A hundred years after the publication of his notorious anti-Semitic screed,…
Descent: How America Lost Its Mind, Soul & Moral Compass
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- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Descent: How America Lost Its Mind, Soul & Moral Compass documents how in the remarkably short period of 10 years (2015-2025) the USA has comprehensively betrayed its founding ideals and transformed itself from its long-held position of global leadership to a bitter, fractionalized, highly irrational land riddled with corruption and unaccountability at the highest levels of political power.
Citation
Main credits
Burton, Howard (filmmaker)
Sebelle, Elizabeth van (narrator)
Other credits
Editor, Ruth Barnwood.
Distributor subjects
American History,History,American Studies,Democracy,Political Science,Law,Sociology,Media StudiesKeywords
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In the remarkably short period of ten years,
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the United States of America
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has comprehensively transformed itself
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from its long-held position of global leadership
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to a bitter, fractionalized, highly irrational land
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riddled with corruption and unaccountability
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at the highest levels of political power.
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This film documents
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that deeply mysterious
and profoundly upsetting descent
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soley through a carefully edited
series of news clips
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presented in chronological order.
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We strongly believe that they speak for themselves.
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Our country needs
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a truly great leader;
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and we need a truly great leader now.
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We need a leader
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that wrote The Art of the Deal.
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We need a leader that can bring back
our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing,
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can bring back
our military, can take care of our vets.
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Our vets have been abandoned.
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And we also need
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a cheerleader.
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You know,
when President Obama was elected,
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I said, well,
the one thing I think he'll do well,
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I think he'll be a great cheerleader
for the country.
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I think he'd be a great spirit.
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He was vibrant. He was young.
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I really thought that
he would be a great cheerleader.
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- He's not a leader.
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He's not a leader. That's true.
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You're right about that.
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But he wasn't a cheerleader.
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He's actually a negative force.
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He's been a negative force.
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He wasn't a cheerleader.
He was the opposite.
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We need somebody that can take the brand
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of the United States
and make it great again.
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It's not great again.
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We need,
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We need somebody,
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We need somebody
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that literally will take this country
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and make it great again.
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We can do that.
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And I will tell you.
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I love my life.
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I have a wonderful family.
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They're saying, dad,
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you're going to do something
that's going to be so tough.
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You know, all of my life
I've heard that a truly successful person,
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a really, really successful person,
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and even modestly successful,
cannot run for public office.
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Just can't happen.
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And yet, that's the kind of mindset
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that you need to make this country
great again.
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So ladies and gentlemen,
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I am officially running
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for president of the United States.
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And we are going to make our country
great again.
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When Mexico sends its people,
they're not sending their best.
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They're not sending you.
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They're not sending you.
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They're sending people
that have lots of problems,
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and they're bringing those problems
with us.
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They're bringing drugs.
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They're bringing crime.
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They're rapists.
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And some, I assume, are good people.
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But I speak to border guards,
and they tell us what we're getting.
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Mr. Trump, it has not escaped
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anybody's notice that you say that
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the Mexican government,
the Mexican government, is sending
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criminals, rapists, drug dealers
across the border.
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Governor Bush has called those remarks,
"extraordinarily ugly".
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I'd like you—you're right next to him—
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to tell us,
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talk to him directly
and say how you respond to that.
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And, an, you have repeatedly said
that you have evidence
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that the Mexican government is doing this,
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but that you have evidence
you have refused or declined to share.
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Why not use this
first Republican presidential debate
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to share your proof
with the American people?
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So if it weren't for me,
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you wouldn't even be talking
about illegal immigration, Chris.
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You wouldn't even be talking about it.
This was not a subject
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that was on anybody's mind
until I brought it up at my announcement.
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And I said, "Mexico is sending".
Except the reporters, because they're
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a very dishonest lot, generally
speaking, in the world of politics,
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they didn't cover my statement
the way I said it.
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The fact is,
since then, many killings, murders, crime,
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drugs pouring across the border are money
going out and the drugs coming in.
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And I said, "We need to build a wall
and it has to be built quickly."
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And I don't mind
having a big, beautiful door in that wall
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so that people can come into this
country legally.
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But we need, Jeb, to build a wall.
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We need to keep illegals out.
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Mr Trump, I'll give you 30 seconds.
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I'll give you 30 seconds
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to answer my question,
which was what evidence
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do you have—specific evidence—
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that the Mexican government
is sending criminals across the border?
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30 seconds.
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Border patrol.
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I was at the border last week.
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Border patrol people that I deal with, that
I talk to,
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they say this is what's happening;
because our leaders are stupid,
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our politicians are stupid.
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And the Mexican government is much
smarter, much sharper, much more cunning.
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And they send the bad ones over
because they don't want to pay for them.
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They don't want to take care of them.
Why should they?
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When the stupid leaders
of the United States will do it for them.
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And that's what's happening,
whether you like it or not,
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Mr. Trump,
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one of the things people love about you is
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you speak your mind
and you don't use a politician's filter.
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However,
that is not without its downsides.
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In particular, when it comes to women.
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You've called women you don't like "fat
pigs",
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"dogs", "slobs", and "disgusting animals".
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Your Twitter account...
- Only Rosie O'Donnell.
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No, it wasn't.
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Your Twitter account....
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For the record,
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It was well beyond Rosie.
- Yes., I'm sure it was.
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Your Twitter account has several
disparaging comments about women's looks.
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You once told a contestant
on Celebrity Apprentice
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it would be a pretty picture
to see her on her knees.
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Does that sound to you like
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the temperament of a man
we should elect as president?
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And how will you answer the charge
from Hillary Clinton, who is likely
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to be the Democratic nominee,
that you are part of the war on women?
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I think the big problem this country has
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is being politically correct.
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I do want to ask you about this.
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In an interview last week
in Rolling Stone magazine,
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Donald Trump said the following about you:
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"Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?
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Can you imagine that?
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The face of our next president?"
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Mr. Trump later said he was talking about your
persona, not your appearance.
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Please feel free to
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respond to what you think
about his persona.
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You know, it's interesting to me.
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Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush
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very clearly and what Mr. Bush said.
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I think women all over this country heard
very clearly what Mr. Trump said.
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I think
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she's got a beautiful face,
and I think she's
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a beautiful woman.
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Trump's
opinions have been wildly inconsistent.
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He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for
and against assault weapon bans,
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in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees
and deporting them out of the country.
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And that inconsistency can be troubling.
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Just this morning, for instance,
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he was asked about the fact that David Duke,
former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan
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had told supporters to vote for him,
and this was his answer:
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Will you unequivocally condemn David Duke
and say that you don't
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want his vote, or that of other
white supremacists in this election?
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Well, just so you understand, I don't know
anything about David Duke, okay?
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I don't know anything
about what you're even talking about
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with white supremacy
or white supremacists.
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Honestly, I don't know David Duke.
I don't believe I've ever met him.
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I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him,
and I just don't know anything about him.
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Really?
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That's your best answer there?
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Because you definitely know who he is.
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Partly because you called him
a bigot and a racist in the past.
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But that's not even the point.
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The point is, with an answer like that,
you are either racist
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or you are pretending to be.
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And at some point there is no difference there.
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The share of Americans
who say race relations
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are bad in this country is the highest
it's been in decades,
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much of it amplified by shootings
of African-Americans, by police.
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One of you is going to have to bridge
a very wide and bitter gap.
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So how do you heal the divide?
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Secretary Clinton,
you get two minutes on this.
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Well, you're right.
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Race remains
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a significant challenge in our country.
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Unfortunately, race still determines
too much, often determines where people live,
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determines what kind of education
in their public schools they can get.
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And yes, it determines how they're treated
in the criminal justice system.
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Secretary Clinton doesn't want to use
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a couple of words,
and that's law and order.
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And we need law and order.
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If we don't have it,
we're not going to have a country.
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We have to bring back law and order.
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Now, whether or not in a place
like Chicago, you do stop and frisk,
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which worked very well.
Mayor Giuliani is here.
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It worked very well in New York.
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We have to protect our inner cities
because African-American
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communities are being decimated by crime.
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Your two minutes has expired.
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But I do want to follow up.
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Stop and frisk was ruled
unconstitutional in New York
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because it largely singled out
black and Hispanic young men.
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No, you're wrong.
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It went before a judge
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who was a very against police judge.
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It was taken away from her.
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And our mayor, our new mayor,
refused to go forward with the case.
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They would have won an appeal.
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If you look at it, throughout the country,
there are many places...
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The argument is that it's a form of racial profiling.
00:11:41.973 --> 00:11:44.025
No, the argument is that we have to take
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the guns away
from these people that have them,
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and that are bad people
that shouldn't have them.
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And I will tell you, you look at the inner
cities, and I just left Detroit,
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and I just left Philadelphia,
and I just—you know, you've seen me.
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I've been all over the place.
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You decided to stay home, and that's okay.
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But I will tell you, I've been all over
and I've met
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some of the greatest people
I'll ever meet within these communities.
00:12:06.427 --> 00:12:09.947
And they are very, very upset
with what their politicians
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have told them
and what their politicians have done.
00:12:12.766 --> 00:12:16.636
Mr. Trump —
— I think Donald just criticized me
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for preparing for this debate.
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And yes, I did.
00:12:22.391 --> 00:12:24.042
And you know what else I prepared for?
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I prepared to be president.
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And I think that's a good thing.
00:12:28.963 --> 00:12:32.199
Mr. Trump, for five years,
you perpetuated a false claim
00:12:32.199 --> 00:12:36.069
that the nation's first black
president was not a natural-born citizen.
00:12:36.069 --> 00:12:39.071
You questioned his legitimacy.
And in the last couple of weeks
00:12:39.071 --> 00:12:42.074
you acknowledge what most Americans
have accepted for years:
00:12:42.074 --> 00:12:44.259
The President was born
in the United States.
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Can you tell us what took you so long?
00:12:45.760 --> 00:12:49.147
I'll tell you — well, it's just very simple to say.
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I got him to give the birth certificate,
so I'm satisfied with it.
00:12:54.184 --> 00:12:55.836
And I'll tell you
why I'm satisfied with it.
00:12:55.836 --> 00:12:57.520
– That was in 2011
– Because I want to get on
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to defeating ISIS,
because I want to get on to creating jobs.
00:13:01.474 --> 00:13:04.393
Because I want to get on
to having a strong border,
00:13:04.393 --> 00:13:07.896
because I want to get on to things
that are very important to me
00:13:07.896 --> 00:13:09.397
and that are very important to the country.
00:13:09.397 --> 00:13:10.848
I'll let you respond, that's important.
00:13:10.848 --> 00:13:12.967
But I just want to get the answer here.
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The birth certificate
was produced in 2011.
00:13:15.369 --> 00:13:19.055
You continued to tell the story
and questioned the president's legitimacy
00:13:19.055 --> 00:13:21.574
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
00:13:21.574 --> 00:13:23.175
and as recently as January.
00:13:23.175 --> 00:13:25.344
So the question is, What changed your mind?
00:13:25.344 --> 00:13:26.628
Well, nobody was pressing it.
00:13:26.628 --> 00:13:28.997
Nobody was caring much about it.
00:13:28.997 --> 00:13:31.365
I figured you'd ask the question tonight, of course.
00:13:31.365 --> 00:13:33.517
But nobody was caring much about it.
00:13:33.517 --> 00:13:36.520
But I was the one that got him to produce
00:13:36.603 --> 00:13:39.639
the birth certificate,
and I think I did a good job.
00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.425
What do you say
to Americans, particularly people of color...
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I say nothing because
I was able to get him to produce it.
00:13:45.694 --> 00:13:48.196
He should have produced it a long time
before. I say nothing.
00:13:48.196 --> 00:13:51.182
But let me just tell you,
when you talk about healing,
00:13:51.316 --> 00:13:54.585
I think that I've developed very,
very good relationships
00:13:54.585 --> 00:13:59.673
over the last little while
with the African-American community.
00:13:59.673 --> 00:14:02.975
I think you can see that. And I feel
00:14:02.975 --> 00:14:06.095
that they really wanted me
to come to that conclusion.
00:14:06.095 --> 00:14:10.248
And I think I did a great job and
a great service, not only for the country,
00:14:10.248 --> 00:14:14.018
but even for the president
in getting him to produce his birth certificate.
00:14:14.018 --> 00:14:15.903
– Secretary Clinton
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Well, just listen to what you heard.
00:14:20.357 --> 00:14:25.211
And clearly, as Donald just admitted,
he knew he was going to stand
00:14:25.211 --> 00:14:28.447
on this debate stage and Lester Holt
was going to be asking us questions.
00:14:28.447 --> 00:14:33.518
So he tried to put the whole
racist birther lie to bed,
00:14:34.952 --> 00:14:37.955
But it can't be dismissed that easily.
00:14:38.739 --> 00:14:42.042
He has really started
00:14:42.042 --> 00:14:45.911
his political activity
based on this racist lie
00:14:45.911 --> 00:14:50.532
that our first black president
was not an American citizen.
00:14:51.733 --> 00:14:54.285
There was absolutely no evidence for it.
00:14:54.285 --> 00:14:55.269
But he persisted.
00:14:55.269 --> 00:15:00.257
He persisted year after year
because some of his supporters,
00:15:00.257 --> 00:15:04.093
people that he was trying to bring into his fold,
00:15:04.093 --> 00:15:07.096
apparently believed it
or wanted to believe it.
00:15:07.530 --> 00:15:09.481
That is what Barack and I
00:15:09.481 --> 00:15:13.651
think about every day
as we try to guide and protect our girls
00:15:13.651 --> 00:15:17.822
through the challenges
of this unusual life in the spotlight.
00:15:19.106 --> 00:15:22.109
How we urge them to ignore those
00:15:22.676 --> 00:15:25.044
who question their father's citizenship
00:15:25.044 --> 00:15:28.047
or faith.
00:15:30.082 --> 00:15:32.634
How we insist
00:15:32.634 --> 00:15:36.237
that the hateful language
they hear from public figures on TV
00:15:36.237 --> 00:15:39.807
does not represent the
true spirit of this country.
00:15:43.643 --> 00:15:46.162
How we explain that when
00:15:46.162 --> 00:15:50.382
someone is cruel or acts like a bully,
you don't stoop to their level.
00:15:50.382 --> 00:15:54.536
No, our motto is, When they go low,
we go high.
00:15:56.804 --> 00:15:59.774
The scary thing is,
we have no way of knowing
00:15:59.774 --> 00:16:03.143
which of his inconsistent views
he will hold in office.
00:16:03.260 --> 00:16:06.563
Will he stand by his statement
that vaccines are linked to autism,
00:16:06.796 --> 00:16:09.682
or his belief
that Mexico is sending us rapists?
00:16:09.682 --> 00:16:13.001
Oh, and what about that plan he had to defeat ISIS?
00:16:13.001 --> 00:16:15.921
We're fighting
a very politically correct war.
00:16:15.921 --> 00:16:16.721
Yes.
00:16:16.721 --> 00:16:19.724
The other thing is with the terrorists,
you have to take out their families.
00:16:19.807 --> 00:16:21.292
When you get these terrorists,
00:16:21.292 --> 00:16:23.127
you have to take out their families.
00:16:23.127 --> 00:16:26.029
They care about their lives, don't kid yourself.
00:16:26.029 --> 00:16:27.847
But they say they don't care about their lives.
00:16:27.847 --> 00:16:30.283
You have to take out their families.
00:16:30.283 --> 00:16:35.270
That is the frontrunner for the Republican
nomination advocating a war crime.
00:16:35.637 --> 00:16:38.256
You talked about going
after the families of terrorists.
00:16:38.256 --> 00:16:39.424
You now reversed that.
00:16:39.424 --> 00:16:40.641
I didn't reverse anything.
00:16:41.158 --> 00:16:42.493
You would still want to go after the families of terrorists?
00:16:42.493 --> 00:16:44.445
No, I didn't reverse anything.
00:16:44.445 --> 00:16:46.296
I clarified very simply.
00:16:46.296 --> 00:16:47.914
We have laws.
00:16:47.914 --> 00:16:50.116
We have to obey the laws.
00:16:50.116 --> 00:16:51.017
The laws have to be widened.
00:16:51.017 --> 00:16:52.351
Killing the families of terrorists would be against the law.
00:16:52.351 --> 00:16:54.436
I didn't say kill.
We have to go after 'em, though.
00:16:55.721 --> 00:16:58.623
Last night I congratulated Donald Trump
00:16:58.623 --> 00:17:01.876
and offered to work with him
on behalf of our country.
00:17:02.626 --> 00:17:05.913
I hope that he will be a successful
president
00:17:05.913 --> 00:17:08.915
for all Americans.
00:17:08.948 --> 00:17:13.002
This is not the outcome we wanted
or we worked so hard for,
00:17:13.652 --> 00:17:17.022
and I'm sorry
that we did not win this election
00:17:17.322 --> 00:17:20.325
for the values
we share and the vision we hold
00:17:20.325 --> 00:17:21.326
for our country.
