presentation of books that shaped america weeknights at 9:00 eastern on c-span or go to c-span.org/-- cspan.org/booksthatshapedamerica to view the series and learn more about each book featured. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are feet -- we are funded by these television companies and more, including cox. >> it is extremely rare. but friends don't have to be. when we are connected, you are not alone. >> cox supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] host: we start this morning by asking what was the top congressional story of 2023?

several events occurred, kevin mccarthy became speaker of the house, to lose the position. we saw the removal of republican george santos and the censure of jamaal bowman. democratic senator bob menendez not himself at the center of a federal bribery trial. maybe one of those types your list, or maybe there was another that you consider a top congressional story for 2023. tell us this morning at (202)-748-8001, republicans. (202)-748-8000, democrats. (202)-748-8002, pendents. if you would like to submit your top congressional story through text, you can do that at (202)-748-8003. you can also post on our social media sites, facebook.com/c-span and on x at @cspanwj. politico takes a roundup of those top 10 stories of congress as they consider highlighting

them. to share a couple, you may add these to your list. there are other congressional stories you would like to add. you can call in on the lines or post on social media. we will take those calls momentarily. when we look at the top list, kevin mccarthy's number one, trying to obtain the speakership for years. once he got it, he lasted nine months. the first time ever, the house kicked out a chief bevering the middle, known as the motion to vacate, and after he worked to avoid a government shutdown, the cocaine. all republicans voted to boot him in an unprecedented move that sent shockwaves through washington. -- a government shutdown, the coup. all republicans voted to boot him in an unprecedented move

that sent shockwaves through washington. the incident sent capital campus into disarray, already during a dramatic saturday. speaker mccarthy pushed forward on the spending bill that would eventually help to him for the job. bowman pleaded to a misdemeanor charge for pulling a fire alarm, and deny doing it on purpose, and he was censured by his house colleagues for his incident after the house ethics committee that it would not launch investigation. there are others on the list. you can find that on the politico website, politico.com, or maybe one thing you would like to highlight is the activity level of congress. that is axios highlights, looking at the 118th congress, at the time of publishing, saying it was on track to be one of the most unproductive in modern history. according to the data analytics

form, -- firm, 20 bills at the time of publishing passed by both chambers were signed into law this year and awaiting the president signature. that is far below the first year for the 112th congress and 113th, in which republicans controlled one or both chambers with democrats bill clinton and barack obama with the white house passing between 70 and 73 laws. it also marks a low in the year-long good luck, marking five of the first six unproductive years since 2011. if you would like to highlight people, you can do that. if you like to highlight the workflow of congress, you can do that. (202)-748-8001, republicans. (202)-748-8000, democrats. (202)-748-8002, independents. like i said, you can post on text at (202)-748-8003. you can also post on our social

media sites. marissa, democrat, montana, starts off -- excuse me, starts us off with her top congressional story of 2023. good morning. caller: good morning to c-span, shining light and beacon of hope. thank you. shut up to brian. i saw him on sion the other day. always had.good as he thank you, c-span. my story is this, when is the republican congress going to quit taking vacations and going on vacation without doing their job? after world war two, we promised ukraine that if they gave away their nuclear weapons to russia, we would stand up and protect them. why isn't the republican congress bringing forward a bill to incident constantly complaining and not taking responsibility for the border, to fund the border? what one to see on the border is trade schools, carpentry

schools, electrical, plumbing school. not a fence but we don't need fence, we need more schools. instead of spending money on a cat and asking that does not work, let's build trade schools. the republican -- cat and mouse game that is not work, let's build trade schools. republicans need to take action and do what promised. keep our word to ukraine to help them defend against this russian aristocracy, and why are they promoting a known convicted rapist trump for the white house? is it because of his orange hair? host: let's go to bob in utah, democrats line, top congressional story of 2023, go ahead. caller: ok, good morning. i would like to start off by saying first i had an uncle in germany, had a brother who fought in korea, and i was in

service during vietnam. i did not go, but i volunteered. and for anybody to wear a uniform who would vote for trump after saying you are a sucker for being in and not paying taxes, i do not understand, -- host: but when it comes to 2023 and the top story for congress, what would you say that is? caller: 2023, that is all we have talked about for the past four years, this election and the guy that is trying to get in. that has been the top story. host: how does that play out in congress? caller: congress has been kind of a dope, if you ask me. they have not on their job. the republicans have not.

they have got to start working together. we are a country of racists and everything. we are americans. host: that is bob in utah. clinical highlights the story with activity from congress and once they face once they face wants to come back into the new year, two deadlines when lawmakers return. this highlighting and reminding that they only have two weeks before the first deadline when it comes to congressional funding. the first is january 19, that could shudder parts of the government, and there was another two weeks after that for a total shutdown on february 2, to which the caller highlighted, with nothing to stay over the stalemate over border security and ukraine aid. if you would like to make those part of the top story when you think of issues that come to

congress, you can do that on the phone lines, and send us a text at (202)-748-8003. let me take you back to january, one of those top stories we already highlighted, representative kevin mccarthy awaiting the gavel of speaker of the house after many, many votes that you will remember, if you watched it play out as much as we watched it happen here at c-span. this is from january, his remarks to the chamber after winning the gavel. [end video clip] -- [video clip] [cheers]

>> that was easy, huh? [laughter] i never thought we would get up here. thank you, minority leader jeffries. hakeem, i have got to warn you, two years ago, i got 100% of the vote for my conference. [laughter] [applause] there is somebody else i would like to thank, the gentlelady who served as our presiding officer this week, cheryl johnson. thank you.

[applause] my father always told me it is not how you start, it is how you finish. now, we need to finish strong for the american people. [end video clip] host: that was from earlier. you can go to c-span.org if you would like to see and remember those instances from january. it was a viewer who text in from kentkyho highlights the same thing, the removal of speaker mccarthy and then after he won, voted to remove him. it was -- they thanked kev mccarthy, wishing him the best

after his term ends in washington. a viewer from x saying raising the debtimit, fighting the government to avoid a shutdown, and then ts from x, saying the disaster of the republic party nothing accomplished, and they did put in a televangelist, in reference to speaker mike johnson. e only issue is that they run on the border and refused to work with democrats to solve the issue. michael on the republican line, top congressional story of the past year, mike and kentucky, go ahead. caller: i want to know what is going on with this john kerry. who does he think he is saying that he is going to try and shut all the coal mines down? no telling putting how many people out of work. who the hell does he think he is? host: he works for the white house, but when it comes to

congress, what would you say is the main story this year? caller: gosh. i don't know. host: let's hear from zelda in georgia, democrat line. caller: hi, good morning, pedro. we have children in elementary, middle school, and high school, and they know not to touch a fire alarm, so this grown man has lost his mind. thank you. host: that was jamaal bowman of georgia. or new york. why do you think all the stories that occurred this year, why was at the top one in your mind? caller: because things are so chaotic there, we have chaos in school and everywhere, and they are distracting from what needs to be done. too much is going on.

there are no children there at the white house, no children at the senate. but now he goes and plays children's games. they need to grow up. if you cannot, get out of the position. thank you. host: we will hear from darrell, independent. caller: hello, good morning. thank you, c-span for all that you do putting out independent, open, uncensored information for all to see. in regards to political agendas -- in regards to any political agenda. i would like to call in relation to congress -- actually, all of the [indiscernible] congress have come from the republican side of the country, in terms of what they are willing or not willing to do to

hold themselves accountable. everything they have done has been for political show, from the fight to the speaker to kevin mccarthy to become speaker, which was all a political show, to the actual removal of george santos and the removal of the speaker and the removal of george santos. that was a blight on the nation. what are other countries going to say when they see this when we are supposed to be the can that held the standard? -- the beacon that held the standard? that shows where we are. host: darrell on the independent

line highlighting congress, highlighting the speaker they elected earlier this year, kevin mccarthy, and highlighting his removal earlier this year. you can throw those into the mix if you would like. they may be other issues you would like to add. let's hear from minnesota, ted, independent line. caller: good morning. i would like to say that i wish they could do something in congress to get this debt under control. it seems all they do is kick it down the road, whether democrats or republicans, they are not working together and that is what has got to be done. otherwise, we have about the same old stuff every year. keep kicking that thing down the road. host: so that tops the list for you when it comes to the work of

congress? caller: for one, it is the debt. that's the most important thing. why can the shiva little off of every department out there? -- shave a little off very department out there. host: jamaal bowman was brought up, censored by the house for cooling the fire alarm over the debated funding issues. he went to the floor of the house to talk about censorship and get his take on those events. here he is from earlier this year. [video clip] >> my constituents know i will always continue to fight for them. fighting for my district includes working to prevent a government shutdown. over two months ago, i was rushing to the capitol to

prevent a republican shutdown. when i try to exit a door i usually go through, through the confusion, i pulled the fire alarm. i immediately took the accountability for my actions and pled guilty. immediately. the legal process on this matter has played out. no way did i obstruct official proceedings. the vote took place, and democrats were able to ensure we avoided a government shutdown. unfortunately, republicans are trying to rehash an already litigated matter, a matter in which the republican-controlled house committee on ethics decided not to proceed with any further investigation. this is an insult to the people i was elected to represent. instead of passing meaningful

legislation for the american people, some republicans are using the censure to waste our time and money and to try and make you forget about all of the rights they want to destroy. they are trying to make you forget and take away your reproductive rights, your voting rights, your health care, your social security, and your medicare. [end video clip] host: that is one event that took place this year. you can add that to the mix, and other things, as well. call (202)-748-8001, republicans. (202)-748-8000, democrats. (202)-748-8002, independents. you can post on our facebook and x site or text us at (202)-748-8003. that was not the only censorship that took place, censure that took place this year. it was back in november, the house voted tuesday to censure representative receded to leave -- representative talib for her

statements regarding the israel-hamas war. it accused -- the resolution accused her of promoting false narratives surrounding the october some attack on israel" calling for the restriction of the state of israel, where republicans voted against censuring her and three democrats voted present, declining to take a position. i was back in november. you can find that reporting in "the new york times" let's go to michael in florida. democrat line. type congressional story of 2023. glad. caller: the impeachment of joe biden inquiry, spending money and time going to waste. there is no opportunity for conviction because of the democratic senate. it is a lot of wasted resources.

we have other things to do in terms of budget, the circumstances on the border, the two wars, [indiscernible] host: the committee starting that inquiry and then the formal voting of inquiry by the houston this year, as well, as part of the events of 2023 in south dakota. republican line, we will hear from terry. caller: i believe the bigger story this year is mike johnson. he is a very good man, a constitutional guy that understands, and he is trying to get us where we are fiscally responsible in this country.

