with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. hello to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm john king in washington. president trump today insisting contrary to the facts that most religious leaders supported his bible waving visit to a church near the white house. a walk that came only after peaceful protesters were cleared away by federal authorities. the president also continuing to talk tough today about the protests across america, including the possibility of using military force to calm things. >> you notice that all of these places that have problems are not run by republicans. they're run by liberal democrats. so there is something into that philosophy, and yet they're also the ones keeping everybody locked up in their apartments and their homes for too long a period of time. so it's very interesting how that changes. but no, the national guard, we could solve that problem in new york, and in fact, if they don't

get their act straightened out, i will solve it. i'll solve it fast. >> but the trump administration defense secretary striking a very tone today, secretary mark esper calling the death of george floyd a horrible crime. and saying that he did not know protesters were forcibly removed from lafayette park before he joined the president on that walk across the street to st. john's church. and while the president has talked about invoking inthe insurrection act, if cities cannot promote calm, he made it clear he does not support such a move. >> the option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. we are not in one of those situations now. i do not support invoking the insurrection act. >> last night, across america, you see some of the images here. not problem-free, but by and large, the protests were peaceful. thousands and thousands marching for peace, demanding justice.

only a few standoffs between police and those protesters last night. you see some of it there. some big events coming up in the hours ahead. george floyd's family is visiting the site of his death next hour. they want the three other minneapolis police officers who stood by and did nothing as floyd gasped for breath to face charges. we'll also hear from the former president barack obama. he'll make his first on-camera comments since mr. florida's death. that part of a town hall. >> and we're seeing protests for peaceful spreading. this a scene in london today. there have been similar protests in paris, amsterdam, and berlin as well. pope francis condimming the killing of george floyd and saying, quote, i have witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in your nation in these past days following the tragic death of mr. george floyd. we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form, the pope says. and yet claim to defend the

sacredness of every human life. that the pope earlier today. esper also telling reporters he did not know he would be participating in a political photo op outside of st. john's church. let's bring in our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. that was a remarkable event in which the defense secretary was clearly trying to create some distance from what happened but also being careful not to offend the boss. >> yeah. you know, he caveated it just enough. saying that he did not support at this time the use of active duty troops, invoking ininsurrection act, just as you pointed out, the president was talking about the fact that he would solve it and solve it fast, very quickly, let me say it is worth noting there are multiple active duty military units on standby in the washington area if that decision were to be made, including an infantry battalion from ft. bragg, and one can only wonder what they think they're going do with an infantry battalion on

the streets of washington, d.c. in any circumstances. i think we have a little bit more now of sound from the secretary of defense. >> i did know we were going to the church. i was not aware of a photo op happening. of course, the president drags a large press pool along with him. look, i do everything i can to try to stay apolitical and try to stay out of situations that may appear political. and sometimes i'm successful at doing that, and sometimes i'm not as successful. >> okay, so he says he didn't know. the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs, were with the president and did not know where exactly they were going. they knew the church, they didn't know there would be a photo op. but today, what secretary esper did not do, what general milley has yet to do, is offer any regrets or apologies to the protesters that were on the streets that were violently cleared out. and perhaps, you know, even more importantly, to the clergy at

st. john's church and other faith leaders in this country, who have spoken out against having this kind of violent activity take place at a house of worship. and i am emphasizing this because secretary esper put out a message last night about the mission and goal of u.s. forces, and he said one of the things was to protect houses of worship, john. >> we'll watch this one play out. barbara starr, appreciate the quick reporting for us from the pentagon perspective. meanwhile, president trump trying to clean up many things, including trying to explain his trip last week to the white house bunker. john harwood joins us with that. john, the president saying he went down for an inspection. didn't quite sblan why his wife and son went with him for that inspection. >> exactly right, john. you know, this is another example on top of what we just heard from barbara on mark esper, of how this monday event has turned into a colossal embarrassment for the white house. we know from our reporting one of the motivations for the

president using force through federal officials to clear out that space and walk across, carry the bible, get photographs standing in front of the church, was he was sensitive at the portrayal he had gone down to the bunker for protection a few days earlier, and the idea that this suggested that he was cowering there. donald trump jr., the president's son, suggested as much saying, tweeting as the president walked across, this is the guy they said was hiding in the bunker. well, the president on fox news radio this morning took pains to say no, no, no, i wasn't cowering in the bunker. i had another purpose as the commander in chief. take a listen. >> it was a false report. i wasn't down. i went down during the day, and i was there for a tiny little short period of time. it was much more for an inspection. there was no problem during the day. the problems are during the night, not during the day. and i go down, i have gone down two or three times. all for inspection.

