it is not a news flash that staffers pitch stories to journalist but mccue said she was just a stenographer for miller. >> sara sidner, thanks. follow me on facebook and twitter and instagram. our coverage on cnn continues right now. happening now, breaking news. pivotal week. house lawmakers prepare for live impeachment testimony from nine key witnesses. just added to the roster, a diplomatic aide who overherd a key call from president trump and in a letter to democrats nancy pelosi now accused the president of the united states of extortion and bribery. willing to testify? president trump tweets that he would strongly consider offering written testimony in the impeachment inquiry as he did in the mueller investigation. at the same time house attorneys are now looking at whether the president lied to the special counsel. trump's health.

the president sparks a medical mystery with a sudden trip to walter reed hospital that he insisted was part of his annual physical but sources say his visit was far from normal. and kim's cold shoulder. north korea vents frustration saying kim jong-un is, quote, no longer interested in denuclearization talks with president trump. is the dictator really prepared to walk away? i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. we're following breaking news. a ninth person just added to the list of witnesses slated to give live televised testimony this week in the impeachment inquiry. diplomatic aid david holmes testified behind closed doors on friday that he overheard a call between eu ambassador gordon sondland and president trump in which the president pressed for an update on whether ukraine would investigate his political rivals. house speaker nancy pelosi has just sent a letter to her democratic colleagues saying,

and i'm quoting now, the facts are uncontested that the president abused his power for his own personal political benefit. at same time house lawyers are investigating whether president trump lied to the special counsel robert mueller in written answers he provided in the russia investigation following public revelations that roger stone's trial. we'll talk about the breaking news and more with congressman ro khanna of the oversight and armed services committee and our correspondents and analysts are standing by. first straight to capitol hill. our senior correspondent manu raju is on the scene for us. manu, the state department aide that overheard a conversation between president trump and the u.s. ambassador to the european union will now be testifying in public this week. how problematic, potentially, is his testimony to republicans who are strongly defending the president? >> reporter: well he could certainly undercut the testimony in defense of the president and the president was only concerned

about corruption in ukraine because according to what we've seen from david holmes' testimony he gave behind closed doors on friday, that he made it very clear from his conversations that the president was only concerned about one thing as it came to ukraine and that country should announce an investigation into the president's political rival joe biden. now he did testify that he heard this july phone call, overheard it between gordon sondland the ambassador to the european union and the president which the president was asking about the investigations, an investigation into the bidens a day after the president himself had a conversation with the ukrainian president, in which the president of the united states also raised the notion of that investigation into the bidens and then according to the opening statement that we obtained it said that the ukrainian president would do anything you ask him to and that sondland had confirmed that the ukrainians would, quote, do the investigation, and sondland later told david holmes that the president only cared about the, quote, big stuff. big stuff meaning the investigations into the bidens. now this all comes in a pivotal

week of testimony. now nine witnesses are coming before house intelligence committee starting tomorrow and then on wednesday gordon sondland comes as well. where there will be a number of questions from democrats in particular who want to push gordon sondland to revise or at least provide more information that he did not provide behind closed doors about those interactions with the president. and already some democrats are contending that gordon sondland misled the committee when he talked to them behind closed doors. >> sketchy. this is a guy who had no diplomatic experience and had a lot of money and did what donors do, he bought his way into an ambassadorship. and by all accounts, what he wanted to do was please the president. >> reporter: and they'll be more questions for gordon sondland after tomorro's testimony. including on the two different panels and testimony tomorrow where there are four witnesses, two in particular say they raised concerns directly with gordon sondland about some of the things that were going on

and tim morrison who served on the national security council in the white house made clear in his testimony that gordon sondland approached the ukrainian official and discussed the notion of tieing the investigations to the announcement of the security assistance that the ukrainians had been seeking and he said in his testimony, morrison did released over the weekend testimony, he relayed that the president was giving him instruction on how to move forward. so we'll hear that testimony in public tomorrow from tim morrison and as we hear from a number of witnesses. we'll talk about the president's actions, talk about gordon sondland's actions and we'll have to answer questions about whether that security aid of nearly $400 million was tied to this ask that could help the president politically, wolf. >> manu, thank you very much. we'll get back to you. let's go to the white house. our chief white house correspondent jim acosta is monitoring developments. president is taking a different tone now on the impeachment inquiry. what is the latest. >> reporter: that is right.

