ife. what we do here at dana-faber, changes lives everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. very good morning. i'm jim sciutto in new york. poppy harlow has the day off. just minutes ago, the justice department filed paperwork, too peel a federal judge's opinion that included these telling words. presidents are not kings. that line written as judge brown jackson ordered don mcgahn to testify before the house after being subpoenaed. it was a major blow to the white house's efforts to stonewall the impeachment investigation. in fact, all witnesses from appearing before congress. the 120-page ruling says with respect to senior level aides,

absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist. but mcgahn won't be sworn in yet. he'll wait to testify while the case is appealed as the doj just did. may go all the way to the supreme court. meanwhile, the supreme court handed down a temporary win for the white house in another case blocking congress from seeing the president's tax returns for now. but the court is fast-tracking the case asking both sides to make their best arguments for why the court should weigh in on the tax return fight in this term. cnn's kaitlan collins has been covering this story and joins us now here from new york. so first, on the white house strategy as it relates to this loss or temporary loss on mcgahn's testimony. >> it's a pretty big rebuke to what their strategy had been. they'd been maintaining since mcgahn, which this is dating back to mueller testimony, is essentially these people do not have to go. they had this absolute immunity. and if you read this 120-page

ruling you see what this federal judge thinks of that. and we knew that they were skeptical of this argument that the white house had been making about how essentially everyone was protected by this. but what you see in this is just how far it goes because this is much broader than just the former white house attorney. and whether or not he can go before congress. but it goes into national security officials as well which is essentially you're reading former national security adviser john bolton who is making the argument that his case is different from mcgahn's because he was so involved on these national security issues. the judge said, no, that is not the situation there. you cannot get this widespread, you know, point-blank ruling about whether or not someone can testify. >> that's on the mcgahn issue, it relates to witnesses appearing before congress. you have the tax issue now. and the supreme court putting a stay, but not really tipping its hand as to whether -- where it's going to decide in this case but it does say, you know, at least it's giving both sides an opportunity to make the case the supreme court should weigh in on this.

>> the question is how long does that win last. this is something that's long-term because essentially with this ruling, with this state, they are inviting them to make a full-throated argument. what are they going to say about this and where does it go from there. it says they're pretty unclear about how this is going to end up. >> to be clear, part of the white house strategy, is it not, is delay. >> yes. >> to push it out. push these witnesses beyond being able to testify in the impeachment inquiry that they may have already won that battle and on taxes trying to push it, well, hopefully beyond the election or at least -- >> that's what they're counting on with the mcgahn situation. yes, it could have these far-ranging implications for people like mick mulvaney and john bolton. they are counting on the fact it's not going to affect them now and could help them later on. we saw this before. the white house had been looking at that harriet miers coase, th counsel to george w. bush. it was decided in 2008. the feeling was, well, it's 2008. that's the strategy they've been

counting on now. they knew this could be coming. >> kaitlan collins, thanks very much. joining me to discuss, shan wu, defense attorney and former federal prosecutor and ron brownstein, senior editor for the atlantic and cnn political analyst. a lot of cases to go through here. let's go on the mcgahn case. this is key. doj is going to appeal. not clear yet, i believe, whether they're going to ask for a stay, but probable they'll ask for a stay here. what is likely to happen next? >> that's exactly right. i think it's key whether they'll ask for a stay or not. it makes sense they would ask for the stay. so really what happens next, jim, is it's going to -- they're going to lose on this argument of absolute immunity. it's been widely expected as kaitlan was reporting. in myers case, the judge rejected this blanket assertion. it's going to end up with mcgahn in a witness chair but then it's still going to go question by question. he may try a little bit more, or

the white house may try more on some questions and then they'll revert to executive privilege. so it's the long way to go in terms of litigation, but importantly, this legal ruling is a big help for the democrats' obstruction argument. >> but, ron, as you know, this is all about timing here because part of the white house strategy, as i was discuss with kaitlan, is push these witnesses out so they can't be a factor in the impeachment inquiry. on that note, particularly because the democrats have a piece of this as well. they have an aggressive timeline. they'll not fight it out in the courts. on that point, regardless of how the courts decide, hasn't the trump administration effectively won on keeping these witnesses out of the impeachment inquiry? >> they have, no question. and like many things in american life, this is ultimately going to be decided by john roberts. you know how john roberts feels the morning it comes to him because the pattern of decisions on a wide variety of issues is at the -- four other republican appointed justices are going to

