temperatures are rising. so is the crime. i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. we haven't even yet reached the traditional summer spike in crime. yet, last night alone, 13 were injured in a shooting in downtown austin. in savannah, georgia, one person was killed and eight others were wounded in another shooting. major u.s. cities already experiencing historic murder rates after 2020, saw 33% increase in homicides. in the first three months of this year, the homicide rate in more than 30 u.s. cities increased by 24% and gun

assaults increased by 22% compared to the same time period in 2020. look at atlanta where homicide are up nearly 60% in 2021. los angeles, homicide increased nearly 27% since 2020. here in philadelphia, as of may 21, homicide year-to-date are up 38%. this unprecedented increase in violence coincides with a push for police accountability in the wake of george floyd's murder. one example of a policing policy overhaul can be found right here in philadelphia in a three-month pilot program aimed at overcoming racial bias. police officers in northwest philadelphia will no longer be allowed to stop or detain people for certain quality of life violations which account for about 40% of all stops according to the philadelphia enquirer. the violations included in this pilot program are still be finalized but they may include

pan do panhandling or smoking marijuana in public and police must tell the offender to quit the behavior and move along. police can only conduct a stop if the person doesn't imply. the program is part of other measures that were ordered by a federal judge who is overseeing decades old civil rights litigation regarding the city's stop and frisk practices. a lawyer for the plaintiffs told the enquirer to expand the program citywide unless the city shows major problems. in statement to cnn, the city of philadelphia said the following. however, in an april court filing, the city had stated that barring these stops would,

quote, deprive ppd of valuable crime fighting tool at a time when philadelphia's suicide rate had never been higher and could have grave consequences for policing in philadelphia and for safety of philadelphia citizens. at that time the plaintiffs attorneys responded by saying, quote. this intersection of police reform and unrelenting surge in gun violence is leaving law enforcement officials across the country scrambling for solutions. chuck wexler, of the research forum told cnn the whole nature of pro active policing is being questioned and at the same time, you're seeing increases in murders and shootings. here to discuss is somebody who knows policing in this city like the back of his hand, cnn's senior law enforcement analyst charles ramsey, he is the former commissioner of the philadelphia police department and former washington, d.c. chief of police as well. chief, great to see you again.

here, i think, the key question -- what, if anything, is the relationship between the quality of life offenses and the more serious crime? >> well, there is some relationship. how much, i mean, is always subject to debate, but certainly, i think it goes back to the old broken window theory if you start dealing with disorder type issues, you can lessen future crime in terms of violent crime and other types of behavior like that. you know, i don't know how much of an impact this is going to have here in philadelphia. as far as the police are concerned. but it will have an impact on community. the reason police even enforce quality of life is usually from 911 calls. our more challenged communities are the very ones that have to deal with a lot of this stuff, you know, smoking marijuana in public, dice games was one of the things listed. public urination. all of those kinds of things. it's not just crime that they have to deal with. they have to deal with disorder.

but the more you take police out of the mix in terms of being able to interact with people to make stops, constitutional stops, obviously, the more likely you are to have some problems down the road but we will see. >> from a recent federal court order, i'll put this up on the screen as i read. this is the way that it's supposed to flow. chief, is this good or bad news for the beat cop? in other words, how do you think

they will receive this change in responsibility? >> i think it's going to be very important that the commissioner explain fully exactly what this means. this is not something that says don't enforce at all. it's saying, first, tell people to move along if they are congregating or smoking marijuana or what have you before taking police action. some say why bother at all? others already tell people to move on before they take any kind of enforcement action. we will have to monitor this very careful. i think the biggest impact is going to be on the public that call police and see police pull up and they don't see any results from having called police and i think will erode trust even more than it is right now. again, we will have to wait and see. i have some concerns about it, but it may not be as bad as people think. >> listen. it's going to be a very interesting lab experiment in the aftermath of the george

floyd murder. this is not directly tied to that case. i think i made clear this is the result of a 10-year-old civil rights litigation but it will be very interesting for the whole country to watch what is about to play out here. thank you, chief, as always. i love having you. >> thank you. up ahead, trying to pursue leaks. president trump's justice department secretly subpoenaed apple for data for 73 phone numbers, including those of house intel committee democrats. was this an unprecedented abuse of power? as america reopens, proof of vaccinations being mandated by cruise ships and college campuses, rock concerts and more. but as the "the wall street journal" illustrated with this recent cartoon, that shuts out people who have achieved immunity from already having covid-19 and recovered. i'll talk to a doctor who says that isn't right. that's why i want to know what you think at smerconish.com this week. answer the survey question.