and you go there, some day you may need it. but you go there, and i went down. i looked at it. it was during the day, not a problem. and i read about it like a big thing. there was never a problem. we never had a problem. >> it was obviously a big thing in the president's mind. the president was wounded by some of that coverage. as you suggested, john, does not explain why melania trump and barron trump went down with him, as our reporting indicates they did. they surely had no role in the inspection of any underground white house bunker. >> john harwood covering the white house. appreciate that. joining me to discuss these remarkable events, political analyst along with our chief political correspondent dana bash. i want to start with you and listen to more of the president's tone. the defense secretary trying to back up a little bit here, saying i don't support the insurrection act. any military, even if it's national guard, will respect

constitutional rights. listen to the president continuing to talk tough. >> you have to get better than what they have been doing. obvio obviously, that was a terrible thing, and i have spoken about it numerous times in various speeches. >> has he spoken about it numerous times in various speeches, if the idea here is police violence against black men? >> i mean, at moments he has, but the consistent through line through his rhetoric, through his life, has been one of the opposite. he has been someone who has not only encouraged cops to use kind of rough manner when arresting folks but has also obviously intensified situations with words like, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. so even in moments or statements when he has done things like condemn the death of george floyd and call for an investigation, that has not been the through line through his rhetoric, and we should not pretend like it is. i think when we look at what the secretary is stating, that shows you the differences in what parts of this administration are

thinking about. the secretary is thinking about governance, trying to make sure that they send a clear message to the states and local governments that are actually dealing with these protests, while we have a president that is chiefly concerned about politics. he's sending a message to his supporters, trying to show toughness and whatever he thinks that means. so it's a different viewpoint of how to handle crisis. one that does not put the him in the role of unifier or bridge builder in the way we have typically seen presidents act in situations of national crisis. >> just as during the coronavirus and past big issues in the trump presidency, even as we try to cover what is most important, the issue before us, in this case, the killing of mr. floyd and the social unrest after it, we have to fact check the president constantly. he says faith leaders loved his trip to st. john's church. no. some christian conservative leaders are fans of the president, but the archdiocese

have said theyfiant inappropriate. they say tear gas was not used to clear the protesters. the pictures tell you, yes, it was. that's a continuing challenge during this presidency as he ever day tries to rewrite the history of what happened yesterday. >> exactly, and i think one of the other moments, one of the key moments we're going to have to re-examine for facts is what we were talking about with john earlier, that key moment on friday when he was escorted by secret service agents to the underground bunker of the white house. first, you made good points earlier, then why did his wife and son accompany him. but you recall the situation at the white house on friday night. there were protests outside. the white house actually had gone on lockdown so staff couldn't leave, the press couldn't leave. and as our reporting shows, and cnn and other outlets showed, that was driven by the remarkable moment in lafayette park and at st. john's square. the president was very angry about that image of him kind of rushing underground while all these protests were raging right

outside the presidential home and all across the country. >> and dana, what was striking about secretary esper and barbara was trying to get at it, too, it's hard to sometimes translate here. he doesn't want to offend the baas, but during the briefing, he seemed very cool to the idea of increasing the military presence. he said he does not support the insurrection act. he seemed to be trying to dial things back and step away from the idea that the military is critical here to restoring calm at a time the president continues to say it could be critical. >> if we were political cartooni cartoonists, we would be drawing him on the highest of tightropes without a net during that press conference because he was desperately trying to stay in a place where he would not fall over into a pit of anger from his boss, the president of the united states. and yet, he has to stay up there in order to be the leader that he is supposed to be for members of the armed forces.

