♪ host: this is "washington for june 12. we will get your reaction to hunter biden found guilty for

three counts related to gun possession. legal experts are debating if the jail time and a conviction that took place in delaware yesterday also got reaction from republicans and democrats on capitol hill. here is how you can let us know your thoughts concerning hunter biden thisorning. call us, republicans (202) , democrats (202) 748-8000, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want to send us a text you can do that at (202) 748-8003. you can all post on our social media sites at facebook.com/c-span and you can also post on x @cspanwj. three felony counts against hunter biden and this stems from a possession of a cobra 38

revolver going back to 2018. count one, knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement on a form used for firearms purchases. mr. biden certified he was not a user of drugs. count two also made statements and representation to an unnamed wilmington based firearms dealer. count three, knowingly possessed a firearm across an 11 day period despite being an unlawful drug user and a violation of federal law. those are the counts as they stand. sentencing yet to be determined. yesterday's verdict got some reaction from hunter biden himself, putting out a statement with regard to the events of yesterday, saying "i am more grateful today for the love and support by experienced this last week from melissa, my family, my friends, and my community, then

i am disappointed by the outcome. recovery is possible by the grace of god. i am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time." that is a statement from hunter biden. president biden also putting out a statement. the president saying "i am president but i am also a dad. jill and i love our son and are so proud of the man he is today. to be so strong and resilient in 5recovery. i will accept the outcome of this case and respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. jill will always be there for hunter with our love and support. nothing will ever changethat is. if you want to give your reaction, you can do that. republicans (202) 748-8001,

democrats (202) 748-8000, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want tothoughts concerniy you can do that at (202) 748-8003 and you can always post on facebook and our x site. one of the people commenting was the special counsel appointed by the justice department. he commented on the guilty verdict saying "the case was about the illegal choice hunter biden mate while battling a drug addiction." here is part of his comments from yesterday. >> while there has been much testimony about the defendant's abuse of drugs and alcohol, ultimately this case was not just about addiction. a disease that haunts families across the united states, including hunter biden's family. this case was about the illegal

choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction. his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun in the choice to then possess that gun. choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous. one in this country is above the law. everyone must be accountable for their actions, even this defendant. however, hunter biden should no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of the same conduct. the prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to this principle and to the ■=principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities. host: that is david weiss yesterday talking about the felony convictions. it will be september 5 that hunter biden faces another set of charges forailing

to pay up to $1.4 million in taxes and also fg to the eventse in maryland, democrats line, we will hear from willie. caller: i would like to say this. what happened with hunter, even though he is a part of the presidential family, i think what we are having is the media is trying to play a gamef both hands are not clean. people have to remember what hunter biden did is a tragedy. hunter biden is not running for president like the former president is. i think the democrats need to have that in mind. i think the press, including c-span need to get on the ball and focus on the issue of being the president of the united states instead of messing around with this issue. host: lee in maryland. we will hear from vincent in oklahoma. republican line. caller: i am thinking that trump

has done no better -- if hunter is his son, do not pardon. host: i'm not clear what you are ying. caller: i am saying he has admitted he will not part of the guy. he cannot -- i am admitted he will not pardon the guy. you are saying the president should not pardon him. caller: if he wants to. it is up to him. host: what would be the benefit of doing that? caller: trump is the worst deal i have ever heard of. host: vincent in oklahoma giving us his thoughts. members of the jury in hunter biden's case, one of them being interviewed by the washington

post, juror number 10, a 68-year-old white man says the jury did not discuss politics. joe biden's name was brought up once during the trial. that was hard but you kinda of put it out of your mind. i do not think it was politicized, said the juror, who declined to give his name. there begin deliberating hits members were divided -- the juror says when the panel begin deliberating they were divided six to six but as they discuss the evidence they quickly became unanimous with a decision. you'll hear from walter on hunter biden being found guilty on these counts. democrats line. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am fine. caller: with the hunter biden case it is cut and dry. he broke the law. the only reason the case went to

trial to begin with is because his attorneys and hunter were too stupid to stick with the sweetheart plea deal because the irs whistleblowers pointed o don investigation on hunter biden. this verdict is only to keep joe biden out of the mix. as these folks celebrate and the justice system is working, this is not the same as trump's case. i am not a fan of donald trump. trump's 34 charges. they were a misdemeanor that no one had ever been charged with into 34th alum ace. -- into 34 felonies. that was completely political. this case you cannot argue because he did live on the form. -- he did lie on the

i wish our country would come together and stop the politicizing crab. i am disappointed with all this stuff. let's go back to the days when bill clinton was president. people do not like one another but at least we all got along. not this that everything is trump, trump. you're just making up stuff on him. host: alberto next in maryland. republican line. caller:why anybody is finding any plee know why anyboy pleasure in what is going on. what is wrong with the world? the hatred, the animosity, it has to stop. host: you are saying this applies to yesterd■iay? not onle

biden son, i am saying everyone in the world. you need to knock it off. how does it relate to yesterday? caller: what he has done is wrong. it is very wrong. when i grew up my father always said to us every■@ dog is entitd to one bite. the boy had his fight already. he went into the united states service, he had to get in there and do drugs and he done wrong and it came out with a dishonorable discharge. and now i hear they rephrase that to something else. i have friends that i know of -- the majority are dead. they came out with this discharge. they carried it to their graves.

nothing should be wiped out. when you've done wrong you have done wrong. caller: i would say if this were 30 to 40 years ago we would be saying is russia. i favor neither party as gore said when he used to do a talk show. i think it is amazing how common the two candidates are. not to criticize too heavily. it is important to note the similarity involved. the laptop and the hush money were close to the crimeboth bidl with and also burisma, they both had ukrainianhost: how does thao

hunter biden? caller: we have to expect a corrupt government based on capitalism and money. this indicates to the public that we do have an illegitimate type of political situation going where neither candidate, abided nor trump can shoot straight. we have become very corrupt. we always have been according to people like gore vidal who i suggest people looking to for inspiration. host: the wall street journal adding that hunter biden's team has argued the case was only brought because joe biden was president, noting the justice department does not typically prosecute gun cases like this one without underlying crime. he was found guilty of falsely claiming to be drug-free, lying to a gun dealer, and illegally possession the done.