should those who have had covid be given the same access to venues as those who have been vaccinated? go vote. dad, why didn't you answer your phone? your mother loved this park. ♪ she did. hi sabrina! hi jen! hi. so you're the scientist here. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. really?! this prebiotic oat formula moisturizes

to help prevent dry skin. impressive! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature. tonight, i'll be eating a pork banh mi with extra jalapeños. [doorbell rings] thanks, baby. yeah, we 'bout to get spicy for this virtual date. spicy like them pajama pants? well, the top half of me looks good. no wonder we still single. hello lenny28. wait a minute, i know a lenny28. ooo...lenny is cute! can i get some privacy, please? age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond. ♪ ♪ i want to see you stand up ♪ ♪ i want to feel you be proud ♪

♪ i want to hear your beating heart ♪ ♪ live out loud ♪ ♪ you can do it on your own ♪ ♪ stand up now ♪ ♪ be proud, yeah ♪ ♪ stand up now ♪ ♪ live out loud, oh ♪ ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. hearing is important to living life to the fullest. that's why inside every miracle-ear store, you'll find better bedtime stories. you'll find a better life is in store at miracle-ear, when you experience the exclusive miracle-ear advantage. it starts with our free hearing assessment. plus innovative products that fit your needs and budget. with free service and adjustments for life. we're so confident we can improve your life, we're offering a 30-day risk-free trial.

call 1-800-miracle today and experience the miracle-ear advantage for yourself.

rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. the justice department's inspector general introduced they will hold an investigation into the donald trump's political enin is. prosecutors in the trump justice department subpoenaed apple for data from the accounts of house intel committee democrats along that wear staff and family members as part of a leak investigation. apple says the doj sent a broad request including data on email

and phone addresses. microsoft said it received a subpoena in 2017 related to a personal staffer's personal email account and coming to light because of the gag orders having recently expired so the companies notified their customers. help to make sense of it all is cnn senior lel analyst elie h honig and author of this book. elie, may i play devil's advocate with regard to this evolving narrative of the big bad bill barr? is that all right with you? >> you can always play devil's advocate, michael. you are very good at it. go ahead. >> the reporting i'm seeming suggests that the subpoenas relative to schiff and swalwell which are driving most of the attention actually originated on the watch of jeff sessions and sessions, himself, had recused

himself from all matters pertaining to russia. how much of this really is all about bill barr? >> first of all, michael, one of the key questions that we need to figure out is where do the impetus come from? where did this start from? from inside the white house or doj? this investigation started before bill barr when jeff sessions was a.g., he was recused. we don't know who was leading this up as doj. however, one of the things that prosecutors did here was get a gag order. they went to a judge and said this is very seaccretive and we need to tell apple you can't tell eric swalwell or adam schiff we are looking for their phone records. then that gag order lasted a year, another year, and eventually bill barr said, yes, we need to reup that gag order and we need to keep it in place and the reporting is that even once the investigative trail had gone cold, bill barr said keep

digging and if he didn't have a base for that that is an abusive power. >> these things don't happen in a vacuum and not only would that gag order have necessitated some level of judicial approval, but so, too, the initial subpoenas. so there had to be some kind of a showing which led to all of this. >> there should have been. one thing that is really important to understand. prosecutors have enormous power over subpoenas. i used to keep a stack of subpoenas on my desk and give them out to fbi agents. you don't pass them out like candy. you need what we call predication. you need facts showing that you're likely to find evidence with the subpoena. one of the big questions did they have predication or just firing off subpoenas because they knew donald trump was angry, because donald trump was publicly calling for retribution against adam schiff? the other thing you need is

