at the white house. and this is kick starting the search process. and we're told that the president's team could begin reaching out to potential nominees as soon as next week. you'll see the staff level meetings happen before they sit down with the president one-on-one as he weighs his options here. though he did say today he already has some qualifications in mind for who he wants to pick. retiring supreme court justice steven briar handing a coveted opening to president biden tonight. >> i'm here to -- >> nearly 30 years after biden provided over his confirmation hearing, the president announced breyer intended to retire at the end of this serve. >> you would never think that he served decades on the court and would you be president of the united states in the day he came in to retire. >> reporter: breyer talking about endurance of the american spirit. >> when i'm talking to the students, i want you to pick justice up. it is an experiment that is still going on. and i'll tell you something, you know who will see whether that experiment works. it is you, my friend. >> reporter: biden is promise to make history he said it long overdue. >> i've made no decision except one. the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. >> the president planning to name the nominee in the coming week. >> it is my intention to announce my decision before the end of february. i have made no choices at this point. >> reporter: there is a search already underway. >> i'm going to invite senators for their points of view and consult with leading scholars and lawyers and i'm fortunate to have have advising me vice presiden eyes turning to the black female jurist seen as the most likely candidate. >> he's been reviewing bios of potential candidates, that is something that eve been doing since last year. >> reporter: once biden makes his pick, the push moves to capitol hill where joe manchin is supporting a nominee that is more liberal than he is. >> it is not too hard to get more liberal than me. so it would not bother me having a person who is sound in their thought process and sound in their sourcement of justice and the rule of law. >> reporter: the white house firing back after mitch mcconnell said biden, quote, must not outsource this important decision to the radical left. >> if anyone is saying they plan to characterize whoever he nominates after consideration with both parties as radical before they know anything about who she is, they just obliterated their own credibility. >> mcconnell saying this on biden's pick. >> the president nominates, whoever that may be, a fair look. >> reporter: and both this vacancy was a much needed jolt for the white house that has had a string of bad headlines. they got another one today when it comes to the economy. it grew in the fastest rate at 1.3% gdp growth in the final three months of 2021 putting that expansion at 5.7% overall for the year. >> very impressive economic numbers. kaitlan collins at white house. thank you very much. let's get more on all of this. our legal and political experts are joining us. jeffrey, what stood out to you the comments were made at this announcement today? >> well you know, this public very care rarely gets a chance to see supreme court justices and i thought it was great the public got to see the chipper professor stephen breyer but he talked about the american experiment and he quoted the gettysburg address where lincoln questioned whether any nation could long endure. so even though biden sounded optimistic, i thought he was really issuing a warning about the tate of american democracy. something worth listening to. >> of course. and abby, the president, he reiterated that he will not nominate a black woman to the u.s. supreme court and that will come within in a month or so. is he setting the tone that he wants to act decisively anr the american history. but do you think that his timing, his timeline is a little bit more extended than perhaps some democrats might have wanted. there has been a lot of talk on capitol hill about the timeline set forth from amy coney barrett in the trump years which was after she was named about a month, but biden is himself is going to about a month to decide, he said, on a candidate. and he said he's going through the process deliberately. so while i think democrats are on a relatively fast timeline for this, biden sent the signal today that he's got not going to cut corners when it comes to vetting this person. he will read their briefs and consult those on capitol hill and legal experts and extol ari -- scholars and he was trying to thread the line but not feel like he is rushing through the process. >> you've seen ketanji brown jackson in action. what makes her such a standout in this group of truly incredibly qualified women? >> well, wolf, i covered a hearing in front of judge jackson a few years ago. over the dispute of the subpoena of don mcgahn. she showed the skills to be among the absolute upper tier of that group. she asked questions that were incredibly probing and incisive. she had such an impressive grasp of the facts and the law better than the lawyers in the case. she ran a courtroom where she was very much in control. yet at the same time she created an atmosphere that's with cordial and professional. that is a very difficult balance to strike. so she shown a really rare set of skills an capabilities and i think that will serve her well on any level of the federal bench and make her difficult to attack from conservatives or republicans if she is the nominee. >> very strong vote of confidence in her. abby, some of the most influential in congress are lobbying for their preferred candidate but are others taking a more hands off approach? >> yeah, this is a period of intent lobbying. there are some