00:17:27.848 --> 00:17:32.769
Fellow Americans and people of the world:
00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:35.771
Thank you.
00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:41.559
We, the citizens of America,
00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:47.614
are now joined in a great national effort
to rebuild our country
00:17:47.614 --> 00:17:52.869
and restore its promise
for all of our people.
00:17:54.820 --> 00:17:59.524
Together, we will determine the course of America
and the world
00:17:59.524 --> 00:18:02.827
for many, many years to come.
00:18:03.761 --> 00:18:09.299
January 20th, 2017 will be remembered
00:18:09.299 --> 00:18:15.605
as the day the people became the
rulers of this nation again.
00:18:17.439 --> 00:18:18.874
He wasn't doing a good job.
00:18:18.874 --> 00:18:21.226
Very simply, he was not doing a good job.
00:18:21.226 --> 00:18:22.127
That was it.
00:18:22.127 --> 00:18:25.063
President Trump's verdict
this morning over his firing of
00:18:25.063 --> 00:18:27.515
FBI Director James Comey.
00:18:27.515 --> 00:18:30.033
The president's termination
letter to Comey yesterday
00:18:30.033 --> 00:18:34.053
said the move was necessary
to restore public trust in the agency.
00:18:34.387 --> 00:18:37.990
An attachment from the deputy attorney
general, Rod Rosenstein,
00:18:37.990 --> 00:18:41.777
faulted Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton
email investigation.
00:18:42.344 --> 00:18:44.429
In a tweet this morning,
the president said:
00:18:44.429 --> 00:18:49.667
Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in
Washington, Republican and Democrat alike.
00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.652
When things calm down,
they will be thanking me.
00:18:52.652 --> 00:18:55.805
But little was calm on the other
end of Pennsylvania Avenue today.
00:18:56.055 --> 00:18:58.591
Vice president
Mike Pence was on Capitol Hill
00:18:58.591 --> 00:19:01.443
and offered a longer defense
of the president's decision.
00:19:01.443 --> 00:19:04.929
President Trump provided
the kind of strong and decisive leadership
00:19:04.929 --> 00:19:07.932
the American people have come
to be accustomed from him.
00:19:08.199 --> 00:19:11.201
And he took the action necessary to remove
Director Comey.
00:19:11.385 --> 00:19:14.504
That's why this was the right decision
at the right time.
00:19:15.672 --> 00:19:19.842
Meanwhile, senators face nonstop questions
about what Comey's firing means
00:19:19.842 --> 00:19:23.462
for the ongoing probes
into Russia's meddling in the election
00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:26.831
and whether the Trump campaign
colluded in that meddling.
00:19:27.131 --> 00:19:30.634
Democrats said the firing would lead
Americans to suspect a cover up,
00:19:30.901 --> 00:19:33.153
and they repeated
calls for a special counsel.
00:19:35.822 --> 00:19:36.923
We return now to
00:19:36.923 --> 00:19:40.559
the president's decision
to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
00:19:40.826 --> 00:19:44.696
We want to take a closer look
at some of the claims President Trump made
00:19:44.813 --> 00:19:47.815
during his remarks
in the Rose Garden yesterday.
00:19:47.882 --> 00:19:51.685
As president, I can put no other
consideration before the well-being
00:19:52.736 --> 00:19:54.771
of American citizens.
00:19:54.771 --> 00:19:57.140
In his announcement yesterday,
President Trump gave
00:19:57.140 --> 00:20:00.409
several reasons why he thought the Paris
accord was a bad idea.
00:20:00.860 --> 00:20:03.562
The main points the President made were
that the Paris accord
00:20:03.562 --> 00:20:06.631
is unfair to the U.S.,
that it would hurt American workers,
00:20:06.781 --> 00:20:10.068
and that it won't really slow
the pace of dangerous climate change.
00:20:10.318 --> 00:20:12.269
So let's go through some of those claims.
00:20:12.269 --> 00:20:13.971
The first thing the President said was,
00:20:13.971 --> 00:20:17.123
we'll get out of Paris,
but maybe we'll strike a better deal.
00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:21.978
...begin negotiations to reenter
either the Paris accord
00:20:22.428 --> 00:20:25.914
or an entirely new transaction
00:20:27.232 --> 00:20:29.817
on terms
that are fair to the United States...
00:20:29.817 --> 00:20:33.737
But leaders from many of the other 195
nations in the deal
00:20:33.871 --> 00:20:36.873
said there was no appetite
for renegotiation.
00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:40.109
French President Emmanuel Macron
summed up the view of many.
00:20:40.443 --> 00:20:44.363
I consider that he committed an error
for the interests
00:20:44.363 --> 00:20:48.483
of his country, his people; and a mistake
for the future of our planet.
00:20:48.833 --> 00:20:52.086
We will not renegotiate a less
ambitious accord.
00:20:52.103 --> 00:20:54.538
There is no way.
00:20:54.538 --> 00:20:57.291
President Trump
also implied that the Paris Accords
00:20:57.291 --> 00:20:59.876
are binding on the United States,
but they're not.
00:20:59.876 --> 00:21:02.879
The entire accord
relies on voluntary commitments.
00:21:02.995 --> 00:21:06.332
So many argue that if the president
wanted to stay in and wanted
00:21:06.332 --> 00:21:10.018
to change the US's commitment, he's
largely free to do so.
00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:13.371
Another one of the main complaints
the president made.
00:21:13.371 --> 00:21:15.739
was that this will hurt U.S. jobs.
00:21:15.739 --> 00:21:18.742
Compliance
with the terms of the Paris accord,
00:21:19.042 --> 00:21:22.762
and the onerous energy restrictions
that is placed on the United States,
00:21:23.479 --> 00:21:27.349
could cost America as much as 2.7 million
00:21:27.349 --> 00:21:30.685
lost jobs by 2025,
00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:36.123
according to the National Economic
Research Associates.
00:21:36.590 --> 00:21:40.827
The international mining giant Peabody
Energy applauded the president's move.
00:21:41.244 --> 00:21:44.730
Peabody believes that the prior Paris accord
could not be followed
00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:47.700
without substantially impacting the U.S.
economy,
00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:51.953
increasing electricity costs on families
and businesses, and requiring
00:21:51.953 --> 00:21:56.757
the power sector to rely on less diverse
and more intermittent energy sources.
00:21:57.508 --> 00:22:01.128
But others point out that study
about lost jobs that the president cited
00:22:01.311 --> 00:22:05.515
was written by groups that are opposed
to the Paris Accords, and that they used
00:22:05.515 --> 00:22:09.601
some worst case predictions that other
economists believe are unrealistic.
00:22:09.618 --> 00:22:12.270
Roberton Williams is an economist with
00:22:12.270 --> 00:22:16.157
Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan group
that studied the Paris accord.
00:22:16.190 --> 00:22:19.576
What we've modeled in terms of job affects,
00:22:19.943 --> 00:22:25.515
is that it's much more of a job shift
than it is job loss or net job gain.
00:22:25.782 --> 00:22:28.701
That jobs go away in coal.
00:22:28.701 --> 00:22:33.438
You get more jobs in some of the "green
jobs" in renewable energy.
00:22:33.672 --> 00:22:35.123
And small effects elsewhere.
00:22:35.123 --> 00:22:37.742
But it's not a big drop.
00:22:37.742 --> 00:22:40.794
The president also argued
that while coal jobs in the U.S.
00:22:40.794 --> 00:22:44.631
would suffer, other nations
like India and China, the other two
00:22:44.664 --> 00:22:47.700
major global carbon
polluters, would have a free hand.
00:22:47.784 --> 00:22:51.053
China will be able
to increase these emissions
00:22:53.188 --> 00:22:57.241
by a staggering number of years: 13.
00:22:57.742 --> 00:23:00.744
They can do whatever they want
for 13 years.
00:23:00.744 --> 00:23:01.945
Not us.
00:23:01.945 --> 00:23:06.149
But Jason Grumet said it's not true that
other countries can do whatever they want.
00:23:06.483 --> 00:23:11.854
The assertion that the United
States fundamentally disabled our economy
00:23:12.087 --> 00:23:15.991
while other countries move forward with absolutely no concern
00:23:16.324 --> 00:23:17.859
is just not accurate.
00:23:18.993 --> 00:23:23.480
The weekend began with a Friday night
00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:27.384
torchlight march on the historic grounds
of the University of Virginia's campus.
00:23:33.305 --> 00:23:36.024
The white supremacists had arrived in Charlottesville.
00:23:36.541 --> 00:23:41.329
The next morning, a large group gathered in a park around a statue of Robert E. Lee.
00:23:41.329 --> 00:23:45.749
Earlier that summer, local groups
demanded the statue's removal.
00:23:45.983 --> 00:23:48.751
The racists were armed with sticks
and heavy shields.
00:23:48.751 --> 00:23:49.702
One had a handgun.
00:23:51.837 --> 00:23:52.588
On the street
00:23:52.588 --> 00:23:55.290
a much larger group of counter-protesters
gather.
00:23:55.290 --> 00:23:57.976
Some of them were carrying
homemade weapons as well.
00:23:58.860 --> 00:24:00.895
As more white supremacists
made their way to the park
00:24:00.895 --> 00:24:04.031
they clashed with counter-protesters.
00:24:06.266 --> 00:24:08.018
What started as small scuffles,
00:24:08.018 --> 00:24:10.253
soon turned into a full-on melee.
00:24:10.703 --> 00:24:14.223
One counter-protester
DeAndre Harris, was surrounded and beaten
00:24:14.223 --> 00:24:17.209
in a nearby parking garage.
00:24:18.843 --> 00:24:23.180
Then a few moments of calm as the white
nationalists mostly fled downtown.
00:24:23.364 --> 00:24:26.550
Fear and hate
have been given license in our country.
00:24:26.583 --> 00:24:30.870
Violence, racialized violence,
has been given permission in this country.
00:24:30.870 --> 00:24:32.989
And we are here to stand for love.
00:24:32.989 --> 00:24:35.157
But one white supremacist returned.
00:24:35.157 --> 00:24:38.160
He drove his Dodge Challenger
through a crowd of counter-protesters.
00:24:41.162 --> 00:24:44.115
32-year-old Heather
Heyer was killed in the attack.
00:24:44.115 --> 00:24:46.016
James Alex Fields Jr.,
00:24:46.016 --> 00:24:49.820
the man behind the wheel, is now awaiting
trial for murder, hate crimes
00:24:49.820 --> 00:24:51.538
and other charges.
00:24:51.538 --> 00:24:53.373
The city was grieving.
00:24:53.373 --> 00:24:55.307
Much of the nation would join them.
00:24:55.307 --> 00:24:58.594
We condemn in the strongest
possible terms....
00:24:58.594 --> 00:25:01.913
Following the attack,
President Trump gave multiple responses.
00:25:02.213 --> 00:25:05.966
But it was two days later, in a press
conference at Trump Tower in New York,
00:25:06.333 --> 00:25:10.137
where he said that the racist groups
in Charlottesville were not all bad.
00:25:10.137 --> 00:25:14.907
You had some very bad people in that group,
but you also had people that were
00:25:16.075 --> 00:25:19.077
very fine people—on both sides.
00:25:25.883 --> 00:25:27.351
Today in the Oval Office.
00:25:27.351 --> 00:25:31.221
President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers
discussing immigration, when they floated
00:25:31.221 --> 00:25:34.307
restoring protections
for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador
00:25:34.307 --> 00:25:37.009
and African countries
as part of a bipartisan immigration deal.
00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:38.244
The Washington Post reports that, according
00:25:38.244 --> 00:25:41.246
to two people briefed in the meeting,
the president asked:
00:25:41.413 --> 00:25:45.016
"Why are we having all these people
from shithole countries come here?"
00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:48.552
The president then went on to talk about
how they needed to bring in more people
00:25:48.919 --> 00:25:50.621
from places like Norway.
00:25:50.621 --> 00:25:52.022
So here we go again, folks.
00:25:52.022 --> 00:25:54.908
President Trump
busted for making monstrous comments,
00:25:54.908 --> 00:25:57.910
this time
about an entire continent and Haiti.
00:25:57.910 --> 00:26:01.013
And just like every other time
he says something indefensible,
00:26:01.013 --> 00:26:03.365
Fox News sprang to his defense.
00:26:03.365 --> 00:26:04.616
President Trump said something that
00:26:04.616 --> 00:26:07.618
almost every single person in America
actually agrees with.
00:26:07.835 --> 00:26:10.354
An awful lot of immigrants
come to this country from other places
00:26:10.354 --> 00:26:11.255
that aren't very nice.
00:26:11.255 --> 00:26:14.257
This is how the forgotten men
and women in America talk at the bar.
00:26:14.557 --> 00:26:16.676
This is how Trump relates to people.
00:26:16.676 --> 00:26:19.412
If you're at a bar and you're in Wisconsin
and you're thinking
00:26:19.412 --> 00:26:22.831
they're bringing in a bunch of Haiti
people, or El Salvadorians
00:26:22.831 --> 00:26:25.834
or people from Niger,
this is how some people talk.
00:26:26.551 --> 00:26:30.121
Fox News
is the greatest improv troupe of all time,
00:26:30.221 --> 00:26:33.040
because whatever Trump says,
they immediately find a way to agree.
00:26:33.040 --> 00:26:35.875
If he declares "I'm racist!" They'd respond, "Well, so is everyone else,
00:26:35.875 --> 00:26:37.710
so is everyone else." Yeah.
00:26:37.710 --> 00:26:41.163
Today, waves of indignation washed over the White House.
00:26:41.730 --> 00:26:44.883
That is what Reverend King preached
00:26:45.250 --> 00:26:46.735
all of his life: Love.
00:26:46.735 --> 00:26:50.187
Even as he honored the words of Doctor
Martin Luther King Jr.
00:26:50.304 --> 00:26:54.324
No matter what the color of our skin
or the place of our birth,
00:26:54.841 --> 00:26:57.627
we are all created equal by God.
00:26:59.679 --> 00:27:00.429
President Trump
00:27:00.429 --> 00:27:04.233
ignored questions about his reported words
about immigrants
00:27:04.233 --> 00:27:07.719
from Haiti and Africa during a meeting
at the White House yesterday.
00:27:07.986 --> 00:27:10.988
Did you refer to African nations as "shithole countries"?
00:27:11.038 --> 00:27:13.507
Mr. President, are you a racist?
00:27:13.507 --> 00:27:14.825
He doesn't hide it, I don't know—
00:27:14.825 --> 00:27:16.176
part of me prefers it, to be honest.
00:27:16.176 --> 00:27:18.211
At least he's blatant about it.
00:27:18.211 --> 00:27:21.247
Although it goes against what he says in front of the cameras
00:27:21.247 --> 00:27:25.117
where he says, "I want this
immigration policy to be a bill of love.
00:27:25.467 --> 00:27:26.968
It's about love, folks.
00:27:26.968 --> 00:27:27.602
It's about love."
00:27:27.602 --> 00:27:30.605
And then in private, he says, "These shithole countries—
00:27:31.022 --> 00:27:32.940
Why do we want people from these shithole countries?
00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.943
We want people from Norway."
00:27:35.943 --> 00:27:38.995
You know what's funny is that Norway
is one of the richest countries
00:27:38.995 --> 00:27:40.296
per capita in the world.
00:27:40.296 --> 00:27:41.497
Those people have a great time.
00:27:41.497 --> 00:27:45.067
I bet the Norwegians are saying, Why would
we want to come to your shithole country?
00:27:51.906 --> 00:27:53.791
We got free education.
00:27:53.791 --> 00:27:56.794
We got free health care.
00:27:57.961 --> 00:28:01.064
There were fresh calls today
for the Trump administration
00:28:01.064 --> 00:28:05.951
to end its policy of separating families
at the US-Mexico border.
00:28:06.452 --> 00:28:09.154
The numbers show the scope of the crisis.
00:28:09.154 --> 00:28:12.507
According to US Customs and Border Protection's own figures,
00:28:12.507 --> 00:28:16.610
more than 650 children were separated
from their parents at the border
00:28:16.710 --> 00:28:18.862
during a two week period in May.
00:28:18.862 --> 00:28:23.483
Just today in Geneva, the UN Office
for Human Rights condemned the situation.
00:28:23.950 --> 00:28:26.952
There is nothing normal
about detaining children.
00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:31.690
The US should immediately
halt this practice of separating families
00:28:31.690 --> 00:28:36.610
and stop criminalizing what should at
most be an administrative offense.
00:28:37.261 --> 00:28:40.714
These are the American citizens
permanently separated
00:28:41.248 --> 00:28:42.582
from their loved ones.
00:28:42.582 --> 00:28:46.018
The president sought today
to shift the focus from families separated
00:28:46.018 --> 00:28:49.688
at the border to the families of people
killed by undocumented immigrants.