-- illegally possessing the gun. we showed you the counts earlier. biden received and was found guilty on. you can text us your thoughts. you can always post on our social media site at facebook.com/c-span. jason in fairfax, virginia, democrats line. hello? jason in fairfax is gone. let's go to charles in marand. gaithersburg. caller: good morning. pleasure to be a first time caller. my one comment is absolute power corrupts absolutely. number two, if my fellow americans and you have not heard ken burns recent commencement speech at brandeis univerty i ■a would encourage everyone to

listen to the speech that summarizes the historians approach. host: how does that apply to hunter biden? caller: summarize that for us -- host: summarize that for us. how does it apply? caller: i think it would tie into what abraham lincoln and some of our founding fathers spoke -- i encourage everyonto burns recent speech at brandeis university. host: let's hear from earl in idaho. independent line. caller: my only question is whether the gun was ever fired. if it had been fired it should add to his conviction. host: what you think of the things he was found guilty of, whether the gun was fired or not? caller: that doesn't really

matter. the fact is if the gun was fired that shows a different story about hunter biden's ability at that time where he was getting off the drugs. host: what you mean it matters more if he fired the gun? caller: usually if they do not it, that is one thing. if they do fire it it shows there is some sort of anger within that. host: that is oral in idaho -- that is earl in idaho. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, democrats (202) 748-8000 and independents (202) 748-8002 when it comes to the editorials of the papers, the washington

post in their lead editorial says "the president son cannot evade the law." the editors right that it should never have come to this. mr. biden could have spared his family and ther of the trial byg guilty and accepting full responsibility and asking for the court's mercy at sentencing. instead he unusual plea agreement that sought wider immunity for mr. biden from criminal liability and fell apart last year under legitimate scrutiny from the federal judge in a state where his family is political royalty. biden hope for a jury nullification or couple of holdouts up fortunately, the jury did its duty. that is the washington post. one of the editorials from the wall street journal concerning hunter biden's guilty verdict, second editorial, the editors writing should junta receive a

jail sentence? there is a -- should hunter receive a jail sentencehunter fs jeopardy in september when he is scheduled to go on trial for tax charges for which the evidence he knowingly understated his income and overstated his debt is also compelling. he is plead not guilty on those charges. the guilty verdict is likely to mitigate any political impact. the justice department first tried to let hunter off with a slap on the wrist plea deal. attorney general merrick-- e of the editorials based on the events of yesterday. we will hear from randy in michigan. democrats line. go ahead. caller: i would like to start by thanking you along with all of the other men and women it takes

to bring this program. it does a great service to the nation. the man was convicted by a jury of his peers. no matter whatever else they say he was brought to trial and he was found■p■ guilty and now he l have to pay that price to society for his guilty actions. just like i believe the recently convicted 34 counts felony we have running for president on the republican side needs to face the same scrutiny sentencie else would with that many felonies. i have to comment on the washington post article that you just read. i do not believe i ever heard the washington post come out and say that convicted felon donald trump couldav show if he had

pled guilty to what his crimes were. we are all supposed to be the same in the eyes of the law. let's treat everyone the same in the eyes of the law. thank you for my time. host: let's hear from brenda in arkansas. republican line. caller: morning. i am curious about whyd americas do not think or why they do think -- this is election interference. the fbi knew. 51 spies specialists knew that that was hunter's laptop just before the election. they all swore this was russian disinformation. this is election interference every bit as much as how trump interfered in his election. those two cases are not comparable. they were misdemears had that ns allowed to turn into felonies will stop hunter's charges were

always felonies. hunter is now trying to get the sympathy vote by saying things like his daughter should not have had to testify. the defense is the one that brought his daughter in, not the prosecution. there were even videos on youtube where you could seewith. was that russian disinformation? this is totally election interference. i think the doj, who i'm not very fond of right now should be held accountable for this. also, why aren't those 51 spy specialists being shamed? they should be prosecuted and shamed. host: brenda in arkansas. this is john in michigan. independent line. caller: mi good to talk? host: go ahead.

caller: i used to be a i've been independent. i will probably not vote. my one thought on the hunter biden conviction is the delaware u.s. attorneys offices publishes all of the firearms and it shows how unserious hunter's charges are compared to the average defendant. i do not have a love of thing -- i do not have a love of him but i did not see any way to look at ?óthisx case and not think he wj being prosecuted because he was the president son. thank you for your time. host:■;■& john in michigan. gus points us next in ohio on the democrats line. caller: i've never seen so much hypocrisy in my life. any time something happens where a gun is involved, here comes the nra, here comes the second

amendment and everything else. now they try to treat this like he did something wrong. he went out to schools and shoot kids. you do not see that kd of coverage. ■ywith biden it is like he did e worst thing in the world. what a bunch of hypocrisy. you know and i know it is all politics. they tried to do anything they can to cover up what trump did. why do you think the charges are unfounded? caller: where did you any cases like this were a crackhead would buy a gun and shoot people? where is the anger? you do not see that anymore. with all these right-wingers calling up saying he had to do

the crime and all of this, not one person ever said how about the second amendment? how about the guy that sold him the gun? this is what they are trying to tell you. no background checks. you get away with it. all of the because of one person. it is ridiculous. caller: host: -- host:e counts. you can call us or text us or post on social media. let's hear from rick in los angeles, republican line. caller: the article you wrote in the two republican callers. thisleast of all of the crimes that hunter bidenly coule facing. this is the only hook joe biden.

all of the evidence on the laptop, all of the evidence of e millions oll russia, ukraine, c. the 20 shell companies where the money was funneled through to the family members, the grandkids. they had no busess. china, russia, ukraine, what did they get for their money? all of the evidence is on the laptop and that is forthcoming. stay tuned. ho do we know? we watch fox news. fox has been covering this from the beginning. this is why we know the truth. you will find out this is the least of all of the crimes hunter biden could have pled guilty to because it does not connect joe biden. host: that is rick in los

angeles. the neyork times coverage reflects what the caller just says, same republicans have tried to link president biden for most of the time covered in both of president biden's -- they failed toindtantial links f digging and dubious claims that the president oversaw all of his sons dealings as head of the "biden crime family." last week house republicans make criminal referrals requesting they charge hunter and james biden with making false statements to congress. the inquiry against president biden without oversight committee chair on fox news yesterdayng about what he saw concerning hunter biden and what he feels the larger issues concerning that. here is james comer from yesterday. >> justice has not been served. justice will not be served until the department of justice takes into accountllthe

financial crimes all of the financial crimes all the biden family committed. it was not just hunter biden. it was also joe biden and jim biden. the entire family benefited. we had three people testify who are one's partners with hunter biden in the scheme who testified the bidens were selling the biden brand, they were selling access to joe biden, there was never a legitimate business. we know they never paid any taxes on the tens of billions of dollars they took from our adversaries around the world. we have laws in congress that prevent people from doing thisút called the foreign agents registration act, called the foreign practices act. we know the bidens have violated these laws. until the department of justice takes the serious crimes into account, justice hasot been served. if i listed the top 10 crimes the president son committed, lying on a gun application would not make the list. host: that is jim coomer from yesterday. some of you commenting on

facebook. those expecting outrage from the left regarding hunter's verdict can keep waiting, there will not be any. a viewer on facebook saying he had a spiral and has taken accountability for it, it is what we are supposed to do. hope you can stay sober. carl turley saying he should have pleaded guilty and saved his self and his family the embarrassment. now that the laptop has been validated when will the cia experts say it will be -- john mcnally saying sad for hunter and his family but people cannot be buying firearms illegally. i am sure losing his mother and all of his siblings has taken a toll on him. just some of the reactions. you can add yours if you wish. yesterday on hunter biden. ndependent line, barbara in tennessee. caller: good morning.