very powerful forces pushing not jung cat angie brown jackson, who everybody agrees is the front-runner for a number of reasons, but another judge, coming out of south carolina, where i happen to be right now, judge michelle childs who is backed by jim clyburn, a top ally of president biden's. and then you also have the congressional black caucus, that is comprised of a lot of lawmakers who have a number of candidates who are being considered who they are pushing for. one of the names that i am hearing a lot from progressives is cheryl eiffel who is a prominent civil rights attorney and someone who i think a lot of democrats on capitol hill and in the activist world really would love to see strongly considered but at the end of the day, i think everyone understands this is president biden's decision and also that the politics of the situation are so difficult that the decision might be made based on whether or not this individual can get enough votes to be confirmed. >> yeah. jeffrey, the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is warning president biden not to, quote, outsource this important decision to the radical left. so far it doesn't seem like the right is gearing up though for a knock down, drag out fight over this, does it? >> well you could be sure that the judicial committee hearings with ted cruz and josh hally will be an addition to the nominee. they will not be -- themselves at all. but it certainly does seem like that 50 votes in the senate and the -- judge jackson having received 53 votes when she was confirmed just a few months ago. she looks like a very easy nominee to confirm. >> we'll know within a month. guys, thank you very much. coming up, there is growing consensus among experts that the u.s. is beginning to turn the corner in the fight against the omicron variant. we'll have more on all of the late breaking pandemic developments right after this. super fast. so we could finally buy our first "big boi house." big boi house. big boi kitchen! big boi waterfall shower! big boi crawl space. big boi sold sign, big boi logo. realtor.com to each their home. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. >> are you ready to start a great career? 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yes or no. ? >> thank you, again, senator. so, you know, yes or no questions are not that -- that easy to find in science. >> reporter: democrats walked out on a confirmation hear for the republican's governor's pick for surgeon general. >> it is interesting to hear the surgeon general say that he's being guided by science but then at the same time said that mask wearing is an extreme measure. >> reporter: in new york, sarah palin recorrecting the cdc isolation guidelines. two days after testing positive tor covid, she's spotted eating outdoors at a raufrpts. she also ate inside of the same restaurant while unvaccinated. a violation of city rules, two days before she tested positive. and, wolf, the head of one of the largest schools districts in the nation, prince george's count public schools in maryland, doesn't foresee an end to masks in class any time soon. she said there is no magic number when it comes to vaccinations, that would put an end to certain safety protocols. this is the debate that is really fuelling a lot of emotion on both sides in districts across the country. >> it certainly is. alexandria field, thank you for that report. let's discuss with dr. paul offit, a member of the advisory committee and director of vaccine education at the children's hospital of philadelphia. doctor offit, as you heard, dr. tom friedman told me last night, he's more optimistic than at any point since the pandemic began two years ago. do you share that optimism? >> i do. i think there are two things working against this virus right now. one is population immunity. so about 90% of people in this country have either been infected or vaccinated or both. that is good. two is we're moving into warmer weather but realize that this virus is very good at finding people who are susceptible. which is to say unvaccinated people. so virtually all of the hospitalizations and deaths are in people who are unvaccinated. so it is still important to be vaccinated but i do think we're getting there. >> that is encouraging. a new study from the united king found that 66% of the infections were reinfections. people getting covid twice now. what does that tell you? >> it is what you would expect. if your infected with this kind of virus, the muk ossal virus, you can get reib fected which is to say you could have mild symptoms but immunization or against severe disease that causes to you go to the doctor's office or the hospital or the icu, this is what you would expect. i think the biggest mistake we make communications wise was months ago when we labelled those kind of infections as breakthrough infections. it is okay if you've been vaccinated or naturally infected, it is what you would expect from this kind of virus. >> that is important, indeed. just two days ago it was revealed she, sarah palin, tested positive for covid and now spotted dining outdoors at the same restaurant where she flouted the vaccine mandate. how dangerous would you say that kind of behavior is? >> when you're a celebrity, and sarah palin is a celebrity, you are -- people look up to. and therefore i think you have to be -- show that you are behaving well. and most people do that. most celebrities know that, they know people are looking up to them. but not all. so unfortunately that kind of behavior not only puts her at risk, but at some level others at risk if she's tested positive and she's interacting without mask. >> because she could spread that virus. indeed, dr. paul offit, thank you very much. just ahead there is more breaking news we're following. an armed standoff appears to be ub folding in houston. looking at live pictures right now. where a suspect who police say shot three police officers is now barricaded inside of a home and believed to have multiple weapons. some of my best memories growing up, were cooking with mom. she always said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com (burke) with farmers auto multi-policy discount, the more policies you have with us, the more you could save on your auto insurance. 