president trump is floating the idea that he will somehow cooperate in the impeachment inquiry saying he's considering the idea providing written testimony. now democratic aides say they're not taking that idea seriously. but the president is also back to attacking the witnesses in the inquiry. this time taking aim at an official working under mike pence. this is a tactic that has already triggered some anger in the president's own party. tossing out a shiny new bright object president trump is dangling the possibility he might provide written testimony in the impeachment inquiry tweeting, even though i did nothing wrong i like the idea and will in order to get congress focused again strongly consider it. that was in reaction to what appeared to be an offer from house speaker nancy pelosi. >> if he wants to take the oath of office or he could do it in quiting. he has every opportunity to present his case. >> reporter: but here is the problem. the has dangled this possibility during the russia investigation. >> i would love to speak. i would love to go. nothing i want to do more

because we did nothing wrong. >> reporter: after months of haggling the president ended up submitting answers to questions in writing. in a special counsel robert mueller stated in his report mr. trump stated on more than 30 occasions he doesn't recall or remember or have an independent recollection of information called for by the questions. add to that attorneys for the house of representatives now say they are investigating whether the president lied to mueller about not remembering aspects of the russia probe. >> it is a crime to lie to federal prosecutors in the course of a federal proceeding. that is perjury. >> reporter: the president is also back to attacking witnesses in the inquiry taking aim at jennifer williams an aide to mike pence who told lawmakers mr. trump's phone call with the leader of ukraine was inappropriate. the president didn't like that and tweeted, tell jennifer williams, whoever that is, to read both transcripts of the presidential calls and then she should meet with the over never-trumper who i don't know and mostly never heard of and work out a better presidential attack. the president's swipe at williams came on the heels of the tweet directed at marie

yovanovitch. >> what effect do you think that has on other witnesses willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing? >> well, it's very intimidating. >> reporter: the big question is what, if anything, republicans will do about it? the one house gop member said he was alarmed by the attempt to link military aid to political dirt. >> the president the united states shouldn't in the original phone call be on the phone with another country and raise his political opponent so this is not okay. >> reporter: they are considering asking ron johnson about what he knows about the president's actions. johnson discussed the matter with the president said the entire issue should not have been exposed. >> having this all come out into public has weakened that relationship, has exposed things that didn't need to be exposed. >> and also hanging over the president is a medical mystery as white house officials are not offering any details about mr. trump's sudden trip to walter reed hospital over the weekend.

the white house said it was a routine checkup as part of the annual physical but sources told cnn the trip did not follow the usual protocol calling mr. trump's visit abnormal. now the president will be back to keeping an eye on the impeachment inquiry as the public hearings get underway. mr. trump's fellow republicans are hopeful he will cease his targeting of administration officials who are testifying as one trump campaign source told me over the weekend, about the president's attacks late last week, it was not a, quote, good day for the gop. wolf, there are a lot of republicans who feel like that backfired, wolf. >> indeed. jim acosta, thank you very much. let's get more on this. joining us now democratic congressman ro khanna of california a member of oversight and armed services committee. congressman, thank you for joining us. and tomorrow kicks off a very busy week of public impeachment hearings. what are democrats hoping to accomplish as the house interviews the next round of nine witnesses tomorrow,

wednesday and thursday? >> we hope to get further corroboration for a story that is very simple. this president has pressured zelensky to announce investigations into joe biden and he withheld aid if zelensky didn't do that and now we're seeing corroboration and even seeing that the president admitted this in a phone call with sondland. all of that evidence needs to come out. >> they've just told us, the committee, that david holmes, the counselor from ukraine who overheard the phone conversation with the president and ambassador sondland will testify before the cameras on thursday. what do you hope to achieve then? >> wolf, i think that is explosive. he's going to recount based on the public reporting the president's phone call that he overhe over -- overheard that the president is admitting he wanted to focus on the biden investigation. the republican argument this is hearsay don't hold water because anyone in law 101 knows that a