specificity. 73 subpoenas to 36 phone calls and that is like dragging the entire bay and seeing what you dredge up. so these are the questions that we need answered. >> quick final pushback. doesn't the government have a responsibility to protect classified information? >> yes, they do. it is a crime to disclose classified information without authorization. the question here is not did the government commit a crime in the way they did this investigation, but was there an abuse of power and an abuse of discretion and a abuse of prosecutorial judgment? all of the indicators i've seen that there was a very serious abuse of that prosecutorial discretion and why the inspector has a job to do and congress has a job to do and why merrick garland has questions to answer. >> let's do this again when that book comes out, okay? >> gladly. thank you, michael. >> thanks, elie. let's see what you're seeing via my smerconish facebook and

twitter pages. here is one. look i'm not coming to barr's defense necessarily. but watching this story unfold for the last 24, 48 hours, the points that i raised with elie, i think, are meritorious. some judge, apparently a magistrate judge in this case, had to approve the utilization of subpoena power here. the government does need to protect classified information. and much of what i've been reading about originated on jeff sessions' watch and not bill barr's watch and sessions, himself, had recused himself. more unknown than known at this stage. is it troublesome? yeah, but i want to know everything -- as usual. proof of vaccination is the new hot ticket to everything from sporting events, rock shows, even sections of

restaurants. those who already achieved immunity from having contracted the coronavirus and survived so called natural immunity, are being denied access. is that fair? is that medically sound? i want to know what you think. go to smerconish.com and answer this week's survey question. [sfx: psst psst] allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! all good ♪ ♪ mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment ask about xeljanz, a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate.

xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than eight years ago. xeljanz.

this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. but eventually, with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded people. welcome back to the world. viking. exploring the world in comfort... once again.

so... i know you and george were struggling with the possibility of having to move. how's that going? well... we found a way to make bathing safer with a kohler walk-in bath. it has the lowest step-in of any bath. it has handrails, a wide door, and textured surfaces. so it gives you peace of mind. and you would love the heated backrest - and the whirlpool jets - and the bubblemassage. and, it was installed quickly and conveniently by a kohler-certified installer. a kohler- authorized dealer walked us through every step in the process and made us feel completely comfortable in our home. and, yes, it's affordable. looking good, george!

we just want to spend as much time as possible, in our home and with our grandkids. they're going to be here any minute for our weekly spa day. ooh, that bubblemassage! have fun! stay in the home and life you've built for years to come. call 1-800-986-5068 to receive one-thousand dollars off your kohler walk-in bath. and take advantage of our special offer of no payments for eighteen months. now that america is reopening for business, news is exploding with the scheduling of live events. but there is a caveat for many of them. to enter, you need not just a ticket, but also proof of full vaccination. however, there is a large segment of the population that this policy shuts out, those who are immunity from having had covid so-called natural moimmuny

but not vaccinated. should they be afforded the same? foo fighters is having a concert. bruce springsteen rebooting his broadway show and all three acts will hit the road and all three acts proof of vaccination and for deaden it's those who want to stand in the pits. they are requiring proof of negative covid tests. several of the big cruise lines have instituted a vaccination requirement for some or all of their cruises. some restaurants across the country instituting vaccinated and unvaccinated seating sections. kind of like the old days of having a smoking section. hundreds of colleges have already made vaccines mandatory for their campuses this fall. but is all unfair to those who survived covid and have natural

immunity? the adult population with at least one shot, 64.1%. fully vaccinated adults, 53.6%. in a recently "the wall street journal" piece called "the power of natural immunity" johns hopkins doctor says we should be including survivors among the immune writing, quote. he cites a recent study by the cleveland clinic of 1,359 people previously infected about covid who were unvaccinated. quote. his point being that the people who have had covid should be counted among those who have