i wanted to make a comment about the hunter biden case. he was guilty. i don't know how many people have said i have not taken drugs on an application form, which is illegal. if they can't they get fired. he got caught, this is when he was in his drug scene. he is not running forhe is justt be more wealthy and status -- but he has been charged were roughly than any of else would unless we committed a crime. comparing him to trump is ridiculous. it is a personal thing. i think a lot of people who have had families of drug addicted people know what they go through. ■as covering up a foreign star -

a porn star and covering up taking drugs is just good different things. i believe it is a sham but you have to go by the justice system. that is all i have to say about that. host: austin in washington, d.c. democrats line. caller: i have listened to all of these republicans talk about what biden did. what treason? trump is the biggescrook out here. biden's son was on drugs, if h't know what he was doing. so all you republicans, just shut your mouths. thank you very much, sir. host: republicans, you can call in at (202) 748-8001.

democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. if you wish to comment on these cases concerning hunter biden and the guilty charges that were found yesterday. let's hear from tom in north carolina, republican line. caller: the last caller this talking about hunter didn't know what he was doing. the question is clear. i don't know how much more clear they could make the question o the gun form. are you currently using illegal drugs? and he answered no. and he knew he was. so i hope they make an example out of him. i hope he gets at least probation. he's not going to prison, but he knew that time that he lied. that's the problem i have now.

i don't care if it was joe blow or whatever, but he needs to be treated the same. he wants to say drugs caused him to check no, nobody is buying that. up next, staten island, new york, democrat line caller: deacon here. i've been watching your show this morning and the only comment i want to make is it is interesting that both new york and delaware convicted these parties in their home states. so we did the right thing, the democrats. we found juror that listened to the cases and they unanimously found guilty both instances, so we just have to live with that, ride out the appeal process and see where this goes. but it is fair. post: in new york, thoughts on

people adding their thoughts yesterday after the announcement came was represented jim mcgovern, democrat from massachusetts. referring specifically to his republican colleagues for their reaction to the hunter biden case yesterday, here's representative mcgovern from yesterday. >> when donald trump was convicted beside media reaction from republican leaders. within seconds. that this sham, the judge is corrupt, the jury is rigged. the contrast today is just staggering. nization. but when he democrat is convicted, the no less, that is justice. give me a break. hunter biden was found guilty by a jury of his peers just like donald trump. because this is our justice system at work. the divide stunning and it is a great reminder that one political party remains committed to the law and the other doesn't. it is that simple. that hunter biden walked out of

the courthouse this morning and did he claim some vast conspiracy to weaponized the legal system against him? no, he did not. any statement on the verdict, president biden said and i quote i will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process. now i ask after the verdict this morning, how can any republican in their right mind argue that the biden administration is weaponizing the doj to hurt republicans that help democrats? they just evicted the president's own son. to say nothing of the fact that the doj is currently trying it democratic senator and has indicted a democratic member of this house. do republicans still believe president biden is weaponizing justice system because if he is, he is sure doing a lousy job and as usual, the only trumped arrangements and from going on ar■pound your is on the other se of the aisle. people are saying at biden

orchestrated the condition of his own son in order to justify the criminal charges against trump. that is how you think we are in a cult. host:■1 again, there is more therefrom that committee hearing if you want to see it. you can comment on the phone line numbers if you want to call in. all we ask is if you called in the last 30 days, hold off on doing so and pick a line that best represents you. the times on their front page of their coverage yesterday, gun rights advocates question the law validity, saying hunter biden's conviction on federal gun charges ignited a diverse debate amongonattionality of thw he was done guilty of violating. thanks to a 2022 supreme court ruling, you look at the federal government main gun control law, illegal immigrants, discharged veterans, fugitives and unlawful drug users among others from possessing a firearm.

hunter biden's attorneys raise the issue of a third u.s. circuit court appeal and they were told they would have to wait for a final judgment from the trial. let's hear from bruce. bruce and palm harbor, florida, independent line. caller: i'm just saying that i have a brother jeff and he is on the other this. we fightll time. i'm 70 and 66 and you know what, we can't find anything more important to agree on than the government is just taking us through the wash. host: and how does that apply to hunter biden yesterday?

caller:■6. hunter biden took his punishment and walked out, didn't say a thing, didn't blame anybody, nothing. trump, every time trump is accused of something, he has to go out and he has million-dollar microphone in front of him and he blames everybody else. to me, that is how it applies to hunter biden. host: a statement yesterday regardinghe from the national press secretary caroline levin saying this trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes

of the body crime family which includes taking tens of millions of dollars from china, russia and ukraine. look at the criminal empire, it is all coming to an end on november. government for personal profit. john and ohio, republican line. caller: i just wanted to make a few comments on this. i was a crack addict for 14 years. i've been cleaning now about 10, but hundred new what he was doing. you just don't care because it gets in the way of what he wanted. the only democrats i see being prosecuted, the evidence is so in-your-face there is no choice but to prosecute. with this new york trial they had to bend new laws and everything else to prosecute trump. the other thing, don't tell me

that democrats respect the judicial system when you've got the leader of the senate, the supreme court threatening the supreme court justices. biden's doj not stopping pele js at their homes, which is against the law. democrats get punished only when it is so in-your-face there is no other choice. and no matter what biden says after november 5, -- will hurd joe biden to do anything. that is all i wanted to say. host: ohio, kathy, democrats line. caller: i just want to say if you do the crime, you do the time, and that also includes trump. if you have no repercussions on what you do, then you continue to do it. no matter who you are, you

should be prosecuted, no matter how much money you have. thank you. host: to one of the people coming to hunter biden's defense is ronald reagan's daughter. ne has missed about hunter biden's case, addicts, like everyone else, have to be held accountable for their lives being held accountable under the judgment allies of the world means being defined by your sins, not the person you're trying to be,. moving on is a grace twisted by others, not you. this may sound naive, but it would be nice if the rest of us or even most of us could look how sad this story is, how a man with the loving support of family and every advantage and opportunity still felt into the drug addiction and could stop swimming around in his dark waters or even though he has worked hard on getting and staying clean, his past mistakes demand to be addressed. they are still today ranking of the collateral damage causing tremendous pain to those he loves and who love him a potentially endangering his father's legacy.