00:28:49.955 --> 00:28:52.207
They're not separated
for a day or two days.
00:28:52.207 --> 00:28:56.977
They are permanently separated
because they were killed
00:28:56.977 --> 00:28:59.129
by criminal illegal aliens,
00:29:00.564 --> 00:29:05.034
As he has before, he also falsely linked the larger migrant
community to those who commit crimes.
00:29:05.501 --> 00:29:08.854
You hear? It's like they're better people
than what we have, than our citizens.
00:29:08.854 --> 00:29:10.305
It's not true.
00:29:10.305 --> 00:29:14.676
The White House event followed fierce criticism
of the President's zero tolerance policy.
00:29:14.676 --> 00:29:17.094
It continued
even after he ordered a halt
00:29:17.094 --> 00:29:19.163
to separating children from their parents—
00:29:19.163 --> 00:29:21.265
more than 2300 since early May.
00:29:22.399 --> 00:29:24.467
According to the Associated Press,
00:29:24.467 --> 00:29:28.754
500 of the separated children have since
been reunited with a family member.
00:29:32.657 --> 00:29:36.377
But advocates for the others say they're
desperately trying to find children
00:29:36.377 --> 00:29:40.281
who have been relocated to shelters
and foster care across the country.
00:29:42.516 --> 00:29:43.316
President Trump
00:29:43.316 --> 00:29:46.352
is home from Helsinki
and he is backtracking.
00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:50.756
He returned overnight to face
blistering critiques from both parties
00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:53.942
of his summit with Russia's
President Putin.
00:29:54.309 --> 00:29:57.562
I have to say,
I came back and I said, "What is going on?
00:29:57.578 --> 00:29:58.663
What's the big deal?"
00:29:58.663 --> 00:30:02.199
The president was in damage control
mode this afternoon
00:30:02.382 --> 00:30:05.385
after the storm
over his statement in Helsinki.
00:30:05.919 --> 00:30:09.305
Yesterday, he appeared to take Vladimir
Putin's word for it
00:30:09.572 --> 00:30:14.459
that Moscow did not interfere
in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
00:30:14.459 --> 00:30:16.444
He just said, "It's not Russia."
00:30:16.444 --> 00:30:17.428
I will say this.
00:30:17.428 --> 00:30:19.163
I don't see any reason
why it would be.
00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:23.734
Today, reading from a prepared statement,
he said the opposite.
00:30:24.067 --> 00:30:25.352
It should have been obvious.
00:30:25.352 --> 00:30:29.756
I thought it would be obvious, but I would
like to clarify just in case it wasn't.
00:30:30.206 --> 00:30:35.310
In a key sentence in my remarks
I said the word "would" instead of "wouldn't".
00:30:36.811 --> 00:30:38.313
The sentence should have been:
00:30:38.313 --> 00:30:43.417
"I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia."
00:30:43.417 --> 00:30:45.452
Sort of a double negative.
00:30:45.452 --> 00:30:49.172
In Helsinki, Mr. Trump had also dismissed
00:30:49.172 --> 00:30:52.958
US intelligence findings
of Russian involvement in the election.
00:30:53.275 --> 00:30:57.729
Today, he insisted he has great confidence
in the intelligence community.
00:30:57.996 --> 00:31:02.700
Let me be totally clear in saying that,
and I've said this many times,
00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:07.354
I accept our intelligence community's
conclusion
00:31:08.038 --> 00:31:14.110
that Russia's meddling in the 2016
election took place.
00:31:14.610 --> 00:31:16.862
Could be other people also.
00:31:16.862 --> 00:31:22.867
Earlier, in tweets, Mr. Trump blamed the news media
for the bipartisan shellacking he's taken.
00:31:23.317 --> 00:31:30.056
He also blames special counsel Robert
Mueller's investigation for hurting U.S.-Russian relations.
00:31:30.056 --> 00:31:32.975
Before leaving Helsinki,
he returned to the theme.
00:31:32.975 --> 00:31:38.347
They drove a phony wedge,
just a phony witch hunt rigged deal.
00:31:38.997 --> 00:31:45.453
Just last Friday, Mueller indicted
12 Russian officials for election cyber attacks.
00:31:45.453 --> 00:31:50.290
Putin, in his own interview, declined
to accept a copy of the indictments,
00:31:50.290 --> 00:31:54.544
and he appeared to defend the hacking
of Democratic Party emails.
00:31:54.544 --> 00:31:58.180
So are you saying it's okay
because it was their real e-mails,
00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:00.065
so it's okay to hack and
00:32:01.316 --> 00:32:04.318
spread this information out and interfere
with the election?
00:32:05.820 --> 00:32:08.205
Listen to me, please.
00:32:08.205 --> 00:32:11.158
The information that I am aware of,
00:32:11.158 --> 00:32:13.326
there's nothing false about it.
00:32:13.326 --> 00:32:15.094
Every single grain of it is true.
00:32:15.094 --> 00:32:17.263
And the Democratic leadership admitted it.
00:32:17.263 --> 00:32:20.399
Today, Moscow
announced it's ready to implement
00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:25.820
new agreements on boosting collaboration
with the U.S. military in Syria
00:32:25.820 --> 00:32:28.289
and on extending a nuclear arms pact.
00:32:28.739 --> 00:32:32.325
And Russian reports
voiced sympathy for Mr. Trump.
00:32:32.325 --> 00:32:35.545
But in the hours before the President
spoke today,
00:32:35.678 --> 00:32:40.048
the criticism continued
from the likes of House Speaker Paul Ryan.
00:32:40.115 --> 00:32:42.367
Vladimir Putin
does not share our interests.
00:32:42.367 --> 00:32:45.236
Vladimir Putin does not share our values.
00:32:45.236 --> 00:32:47.755
I remain astonished that
00:32:47.755 --> 00:32:50.757
the president would choose to believe
00:32:51.174 --> 00:32:54.127
the assertions by President Putin
00:32:54.127 --> 00:32:57.130
over the unanimous conclusions
00:32:57.180 --> 00:33:01.567
of his own U.S. intelligence leaders.
00:33:01.567 --> 00:33:05.336
On Monday, the president seemed to take
Putin's denials at face value.
00:33:05.520 --> 00:33:08.339
Intelligence
Director Coats quickly challenged that,
00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:12.342
saying Russian interference did happen
and it's continuing to happen.
00:33:12.342 --> 00:33:14.794
Today, Coats said he had had no choice.
00:33:14.794 --> 00:33:19.982
My thoughts there were that I believed
I needed to correct the record for that.
00:33:19.982 --> 00:33:22.834
Obviously, I wished he had made
a different statement,
00:33:22.834 --> 00:33:27.488
but I think that
now that has been clarified.
00:33:27.488 --> 00:33:33.310
Just yesterday, Mr. Trump appeared to dismiss the notion
that Russian interference is ongoing.
00:33:33.310 --> 00:33:36.146
Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr.
President?
00:33:36.146 --> 00:33:37.480
Thank you very much. No.
00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:39.048
No? You don't believe that to be the case?
00:33:39.048 --> 00:33:39.815
No.
00:33:39.815 --> 00:33:43.769
The White House later said that Mr. Trump had been misunderstood.
00:33:43.769 --> 00:33:48.306
All of this has lawmakers on both sides
asking questions and seeking action.
00:33:48.706 --> 00:33:52.142
Republican Senator Bob Corker chairs
the Foreign Relations Committee.
00:33:52.209 --> 00:33:57.030
I just feel sometimes
that, the president conflates,
00:33:58.681 --> 00:34:03.085
getting along with someone and,
you know, flattery and those kinds of things
00:34:03.085 --> 00:34:06.571
with the actual policies.
00:34:26.054 --> 00:34:29.057
This is a CBS news special report.
00:34:29.324 --> 00:34:34.178
And this is the day for nearly two
that many Americans have been waiting for.
00:34:34.461 --> 00:34:37.964
I'm Norah O'Donnell with Gayle King
and John Dickerson in New York.
00:34:37.964 --> 00:34:40.099
We want to take you now to Washington,
00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:43.486
where Attorney General William Barr
is about to speak to reporters
00:34:43.753 --> 00:34:48.707
about the special counsel's
report on Russian election interference.
00:34:49.491 --> 00:34:52.577
The Mueller report is unique
in American history.
00:34:52.810 --> 00:34:55.779
At times,
it reads like a novel, even a thriller.
00:34:55.779 --> 00:34:58.782
At other times it is dense legal opinion.
00:34:58.899 --> 00:35:01.067
So what did it find?
00:35:01.067 --> 00:35:04.670
First, that the Russians attacked the 2016
election.
00:35:04.670 --> 00:35:08.256
The Mueller report is loaded with examples
of how Russian operatives
00:35:08.256 --> 00:35:11.976
launched what they call "information
warfare" on the US.
00:35:12.260 --> 00:35:15.496
They wanted to distract and inflame
voters, to benefit
00:35:15.496 --> 00:35:18.615
Donald Trump's candidacy,
and to damage Hillary Clinton's.
00:35:18.732 --> 00:35:22.835
And while Mueller shows the Trump
campaign worked with individual Russians,
00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.956
he found the evidence did not show
any conspiracy or coordination
00:35:26.956 --> 00:35:28.340
by the Trump campaign.
00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:31.476
The Mueller report does not establish
any such wrongdoing.
00:35:31.910 --> 00:35:35.830
But on the issue of obstruction,
Mueller does not agree with the president.
00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:39.733
Mueller's report
lays out a long string of examples
00:35:39.733 --> 00:35:42.886
where it finds evidence,
sometimes substantial evidence,
00:35:43.069 --> 00:35:46.055
that the president
tried to obstruct justice.
00:35:46.205 --> 00:35:47.923
For example, the president asked
00:35:47.923 --> 00:35:51.710
FBI Director James Comey
to let go of one investigation.
00:35:51.877 --> 00:35:55.663
He told his White House counsel,
Don McGahn, that Mueller has to go
00:35:55.663 --> 00:35:59.917
and later told him to lie and deny
that conversation ever happened.
00:36:00.284 --> 00:36:03.336
Overall, Mueller writes,
the evidence does point
00:36:03.336 --> 00:36:07.340
to a range of personal motives
animating the president's conduct.
00:36:07.656 --> 00:36:11.626
Those include concerns
the investigation would call into question
00:36:11.626 --> 00:36:15.797
the legitimacy of his election,
and whether certain events could be seen
00:36:15.797 --> 00:36:20.267
as criminal activity by the president,
his campaign or family.
00:36:20.834 --> 00:36:24.371
But despite that, Mueller decided
not to indict the president.
00:36:24.704 --> 00:36:25.305
The reason,
00:36:25.305 --> 00:36:29.558
he said, is a Justice Department opinion
issued during the Watergate scandal.
00:36:29.675 --> 00:36:33.228
It says that a sitting president
cannot be indicted.
00:36:33.678 --> 00:36:38.899
This is internal agency policy from 1973,
not a law or court ruling.
00:36:39.233 --> 00:36:42.186
OK, so what did this investigation produce?
00:36:42.186 --> 00:36:47.023
Mueller lists all of the
court cases triggered by his probe.
00:36:47.023 --> 00:36:50.276
So far, a total of 34
people have been indicted.
00:36:50.292 --> 00:36:53.145
The vast
majority of those are Russian nationals.
00:36:53.145 --> 00:36:57.365
But the investigation also led to a
three year prison sentence for Trump's
00:36:57.365 --> 00:37:01.535
former lawyer, Michael Cohen,
on fraud and campaign finance violations.
00:37:01.819 --> 00:37:04.988
Former Trump campaign
chairman Paul Manafort is serving
00:37:04.988 --> 00:37:08.591
seven and a half years on charges
unrelated to the campaign.
00:37:08.858 --> 00:37:13.545
Manafort's deputy, Rick Gates, and former
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn
00:37:13.729 --> 00:37:17.916
both pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI
and have yet to be sentenced.
00:37:18.249 --> 00:37:21.168
Meanwhile,
another big case is heading to trial.
00:37:22.303 --> 00:37:26.056
Trump confidant Roger Stone is charged
by Mueller with obstruction
00:37:26.056 --> 00:37:29.258
and lying to Congress about his contacts
with Wikileaks
00:37:29.409 --> 00:37:32.595
and the release of Democratic documents
stolen by the Russians.
00:37:32.895 --> 00:37:36.915
The report leaves open
its most wrenching and difficult question:
00:37:36.915 --> 00:37:39.667
whether the president himself
broke the law.
00:37:39.667 --> 00:37:43.821
The report's final conclusion
is that single, complicated paragraph
00:37:43.821 --> 00:37:45.038
you may have heard before.
00:37:45.038 --> 00:37:46.490
It reads in part,
00:37:46.490 --> 00:37:49.876
"If we had confidence, after
a thorough investigation of the facts,
00:37:49.876 --> 00:37:54.530
that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice,
we would so state;
00:37:54.530 --> 00:37:59.901
based on the facts, and the applicable legal standards,
we are unable to reach that judgment.
00:38:00.351 --> 00:38:02.887
Accordingly,
while this report does not conclude that
00:38:02.887 --> 00:38:06.640
the president committed a crime,
it also does not exonerate him."
00:38:08.808 --> 00:38:10.577
The whistleblower complaint
about President Trump
00:38:10.577 --> 00:38:13.329
over an alleged promise to a foreign
leader has the president reacting
00:38:13.329 --> 00:38:17.165
today, arguing the claims are not true
and might be politically motivated.
00:38:17.349 --> 00:38:18.650
Ken Dilanian joins me now.
00:38:18.650 --> 00:38:21.169
And, Ken,
this call may have been about Ukraine.
00:38:21.169 --> 00:38:22.904
What do we know about that today?
00:38:22.904 --> 00:38:23.237
That's right.
00:38:23.237 --> 00:38:26.473
That's right Allison, the Washington Post
and The New York Times are both reporting
00:38:26.473 --> 00:38:29.176
that this whistleblower complaint
is linked to Ukraine.
00:38:29.176 --> 00:38:31.728
NBC news
has not independently confirmed that.
00:38:31.728 --> 00:38:33.829
But it's gotten the speculation rolling.
00:38:33.829 --> 00:38:37.332
And when we look back at the timeline,
there was a call on July 25th
00:38:37.449 --> 00:38:39.551
to Donald Trump
and the president of Ukraine,
00:38:39.551 --> 00:38:42.553
which is already under scrutiny
and investigation by House Democrats.
00:38:42.770 --> 00:38:45.556
The allegation is that Donald Trump
somehow dangled
00:38:45.556 --> 00:38:48.976
$250 million in military aid
00:38:50.060 --> 00:38:53.446
in exchange for
the president reopening an investigation
00:38:53.663 --> 00:38:57.616
in Ukraine that implicates or involves
Joe Biden and his son,
00:38:57.649 --> 00:39:01.069
Hunter Biden, who had a job at one point
for a Ukrainian gas company.
00:39:01.336 --> 00:39:04.205
We don't know the identity
of the whistleblower, the person
00:39:04.205 --> 00:39:08.025
who made the complaint about recent events
concerning US President Donald Trump.
00:39:08.358 --> 00:39:10.177
The whistleblower writes
that multiple U.S.
00:39:10.177 --> 00:39:14.080
officials told them that President Trump
pressured the president of Ukraine
00:39:14.080 --> 00:39:15.765
for its own political gain.
00:39:15.765 --> 00:39:19.718
He wanted Ukraine to open an investigation
into former vice president Joe Biden
00:39:19.718 --> 00:39:21.136
and his son, Hunter Biden.
00:39:21.136 --> 00:39:24.405
The younger Biden served on the board
of a Ukrainian energy company.
00:39:24.572 --> 00:39:25.406
The whistleblower said
00:39:25.406 --> 00:39:28.575
that the president was soliciting
interference with a foreign country,
00:39:28.742 --> 00:39:30.827
and sought to pressure
the Ukrainian leader
00:39:30.827 --> 00:39:33.196
to help the president's
2020 reelection bid.
00:39:34.664 --> 00:39:36.465
I'm announcing
the House of Representatives
00:39:36.465 --> 00:39:39.535
moving forward
with an official impeachment inquiry
00:39:40.752 --> 00:39:43.355
without having seen the whistleblower complaints,
00:39:43.355 --> 00:39:45.640
without having seen a transcript of the call,
00:39:45.690 --> 00:39:48.876
why are you confident, going forward
with an impeachment inquiry?
00:39:48.893 --> 00:39:50.377
Do you really think there's evidence
00:39:50.377 --> 00:39:53.380
beyond what the president has already said
publicly?
00:39:53.463 --> 00:39:56.265
Well, what the president has said
publicly is damning enough.
00:39:56.265 --> 00:39:57.900
I mean, let's look at what he said.
00:39:57.900 --> 00:40:00.102
Let's look at what his lawyer has said.