defendant's admission is admissible evidence. that does not constitute hearsay and holmes is going to testify to that. and by the way, taylor has verified that holmes told him about the conversation when it happened. >> ambassador sondland also on the other san die-- on the othe phone conversation will appear before the committee on wednesday. he's had to revise his testimony earlier deposition at least once. should sondland, if necessary, and decides to plead the fifth or refuses to answer questions, should congress offer him immunity in exchange for his full testimony. >> yes, we should. and i'd be surprised if he doesn't plead the fifth given how much he has to revise, but what we know to know is what did he speak to donald trump about. he could provide further verification for the phone call that holmes overheard and talk to what trump ordered him to do. but i do think he is a significant criminal liability risk and we should provide him

immunity. >> in light of the conclusion of the roger stone trial last week the house is investigating whether or not the president lied -- lied in his answers to robert mueller. do you believe the president lied to mueller and, if so, will democrats include that in the articles of impeachment. >> yes, i do believe he lied and so did bob mueller. bob mueller in his testimony to one of the members of congress said that the president generally was not truthful. now it is becoming increasingly clear that the president had knowledge about these wikileaks. there is evidence suggesting that he actually engaged in conversations about the timing of those wikileaks. so this is something that should be included in the articles of impeachment. the president misleading the congress in not being honest is an impeachable offense. >> let me read to you a statement that the speaker nancy pelosi released today in a letter to democratic colleagues. she said among other things, she said this, the facts are

uncontested that the president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security interest. do you agree with her? >> i do. and what is surprising to me is that you don't have more republicans agreeing with this. larry prief had a great op-ed calling this president the anti-president and he's the opposite of what the founders envisioned. someone who is abusing his office and using his office for personal political gain and compromising national security and the facts are so obvious and yet it seems there remains republican resistance to considering those facts. >> so is it a good thing if the president provides written answers to your questions. >> it would be a good thing if he was forthcoming but i think this is a distraction. he said he would sit down with mueller and he never did and then provided selective written answers to selective questions so i think he's just trying to grasp at straws and distract from the news cycle. obviously we would welcome his

testimony. but i'm dubious about his intentions. >> congressman ro khanna, thank you for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. up next, more on breaking news. democrats add another name to the list of witnesses who will testify on camera during this week's historic impeachment hearings. we'll take a closer look ahead at what is shaping up to be a really critical week. and, enjoy a different deal every weekday. like endless shrimp monday four-course feast wednesday and more. just fifteen dollars til 6 pm. it's five days. five deals. fifteen dollars. see you before six. wwithout it, i cannot write myl tremors wouldname.xtreme. i was diagnosed with parkinson's. i had to retire from law enforcement. it was devastating. one of my medications is three thousand dollars per month. prescription drugs do not work if you cannot afford them. for sixty years, aarp has been fighting for people like larry. and we won't stop.

join us in fighting for what's right.

my moderate to severe i ulcerative colitis.ing but i realized something was missing... me. the thought of my symptoms returning was keeping me from being there for the people and things i love most. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira can help get, and keep, uc under control when other medications haven't worked well enough. and it helps people achieve control that lasts so you could experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira.

with humira, control is possible. when we were looking he wanted someone super quiet. yeah, and he wanted someone to help out with chores. so, we got jean-pierre. but one thing we could both agree on was getting geico to help with renters insurance. ♪ yeah, geico did make it easy to switch and save. ♪ oh no. there's a wall there now. that's too bad. visit geico.com and see how easy saving on renters insurance can be.