there are a lot of hunter biden's in this world, people who fell in way over their head. you just this is from darlene, joining us from louisiana, independent line. caller: yes. hunter is a private citizen, he's not running for president, and he's going to get what he deserves like i hope trump will. he didn't cause the capitol riot and trump has done worse than what he has done and i hate when they have on committees, they have like james comey accused of ■domestic violence. he shouldn't be on any committee and jim jordan, he did special

favorsor the transportation company and they gave him shares in their company. it should be above reproach and you shouldn't be judging other people. and i believe this of jim, and jim jordan because when i am watching him on the committee, comer, he is very aggressive and i believe that of comer. i googled it. host: darlene in louisiana, and in delaware, kathy, republican line, you are next up. caller: good morning. listen, you're giving credit to the jurors and th' done their job and they did it well. however, credit should go to the house for investigating the gun charges, the irs charges, exposing the pollution of the

irs, department of justice, and all those involved in trying to avoid any charges at all against hunter biden. and we also have to give credit to the judge that rejected the sweetheart deal that would have let him off of any of those charges. so i think you need to look at where the house did their investigation charges to be brought against hunter biden. you might play some of those portions of those hearings that exco you can always go to our website if you want to check out all the underlying thing that led up to this moment yesterday. that website is c-span.org where a lot of the content is, if you want to search keywords and airbox and you can search that out for yourself. georgia, democrat line. caller: this is robert from

georgia. this is about the conviction about hunter. back in the day, when i was doing drugs and everything else, if i had the means to purchase a gun, i did not know on that application they were going to be asking me that question. when that question comes up, nine out of 10 i'm going to check no if you are an addict, if you are doing crack cocaine back in the day, if i had the means to buy a gun, i'm buying a gun for the element that i'm in because it is dangerous out there. you are buying a gun to protect yourself. if i had known that question would have been on there, i

would probably buy a gun off the street. i needed a gun to protect myself because i was in a very criminal, bad kind of atmosphere. i could see why you would need a gun but i wouldn't -- host: that is robert in georgia. keep calling in, people take those calls. several states holding their primaries yesterday. nancy mace, after fending off two primary the strength of former president donald trump's endorsement, he's projected to 50 bill young. never won by this large of a

margin, so a major win after being outspent-one feels pretty good. and then sam bradley the republican nominee for senate in nevada. one of the most competitive states of both presidential senate levels. could help decide control of the chamber. clear the path for him in a field that feature other mag a-aligned candidates. we'll try to unseat senator jacky rosen of nevada in november. democrat from nevada in november. but there from carol in west virginia, independent line. caller: good morning. i really don't think either one should have had charges brought against them. i think it is just tit-for-tat, both was political. i think that as far as the trump trial goes, please don't cut me

off, that that was a bookkeeping error that should have been a sign. hunter biden, yes, he lied, he checked no. but i think the only reason he wapr was to really take the heat because that is the only thing that they could charge him with. he is not involved with president biden. however, he still should have just been fined, and that way the president could have moved on. if we don't stop the tit-for-tat, we are never going to move forward. we have to stop the tit-r-tat. we talk about the hush money. i'd like to know what happened to the hush money that congress has.

where did that money go? i'd like nancy pelosi to be charged. every time that there was a hill ready to go before her, her husband played the market, she got rich. ava in mississippi, republican line. caller: you all know that hunter biden will never go to jail since joe would pardon him the day after the election. and another thing, he's not running for president. does that mean if you are not running for president, people can commit any kind of crime you want to? i want to talk about this tax thing. does hunter have to pay tax on that tax bill? and most of all, who's paying his lawyers $2000 per hour? it's taxpayers paying it and hunter living 98in the white house. get him out.

that is all i want to say. ■4host: after last week while overseas, president biden interviewing with abc asked about hunter biden. a short bit from that. >> as we sit here in normandy, your son hunter is on trial a i know that you cannot speak about an ongoing federal but let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome no matter what it is? >> yes. >> and have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes. >> status from the abc interview that the president conducted. (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8000 democrats and independents.■l (202) 748-8002. like in vermont, democrat line. caller: thanks for taking my call, i love the show. i just want to say that the last 30 years they've been gas

■glighting and misinforming the public. the bidens, the obamas, the clinton's. they've come up with nothing, but is bidens form. it just goes to show you that basically what they're saying is not true, there really is nothing to support their claims. on top of that message for evangelical christians. host: before you go further, how does that apply to hunter biden's? caller: it applies to him because it is part of the whole right wing idea. they can get biden on anything legitimate so they are going after his son. evangelical christians, withdraw your support from donald trump. shame on you. people be in the dumpster that way. that is where he belongs. host: that is mike from vermont.

members of congress weighing in, this is speaker mike johnson yesterday saying a year ago hunter biden was offered a sweetheart deal that would have allowed him to bypass the justice system on these charges. hunter was brought to court. today he's found guilty of all charges. it goes on from there. yesterday saying our prayers go out for the fighting family during this difficult time. hunter has tried to rebuild his life. today's verdict is further evidence that no one is above the law. our gop colleagues should take note. let's hear from ulysses in georgia, independent line. caller: good morning. i'm calling in reference to hunter. i feel that he did the right thing, he did not go after the

judge, he did not go after the witnesses. he did not even go after the jury. trump was a baby to the whole trial. he went afterhe judges, every witness, the jury. trump shall never be president again. trump shall never be president again. he's unfit for office. this man is a criminal. 34 counts. criminal. the people need to cut all this foolishness out. host: james in west virginia, you are up next. republican line. caller: yes. i don't know why people can't see that they charged hunter biden for the smallest crime that he's done.

that laptop has got all the information on it where the whole family has been making millions of dollars from these foreign countries. what kind of prece athey have tg something illegal. and the reason hunter is not crying to anybody is because he's getting away with all of this stuff. and everybody is hollering about trump crying about the crimes. they are charging him with a bunch of made stuff because the doj's on joe biden's side. thank you. host: one of the other story that road yesterday unrelated to the hunter biden story, another source saying that eight men out of central asia were arrested over the weekend in new york, philadelphia and los angeles according to three people familiar with the matter.

the suspect was arrested by personnel tied to immigration and customs enforcement. all eight men crossed at the southern border into the u.s. and their criminal background checks came back in. at least two of the men crossed the border in the spring of 2023. one of those men used the app which the biden administration created to allow migrants to book appointments to claim asylum according to officials. new york post reporting that first. we will hear from cj in minnesota, democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call, i appreciate it. i just want to say that i'm from the state of minnesota. from the governor was running after winning as governor, he said the reasonnt to be in offir in politics anymore they are attacking your family.

and he said you could talk about me all you want to, but don't go after my family. reason why this is going on. nowadays, they didn't used to be that back in the day. not only did he get found guilty in new york, but hg up in georgia about the other stuff that he's going to have to go and face. : how does this relate to hunter biden specifically? caller: because they are going after the president's how can he you are attacking his family? this is a sad issue he has to deal with. it is like you get a phone call saying you are at work and you get a phone call. this is personal, this ain't different. thank you. host: kurt is up next.

kurt is in baltimore, independent line. good morning, thank you for taking this phone call. i want to comment on the hunter biden situation but also first, i want to say that i'm calling you from my wife's phone because the two phones that i half that i normally call from, every time i dial the numbers to get connected it says the lines are out of service and i just called the same number with my wife's phone. i don't know what is going on down there with your phone calls , o is readinghean that, but yoo investigate it. other than that, i want to say that this trial with bidens some , he broke the law just like trump broke the law. people need to stop putting too much emphasis on what is going on.

we are supposed to resct the law. this man has said he would respect the outcome of the trial, no matter what the verdict would be. nobody on trump's side is saying that or can say that. they are still coming up with silly ideas that biden had his own son convicted justand all t. thank you for taking my call. michigan, republican line, you are next up. caller: how are you doing? host:e, go ahead. caller: on the hunter biden thingy, y got 160 thousand people in the united states right now in jail because of that law. on the republican side, donald trump. how many people go to jail because of what he's convicted of right now?

not one. not one. explain that to me. host: h conclusion that nobody has been convicted of it? caller: they made thetu up as they went along. they never put anybody in jail for what trump did. for the first three weeks of the trial they couldn't even tell you why he was on trial. but there's tons of people in jail for hunter did. host: one more call, bob in illinois, democrat line. caller: thank you. first off there is a man called pastors in jail for what trump did. still, they got trump on a fake

law which led -- vague law which was the same one he got, and they threw the book at. but he knew what he was doing. i think they should give them both about a year in jail, share the same cell. when biden gets out he will be sober and when trump gets out, he will still be drunk with power. thank you very much. host: todd from illinois finishing off this hour of calls. thanks to those who participated. later on this morning around 10:00, a hearing on the fbi see, a hearing on a report taking a detail in leadership failures at the fbi see. in light of that report the chair announced he will resign. you can see that committee hearing live today 10:00 on c-span 3, c-span now and c-span.org.