00:40:00.102 --> 00:40:03.105
They both admitted to pressuring Ukraine
00:40:03.505 --> 00:40:06.507
to manufacture dirt on their opponent,
Joe Biden.
00:40:06.524 --> 00:40:10.110
There's no rationalizing that,
no justifying that;
00:40:10.110 --> 00:40:13.263
that is a horrible abuse
of the oath of office.
00:40:13.814 --> 00:40:16.649
In terms of what language he used
at this particular call,
00:40:16.649 --> 00:40:20.469
that's only one aspect of the evidence.
00:40:20.469 --> 00:40:22.721
But here, what
the president has already admitted:
00:40:22.721 --> 00:40:26.774
the president's acknowledgment
of withholding Ukraine aid,
00:40:26.774 --> 00:40:30.961
the fact that he would not even share
with leaders of his own party
00:40:30.961 --> 00:40:34.831
like Mitch McConnell, the justification;
the fact that when this came to light,
00:40:35.015 --> 00:40:38.318
he has now given shifting explanations
for why he withheld the aid.
00:40:38.851 --> 00:40:42.104
I think all of those facts
which are uncontested at this point,
00:40:42.604 --> 00:40:46.508
compel us to move down the path
of a formal impeachment inquiry.
00:40:46.908 --> 00:40:49.710
And so we'll see
what the transcript has to say.
00:40:49.710 --> 00:40:53.280
But if it says merely what the president
has acknowledged, that's damning enough.
00:40:53.814 --> 00:40:58.301
President Trump and his allies, however,
insist this is a political attack.
00:40:58.568 --> 00:41:03.455
This is a witchhunt at the highest level,
and it's so bad for our country.
00:41:03.539 --> 00:41:06.458
This brings us to the event
at the heart of all of this.
00:41:06.458 --> 00:41:10.178
The July 25th phone call between President
Trump and President Zelensky.
00:41:10.378 --> 00:41:11.462
President Trump tells
00:41:11.462 --> 00:41:14.465
Zelensky that the United States
had been very good to Ukraine.
00:41:14.615 --> 00:41:17.801
He then says, quote,
I would like you to do us a favor, though.
00:41:18.068 --> 00:41:19.986
He goes on to say
that he would like Zelensky
00:41:19.986 --> 00:41:23.589
to look into two things:
the 2016 election and former
00:41:23.589 --> 00:41:26.942
Vice President Joe Biden and his son
Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine.
00:41:27.459 --> 00:41:31.345
Among the officials on that call, an army
lieutenant colonel named Alexander Vindman,
00:41:31.345 --> 00:41:34.832
the top Ukraine expert
on the National Security Council.
00:41:35.099 --> 00:41:36.717
He's usually behind the scenes.
00:41:36.717 --> 00:41:38.251
Now, he is central.
00:41:38.251 --> 00:41:41.404
Vindman testifies that what he heard on
the call was not proper;
00:41:41.587 --> 00:41:44.540
the president demanding that
a foreign government investigate
00:41:44.540 --> 00:41:47.526
a U.S. citizen and political opponent.
00:41:47.526 --> 00:41:48.627
President Trump has said
00:41:48.627 --> 00:41:51.629
the call was about getting to the bottom
of corruption in Ukraine.
00:41:51.629 --> 00:41:53.397
We are looking at corruption.
00:41:53.397 --> 00:41:56.733
We're not looking at politics,
we're looking at corruption.
00:41:58.769 --> 00:41:59.970
Breaking news tonight.
00:41:59.970 --> 00:42:02.705
A moment in history.
00:42:02.705 --> 00:42:05.708
The vote to impeach President
Donald Trump.
00:42:06.058 --> 00:42:08.877
Article two is adopted
00:42:08.877 --> 00:42:13.264
In Washington, a house divided—the partisan anger
and the bitter debate.
00:42:13.865 --> 00:42:15.166
That's a bunch of bunk..
00:42:15.166 --> 00:42:17.734
If we did that,
we would likely get indicted.
00:42:20.954 --> 00:42:23.973
Across America, a nation divided:
00:42:23.973 --> 00:42:26.976
protests, frustration and the fallout.
00:42:27.026 --> 00:42:29.494
The weather outside is frightful,
00:42:29.494 --> 00:42:31.379
but impeachment is so delightful.
00:42:32.180 --> 00:42:34.532
The president's supporters
line up in Michigan's
00:42:34.532 --> 00:42:37.534
15-degree (F) weather to hear him speak.
00:42:37.534 --> 00:42:41.404
I think the case has a lot of holes in it,
and I think
00:42:41.888 --> 00:42:44.557
the average American has kind of tuned
it out.
00:42:44.557 --> 00:42:47.409
His first reaction tonight
as the president headlines
00:42:47.409 --> 00:42:50.996
a Merry Christmas campaign
rally in a battleground state.
00:42:53.915 --> 00:42:56.100
This is the CBS Evening News
00:42:56.100 --> 00:42:59.787
with Norah O'Donnell
reporting from the nation's capital.
00:43:00.687 --> 00:43:03.807
And good evening
to our viewers in the West.
00:43:03.807 --> 00:43:06.826
History has just been made as we
come on the air:
00:43:06.826 --> 00:43:09.578
for only the third time in American history,
00:43:09.578 --> 00:43:13.298
the House of Representatives
has voted to impeach a president.
00:43:13.565 --> 00:43:18.335
Donald Trump has just joined Bill Clinton
and Andrew Johnson on that list.
00:43:18.519 --> 00:43:23.406
And in both of those cases, the Senate
voted not to remove them from office.
00:43:23.590 --> 00:43:26.826
Now, members in the House
have just approved on both counts.
00:43:27.009 --> 00:43:29.528
Those two counts: Abuse of Power,
00:43:29.528 --> 00:43:32.197
and the second count: Obstruction of Congress.
00:43:39.370 --> 00:43:42.372
This is an NBC news special report.
00:43:42.556 --> 00:43:44.824
The Trial of Donald J. Trump.
00:43:44.824 --> 00:43:46.576
Here is Lester Holt.
00:43:46.576 --> 00:43:50.596
Good afternoon, we are coming on the air to bring you
NBC news' live coverage of the Senate
00:43:50.596 --> 00:43:53.982
impeachment trial of President Trump,
less than 24 hours
00:43:54.166 --> 00:43:57.735
after his State of the Union speech
to a bitterly divided Congress.
00:43:58.036 --> 00:44:02.106
Today, the final act, the vote on whether
to convict and remove the president
00:44:02.322 --> 00:44:06.793
on the two counts of impeachment voted
by the House exactly seven weeks ago.
00:44:07.093 --> 00:44:10.780
Now it's the Senate's turn in an all
but certain vote for acquittal.
00:44:10.880 --> 00:44:13.866
We want to start with Kasie
Hunt at the Capitol right now
00:44:13.866 --> 00:44:17.952
with some dramatic news regarding one
Republican senator who did some soul
00:44:17.952 --> 00:44:22.323
searching, literally, and is going to vote
to convict – Kasie.
00:44:22.323 --> 00:44:26.509
Lester, dramatic is the right word for what has
unfolded here on Capitol Hill today.
00:44:26.526 --> 00:44:31.030
Senator Mitt Romney,
once the Republican nominee for president,
00:44:31.297 --> 00:44:35.567
announcing that he is going to vote
to convict President Trump
00:44:35.567 --> 00:44:38.670
on that first article, abuse of power.
00:44:38.670 --> 00:44:43.123
He's doing it, he says, because of his own faith
and his conscience.
00:44:43.157 --> 00:44:46.159
Let's listen to a little bit
of what Romney said this morning.
00:44:46.626 --> 00:44:49.879
Were I to ignore
the evidence that has been presented,
00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:54.066
and disregard what I believe my oath
and the Constitution demands of me,
00:44:54.767 --> 00:44:57.219
for the sake of a partisan end,
00:44:57.219 --> 00:45:00.071
it would, I fear, expose my character
00:45:00.071 --> 00:45:04.124
to history's rebuke
and the censure of my own conscience.
00:45:05.542 --> 00:45:10.213
In this article of impeachment 48 senators have pronounced
Donald John Trump,
00:45:10.213 --> 00:45:13.215
president of the United States, guilty
as charged.
00:45:13.632 --> 00:45:17.202
52 senators have pronounced him
not guilty as charged.
00:45:17.769 --> 00:45:21.222
Two thirds of the senators present
not having pronounced him guilty,
00:45:21.589 --> 00:45:25.176
the Senate adjudges that the respondent,
Donald John Trump,
00:45:25.176 --> 00:45:28.728
president of the United States,
is not guilty as charged
00:45:28.728 --> 00:45:31.714
in the first article of impeachment.
00:45:31.965 --> 00:45:35.000
On this article of impeachment,
47 senators
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:38.270
have pronounced Donald John Trump,
president of the United States,
00:45:38.287 --> 00:45:40.005
guilty as charged.
00:45:40.005 --> 00:45:43.357
53 senators have pronounced him
not guilty as charged.
00:45:43.908 --> 00:45:47.227
Two thirds of the senators present
not having pronounced him guilty,
00:45:47.644 --> 00:45:50.864
the Senate adjudges that respondent,
Donald John Trump,
00:45:51.097 --> 00:45:54.200
president of the United States,
is not guilty as charged
00:45:54.200 --> 00:45:56.569
in the second article of impeachment.
00:45:59.171 --> 00:46:01.072
Are there words about a pandemic at this point?
00:46:01.072 --> 00:46:01.956
No, not at all.
00:46:01.956 --> 00:46:04.709
And we have it totally under control.
00:46:04.709 --> 00:46:06.494
we think we have it very well under control.
00:46:06.494 --> 00:46:07.961
We pretty much shut it down.
00:46:07.961 --> 00:46:09.580
A lot of people think that goes away in
00:46:09.580 --> 00:46:10.814
April with the heat.
00:46:10.814 --> 00:46:12.232
We're in very good shape.
00:46:12.232 --> 00:46:13.816
I think it's going to work out fine.
00:46:13.816 --> 00:46:15.668
...very well under control in our country.
00:46:15.668 --> 00:46:17.403
I think that's a problem that's going
to go away.
00:46:17.403 --> 00:46:22.807
Because of all we've done the risk to the American people remains very low.
00:46:22.807 --> 00:46:24.676
I mean, view this the same as the flu.
00:46:24.676 --> 00:46:27.261
It's going to disappear one day.
It's like a miracle.
00:46:27.261 --> 00:46:28.179
It will disappear.
00:46:28.179 --> 00:46:31.898
We are working on cures
and we're getting some very good results.
00:46:31.898 --> 00:46:34.217
We only have 15 people
and they're getting better.
00:46:34.217 --> 00:46:37.720
Now the Democrats are politicizing
00:46:38.387 --> 00:46:42.040
the coronavirus;
and this is their new hoax.
00:46:42.040 --> 00:46:45.043
If you're healthy, probably,
00:46:45.043 --> 00:46:47.261
go through a process and you'll be fine.
00:46:47.261 --> 00:46:49.363
You take a solid flu vaccine,
00:46:49.363 --> 00:46:53.250
you don't think that would have an impact
or much of an impact on corona? No.
00:46:53.383 --> 00:46:55.818
Some of them go to work,
but they get better.
00:46:55.818 --> 00:46:56.686
It'll go away.
00:46:56.686 --> 00:46:59.138
We're doing very well
and we've done a fantastic job.
00:46:59.138 --> 00:47:00.789
It will go away. Just stay calm.
00:47:00.789 --> 00:47:04.843
We have seen dramatically fewer
cases of the virus in the United States
00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:07.578
than are now present in Europe.
00:47:07.578 --> 00:47:08.379
It's going to go away.
00:47:08.379 --> 00:47:14.451
1.4 million tests on board
next week and 5 million within a month.
00:47:14.451 --> 00:47:16.069
I doubt we'll need anywhere near that.
00:47:16.069 --> 00:47:19.789
It's something that we have tremendous
control of, and I think we're going to win
00:47:19.789 --> 00:47:21.407
faster than people think—I hope.
00:47:21.407 --> 00:47:24.943
Parts of our country
are very lightly affected.
00:47:24.943 --> 00:47:25.877
You're going to lose
00:47:25.877 --> 00:47:28.930
a number of people to the flu,
but you're going to lose more people
00:47:29.447 --> 00:47:34.217
by putting a country
into a massive recession or depression.
00:47:34.217 --> 00:47:35.302
They have to go back to work.
00:47:35.302 --> 00:47:37.687
I think it's going to happen
pretty quickly.
00:47:37.687 --> 00:47:40.423
2.2 million deaths.
00:47:40.423 --> 00:47:44.626
If we could hold that down,
as we're saying, to 100,000.
00:47:44.626 --> 00:47:45.727
It's a horrible number.
00:47:45.727 --> 00:47:47.929
We all together have done a very good job.
00:47:47.929 --> 00:47:50.648
It will go away.
You know it. You know it is going away.
00:47:50.648 --> 00:47:53.417
We think the death will be
at a very low number.
00:47:53.417 --> 00:47:55.452
It's going to go away
hopefully at the end of the month
00:47:55.452 --> 00:47:57.971
and if not, it hopefully
will be soon after that.
00:47:59.572 --> 00:48:02.992
The bombshell revelations
come in a new book from Bob Woodward,
00:48:03.142 --> 00:48:06.228
in which President Trump says
he intentionally downplayed
00:48:06.228 --> 00:48:10.648
the severity of the coronavirus in public
to avoid triggering a panic.
00:48:10.948 --> 00:48:14.368
In his book,
Woodward writes that on January 28th,
00:48:14.368 --> 00:48:18.738
the president's national security advisor
warned him the virus outbreak in China
00:48:18.738 --> 00:48:22.692
was the biggest national security threat
you will face in your presidency.
00:48:22.708 --> 00:48:26.328
In audio excerpts released
by The Washington Post, the president
00:48:26.328 --> 00:48:30.598
revealing to Woodward on February 7th
a surprising level of detail.
00:48:30.682 --> 00:48:33.717
It goes through air, Bob,
that's always tougher than the touch.
00:48:33.717 --> 00:48:34.785
You just breathe the air.
00:48:34.785 --> 00:48:37.287
That's how it's passed.
00:48:37.287 --> 00:48:39.205
And so that's a very tricky one.
00:48:39.205 --> 00:48:41.207
That's a very delicate one.
00:48:41.207 --> 00:48:43.943
It's also more deadly than,
00:48:43.943 --> 00:48:46.795
even your strenuous flus.
00:48:46.795 --> 00:48:48.113
This is deadly stuff.
00:48:48.113 --> 00:48:51.416
On March 19th, in
another taped conversation with Woodward,
00:48:51.582 --> 00:48:54.585
admitting he was deliberately
downplaying the danger.
00:48:54.718 --> 00:48:57.354
Well, I think, Bob, really,
to be honest with you, you're.
00:48:57.354 --> 00:48:58.071
Sure, I want you to be.
00:48:58.071 --> 00:49:02.458
I wanted to,
I wanted to always play it down.
00:49:02.458 --> 00:49:04.310
I still like playing it down.
00:49:04.310 --> 00:49:06.645
Because I don't want to create a panic.
00:49:16.253 --> 00:49:17.638
I beat Bernie Sanders.
00:49:17.638 --> 00:49:18.455
Not by much.
00:49:18.455 --> 00:49:20.157
I beat him a whole hell of a lot.
00:49:20.157 --> 00:49:21.825
I'm here to stand facing you, old buddy.
00:49:21.825 --> 00:49:23.776
If Pocahontas would have left two days early
00:49:23.776 --> 00:49:26.929
you would have lost every primary on Super Tuesday.
00:49:26.929 --> 00:49:28.664
You got very lucky.
00:49:28.664 --> 00:49:31.516
I got very lucky, and I'm going to get very lucky tonight as well.
00:49:31.516 --> 00:49:33.167
And tonight I'm going to make sure....
00:49:33.167 --> 00:49:33.818
With what?
00:49:33.818 --> 00:49:39.022
Here's the deal, the fact is that everything
he's saying so far is simply a lie.
00:49:39.022 --> 00:49:40.607
I'm not here to call out his lies.
00:49:40.607 --> 00:49:42.092
Everybody knows he's a liar.
00:49:42.092 --> 00:49:44.711
But you agree...no, Joe, you're the liar.
00:49:44.711 --> 00:49:46.095
I want to make sure.
00:49:46.095 --> 00:49:48.747
You graduated last in your class, not first in your class.
00:49:48.747 --> 00:49:50.182
I want to make sure...Oh, God.
00:49:50.182 --> 00:49:51.833
Mr. President, can you let him finish, sir?
00:49:51.833 --> 00:49:53.001
No, he doesn't know how to do that.
00:49:54.235 --> 00:49:55.753
Are you willing tonight
00:49:55.753 --> 00:49:58.973
to condemn white supremacists
and militia groups,
00:49:59.239 --> 00:50:05.244
and to say that they need to stand down
and not add to the violence in a number
00:50:05.244 --> 00:50:09.014
of these cities, as we saw in Kenosha
and as we've seen in Portland?