the military of every stripe, every color, every creed. and that was clearly, he was clearly under pressure to say something. the fact that he came out at all in a trump world was pretty extraordinary. he didn't do a lot of the things that, you know, probably a lot of people expected him to do, wanted him to do. there was a gimme a break moment when he said that he didn't know what he was going to do when he was pressed on that. you have to ask a question, you know, if you want to protect yourself, don't just follow. you are the secretary of defense. but the fact that he completely contradicted the president on the really important policy issue of the insurrection act means he's cutting a lot of pushback because from his perspective, it is not appropriate. yet he stood in the rose garden with the president. it's such a window into how hard it is to be a member of the trump cabinet when you are not a 100% kool-aid drinker, like a

few others in the cabinet. >> a reminder, the president does what he wants to do for him, and he doesn't much care about the traditional roles of whether it's general milley or the secretary. >> or the position he puts other people in. >> this is a remarkable moment. we'll hear from president obama on camera tonight. he issued a lengthy stadium on media in a long posting the other day demanding police reforms, trying to rally people, insisting the protesters he hopes take their energy and turn it toward voting in november. we also heard from the former president george w. bush who was very reluctant to speak out on current events. it's kind of the bush family creed. he said many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from american institutions. we know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. looting is not liberation. destruction is not progress. but we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. on the rare times president bush

does issue statements, i always read it as, this is what i wish the current president would say. he waits. he doesn't get involved that often. but a key important moments like this, he's issuing a statement, do you read that the same way, t this is what a president should say, mr. trump? >> i do think that is what former president bush is doing here, kind of message to this is an option that even though a republican president can take in this time. i think when you look at the scope of these statements, if you take what president obama said on medium, what the democratic nominee biden said yesterday, what george w. bush has said, they read in a similar fashion. obviously, there's little differences based on the democrats willing to go a little further about the question of systemic racism, but it shows the kind of scope in what presidents have usually done in these crises. they try to offer words of healing, speak to the pain of the protesters, encourage peaceful demonstrations while distancing themselves from the more destructive elements of

protest, and try to push it into the electoral system. i think there are a couple things to note here. one is some of these protesters do not feel as if the electoral system is the means in which they want to express themselves. the reason why they're out in protest is because they do not feel like politicians have adequately heard them, that the system is not fair and representative, so that kind of gaffe of trust is one that is important. i think when you look at what the presidents, the former presidents have said, it gives a window into what this president, the narrow lens in which he views his base and who he's speaking to. when he says the evangelicals or questions are with him, he's only looking at a very narrow white evangelical lens. when you have previous presidents who are trying to look at kind of the country as a whole. >> appreciate your insights as we go to break, i want to show you live pictures. protests right now outside of the united states capital right here in washington, d.c. it's a new day for veterans all across america.

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and remote purchasing. can attack anywhere. get fast relief here with primatene mist. available over the counter for mild ashtma. primatene mist. breathe easy again. a briefing from the sectar of defense, mark sesper. she says he does not support invoking the insurrection act. that would bring american troops to the streets. he also addressed racism in the death of george floyd. listen. >> the killing of george floyd by a minneapolis policeman is a horrible crime. the officers on the scene that day should be held accountable for his murder. i do think it's important to speak up and to speak out and to share what we view again as an institution. the racism that exists in america. >> with me now, retired major general dana putard.

also the author of hunting the caliphate. america's war on isis. thank you so much for your time today. just interesting to see just on the broad picture that the defense secretary is front and center at a moment of social unrest in the united states of america. does just the picture there give you pause? >> good morning, john. yes, a little bit. in fact, having the secretary of defense cross the street with the president over to the church the other day, and i know he's tried to walk that back somewhat, but there's a point in time before going across the street between him and general milley that they could have paused and not done that. we shouldn't allow the secretary of defense or military to be used as stunts or political props. >> the former chairman of the joint chiefs, you're not alone, the former chairman of the joint chiefs who doesn't speak about politics very often, he's one of the people like former president bush, you step out of the way and let the person who has that