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morning is a republican of wisconsin, serves the second district and also a member of the fisher committee. good morning to you, sir. yes: good to join you, pedro. host: i wanted to get your reacted to the events concerning hunter biden yesterday. guest: it certainly appears job and it is clear huntewith. his own words on the infamous laptop, he said that he was a drug abuser and there is a specific question on form 4473 that says have you abused drugs, and he admitted as so the jury came to the correct conclusion. host: i was wondering, i'm sure you've heard democratic colleagues of yoursalking about this idea of a two-tiered justice system, in comparison to the events of former president trump. when you hear that, what is your reaction?

guest: when you look atear ago, the department of justice was trying to cut a deal with hunter biden that would have involved no prison time at all. it took a judge in this cthe juu don't have the right. whereas in the trump case, they had taken what is a misdemeanor and the district attorney of manhattan has■f elevated to a felony. so it is two very different cases, and we see this unequal system of justice that is going on in america. in president's epicenter of it. host: concerning the justicek. department head, the attorney general front and center on that consensus they. where are you on that? guest: we should just share the audiotape. when i go back to regardless of what the case is, just share the

information that the american people. give them the records. we should have those audiotape because when people communicate, they've given us a transcript. we the transcript is accurate and let's just have the full information. we are just trying to get that information for them so that we can come to the right conclusion as far as what happened in host: in your mind, what doese the audio version give the committee vs. the written transcript? guest: one is the white house has altered transcripts 150 times since the first of this year when there have been interviews with joe biden for his fami number one, we want to make sure the transcript is accurate but the other thing is when we communicate, it is far more than just the words being said.

it is how they are said, the pauses. we want a full, complete record. the audiotape will provide that. ■uhost: ranking member hassan at against this idea of the audio version. i want to play you a little bit of the kc is maki■■[ng and thent your response to it. >> a complete, certified transcript has already been provided to both committees. no credible allegation has been made that these transcript have been altered in any material way. the only thing that has not been pruced as a recording itself. something that in the wrong hands, specifically in mr. jordan's hands, could be easily manipulated. this is not of vital concern. last year and witness testifying in deposition pulled us that she was a victim of a manipulated video,, five i republican on the judiciary committee and that has contributed to a flood of death threats against her.

about a deposition in april 2023. this isn't really about a policy disagreement with the doj. this is about 18 months of investigation that has produced failure after failure. like most of what republicans are pushed on purely partisan lines, this resolution will do very little other than se garla, who will remain a good and decent publicwhat the public wit today. host: of course, your response? guest: the ranking member is doing his job on the other side trying to protect the biden administration. i get that and i think the american public understands. but he referred to other legislation. i had a bill called the f■:air t that just passed through the judiciary committee and the last two months and it requires audio recordings by the doj whenever there's witness testimony that

is needed. and we all voted for it. it was vote against it. all democrats voted for that to have a complete record with audio included. th we are just asking for the audio. there is no reason that it shouldn't be given to the american people. host: our guest is with us and if you want to ask questions, you can call on the line (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independent, (202) 748-8002. if you want to text is a question or comment, you can do that at (202) 748-8003 it with e attorney general himself in the op-ed you may have seen in recent days leading up to today's actions in which merrick garland writes in recent weeks, we see the escalation of attacks that go far beyond public, criticism, generate a necessary overset of our work they are baseless, personal and dangerous

security theories and threats of violence. the short-term political benefits can never make up for the long-term cost to the country. continued unfounded attacks against the justice department employees are dangerous for people's safety. they are dangerous for a democracy. i would you respond to that? guest: i did not see or read the ax■varticle, but is this the sae department of justice that ignored thestin regards the biden family and taking over $20 million in payments from foreign countries who were trying to deny those whistleblowers from being able to share their information? is this the same fbi that went after catholics? if this the same department of justice that has been working with the social media companies to get information from the american public? attorney general garthing to co.

just provide full information to the american people. they will be very fair in how they review it. host: the second district of wisconsin, a member of the judiciary committee. are you a freedom caucus member? guest: i am. host: questions and comments, silver spring maryland, democrats line. go ahead. >> mr. tiffany, do you realize you are an abomination? your judicial committee is a you have ruined america, so get in line behind your convicted felon and have a ball. guest: i would just say this is the line of attack that is going i democrats at this point. i'm hearing it back in the district. it's all about the convicted felon. so you can see what democrats are attempting to do here. they know they have nothing to run on in regards to inflation which is at enormous levels. think about young people. they can't afford the rent, much

less being able to buy a home at this point. energy prices much higher than they were four years ago. ■■wa border that is on fire. our government is complicit in the largest human trafficking operation perhaps in the history of the world. they want to change the subject and that is why the department of justice threw all these cases against president trump. they were hoping one would stick and they were able to manipulate it in a court in new york city to be able to get this guilty plea. this is a misdemeanor that they are charged to a felony. the district attorney in new york city, like 60% of the cases take felonies and upgraded to misdemeanors. why this one case against donald trump 50 up charge it? why did he bring in the number three guy from the fbi to argue the case? i mean, this does not add up. they know donald trump is going to win this election, and the only way they see out of it is

to be able to get that felony conviction. host: alvin bragg is said to appear on july 12, the day after the former president gets his sentencing. what kind of questions do you have planned for him? guest: he needs to be asked why did he do this. we are not going to charge this case against donald trump. why all of a sudden did the district attorney say now we need to do it? and also why did the judge in the case not allow expert witness testimony in regards to being able to testify? this case is going to be overturned. it's almost guaranteed to be overturned. but all they want is that felony be able to say this is a felon, just like our caller. and if after the election and joe biden is done,

then mission accomplished. that is without the bragg is attempting to do and that is what my questioning is going to leave. .3still going to hold a hearing this thursday taking a look at the district attorney. who will hear from and what is the point of a hearing to mark guest: i believe the attorney general from missouri is going b know the other witnesses but we want to know why there is a dual system of justice. and if they agree with us like the attorney general in surrey, do they agree that is what is happening in america? we've been hearing from people across the political spectrum, legal scholars that have been saying this is a very dubious case against president trump. host: here is kevin in michigan, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. representative, i've got two comments. the first one is regarding this judge in fulton county.