we are heading down a bad path with the borders, spending money in these type of things. i don't see any good happening. i don't see this as sustainable with what we are doing as far as spending money. that is the number one thing. i think mike johnson is a very good leader, and if we just stick with him and not try to go too fast with trying to solve problems with things that are possible with democrats and republicans, they come together and become more responsible. host: were you one of those people as far as kevin mccarthy was concerned, did you support him well speaker, or were you one who was glad when he was removed? what was your take on kevin mccarthy? caller: kevin mccarthy i thought

was also a good man, but there were too many people in the republican ranks against him and what he wanted to be and do. when you do something like that, when you spend time in this environment with the democrats all hanging together like glue, you have to stick together and do your work, and do the good work for this country as far as fiscal policy goes. this border thing, if we are going to spend billions of dollars on it, we are going to be in trouble fiscally pretty soon. host: do you think the republicans will give speaker johnson a fair shake when it comes to the way he conducts the office and the ability to make things happen? caller: i think they should come together, work together.

you cannot have everything overnight. you have to work together and get anything going down the road fiscally in this country. when you talk about $34 trillion, it is just about unimaginable what that is. host: ok, barry in south dakota, giving us his thoughts on the top story. centering around the new speaker of the house, mike johnson. democrats line, from washington state, stephen, hello. caller: how are you doing this morning? host: fine, thank you. go ahead. caller: my issue for 2023 was the actual ousting of former speaker of the house kevin mccarthy. in manipulated he was by

the gop freedom caucus. they manipulated him and made him look like a puppet on that seat with the gavel. it was almost comical, his career, coming from the gerrymandered district he is from bakersfield. how gerrymandered is that? those cities and towns right there are not even connected. they have gaps, so this is how those gerrymandered cities that are pointed out, those three he represented in the district, he is just bribe people -- he is just bribeable. i have come from those towns in the past, and i have known in his younger years how manipulative he was as a politician, and he is proven of

being manipulated by the freedom caucus when it came to the open seat and the speaker of the house, and how the caucus just boosted him -- ousted him by just having that one vote, that they agreed it takes one man to have a re-vote to get him out of that seat of the house of speaker if he does not do the things that they want. that is exactly -- host: again, bringing up kevin mccarthy. that may make your list when it comes to type congressional stories, or maybe there are others you would (202)-748-8001 like to add. (202)-748-8001, republican -- there are others you would like to add to it. (202)-748-8001, republicans. (202)-748-8000, democrats. (202)-748-8002s, independents. john is on our independent line from virginia. hi. caller: i would like to follow

up previous call. look already gave up his following very early. when you try to convince everybody, that is not politics. it is always someone against your agenda. the thing i don't like about this whole thing is it is always one party who does not want to work with the other party. the reality is, the congress are there for a check, not the american people. they are getting paid well and do not do nothing. i am just saying that republicans, they have good ideas, but they cater to donald trump and they will not have a good congressman. host: senator dianne feinstein past this year, senator from

california, died at the age of 90. this is "the new york times" profile saying she achieved remarkable political breakthroughs as a woman, as san francisco's first female mayor and first woman elected to the senate from california. let's hear from a viewer in san jose, steve, republican line, talking about the top congressional story from 2023. caller: thank you for taking my call. the number one issue in the top story for me regarding the congress is the inability to foresee future massively distracted issues, and i will real quickly give you three of them. one of them is the national debt. what is plan b? ira pete, what is plan b? -- i repeat, what is plan b? number two, the immigration

issue and the consequences of unrestricted immigration. number three, paying off student loan debt without a plan. that would permanently solve it. we are going to be right back in the same problem a few years from now that got us here to begin with, and there is no plan b for the student loans. thank you for taking my call. host: again, that is steve in california. ryan is also from california, democrat line. caller: hi, pedro. i want to be bipartisan. you guys did some grades a couple of weeks back, and i never dived in, but i would like to give in a --an a to my

brothers and the republican party. i think the democratic party has gotten a little crazy. in some ways, it is how they are trying to destroy this country. i would like to give them an a even though they have not been very productive, it is checks and balances. that is how this country, constitution works. i also want to give my democrats credit, too. i want to give them in a in the senate for doing a -- host: that is a viewer in california. people have been posting in relation to one topic that took a lot of airtime, so to speak, when it comes to the coverage of congress. this is a text from beverly smith in alabama. it is the saga of george santos for me. cannot believe how gullible people are, believing this compulsive liar that he had the

gall to run for public office. d then another -- sorry about that. this is pam in north carolina, texting us, sayingt was the ousting of santos, they cannot ignore it anymore, which begs the question how do they keep ignoring trump's chaos? george santos appeared on the floor of the house and one of the speeches were given on the house george santos. [video clip] >> we are going down a third attempt to expel me this week. just introduced one earlier today, we just had a second. here is the case in point, in history, five members of congress have been expelled. all five had suffered convictions in a court. all five had due process.

this expulsion vote simply undermines and -- we have had on in this chamber. it puts us in a new direction that sets it in just for the future. are we to assume one is not innocent until proven guilty? or are we not to assume because someone doesn't like you they get to throw you out of your job? does the constitution are no consequence -- the process in which the ethics committee engaged is lit with

hyperbole and littered with bias opinions. cheapening the process of the ethics committee, cheapening the process this country has expected from this chamber. it is not a light to be a member of congress, the media will always remind me of that every time i talk to them. it is a privilege, a privilege you work hard for and you get elected to congress, a privilege to represent those who are chosen you. madame speaker, i think we can agree that due process matters and that we should all be very concerned about the way we are conducting this process. i asked my colleagues under the

house consider and understand what this means for the future and to set the record straight and put this in the record, i will not be resigning. host: this took days before the house censured george santos. you can see all of that on c-span. one thing in the news as of yesterday when it comes to the activity of congress, lauren boebert announcing wednesday she is ditching her reelection bid in colorado's third congressional district to run in the fourth congressional district which is more favorable to republicans. she won five 546 votes which -- in the district which is in southeastern colorado. it includes loveland and the rural eastern plane. the third district leads nine percentage points in republicans favor by the fourth district

liens 27 points towards the gop. that is according to election results in 2016 and 2020. she does not have to live in the fourth district to represent it. the colorado sun with that story. darlene from new hampshire, independent line. top story of 2023 when it comes to congress. what you think it is? caller: good morning. i think it is senator menendez. he was caught with gold bars and money sewn into his coat at home. working as an egypt -- an agent for egypt. host: why do you think that rises to the top? why does the top the list for

you? caller: other people are being brought up in congress for what they are trained to do. by the democrats. -- host: go ahead. caller: all i have to say is they go in as poppers and they come out as millionaires. host: that is if you are in new hampshire, senator menendez held a press conference after these charges came down. a press conference talking about his innocence. is for september come here is a portion of that. [video clip] sen. menendez: everything i have accomplished i've worked for despite the naysayers. i recognize this will be the biggest fight yet. as i have stated throughout this process, i firmly believe when all of facts are presented, not

only will i be exonerated, i will still be new jersey's senior senator. , address four things. -- i want to address four things. a cornerstone of democracy and our system is the principal that all people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, all people. i ask for nothing more and deserve nothing less. the court of public opinion is no substitute for our justice system. we cannot set aside the presumption of innocence for political expediency when the harm is irrevocable. to those who have rushed to judgment, you have done so in limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be as salacious as possible. remember, prosecutors get it wrong sometimes. sadly, i know that.

host: roll call reporting a special subcommittee has been formed to investigate whether sheila mccormick by the campaign finance laws or broken rules while running office. the leader of the house ethics committee said yesterday that a panel will review allegations connected to her election victory. every election later in 2022, the panel will look at if she failed to disclose of information on statements to be filed with the house and or accepted voluntary services for with initial work from an individual not employed in her congressional office. mary is up next. houston, texas, republican line, top congressional -- top story

of 2023. caller: the top congressional story was the hearing of the three university presidents and their horrific testimonies. host: why is that? caller: because antisemitism is a huge problem. it is a problem on campus for jewish people, for muslims. what those presidents said was really unfaithful. harvard is dealing with another problem of plagiarism. if the board does not say that is plagiarism and does not act on that, that is a problem. host: that hearing happened.

this month, it featured the presidents of harvard, university of pennsylvania, and massachusetts institute of technology. you can find that hearing on our website at c-span.org. go to our video library and you can see that hearing and the testimony from those presidents. massachusetts is next, democratic line. kathy, go ahead. caller: my top story is the do-nothing congress. there is probably a small section that does not want to make government work so it will be disrupted. someone mentioned earlier the time off people take in congress and that is not specific to 2023. it has frustrated me. if you look at the spinning wheel that passed at the end of september, everybody knew the

deadline was coming and they took off as they do to go home. in the private sector, we don't have the luxury of -- if there is a deadline, you have to meet it. you don't just get to wander off and do what you want. other times of the year, they take times off. vacation, march break come easter, memorial day, usually for a week. it is incredible to me how much time these people take off. that is frustrating. i like to speak to immigration. this is something congress has had decades to work on. to try to shoehorn it into a very limited window is a band-aid to a larger issue. in terms of student debt, i think it needs a longer-term solution instead of trying to

band-aid paying off someone's that when the universities are not being held accountable. lastly, the tennessee -- that got kicked out for begin their seats. that is it for me. host: dan from our independent line in florida. caller: my top issue is rudy giuliani has to pay all of that money to election workers in georgia and how a guy with 93 indictments saying he is running the election. host: we are focusing on congressional top stories. what would that be for congress? caller: if mr. trump: impeach biden, they will do it. karthik -- mccarthy went to mar-a-lago and that got him in trouble. january 6, there was a riot. they did try to hang mike pence.

i cannot see how they can allow donald trump to get on the ballot. host: from philadelphia, we will hear from chris. caller: for me, i thought it was the awful behavior we witnessed from the oklahoma senator who stood up and wanted to challenge during the hearing for the teamsters union head. he had to stand up and made comments like he was in a sandbox. like my two-year-old with say. -- would say. it was awful. witnessing something like that and he is a representative, i can only imagine what january 6 -- we all watched. people want to be in denial, there is a classic example of the behavior.

i don't agree with george santos's lies, but i see his point about he was not even convicted yet. let's get the court case. look at matt gaetz. the awful behavior that continues to be displayed by the republicans. i would give a heads up to senator bernie sanders for being such a respectable representative of our country and reminding that gentleman it was an honor to be sitting in those seats and he revisited the people fresh and he represents the people -- and he represent the people. they are out of touch so that it is all about them. how that guy was not fired, i scratch my head. you could be working at walmart and if you challenge another person like that, you are out. host: chris in philadelphia.