immunity. these recent restrictions suggest otherwise. it's impossible to know how many people who have had covid have also gotten vaccinated because the cdc doesn't track those numbers. the closest thing we could find to an estimate comes from the kaiser family foundation. its survey from may 2021 found 59% of those who say they have tested positive for covid-19 at some point have also received at least one dose. this is similar to the share who have not tested positive who said they have gotten at least one dose 63%. shouldn't those millions who didn't get vaccinated but have immunity as covid survivors get to see the foo fighters? joining me is a doctor professor of medicine at stanford university, a research associate at the national bureau of economic research. he co-authored a piece on this subject for smerconish.com. doctor, make the case why should

someone who has had covid but not vaccinated get to see the foo fighters at madison square garden? >> the key thing is that if you've had covid, you have very, very complete protection against severe disease and bad outcomes from just like the same way with the vaccine. you're protected in exactly a similar way. why discriminate against people who had covid and recovered? they are protected just like the vaccine in many ways. the other thing that is important to remember, michael, is that the covid hasn't hit randomly in the population. it's had this sort of almost a discriminate that torey effect. it's minorities and poor communities hit harder by covid and other parts of the population in some cases. in some cases we are discriminating against people of sort of on the margins but no public health reason behind? >> you wrote that for my website. you said businesses that exclude

the unvaccinated are, in effect, discriminating against the working class and the poor who have already suffered through the disease. okay. how would this work in practical terms? >> i mean, i can tell you one side, i think a lot of these venues, they could ask for antibody or sort of if you had an antibody level, for instance. also if you've had covid, presumably you saw a doctor and learned about it and had a test. that should be enough. if you had covid-19 and you're immune in some way like the vaccine. i think ask for a doctor's note is enough as you ask for a vaccine card is essentially a doctor's note. >> doctor, maybe a naive question from me lacking your expertise but what if i've had covid and don't necessarily show antibodies? >> that doesn't mean that you are not protected. in fact, quite the opposite. antibody levels do fade but

there is other mechanisms of immune protection. t-cells and other protection that last much longer than antibodies. so even though the antibody level don't maybe you turn negative after a few months but you're still protected in the same way as antibodies against covid from the vaccine. mechanisms of immunity are actually quite similar from the vaccine and natural infection. why are we discriminating between the two? >> do we have data? do we have enough science that allows a comparison between the length of your protection by virtue of vaccination versus natural immunity? meaning you've already had covid. >> in some sense, we know -- since we have had the disease longer than we have had the vaccine, we know the natural immunity lasts at least longer than the vaccine. we don't know, of course, we haven't had more than just a year and a half experience of the disease at all. but all of the other mechanisms of immunity, t-cells, b-cells

and what not, those look like they respond for quite a long time from both natural immunity and the vaccine. >> quick final question. if it's as straightforward as you've presented it, then why are policymakers, why are private entrepreneurs responsible for the type of business that we are discussing? why haven't they adapted this position? >> i'm not really sure. we think of the vaccine something we can control. you can't control if you got or did get the disease. i don't think the right thing to do. i think we should rethink this because it doesn't make public health sense and it discriminates against the poor and others who got the disease before and for whatever reason are vaccine hesitant. >> doctor, thank you, as always. >> thank you. checking in on social media. i think this comes from the twitter verse. what do we have? yes my son had covid and tested positive for antibodies. his college is making him take

the vaccine any way and it's like performing unnecessary medical treatment. i'm no expert and don't play one on tv. i think you're better protected by having the vaccine. the doctors ask an interesting question. what about those who had covid and survived and have antibodies should they be treated like those who had a vaccination? it's today's provocative survey question. go vote at smerconish.com. still to come, the aclu has always defended the first amendment right to free speech even in the natties are speaking. -- nazis are speaking. isn't that the point of free

speech? the fbi wants to keep a fortune of cash and gold and jewels from a raid in beverly hills. was it an abuse of power? ing wi. with e-commerce that runs at the speed of now. next day and two-day shipping nationwide, and returns right from the doorstep. it's a whole new world out there. let's not keep it waiting. ityou need an ecolabld scientific clean here. and you need it here. and here. and here. which is why the scientific expertise that helps operating rooms stay clean is

now helping the places you go every day too. seek a commitment to clean. look for the ecolab science certified seal. paul loves food. but his diabetes made food a mystery. everything felt like a “no.” but then paul went from no to know. with freestyle libre 14 day, now he knows how food affects his glucose. and he knows when to make different choices. take the mystery out of your glucose levels - and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us ♪ i'm still exploring what's next. and still going for my best. even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'm reaching for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both.