i've been watching him on youtube. this guy has been putting people in jail because they wouldn't give up, the same judge taking over the trump case. be for the russia-ukraine war. russia said that they wouldn't invade if ukraine gave them nukes. here's the solution. you tell russia you are going to give ukraine back the nukes invade when they gave up their nukes. quit sending the money and say you guys to get out. x5the american people are sick f us sending them fight it out ane done with it. guest: pedro, i would start with the fulton county case in georgia. as you know, fani willis, the district attorney in fulton county is really quite disgraced

at this point, especially with her love affair that she had with the man that she wanted to bring in to argue the case of then president trump that is now on hold. i think that case has largely fallen apart, much like the mar-a-lago case that jack smith is arguing. so many of these are falling apart, as we've seen over the last month or so. in regards tone, we need to take care of america first. we got some may problems here in america. we heard something about the isis terrorists that were found just yeste.our country is under- seizure at this point with open borders. we better start taking care of america first. host democrats line in maryland, william is up next. go ahead. caller: thanks for taking my call.

i have a couple quick comments. first of all, i don't see how anyone could support a man imprisoned. trump is sorely embarrassing this country every day. every time he opens his mouth. and second, fani willis love affair has nothing to do with what trump did. and third, what you just said a little while ago, you said decin the hunter biden case. the jury came to the right decision. at the jury in new york, this decision that they made with trump, asking the supreme court to step in. it is the most embarrassing thing in this world. i'm a student of the law. i have a law degree. that supreme court is

ridiculous. i don't like any of them. the only conservative justice i like on that supreme court is -- i can't remember her name. the new lady, i just forgot her name. host: we got your point. representatives to the supreme court still having to weigh in on the former president immunity claims. let's go ahead with th i would s equivalence put out there in regards to that these are two equal cases. so we jury has decided that hunter biden is guilty. hunter biden admitted what he did. he admitted it. he used his own words against him. he's clearly guilty and injury came to the right lucian. but you have a department of justice that year ago tried to make this go away with a sweetheart plea deal for hunter biden and it took a judge to say

no, you are not going to do that. let's contrast that to a case where we of charge from a misdemeanor to a felony what is almost always a misdemeanor case, and then you have a judge that when sentí the instructions to the jury said you don't have to be in the individual charge that this man is guilty of. just choose guilty of any of the 34 counts and i will call unanimous. you have a judge that has contributeit is so partisan andf that, the person that argued the case came from letitia james' office in new york,the number te department of justice and then goes back to the district attorney's office, just a very unusual how all of the happens by coincidence to go and get donald trump. and by the way, i think the

judge in this case, i think he conducted that case in such an absurd way that he knows he's overturned, but he does not care. as long as it is■7 not overturnd before the election. we heare getting this morning, l they want to be able to do is say convicted felon in fate that donald trump will not be elected. but here's the reason donald trump should not be reelected in 2024. it's because the american people are going to be focused on what is good for americans. do what is best for you in this election. inflation to go away and stop this rudeness spending that i?s going on in washington, d.c.? before donald trump we didn't have inflation like this five years ago. we were energy independent. we are no longer energy we don't need to beg anybody, we could produce american energy for americans right here in america. and then of coursehe border

including the story that broke in the last 24 hours where there's more terrorists coming into our country. it is only a matter of is anothr terrorist attack here in america as a result of 10 million plus egally into our country with all the ills that come with it including terrorists. host: including plans of the former president is going to get with republicans on thursday here in washington, d.c.. what are your plans for the meeting? guest: i hope to be able to attend. i want to hear what his friends are. i think it is really important. the american people want this to be about them and i think it's very important for president trump to talk about what we are going to do for the american people.

i think that is the kind of thing that helps the average working person. if you go back five years ago to the first time on the lower end of the pay scale, you're starting to see pay increase. part of that because we got control of the border. you don't ve this cheap labor coming into the country competing against those on the lower economic rung. president trump needs to talk about that regularly. what am i going to do for the american people? i think he's got a good sto to tell, just go back to four or five years ago. host: what is planned? guest: iit will be politilking about how do we win in november. i'm sure that is much of what his remarks will center around. host: north carolina, mike, good morning, great to see you and great to talk to you.

look at biden, he cannot go to a single world leader without his he and you brought up the terrorists. the same terrorists that went into moscow and killed 140 people. i want to tell you one other thing. it is a two-tiered system of justice. look at that. finally released video of nancy pelosi's own daughter that she took full responsibility for not bringing the national guard up to the capitthe fbi and doj andy did that these laptops are real from hunter biden and every one of these 51 so-called

professionals, they ought to not have no security clearance at government because all 51 of them are bidens people. host: that is like in north carolina. guest: might hit on a couple different points but from a judiciary member perspective, whether it is talking in a nuar6, whatever, just give the american people the full information. they will be very fair-minded about these things. i do believe to the first part of this questioning that president biden really is a metaphor for america at this point. it is an american that is in decline. you see it with the week foreign policy. the american people want to have a strong america. americans are winners. that is why we need to be talking throughout 2024 here to

the american people about how we can do so much better. there's not a reason for this inflation that is going up. it can be fixed. there's no reason to not be energy independent. there's no reason not to have a secure border and donald trump did many of those things in the four short years he was in office. let's put someone in office who will accomplish the goals of the american people, set aside all the sideshows, set aside all the personalities and the tit for tat and stuff like that and do whats right for the american people. when you look at four or five years ago wee host: republican n joining us, this is matt and new york comic depended line. caller: how's it going? first of all, america is not in inclined. it is disgraceful led by donald

trump, joe bidejuopec was threak their production and because of joe biden, president biden's opening out increase production, they had to turn their back on that. the only disgrace,committee feln agents joe biden that they did something as if trading on your name is illegal. if it was so illegal, then where is the angst of the trump family trading on their name? it might be unethical but it is not illegal, and there is no proof that joe biden was a part of any of that with his son. you guys need to stop that. host: that is mac in new york. caller: list--

guest: let's address the pa up n regards to oil. in regards to weakness, the very first action he took as president on january 20, 2021 is to shut down the keystone pipeline. it made very clear to the rest of the world we were no longer going to be energy independent. who did that benefit? it benefited russia. we went from -- crude oil over three years ago up to the high of $100 per barrel, and we've never come back down to those levels. and who did that enrich? it enriched russia and it helped them to fund the war machine. if we want to take on russia as president biden says, the first thing you do is make sure your energy independent. we eventually imported more russian oil into america since joe biden has been president and by theis dirtier-burning, we hae in america.