give the administration a lot of leeway. their posture has been deference, much like the republicans in congress towards what the trump administration wants. i do think there is the potential this could be relevant for the 2020 election more than for impeachment. you know, if you look at the tax case, it is -- the court takes it, they could delay it until next june but if they decide -- if they conclude he must release the tax returns, that will be available to congress at that point. potentially the same with his testimony but it's not on a track to influence whether the house votes to impeach. and on something like that, the cnn poll showing support remaining at about half the country is probably more relevant. >> okay. let's go to the other case which is about the president's taxes. supreme court granted a stay in effect. says it's going to decide on this or at least asking both sides to present arguments as to why it should be decided and decide quickly. where do you see this going? where do you see the court leaning on this issue and where

is the legal precedent on whether congress should have access because you read the law. it says the house oversight committee shall have the right to do so. shan, is the law clear? >> well, there's not really legal precedent on the president's taxes being released. it's been my view, i'm still going to stick with it, i'm not sure that the supreme court is going to take it. they are asking for both sides to give their best reasons for why they need to take it and take it fast. but ultimately, i am not sure which way they're going to come out on it because it's a step removed from him. it's not he's being personally subpoenaed to produce these. it does go into the question of whether his so-called immunity from process meaning you can't charge him or indict him while he's in office goes to this question about whether a third party can get his taxes or whether the fact they're being subpoenaed automatically means he's being pulled into a criminal process. so there's a lot of stuff to slice and dice there.

and i don't know that they're going to want to jump into what we're thinking of, of must the president release his taxes. there's a lot of nuances they can cut away on that. >> ron, as you know, john roberts is very protective of the supreme court's position to the extent that it still exists today as a nonpartisan body here. there are going to be a lot of tests to that, will there not, in the next seven to eight months? >> and as shan was talking, that's what i was thinking. the controlling dynamic here may be john roberts -- how far does john roberts' desire to have the court not seen as a partisan institution extend. he broke on the census case when the administration was trying to change the rules in the senate and said in a way that would likely reduce the count of nonwhite americans. on the other hand they backed the muslum ban and looks like they'll support the administration ending daca. if they don't take the case,

we'll probably learn that ultimately, it was roberts' desire not to be seen as reflexively protecting the president. >> okay, ron brownstein, hold your thought. we have some breaking news out of washington just now. the white house, we learning, is on lockdown due to a security threat. possibly related to an aircraft in restricted air space. we have our joe johns inside the white house in the briefing room on the phone because the white house is on lockdown. actually, no, he's on camera. tell us what we're learning. >> we do know that there has been an air defense event, if you will. an aircraft that has somehow strayed into restricted air space, which has created a situation certainly around the white house and perhaps up at the capitol as well where air defense measures have been put into effect. here at the white house, we're on lockdown. everybody is being kept inside.

the united states secret service, uniformed officers and others patrolling outside with the full armed gear. and we're waiting for authorities to give us an all clear sign. this information about this air defense condition reported by barbara starr at the pentagon and suzanne malveaux on capitol hill. we here at the white house first heard of this during a brief news conference, a briefing here with kellyanne conway. last question was about an evacuation at the capitol which i don't believe has been confirmed. however, what we do know is that there has been this situation involving an aircraft that has entered restricted air space. >> joe, hold that thought there. often security authorities will act with an abundance of caution. we have barbara starr at the pentagon coming up live now. barbara learning from defense officials that this aircraft not known to be hostile at this time. barbara, tell us what you're

hearing. >> jim, a defense official has just told us they do not believe at this time this unidentified aircraft is hostile. but nonetheless, washington is always sensitive to these issues and they immediately engage in their standard procedures. so often what happens is there are military aircraft in the national capital region on standby at all times and they go up and look at what this aircraft may be doing. they look for tail number so they can identify it. they try and signal the aircraft that it is in restricted air space and it must turn around and leave immediately. they can do this, the military pilots, by essentially maneuvering their own aircraft, waving their wings at the unidentified aircraft, flashing lights, signaling, trying to reach them by radio communications. everything they can to ensure whatever pilot may be up there, civilian pilot knows they are in the wrong place.