he is recounting something that occurred and reported on in november. this was the story at the time, senator markwayne mullin, republican from oklahoma, he challenged the labor leader to a brawl in the senate hearing room. there is a long history of violence in -- backing down after his confrontation at a senate hearing that you're the came to blows forcing bernie sanders to the potential fight. here is that the event that took place in november. [video clip] sen. mullin: let's talk about -- you got excited about the keyboard. you treated -- tweeted at me five times. let me read with the last one

said. "ceo who pretends he is self-made." i wish you were in the truck with me when i was building the company myself and my wife was running the office. i remember working hard and long hours. "what a clown, fraud, always has been, always will be." quitted the tough guy act in this hearings. you know where to find me anyplace, anytime. >> this is a time, this is a place. if you want to run your mouth, we can do it here. >> that is perfect. >> do you want to do right now. >> stand your butt up. >> sit-down. you are a united states senator. sit-down. hold it. i have -- you will have your

time. >> cannot respond? >> no you cannot. this is a hearing and god knows the american people have enough contempt for congress. >> i don't like you. >> hold it. >> i did challenge you and i accepted your challenge. you went quiet. >> i did not go quiet. you challenged me to a cage match acting like a 12-year-old. >> excuse me. senator mullin. do you have questions on economic issues, go for it. we are not here to talk about physical abuse. host: that events back in november. you can see more of that back at our website at c-span.org.

susan, top story of 2020 three -- 2023. caller: i feel like all of the hearings i have caught have been like that. the republicans are aggressive to whoever is doing us the privilege of coming in and talking to them and answering their questions. my main concern for congress is that it seems the republican is being run by trump. whether they are actually taking directions from him, whether they are scared of him, which is a real thing. he is the worst president we have ever had, the worst threat to american democracy we have ever had. to see the number of people that back him in congress and play their games, they don't even address the issue. it is all of these childish

games and until trump get possible for his actions, including january 6, the worst day in our history, our own capital attacked and these people, mccarthy, johnson, simply back his views or are scared of him. trump took credit of taking away the abortion rights of women. taking away rights, redistricting so they will win specific votes -- her opponent earned so many more donations that her that she could not even defend herself and the campaign. we have a really big issue. we have an entire republican party under trump's thumb and if everyone does not see the danger of this racist but it's from

cyst, a threat to our democracy and all those -- white supremacist, a threat to our democracy and all those, if people do not see it that we are done. host: republican line from louisiana. caller: god bless president trump for doing what he is doing. i don't see how we can do it. i want to know about the right at january -- the riot on january 6 and how you censored. host: let me point you back to the topic of this hour when it comes to the top congressional story. what would you say that is? caller: i would say the line of both parties and the fact that they wide about the riot -- they lied about the riot at the capital. both the republican and the democratic side. we need to get rid of that.

host: pristine in kennett -- christine in connecticut, independent. caller: what about jamaal bowman for pulling the fire alarm? isn't that a federal offense? isn't that a problem with interfering with a vote that was going on? yet he did not seem to get -- he could get censured, but he should be kicked out. you should not be able to do that. a january 6 person went to the capital and they are in jail. congress is dysfunctional. -- dysfunctional in how they deal with the problem, how they don't work together. they work only for themselves. i am an independent and i'm disgusted by both parties. when i listen to the democratic people complaining about republicans and republicans about democrats, they all need

to take a long look because no one in congress works for us, they work for themselves. host: you said that twice, they work for themselves, what do you mean by that? what would you point to as evidence of that? caller: they have the best of everything. the commerce people, where do their kids go to school -- the congress people, where do their kids go to school? comedy homes do they own? the bills that they tried to pass, are the americans that are suffering? they are not. they pass the bills but they are the ones who are living better. i would love to see how many people in congress sent their kids to private schools. they get special treatment, they have good health insurance while other americans are suffering. when you look at both parties,

you are three stones at each other, they are not working for us, they are working for themselves. i am mad about him all mormon -- about jamaal bowman. he should be kicked out. because he is a democrat, everything they need to do is to pass. it is okay. we did not really need to do it so it is okay. host: a little bit from revisited bowman before his center. let's hear from scott. caller: good morning. in order to work together, we need to work. i would end with the hunter biden laptop story but i see congress and their dysfunction like a high school party where the party coordinator like adam

schiff and mitch mcconnell, when things switched and they were unable to be at a keg, everyone who arrived, all the high schools in the county were there to be intoxicated, there to do something they shouldn't. the drug dealers where the life of the party. the santoses. they can serve the purpose of making people drunk and stupid. you see congress trying to beach joe biden. if they could get their hands on hunter and hit him back on crack , get drunk and stupid again, they might be so desperate at this point to get them so delirious that he turns on his father.

congress could pass law that gives hunter as much money as if using -- as much money as they accuse him. if they can bribe hunter, maybe they could save face and do something. they could get him impeached. host: earlier this month, the house oversight and accountability chair jim, spoke to reporters after they voted to start the impeachment inquiry against president biden. this is earlier this month. [video clip] rep. porter: -- rep. kilmer: we have spent time investigating evidence.

we have questions, what did he buy this do to receive tens of dollars from our enemies? today's unanimous vote showed that we are united as a conference. we expect to have people honor our subpoenas. we want to wrap this investigation up. you get to the deposition phase before you wrap up an investigation. that is where we are. we are pleased with the vote. that sends a message loud and clear to the white house. we expect you to reply to our information request. host: let's hear from rich in wisconsin. top congressional story of 23. caller: it has to be basically the corruption within our government. we are having hearings with whistleblowers. the democrats are saying they don't have any evidence.

the whistleblowers are providing evidence. the fbi is covering up the evidence. we have people who cannot even agree on basic fundament of facts of what is a male, what is a female. it has gotten to the point where it is ludicrous. we need to stop worrying about other countries. we have $51 billion to pay for illegals to cross our border but we have veterans who cannot get the care they need with schools getting to hell in a hand basket . too many corporate americans on it. they basically pull the strings in our country. we are going to talk about things that it is inflamed

rather than get us closer to the perfect union they should be. host: kyle's next in oklahoma, democrats line. caller: two quick things, the infidelity with people invited nominees to come before the. the whole idea for people like holly and cruz is to humiliate the individuals instead of waiting for answers to questions. the other major issue that is beyond me, why congress cannot understand this threat to the world when guns, money, support for ukraine are withheld because of unrelated issues. they must not remember czechoslovakia, hungary, and even world war ii.

that is such a tragic misstep on their part and that will go down in history as perhaps the major feeling of this congress. think you for taking my call. host: robert in jacksonville, florida, republican line. top congressional story of 2020 three. -- of 2023. caller: it has got to be the immigration thing. nancy pelosi and all of them naysayers, it is a smokescreen to block the real issues of them trying to keep immigrants out. they are still getting their way. they are still piling them in by the thousands. host: robert in florida, finish us off. thanks for those who participated in this hour. in the next hour, if you have

been watching this show for the last several days, we have been doing an author's week. today we future wheeler parker, jr., the cousin of an until who wrote a book with christopher benson about the events concerning emmett till called "a few days full of trouble." that story is coming up when "washington journal" continues. >> since 1979, in partnership with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress, from the house and senate floors, to congressional hearings, party briefings, and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row seat of how issues are debated and decided. with no interruption and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government.

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>> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capitol, to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. ♪ >> "washington journal" continues. host: it is authors week series and joining us we have been featuring top writers of various political spectrum. joining us is reverend wheeler parker, jr., the cousin of emmett till, and also christopher benson discussing their book "a few days full of trouble." thank you for joining us today. guest: thanks for having us.

host: a little stories and history behind the death of emmett till. what was your purpose in writing it? guest: to bring clarity and rest some of the miss numbers about the stories of emmett till. we thought we would bring some clarity. host: can you elaborate the events you felt needed clarifying? >> -- guest: as to what happened at the store, i was and eyewitness. the stories put out there were not told by eyewitness. host: as you helped cowrite the book, in the effort to bring clarity on the source we have heard, what role did you take? what was the largest part of the task facing you? guest: we wanted to get the

truth out there. i discovered there were so many things that had been misreported. in journalist and a lawyer so i had a critical assessment of some of my sisters and brothers who were reporting i chose's -- who were reporting on each other's stories and not going back and doing research. that is what he wanted to do. certainly delve into reverend parker's memory, as a person who was at the night -- who was at the house the night they can be taken until away. worked with the fbi in the last four years into the investigation of the lynching and we were able to help inform the investigation and take information from the investigation in ways that enrich our story as presented in

the book. it is material that has never been told before. host: a little bit from the book for our audience, this is from ew days full of trouble," after all these years, the truth had not beenol not completely. this book is an attempt to accomplish that and achieve some measure of justice, if only because we clear the record of some errors and lies. been approved of stories about the emmett till i knew so well. what is the common marriage if you hear when it comes to emmett till at the store? what is the truth in reality as you see it? guest: when the story first happened, we felt helpless because we did not have control of the media or exposure to the media.

when i was interviewed 30 years later, you can only understand what it was like to have lived that time. all of a sudden i have my chance to tell my story and get the truth out. i think of the people who were there to hear my story. things have changed. we have come a long ways. we have a lot of work to do. host: the story centers at the events at the store. tell us your account of what happened and how that differs to what you hear about the account. guest: everything i have heard is from people who were not there. the truth is i was at the story. emmett and i were traveling together and i was there in the store. i am purchasing some things and while i am in store and it -- store, met -- emmett comes

in, nothing happened. within a minute or so, my uncle came in with them. nothing happened. they never asked us, they never did an interview. we felt so helpless to try to correct those things. now we have a chance to correct them. people are listening. host: talk a little bit about what you said about it what you believe the truth is. guest: we have been exposed to stories that rose out of that experience. one of the leading stories was the story that caroline bryant told. she was the woman who claimed to

have been insulted and accosted by emmett till and we know that wasn't true. we meticulously, through the fbi investigation and our own research, were able to trace all of the events that flowed from that night to the most recent experience with caroline bryant as she was attempting to tell her story in a book. we were able to document that she lied. we were able to document some of the things that have never been document to before with respect to her involvement in the kidnapping of emmett till. the important thing is that after four years of closing out this investigation, the fbi was able to validate the eyewitness testimony of reverend parker. it's in the report that was issued december 21 through the department of justice, that emmett till did not do all the things he was accused of doing, he was only in there for a brief time as reverend parker has stated.