we have breaking news. a key week in the house impeachment inquiry house just announced a ninth witness testimony, david holmes who overheard the ambassador gordon sondland's phone conversation with president trump at a ukrainian restaurant. holmes will testify thursday. let's ask our experts and our analysts about what they're expecting this week. and gloria, what are we going to learn? >> well you talked about mr. sondland, we're going to hopefully learn who was directing him on ukraine policy. clearly he was the trump whisperer in this group of people. he was in the meeting on may 23rd in which the president said from the oval office, talk to rudy. and we'll have to hear why mr. sondland did what he did. and the question everyone is asking, of course, is he going to throw the president under the bus. or what explanation will he

give? will he say, for example, that we were all just trying to figure out a way to get around rudy giuliani who was the person standing in the way of getting that important aid to ukraine. we'll hear from a few people who were on the original -- listening in on the july 25th phone call so they'll be able to tell everyone in the country what it was that they heard and whether or not they thought it was a beautiful and perfect call like the president. >> or was he trying to please the president? this was a donor. paid a million dollars to become ambassador. he really wanted to be doing this. and so you please the boss. >> and i just think with sondland, i agree with everything gloria and jamie said but now we have two people who have said they -- well taylor and then holmes who heard it and two people who said gordon sondland called donald trump on july 26th or a call was placed.

>> the day after the other phone call. >> and they heard it and the gist of it was gordon sondland saying the ukrainians are ready to play ball. simple question for gordon sondland, what was the nature of that phone call? did you tell the president that the ukrainians -- what did you mean by play ball? we know that sondland has already in the past changed his testimony. or revised his testimony over what he told the top ukrainian official about military aid and it -- and its ties to the investigation. but that call is new as of last week. we didn't know about it. and now they don't get to -- they didn't get to ask sondland about that call and now they will. >> and we heard congressman ro khanna and say he does plead the fifth and ro khanna said congress should grant him immunity in exchange for full and truthful testimony to get to the bottom of this. >> this is one of the big questions. there is certainly a gap between what we understand is the

current record and gordon sondland's revised testimony. any time your client has created that type of potential legal exposure often times counsellors will tell them to protect themselves. and congress can choose to immunize and they don't want to in cases which might hinder an event prosecution and there is precedent that congress can't immunize for its own purposes but in this case there is no chance that gordon sondland will be prosecuted. certainly not by a department of justice controlled by attorney general bill barr and the risk to offering the immunity will undermine an eventual future prosecution isn't there so congress would be wise to give him immunity and ensure they get that full testimony. >> i just want to say, four words, southern district of new york. we don't know what they're doing with rudy giuliani and his friends lev and igor.

if sondland was involved in that, there may be some legal jeopardy. >> let me get sean turner to weigh in. go ahead, sean. >> well, look, i think for susan hennessey lays it out perfectly. he has a couple of options. there are three key words we're likely to hear from him. i don't recall. he is someone who -- he's someone who certainly is going to be absolutely key to this. another thing about this phone call here, for the people who around him to supposedly heard this phone call made this point earlier. he has to consider the fact that it is very likely that there are other foreign intelligence agencies that would have collected this phone call. so as he considers whether or not he's going to plead the fifth or say i don't recall or whether or not he'll be completely forthcoming in the back of his mind he has to think to himself, it is possible that even if i say i don't recall that this still might come out at some point. >> that is an important point,

gloria. because hanging over this is what happened to roger stone only a few days ago when he was convicted on all seven counts including lying to congress. >> that is right. lying to congress. not a good thing. and i think that sondland has said there may have been other conversations with the president but he wasn't clear and -- now we know why. >> nothing of substance. and this -- >> how could you not remember that phone conversation at the restaurant. >> but here is the thing. he may talk to -- i don't know how he couldn't remember it, to answer your question. but he may say, look, i talk to the president all of the time. i can't remember any conversation that sort of was important that popped into my head. yeah, we're getting the job done, blah, blah, i'm at dinner. >> the dog ate my homework. it is not credible. >> i agree. but one other thing they could press him on more is, again, in his closed-door testimony he initially said no, not aware of

any connection of military aid to investigations. in the three-page revised testimony he filed, he said actually, on september 1st i did tell a top aide to president zelensky that it was my belief that these two things were tied. again, he hasn't really been -- a written addendum to your question is not being questioned in public court so i'm with gloria. i think it is likely he tries to finesse it but there are pieces of things that he has acknowledged that he hasn't been questioned on including that september 1st conversation and what prompted it and led you to believe that military aid was tied. there are ways to not answer almost any question but it gets harder when there are specific details. >> the think about sondland is he was regarded as an interloper by the state department and people who were experienced in foreign policy and in national security. because as sean knows, anyone experienced in national security would not have taken the phone call at a table in a crowded

restaurant. there is not a lot of good will toward sondland. the sense he was just carrying out the president's order without thinking about it. >> hold that thought for a moment. hold that, sean. we have to take a quick break. we'll have much more on all of the breaking news right after this.

