Chris? Thank you very much, Anderson. I am Chris Cuomo. Welcome to Primetime. We have a new report

that is a new window into how badly this president wants to silence any perceived opposition.

Did he want to fire the Inspector General just for following the law with the whistleblower?

We are on the precipice, my friends, of the most telling period of this presidency. There's only one

option. Let's get after it.

Here we are. This day was all but inevitable for months. The eve of the first public impeachment

hearings of President Donald J. Trump. The New York Times reports on this night,

Trump considered canning Michael Atkinson. He is the intelligence community inspector general,

but the story is why? Here's the full screen from their source. He has said he believes Mr. Atkinson

has been disloyal. How for finding the whistleblower credible and doing what his job is to move that

complaint to people who can read it and assess it and act on it? This is the backdrop as we begin

the most difficult weeks for this president. You will hear for the first time from people who knew

what was going on. Describe what happened and why. An impeachment hangs in the balance. A permanent

asterisk of disgrace next to the name Trump if it goes that way. This is heavy. So let's look at how

those loyal to this president will shape what comes next. What do they want you to weigh in his

favor? Matt Schlapp. Head of the conservative union. Also head of a major Washington lobbying firm

called Cove Strategies. Welcome back to prime time. Good to be with you, Chris. Matt, let's deal with

the news. Why would it be okay for the president to go after the inspector general for dealing with

the whistleblower? Because the inspector general serves at the pleasure of the president.

True. He can get rid of whom he wants. Whoever he wants. Whoever serves at the pleasure of the

president. The president can get rid of him at any time. Matter of fact, at the state department

during Obama's presidency, during the whole time Hillary Clinton was at the state department,

...