and that everything else was a lie. that's the important thing about this book. the interesting thing for us is that there was some its willingness to accept the stories that were told at the time. this young african-american kid was barely 14 years old and the only turn 14 years old a few weeks before he traveled to mississippi come a child who was brutally tortured and lynched over the course of several hours for just being a black kid basically, infringing on the culture of the south and not showing the proper respect perhaps while he was there. the important thing here is that the traumatic memory that comes forward in this book is on a parallel track with the investigation and the tiktok of the right along with the investigation and the fbi over the course of four years, we were able to reveal things that have never been seen before and we think that's makes ordinary

contribution to the conversation, the national conversation we are having on race. host: when it comes the evidence you found when it comes to caroline bryant's story, what was the main piece of evidence you showed she was lying? guest: we saw the statement she made to the defense lawyers, the lawyers representing her husband and her brother-in-law, the cused killers who confessed. this was a few days after the arrest of these two assailants, these two murderers. story she told them was different from the story she told a few weeks later in court and the story she later told as she was preparing her manuscript. you can see how the story developed. the other part we so was looking through doing a deep dive through the records, we saw at one point there was investigation that was launched in 2004. in that investigation, she told the fbi agent she couldn't remember anything.

for only a month or so after that, she worked on her book where she seemed to remember quite a back -- quite a bit at least the story she wanted the public to know. we talk about the so-called karens, the person who accuses black people of doing something bad and wrongly accusing them. this is the original karen. we believe from now on, we should probably refer to people who falsely accuse black people of some wrongdoing as caroline because this is the original story that started it all. host: if you want to ask our guest questions about their book in the event surrounding it, (202) 748-8000 for the eastern time zone, (202) 748-8001 mountain and pacific time zone or text us at (202) 748-8003. you have a paperback version of this book coming out. what will be added to it as the

result from the initial printing? guest: i think it will be the same. chris can address that as well. guest: we do edit the afterword because carolyn bryant died after the hardcover was released. we updated it to also reflect on accusations, attempts to arrest her, indict her between the time of the publication of the hardcover and the publication of the paperback. we do update it in that regard and put it in context of people can understand and also develop a critical assessment of the story they hear, the stories they read, the stories they are exposed to on social media so we begin to ask critical questions about the information we are getting. that's important take away we believe from the story. also the resolution that reverend parker was able to experience just in getting at

the truth finally after nearly 70 years of living with this story. host: our guest is the reverend wheeler parker junior and christopher benson. our first call for you gentlemen is from ron in pennsylvania, you're on with our guest, go ahead. caller: good morning. something that always bothered me was after the two murderers were acquitted by a white jury, then they gave their story to a magazine and they admitted in the story that they killed emmett till and tortured him. it made me sick to my stomach when i read that. i don't know if it was post-or life magazine. i can't understand why the government couldn't rearrest these guys and please don't tell me about double jeopardy.

if they killed somebody, they should have been rearrested and brought to trial again by a federal jury because he was kidnapped and the whole thing upset me to this day. it really bothers me. i wanted to ask the question of the two guests -- what why weren't those guys rearrested after that magazine story was published? host: let's start with reverend parker. guest: i will let chris deal with this. he is a lawyer and can better explain it than i can. my main thing would be the double jeopardy. what happened at this point if the story had died, but this was all over so they had to make those guys look good. they fabricated it and painted

him as a monster, a 13-year-old ds. i suffered with all my life. it botreme when i read that look magazine story whenever it was. i had to live with that. they portrayed him in such a terrible way. america has changed some. we have made some progress. we've come a long way but we have a lot of work to do. we appreciate the change. host: talk about the look story and why it may have impacted this? guest: a couple of things to consider -- we going to great detail with respect to that story. it's a story that troubled reverend parker for many years. it finally was sorted out as we did our research on the book. double jeopardy was a factor with respect to the state claim, with respect to federal claim, we meticulously go through the

records, fbi documents and memoranda from j edgar hoover to show that he was more concerned about investigating emmett till's mother for communism that did not exist but because there were labor leaders and civil rights leaders who were supporting her, he determined that they were communist influencers and he was more concerned about investigating them. this was when co-intel pro started, the counterintelligence program of the fbi. he was concerned about that and was not concerned about investigating the murder for some federal indictment. the eisenhower administration also was reluctant to step in because they saw there were votes they could get in the south and they didn't want to accept -- upset the racial balance in that regard. there was a lot of complex

issues that were going on at the time. we talk about that in the book. the other part of this is that the writer of that look magazine article, william bradford huie, actually proposed to do a piece for the naacp. he was going to do a book and he approached roy wilkins, head of the naacp come offering to tell the story that would reveal white racism in the south. the naacp never responded. he flipped it and proposed a story to the lawyers who represented the murderers, two of the murderers because there were probably seven people we document who were involved. but proposed to them he read a story exposing with the civil rights movement was trying to do too white people in the south. they bought it. he paid for that story, $4000 that was distributed among lawyers and the two accused --

confess killers because they did confess. that today is probably about $36,000. that was part of it. we write about this in the book, a lot of the story that appeared in look magazine was pretty much dictated by the lawyers who were sitting in and they framed this lynching as a pushback against civil rights advancement. it is articulated in the story, things these killers never would have fully understood but the lawyers did because they were part of the power structure of mississippi the time. we talk about all of that. these are the factors that existed, the political dynamic, the racial hierarchy at the time, the power of mississippi and the federal government that came down this case. it was huge. as reverend parker said, it was international news at the time. host: bill in arizona is next. caller: yes, i'm curious -- this occurred in the 1950's.

can you give a date of when the evidence started to turn this around? host: reverend parker? guest: what evidence in particular? host: the caller is no longer with us but he's asking about when the evidence started to turn the story that was commonly known at the time, when the evidence started turning that around. guest: i think the fbi was not taking an interest in truth -- and it so they investigated and when they did they report it gave more light to it. they investigated and worked on any given more light were as time passed, the government was not involved at all. guest: i can add to that because it was largely through the efforts of the late alvin sykes, an activist from kansas city who

was relentless and doing his own investigation and presenting that to the authorities in mississippi, the u.s. attorney, the states attorney, the district attorney at the time who pushed for investigation in 2004 and came up with a remarkable theory. this was a person who is a high school dropout who taught himself the law in the library of kansas city. he pursued this case up to the department of justice and went up getting the authorization and found a theory by which the federal government could come in and investigate on behalf of the state of mississippi even though the federal cause of action had expired. there was civil rights action that could have been pursued by j edgar hoover but had a five year statute of limitations. that expired but he had a theory that allow the fbi to step in and investigate on behalf of the state to determine whether there

was anything that could have been brought by the state against anybody who had not already been tried but who could be held accountable for the murder. the murder has no statute of limitations. the other piece that ties these questions together is kidnapping. at the time of emmett's lynching, kidnapping also was a capital offense. that was in mississippi and the two killers were brought to a grand jury separate from the murder trial on kidnapping and the grand jury voted not to issue an indictment. the whole system was corrupted in their favor. by the time the investigation was launched in 2004 and reopened in 2017 and we became more actively involved, a lot of the evidence had become obscured , the people in 1955 had covered up so much of it that it was difficult to bring any new charges. host: what was the justification

at the time for not bringing those charges? guest: early on? host: yes. guest: murder was charged. there was an indictment for murder for the two just for bryant and for milum. there were several counties involved in one of the county sheriff's decided not to serve a warrant on carolyn bryant. we write about this as well, they moved her around to a couple of counties to keep her from being served. he eventually said that he decided not to serve her because she was a young mother with two kids. she never was brought to account back in 1955. everything got swept under the rug and people thought this thing would be dead forever until it was reopened in 2004. host: reverend parker, as far as your cousin, he went from chicago down to the south.

how did you prepare him for how to comport himself while he was in the south? guest: you can't really prepare someone for going to the south if you don't know the morays and i knew the morays and he had no idea. you can't take a crash course on the south. normally what would happen if you got south, you would be in the hands of an adult. he was with me and my uncle. if you got out of line, they would straighten it out right away. he didn't have that. people would not come to your plantation unless they came to the land owner and our land owner did not have any kind of power. host: let's hear from bob. one more question, you call him bobo, why is that? guest: that was his nickname.

host: as far as the people that see pictures and we've been showing pictures, what was he like? talk about his attitude and demeanor, what was he like? guest: he never had a dull day in his life and he always smiled. he likes to make people laugh. host: bob is next. guest: i can add to that. we talked extensively about this and it's amazing for me to get to know emmett till through reverend parker and through his mother before she passed. he had a great sense of humor. he had a terrible stutter. he suffered polio when he was six years old. while he regained the use of his muscles throughout his body come his vocal cords were damaged. he had a terrible stutter that people don't realize when they talk about him.

they have to hear reverend parker tell the story. there was no way he could have said all of things carolyn bryant said he said. but as a prankster, he did talk to her when she came out of the store. she came out of the store after he left so there was no alarm. he whistled to entertain his friends and that's what set everything in motion. guest: she can remember him stuttering. he stuttered all the time. she said she doesn't remember that. host: bob in illinois, go ahead. caller: hello, sir. it's very interesting to hear emmett till's cousin and his best friend. there's too many decent white people to put them in white --

in office again with institutional racism. what amazes me is it was 1955- 2004 where they swept it under the rug and it will make people buy this book. that's about it. that's really something, 55-2004, i didn't know that. i appreciate you allowing me to talk. host: reverend parker, anything to respond to as well as the timeframe? guest: he's not the first person to meet that kind of atrocity. something like this story showed it was time to expose racism. once it got out there, the south in america had the responsibility to try to protect the system that they allowed to

cause this. guest: i agree. it's really remarkable to see the parallels between what was going on in 1955 and what's going on right now as bob has suggested. we make that point in the book as well. in 1955, you had to think about the context. emmett till and reverend parker traveled to mississippi just a month or so after brown v. board of education was decided. this is the second round decision of the supreme court. the first had been handed down a year earlier, striking down separate but equal as unconstitutional. in may of 1955, the second round -- brown decision was handed down. this is the implementation order. what that meant too many people in the south was exactly the opposite of what it means.