and they must turn around immediately. what we do know is a high-level interagency conference call under way at this time. they are monitoring the situation trying to identify the aircraft. and trying to find out exactly what is going on. >> okay. >> so there's a lot of concern but pretty standard protocols at this time, jim. >> we're learning and can report this now that military aircraft have scrambled to respond. and we should note and you know this well, a lot of this is the legacy of 9/11. these protocols are in place to operate out of an abundance of caution so they can react quickly. when you say it's not known that the plane is hostile at this time. are you saying defense officials have made a judgment it's not hostile or they do not know that there is hostile intent? >> what our understanding is right now, and, of course, this can change, is right now they appear to have no information that would indicate it is

hostile. most of the time in these incidents, they are small, private planes, civilian pilots who essentially get mixed up about where the restricted air space is. they may not have read the latest bulletins from the faa, and these small planes often just simply wander in, frankly, to restricted air space. even if they may be trying to test the boundaries of it, even if it's maybe deliberate, they don't see hostile intent but that's exactly why the u.s. military scrambles aircraft and sends them up there to have a look at this, trying to identify exactly what's happening. >> as we learned on 9/11, if they aren't up in the air quickly, they can't react. the planes on that day were up too late. we have news coming out of the white house. we'll bring joe johns back. i understand the lockdown on the white house has now been lifted? >> that's right. the lockdown has been lifted. people are being allowed back out on the grounds freely, and starting to get back to normal

here. obviously, as you said, abundance of caution. i know back during the ronald reagan funeral, there was an evacuation of the u.s. capitol. and another lockdown because of a plane flying into restricted airspace. if i remember, that was the governor of kentucky whose pilot had strayed too far into restricted air space. abundance of caution, and it's looking pretty good here from the capitol. >> okay. there you have it. momentary, for minutes, concern at the white house but now that lockdown is lifted. again, this appears to be a case of an abundance of caution. we've seen cases like this before where pilots make a mistake. they don't know where the restricted air space is around washington. they find themselves inside it. we should feel comfortable knowing the military is able to notice this and react very quickly. we do have suzanne malveaux on the hill where there was also for a moment concern there. and i believe the possibility of a lockdown. but are you hearing similarly there, suzanne, that the threat

is gone now? >> yes, jim, we got the all clear probably about five minutes ago from a u.s. capitol police source. we're on the third floor of the capitol on the senate side in the russell building. we were able to go out into the balcony and see for ourselves that constitution avenue was closed for a time, about 30 minutes or so. closed to traffic right outside of the building. there was also a helicopter that was hovering above the court area in front of the supreme court. but according to our u.s. capitol police source, what was happening was that they were -- what they call an air condition, as you know, aircraft that was in the area that they could not communicate with. it had violated the air space around this area, very sensitive. and so it was a code orange is what i'm told. the codes go from green at normal, yellow, monitoring the situation, orange, a heightened state of alert. red is when we would have evacuated. there was no evacuation here.

there was no shelter in place. we were inside the building. so they allowed us to stay, but they were preventing people from coming inside of the capitol. and that's what happens when it's a code orange. we were just told 5, 10 minutes ago it had gone back to a code yellow and has since cleared. >> the headline there, the all clear at the capitol. all clear at the white house. this appears to have been a false alarm, but, again, we should feel comfortable knowing that they react very quickly to aircraft like this who stray into air space where they should not be. shows how quickly they can respond in the event of a genuine threat. the headline there, the lockdown now lifted on the white house and capitol hill. we'll bring you more information as we have it. conspiracy, obstruction of justice campaign finance violations, money laundering. investigators are looking into all of this in their investigation of rudy giuliani and his associates. and he's not going quietly. the fired former navy secretary

richard spencer speaking out after a stunning twist in the case of a navy s.e.a.l. accused of war crimes. his message to the president, ahead. plus, they spent 36 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. today, three baltimore men walking free. hear from them just ahead. as a more secure diaper closure. there were babies involved... and they weren't saying much. that's what we do at 3m, we listen to people, even those who don't have a voice. we are people helping people.

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of money laundering, conspiracy, campaign finance violations are under consideration. this is all part of the federal investigation into giuliani's consulting firm. at this time giuliani says he's not heard himself from prosecutors. he denies any wrongdoing. joined by kara. so these charges, do they relate purely to his associates, fruman and parnas or might they include giuliani as well? >> we've seen a subpoena sent to one possible witness. in the subpoena they're asking for information about this person's communications with lev parnas and igor fruman but also any connections with giuliani and his firm giuliani partners. they're specifically asking about any actual or potential payments or any agreements that may have been done with giuliani or his firm. that indicates there's an interest specifically in any business dealings. and as we know giuliani was paid half a million dollars by a company set up by lev parnas. you can see that prosecutors are