where people go to learn about their medicare options before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why...medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. this part is up to you. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. call unitedhealthcare insurance company today to request this free decision guide. and learn about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type of plan lets you say "yes" to any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! so call unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free decision guide. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance.

some things are too important to do yourself. ♪ get customized security with 24/7 monitoring from xfinity home. awarded the best professionally installed system by cnet. simple. easy. awesome. call, click or visit a store today.

we're back with our experts and our analysts. we're following the breaking news. gloria, the secretary of state mike pompeo was asked whether he agrees with the president tweet disparaging the ambassador to ukraine marie yovanovitch. listen to his answer. >> i don't have anything to say. i'll defer to the white house about a particular statements and the like. i don't have anything else to say about the democrats' impeachment proceeding. if somebody else has a substantive question about something the world cares deeply about -- i'm glad to take it. >> he clearly doesn't say anything nice about the really esteemed u.s. diplomat. >> that's right. and you have had a lot of state department officials testifying and he hasn't defended them either and he didn't defend

yovanovitch when she was under attack publicly by rudy giuliani or after she was attacked by the president on this phone call after the readout and he's certainly not defending her now and jamie knows more about this than i do but if you're sitting at the state department right now and you are hearing the secretary of state just go on a political terror saying i'm not going to talk about the democratic impeachment but refusing to someone of 30 years of service and hardship posts. >> and deputy secretary and other assistance secretary, they pleaded with him to say something nice about her as she was being fired. >> michael mckinley, one of the top advisers, resigned because he said he went to pompeo three times and asked him to and that he didn't. we should say that pompeo went on abc and said that it never happened. but, look, we have seen whether it is yovanovitch, taylor, williams, on and on, he hasn't

spoken up. >> and that is because of donald trump. >> mm-hmm. >> donald trump doesn't want these people defended. they are attacking him. end of story. >> and let's call this for what it is. it is a complete and total lack of leadership on the part of mike pompeo. these are state department employees complying with the law and discharging the legal obligation to give full and honest testimony to the united states congress, the most powerful man in the world the president of the united states personally attacking those people. not just the ambassador but individual state department employees detailed to work for the vice president. people who are civil servants and merely doing what they are required to do under the law and the fact that mike pompeo has absolutely nothing to say in defense of those people, it really is difficult to understand how it goes to the office and looks at his staff. >> and the president attacks the career diplomats and he goes after them but then he insists i barely know them. i don't think i met them. i don't even know who they are.

>> yeah, as if that matters. look, wolf. i don't think people understand the immense amount of responsibility and pressure that career civil servants feel to carry out our foreign policy and national security objectives and to protect the country and look no further than watching masha yovanovitch sit there and have to defend herself after an -- the majority of her life is devoted to serving this country and to do that while the president is attacking her. look, across the board in government for civil servants, people are struggling with this idea that they engage in selfless service to their country and all that we believe in at the same time that you have people like the president and his supporters who refuse to stand up for anyone. look, when something bad happens in this country if you're in the intelligence community or national security space the first thing that people state, that wasn't intelligence failure and did someone fail or did the civil servants fail and that is

the pressure they live under every day and the president and his supporters would do well to realize that and offer a little bit, a modicum of support of the people who give their lives to protect this country. >> just to add to sean's point, all you have to say, he won't do it because he won't do it because of trump as jamie said, but say these people are good, dedicated career public servants. these are people with long records, nonpartisan records. these are not -- he's not going to say these are never-trumper but donald trump calls everybody never-trumper and no proof that yovanovitch or any of the people, taylor he's called and all of the people are not never-trumper just saying stuff donald trump doesn't like. >> tick around. there is more news we're following. why the ukraine controversy may be just what vladimir putin wanted and how it isn't the first time he's benefited from president trump's policies and his actions and his tweets.