deliberate means to think about, slow down and no rush and when people thought things would change overnight in the so-called way of life in the south, this caste system, this racial hierarchy, this apartheid that existed was going to be destroyed and little black kids were going to sit next to little white kids at the school the next day. it took years to make progress in that regard but they were alarmed. there were couple of murders in the south just a county away from where emmett and reverend parker traveled. that was one part of it. people were up in arms because they were afraid, they were angry and scared about what had just happened. today, people are up in arms in anticipation of what is about to happen. change has caused so much fear in this country. in 1955, it was the fear of having to share space and power with people of color. now the same thing is happening

as we anticipate a new demographic reality in this country. in our lifetime, this country will not look the same. there is no longer going to be a white majority and you can see what's happening out there. people have a lot of trouble adjusting to that reality and the pushback. we see a parallel between what was happening in 1955 and what's happening now in 2004 and 2005 as we approach another anniversary. what we have to think about in response to bob is what we need to do to preserve what we have come to enjoy and that is a truly democratic society, one in which everyone has a voice, one in which everyone has a boat and we all can participate in the early plural, multi-racial and multicultural society. sharing power does not mean losing power and that's the story of emmett till. host: our guests are the

co-authors of the book, few days of trouble. duke joins us from delaware, you are on with our guests. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i wanted to say, no disrespect intended but i heard mr. benson identify folks in the civil rights hero is black but back then, they would have been more classified as negro league colored or indian. knowing this, reverend parker, i would like to know your insight on the american indian aspect of the emmett till family. in july of this year, the proclamation for the national monument at the eisenhower executive offices, eisenhower also has questionable indian

heritage but more ironically, biden signed the document in the indian treaty room. can you discuss you, emmett till and your aunt maybe's experience with the american indian heritage in your family? guest: i did my dna and i thought i had american indian dna in there but i checked it out and had none. most of us are european. my father was 34% european. we were in the same category as indians and hispanics. we all have the same underlying cause, to get the truth out and do it's right. guest: most of us have a lot of

other things going on. you can look at us and tell. i don't have any indigenous line because i've done dna as well. there is a connection in the story. you are right, the proclamation was made what historically was known as the engine -- is the indian treaty room and it has been renamed. the secretary of the interior is indigenous, she is pueblo. she has really embraced this story of emmett till and embraced the parkers in the process. she has had several meetings with the parkers which have been filled with so much love, you would have to see the pictures of her embracing the parkers and sharing her story of them didn't generate a -- of indigenous and this process of naming the monument for the emmett till and any till national memorial which is basically national park now

was pushed forward much more quickly because of her engagement. there was a couple of cases were when the parkers traveled to washington, d.c. in had a meeting at the department of the interior, the secretary found it they were in the building, she stopped her meeting and ran down to embrace them and talk to them and greet them and share another aspect of her story. we went to the signing of this proclamation. there was an event at the department of the interior as well as she was not intent at the time but she made arrangements for us to sit in her office while she was away. that became our greenroom because she love the partners -- the parkers so much. this story of emmett till's connected to so many other stories of oppression in the american experience. that's what we talk about as well. we talk about the connection between african-americans and indigenous people in this country that in effect was built

on stolen land by stolen labor. we see those connections and we talk about them. host: one of the key portions of this story with the the decision by emmett till's mother to hold an open casket funeral. can you tell is what led to that? guest: i think she had been full and she did which you need to do. his mother was prepared for this time. her mother groomed her and she was articulate and able to see through and do the right thing. she made a great choice and it took a lot of courage and a lot of tenacity to do what she did and we respected greatly for it. host: did people try to talk her out of it? guest: i don't recall but it's something you didn't do in our society then.

someone asked what kind of mother would do that. i can still see that guy talking. she had to do it and she did. host: what do you think the impact of that decision was? guest: it changed everything. one writer back in the day opened a casket and said it opened her eyes.she we had become. she wanted to see what we have become. we could no longer be innocent bystanders. everybody had to share responsibly for what we have become. anybody would do anything to make it happen and anyone who stood by and let it happen without doing anything to stop it. that's the same message that comes through in the current book, that we have to take responsibility. there are some troubling things, deeply troubling things about the american story, things that come to light in this book.

ultimately, it's a positive story in that it encourages people to do what we need to do to earn our right to be here in a free society and maintain that freedom. while we push back against people who want to censor or band or erase history, the reason we do that is because we had to embrace all the stories that make us what we are. we have to learn from the past in order to chart a better way forward. the story of may meet till mobley opening that casted -- that casket still resonates. we see that with mass shootings, uvalde was one incident where people asked whether the parents of those horribly middle-aged kids whose lives were destroyed, whether they should show the pictures of the remains of their children. like mamie till mogley did back

in 1955. they said it us about racism. we know we can teach people about the horrors of automatic weapons but we cannot do that. she is still in the conversation and people are still learning from that experience. host: i want to highlight the fact that yuko wrote a book with emmett till's mother. can you elaborate on that? guest: it was a life-changing experience for me. i am a lawyer so i'm an advocate and i'm a journalist, a past writer for ebony magazine. i was introduced to her and people were interested in rendering her story as a motion picture. within five minutes of the conversation, she found out i have written a novel and had edited patti labelle's memoir. suddenly the conversation shifted. she was 80 years old of the time she said have always wanted to write a book. i decided this was going to be the most important thing i could

do. we met in june, 2002 and we worked together for the remainder of that year. in january of 2003, she died. i knew this was going to be an important project but i didn't realize that we met for a very important reason, that we were allowed to work together the last six answer for life to make sure her story went beyond her. in that process, she introduced me to reverend parker and reverend parker and i have been together over more than 20 years. we have gone out to speak publicly about the story and when it came time for him to write the book, he and his spouse invited me to work with them on this book. host: let's hear from osiris in chicago. caller: good morning.

mr. benson, he said something that kind of got my attention. he said there can be no bystanders or something to that effect. that speaks to what i wanted to address. this emmett till story, the karen phenomenon that we see today, this cannot happen with white america's willingness to believe it. the woman that lied on emmett till, her ability to go on and live out the rest of her life in relative peace cannot happen without white america willing to let her live the way she did. this is an indictment.

i hate to say this, he to be this way, but it's true that white america itself, this is an indictment on white america. you have today worked karen's can just make up stuff or just lie on black folks especially black men and have the police called upon so they can go to jail, that is because white america is willing to believe it and eat it up. this is an indictment of white america,. this kind of stuff doesn't happen to other demographics in the united states other than black folks. no other demographic can point to injustices like this for black folks. guest: that's a profound statement. it happen 68 years ago and

didn't have the impact it has now. i tell blacks at every turn when we made progress, there was some white authority fighting our ability to stand up. he's right. i remember in the chicago area, i saw something i never saw before. usually when something like that happens, there is a protest. we had diversity back then. we said this was a change. america has changed and we thank god for those people who see the light, the whites were willing to stand up and even the prosecutor in the emmett till case. you can see how he suffered to prosecute this. the text that he had because of that. that was a profound, true statement but we have made changes in come along way but we still got a lot of work to do. host: ts is from the book --

mr. benson, take it from there. guest: people will speak the name of emmett till but they don't fully understand the story. we know he was lynched but we don't know everything else. i think that's why it's important to read this book. this book is the beginning of a discourse is something much larger than just larger than emmett till. it's how we get to the point where there is an emmett till and a breonna taylor and a george floyd still in this society. we have to understand the structure of the society that allows this to happen. i think there are two other

things that we have to understand that can give us some hope in this challenging period. one is related to journalism and the need to tell the story and tell it accurately and tell it in a balanced way. we also tell it in a contextual way and we are not getting enough of it. i'm proud of the students who come my way in contextualizing social justice reporting, graduate students who now are prepared as a result of sitting in seminars and other classes i teach on issues that arise in this current conversation. they are ready to go out and help tell the stories and look deeply into these problems. another aspect of this is the work we've done with dr. parker in establishing the emmett till and mimi till mobley institute and the restoration of robert

temple church of god in christ where emmett till that his funeral. as the site of a national memorial. what we are doing is teaching young people the emmett till story but in the context of power in america, racial power in america and we are getting amazing results. we started a curriculum with facing history and ourselves and develop that online for high school students. we are developing other educational programs including a traveling exhibition of features the story of emmett till and working in all of these ways that can help generate a new generation of enlightened discourse. one thing that really inspired us and we talk about this in the book and we are coming up with a documentary to deal with it again is when students have gone through this exercise, white students and black students together across racial discourse, we come to understand

each other much better. we have the experience of a white student in mississippi which still gets me choked up come a white student in mississippi who after studying about emmett till as a sophomore said she now realizes what her ancestors had done. but she did not feel guilt or responsibility for what they had done because you wasn't there she now felt the responsibility to go out and tell people the truth. that's the kind of transformative experience we want people to have. we are not beating up on people and being accusatory, we want to move forward to understand all the things that happened to lead us to this point so we can make it better life for our children and grandchildren. host: as far as emmett till's death at the time, what was the impact on the civil rights movement at the time? guest: we also document that there is a connection between the trial of two of emmett's

murderers and the stories that flow from that. some journalist who covered this story back in 1955 described it as the trial of the century, the biggest trial since tno homalindbergh baby kidnapngase. tevision was coming as a so there was a lot of television coverage and newspaper coverage is far away as europe. that story resonated with people in nearby montgomery. this trial occurred in tallahatchie county mississippi but the people in montgomery saw it and they had people from that experience what -- like dr. howard was a leader in mississippi who came to speak at ebenezer baptist church between the trial and the beginning of another historic event. rosa parks was in that church and so was martin luther king jr. and heard about the story of

emmett till. in a matter of weeks, days from that time, rosa parks took her stand on the bus in montgomery. she would say after that that there were many things that inspired her but among them was the lynching of emmett till and all the courage she saw coming out of tallahatchie county. the legal struggle for civil rights culminated at that time would brown v. board of education. the mass movement started with the montgomery bus boycott in december of 1955, year-long bus boycott. as you see, emmett till became the bridge. he was lynched because of the anger and fear of white people reacting to brown v. board of education and ultimately, his lynching inspire those people in montgomery to hold their ground over the course of 13 months. host: reverend parker, do you

want to add anything? guest: chris did a good job and he always does. host: robert in ohio, go ahead. caller: happy holidays to all of you all. i was just wondering -- i've got two questions. i just want to say the first one is black americans are the most hated people in this world. that's point-blank. if you look at the fbi statistics and everything. also, for the second question, i want to ask reverend parker, is it true that two of emmett till's cousins surrendered emmett till for him to get

killed from two white men? i don't know it's true or not because i've been reading that for a long time. i'm a man like 46 years old. i've been hearing about that. i just wanted to ask you that. host: reverend parker, go ahead. guest: there is no truth in that. like i said earlier, the story was told by people who were not there. i was interviewed years later and when i told my story, they said i allege. those stories got out there and i've heard that before. it's painful even now to think someone would write that. anything to degrade us and make it easier for the perpetrators. it's not true, that didn't happen at all, nowhere near the truth. host: you talk about the input