trying to better understand the relationship between these men and any money flows that may have existed between the men. >> concern here is that his partners fruman and parnas might flip on him to protect themselves but might then provide information that's useful to prosecutors against giuliani. is that a genuine concern now? >> i think it is. we've seen from lev parnas be outspoken, that he wants to tell his story. he's made overtures to the impeachment investigators saying he'd be willing to provide information. there are reports they've turned over documents, audio recordings, other details. so lev parnas' team definitely is making this overture that he wants to tell his story. we don't know how much he has. we don't know what is corroborated. so we don't know how good of a witness he is. there's an indication from him he wants to. igor fruman's team has been quiet. they could also be doing things behind the scenes but not telegraphing it. it's hard to know at this point where this is going to shake

out. >> another story, i understand cnn has learned that david pecker, the head of the national enquirer, close friend of the prrkts spoke with the distriman district attorney's office. >> they're investigating the hush money payments made to silence the two women who alleged affairs with the president. there was the federal investigation. now the manhattan da's office is looking to see if any state laws were violated in the process of those payments. so they interviewed david pecker last month. david pecker is a longtime friend of the president's. he's done these catch and kill deals. he was involved in the payments to these two women either directly or indirectly. he has a lot of knowledge about what the strategy was. so prosecutors have met with him at the end of october. they are expected to meet with him again. he did have a cooperation agreement with the federal prosecutor. so this is a relationship where we do see, you know, the tables have turned. a longtime friend and protector of the president. now he's cooperating with this

investigation. >> that should be a worry to the president. >> kara, thanks. we have shan wu back to help put this into context. as a lawyer, if you have a subpoena that asks about communications with giuliani, does that indicate as a prosecutor that you suspect giuliani committed crimes here? >> well, if i was the prosecutor making a statement, i wouldn't use the word i suspect him quote/unquote but he is certainly what they call a subject of the investigation. that's kind of one category down from being the target. that's going to give him small comfort that he's not named at this point because he's unquestionably a subject. also from a prosecutor's standpoint, he should be worried that they haven't talked to him yet. he's putting it out there. they haven't contacted me yet. well, investigations, prosecutions work their way in from the outside down to the inside. if he's at the center, they're not going to talk to him until they've talked to everybody else. so all those things are kind of

warning signs for mayor giuliani. >> now, when mayor giuliani says that he has insurance, you've heard that comment. is he saying he believes the president will pardon him? is that your read? >> that could be the read. he may also mean that he has information that could be damaging to the president or that he has information that he's certain will basically clear him of any wrongdoing. and it's probably that latter, that he's implying with that. and giuliani likes to place a lot of emphasis on the idea that he's a zealous advocate. his defense names many people as his clients and so his problem here is if these folks, if parnas was his client as he's said at some point, he has no privilege there because that privilege is parnas' privilege, not his. so his client wants to help the client themselves and roll over on giuliani, he can't do anything to prevent that. >> shan wu, it's going to be an interesting case to follow.

thanks very much. there's turmoil, hard questions in the pentagon. fired navy secretary richard spencer may be out of a job but he's noout of things to say about what really happened in the case of the navy s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher and his concerns about the president's involvement. we'll have more. and we're moments from the opening bell on wall street. the markets look to start the trading day flat after the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 all closed at record highs once again. plus we've just learned treasure secretary steve mnuchin had a phone call hours with the chinese vice premier. the u.s./china trade war. does this mean they're making progress? we'll have more. at leaf blowers.

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fired navy secretary spencer is defending his actions in the case of s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher. he posed for a photo with a dead isis fighter. president trump repeatedly intervened in the case, pardoning gallagher as well as reversing the demotion. spencer does not agree in very strong terms with the president's repeated intervention. >> what message does that send to the troops?

>> well, what message does it send? >> that you can get away with things. we have to have good order and discipline. it's the backbone of what we do. i don't think he understands the full definition of a war fighter. a war fighter is a profession of arms and a profession of arms has standards. >> joining me is cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr. you hear spencer there in strong terms. that's a sentiment that's not confined to the former navy secreta secretary. what is the reaction to the end result of this case? >> well, i think that, you know, there is -- it is fair to say that there is some dismay about all of it. an awful lot of senior leaders here in the pentagon would like to put this behind them and move forward rather tharnn, as they say, concentrating on the fate of one single military person, eddie gallagher. they do understand what the navy secretary is saying about a good order in discipline. that is something they are concerned about that this case