so it has weakened us. the defendant president biden, it ignores what happened in afghanistan which was a colossal failure back in 2021 when he pulled out of afghanistan, left 13 of our finest at the kabul airport where they will never come back to america again having died there in a firefight to leave afghanistan in such a way was just showing weakness like we haven't seen sce vietnam. the american people want a strong america. joe biden has not provided that. host: congressman, later on this july congresses center here from the israeli prime minister. what do you think is the end result of this meeting? caller: it's important for us to hear from world leaders, in particular our allies on a regular basis. just a couple months ago we were adessing congress by the japanese prime minister and

really appreciating his remarks. benjamin netanyahu is the leader of one of our chief allies in israel. to hear first-hand from a world leader like that. host: lets hear one more call, louise, north carolina. running short on time to go ahead. caller: representative, i'd like to know why are you so pro-trump? i want the american people to know that trump has talked about being a dictator. they don't realize that his whole family, he's the only one that was born in queens, new york. his brothers, sisters, uncles, father, grandfather, his children were born in nazi germany. and also, your judicial hearings

is a big jokhunter biden is notr office so why are you trying to go after him? but not prosecutors and judges out there in new york. she -- guest: this is whayoit all his d this is what the democrats want to have happen because they don't want this to be a policy-based date. and i will be working all of 2024 to make sure that we are in about who has the best policies to the american peopler to make us once again a strong country. host: republican of wisconsin, a member of judiciary committee, a member of the freedom caucus joining us for this conversation. thanks for your time. guest: good to join you.

host: the house set to come in just about a half hour from now. before that we will talk to a democratic member of the have to issue a committee. it will join us next on washington journal. ♪ ♪ >> where republicans face-off against democrats. watch play-by-play coverage today at 7 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now for online at c-span.org. >> cares all ball deep to left field. it's bouncing up and into the bullpen. ♪ >> book tv, every sunday on

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>> c-spanshop.org is our online store. browse through our latest collection of c-span products. there is something for every c-span fan and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. ♪ >> "washington journal" continues. host: representative hank johnson serve the state of georgia as a democrat and as a member of the judiciary committee joining us to talk about several things this morning. morning to you, sir. guest: good morning, good to be with you. host: thanks for giving us your time. let me ask the same question i their previous guest, your reaction to the hunter biden conviction yesterday? guest: it was tragedy for the biden family,addiction is an aft

affects so many families and individuals and to have the story of addiction told in front of a live audience being reported on with all of your personal baggage coming out is really a tough situation. the charge that he went to trial on is one that normally prosecutors would not take to trial. it's unfortunate that hunter biden foundsituation. it happens every day to people who get caught up in the criminal justice system. the jury system worked. it was a jury of his peers. the prosecution laid out the case and the defense handled the defense as they saw it needed to be handled. the case went to the jury on the jury decided the case.

and that's the way the system works. justice■> works when the accused gets a fair trial. i believe this was a fair trial. there are appellate remedies that lie ahead so i'm sure that hunter biden's lawyers and hunter biden will avail ■/■-themselves of those optionsd meanwhile, life goes on. host: you have a criminal defense lawa lot to read southern texas university athergood marshall school of law. to what degree do you think the events concerning hunter biden happened because of his last name? guest: they had a plea a■[■9gr d it and once the judge■>nt back g but republicans through hissy congress and as a result,

the trump holdover u.s. attorney decided to withdraw the offer and bring charges and that's how it worked. nonetheless, the point i that we are a system, we are a system of laws. we are based on the rule of law and if you violate the law, then you are held accountable and that is what happened in this case. it's also what happened a few weeks ago when donald trump was convicted by a jury in new york. we are seeing a different perspective now that it's hunter biden from my friends on the others of the aisle. they did not show that when donald trump was convicted. they were ready to tear the system down and burn it and rebuild it in their own partisan

way so that it could be used to get at their political opponents. that's the kind of system that donald trump is proposing and that's the kind of system that the republicans who support him will put into operation. it's kind of scary as we head toward the november election, what can happen should maga gain control of this country once again. host:tee is set to hear from the manhattan district attorney can former president. what do you think of that hearing and what value do you think the hearing will bring? guest: absolutely zero value. it's another rabbit hole investigation. there have been many throughout this last few years of republican rain. in the house.

not a single legislative accomplishment can they point to but they can point to a bunch of rabbit hole nowhere. this bringing of alvin bragg through the judiciary committee about estate prosecution , what they are trying to do is create a false narrative that somehow the doj, department of justice and merit garland and joe biden had anything to do with in new york prosecution. justg yesterday, the justice department found or reported that not a single email went between the department of justice and alvin bragg's office since day one of the biden administration.

ence. this is what you call a plastic fishing operation. it's a rabbit hole fishing operation and it will yield zero results but it will capture the imagination of some people ,maga's who persist in believing that somehow joe biden is persecuting donald trump area host: with your law background, why not take a look at how the d8 came up with the felony approach he did? that's the question republicans have and how he arrived at the croce talk. guest: it's a state prosecution and state actors like attorneys general and district attorneys operate independently of the federal government. they should not be called up to exn

state level two members of congress who have adequate issues that they need to be addressing with the power they have. why waste the federal government's time involved in a state or local matter is a waste of our time. the american people see that. if they want to do that, let it happ, let all of the cards be put on the table and let it be shown once again that there is absolutely no evidence of any vast conspiracy between joe biden and the department of mp. host: this is representative hank johnson giving as his time, member of the judiciary committee here in washington, d.c.. if you want to ask a question, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats and

independents and (202) 748-8002. rudy is in ohio, republican line. you are on with our guest, go ahead please. caller: i'm listening to guy talk about mag alike it's a dirty word and leaves a bad taste in his mouth. this -- does this guy know it means makemerica great again? what a clown. guest: thank you for your opinion maga means a lot of things to a lot of people. for you, it may mean make america great again but to me, it means making americo white again. it means going back to a time when people who look like me did not have any rights in this country. that's what maga means to me but we are a country of many people,

all of us have different views and backgrounds and we have to how to accept each other as equals, respect each other for our opinions and i respect you for yours. despite our disagreements, we need to find common ground to proceed so as to make this country the kind of country that lives up to the values and ideals that are stated in our founding documents. that is our quest. it's not to take us backwards, it's to take us forward and to bring us together. i appreciate your comment, rudy, thank you so much. host: compton, california, pamela, democrats line. caller: good morning. in january, -- on january 6, 2021, donald trump committed treason in front of the entire world. donald trump has been convicted

of 34 felonies. t tech licenses being flagged for a misdemeanor from 1985 that has been expunged. in addition, donald trump took out a five page ad calling for the death penalty for the five innocent black boys in the new york five. donald trump should be barred from applying for the most important job in the country. ■"if i cannot work because i am expunged from a 1985 misdemeanor, donald trump is not fit to represent the united states of america and should■■ e barred from running in every state. thank you. host: that's, in california. guest: thank you, pamela. i'm sorry to hear you are plagued by an almost 40-year-old misdemeanor whichping up on your record. at some point, wet to the pointe

we accept the fact that people need second chances. sometimes third chances. we cannot give up on people. we can't permanently bar people from full our economic, in our economy because of a mistake they may have made in the past or because of an injustice they fell victim to in the past. we have to find ways in this country of overcoming the stigma of the criminal justice2ú system and realize that it happens to the best of us, all of his need to be treated equally so there are things we can do here in congress to protect people from the legacy of mistakes they have made in the past.