what's next? i'm on board. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. ask your doctor about eliquis. and if your ability to afford your medication has changed, we want to help.

welcome to allstate. ♪ ♪ you already pay for car insurance, why not take your home along for the ride? allstate. here, better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands. click or call to bundle today. you're in good hands. not all 5g networks are created equal. when it comes to 5g coverage,

t-mobile is the best thing on the menu. t-mobile. america's largest, fastest, most reliable 5g network. the american civil liberties union is having a bit of an identity crisis. founded a century ago, the aclu defended first amendment rights and goadvocated for free speecho matter who. they served the trump administration with hundreds of lawsuits and pouring money no a 2018 ad for georgia's ven gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams sgitindespite saying thet endorse political candidates. >> stacey abrams will end

dependence on private prisons instead for treatment. >> we were so destroyed as a family. >> aclu does not oppose or impose candidates. >> reporter: "the new york times" reports it is leave some wondering if they abandon the first amendment rights. saying, quote. cnn reached out to the aclu for a response and their executive director wrote, in part, quote.

one of the lawyers who helped build the aclu still thinks the organization may be losing its way. david goldberger argued defending the free speech rights of nazis in the '70s who wanted to walk in new york. david goldberger joins me now. counsel, thank you so much for being here. do you think against the backdrop of today's aclu, your preparation, relative to skokie in the '70s, would have been permitted? >> i have my doubts and i've always doubted it because the

new guidelines say you have to take into account the feelings and the sensitive its of minority groups that might be offended by or affected by the speech you're defending. >> is this a generational divide? a divide that seems to be in the aclu? >> it's partially a generational divide and it's partially a decision to ges diversify the staff and the backgrounds of the staff but without paying enough attention to whether the people that are being hired are committed to defense of civil liberties as opposed to defending the groups in the organizations that they sympathize with. >> what do you think the approach should be? how would you frame the mission of the aclu according to david

goldberger? >> well, i don't think it's according to david gold borger. i think it's according to basic constitutional principles that the fundamental sicivil rights the law applies equally no matter who they are or their identities or how offensive they are. >> how much of this is attributable to the sort of the trump years? >> the trump years have been kind of magnet for people to take sides, you know, identity politics has trumped everything, so to speak. but the -- basically the functioning of the aclu it has

got to persist those pressures and staying true to principle rather than being buffeted by the pressures of the day. >> i can't imagine it was easy for you in the '70s to prepare the nazis who wanted to march in skokie. how did that change your life on a day-to-day basis? >> west. >> well, there was incredible pain and, you know, basically hated the clients, but what it did, in terms of changing my life, making me understand that there are sensitivities on all sides that need to be addressed, that is, including the survivor community and folks in similar positions, but that principles -- neutral principles of the constitution have to surmount all of that. >> thank you so much for that representation and for the lesson you've just provided us. we really appreciate it. >> pleasure to do so.

let's check in on your tweets and facebook comments. from twitter, i think, what do we have? no! lawyer jeff, no! if that were the case, then as you just heard from david gold borger, the nazis would not have been provided representations for their free speech right and you're probably saying that is a damn good thing! the point he is making, i think, you can't pick and choose based on your personal view of what that group may represent generally. instead, it's a strict constitutional analysis of whether there is a first amendment right at stake and he argues that needs to be the framework for the modern aclu, much as it was in the past. i want to remind you to answer the survey question right now at smerconish.com. i explained it with the doctor earlier. should those who have had covid, meaning some level of natural

immunity, be given the same access to venues as those who have been vaccinated. still to come, fascinating case. this private safe government business in beverly hills assured their customers they didn't have to reveal anything about their identities. as the "l.a. times" reported the fbi raided the place and seeking proof of money laundering and other illegal activities and trying to keep the $86 million in cash they found. was this a government overreach? i'm going to talk to one man who is trying to get his money back. you love rich, delicious ice cream. but your stomach doesn't. that disagreement ends right now. lactaid ice cream is the creamy, real ice cream you love that will never mess with your stomach.