00:50:09.231 --> 00:50:11.149
Sure, I'm willing to do that, but—
00:50:11.149 --> 00:50:12.050
Well, go ahead, sir.
00:50:12.050 --> 00:50:16.337
I would say almost everything I see is
from the left wing, not from the right.
00:50:16.337 --> 00:50:18.055
So what are you saying?
00:50:18.055 --> 00:50:20.524
I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace.
00:50:20.524 --> 00:50:23.276
Then do it, sir.
– Say it. Do it. Say it.
00:50:23.276 --> 00:50:24.477
You want to call them...?
00:50:24.477 --> 00:50:25.311
What do you want to call them?
00:50:25.311 --> 00:50:25.878
Give me a name.
00:50:25.878 --> 00:50:28.197
Who would you like me to condemn?
00:50:28.197 --> 00:50:30.649
Proud Boys and other white supremacists.
00:50:30.649 --> 00:50:32.668
Proud Boys: stand back and stand by.
00:50:35.086 --> 00:50:36.921
This election is on a knife edge.
00:50:36.921 --> 00:50:39.907
America saw the highest turnout
in more than 100 years.
00:50:39.907 --> 00:50:42.793
Almost 67% of the voters
cast their ballot—
00:50:42.793 --> 00:50:45.161
the highest in 120 years.
00:50:45.161 --> 00:50:49.215
That's a significant political statement
that Americans have made.
00:50:49.749 --> 00:50:51.967
The counting
so far has not thrown up a winner.
00:50:51.967 --> 00:50:54.102
Millions of votes are yet to be counted.
00:50:54.102 --> 00:50:56.454
We may not have a result for days.
00:50:56.454 --> 00:51:01.008
Some states allow the ballots
to come in late, so it will take time
00:51:01.008 --> 00:51:04.628
to count all of them, to tally the figures
and to produce the results.
00:51:05.262 --> 00:51:06.763
Don't hold your breath.
00:51:06.763 --> 00:51:09.765
In some states it could take days.
00:51:10.783 --> 00:51:11.951
But this is 2020.
00:51:11.951 --> 00:51:14.052
Everything is in a fast track.
00:51:14.052 --> 00:51:16.838
Nobody likes to wait.
Definitely not the Americans.
00:51:16.838 --> 00:51:20.891
They're unsettled by the delay.
And their president is not helping them.
00:51:21.192 --> 00:51:23.260
Donald Trump is being himself.
00:51:23.260 --> 00:51:26.263
He declared victory
well before the votes were counted.
00:51:26.613 --> 00:51:27.764
And that's not all.
00:51:27.764 --> 00:51:31.484
He has accused the Democrats of fraud,
and he has said that he
00:51:31.484 --> 00:51:32.835
will move the Supreme Court.
00:51:34.269 --> 00:51:37.505
This is a fraud on the American public.
00:51:37.956 --> 00:51:40.958
This is an embarrassment to our country.
00:51:41.859 --> 00:51:44.862
We were getting ready
to win this election.
00:51:45.045 --> 00:51:48.014
Frankly, we did win this election.
00:51:48.014 --> 00:51:51.017
We did win this election.
00:51:53.102 --> 00:51:56.171
So our goal now is to ensure the integrity
00:51:57.556 --> 00:51:58.807
for the good of this nation.
00:51:58.807 --> 00:52:01.092
This is a very big moment.
00:52:01.092 --> 00:52:03.978
This is a major fraud in our nation.
00:52:03.978 --> 00:52:07.931
We want the law
to be used in a proper manner.
00:52:08.882 --> 00:52:12.768
So we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court.
00:52:12.768 --> 00:52:15.754
We want all voting to stop.
00:52:16.755 --> 00:52:19.624
The fact is that
there is no evidence of fraud
00:52:19.624 --> 00:52:24.412
in this election so far,
but facts are not in vogue, unfortunately.
00:52:24.412 --> 00:52:27.614
That statement from Donald
Trump has ignited a fire.
00:52:28.031 --> 00:52:31.534
Multiple American cities have witnessed
protests. In Washington, D.C.
00:52:31.534 --> 00:52:34.036
there was a scuffle between the protesters
and the police.
00:52:34.036 --> 00:52:36.939
This happened at the Black Lives
Matter Plaza.
00:52:36.939 --> 00:52:39.057
This is close to the White House.
00:52:39.057 --> 00:52:41.626
Another report claims four people
00:52:41.626 --> 00:52:45.046
were stabbed just a few blocks away
from the president's residence.
00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:47.714
What about the Biden camp?
00:52:47.714 --> 00:52:49.182
What are they saying?
00:52:49.182 --> 00:52:51.084
The former vice
president addressed the press.
00:52:51.084 --> 00:52:55.037
He said he's confident of a victory,
but he won't be the one
00:52:55.037 --> 00:52:58.023
to declare the result.
00:52:58.357 --> 00:53:00.425
You know, we could know the results
00:53:00.425 --> 00:53:03.828
as early as tomorrow morning,
but it may take a little longer.
00:53:03.828 --> 00:53:05.946
As I've said all along,
00:53:05.946 --> 00:53:10.117
it's not my place or Donald Trump's
place to declare who's won this election.
00:53:10.600 --> 00:53:13.086
That's the decision
of the American people.
00:53:13.086 --> 00:53:18.223
It's never been a controversial notion
here that in order to figure out
00:53:18.223 --> 00:53:22.093
who's won a presidential election,
you count all the votes.
00:53:22.093 --> 00:53:24.812
But that is now a controversial notion,
00:53:24.812 --> 00:53:28.599
after President Trump has spent months
sowing disquiet
00:53:28.599 --> 00:53:33.286
about the sanctity of America's
electoral system, falsely advancing
00:53:33.286 --> 00:53:38.741
the entirely untrue claim
that millions of ballots
00:53:38.741 --> 00:53:42.394
are fraudulently cast
in every American presidential election.
00:53:42.427 --> 00:53:45.430
That's not true. It does not happen.
00:53:45.663 --> 00:53:49.350
And now, that event at the White House last night,
00:53:49.350 --> 00:53:52.386
flanked as he was by members of his family,
00:53:52.386 --> 00:53:56.105
the vice president,
Mike Pence, the first lady, Melania Trump,
00:53:56.372 --> 00:54:00.642
declaring victory in an election
that he has not yet won,
00:54:00.642 --> 00:54:05.797
propels the country down a very,
very dangerous constitutional path.
00:54:07.515 --> 00:54:10.517
This is a Fox News special report.
00:54:11.418 --> 00:54:12.669
...can now project
00:54:12.669 --> 00:54:16.539
that former Vice President Joe
Biden will win Pennsylvania and Nevada,
00:54:16.573 --> 00:54:19.658
putting him over the 270 electoral votes
00:54:19.658 --> 00:54:22.845
he needs to become the 46th president
of the United States.
00:54:22.878 --> 00:54:24.196
Donald Trump, the 45th
00:54:24.196 --> 00:54:28.599
president of the United States,
has vowed not to concede at this point.
00:54:28.783 --> 00:54:32.619
Legal challenges will ensue
over the course of Monday and beyond.
00:54:32.853 --> 00:54:35.855
We will see what happens.
00:54:45.163 --> 00:54:50.001
Chaos at the heart of America's democracy.
00:54:50.601 --> 00:54:52.936
Unleashed by the president,
00:54:52.936 --> 00:54:57.173
Donald Trump supporters
smash their way into the US
00:55:03.379 --> 00:55:06.314
Furious over
President Trump's November defeat,
00:55:06.314 --> 00:55:10.718
certain he was cheated
and told they can reverse the result
00:55:10.918 --> 00:55:15.189
They work for us!
They don't get to steal it from us.
00:55:15.455 --> 00:55:17.841
We respect the law. We were good people.
00:55:17.841 --> 00:55:19.542
The government did this to us!
00:55:19.542 --> 00:55:22.244
We were normal, good law-abiding citizens
00:55:22.244 --> 00:55:24.096
And you guys did this to us.
00:55:24.096 --> 00:55:25.581
We want our country back!
00:55:25.581 --> 00:55:27.616
Hundreds overran security.
00:55:30.652 --> 00:55:32.920
In the famous rotunda,
00:55:33.671 --> 00:55:37.474
Capitol police tried to fight off any further incursions.
00:55:39.793 --> 00:55:42.478
And lawmakers grabbed gas masks,
00:55:42.478 --> 00:55:44.713
making a hasty retreat from the chamber.
00:55:44.864 --> 00:55:47.866
Descending the stairs
and away from any danger,
00:55:47.899 --> 00:55:53.571
those stuck inside watch on as officers
used furniture to barricade the doors.
00:55:53.971 --> 00:55:56.590
Everybody stay down! Down!
00:55:56.590 --> 00:55:59.576
Terrified and praying.
00:56:02.412 --> 00:56:03.579
And this is why:
00:56:03.579 --> 00:56:07.116
just a few meters away,
they were witnessing a final stand.
00:56:07.149 --> 00:56:10.035
Guns drawn. Officers ready to fire.
00:56:10.035 --> 00:56:13.421
Desperate
to keep the angry mob behind those doors.
00:56:14.739 --> 00:56:17.324
All around, the stream of the aggrieved
00:56:17.324 --> 00:56:20.327
continued to flow into the building.
00:56:30.619 --> 00:56:34.072
As the mob mocked their traditions
from the speaker's chair
00:56:34.272 --> 00:56:36.457
and ransacked their offices.
00:56:37.841 --> 00:56:41.478
This the nameplate of Trump enemy
Nancy Pelosi.
00:56:41.595 --> 00:56:42.612
I say yeah.
00:56:42.612 --> 00:56:45.381
They need to bring 'em out
and string 'em up.
00:56:45.381 --> 00:56:49.635
Outside, tens of thousands weathered tear gas
and applauded the invasion.
00:56:49.818 --> 00:56:51.586
A diehard American.
00:56:51.586 --> 00:56:56.957
I am tired of being a second class
citizen in my own country.
00:56:57.141 --> 00:57:00.611
I just want to get your thoughts
on what you think of that scene.
00:57:01.361 --> 00:57:03.613
It was awesome. Stop the steal.
00:57:03.613 --> 00:57:07.333
We want a ten day
audit of the entire election.
00:57:07.450 --> 00:57:09.935
Let's get it done.
Then there will be peace.
00:57:09.935 --> 00:57:11.586
Then there will be civil rest.
00:57:11.586 --> 00:57:13.605
But until then, it's treason.
00:57:13.605 --> 00:57:17.208
More than anything,
this is a show of the political force
00:57:17.208 --> 00:57:20.978
that Donald Trump
could enact on those who defy him:
00:57:21.461 --> 00:57:24.981
the Republicans that decided to stick with convention
00:57:25.298 --> 00:57:28.334
and refuse to try and overturn November's
vote.
00:57:29.151 --> 00:57:33.922
To use a favorite term that all of you
people really came up with:
00:57:33.955 --> 00:57:36.591
We will stop the steal.
00:57:38.509 --> 00:57:40.828
At a rally near the White House,
President Trump spoke
00:57:40.828 --> 00:57:45.181
to a crowd estimated in the thousands;
everyone from ordinary Americans
00:57:45.181 --> 00:57:46.633
to conspiracy theorists,
00:57:46.633 --> 00:57:48.134
Proud Boys!
00:57:48.134 --> 00:57:50.369
to members of right wing extremist groups.
00:57:50.419 --> 00:57:51.870
We will never give up.
00:57:51.870 --> 00:57:53.422
We will never concede.
00:57:53.422 --> 00:57:56.541
Trump repeated the lie that the election
was stolen.
00:57:56.541 --> 00:57:59.844
Urging his supporters
to march to the Capitol and fight.
00:58:00.211 --> 00:58:03.847
You'll never take back
our country with weakness.
00:58:03.897 --> 00:58:05.215
We fight like hell.
00:58:05.215 --> 00:58:08.634
And if you don't fight like hell, you're
not going to have a country anymore.
00:58:10.319 --> 00:58:12.721
Around 1 p.m., as Trump is wrapping up
00:58:12.721 --> 00:58:15.807
his remarks in the park,
the day turned violent.
00:58:15.807 --> 00:58:18.660
A group of his supporters
on the western side of the Capitol
00:58:18.660 --> 00:58:22.997
confront the handful of police guarding
the barriers and force their way through.
00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:27.700
What needs to happen today
is Vice President Pence needs to not open
00:58:27.700 --> 00:58:30.920
the seven state electors'
envelopes for the states that I mentioned,
00:58:31.587 --> 00:58:35.457
set them aside and send it all back
to those state legislatures.
00:58:35.841 --> 00:58:38.009
We've got to stop this steal
from happening
00:58:38.009 --> 00:58:41.362
because,if we don't,
nobody's ever going to vote again.
00:58:41.696 --> 00:58:44.098
There's not going to be any integrity
in our voting system.
00:58:46.466 --> 00:58:49.786
As the crowd
grows, clashes between Trump supporters
00:58:49.786 --> 00:58:53.456
and Capitol Police officers,
clearly outnumbered, intensified.
00:58:53.656 --> 00:58:55.491
We're not going to take it anymore.
00:58:55.491 --> 00:58:57.275
This is our country.
00:58:57.626 --> 00:59:01.546
Outside, the Capitol's west
front became a battleground
00:59:01.879 --> 00:59:04.698
inside the joint session of Congress
to certify
00:59:04.698 --> 00:59:07.701
election results was underway.
00:59:08.101 --> 00:59:12.171
The traditionally ceremonial process
is upended by Republicans,
00:59:12.421 --> 00:59:16.875
led by Representative Paul Gosar
of Arizona and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
00:59:17.092 --> 00:59:20.161
challenging Trump's
loss, sending lawmakers
00:59:20.161 --> 00:59:22.196
to their separate chambers to debate.
00:59:22.196 --> 00:59:23.581
What does it say
00:59:23.581 --> 00:59:30.086
to the nearly half the country
that believes this election was rigged, if we vote
00:59:30.086 --> 00:59:33.089
not even to consider the claims
00:59:33.106 --> 00:59:36.108
of illegality and fraud in this election.
00:59:36.175 --> 00:59:40.645
Meanwhile, around 2 p.m., the East side
barricades are breached.
00:59:41.029 --> 00:59:44.398
Half an hour ago, vehicle barriers
that had been set up
00:59:44.398 --> 00:59:46.850
a good 100 yards away
or so from the Capitol
00:59:46.850 --> 00:59:49.219
were first breached
by a group of protesters.
00:59:49.219 --> 00:59:51.671
Capitol Hill police
retreated a little bit more,
00:59:51.671 --> 00:59:56.542
then hundreds more protesters started to stream up
this walkway in front of the Capitol.
00:59:56.926 --> 00:59:58.577
It is a remarkable scene.
00:59:58.577 --> 01:00:03.331
On the west front, the mob tore down scaffolding,
battled their way through the last line
01:00:03.331 --> 01:00:07.067
of police defense and broke
into the Capitol building itself.
01:00:09.903 --> 01:00:12.989
We'll stand in recess until the call of the chair.
01:00:12.989 --> 01:00:16.075
The Senate was called into recess and evacuated.
01:00:16.309 --> 01:00:20.395
Security footage captured the moment
Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman
01:00:20.395 --> 01:00:24.065
shuttled Republican Senator
Mitt Romney of Utah to safety
01:00:24.065 --> 01:00:28.636
before running ahead to divert the approaching
mob away from the Senate chamber.
01:00:28.636 --> 01:00:32.789
Rioters came within 100 feet of Vice
President Mike Pence,
01:00:32.789 --> 01:00:36.109
whose security detail took him to safety
from an office near the Senate.
01:00:36.626 --> 01:00:41.480
While this was happening, at 2:24
p.m., Trump tweeted from the White House,
01:00:41.513 --> 01:00:45.149
criticizing Pence for not having,
01:00:45.166 --> 01:00:46.734
"The courage to do what should have been done."
01:00:46.734 --> 01:00:50.604
Remarkably, the House was still in session
when rioters attempted
01:00:50.604 --> 01:00:52.039
to break into that chamber
01:00:54.140 --> 01:00:59.095
A police officer shot Ashley Babbitt,
an Air Force veteran from California
01:00:59.095 --> 01:01:03.298
and QAnon conspiracy theorist,
as she and a crowd tried to break into the
01:01:03.298 --> 01:01:06.718
rear of the chamber where some lawmakers
were still sheltering.
01:01:07.318 --> 01:01:09.837
According to an analysis
from The New York Times,
01:01:09.837 --> 01:01:13.590
rioters breached the Capitol
in at least eight different places.
01:01:14.124 --> 01:01:17.927
They entered the rotunda, Statuary Hall
and the Senate chamber.