difficult job deal with the complexities. he said he laid bear his disdain for the rights of peaceful protests in this country, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces. general, you served, and you served honorably. do you worry about that point, that i drove by some on my way to the office today. there are military troops that have been brought here to washington, d.c. for the possibility of being deployed to restore calm. that's not what you train for. i know it can be done in extraordinary circumstances, but are you worried about this moment? >> of course, concerned to an extent. the national guard is trained to do that. but to use active duty military units to stabilize the situation is normally not done. it is rarely done. and again, i spent 34 years of my life defending our country,

specifically overseas, and to see that in our own country now, the american citizens, american people are not the enemy. >> i need to interrupt our conversation because of breaking news but i want to bring you back in the days ahead. i want to get straight to josh campbell in minneapolis. major news about potential criminal investigations. josh. >> yeah, john, we have been following this investigation into the death of george floyd here in minneapolis. two law enforcement sources are telling me that the minnesota state attorney general's office has finished its initial review into that investigation and into the four police officers that were seen on tape in and around that incident, and they have rendered a decision on additional charges. now, the officials would not tell us right now what that decision is. they're not telling us that publicly. one of the officials said the state's attorney general, keith ellison, will be making an announcement in the case early this afternoon, where he's expected to lay out what their decision is. again, after this investigation,

looking through all of the fact, we know this case was originally handled by county prosecutors. the state's a.g.'s office took that investigation over. that's a decision by the governor's office to handle this case, but again, the top line here, we're hearing that a decision has been made regarding those four officers that after that initial review were told the investigation continues, but that announcement coming early this afternoon from the a.g., john. >> and josh, i know that this is a breaking story, so i'll be careful, just tell me you can't if you don't have the information. there were four officers at the scene. officer chauvin has been charged. the three other officers, that's what attorney general ellison, when he was named special prosecutor, said he would look at. do we believe this decision that has been made involved those four officers or do could it potentially be bigger than that? do we know? >> yeah, so we're told the decision will involve that investigation into the four officers. but again, the decision not now being publicly announced. we know based on that dramatic cell phone ridio footage that we

saw officer derek chauvin with his knee on george floyd's neck, the medical examiner's office later ruling that a homicide. some other video we saw pictured three of the officers also on top of george floyd. and one officer standing nearby. now, all four of them have been caught up in this investigation based on their alleged involvement here. and that's something that the state's attorney general office has been reviewing, trying to determine whether there is information, allegation of some type of criminal activity based on their actions there. we're expecting information on what that ruling is later this afternoon, john. >> josh, stand by and continue your reporting as well. come back to us with any information. we may come back to you as part of the conversation. i want to get to omar jimenez also on the ground in indianapolis. omar, you hear josh's reporting that a decision has been made. we don't have the details of the decision yet. we will hear from attorney general ellison later today on what the decision is about the other officers at the scene and whether they're revisiting the charges against officer chauvin. we know george floyd's family is supposed to come to the site of

his brutal death today. we know this has been a demand fought only of the family but of protesters there in minneapolis, across america, and in fact, across the world. >> that's right, john. for starters, george floyd's family is set to be here within the hour to pay their respects and reflect, again, at the site where floyd's final moments played out a it alittle over a ago at this point. the fact a decision has been made is already progress if a lot of the people here that, again, are waiting to see what exactly these decisions are going to be. they want these officers, as i spoke to one of the family attorneys yesterday, they want these officers to potentially have the fear of jail time put in them as opposed to the fear of just being transferred to another department. that's a sentiment that's out there right now. then again, we have seen protests night in and night out since the day that this actually happened, and unfolded, and this is what they have demanded. not just charged against these four officers, which again, we

will see if the other three face them in this early afternoon announcement, as we are expecting, but convictions as well. so this would be a potential first step that we are keeping an eye on. we have also heard from the family attorney that we would get an announcement on these charges before tomorrow's memorial, before in his words, minneapolis had the chance to send off floyd the right way. so there are a lot of signals as to when this would come down, it really just came through over the course of the past few hours. prior to this, the closest indication of when we could potentially see a decision made came from attorney general keith ellison about a day 1/2 ago who said they were making progress and that they were close and that something would be coming soon and they would be putting forward, again, the proper decision, is how he phrased it, but he wouldn't go, hard to indicate which way one or another which way he would go. >> omar jimenez on the scene for us in minneapolis. i want to bring in elliot