-- the impact of the reporting but talk about another account of this by timothy tyson. through his he and what take to be having the story and what did you think of that? guest: tyson never interviewed me or anyone. he wrote a story based on the people he talked to who told the story. these are things that were already said, he didn't do a fair investigation at all. guest: i don't know if i can add any more to that. we were disappointed to learn there is no evidence to support timothy tyson's assertion in his book that bryant had recanted. it's in the first six pages of his book. at the end of the day, if the only interview it seems he really did. it's more than just disappointing never reached out

to any family members of emmett till. his response when asked about that was they been quoted in the past so there's nothing else i need to talk to them about. he spent a couple sessions with carolyn bryant and we went through her manuscript long before it became public. we were able to review the fbi interview with him. it set out in our book. it's hard to keep up with him as he tries to explain how the evidence of that interview was lost. there was no recording even though he said there was. there were no notes even though he produced a photocopy of notes and nothing original document as he was subpoenaed to produce. the conclusion of the fbi was that there is no credible evidence that what he asserted was even true. host: let's hear from kyle in buffalo, new york. caller: good morning.

my grandfather was born in 1907 and his name was william parker and ended up in chicago. a lot of the parkers ended up in chicago and buffalo. i'm looking at reverend parker and i'm not sure if he's a relation. in the book the voice of freedom which is a civil rights narrative, emmett till starts off the book, the chapter and at the end, according to the book at least, for the two wakeman interviewed, they said -- for the two whiteman interviewed, they said they weren't going to kill emmett till. they said as god-fearing christians they had no choice but to kill him. it wasn't their first time, people in that area doing such a thing. i'm curious how many black men during that time.

were victims. i don't know if there was anybody who had any kind of investigation as you were doing your research. i'm sure stories were told about people who disappeared. america doesn't really tell this story when we get to this time. we have a guy who came in and killed two people on their color of skin. mr. benson talked about the majority not being the majority. they talk about the period were white supremacy groups are fearful of losing the majority. as we see in this election which is quite scary, they are not republicans but they call themselves that. they're the ones trying to rollback time and the law and constitutional rights of people. host: we will let reverend

parker start. guest: he said a lot of things there. physical -- critical race theory, we've never told the story. as to how many blacks in the south. we knew our place and we stayed in it and face the consequences of the whites. it was something that happened all the time. it got exposed. we had 13,000 black women raped. we never told those stories. it wasn't going to be in the main newspaper. black people would tell it but those are some of things we suffer during that time. guest: there is so much to talk about. i know we are getting close to

our time but i will say this -- in terms of the political discourse, i agree with the caller that people who are pushing for extreme right wing policies are not necessarily republicans. i don't have to talk about my own political leanings but i think it's healthy to have discourse, people with counter views, but in the context of a rich democracy, and enlightened discourse in a democratic system, the best ideas will come forward. that's not what's happening right now. what's happening right now is distorted by this anxiety about the demographic reality we are facing. at one point, it was the late 40's and then 45 inu-oh 42 when everything will change in this country and people are scared about that.

we need to understand that we all bring something of value to this national discourse. we need to have a conversation about that in order to have a conversation that's going to enrich our public policy and our lives. host: one more call perry in arizona. caller: yes, i want to ask about research dealing with writing the book, did you come up with anything piggybacking on what the young men was just talking about? at that time, you reverend, you said you're trying to school emmett about how to act in the south. you being in a state of mental paralysis yourself, at that time because of the atmosphere and

the fear of being lynched. i really wanted to touch on that particular aspect. did you research books that explained about communications of white people hanging lacks -- blacks and picking bones and carrying souvenirs around there next? host: reverend parker? guest: we knew the stories, we lived it. i was very well entrenched from day one in going to the south and i came here when i was like seven years old. we were steeped in the ways of the south. i knew the dues and the downs because we talked about it all the time. my father had to sleep with his gun overnight.

we are the stories over and over again. just we heard the stories over and over again. host: what do you want the impact of this book to be? guest: wow, the truth of course in my big thing is that people need to see mamie till's last speech. she said we have no animosity. she speaks to mankind everywhere in any situation how you should behave and conduct yourself. she is a great woman and she speaks volumes to the world. she has a gift. guest: on that note, reverend parker is the pastor of the church that emmett till's grandmother helped build. he recognizes the positive power or for business in the negative

power of -- the positive power of forgiveness and the negative power. host: the book is " a few days full of trouble." gentlemen, thank you for joining us and happy new year to both of you. guest: thank you, happy. host: we will start off this hour with the question we started off with at 7:00 -- when it comes the events of 2023, when itomes to congress in the house a senate, what would you consider the top congressional story of this past year? you can call and tell us. republicans, 202-748-8000. --202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. we will take those comments when

"washington journal" continues. >> the house and senate recess for the holidays and will be back for the second session of the congress. the senate convenes on january 8 and the house on genuine ninth. both chambers face federal budget deadlines to avoid a government shutdown. the first continuing 19th and the other on february 2. >> we are ready to do the work but we are eating for the other team -- the other side of the chamber to come forward with the number we agree upon. >> senator mcconnell and i will figure out the best way. >> follow along on our networks. she's been coming to huntersville -- you a government -- c-span, your unfiltered view

of government. >> c-span partners with the library of congress for key pieces of literature that had a profound impact on our country. tonight we will feature "free to choose." our guest is a lecturer of economics at the university of california santa barbara. watch the encore presentation of "books that shaped america" wednesday night on c-span. go to c-span.org/booksthats hapedamerica. >> if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates and other events that guide you

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continues. host: many stories in the congress, we are wondering what stories are important to you. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. independents, 202-748-8002. you can text us at 202-748-8003. one of the stories you heard was senator tommy tuberville, rob look alabama. this story confirming nearly a dozen nominees for top military posts. tommy tuberville rainy cold over senior promotions with senators rushing the reppo for the holiday. chuck schumer confirming -- a deal to confirm all four nominees. adding that their confirmation ends, tommy tuberville's blockade of nominations. republicans have been using the tactic disbarred criticism from

both parties, but failing to end up in concessions. earlier this month senator tuberville talked about the ending of those holes on the senate floor. here's a portion from earlier this month. [video clip] sen. tuberville: i did not come here to outsource my job to the white house or the pentagon or either side. this issue could have been resolved. whatever the outcome, i am fine. bring it to the floor and let's vote on it, that is our job. that did not happen. it is not happening because senator schumer knew he could not get it passed. that is how d.c. works. abortion is so important to senator schumer that he is not letting us vote on this. there are no longer appears to be a short-term path to end the illegal abortion policies. other policies will take time

for me to work through but that does not happen overnight. yesterday i announced i would change my tactics and let promotions go through, promotions they needed, our military needed. senator schumer and his colleagues could care less. they held their feet to the fire. no negotiations. i am going to continue to hold the four stars generals. we have 40 44 star generals. in world war ii, we had seven. we had 12 million -- today we have 44 four stars with 2 million. too many chiefs. we can bring them one at a time. we need to know who is running our military. these jobs are too important to rubberstamp. we need to keep fighting to make our military stronger and stronger.

the fight for integrity of our military leadership will continue as long as i am here, the fight to keep politics out of the most sacred institution will continue. the fight to protect senate and the executive branch overreach will continue. senator schumer can read all he wants, but despite -- in this fight is not over. we will continue to take it to the american people because elections have consequences. don't think next year's are not important. i am not going to stop fighting for these things and i am not going to stop fighting for the american people. that is the reason we are here. a lot of people forget that. host: senator tuberville from earlier this month. you may consider his actions, it tops story for you, you may want to throw others in the mix. if you want to share your

thoughts, republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. you can text us at 202-748-8003. cincinnati, ohio. democrats line. robert is first. good morning. caller: good morning. i think senator tuberville when he made the statement about the military is not an equal employment organization, it was very racial. joe brown was tried to get chief of staff, it seemed like his comment was on a very racial level. host: richard in missouri.

democrats line. caller: i would like us is in thing senator and congressman. they both tried to overthrow the government in office with amendment 14. amendment 14 and article three is no good. the second amendment is no good either. let's through the whole thing out and start over. he should throw it out -- host: as far as the top story this year in congress, what would you say it is? caller:. do-nothing congress. democrats in the house do-nothing. host: what do you mean by that? caller: this impeachment deal because we impeached trump so they have to try to impeach biden. things are better now than i have seen it and i am 89 years old. i will let you go. host: joanne in washington state on our line for independents.

go ahead. caller: hello? host: go ahead. caller: i would like to know how many people in congress and senate are retiring or leaving this year. host: elaborate on that. why do you think that is important as far as an issue for you? caller: it is going to be another interruption and change that we have had so much interruption this year concerning things getting done. it is not working. i am really concerned about that. host: that is joanne from washington state. this is from late november by -- late november published by axios. it may need updating.

13 senators announced they want to seem reelection on the democratic side. by the republican side at nine house members were said to leave descendant. dean phillips announced he would not be seeking reelection after he launched his bid for the presidency. age and health concerns were also contributing. the congress begin the year with the oldest senate on the history and 79% of americans supporting age limits for elected officials. seven senators at 41 house movers in total. this was as of late november. they have been announcing they are leaving. that may be a factor as far as the change that happens there. if that is an issue for you, concerned, it tops story, if you want to make it so. from california, democrats' line, veronica. hello. caller: hello? host: you are on. caller: i think my concerned

story for congress is the fact that they are allowing former president trump to run his own individual campaign and inquiring why they won't allow him in certain states on the republican ballot. i think if he could run with oppositions we could hear more about these answers. host: how is that a congressional story? caller: congress allowing him to run an individual campaign. host: what do you mean by an individual campaign? caller: he is campaigning alone. when they have debates, he is not with them, he runs on the opposite channel or however he wants to do it but never with the campaign itself. host: he is running for president so that is separate from running from congress -- running for congress. caller: i think he should be with his oppositions, with the other ones running for the same

position. host: let's hear from john in new york. top congressional story of the last year. caller: one thing that came to my mind, i cannot say it is the highlight of what took place in congress, but the incident where the one representative pulled the fire alarm to slow down a vote or interfere with a vote. the other thing that kind of deflated me, and i don't know why, there was an incident with the wonder visited if -- the one representative. he was performing a sexual act in the chambers where they had the generally sixth dusty january 6 -- the january 6 hearings. those things have to be censored or punished -- there has to be

some punishment on those issues to point out to the american people that this is congress, this is our government. to have those things taking place, those are the things that stick in my head. the other things are normal arguments, debates, disagreements. these acts -- these were acts of disrespect. have a great day. host: glenn in pennsylvania, republican line. go ahead. caller: i think a good story was mendez from new jersey. he took all of the bribes from other countries. another democrat called him out from pennsylvania. i am kind of proud of the guy

for that. host: your speaking of senator fetterman? caller: yes. host: that is glenn from pennsylvania, one of the other names that in the letter part of congress made news wasn't a member of congress, it was hunter biden. when asked to appear before open testimony, axios picked up that story saying after mostly lying low for years, it was ignoring the wishes of some whiteout -- some white house aides, the attack -- going on the attack. that is what led to the capitol grounds, not to be deposed in the investigation, but to confront the gop for its tactics and not letting him publicly testify. you can find the full statement on our website at c-span.org.