01:01:18.111 --> 01:01:22.464
Some broke into the offices of lawmakers,
including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's
01:01:23.215 --> 01:01:27.185
Rioters, outnumbering law enforcement
by more than 50 to 1,
01:01:27.202 --> 01:01:30.204
attacked, dragged and beat police officers,
01:01:30.354 --> 01:01:33.357
crushing them underfoot
and spraying them with chemicals.
01:01:33.807 --> 01:01:36.209
This is our Capitol!
01:01:36.209 --> 01:01:40.796
In total, nearly 150
police officers were injured on the day.
01:01:41.247 --> 01:01:44.850
During the attack, those closest
to President Trump privately urged him
01:01:44.850 --> 01:01:48.286
to take action and tell his supporters
to stop the assault.
01:01:48.720 --> 01:01:52.673
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
spoke with him from the besieged Capitol.
01:01:52.906 --> 01:01:56.009
His son, Donald Trump Jr, and several
Fox hosts
01:01:56.092 --> 01:01:59.729
texted White House contacts to tell Trump
to address the crowd.
01:02:00.229 --> 01:02:04.733
Hours passed before President Trump
did anything to address the insurrection.
01:02:05.117 --> 01:02:08.269
Just after 4 p.m.,
he released a video repeating
01:02:08.269 --> 01:02:11.272
unfounded claims
about the election results.
01:02:11.305 --> 01:02:14.308
I know your pain. I know you're hurt.
01:02:14.391 --> 01:02:18.111
We had an election
that was stolen from us.
01:02:18.378 --> 01:02:21.814
It was a landslide election
and everyone knows it,
01:02:21.814 --> 01:02:24.466
especially the other side.
01:02:24.466 --> 01:02:26.485
But you have to go home now.
01:02:26.485 --> 01:02:28.136
We have to have peace.
01:02:28.136 --> 01:02:31.189
Around this time,
police began to secure the Capitol.
01:02:32.490 --> 01:02:36.593
Flashbangs and tear gas were used
to clear the western terrace,
01:02:36.593 --> 01:02:39.195
the site of presidential inaugurations.
01:02:41.397 --> 01:02:45.384
Police declared the Capitol complex
secure around 8 p.m.
01:02:45.617 --> 01:02:48.620
To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol
today.
01:02:49.738 --> 01:02:51.322
You did not win.
01:02:51.322 --> 01:02:54.592
In the early hours of the next day,
January 7th,
01:02:54.592 --> 01:02:57.477
Congress finished certifying the election results.
01:02:57.477 --> 01:03:00.480
Some Senate Republicans
withdrew their initial objections.
01:03:00.680 --> 01:03:04.133
The chair declares
the joint session dissolved.
01:03:05.417 --> 01:03:07.903
A Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick,
01:03:07.903 --> 01:03:10.372
suffered two strokes and died
that evening.
01:03:10.822 --> 01:03:14.275
In the days and months
following the attack, four police officers
01:03:14.275 --> 01:03:17.277
who were on duty died by suicide.
01:03:19.646 --> 01:03:20.880
Tonight, for the second time
01:03:20.880 --> 01:03:24.901
in just over a year, the House
delivering Donald Trump a historic rebuke.
01:03:25.051 --> 01:03:28.770
Now making him the first president ever
to be impeached twice.
01:03:28.854 --> 01:03:32.607
The president of the United States incited
this insurrection,
01:03:33.107 --> 01:03:36.360
this armed rebellion
against our common country.
01:03:37.411 --> 01:03:38.445
He must go.
01:03:38.445 --> 01:03:43.199
He is a clear and present danger
to the nation that we all love.
01:03:43.500 --> 01:03:46.936
A single article of impeachment
accusing the president of incitement of insurrection
01:03:46.936 --> 01:03:50.722
in his remarks
before last week's riots began.
01:03:50.989 --> 01:03:54.926
Donald Trump is a living,
breathing, impeachable offense.
01:03:55.860 --> 01:03:56.961
It is what it is.
01:03:56.961 --> 01:04:00.881
It wasn't another country
that attacked us, but our own president.
01:04:00.897 --> 01:04:04.517
All 222 House Democrats
voting in favor of impeachment.
01:04:04.517 --> 01:04:07.636
And unlike the first impeachment
of President Trump, where no House
01:04:07.636 --> 01:04:13.491
Republicans supported it, this time, ten
broke ranks, including Jaime Herrera Beutler.
01:04:13.491 --> 01:04:16.711
My vote to impeach our sitting
president is not a fear-based decision.
01:04:17.011 --> 01:04:18.295
I am not choosing a side.
01:04:18.295 --> 01:04:19.647
I'm choosing truth.
01:04:19.647 --> 01:04:21.532
It's the only way to defeat fear.
01:04:21.532 --> 01:04:24.718
The top House
Republican voting against impeachment.
01:04:24.951 --> 01:04:26.035
A vote to impeach
01:04:26.035 --> 01:04:30.406
would further divide this nation,
but also leveling this stinging shot.
01:04:30.689 --> 01:04:31.607
The president bears
01:04:31.607 --> 01:04:35.543
responsibility for Wednesday's
attack on Congress by mob rioters.
01:04:37.645 --> 01:04:40.648
The yeas are 57.
01:04:40.798 --> 01:04:43.800
The nays are 43.
01:04:43.867 --> 01:04:47.236
Two thirds of the senators present
not having voted guilty.
01:04:47.970 --> 01:04:51.390
The Senate adjudges
that responded Donald John Trump,
01:04:51.390 --> 01:04:53.442
former president of the United States,
01:04:53.442 --> 01:04:55.593
is not guilty as charged in the article of impeachment.
01:05:16.645 --> 01:05:19.630
January 6th was a disgrace.
01:05:20.531 --> 01:05:23.784
American citizens
attacked their own government.
01:05:25.102 --> 01:05:26.987
They used terrorism to try to stop
01:05:26.987 --> 01:05:32.141
a specific piece of domestic business they did not like.
01:05:32.141 --> 01:05:37.445
Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police.
01:05:38.329 --> 01:05:40.898
They stormed the Senate floor.
01:05:41.199 --> 01:05:43.517
They tried to hunt down
01:05:43.517 --> 01:05:45.886
the speaker of the House.
01:05:45.886 --> 01:05:49.189
They built a gallows
and chanted about murdering
01:05:50.590 --> 01:05:53.476
the vice president.
01:05:53.476 --> 01:05:56.111
They did this
01:05:56.111 --> 01:06:00.565
because they had been fed wild falsehoods
01:06:01.849 --> 01:06:04.852
by the most powerful man on earth.
01:06:05.569 --> 01:06:07.337
Because he was angry he lost an election.
01:06:09.773 --> 01:06:13.876
Former President Trump's actions that preceded the riot
01:06:14.827 --> 01:06:21.466
were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty.
01:06:23.267 --> 01:06:26.270
There's no question—none—
01:06:26.420 --> 01:06:29.422
that President Trump is practically
01:06:29.472 --> 01:06:32.475
and morally responsible
01:06:32.809 --> 01:06:35.544
for provoking the events
01:06:35.544 --> 01:06:37.312
of the day.
01:06:37.312 --> 01:06:40.282
No question about it.
01:06:40.282 --> 01:06:41.716
The people who stormed this building
01:06:41.716 --> 01:06:44.719
believed they were acting on the wishes
01:06:45.252 --> 01:06:47.805
and instructions
01:06:47.805 --> 01:06:50.807
of their president.
01:06:50.957 --> 01:06:53.710
And having that belief
01:06:53.710 --> 01:06:56.712
was a foreseeable consequence
01:06:57.463 --> 01:07:00.265
of the growing crescendo
01:07:00.265 --> 01:07:02.500
of false statements,
01:07:02.500 --> 01:07:06.320
conspiracy theories
and reckless hyperbole,
01:07:07.454 --> 01:07:11.274
which the defeated president kept
shouting into the largest megaphone
01:07:12.342 --> 01:07:15.344
on planet Earth.
01:07:16.312 --> 01:07:18.130
This was an intensifying
01:07:18.130 --> 01:07:21.283
crescendo of conspiracy theories
01:07:22.284 --> 01:07:25.636
orchestrated by an outgoing president
who seemed determined
01:07:26.988 --> 01:07:29.923
to either overturn the voters decision
01:07:29.923 --> 01:07:34.410
or else torch our institutions on the way out.
01:07:37.546 --> 01:07:39.465
The unconscionable behavior
01:07:39.465 --> 01:07:42.834
did not end
when the violence actually began.
01:07:46.070 --> 01:07:47.755
Whatever
01:07:47.755 --> 01:07:50.741
our ex-president claims he thought
01:07:51.258 --> 01:07:54.260
might happen that day,
01:07:54.828 --> 01:07:56.262
whatever reaction
01:07:56.262 --> 01:07:59.482
he says he meant to produce,
01:08:01.733 --> 01:08:03.535
by that afternoon,
01:08:03.535 --> 01:08:05.320
we know,
01:08:05.320 --> 01:08:08.356
he was watching the same live television
01:08:09.557 --> 01:08:12.409
as the rest of us.
01:08:12.409 --> 01:08:15.045
A mob
01:08:15.045 --> 01:08:18.047
was assaulting the Capitol in his name.
01:08:21.083 --> 01:08:24.703
These criminals were carrying his banners,
01:08:25.970 --> 01:08:28.973
hanging his flags
01:08:29.507 --> 01:08:32.509
and screaming their loyalty to him.
01:08:35.212 --> 01:08:38.114
It was obvious
01:08:38.114 --> 01:08:41.117
that only President Trump
01:08:41.267 --> 01:08:44.152
could end this.
01:08:44.152 --> 01:08:46.521
He was the only one
01:08:46.521 --> 01:08:49.457
who could.
01:08:49.457 --> 01:08:52.459
Former aides publicly begged him to do so.
01:08:53.260 --> 01:08:55.045
Loyal allies frantically
01:08:55.045 --> 01:08:56.463
called the administration.
01:08:59.148 --> 01:09:02.151
The president did not act swiftly.
01:09:02.685 --> 01:09:05.687
He did not do his job.
01:09:05.871 --> 01:09:07.689
He didn't take steps so federal
01:09:07.689 --> 01:09:10.691
law could be faithfully executed
01:09:11.742 --> 01:09:14.745
and order restored.
01:09:15.562 --> 01:09:16.496
No.
01:09:17.898 --> 01:09:23.469
Instead, according to public reports,
he watched television happily—happily—
01:09:25.487 --> 01:09:28.490
as the chaos unfolded.
01:09:30.074 --> 01:09:33.077
He kept pressing his scheme
01:09:34.495 --> 01:09:36.280
to overturn the election.
01:09:38.115 --> 01:09:40.817
Now, even after
it was clear to any reasonable observer
01:09:40.817 --> 01:09:43.819
that Vice President Pence
was in serious danger.
01:09:45.954 --> 01:09:48.790
Even as the mob
01:09:48.790 --> 01:09:51.442
carrying Trump banners
01:09:51.442 --> 01:09:54.445
was beating cops
01:09:54.528 --> 01:09:57.531
and breaching perimeters.
01:09:58.181 --> 01:10:00.884
The president sent a further tweet
01:10:00.884 --> 01:10:03.886
attacking his own vice president.
01:10:04.804 --> 01:10:06.505
Justice Story
01:10:06.505 --> 01:10:10.592
specifically reminded that
while former officials were not eligible
01:10:11.126 --> 01:10:14.128
for impeachment or conviction,
01:10:14.345 --> 01:10:17.331
they were—and this is extremely important—
01:10:17.815 --> 01:10:21.051
still liable to be tried and punished
01:10:21.051 --> 01:10:24.053
in the ordinary tribunals of justice.
01:10:25.054 --> 01:10:27.690
Put another way,
01:10:27.690 --> 01:10:30.709
in the language of today,
01:10:30.709 --> 01:10:32.193
President Trump is still liable
01:10:32.193 --> 01:10:34.745
for everything he did
while he was in office.
01:10:36.414 --> 01:10:38.048
As an ordinary citizen.
01:10:38.449 --> 01:10:41.001
Unless the statute of limitations is run,
01:10:41.001 --> 01:10:44.570
he's still liable for everything he did while he was in office.
01:10:46.188 --> 01:10:47.923
Didn't get away with anything.
01:10:47.923 --> 01:10:48.607
Yet.
01:10:50.008 --> 01:10:50.776
Yet.
01:10:52.494 --> 01:10:55.496
We have a criminal justice system
in this country.
01:10:56.164 --> 01:10:58.616
We have civil litigation.
01:10:58.616 --> 01:11:03.103
And former presidents are not immune
from being accountable by either one.
01:11:05.788 --> 01:11:07.456
Just last month—do you remember that?—
01:11:07.456 --> 01:11:10.159
Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed legislation
01:11:10.159 --> 01:11:12.511
that would have established
a bipartisan commission
01:11:12.511 --> 01:11:14.813
to investigate the January 6th
insurrection.
01:11:14.813 --> 01:11:16.948
Kind of like the 9/11 Commission.
01:11:16.948 --> 01:11:20.484
Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
is stepping in, announcing yesterday
01:11:20.484 --> 01:11:23.904
that she intends to form a House select
committee to investigate
01:11:24.054 --> 01:11:27.056
what happened on January 6th.
01:11:27.840 --> 01:11:30.492
Before I ask you a question,
01:11:30.492 --> 01:11:35.163
I'd like to show a brief video clip
of some of what you went through.
01:11:35.163 --> 01:11:39.283
I realize this can be difficult to watch,
but I think it's important for the public to see.
01:13:23.871 --> 01:13:25.639
Almost all of that
01:13:25.639 --> 01:13:28.325
was from your body camera footage.
01:13:28.325 --> 01:13:32.745
Can you walk us through
what we've just seen, Officer Fanone?
01:13:33.813 --> 01:13:39.451
Well, I believe the first portion of that video
footage from my body worn camera
01:13:39.451 --> 01:13:43.137
from the crypt
area of the Capitol rotunda.
01:13:44.105 --> 01:13:47.007
It was there that I first heard the 1033
01:13:47.007 --> 01:13:50.727
or distress call come out from the
Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
01:13:51.711 --> 01:13:52.612
Which I didn't realize
01:13:52.612 --> 01:13:55.614
at the time was, only,
01:13:55.731 --> 01:13:58.734
a few hundred yards away
from where I was at.
01:13:59.218 --> 01:14:02.454
I told my partner, Jimmy Albright,
who was there with me,
01:14:03.054 --> 01:14:06.574
that there was a 1033
coming out from the Lower West Terrace.
01:14:07.441 --> 01:14:11.578
We tried to get our bearings
and figure out which way that might be.
01:14:12.295 --> 01:14:14.180
We asked a group of Capitol Police officers,
01:14:14.180 --> 01:14:16.649
and they directed us down a set of stairs.
01:14:17.416 --> 01:14:19.468
From there,
01:14:19.468 --> 01:14:21.653
Jimmy and I walked down
01:14:21.653 --> 01:14:24.656
to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
01:14:24.839 --> 01:14:26.841
The first thing I remember
01:14:26.841 --> 01:14:29.843
was seeing a buddy of mine,
01:14:29.893 --> 01:14:33.380
Sergeant Bill Bogner,
who's an administrative sergeant.
01:14:33.380 --> 01:14:35.665
He used to work in my district.
01:14:35.665 --> 01:14:38.667
Now he works over at the Academy.
01:14:38.667 --> 01:14:42.654
And he was unable to see—he had been
sprayed in the face with bear mace.
01:14:43.655 --> 01:14:47.375
And I went up to him and told him, "Hey,
it's Fanone."
01:14:47.858 --> 01:14:52.779
I remember he stretched out his hand to shake my hand.
01:14:52.946 --> 01:14:57.133
That's when he told me that the guys
that were just beyond that set of double doors
01:14:57.133 --> 01:15:01.520
had been fighting there for,
I believe he said about 30 minutes.
01:15:02.004 --> 01:15:04.022
I don't think he realized what time it was
01:15:04.022 --> 01:15:07.025
because they've been fighting since around
1 p.m..
01:15:07.375 --> 01:15:08.943
It was 3:00.
01:15:08.943 --> 01:15:12.529
So those guys have been there
fighting for two hours, unrelieved.
01:15:14.047 --> 01:15:18.334
I remember looking up
through the set of double doors,
01:15:18.334 --> 01:15:23.255
there were glass panes,
and you could see the CS gas,
01:15:23.255 --> 01:15:26.424
with white powder still lingering in the air.
01:15:27.976 --> 01:15:29.460
It was at that point
01:15:29.460 --> 01:15:32.763
that I realized I probably should
have brought my gas mask.
01:15:36.199 --> 01:15:41.087
So I went through the double doors, and I saw Ramey Kyle,
01:15:41.087 --> 01:15:46.157
who at the time was a commander
with our Criminal Investigations Division,
01:15:46.157 --> 01:15:48.476
overseeing all the detectives units.