williams, jeff toobin on the phone as well. elliot, let me start with you. the reporting is that a decision has been made. the attorney general of the state of minnesota, keith ellison, was named special prosecutor here. this case would normally be handled by the hennepin county attorney. you know the code of prosecutors. when you hear a decision has been made on possible -- on the incident involving the four officers and an announcement later today, what do you read into that? >> i would be reluctant to read anything into it because we just don't know what they have. and i think the thing that's very challenging here, john, is that sometimes the public wants the law to be a certain way. sort of wants an outcome, but sometimes the law just doesn't support that. i think that's what we're finding out today. so there could be charges for murder, manslaughter, assault, false statements, but we just don't know. i think part of it, i mean, and this is sort of early, it all depends on the evidence they

have. they're going to need, in order to bring and sustain charges, they're going to need obviously the statements of police officers or other evidence. we just don't know what's available to them yet, so again, just like you said, john, i would be cautious, very, very cautious about trying to come to any conclusions just yet. >> and jeff, you have law enforcement professionals, the attorney general of the state, keith ellison, there could not be a more political pressure on him at this moment, both from his community and from around the country, and indeed, around the world. every case, every decision a prosecutor makes involves some politics, but this is a remarkable moment for attorney general ellison. >> well, and the political pressure is well more than even in the usual high profile case because here you have one of the demands of the protesters, people in the streets, is for charges against the three additional officers. so he's not just dealing with the news media.

he's dealing with people actually in the street demanding that as part of justice for this crime, you have the additional charges to the three men. so again, it is worth remembering also that anything that is announced today, those charges could change. there could be additional charges. so both regarding george chauvin and these three, the legal process is still at an early stage. so we're very far from a trial, very far from any sort of plea bargaining, and far from a resolution of the legal side of the story. >> our cnn commentator and veteran activist van jones joins us. nine days since george floyd was kill and the video of officer chauvin leaves very little to interpret. you could see the cruelty of that act. the question has been will the other three officers be charged.

this has been a critical demand not only of the floyd family, not only of the people at the makeshift memorial in minneapolis, but the majority of protesters who have been peaceful as they marched around the country. your thoughts on this moment? >> listen, i think for the people -- some people only heard about the video. they have seen a clip of the video. if you watch that video, and i don't encourage you to do this because you're going to need therapy, but if you watch that video, the whole eight, nine minutes, the idea that there were police officers there who did nothing, that a man was completely not resisting, that he was calling for his mother, urinating on himself, he went limp two minutes before, and the police officers there did nothing. it doesn't matter that two of those officers were rookie officers who had only been on the force for a short period of time. any police officer who fails to act in that situation needs to explain himself to a judge and a jury. and the only standard that the attorney general has to meet is

a probable cause standard. is it possible that these officers violated the law by doing nothing? and also there are two who were physically on the guy. so you have to understand the way this usually works. if you're not talking about police, you charge everybody with everything. in situations like that, all four of you guys in the same gang, the same set, this went down. we're arresting all of you. as many as we can find, and we're going to charge all of you with everything. from there, you begin to plead down. and the situation with the local prosecutor, he charges the minimum number of people, one, with the minimum thing he could come up with, third degree murder, which is why the protests took off after the charging. because in the black community, we're pretty sophisticated about this stuff. if you charge one person something small, they're going to get off. that's why the protests went forward. keith ellison is a beloved figure in minnesota, and he

certainly is a beloved figure in the black community because he's so fair. he's muslim. he's incredibly, you know, kind of an ethics junky, so people, i think, on all sides can accept his judgment. they can accept that he will do what is right. i think what is right in this case is to charge everybody involved, if not as accessories or aiding and abetting, certainly with a failure to render aid, and let's move forward. i think that takes a log off the fire here. doesn't mean the protests end because just charging, you have to go through the whole process of the trial. this is going to take two years, but i think the idea that people are sleeping in their beds who have watched that happen and did nothing, every human being who watched it, i don't know, billions of people who watched it, all said my god, why don't they do something? my god, if i were there, would i have tackled the cop? people had incredible