does not alter that fundamental foundation of the u.s. military. but there is also concern that spencer went outside the box. that he went to the president behind the pentagon's back to try and cut a deal on all of this to preserve gallagher's s.e.a.l. status. have a little more of a listen to what spencer has to say and what defense secretary mark esper's response to the situation is. >> i will take the bad on me for not letting him know i did that. but he was completely informed as to this because his chief of staff was briefed on it. >> secretary spencer broke these rules. that's lost my trust in confidence. contrary to the narrative that some have put forward in the meedia, this is not about eddie gallagher. it's about secretary spencer and the chain of command. >> now even this morning, top officials at the pentagon are disputing spencer's account and

saying neither the defense secretary or his chief of staff knew that spencer was going to the white house to try and precook a deal that would have preserved gallagher's s.e.a.l. status. that would have been the impartial review would have been anything but. >> that's key there because what spencer has said is that, okay, yes, esper was traveling overseas. i didn't speak directly with him about this contact with the white house but i did keep his chief of staff in the loop. the pentagon is saying that's not true? >> the pentagon is saying the chief of staff did not know the specifics of what spencer was proposing that would have been the deal where they would have had an impartial review of gallagher, but ahead of time there would have been an agreement that his s.e.a.l. status still would have been preserved. they didn't know that's what spencer was proposing. >> a lot of conflicting comments and versions of this.

barbara starr from the pentagon, thanks very much. there's stunning testimony from 12 witnesses over two weeks. did the impeachment hearings move the needle for voters? new cnn polls out this morning. we'll break those numbers down. be powerful. be the diamond you are. find dazzling deals on diamonds and more. the zales black friday sale. get 30-50% off everything, including this stunning 7-carat diamond bracelet. exclusively at zales, the diamond store. including this stunning 7-carat diamond bracelet. for powerful relief from cold and flu symptoms without a prescription, try theraflu multi-symptom. theraflu dissolves in seconds, so it's ready to work before your first sip, and absorbs quickly to target and attack 8 cold and flu symptoms fast. try theraflu.

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some democrats have claimed the last two weeks of public impeachment hearings were convincing in their case against the president. do voters agree? what do the polls show? 50% of americans say the president should be impeached and removed from office. however, that number is the same as in october before those public hearings began. with me now, cnn politics reporter and cillizza. they were placing a lot of faith in public hearings to move the poll. according to cnn's poll, they haven't. >> did those hearings go how you wanted them to? they would say not in our wildest dreams did we think gordon sondland would say, yes, there was a quid pro quo. that those hearings went better than they could have imagined. so i would say democrats would have been much happier if those numbers moved up five or ten points but i'd also caution that we, people like you and i are

following this extremely closely. the average person is gearing up for thanksgiving, looking ahead to christmas. and so i think there's an element to which we have to take a big cleansing breath and think to yourself, it's possible that this will take a little bit longer to seep into the body politic, the average voter and then give it two, three, four weeks and see where we're at. >> there's also signs out there that folks are running out of patience. >> let's look at independents and republicans here. independents, of course, key group here that their support for impeachment is down actually from october by three points. within the margin of error. and we should note, among republicans, up to 10%. only 10% but, heck, 10% of republicans think the president or republicans should be impeached and removed from office. so i hear your point there, but

we're also entering a period now where you may not get any new information. unless the courts force key witnesses to testify. >> that's exactly right. i would look at those numbers among independents, republicans, democrats, a little bit as statistical noise. they're up a little, down a little. but to reiterate and to your point, democrats, if you asked democrats last friday, do they think that what happened over the last week and then the two days before that, do they think that will move the needle in terms of public opinion on impeachment? they would say 100%, yes. so that is absolutely true. all i am suggesting is, let's not assume that right afterward everyone is fully aware of it. to your point, though, you're right. there's not likely -- we don't have another set of public impeachment hearings scheduled. so what's -- the points that have been made have been made. it's not clear if it will be

revisited. >> and to your point, if you look at the figures going back a few months, it was 36% a few weeks ago. >> it's been on the rise. >> it's up to 50% now. does it move higher? chris cillizza, always great to have you on. republican senator john kennedy is now walking back, reversing comments he made supporting a debunct conspiracy theory that claims ukraine meddled in the elections. >> was it russia or ukraine? >> i don't know. neither do you nor do any of us. >> the entire intelligence community says it was russia. >> right. but it could also be ukraine. >> well, republicans, as you may have noticed, have used that conspiracy theory as justification for president trump withholding military aid to ukraine saying he had cause to investigate that interference. last night after facing serious backlash even from some of his republican counterparts, the louisiana senator reversed his