yaaaaass. with the united explorer card, i get rewarded wherever i go. going out for a bite. rewarded! going new places. rewarded! anytime. rewarded! getting more for getting away. rewarded! learn more at the explorer card dot com. and get... rewarded!

but you don't feel good. with polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. but new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. let's change the way we see pv. you track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. but it's just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. take notice and take action. discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. visit takeactionpv.com

we chose eleanor. it was great-grandma's name. so we're in this little town near salerno and everyone has dad's eyebrows. help your family discover their unique story, with a gift from ancestry. help your family discover their unique story, wean air force veteran made of doing what's right,. not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa

as details come out about president trump's with holding nearly $400 million in security assistance to ukraine, raising questions about the u.s. commitment there, one clear winner appears to be russia's vladimir putin. cnn's chief correspondent jim sciutto looks at how trump's policies seem to benefit putin.

>> reporter: it is the dark mystery at the heart of donald trump's presidency. >> why is he so chummy with vladimir putin. >> he's creating a hero out of vladimir putin. what the hell is going on? >> reporter: speaker of the house nancy pelosi summed it up this way. all roads lead to putin. >> reporter: donald trump wins the presidency -- >> in november 2016 trump's victory was a political earthquake in the u.s. but in moscow it sparked joyous celebration. >> we are the champions of the world. >> reporter: he was meeting outgoing president obama. >> settle down. >> reporter: and obama gave his successor a piece of advice. do not hire michael flynn. trump did it any way. the new national security adviser lasted just 24 days. flynn had lied about russia.

specifically about a conversation with then ambassador sergey kislyak and discussed u.s. sanctions on russia. >> they made no secret of it. >> reporter: and soon donald trump started talking down the sanctions. he told the "wall street journal" if we get along why would anybody need them. >> the united states of america needs to send a strong message to vladimir putin -- >> reporter: congress, however, was having none of it. >> the yays are 89 the noes are two -- >> reporter: a bill passed welcomingly. >> wouldn't it be a great thing if we could get along with russia. >> reporter: throughout the presidency the biggest conflict at the heart of the u.s./russia relationship is the attack on the 2016 election. >> what this represented was an attack on the fundamental underpinning of our democratic system. >> reporter: an attack which

u.s. intelligence assessed was done to help donald trump and hurt hillary clinton. but repeatedly trump denied that it was real. >> i don't think anybody knows that it was russia that broke into the dnc. she's saying russia, russia, russia, but maybe it was. it could be russia. but it could also be china. it could be lots of other people. it also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay. >> reporter: trump would soon discuss the attack with vladimir putin himself. at a private face-to-face meeting in helsinki. >> there was nobody else in the meeting so we have no knowledge of what went on. i could tell you one thing, the russians know what went on in that meeting. >> reporter: after the meeting, trump did not condemn putin's attack on the election in fact he sided with putin against america's intelligence agencies. >> president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today and he just said it's not russia. i will say this. i don't see any reason why it

would be. >> perhaps one of the most disgraceful moments by an american president in front of a russian or soviet leader in my lifetime. >> the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that president putin holds damaging information over president trump. >> reporter: trump also began going after nato. an alliance the u.s. and allies depend on, respected by the world, except, of course, by va vladimir putin. >> they're killing us to protect europe. >> reporter: and another international institution the g-7 world of leaders. >> it should be the g-8 because a lot of things we talk about have to do with russia. >> reporter: throughout putin has taken a prominent place on the world stage. particularly in syria. last month when donald trump announced that u.s. forces would leave the country, many saw it

as trump giving russia a free hand there. >> for russian armored vehicles to drive into these places with the russian flag flying high and the american flag headed out of town. those are just huge, huge propaganda games for a guy like putin. >> an absolutely perfect phone call. >> reporter: now it is trump's action in another country that is threatening his presidency. and there is again a connection to russia. his alleged attempt to extort the president of ukraine has sparked impeachment hearings and it may also be yet one more gift to vladimir putin. >> donald trump has witnessingly or unwittingly walked into the warm embrace of vladimir putin. >> reporter: trump withheld desperately needed aid from ukraine, aid that ukraine depends on to defend itself against an ongoing russia invasion. >> i have been far tougher on russia than any president in many, many years.