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mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. there is more breaking news we're following right now. on the shooting of three, three police officers in houston. we're getting new information on the suspect right now. cnn's rosa flores is in houston. working the story for us. first of all, what are you learning? >> reporter: well, wolf, according to the houston police department, three officers have been shot. now they were brought here to memorial herman hospital in the texas medical center, that is the hospital that you see behind me. you could see that there is a lot of police activity here. we actually just saw top brass going into that hospital and we're expecting a press conference with more details in about 20 to 30 minutes. now i just heard from the houston police union president that these officers each received one gunshot wound, one was shot in the arm. the other in the leg and the other in the foot. and now the mayor of houston, sylvester turner tweeting these are nonlife-threatening injuries, that these officers are in stable condition. now about the suspect, how we got here in the first place. according to the houston police department, there was a shooting in midtown part of houston, now we do not have a lot of details about this suspect. but we have learned that he has barricaded himself in a home. this is after he led -- he fled the original scene in a white mercedes. again, we do not know all of the details. but according to the houston -- to the president of the houston police union, he does say that this individual is barricaded in a home and based on the video that we've been able to see from our cnn affiliates and you're probably able to see some of this video, you could see that vehicles including houston police department cruisers with gunshots, with the windows shot out. so there is a lot of details and a lot of questions that we're hoping to ask at this press conference that we're expecting here in the next 20 to 30 minutes. wolf, but i should add that this is just days following the shooting and killing of a harris count precinct five corporal, just days ago, wolf. i was just at a press conference earlier today as that -- the suspect was captured in mexico. and here we are again here in houston with three police officers shot and we're hoping to get more details here in the next 20 to 30 minutes. >> we will check back with you for sure. rosa flores on the scene for us in houston. let's discuss what is going on with cnn law enforcement analyst the former philadelphia police commissioner and former d.c. police chief chief ramsey. thank you so much for joining us. as you heard, the suspect has already shot three police officers, he's believed to have multiple weapons. how dangerous is this standoff right now? >> well, it is incredibly dangerous. i mean he's already shot three police officers. we don't know what he did prior to the encounter with the police. and now if he is in fact heavily armed, barricaded in the home, that is certainly a very dangerous situation. hopefully there is no one inside of the home with him. i don't know if that is the case or not. i'm sure that the s.w.a.t. team and the negotiators are trying to find out exactly what is going on right now. but if they have him located and isolated, at least they have him pibbed down and we'll see how it unfolds. >> so what do they do next? >> they're going to try to contact him, that is the first step to have some kind of negotiation to get him to come out peacefully and wait him out. again, a lot of it depends on whether or not he's holding hostages, if he's in there by himself, is he heavily armed with firearms, does have he any explosive devices. there is a lot of unanswered questions but they're trying to make contact so they could talk to them and get a better sense and a better feel and try to get him to surrender. >> thankfully the three police officers that were shot are in stable condition. but this is a reminder of the danger police officers face each day and in recent days and weeks we've seen so many police officers around the country shot. >> yeah. yeah, it is not good at all. i mean, your reporter just mentioned a corporal galaway that was murdered in the line of duty and tomorrow the funeral of officer rivera in new york and officer mora who just passed away. his funeral will be happening shortly. so it is not a good situation. this is only january and i believe we've already had like 25 instances of police officers either being shot or shot at. >> it is a terrible situation indeed. chief ramsey, thank you so much for joining us. we'll continue to watch what is going on in houston. we'll stand by for the news conference as well. coming up, the disgraced former attorney michael avenatti is representing himself and cross-examining stormy daniels who accuses him of stealing her money. stand by. we'll have more on the courtroom drama when we come back. it's ae trading experience. that pushes you to be even better. and just might change how you trade—forever. because once you experience thinkorswim® by td ameritrade ♪ there's no going back. ♪ limu emu and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? 