that's state and federal legislators that can go to work and help people in that regard but in terms of a person running for president, that is the qualifications are set forward in the constitution and the constitution says that in order to be president, you have to have attains the age of 35 years and you have to have been worn in this country and you have to have had residence in this country for 14 years prior to you running. those are the only qualifications set out in the constitution to run for president and so you can have a convicted felon running for president who wins the race and may be i time he or she is sworn in. no matter what their status might be, the status of their liberty, they can still serve as

president. that is a place in our constitution that perhaps we need to look at maybe go through the arduous process of tryin cor this particular■=]í circumstance which is the first time in history it has happened. host: what do you think of the prospects of president biden gaining another term over the former president? guest: he is not to be discounted or counted out. in fact, many of thels have him ahead or running cans and with joe biden. this is going to be an important race for the future of this country. people will have to turn out and vote dpite the incessant efforts that republican legislators have gone■ to to mae

voting a particularly for people of color, more difficult, registration and casting the vote, they've made it more difficult. they've tried to suppress people who generally vote democratic. we will have to overcome these obstacles that have been put in place to try to prevent us from exercising that precious right to vote and we will have to overcome those to get out and vote and if we do, we have a great chance of reelecting joe biden and kamala harris. they've done a tremendous job while in office. host: this■í■y is mark in flori, republican line. guest: caller: good morning, rep. johnson:. i just want to know if you think

they will handle the election case against president trump in election manner and if you continue to work the district attorney, thank you. guest: thank you and i don't think fani willis, the indiscretion that was revealed rises to the level of forcing her off the case. it was an unfortunate situation that occurred but it has nothing to do with the charges that were brought against the president and i forget how many others. five of whom have already entered guilty pleas to the charges. that case is now before the georgia appellate court as to whether or not the trial judge

made the right decision in not forcing fani willis off the case. we will let justicela way out in georgia and we will see what happens. host: our guest serves the fourth district of georgia. jim lives in tucker, georgia, calling for our guest, go ahead. caller: good morning, mr. johnson and thank you for being my representative. i am one of your constituents i think you are doing job, keep u. i want to say that the dual standard of justice that these maga people areit's to see the s of rhinos, real republicans no the knuckle draggers maga rhinos

are a bunch of pretenders and they are living in a fantasy world. the trial in new york because of the trader trump's actions. i hope him under the jail. i think you're doing a fantastic job. i really appreciate your steadfastness and your levelheadedness and just keep up the fantastic wo. guest: thank you so much. host: we talked a little about it but merrick garland, what do you think of the actual vote taking place and what are your plans for it? guest: i will be voting no in committee. this is another wasted expenditure of congressional time when we could be dealing o. we are speaking to merrick garland.

■é=they have everything that has been requested by the committee, the department of justice, merrick garland has turned over with the exception of the audio phase of the interview of president biden done by robert hur, another holdover trump special counsel. that interview was done on october 7 i believe it was which was the same day as the attack on israel which was a brutal and heartless and inhumane attack on the citizens of israel by hamas. the president being occupied with those■5 matters a so, the

republicans want to get access to a copy of the audiotape. that way they can splice and dies and make it into something that can be used against biden and harris in the upcoming election. that's why they want it but the reason why the administration refuses to turn it over is because it could have a chilling effect on others in the white house who are asked to give recorded statements at some point in the future. we don't want that to happen. that is a justified reason for not turning over the audiotapes. republicans want to turn it into

another conspiracy. we are running down that rabbit hole and it will go nowhere with this resolution of contempt for merrick garland and it's just a waste of time. host: the house will come in and a couple of minutes now so let's hear from chris in texas, independent line. caller: thas you mentioned earle charges against hunter normally would not be brought against a normal person. i note that it's always the talking point from the democrats who say it doesn't have to be his record. now that e laptop is known to be true and real, it would seem that being that he was on drugs and the fact that

the gun was purchased while he was on drugs, there are numerous charges that can be brout against him due to the laptop. why all of a sudden now, he shouldn't be he is the president's son. if you are saying that no one is above the law then how is he any different than anyone else? i know there is plenty of people out there like the wrapper they got thrown in jail. there are plenty of cases doing the exact same thing getting thrown in jail for the exact same charges. host: thank you. guest: thanks, i did not say he should not have been charged. i said he was discharged but i indicated that this charge is

rarely prosecuted if ever. prosecutors usually use their discretion in situations like this and allow for the case to be settled without having to go to trial. that did not happen in this case. the reason why is becauseas fars concerned, we keep hearing all of this about the hunterthe lapn of law enforcement for several years, longer than that, actually four or five years. yet the contents of the laptop is not resulted in any charges against hunter biden, joe biden or goldilocks or anybody else for that matter. apparently, there is nothing

incriminating on the laptop. that's another false narrative that has been perpetuated by maga republicans and there is no point talking about the hunter biden laptop. it's just ridiculous. host: trisha joins us from arizona, democrats line. caller: good morning, representative. do you know anything, there's about 800,000 americans that have been targeted and we have organized gangs talking about america and this is going on for a long time. targeted justice is the ones that, investigating and the cia and fb are the ones doing this. what is congress doing about

organized gangs? i am 76 years old and my husband is 80. i don't know where you live but if i fly there, they have interstate stock all the way to alabama. what is the country doing about organized game stopping. guest: there is organized criminal activity that takes place and i support state, local and federal law enforcement efforts to get at those who would stock and otherwise hurt and citizens. i would encourage you to make your complaint known to yo local law enforcement agency so that they can protect you and

they can look into what it is that's bothering you and determine and take action to address it. i hope you will get the assistance that you need in order to make it through this difficult time. no one should have tog like whe, they are plagued with some stalker. unfortunately, there are a lot of people in this country who feel the same way you do. there are groups that can be found of people who have the dilemma that you just talked about and those support groups help each other get through these kinds of issues. i hope maybe you will search out

for some families and others who you will talk with your social service agency and the location where you are about this problem , they can help direct you to people who can actually intervene and help. host: we have aut i want to havk to us about the effort you're launching about court reform, what is that? guest: it's a task force that brings attention to the needs of court reform and the strong ethn that the supreme court binds itself to. that way they can have the same rules and abide by the same rus of congress and

members of the executive branch. we don't need to ring accountability to the court by ensuring that they don't have lifetime tenure with a lack of accountability. that breeds the corruption we have seen on the court now. term limits is important and also expanding the court to reduce this ideologicalere of tn this bench at this time. it's a partisan bench, right wing ideologues who care nothing about anything but their agenda. host: representative hank johnson, democrat from georgia joining us this morning, thank you for your time. thanks to look out for in the house today, you heardirgas talk about it, the effort against america garland and that will play out in the house and later on today, the congressional baseball game and coverages on c-span and you ca find out more information at 7:30 p.m. and you can see that

on c-span and c-span now and the website at c-span.org. the house of representatives st about to come in for its session and we will take you to them now. [video clip] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.o]