answer here on cnn. >> chris is right. i was wrong. the only evidence i have, and i think it's overwhelming, is that it was russia who tried to hack the dnc computer. i've seen no indication that ukraine tried to do it. >> although kennedy himself walked back that part about ukraine hacking the dnc server, he says he still believes ukraine could have meddled in the election. we've heard that from a number of other republicans. intelligence officials have concluded conspiracy theories pushed by president trump and several republican lawmakers are part of a russian campaign that this is russian prop ganda to in effect shift blame for 2016 election interference away from moscow onto others just to raise questions to muddy the water. you heard fiona hill testify to that very much so under oath just last week. we'll stay on that story. another story we're following this morning, three men from baltimore are walking free after spending 36 years in prison for

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thanksgiving travelers, i know you may have been worried about this a historic winter storm will we'll be right back havoc for tense of millions of people this holiday week. live look on your left there, as heavy snow wallops the rockies.

you can see the cars getting buried there, dicey conditions threaten travel plans from california to michigan. airports like denver, an important hub for a lot of flights cnn is in denver, hundreds of flights are cancelled. tell us if travelers will see any relief in the next couple of days? >> reporter: in the next couple of days, jim, nearly 500 flights cancelled. this is a travel nightmare two days before thanksgiving. we are in downtown denver. take a look at these conditions. the state capital building behind me, you can barely see it. several inches of snow on the ground already. they're predicting about 12-to-18 inches of snow. this is just the metro area. up north in the foothills of the mountain, 15 to 30 inches predicted. wind gusts up to 45 miles an hour. >> that creates for some very dangerous conditions. the national weather service telling folks to try to stay off

the road because some parts of colorado will be completely impassable if you don't have to get in the car. don't do it. it's sim mr. i too dangerous. colorado, of course, can handle this because of the holiday season, it's making stuff a lot more difficult for folks trying to get home to see their families, for the airport, specifically, it's the wind that's the major concern. they got a lot of equipment on the ground in order to be able to clear those runways. the wind is a big concern. that's why people are being told to try to come one alternate plans. major airlines are offering waivers for today so people can rebook for free and get home, i'm one of those people trying to get home to new york tomorrow. i don't know if i will be able to get. unof the many watching the snowstorms as it unfolds. >> i wish you luck. i wish all those travelers luck as well. lucie kavanaugh, thank you so much. three men were wrongfully

convicted and spent 30 years in prison. the men were teenagers sentenced to life if prison. cnn's britain joins me now, what was the key? >> one of these men filed an information request upon the his own behalf, which is just incredible i think and really that put hands on this exculpatory everyday in the case the judge sealed decades ago. that was the key to his and two other men's freedom. let's go back to 1983. the three men were convicted of killing a teenager for his georgetown university basketball jack. the smoking fun was a similar jacket found in chestnut's bedroom. it didn't though have gun or bloodshot res document his mom had a receipt for the jacket. still the men were put behind bars. more everyday has since come to light with that filing. the men were interviewed and interrogated by police, parents rather, witnesses as well,

potential witnesses of the crime were interviewed as a group and told to get their stories straight according to chestnut's lawyer. he identified another suspect was kept from the defense during the trial. so all of this was brought to the attention of the bolt mar integrity unit, which was looking at old convictions. they sat them down and threw those charges out, after 36 years behind bars, the men are now free. >> i am free and the people around me you see me here will help pe get through all this. they never stopped fighting for me. and i've never stopped fighting. >> this is the first time i have been able hug my son in about 20-some years. this is wonderful. god bless and god is good all the time. not sometime but all the time. >> there is no current law in maryland to xen compensate those

wrongfully convicted. the state attorney says she will advocate and the men were arrested on thanksgiving day ripped from their families. this thanksgiving gym family is where they will spend. it makes you so happy at the same time. >> it's a clear misjustice. how about the prosecutors? will they face kwejs consequences? >> the state attorney, the suspect i was referring to also died and we actually tried to track down the lead version and we haven't gotten any calls back. it really is so frustrating, but good that they get to be home. >> 36 years later, thanks, very much. the department of justice is filing paper to appeal, this after a federal judge says the former white house counsel don mcgahn must fly to testify in the impeachment inquiry. we will talk about the next steps. that's coming up. now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology,

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good morning, i'm jim scuitto, poppy harlow has the day off the. this morning they are hitting the pause button while they appeal to a higher court to have don mcgahn testify. the house agreed to a 7-day delay. the judgeul