(man)aid ice cream. i've made progress with my mental health. so when i started having unintentional body movements called tardive dyskinesia... ... i ignored them. but when the movements in my hands and feet started throwing me off at work... i finally had to say, 'it's not ok.' it was time to talk to my doctor about austedo. she said that austedo helps reduce td movements in adults... ...while i continue with most of my mental health medications. (vo) austedo can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have suicidal thoughts. common side effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. don't take austedo if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, restlessness, movements mimicking parkinson's disease, fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, and sweating. (man) talk to your doctor about austedo... it's time to treat td. td is not ok. visit askforaustedo.com

you need a financial plan td is not ok. that can help grow and protect your money. an annuity can help cover essential expenses in retirement, so you can live the life you want. this is what an annuity can do. learn more at protectedincome.org. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™.

janssen can help you explore cost support options. hooh. that spin class was brutal. well you can try using the buick's massaging seat. oohh yeah, that's nice. can i use apple carplay to put some music on? sure, it's wireless. pick something we all like. ok. hold on. what's your buick's wi-fi password? “buickenvision2021.” oh, you should pick something stronger. that's really predictable. that's a really tight spot. don't worry. i used to hate parallel parking. [all together] me too. - hey. - you really outdid yourself. yes, we did. the all-new buick envision. an suv built around you... all of you.

86 million dollars in cash. gold and silver bars, rolex watches and jewelry. 1.3 million in vegas casino chips. according to the "l.a. times" all of these were seized by the fbi during a late march raid of about 800 private safe deposit boxes in several hills. now the bureau seems to be calling finder's keepers for a lot of it. was it an abuse of power? here is an ad touting the potential boxes for customers. >> safe government boxes got a lot safer at u.s. private vaults with iris scan verification and 24/7 montitoring you and a secue vault you can be sure your belongings are secure and u.s. private vaults are 100% private allowing your identity to remain completely anonymous.

>> completely anonymous. well, prosecutors charged u.s. assaults with conspiring to sell drugs and launder money. a judge okayed the raid. since the customers, themselves, were not being charged, u.s. magistrate judge put limits on the warrant saying while the fbi could seize the boxes, themselves, quote. this warrant doesn't authorize a criminal search or seizure of the safe deposit boxes. in a statement to cnn the u.s. treasury department says the following. l the "l.a. times" reports they plan to return 250 boxes, it's trying to retain the contents of another 369 alleging that they are the proceeds of criminal activity. the government primary uses

for forfeiture crimes. often invoked in cases where there isn't enough proof to go to trial. several box holders have filed several lawsuits against the government. plaintiffs in one class action suit are claiming a violation of fourth amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and seeking return of their property. did the fbi overreach? we reached out to the fbi who referred us to the u.s. attorney's office who provided a statement about these seizures, which reads, in part, quote. joining me now, one such litigant, joseph ruiz where did it come from?

>> it was $57,000 and it came from two settlements. >> and has that money been returned to you? >> no, sir. >> my understanding is that this search took place over the span of several days because it was so complicated, that you happened upon the scene. what did you see when you got there? >> i saw them stealing our stuff, just taking what they wanted. >> did you ask at that moment, hey, can i have my money, that's my $57,000? >> i didn't tell them what was in it, but i did ask if i could go in there and they treated me like a criminal. they had five agents asking me questions. and i'm, like, i just showed up, why am i being interrogated. they started asking if i had

cartel connections, which is stupid. >> he's not had his $57,000 returned to him. wherein lies the burden of proof now? >> the burden relies on the government. what the government has done to u.s. private vault's customers, including joseph ruiz, it is the biggest strong-arm in history. they were told they could not conduct a search and seizure, which is exactly what they did and now they're holding property hostage and telling them they have to come forward and prove their own innocence just to get their stuff back. that's not wrong, that's unconstitutional. >> in other words, you would expect that the burden would be on the government to prove that mr. ruiz or anybody else affected by this has done something wrong, the government is saying, if i understand you correctly, no, you've got to prove to us that mr. ruiz's cash