discussions about witnessing a lynching. watching a man losing his life and feeling helpless to do nothing, and yet the police are there. you can't call the cops. the cops are there. so the word has to go forward. you have to have justice in the case for these individual officers, but the word has to go forward to police everywhere, not only will you get fired, and these guys were fired immediately, you will face a judge and a jury if you do not stand up to police abuse. you are only a good cop if you stand up to bad cops. you are only for law and order if you impose law and order on your peers, on your colleagues, and yes, even on your supervisors. the standards in america today is that you cannot stand by and let your fellow officers take the life of someone unjustly and go eat a sandwich. that is not how this is going to work going forward. so i think today determines where we're going to finally start applying the law to law enforcement or whether the

lawlessness in law enforcement, which has opened the door to lawlessness in the streets, will continue. >> van, stand by. i want to get back to our correspondent who broke the news, josh campbell. as van goes through thei ishist there, mr. ellison is well aware, too. he asked for time, for patience of the people in the streets, because he's aware of the castile case right there in that community, countless over cases in the country where police are charged and then you can't get a conviction. he said he wanted time to make sure this was air tight, yet he moved pretty quickly here based on your reporting that a decision has been made about the reassessing the situation. we'll see if it also involves officer chauvin, but a decision has been made about the other three officers at the scene as well. >> that's right, john. you'll have to remember this case was inherited from the county prosecutors. the case was already well under way in the immediate aftermath of this incident involving george floyd. we know that the county prosecutors launched an investigation.

we know that the u.s. department of justice also launched an investigation shortly thereafter looking into potential civil rights violations. there's been a lot of effort under way by law enforcement trying to gather all available evidence. much otthe was handed over to the attorney general's office just recently after they assumed leadership in this investigation. but i have been told talking to law enforcement sources that they wanted to take it slowly, methodically. they wanted to get it right. one official here telling me that they won't get a second shot on this. they have to do it correctly because all of this evidence, as far as officer derek chauvin and the others, if there are additional charges, will have to be presented in court if this actually goes to prosecution. so there is zero margin for error by law enforcement and prosecutors as they gather the evidence. however, we're told that that initial review of the evidence is now complete. they have rendered a decision. we're waiting for them to announce what that decision is later this afternoon with the attorney general, but we're also told, and this is important, that the investigation continues. that they want to hear from

additional witnesses, anyone who may have additional video from the scene that may help in the case that continues, john. so we're at that next milestone where they have rendered that decision obviously a major development in this investigation. we're waiting to see what that is, and obviously, what happens next with derek chauvin and any other potential defendants, john. >> thank you. we'll come back to you in a few minutes as we continue the conversation. jeffrey toobin, i wanted to get your perspective on this. your experience is on the federal side of this, but ben crum, the civil rights attorney said he was confident you would have new charges before the memorial service scheduled for tomorrow. he's not saying how he's getting that information, but is it commonplace or is it just because this is so sensitive, or is he just trying to connect some dots that he doesn't have the information on, would prosecutors be talking to mr. crump as they go through these incredibly sensitive highly charged decisions? >> certainly, they would be talking to him. there is nothing wrong with

talking to the victim's family and the attorney for the victim's family. the job of the prosecutor is to get as much information as possible. and the victim's family is clearly a source of important information, including, for example, issues like the health of the victim. i mean, this is important. john, i would like to just disagree a little bit with one thing van said. you know, i don't think it's the job of prosecutors to indict anyone they can just find probable cause on. the ethics of prosecution is you don't bring a case unless you believe you can find proof beyond a reasonable doubt. yes, it's true that you can get a charge for probable cause, but i think honest and good prosecutors only bring cases where they feel they can find proof beyond a reasonable doubt. now, in these circumstances, based on the evidence i have seen, there is ample evidence to

charge the three additional police officers with crimes relating to this horrible death. but i really think the only time prosecutors should bring charges is when they feel like they can make it stick before a jury. i believe that's likely to happen here. but it shouldn't be just probable cause. it should be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. >> van. >> listen, i -- you should send a memo to prosecutors across the united states. i agree with that. i'm an attorney. that is the standard. that's a standard that's violated every single day. if you're poor and you're black, and you say something like that to a poor black person or anybody who has any knowledge of what's going on at the hall of justice every day at 8:30 in the morning, they will pee on themselves laughing because that's not how it happens. unfortunately in this country right now, the prosecutors have