01:15:49.260 --> 01:15:53.664
Like many other officers, sergeants,
lieutenants, captains that day,
01:15:54.264 --> 01:15:59.185
he self-deployed and found himself
commanding a group of
01:15:59.185 --> 01:16:02.421
about 30 or 40 officers
there in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
01:16:03.939 --> 01:16:08.660
Commander Kyle was having a difficult time breathing.
01:16:08.993 --> 01:16:11.812
I remember, I followed him back out through the set of double doors
01:16:11.812 --> 01:16:15.082
into that initial hallway,
01:16:15.933 --> 01:16:20.703
as he kind of straightened himself up.
01:16:21.754 --> 01:16:23.372
I described it before,
01:16:23.372 --> 01:16:26.375
I thought he looked like George Patton.
01:16:26.875 --> 01:16:32.964
I remember he put his hat back on
and walked right back out through the doorway into the tunnel.
01:16:33.180 --> 01:16:36.183
And I followed him.
01:16:36.266 --> 01:16:39.769
It was at that point,
I think, when I started approaching
01:16:39.769 --> 01:16:43.522
that group of officers there,
defending the doorway, that I realized
01:16:43.522 --> 01:16:46.525
the gravity of the situation.
01:16:49.828 --> 01:16:51.963
My initial thought was,
01:16:51.963 --> 01:16:54.949
these guys looked like,
01:16:55.466 --> 01:16:57.351
they looked beat to hell.
01:16:57.351 --> 01:16:59.970
And,
01:16:59.970 --> 01:17:03.289
you know, maybe I could try to
get in there and get some guys some help.
01:17:04.640 --> 01:17:07.643
So I told Jimmy that we needed to
01:17:07.643 --> 01:17:10.345
get in there and try to offer assistance.
01:17:10.345 --> 01:17:12.814
And that's what we did initially.
01:17:12.814 --> 01:17:15.816
We started making our way
through the crowd of officers
01:17:16.083 --> 01:17:19.052
yelling out, "Who needs a break?"
01:17:19.052 --> 01:17:21.204
And like I said in my initial testimony,
01:17:21.204 --> 01:17:24.207
there were no volunteers.
01:17:24.240 --> 01:17:26.509
There were officers who identified
01:17:26.509 --> 01:17:29.278
other colleagues who were in need of help.
01:17:29.278 --> 01:17:31.429
And I remember, somebody yelling out:
01:17:31.429 --> 01:17:32.881
"This guy needs help!"
01:17:32.881 --> 01:17:37.468
and handed me that officer.
01:17:38.369 --> 01:17:41.671
I handed him off to, Jimmy
and told him to get him to the back.
01:17:42.655 --> 01:17:48.360
And I continued to make my way up to the front lines.
01:17:49.912 --> 01:17:51.847
Once I got up there,
01:17:51.847 --> 01:17:57.451
it was the first time
I really came face to face with these terrorists.,
01:17:59.003 --> 01:18:02.005
They were dressed in
01:18:02.122 --> 01:18:04.924
clothing adorned with political slogans:
01:18:04.924 --> 01:18:07.109
"Make America Great Again,"
01:18:07.109 --> 01:18:09.845
"Donald Trump, 2020,"
01:18:09.845 --> 01:18:12.364
Things of that nature.
01:18:12.364 --> 01:18:14.899
They were wearing military-style clothing:
01:18:14.899 --> 01:18:17.902
Kevlar vests, Kevlar helmets.
01:18:18.719 --> 01:18:20.721
Many of them had gas masks.
01:18:20.721 --> 01:18:29.328
And quite a few had shields,
which they had taken away from law enforcement officers.,
01:18:30.112 --> 01:18:33.415
They were using them
to beat us at the front line.
01:18:34.399 --> 01:18:37.018
The first thing I told them was,
01:18:37.018 --> 01:18:41.805
"Hey, man, we got to get these doors closed.
We got injured officers in here."
01:18:41.805 --> 01:18:44.224
And that really seemed to piss those guys off.
01:18:45.492 --> 01:18:47.193
They became incredibly violent.
01:18:47.193 --> 01:18:50.513
And that's when that, surge
that you watched in
01:18:50.513 --> 01:18:53.515
some of the video, began.
01:18:54.266 --> 01:18:57.268
And you had a large group
01:18:57.619 --> 01:19:02.222
at the mouth of that, tunnel entrance
trying to push their way
01:19:02.222 --> 01:19:05.875
through the officers
who were fighting to defend it.
01:19:07.343 --> 01:19:09.212
I believe, had they done so, or had
01:19:09.212 --> 01:19:12.214
they accomplished that,
they would have trampled us to death.
01:19:12.214 --> 01:19:15.200
Most certainly
you would have had police officers killed.
01:19:19.587 --> 01:19:22.590
I fought there at the front for some time.
01:19:24.141 --> 01:19:25.759
I was yelling out,
01:19:25.759 --> 01:19:32.031
trying to inspire some of the other officers
that were up there, that were tired—
01:19:33.332 --> 01:19:37.502
telling them to dig in and push.
01:19:39.871 --> 01:19:42.873
And we started to make some progress.
01:19:43.741 --> 01:19:46.493
We push those guys out of the tunnel,
01:19:48.011 --> 01:19:54.116
out through the initial thresh way, threshold.
01:19:54.867 --> 01:19:57.869
And I remember thinking to myself,
01:19:59.154 --> 01:20:02.156
Man, it's good to get some fresh air.
01:20:03.240 --> 01:20:06.243
It was at that point
that I was pulled off the line.
01:20:07.494 --> 01:20:17.085
That initial period of time when I was pulled off that line
was kind of a blur.
01:20:18.353 --> 01:20:21.439
I just remember getting
violently assaulted from every direction
01:20:22.523 --> 01:20:26.877
and eventually found myself out,
probably about 250, maybe 300ft
01:20:26.877 --> 01:20:30.830
away from the mouth of the tunnel
where the other officers were at.
01:20:31.681 --> 01:20:38.987
And, I knew that I was up shit's creek without a paddle.
01:20:41.122 --> 01:20:44.242
I was trying to push guys off of me,
create some space.
01:20:44.859 --> 01:20:48.378
All the while,
I recognized the fact that,
01:20:48.378 --> 01:20:51.564
there were individuals
that were trying to grab a hold of my gun.
01:20:52.315 --> 01:20:55.551
I remember one of them
distinctly lunging at me
01:20:55.851 --> 01:20:58.821
time and time again,
trying to grab my gun.
01:20:58.821 --> 01:21:01.890
And I heard people in the crowd yelling,
"Get his gun!"
01:21:02.657 --> 01:21:04.559
"Kill him with his own gun!"
01:21:04.559 --> 01:21:05.910
and words to that effect.
01:21:07.778 --> 01:21:10.781
I thought about using my weapon.
01:21:11.464 --> 01:21:14.217
I believe that there were individuals
01:21:14.217 --> 01:21:17.219
in the crowd whose intentions were to kill me.
01:21:18.020 --> 01:21:20.389
And I came to that conclusion
01:21:20.389 --> 01:21:24.659
because of the fact that,
separated from these other officers,
01:21:25.259 --> 01:21:28.462
who were only trying
to defend the Capitol,
01:21:29.029 --> 01:21:32.032
I no longer posed any type of threat.
01:21:32.566 --> 01:21:37.436
Nor was I, an impediment to them
01:21:38.370 --> 01:21:41.456
going inside of the building.
01:21:42.707 --> 01:21:44.943
But yet they tortured me.
01:21:44.943 --> 01:21:46.711
They beat me.
01:21:46.711 --> 01:21:49.863
I was struck with a taser device
01:21:49.863 --> 01:21:52.849
at the base of my skull numerous times.
01:21:53.633 --> 01:21:56.219
And they continued to do so
01:21:56.219 --> 01:21:59.221
until I yelled out, "I have kids!"
01:22:00.989 --> 01:22:03.125
And I said that hoping to appeal
01:22:03.125 --> 01:22:06.694
to some of those individuals' humanity.
01:22:07.612 --> 01:22:10.131
And fortunately,
01:22:11.432 --> 01:22:13.083
a few did step in,
01:22:13.083 --> 01:22:16.069
and intervene on my behalf.
01:22:18.421 --> 01:22:19.772
They did assist me back
01:22:19.772 --> 01:22:22.774
towards the mouth of the tunnel entrance.
01:22:22.858 --> 01:22:27.745
And, other officers were then able to,
rescue me and pull me back inside.
01:22:28.162 --> 01:22:30.781
But at that point, I was unconscious,
01:22:30.781 --> 01:22:36.152
and based off the body worn camera footage
01:22:36.553 --> 01:22:39.839
it's believed that I was unconscious
01:22:39.839 --> 01:22:42.157
for approximately four minutes.
01:22:48.146 --> 01:22:52.283
In our country we don't swear an oath to an individual
or a political party.
01:22:52.766 --> 01:22:55.969
We take our oath
to defend the United States Constitution.
01:22:56.520 --> 01:22:59.205
And that oath must mean something.
01:22:59.205 --> 01:23:05.010
Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues
who are defending the indefensible.
01:23:05.877 --> 01:23:08.880
There will come a day
when Donald Trump is gone,
01:23:09.264 --> 01:23:12.266
but your dishonor will remain.
01:23:12.616 --> 01:23:14.218
The January 6th Congressional
01:23:14.218 --> 01:23:17.220
Committee is set to hold
its final public meeting tomorrow:
01:23:17.304 --> 01:23:21.707
what's expected to be closing arguments
after nearly 18 months of investigation.
01:23:22.341 --> 01:23:25.411
And the committee is expected
to take the unprecedented step
01:23:25.411 --> 01:23:28.797
of making criminal referrals,
urging the Department of Justice
01:23:28.797 --> 01:23:32.550
to prosecute former President
Donald Trump on multiple charges.
01:23:35.736 --> 01:23:39.506
I'm here today to announce the appointment
of a special counsel
01:23:39.539 --> 01:23:42.525
in connection
with two ongoing criminal investigations
01:23:42.859 --> 01:23:45.861
that have received significant public
attention.
01:23:46.078 --> 01:23:49.881
The first, as described in court filings
in the District of Columbia,
01:23:50.365 --> 01:23:54.201
is the investigation
into whether any person or entity
01:23:54.618 --> 01:23:59.606
unlawfully interfered with the transfer
of power following the 2020
01:23:59.606 --> 01:24:03.809
presidential election or the certification
of the Electoral College vote
01:24:04.193 --> 01:24:07.196
held on or about January 6th, 2021.
01:24:07.996 --> 01:24:10.849
The second is the ongoing investigation
01:24:10.849 --> 01:24:14.302
involving classified documents
and other presidential records,
01:24:14.869 --> 01:24:17.871
as well as the possible obstruction
of that investigation
01:24:18.138 --> 01:24:20.840
referenced and described in court filings
01:24:20.840 --> 01:24:23.843
in a pending matter
in the Southern District of Florida.
01:24:24.110 --> 01:24:27.713
Based on recent developments,
including the former president's
01:24:27.780 --> 01:24:31.099
announcement that he is a candidate
for president in the next election,
01:24:31.700 --> 01:24:35.603
and the sitting president's stated intention
to be a candidate as well,
01:24:36.203 --> 01:24:41.091
I have concluded that it is in the public
interest to appoint a special counsel.
01:24:42.025 --> 01:24:44.477
Today, I signed an order appointing
01:24:44.477 --> 01:24:47.480
Jack Smith to serve as special counsel.
01:24:47.997 --> 01:24:51.450
The order authorizes him to continue
the ongoing investigation
01:24:51.867 --> 01:24:54.686
into both of the matters
that I've just described,
01:24:54.686 --> 01:24:58.756
and to prosecute any federal crimes
that may arise from those investigations.
01:25:05.695 --> 01:25:08.697
This is an NBC News special report.
01:25:08.964 --> 01:25:10.649
Here's Lester Holt.
01:25:10.649 --> 01:25:15.286
Good evening, we are coming on the air
with breaking news set to rattle the 2024
01:25:15.286 --> 01:25:18.839
presidential campaign
and our country's legal landscape.
01:25:19.073 --> 01:25:22.676
Former President Donald Trump
has just posted on social media
01:25:22.676 --> 01:25:25.979
that he has been told
by the federal government that he is
01:25:25.979 --> 01:25:29.181
being indicted
over what he calls "the boxes hoax".
01:25:29.482 --> 01:25:32.484
That is special Counsel
Jack Smith's investigation
01:25:32.601 --> 01:25:36.437
into alleged mishandling
of more than 100 classified documents
01:25:36.654 --> 01:25:40.074
discovered at his Mar-A-Lago home
in Florida last year.
01:25:40.341 --> 01:25:44.478
It comes months after he became
the first former president in U.S. history
01:25:44.478 --> 01:25:46.829
to be arrested for criminal charges.
01:25:46.829 --> 01:25:50.249
That was for a separate
New York state case when he pleaded
01:25:50.249 --> 01:25:53.752
not guilty for his alleged role
in hush money payments,
01:25:53.752 --> 01:25:56.821
toward the end of
his first campaign in 2016.
01:25:57.805 --> 01:26:03.010
Today, an indictment was unsealed,
charging Donald J. Trump
01:26:03.010 --> 01:26:06.062
with conspiring to defraud
the United States,
01:26:07.247 --> 01:26:10.249
conspiring to disenfranchize voters,
01:26:10.249 --> 01:26:13.285
and conspiring and attempting
to obstruct an official proceeding.
01:26:15.053 --> 01:26:16.621
The indictment was issued by a grand jury
01:26:16.621 --> 01:26:19.607
of citizens
here in the District of Columbia,
01:26:20.007 --> 01:26:23.010
and it sets forth
the crimes charged in detail.
01:26:23.577 --> 01:26:26.580
I encourage everyone to read it in full.
01:26:28.014 --> 01:26:30.049
Tonight,
the new charges against Donald Trump
01:26:30.049 --> 01:26:33.802
after his fourth indictment
in a sweeping election probe in Georgia.
01:26:34.103 --> 01:26:36.588
The former president,
charged with 13 counts,
01:26:36.588 --> 01:26:39.807
including racketeering
and multiple conspiracy charges.
01:26:40.158 --> 01:26:41.576
The Fulton County D.A.
01:26:41.576 --> 01:26:45.862
accusing him of leading
a criminal enterprise to overturn his 2020
01:26:45.862 --> 01:26:47.297
loss in Georgia.
01:26:47.297 --> 01:26:52.818
18 co-defendants also charged,
including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.
01:26:54.687 --> 01:26:57.689
His arrest and arraignment
playing out live—
01:26:58.073 --> 01:27:01.976
Mr. Trump treating his court
appearances almost as campaign events.
01:27:03.294 --> 01:27:06.346
The sole mugshot taken in Fulton County.
01:27:06.497 --> 01:27:11.034
Another surreal first, along a steady stream of attacks...
01:27:11.634 --> 01:27:14.670
The attorney general of this state
is a disgrace
01:27:14.837 --> 01:27:18.356
...against the prosecutors, judges
and witnesses against him.
01:27:18.540 --> 01:27:19.908
I did nothing wrong.
01:27:19.908 --> 01:27:22.760
And everybody knows it;
I've never had such support.
01:27:22.760 --> 01:27:26.146
But with each passing indictment,
his poll numbers have grown,
01:27:26.480 --> 01:27:29.182
his fundraising numbers—through the roof.
01:27:29.182 --> 01:27:32.552
Yet his legal woes have become
increasingly complicated,
01:27:32.902 --> 01:27:36.422
with several alleged co-conspirators
pleading guilty in Georgia
01:27:36.655 --> 01:27:39.658
and now cooperating with prosecutors.
01:27:40.558 --> 01:27:42.810
You say they've weaponized
the Justice Department.
01:27:42.810 --> 01:27:44.278
They weaponized the FBI.
01:27:44.278 --> 01:27:46.347
Would you do the same if you're reelected?
01:27:46.347 --> 01:27:47.548
Well, he's
01:27:47.548 --> 01:27:51.735
unleashed something that we've
all known about for 100 years.
01:27:51.751 --> 01:27:54.020
We've watched other countries do it.
01:27:54.020 --> 01:27:55.705
And in some cases, it's effective.
01:27:55.705 --> 01:27:58.007
And in other cases,
the country is overthrown
01:27:58.007 --> 01:28:00.208
or it's been totally ineffective.
01:28:00.208 --> 01:28:03.861
But we've watched this for a long time,
and it's not unique,
01:28:03.861 --> 01:28:05.813
but it's unique for the United States.
Yeah.
01:28:05.813 --> 01:28:08.148
If they do this, they've already done it.
01:28:08.148 --> 01:28:10.434
But if they want to follow
through on this,
01:28:10.434 --> 01:28:13.887
yeah,
it could certainly happen in reverse.