>> reporter: trump has now made that claim repeatedly. >> i would certainly think about it. president putin -- >> reporter: and still he said he may accept an invitation to join putin in moscow next may. for a parade showcasing russia's military might. jim sciutto, cnn, new york. >> and coming up, north korea says no thanks to president trump's latest twitter diplomacy. something new: introducing pick two tuesday. and, enjoy a different deal every weekday. like endless shrimp monday four-course feast wednesday and more. just fifteen dollars til 6 pm. it's five days. five deals. fifteen dollars. see you before six.

jim sciutto, cnn, new york.

ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. geico would like to take a moment to say thank you to our military service members at home and abroad for all their hard work and sacrifice. we all sleep easier knowing you're out there keeping us safe. and on a personal note... sfx: jet engines ... i just needed to get that off my chest. thank you. geico: proudly supporting the military for over 75 years.

tonight, north korea has frustration at the stalled denuclearization talks with the united states. saying it wants to see results from these talks and they want to see results soon. >> if it doesn't see results, wolf, we could see a return to the days of fire and fury or are the north koreans simply bluffing the statement. plus, a worrying statement from

pa pyongyang. the attorney ministry issuing a statement saying the regime is no longer interested in nuclear talks between the two nations that bring nothing to us and north korea will no longer gift the u.s. president with something he can boast of. a direct reply from trump's tweet over the weekend. you should act quickly, get the deal done. see you soon. >> i think they're prepared to walk away if they get nothing say for example over the next few months. they're prepared to walk away. they've calculated trump is not prepared to walk away. >> reporter: north korea is frustrated after three face-to-face meetings over a year-end and a half, talks have been stalled. trump has said more progress has to be done on a nuclear deal by

year's ends. if that does not happen we could see more provocations from the supreme leader including ominous ones. >> if they do an icm test or nuclear test that will cross trump's red line and we're in very dangerous territory. >> reporter: in that same trump over the weekend, trump responded to a statement a year ago calling joe biden a rabid dog who must be beaten to death with a stick. he responded he is not a rabid dog but i am the only one that can get you where you need to be. biden says he wears the north korean insult as a badge of honor. >> one of the ways you measure who you are is by the folks that don't like you. >> reporter: for months, biden has pounded on trump for being too conciliatory. >> he embraces kim jong-un, this

is a guy who is a thug and he's writing love letters to him. no, i'm serious. >> reporter: biden said he would be tougher on north korea than trump has been. saying if he is elected they could go to the trach policy and sanctions imposed. >> north korea would be much more worried about a biden presidency than reelection of donald trump. >> just hours before donald trump's cold shoulder statement no longer being interested in talks, the u.s. and south korea bent over backwards again to accommodate the regime saying they will postpone exercises set later this month to give diplomacy another shot. some experts believe that's a smart move to give diplomacy a shot. others say this shows weakness

in spite of the threats north korea has been making recently. >> north korea it has those exercises. >> democrats add a ninth name to the list of witnesses who will testify on camera during this week's impeachment hearing. employees need more than just a paycheck. you definitely want to take advantage of all the benefits you can get. 2/3 of employees said that the workplace is an important source for personal savings and protection solutions. the workplace should be a source of financial security. keeping your people happy is what keeps your people. that's financial wellness. put your employees on a path to financial wellness with prudential.

and my lack of impulse control,, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! carolina nickelodeon nickelodeon sorry! he's a baby!

this is cnn, the most trusted name in news. >> happening now, breaking news, uncontested abuse. nancy pelosi, says they already have proven wrongdoing by the president as another key witness just scheduled to testify publicly. a busy three dives hearings and potential bombshells about to begin. lying to mueller? democrats are looking into possible purnellry by the president philosophical a white house lawyer revealing the key part of the impeachment probe. >> the eu ambassador who boasted about his access to the president will talk about his closed door testimony. will