all the power. the judges have very little discretion because of all of the mandatory minimums and this kind of stuff. the defense attorneys, unless you can find one you can pay, the public defenders are underpaid and overwhelmed. so the reality is that the prosecutors really drive our system. it's not what we were taught when we were growing up where you have a judge and jury. most of these trials never get to a trial because the prosecutors stack up so many charges that even if you're innocent, you're going to plead to something because you're terrified to go in front of a jury. i'm not saying it's right, but if that's the standard for everybody else, that the prosecutors come in with, you know, a bazooka worth of charges, and we all live with that every single day, all day long, you cannot go to any hall of justice and not see it happening. to then suddenly have this standard, and listen, the problem is, keith ellison is an ethics junky. he's much more on toobin's side than i am, unfortunately from my

point of view, you know, keith ellison is an ethics junky. he's going to do this exactly the way that jeffrey toobin is describing. i'm just pointing out the hypocrisy in the system that when it's a police officer, we suddenly remember all of these ethical standards. we suddenly remember how it's all supposed to be, but right now, there's somebody that's going to get hit with 15, 20 charges when honestly there's no way you could prove 19 of them. and so i agree with you, and unfortunately, keith ellison agrees with you, too. i want to speak to the vast majority of people who have a very different experience with our prosecutors right now. >> i don't have that personal experience, but to the point you made earlier about the video, if you watch the video, it is an inhumane act. i'm not a lawyer, but if you watch the video, it is an inhumane act, and you know three other law enforcement officers were standing by and did nothing. i want to go back to omar jimenez on the scene.

and josh campbell reporting for us that the attorney general, keith ellison, who was named special cross prosecutor in the case, has made a decision about possible additional charges. we don't know what the decision is, as he's reviewing whether to bring additional charges against the officers at the scene. officer chauvin has already been charged. three other officers who the protesters have been demanding face charges, when i say protesters, you are what has become a shrine and memorial and a very important point. we were just showing video moments ago, of one of mr. floyd's brothers, terrance floyd, there the other day, a very emotional moment. you have been there as key visitors have come, as just average americans, average people from the community have come to pay tribute. describe what that site has been like and now knowing that the decision has been made and that the floyd family is going to be there in a matter of minutes. what are you expecting? >> well, look, it's been over a week since george floyd's final

moments played out, as we saw in that cell phone video, in the intersection behind me. in that week, we have seen the pain in this community come through in physical ways, through protests and even in some cases fires across the entire city of minneapolis and beyond. but then also, on an emotional level. as you speak to some of these family members that still hold the weight of what happened with them, not just in the past week, but the fact it mirrors what many people in these communities have seen over the course of decades. i actually spoke to the governor of minnesota here a few moments ago, one of the things we talked about is how high the stakes are right now in this moment. and his words, he says we don't get another chance to get this right. and when you look, again, at what has happened over the course of the past week, there are eyes from across the country looking at this as a potential symbol for how law enforcement may be treated and what is tolerable and what isn't under the current society that we're in. as you mentioned, the family of

george floyd is set to be here in a matter of minutes to pay their respects at this location that has become in some ways a holy site over the course of the last week or so in minneapolis. we have seen his brothers here where he kneeled, he prayed, he cried. people around here gave him strength and support. this is something that has taken such a toll on the community here. and this decision that has been made, people here obviously maybe more than others across this country are waiting on pins and needles to see which way the charges or no charges will go here for the other three officers in this. and let's be clear. based on every community member, every protester that i have spoken to, it's not just about getting these officers charged. it's about getting through the charges through to trials and through to a conviction as well, only then will they feel like justice has been served in the memory of george floyd, john. >> omar, i want you to stand by. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be right back with