01:28:13.887 --> 01:28:15.688
It could certainly happen in reverse.
01:28:15.688 --> 01:28:18.140
They've done indictments in order to win
an election.
01:28:18.140 --> 01:28:20.575
They call it "weaponization".
01:28:20.575 --> 01:28:22.794
And the people
aren't going to stand for it.
01:28:22.794 --> 01:28:26.080
But yeah, they have done something
that allows the next party....\
01:28:26.097 --> 01:28:28.282
I mean, if somebody—
if I happen to be president—
01:28:28.282 --> 01:28:31.468
and I see somebody who's doing well
and beating me very badly,
01:28:31.468 --> 01:28:35.188
I say go down and indict them...
01:28:35.371 --> 01:28:38.357
That would be, you know,
they would be out of business.
01:28:38.491 --> 01:28:40.309
They'd be out.
They'd be out of the election.
01:28:46.547 --> 01:28:49.033
It was the state of Florida that put Donald J. Trump
01:28:49.033 --> 01:28:52.102
over the top as the Republican nominee for president
01:28:52.102 --> 01:28:52.903
of the United States.
01:28:52.903 --> 01:28:56.539
The moment happening just a few moments
ago—his son, Eric Trump,
01:28:56.773 --> 01:29:00.859
was on the floor of the convention
in order to announce Florida's delegates.
01:29:01.777 --> 01:29:02.711
But let me just ask you –
01:29:02.711 --> 01:29:03.562
– You might ask here that question...
01:29:03.562 --> 01:29:04.479
– You were the president.
01:29:04.479 --> 01:29:06.264
You were watching it unfold on television.
01:29:06.264 --> 01:29:09.266
It's a very simple question, as we move
forward toward another election.
01:29:09.517 --> 01:29:13.420
Is there anything you regret about
what you did on that day? Yes or no?
01:29:13.420 --> 01:29:15.238
I had nothing to do with that.
01:29:16.039 --> 01:29:18.524
I was at the Capitol on January 6th.
01:29:18.524 --> 01:29:20.926
I was the vice president elect.
01:29:20.926 --> 01:29:23.929
I was also an acting senator. I was there.
01:29:24.262 --> 01:29:29.267
And on that day, the president
of the United States incited a violent mob
01:29:30.351 --> 01:29:33.353
to attack our nation's capitol,
01:29:34.488 --> 01:29:36.639
to desecrate our nation's capitol.
01:29:36.639 --> 01:29:42.294
On that day 140 law enforcement officers were injured,
and some died.
01:29:43.278 --> 01:29:46.214
And understand, the former president
01:29:46.214 --> 01:29:50.384
has been indicted and impeached
for exactly that reason.
01:29:51.085 --> 01:29:54.021
But this is not an isolated situation.
01:29:54.021 --> 01:29:56.773
Let's remember Charlottesville,
01:29:56.773 --> 01:30:00.943
where there was a mob of people carrying
tiki torches
01:30:01.460 --> 01:30:04.463
spewing anti-Semitic hate.
01:30:04.930 --> 01:30:08.199
And what did the president,
then, at the time say?
01:30:08.750 --> 01:30:11.235
"There were fine people on each side."
01:30:11.235 --> 01:30:14.121
Let's remember that when it came
01:30:14.121 --> 01:30:17.124
to the Proud Boys, a militia,
01:30:17.274 --> 01:30:18.258
the president said,
01:30:18.258 --> 01:30:21.260
the former president said,
"Stand back and stand by."
01:30:22.011 --> 01:30:26.148
So for everyone watching,
who remembers what January 6th was,
01:30:27.282 --> 01:30:30.285
I say, we don't have to go back.
01:30:30.385 --> 01:30:32.803
Let's not go back. We're not going back.
01:30:32.803 --> 01:30:34.638
It's time to turn the page.
01:30:36.356 --> 01:30:40.076
The Fox News decision desk can now officially
project
01:30:40.076 --> 01:30:45.798
that Donald Trump will become the 47th
president of the United States.
01:30:52.337 --> 01:30:54.505
The fight
continuing in the courts now over
01:30:54.505 --> 01:30:58.108
whether or not to release special counsel
Jack Smith's findings
01:30:58.308 --> 01:31:01.828
from two criminal investigations
into president elect Donald Trump.
01:31:02.128 --> 01:31:06.232
As Bradley Blackburn reports,
this comes after Smith's resignation.
01:31:06.949 --> 01:31:09.951
The resignation of Jack
Smith was widely expected
01:31:10.068 --> 01:31:13.037
and made official Saturday
in a court filing, where federal
01:31:13.037 --> 01:31:16.790
prosecutors revealed Smith had "separated from the department."
01:31:16.790 --> 01:31:20.544
Smith had been leading
two criminal investigations into president
01:31:20.544 --> 01:31:24.747
elect Donald Trump, focused on the alleged
mishandling of classified documents
01:31:24.747 --> 01:31:29.418
after he left office and alleged election
interference related to January 6th.
01:31:29.601 --> 01:31:32.537
It was fueled by lies.
01:31:32.537 --> 01:31:34.339
Lies by the defendant,
01:31:34.339 --> 01:31:37.725
targeted at obstructing
a bedrock function of the US government:
01:31:38.776 --> 01:31:41.328
the nation's process of collecting,
counting
01:31:41.328 --> 01:31:44.781
and certifying the results
of the presidential election.
01:31:45.081 --> 01:31:48.200
The cases were closed
after Trump's win in November,
01:31:48.200 --> 01:31:51.236
and the findings are now in the hands
of the Department of Justice.
01:31:56.841 --> 01:31:59.360
Special counsel
Jack Smith says he's confident
01:31:59.360 --> 01:32:04.247
that President-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted
if his election interference case went to trial.
01:32:04.247 --> 01:32:07.466
Smith's final report was released
by the DOJ overnight.
01:32:07.783 --> 01:32:13.438
WGN's Eric Rong has more on the report's
findings, and the president-elect's reaction.
01:32:13.438 --> 01:32:15.957
The report comes just days before
01:32:15.957 --> 01:32:19.326
Trump is set to take office
for his second term.
01:32:19.343 --> 01:32:24.564
It is likely also the last report
on this dark chapter of American history.
01:32:24.864 --> 01:32:30.202
Special counsel Jack Smith's final report
to the DOJ concerning Donald Trump's
01:32:30.202 --> 01:32:35.206
presidential election interference case
comes in at close to 150 pages.
01:32:35.573 --> 01:32:38.059
But it is very blunt in its findings.
01:32:38.059 --> 01:32:41.795
Smith writes, "The thoroughline of all of Mr. Trump's
01:32:41.795 --> 01:32:43.797
criminal efforts was deceit.
01:32:43.797 --> 01:32:47.750
Knowing false claims of election
fraud and evidence shows that Mr.
01:32:47.750 --> 01:32:50.936
Trump used these lies as a weapon
to defeat
01:32:50.936 --> 01:32:54.506
a federal government
function foundational to the United States
01:32:54.856 --> 01:32:59.243
lies that led to the deadly insurrection
at the Capitol on January 6th,
01:32:59.510 --> 01:33:03.030
as Congress worked to certify
President Joe Biden's victory."
01:33:05.065 --> 01:33:08.034
He also accuses Mr. Trump of using social media
01:33:08.034 --> 01:33:11.821
as a means to intimidate
witnesses, prosecutors and federal judges.
01:33:12.021 --> 01:33:16.708
Smith secured multiple indictments
against Trump in August of 2023.
01:33:16.908 --> 01:33:19.494
But despite his confidence
and a guilty verdict,
01:33:19.494 --> 01:33:22.496
just getting to trial
wasn't going to be easy—
01:33:22.496 --> 01:33:25.515
made even tougher when the conservative
majority Supreme Court
01:33:25.649 --> 01:33:28.635
significantly broadened
presidential immunity.
01:33:28.635 --> 01:33:34.923
His team dismissed the case entirely
after November's election due to the long-standing DOJ policy
01:33:34.923 --> 01:33:38.660
that sitting president
cannot face federal prosecution.
01:33:38.927 --> 01:33:42.980
Trump responded to the release of
the report on social media saying:
01:33:43.230 --> 01:33:47.067
"Jack is a lamebrain prosecutor
who was unable to get his case tried
01:33:47.067 --> 01:33:50.069
before the election,
which I won in a landslide.
01:33:50.186 --> 01:33:52.221
The voters have spoken."
01:33:52.221 --> 01:33:55.424
Smith writes, "Indeed, but for Mr. Trump's election,
01:33:55.424 --> 01:33:58.260
and imminent return
to the presidency, the office assessed
01:33:58.260 --> 01:33:59.727
that the admissible evidence
01:33:59.727 --> 01:34:03.764
was sufficient to obtain
and sustain a conviction at trial.
01:34:04.098 --> 01:34:08.568
Many of the details of Trump's efforts
to undo the 2020 election result
01:34:08.785 --> 01:34:13.139
have been public for years—Trump saying
he was a target of a politically motivated
01:34:13.139 --> 01:34:16.125
prosecution by the DOJ and White House.
01:34:16.158 --> 01:34:19.110
Smith called those claims "laughable".
01:34:19.110 --> 01:34:24.148
Trump did try, unsuccessfully, to get the courts
to block the release of this report.
01:34:24.165 --> 01:34:28.068
There is also a separate report out there
that focuses on Trump's
01:34:28.068 --> 01:34:32.205
classified documents case
that has not yet been made public.
01:35:33.106 --> 01:35:35.124
On the evening of his inauguration,
01:35:35.124 --> 01:35:38.677
President Donald Trump, not wasting any time
getting down to business.
01:35:39.044 --> 01:35:40.879
He has just returned to the White House
01:35:40.879 --> 01:35:44.299
and is signing a series
of executive actions in the Oval Office,
01:35:44.632 --> 01:35:47.385
where he is pardoning some 1500
01:35:47.385 --> 01:35:50.387
January 6th rioters
who have been convicted
01:35:50.504 --> 01:35:53.707
for participating in the attack
on the Capitol four years ago.
01:35:53.990 --> 01:35:55.308
The president is speaking now.
01:35:55.308 --> 01:35:56.809
Let's listen in.
01:35:56.809 --> 01:35:57.410
Yes, sir.
01:35:57.410 --> 01:36:00.429
First, we have a list
of, of pardons and commutations
01:36:00.429 --> 01:36:03.432
relating to events
that occurred on January 6th, 2021.
01:36:04.249 --> 01:36:06.517
Okay. And how many people is this?
01:36:06.517 --> 01:36:09.520
I think this order will apply
to approximately 1500 people, sir.
01:36:10.638 --> 01:36:13.123
So this is January 6th.
01:36:13.123 --> 01:36:18.411
And these are the hostages,
approximately 1500 for a pardon.
01:36:19.095 --> 01:36:19.595
Yes.
01:36:19.595 --> 01:36:20.296
Full pardon.
01:36:23.148 --> 01:36:24.132
Full pardon or commutations?
01:36:24.649 --> 01:36:26.317
Full pardon.
01:36:27.218 --> 01:36:29.453
We have about six commutations in there.
01:36:30.638 --> 01:36:33.307
Where we're doing further research.
01:36:33.307 --> 01:36:36.309
Nice to see you again.
01:36:41.897 --> 01:36:44.900
So this is a big one.
01:36:45.517 --> 01:36:47.685
Anything you want to explain about this?
01:36:48.486 --> 01:36:50.571
We hope they come out tonight, frankly.
01:36:51.605 --> 01:36:54.641
They're expecting it.
01:36:57.310 --> 01:36:59.445
Approximately 1500 people.
01:36:59.445 --> 01:37:01.480
Six commutations.
01:37:01.480 --> 01:37:04.716
Are there any cases who did not deserve a full pardon?
01:37:04.716 --> 01:37:07.002
We're looking at different things,
01:37:07.002 --> 01:37:10.154
But the commutations would be
the ones that we'll take a look at.
01:37:10.722 --> 01:37:14.541
Maybe it'll stay that way
or it'll go to get the full pardon.
01:37:14.892 --> 01:37:17.811
And the order does require
the Bureau of Prisons to act immediately
01:37:17.811 --> 01:37:20.797
on receipt of the pardons
and commutation orders.
01:37:21.130 --> 01:37:21.998
Sir, this is a...
01:37:21.998 --> 01:37:25.250
Why don't we get that down so they can get 'em going right now?
01:37:25.250 --> 01:37:27.019
Yes, sir. Yep. Absolutely.
01:37:44.800 --> 01:37:49.204
Many Americans tell themselves that
what's happening now in their country
01:37:49.204 --> 01:37:51.289
is a temporary crisis
01:37:51.289 --> 01:37:54.725
caused by a particularly intense
political divide.
01:37:54.842 --> 01:37:57.361
That over time, tempers will subside
01:37:57.361 --> 01:38:00.363
and things will go back
to the way they used to be.
01:38:01.147 --> 01:38:03.332
They're wrong.
01:38:03.332 --> 01:38:07.236
The USA may
well lead in future military conflicts,
01:38:08.053 --> 01:38:11.056
but it will never again lead morally.
01:38:12.674 --> 01:38:14.225
For the rest of the world
01:38:14.225 --> 01:38:17.077
the word "American" has long conjured up
01:38:17.077 --> 01:38:20.230
images of bold, future-thinking idealists,
01:38:20.764 --> 01:38:23.766
anchored by a fundamental human decency
01:38:23.850 --> 01:38:26.769
and fueled with a sense of self-belief
n
01:38:26.769 --> 01:38:31.189
that consistently propelled them to accomplish
what no one else thought possible.
01:38:33.308 --> 01:38:35.476
But over the past ten years,
01:38:35.476 --> 01:38:38.545
that image has been comprehensively
shattered,
01:38:39.746 --> 01:38:41.581
replaced with one of a society
01:38:41.581 --> 01:38:44.984
dominated by an all pervasive
tribal irrationality
01:38:45.234 --> 01:38:49.505
that's impervious to any logical argument
or objective evidence
01:38:49.788 --> 01:38:53.391
that runs counter to the deliberately
inflammatory, hate-filled,
01:38:53.391 --> 01:38:57.261
false propaganda
that's being relentlessly spewed forth,
01:38:58.946 --> 01:39:05.702
You don't return easily to saner,
more reasonable times from such a point.
01:39:08.020 --> 01:39:11.106
America is not simply a nation in decline.
01:39:12.274 --> 01:39:16.027
It's a nation that has, bizarrely
and inexplicably,
01:39:16.594 --> 01:39:20.614
opted for a sudden act
of collective national suicide
01:39:21.031 --> 01:39:24.034
by willfully betraying its
founding ideals,
01:39:26.019 --> 01:39:27.336
many of which
01:39:27.336 --> 01:39:32.257
have long been adopted by other countries
who'd grown accustomed to turning to it
01:39:32.507 --> 01:39:35.510
for leadership.
01:39:35.927 --> 01:39:40.631
It's one of the most stinging ironies of history
that a majority of Americans
01:39:40.831 --> 01:39:44.901
steadfastly ignored
what made their country actually great,
01:39:45.802 --> 01:39:50.006
opting instead
to spontaneously destroy that greatness
01:39:50.389 --> 01:39:53.542
by slavishly
following a power hungry demagogue
01:39:53.992 --> 01:39:59.197
who promised to reinstate what had never, in fact, been lost—
01:40:00.598 --> 01:40:02.449
until now.
01:40:03.450 --> 01:40:09.605
Because the genuine greatness of America didn't
simply lie in its economic productivity
01:40:10.239 --> 01:40:13.926
or technical
sophistication, or military might
01:40:15.594 --> 01:40:21.215
No, it's truly exceptional achievement
was the fact that it created all of those things,
01:40:21.215 --> 01:40:23.150
and many more besides,
01:40:23.717 --> 01:40:27.887
while building a dynamic,
knowledge-driven, cosmopolitan country
01:40:27.887 --> 01:40:32.741
based on the rule of law,
the likes of which we'd never seen before.
01:40:33.842 --> 01:40:38.680
A place, in other words—its own, as it happens—
01:40:38.680 --> 01:40:42.400
to vigorously engage
in the pursuit of happiness,
01:40:43.617 --> 01:40:47.304
to tangibly demonstrate
that abstract moral principles
01:40:47.704 --> 01:40:51.374
could be transformed
into genuine political reality
01:40:51.808 --> 01:40:56.612
through their direct and corporation
in the governing laws of the land.
01:40:59.014 --> 01:41:03.284
For well over 200 years, despite its many faults,
01:41:03.934 --> 01:41:09.673
the United States of America
has consistently offered the world this shining ideal,
01:41:09.673 --> 01:41:14.126
inspiring us all to dream of a better future.
01:41:16.195 --> 01:41:19.197
Many of us still have that dream.
01:41:21.716 --> 01:41:24.068
But America is no longer in it.
Distributor: Ideas Roadshow
Length: 102 minutes
Date: 2025
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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