here's a portion from that press conference. [video clip] >> i am here to answer at a public hearing any of the judgment questions chairman coomer and the house oversight committee may have. i am here to make sure the house committee's illegitimate investigation does not proceed on distortions, many belated evidence, and lies -- manipulated evidence, and lies. i am here to acknowledge that i have made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges i was afforded. for that, i am responsible. for that, i am accountable. for that, i am making amends. i'm here to correct how the maga raid has portrayed me for political purposes. i am first and foremost a son, a father, a brother, and a husband

from a loving and supportive family. i am proud to have earned degrees from georgetown university and yellow school. i am proud of my legal career and business career. i am proud of my time serving on a dozen different board of directors. i am proud of my efforts to forge global business relationships. for six years, maga republicans including members of the house committee who are in a closed-door session have impugned my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family, and my friends. they have ridiculed my struggle with addiction, they have belittled my recovery, and they have tried to dehumanize me all to embarrass and damage my father who has devoted his

entire public life to service. for six years i have been a target of the unrelenting trump attack machine shouting where is hunter. i am here. let me state as clearly as i can , my father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member, not in my partnership with the chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home or abroad, certainly not as an artist. host: top congressional story of 2020 three -- of 2023. gives your answer on the phone lines. 202-748-8001 for republicans. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. tyler, texas where carol is, democrats line.

hello. caller: the most outstanding and astounding story out of congress this year and in the country is the fact that american people can pretend nothing ever happened at the insurrection at the capital, like it never happened. we can pretend a past president was not willing to let it vice president die for his own selfish reasons. and we can just go on and act like these events in our country are not happening. host: how is that reflected this year in congress? caller: the fact that they did not act. we had hearings but there has been nothing of consequence that has happened except for a few people that ended up in prison and sadly will believe be pardoned if trump gets back in the white house. the fact that we are not paying attention to what is going on within our country, we're

looking at china, the border, all of these things that really are on mass is inside our country. if our congress, all parties, and the american people don't pay attention to this, we are going to lose this. it is not going to be because of our own country -- a foreign country but because of our own failure to pay attention to what is happening in our country. host: this is gary from tennessee. caller: i wanted to highlight the over 100 staffers protesting on the capitol steps in support of hamas. i am surprised at how the socialist democrats today are moving toward the nazi party. there are over 500 and 80 federal government that have signed a petition in support of hamas. thanks for taking my call. host: democrats call from

augusta, georgia, richard is next. hello. caller: my concern is how senator tim scott, congressman donald from florida, and the congressman from utah voted against a democratic voting rights bill and they take 30 days off in august and get nothing done. they should have been in washington to get their stone. -- get things done. host: from perry in california, republican line. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i have a problem with the bob menendez thing. i get the gold bars and the money and the egyptian connections and his story about being aided to cuba -- aid

to cuba. making withdrawals from personal accounts under $10,000 each in an effort to not alarm the u.s. treasury, the irs, and everything else, it all seems very strange to me. i am wondering what does he know that the working class americans about our banking system that a long-term senator is having to draw his money out of the banking system in this manner. it is all very strange and the way it is being portrayed on the tv seems like misdirection to me. host: on our independent line on the top congressional story for this year from nashville, tennessee, this is barbie. caller: after seeing that clip, i had only seen a portion of

that clip of hunter biden standing outside the capital, you all just played a larger portion. it makes me think all of these years that these republicans have been screaming for hunter biden, that he was in public speaking is untruth. whether that is true or not, we don't know. why did the congress not want him? why did they not want those questions to be public? why were they refusing to hear his testimony unless it was in private? that is my question. that makes me wonder what in god's name are they hiding and

or how ridiculous the whole pursuit of the president's son, it has come to a head. what is going to happen now? what are they going to do with their precious hunter biden? host: for anybody interested in mr. wyden's statements -- mr. biden's statements, we have the ability to show you everything that occurred when it comes to statements made, whether it be a speech, hearing on the floor of the house or senate. all of that is available current cfi video library. go to the website c-span.org, type in the box at the top everything you want to learn about. we will show you how it played out in congress and washington and across the u.s. that website is c-span.org. let's hear from luis, democrats line. caller: good morning.

i just cannot eat television, the hunter biden clip. i think hunter does need to go behind the doors, just like all of the top kids did, and be inquired about. the democrats, we need to stick together and walk up -- locked up because there is dirty dealing going on with china and it needs to be exposed. we need to deal with it because we have good candidates. we have robert f. kennedy, jr. who wants to run. we can do that. no, we have to stick with biden and their dirty place. -- dirty ploys. it is fair. host: in north carolina, followed up by james in georgia. republican line. caller: good morning. my top story is chuck schumer

stood on the steps of the supreme court and threatened two supreme court justices. the fbi did nothing. the republican party did nothing. mitch mcconnell did nothing. and then they want to know why we are so divided. that is why we are divided. we have a two party justice system. host: i think you're referring to something that took place in 2020. as far as the threat is concerned, what makes you classify it as such? caller: the threat is that nobody did anything about chuck schumer threatening the new york justice -- threatening the justice. host: bring it to 2023 as far as the congressional story. caller: the story is the two party judicial system. mitch mcconnell is doing nothing about it.

you always wonder why the country is so divided. nobody can bring this country together. what is going to bring this country together is a one party justice system. everybody has equal protection under the law. host: greg is next in tempo, florida -- tampa, florida. caller: my comment is about the hunter biden investigation and how this is just benghazi all over again. they are trying to grab on to something they can use as political damage to the democratic party. it is just silly. host: what makes this silly in your mind? caller: there is nothing to it. they complain about the hunter biden laptop. what have they ever shown us out

of the laptop? nothing. there is nothing there. host: sharon is next in alabama. democrats line. caller: the very first congressional whistleblower hearing toward the end of the hearing when it came out -- i think they were fbi informant whistleblowers were paid $250,000 each. jim jordan said he had to feed his family like it was normal to pay whistleblowers to say what you want them to say. host: again, the caller is referencing the hearing that took place in may this year. if you go to our website, you

can type in may, there is a clip of fbi whistleblowers receiving money from cash patel. it may be on your list when it comes to big events of 2023. you can add others to the list. always available on the website if you want to watch it there. edward in new york, republican line. caller: my thoughts are the toppling of kevin mccarthy and matt gaetz stepping forward, solidifying his power, which amazed me how he put that together. also the splits in the republican party, the four or five sections. the second thing with the last thing is they talk about a crisis on the border.

we have no crisis on the border, we have crime on the border. figures point at biden and mayorkas. the congress ignores this. they have done nothing at all on immigration, no laws or policy. host: back to representative matt gaetz, does it concern you one man had the power to accomplish or start the process he did? caller: it doesn't concern me at all. it amazed me at how it happened. when i saw his role in it, i was very impressed. i am not a matt gaetz person. but when i saw that on bowling, it was quite impressive. host: that is edward in new york. let's take you to october of this year. republican matt gaetz speaking on the floor before the ouster of kevin mccarthy. [video clip] rep. pitts: -- reppo gaetz --

>> the one thing that the white house, house democrats, and many of us on the conservative side would argue is the thing we have in common is kevin mccarthy said something to all of us that he did not really mean and never intended to live up to. i don't think voting against kevin mccarthy's chaos, i think $30 trillion in get is chaos. i think facing a deficit is chaos. not passing single subject spending bills is chaos. i think the fact that we have been governed since the mid-1990's by continuing resolution and omnibus is chaos. the way to liberate ourselves is a series of reforms to this body

that i hope would outlast speaker mccarthy's time, my time here, and outlast either of our majorities. reforms that i have heard some of the most conservative members of this body fight for and some of the reforms we have been battling for that i even heard those in the democratic caucus assay would be worthy to the house, like open amendments, understanding what the budget is. we have been out of compliance with budget laws for most of my life. by the way, if we did those things, if we had single subject bills, we had understanding on the top line, open amendments, trust and honesty and understanding, there would be times when my conservative colleagues and i would lose, there might be times we win, there are times we would form partnerships that otherwise might not be predictable in the american body politic but the

american public would see us legislating. we have suspended the momentum we established a week earlier when we were bringing bills to the floor, voting on them, staying late at night, that is what the american people expect. it is something president mccarthy has not delivered and that is why i moved to vacate the chair host: -- vacate the chair. host: you can add that to the top congressional story if you wished. 202-748-8001 for republicans. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. josephine in new jersey. independent line. chair powell: i am pointing at -- caller: i am pointing it george santos, it had to get to the point where republicans acknowledged his corruption. he is so bad in new york that he is cursing and screaming in the state of new york.

in contrast, i agree with menendez. he needs to go. the one thing the democrats did in the rivers addictive and senate, they told him to go and resign. that you never hear from republicans. they were willing to hold on to santos for a vote. when a man is wrong, get him out. host: democrats line, george's next. in washington state i think. caller: how are you doing? host: go ahead. caller: i watched two house floor votes for reauthorization of the faa and the -- [indiscernible] both committees unanimously supported their bills. the faa had 100 something amendments and on the ndaa, 200

something amendments. why do they put people on these committees if they don't trust the republicans? that is all. just an example of their inability to trust their own folks. have a nice day. host: maria in ohio, republican line. caller: hi. this is maria. host: you are on. caller: matt gaetz is talking about mccarthy. mccarthy was a good republican man. he knew politics. he knew everything. mccarthy, looked at him, he is a square head. he has no brain. he is talking about mccarthy, mccarthy was a politician. host: silver spring, maryland, independent line.