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she does not have a father. he will never see her grow up, graduate. he will never walk her down the aisle. if there's a problem she's having and she needs her dad, she does not have that anymore. >> emotional scene there. this is outside -- that's outside the white house right now in washington, d.c., protesters as well. i want to bring you up to speed on breaking news as we watch the protests. the attorney general has made a decision about possible charges in the case. we'll go back to los angeles with more details in a moment, but we want to show you the protests because one of the demands of the protests around the country have been that additional charges be filed and that police reforms be considered, not just in

minneapolis, but around the country. you see cnn's senior congressional correspondent manu raju outside the capitol. you see a crowd outside the white house. and manu, a crowd behind you as well. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. roughly about 1,000 people are here demonstrating peacefully, been here for over an hour chanting. at one point, they all lied down for about ten minutes or so in silence to observe the police -- the killings of george floyd and others around the country. right now, the speakers are discussing their concerns about what's happening around the country, what's happening, demands for changes. at one point, one speaker came up here and made everybody look at the capitol behind me and said that was made by black hands. people came here, black people made that building. i'll step aside so you can see exactly what is behind me, this crowd of, as i said, roughly

about 1,000 people, holding signs, chanting, listening to the speakers here. we do expect this to go for several more hours here. at the moment, the capitol police watching, watching along as well. there haven't been any confrontations at all with the police. police here in the capitol are very used to these kind of large-scale demonstrations. and that's what we're seeing right now. the capitol has not been the scene of ground zero of these protests. as you know, most of these have happened in lafayette park, just by the white house, but this is the first one that we are seeing outside the capitol. and right behind me, too, senators are in session right now. the senators are not coming out here. they're walking as they usually do underneath the capitol to their offices nearby, not coming near these protesters at the moment, but we'll see if any of them do eventually come out. but at the moment, this group known as the freedom fighters, making their case to their, you

know, all these demonstrators that they want change, they want change immediately. and we'll see how they react to the news about potential new charges against those other minneapolis police officers. john? >> it would serve those senators well to at least listen. manu raju, very vocal display of democracy outside the united states capitol. manu, thanks so much. let's go back to the streets of minneapolis and omar jimenez. the breaking news this hour is that attorney general keith ellison, who's named special prosecutor in this case, has made decisions about potential other charges of the other officers involved at the scene. omar, we were talking about this little bit earlier and i want you to help understand our viewers. mr. ellison took this case over. he said he needed a little bit of time to gather all of the evidence. you're standing at the crime scene. and obviously, they interviewed eyewitnesses. obviously, they tried to interview as many other officers who might cooperate. maybe they would not in this case because of the potential charges and the like. but we also know that a great deal of video was taken from the shops around that square. so, help our viewers understand,

if you're assembling sort of evidence at the crime scene, where you are and what might have been available to investigators. >> reporter: so, where i'm standing right now is the intersection where george floyd's final moments played out. now, i want to show you just briefly from where i am right here, it's hard to see, because of the amount of people there, but basically, where the largest collection of the crowd is, that's where we're expecting the family of george floyd to come, literally within a matter of minutes at this point to pay their respects there. and right around where they are gathered was literally where floyd's body was laying. and it's been outlined by an artistic painting right now. now, you notice the cup foods up over to the right. that was where the entire dispute of this actually began. that's where the 911 call for a counterfeit bill originated from and what brought the police out to the scene in the first place. so, then when they arrived, we understand that the police said there was some sort of a resistance to arrest going on. and so, what we saw was then

surveillance video playing from across the street at a restaurant that you can't see. it's off in that direction. and then the other piece of evidence that we are keying in on, which we still haven't seen at this portion, is we know that all of these officers' body cameras were rolling throughout this. and so, that would give us some more key insight into the moments that led up to, of course, what we saw play out on that cell phone camera, john. >> manic moments coming ahead. omar jimenez, appreciate it. we'll come back to this in a moment. first a quick break.

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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> hello to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm john king in washington. thank you for sharing your day with us. it is a day of dramatic breaking news, a potential turning point in the investigation of the death of george floyd nine days ago in minneapolis. the attorney general of the state, keith ellison, we are told will make an announcement related to possible additional charges in the killing of mr. floyd. right now, fired officer derek chauvin faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, but the other three officers who were standing by as mr. floyd was killed have not as of this hour been charged. but we are told the attorney general has made a review