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[ kimberly ] i feel so much better. i feel energized to go outside and play with my daughter. i can ate anything. like, i don't have to worry. clearchoice changed my life. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. breaking news we're following. we're keeping a very close eye on a potentially very dangerous situation in houston where police say a suspect who shot three police officers has barricaded himself inside a home with multiple weapons. the officers are in stable condition. we expect an update from authorities in the next half hour or so. stay with cnn for more on the story as it develops. also tonight we're learning new details about the hours of testimony by a former top aide to ex-white house chief of staff mark meadows. our senior legal correspondent paula reid is working the story for us. paula, what have you learned about this latest testimony? >> ben williamson is a top aide to mark meadows. ben was a frequent presence around the trump white house when i was covering it and he was actually in the west wing on january 6th. now, to give you a sense of how close he was to former president trump on that day, the house select committee in its letter to ivanka trump asking her to cooperate in their investigation actually cites a text message ben sent detailing his efforts to get then president trump to do something to stop the violence. now, former white house staffer elissa farrah confirms that she sent the text message referenced on page 6 of the letter to ivanka asking ben is someone getting to potus? he has to tell protesters to dissipate, someone is going to get killed. now, williamson is only identified as a white house staff member in the letter, but we have confirmed he is the one who replied i've been trying for the last 30 minutes. literally stormed in outer oval to get him to put out the first one. it's completely insane. so, wolf, it's clear why williamson is exactly the kind of staffer the committee wants to talk to to better understand what was happening in the white house on january 6th, and these efforts to get the former president to do something to stop the violence. now, williamson testified for about six to seven hours on tuesday, fielding questions from congressional investigators. during his testimony, we've learned he did not invoke his fifth amendment right, and that's notable, because several other former officials and top trump allies have invoked the fifth, including alex jones, roger stone, and conservative lawyer john eastman. now, a source familiar with ben's testimony tells cnn his interview covered the story behind trump's video address telling rioters to leave the capitol hours after the initial reports of violence as well as mark meadows' conversations with the former president and members of congress. and williamson's testimony may prove significant. as his long-time boss, mark meadows, continues to stonewall the committee. congress voted to refer him to the department of justice for criminal contempt of congress but they have yet to file charges. >> paula reid, thank you very much. we're also following the criminal trial of lawyer michael avenatti accused of defrauding his former client, the porn star stormy daniels. avenatti himself grilling her as she testified today. cnn's kara scannel is outside the courthouse in new york. tell us, kara, about this face-off. >> reporter: wolf, it was only about ten minutes of one-on-one questioning and avenatti opened by asking stormy daniels a question they heart of this case. prosecutors say that avenatti had stole $300,000 from daniels as part of a book advance. daniels had testified for three hours questioned by the prosecution in which she said that according to this deal and this agreement, which the prosecutors put up on a screen for the jury to see, that she was going to pay him $100. that he would deduct expenses from some online crowd fund-raising effort and that if they had agreed that avenatti would receive a reasonable percentage of any book deal. daniels testified they never did reach an agreement so avenatti's first questions off the bat to her was asking if she had any text messages, emails, voice mails or recordings of avenatti actually saying that. she said she didn't. she had previously testified that michael avenatti had told her he wouldn't take a penny from her, that she was an american hero. she also was testifying about the arrangements, how this came to be that she first met michael avenatti at the waldorf astoria in beverly hills. they had reached this agreement, and then she had got her book deal. she said she was so excited when she received that first installment of this payment that she screamed so loud that she frightened her bodyguard that was with her. she then testified and read some text messages that she exchanged with avenatti, some in dramatic fashion expressing the frustration that she had that she wasn't getting these payments. prosecutors say avenatti had these payments and did not disclose them to her. >> we'll see what happens tomorrow. kara scannell, thank you very much. just ahead, i'll take a moment to share some personal thoughts on this holocaust remembrance day as the world honors the lives of millions of juice slaughtered by the nazis, including members of my own family. 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"erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next, president biden tells the president of ukraine that russia could invade in weeks, as we have exclusive new satellite images tonight that reveal putin's military tonight is on the move. some significant changes there. and the president's team expected to meet with potential supreme court nominees in the coming days. biden recommitting to making a historic nomination. cnn learning tonight tha