caller: i don't really think there was a top congressional story, only a bunch of noise. i think that is predictable. we have had one of the least productive congress is in history. if you look back to the 2022 election year, the republicans never had a plan for governing. they don't want to pass laws. they want work with democratic colleagues in the senate. any realistic law has to pass the house and the senate. even if they did have a trifecta , the republicans have the house, descendant, and the presidency, they still would not fix the border. guess what? this country needs cheap labor. the republicans also need the border to be a problem. i always figured they would go for impeachment. what i did not predict is they would also have a civil war the publican party. all this stuff is just noise.

it is manufactured drama to distract from our embarrassingly little they have gotten accomplished. host: in south carolina, this is sal. democrats line. caller: they keep talking about hunter biden, hunter biden, hunter biden. hunter biden is not the president. joe biden is the president. this man had a drug problem and that is the reason why -- if you have a drug problem, what do you expect? you have all kinds of problems when you have drugs. joe biden is a good man. they keep trying to put this man down just because of his son. his son had nothing to do with certain things. he was on drugs. when you are on drugs, that is what happens. the crime is not at the border, the crime was in the white house

when president trump tried to overturn the election. those people come over here, they went to work, they want to pay back, they want to pay taxes. the people at the border, like i said, hunter biden is on drugs. host: there is a follow-up story in the pages of the washington times today when he looks at hunter biden. saying that the house oversight chair and the house judiciary chair sent a letter wednesday to white house counsel requesting documents that could shed light on the issue about mr. biden not willing to cooperate with the impeachment hearing. "why is the president sought to disrupt by dissuading his son

from complying with subpoenas? such conduct could conduct an impeachable offense." let's hear from jeff in massachusetts. independent line. caller: the only thing that stuck in my mind is that they managed to pass a budget for a few more months. that is about it. they could not come up with much else. host: a deadline in january as far as federal funding is concerned. you can watch that play out at the new year. in north carolina, democrats line. caller: good morning. i have a problem with about everything going on. you all need to investigate trunk's -- trump's children.

they have done worse than hunter biden. host: is hunter biden the top congressional story for you this year? are there others? caller: because of the courts, they have not helped the american people at all. everything president biden tried to do for the american people, student loans, they lost it. abortions, they messed it up. this is everything they have done against their own american people. they let trump get away with everything. i wish they would quit putting him up on a pedestal. host: one of the things that happened in recent months in the halls of congress was a hearing that featured three university presidents after the start of the israel hamas war. university leaders before congress to talk about the issue of anti-semitism on campuses. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> is calling for the genocide

of jews violated the code of conduct of m.i.t.? >> if targeted at individuals, not making public statements. >> calling for the genocide of jews does not constitute harassment? >> i have not heard for the copper genocide of jews. >> but you have heard calls for intifada? >> those would not be according to m.i.t.'s code of conduct? >> that would be investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe. >> at penn state, this calling for -- university of pennsylvania violate the code of conduct? yes or no? >> if the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment. >> i'm asking if calling for the

genocide of jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment? >> it is directed and severe, it is harassment. >> the question -- the answer is yes? >> it is context dependent. >> calling for the genocide of jews depends on the context? that is not bullying or harassment? this is the easiest question to answer yes. is your testimony that you will not answer yes? >> if the speech becomes conduct , it can be harassment, yes. >> conduct meaning committing the act of genocide? the speech is not harassment? this is unacceptable. i am going to give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer. does calling for the genocide of jews violate penn code of

conduct when it comes to harassment? yes or no? >> it can be harassment. >> the answer is yes. dr. gay, at harvard, does calling for the genocide of jews violate harvard's rules on bullying and harassment? >> he is be depending on the context. >> what is the context. >> targeted at an individual. >> it is targeted at jewish students, jewish individuals. you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? do you understand dehumanization is part of anti-semitism? i will ask you one more time, does calling for the genocide of jews violate harvard's rules of bullying and harassment? >> anti-semitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct and amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation, that is actionable

conduct. we take action. >> the answer is yes that calling for the genocide of jews violate harvard's code of conduct. correct? >> it depends on the context. >> it is not depend on the context. the answer is yes and this is why you should resign. these are unacceptable answers. host: that is just a portion of a long hearing. you can go to our website at c-span.org if you want to see that for hearing. -- that full hearing. let's go to martin in new york. caller: can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: my two comments are these. anybody that knows history, there are always great men that have a destiny.

men that have a destiny cannot fail. donald trump is one. mike johnson is the other one. johnson is the one who is going to come in the next six months. it will be well known throughout the world. this is an unusual human being. he is like one of the great men, johnson and trump. trump will win in a landslide. host: when it comes to speaker johnson, what separates him from the previous speaker? caller: first of all, he is any unusual guy because he is super bright. he keeps everything close to the vest. he is a very shrewd operator. you would not know it by the way he operates. he is getting things done as we speak. they like him, the republicans like him. we don't care what the democrats think.

he is doing a terrific job. he will continue to do a terrific job. when trump takes back everything , then this country -- host: when it comes to speaker johnson, what would you list as a major accomplishment so far? caller: his major accomplishment , i did not write anything down here. i am trying to think. i don't have one on the top of my head the major accomplishments. just becoming speaker to me was a major accomplishment. he had to fight for that. we play politics for that and he did it. he did what was necessary. he is the speaker of the house. what he is going to accomplish is he is going to straighten things out. he will lead to the republicans in such a manner that everything will fall on biden's and this

administration. host: let's hear from marvin in michigan, democrats line. hello? caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: the congressional story of this year to me is the congress has not passed any bills. the least productive congress in the last 100 years or so. with hunter biden, the guy standing outside, how do you feel about him having an outside interview or any inside interview? which way did you think about that? host: as far as the interview being outside or inside?

why does it matter? caller: that is what i am asking. a lot of people are asking why does it matter. do you think it should be inside or outside? host: i don't have any opinion on the subject. is there any importance? do you mean closed doors versus out in public? caller: yes. people are wondering -- the expression on your face, some people are asking [indiscernible] i am gesturing to get a feeling from you. host: i want to give any opinion, but as far as appearing in closed doors or open testimony, what do you think is the best approach? caller: i would say open. they have been doing it for six years. let's get it all out.

get this country involved, get some togetherness. that is what i would suggest. let's try to get together with these people. [indiscernible] nikki haley, they asked her about civil rights, what she thinks, she would not even -- her answer was what you want me to say? we should try to get some togetherness amongst ourselves instead of talking about hunter biden. host: let's go to tony in florida. you are next up. on our independent line. hi. caller: good morning and a happy and healthy 2024 to you and yours. my main story is how every

single democrat voted to remove dashboard abstained -- or abstained to remove our speaker. empowering eight renegade republicans because they said they do not have any obligation to help the republican party. they are getting paid $174,000 per year to serve america, not to serve the party. they did it and no one has held them to account. i am so upset with that. we have a speaker who is a medical. who allowed him to be there? who allowed matt gaetz to have all of this sway against the american people? who allowed it? why wont anyone hold him responsible?

i remember when the show was all about educating the public. now we have involved -- evolved into a pop three hour fresh -- in 2024 can we get dragon to more civics -- get back into more civics? host: let's hear from mike in nebraska, republican line. caller: the top story of this year, democratic congress, they are a bunch of beauties. they are selling out our country. they are complicit with china. they are complicit with russian like uncle joe is. they are sick. they have these marxist communist ideas. we don't have a country anymore.

host: how does that apply to congress? caller: they are doing that now. host: how so? caller: they are complicit. they want to stop the war. they say they are for israel, they are not. they are complicit. israel is winning the war and the democratic congress is try to stop the war. and they are winning the war. just like how biden provoked the u.k. -- the ukraine war. you say it is unprovoked. host: we believe that there. -- we will leave it there. one of the things that happened when it comes to senator mitch

mcconnell when it comes to speaking engagements is the centage or -- is the senator freezing as far as his demeanor. one of those took place in july when he was speaking to reporters on the capitol hill. here is how that played out. [video clip] sen. mcconnell: we are on the path to finishing the nda and a string of -- [indiscernible] >> do you want to say anything else to the press?

host: that was in july. he would undergo another one of those events at a speaking engagement in kentucky in october. a story came out in the hill and publications saying according to senator mcconnell that he has completely recovered after those freezing incidents. john is next in illinois, democrats line. top congressional story of 2020 three. -- of 2023. caller: i stand in solidarity with college students protesting against the state of israel and it is not anti-semitic to criticize the state of israel. antisemitic would be like marjorie taylor greene saying that jewish people caused the california forest fires. to point out that israel is committing genocide at the moment and extending their illegal sentiments is not an

estimate is -- their illegal settlements is not antisemitism. if hamas was doing the same thing to israel, we realize it would be wrong. host: patty in new york, independent line. you are on. caller: hi. in 2023, the most important thing for this country and the congress was january 6. we have to straighten out january 6. host: how does that relate to this year's congress? caller: they have the authority to do something about that, can't they? host: there have been investigations, hearings, those have taken place in the past. what did you expect them to do this year about it?

caller: continue to arrest people. stop trying to cover up. january 6 was wrong for all americans. host: one more call. this is from crystal river, california. caller: i want to call in reference to the hunter biden hearing. i have heard a lot of people calling and saying it should be open doors. i am under the impression that there is a procedure involved here. you had someone on your show the other day explaining just that, the way it normally works is they do a closed door deposition . there are attorneys in the same room. it gives congress the

opportunity to ask questions for long period of time, gather the information they need, that they do a hearing so everyone can see what is going on. once they do that hearing publicly, each of those numbers in congress only has five minutes which is not anything at all. this is the reason why they have to get that deposition first. that is really what i wanted to sit. host: finishing off this hour of your calls on this top congressional story of 2020 three. -- 2023. some of these events available at our website at c-span.org. that is it for the program today. another addition of "washington journal post quote comes your way tomorrow at 7:00 --"washington journal" comes your way tomorrow at 7:00.

we will see you then. ♪ >> news from the 2024 campaign trail as nikki haley is looking to clarify her recent statements about the civil war. responding to a townhall question the former south carolina governor cited governmental prices -- processes instead of slavery as the war's primary culprit. she called slavery the primary cause during a radio interview today in an effort to clean up the controversial remarks. according to a recent 538 poll, she is still trailing former president trump in the state of new hampshire by around 20 points. ♪

♪ announcer: weeknights at 9 p.m. eastern, are a 10 part series, "books that shaped america." exploring key pieces of literature that have had a profound impact on our country. tonight, we will feature the 1980 book "free to choose," with lenny even sign, lecture of economic at the university of economics santa barbara. watch c-span's encore presentation of books that shaped america weeknights at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span or go to c-span.org to view the series and learn more about each book featured. ♪ announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> oh, you think this is just a community center? no, it's way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1,000 community centers to