was not ill-gotten? >> that's what the government is trying to put forward. the way they broke into these security boxes violates the constitution, as you pointed out, the fourth amendment. they may have thought that the u.s. private vault, the company did something wrong, but that would be like -- what the fbi did would be like searching every apartment in an apartment building because you found the landlord dealing drugs in the lobby. that's not how the fourth amendment works. >> i don't understand how this could have worked. in other words, how could they have searched safety deposit boxes or the operator of a safety deposit box company without looking in the boxes themselves? by definition this thing was never going to work properly, right? >> no, there was a very easy way they could have done this. the u.s. private vault's company was indicted. the easiest way to have kept everybody's stuff safe would have been just to leave it all in the vault and tell the

customers to come on down and get their things. after all, the government did not accuse or have any evidence that any customer committed any crime, yet they're now trying to take almost $100 million of people's most prized possessions. >> if tens of millions of dollars go uncollected, that's a bad word choice, if people don't step forward and say, that's my money, like mr. ruiz is doing, does that tell us something about what was really going on by a significant number of their customers? >> no, i don't believe so. people have the right to financial privacy in the united states. everyone is entitled under the fourth amendment to have a secure place to store their stuff. it's perfectly legal to have a large amount of cash. i sometimes myself have to carry a large amount of cash for one reason or another.

there's nothing illegal about it, nothing suspicious about it, and there's no reason for the government to steal joseph's life savings. >> what a remarkable case. mr. ruiz, make sure your attorney gets the movie rights for this on your behalf, okay? >> that's right, he deserves it. still to come, more of your best and worst tweets and facebook comments and we'll finally give you the results of the survey question. you can still go vote at smerconish.com. it's provacative. should those who have had covid be given the same access to venues as those who have been vaccinated? ...my migraine takes me somewhere else. where there's pain, and nausea. but excedrin pulls me back in a way others don't. and it relieves my symptoms fast for real migraine relief. at carvana, we treat every customer like we would treat our own moms, with care and respect.

to us, the little things are the big things. which is why we do everything in our power to make buying a car an unforgettable experience. happy birthday. thank you. we treat every customer like we would treat our own moms. because that's what they deserve. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition

or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. ugh, these balls are moist. or is that the damp weight of self-awareness you now hold in your hand? yeah-h-h. (laugh) keep your downstairs dry with gold bond body powder. shingles? oh... you mean bill. he's been a real pain. downstairs dry again with the bill... what? it looks like a face. ...hearing about it 24/7 is painful enough...

i don't want to catch it. well, you can't catch shingles, but the virus that causes it may already be inside you. does that mean bill might have company? - stop. you know shingles can be prevented. shingles can be whaaaaat? yeah prevented. you can get vaccinated. oh, so... i guess it's just you, me and bill then. i'm making my appointment. bill's all yours... 50 years or older? get vaccinated for shingles today.

christi christi and victor blackwell test. time to see now how you responded to this week's survey question at smerconish.com. i was asking, should those who have had covid, meaning some form of natural immunity, be given the same access to venues as those who have been vaccinated? hit me with the result. let's see what you're saying. fancy graphics. oh, wow. two-thirds say no. how come? 16,000 and change have voted and two-thirds of you are saying no, they should not. i presume because you think it would be difficult as a practical matter, like how are you going to enforce this. but i would say no more difficult than how are the foo fighters going to ensure that everybody in madison square garden in eight days really has been vaccinated or the same for springsteen on broadway or a

cruise ship. catherine, what do we have from social media? time for just one. i dig it. the purple hues are kind of your signature. thank you so much. do you like it? we just unveiled the new skyline today. kind of andy warhol-ish. i'll see you next week. good morning, everyone. it is saturday, june 12th. i'm amara walker. >> and i'm boris sanchez. you are live in the "cnn newsroom" and we begin this hour with the g7, the world's seven most prosperous democracies meeting for the second day of the summit and at any moment now we're going to see images of president biden's first bilateral meeting of the summit with french president emmanuel macron. >> on the agenda what we're hearing was a heated debate on how to