n the families. ms. lynch: there are any number of factors. we'll see how the judges are reviewing the case, state of motion practice. both are in early stages and have yet to have motions. at this point it's difficult to say how that will impact on the schedule. questioner: the definition of domestic terrorism, were domestic terrorism charges considered in this case? can you elaborate on that? questioner: the definition of domestic terrorism, were domestic terrorism charges considered in this case? can you elaborate on that? ms. lynch: there is no specific domestic terrorism statute. however, hate crimes, as i've stated before, are the original domestic terrorism. and we feel that the behavior that is alleged to have occurred here is archetypal behavior that fits the federal hate crime statutes and vindicates their purpose. we have here a defendant who was

alleged to have harbored discriminatory views toward african-americans, to have sought out an african-american house of worship, one that was particularly noted because of its age and significance, and he also sought out african-american parishioners at worship. implicating several hate crime statutes. we that i that this is exactly the type of case that the federal hate crimes statutes were in fact con received of to cover. racially motivated violence such as this is the original domestic terrorism. questioner: 2015, if you look at the essence of the case brought forth in the indictment, the fact that these people are dead today because of their race, that's primarily what you alleged in the indictment, could you speak to where we stand and what that says, that this still exists? ms. lynch: i think that this is

obviously a tragic situation. this is obviously a troubling situation. as the allegations and the entitlement reflect the mindset of this young man and his specific purpose to target individuals for death because of their race. but also to target individuals for death who are engaged in religious worship as well. so i think that we have to remain vigilant about these matters. we certainly at this point don't know much more about the defendant. the investigation is ongoing into a host of matters including those motivations. but i think that the message that should be clear to this is that the federal government and our state partners are committed to investigating these matters fully and thoroughly and where we have racially motivated violence committed to acting. questioner: it says in the indictment that he targeted the church specifically because of -- it was a historically african-american church, of significance to people of charleston, south carolina, and the nation. how do you know, how do you know that's why he chose that church? as opposed to any african-american church, how do you know it was the nationality significance of the church?

ms. lynch: i'm not going to comment specifically on the evidence that will come forth in a trial except to note that we believe that the evidence will support the allegation that roof chose that church because it was an old church, historic church and that it was historically significant as one of the oldest african-american churches not just in south carolina but in the nation. and that he was looking for the type of church and the type of parishioners whose death would in fact draw great notoriety for his religious views. i'm sorry, his racist views, i should say. questioner: i know in your remarks you used language because of. i'm wondering, as you present a case like this, to what extent must all other factors be precluded such as mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, if a defense lawyer gets up and says, he hates everyone in the world, he hates his mothers, he hates gays tomorrow he's going to kill many more people who weren't black, what impact does that have? ms. lynch: well, hopefully we

would not be receiving information like that, although we would certainly act on it if we did. wherever you have the possibility of multiple motivations, you also have the possibility of multiple charges. as you will note, the charges here specifically allege racially motivated violence in the murder and attempted murder of the victims of the church. but also the federal hate crimes statute that prohibits using violence to essentially prevent anyone from exercising their religion. that's not tied to race. that's tied to the exercise of religion. so we see here, for example, activity that supports allegations of more than one intent. now, with respect to issues that you raise about the defendant's state of mind, of course all of that will be taken into consideration as this case goes forward. i'm not able to speculate now as to what impact any other factors would have on the case. questioner: you suggested that this was a seven-month plan. can you elaborate a little bit about how detailed this plan was, whether he made trips to the church prior to that night

june 17? how elaborate was the plan? ms. lynch: thank you for the question. i'm not able to go into how many months he was planning. it was several months prior to the june 17 incident. i'm not able to go into the evidence right now that would show his actions surrounding that at this point. questioner: should there be a federal domestic terrorism law? because for your average person who sees the way people in law enforcement talk about different types of killings with different words, what distinction should they make when they hear talk about a shooting in chattanooga as terrorism but a shooting here as hate crime? does it matter and should there be a domestic terrorism law? ms. lynch: as to what laws

should or should not come out as a result of this investigation i'm not going to speculate at this point in time. as to the nature of the case though, i think you touch on the issue that people may feel that because we have such a strong emphasis on terrorism matters, since 9/11, that when we talk about matters and don't use that terminology, that somehow we don't consider those crimes as serious. and i want to be clear. nothing could be further from the truth than that. this type of crime in particular, racially motivated violence, for which a federal law was specifically enacted to cover, is of grave importance to the federal government. we have devoted considerable resources from the beginning of this case to make sure that this interest was explored and that if in fact the evidence supported it, that the allegations were brought. because this is in fact the archetype of the original domestic terrorism. i think sometimes people do focus on the terminology because

as i've mentioned, since 9/11 there has been a great focus on that type of case. but it should in no way, in absolutely no way signify that this particular murder or any federal crime is of any lesser significance. questioner: how will you determine whether or not he is a candidate for the death penalty? ms. lynch: the department of justice has a process by which we consider death-eligible defendants in determining whether or not to seek that penalty. it is a very detailed and thorough review process, it involves submissions from defense counsel, it involves consultation with the victims' families and it involves a review of all the various factors that we would utilize to seek the death penalty, to determine whether or not we feel that we could prevail on those factors at a trial.

we do have an obligation to place the defendant on notice that that is an option and to allow counsel the time to prepare to make those decisions. >> can you talk about what your office is doing in conjunction with the f ei around those issues? attorney general lynch: they haven't issued -- issued a review that led to missing the fact that they had applied to purchase that gun. this was a matter of grave importance and something that was very disturbing and frankly hard raking to us. that investigation is ongoing and i look forward to receiving the results from it.

>> on a slightly different cap -- topic, yesterday you said you were looking at the grand -- bland case. attorney general lynch: as noted, that matter is under investigation by local authorities. the fbi is monitoring that case, as we often do in those situations. we are waiting for the results of local investigations as well. >> could you talk about your views on the planned parenthood videos? we have received some letters from members of congress. there is a federal law here. is that something that you are going to investigate? attorney general lynch: i am aware of that. we will be reviewing the information and was eight --

what steps to take at the appropriate time. >> switching gears, can we expect charges to come from the department of justice? attorney general lynch: referring to the opm breach of personal data? that is a something i'm able to comment on it this time. i will say that the department of justice and other federal agencies are in follow-up of notifying everyone who is subjected to that breach and provide them with what is necessary to protect the personal data. >> what is your reaction to their response for that if a cult circumstance? attorney general lynch: since the beginning the families of the victims and the mother emmanuel shooting have provided an example to the country of what true spirit and faith looks

like. they are an inspiration to us all. frankly, i do not know how many of us would be able to find the kind of forgiveness and our hearts so soon after such a heartbreaking loss. particularly i felt that what was helpful for those watching that was a collagen that those families were angry. they had anger towards the person who had taken their loved ones but they were able to while still holding on to the anger move towards forgiveness. i thought that that was an incredible lesson for all of us. >> it has been sometimes your office new york began the investigation into the death of eric gardner. when can we expect resolution? attorney general lynch: i cannot comment on the timing except to say that it is still active and ongoing and that the issues in new york are being moved ahead with in a thorough and efficient manner.

>> given that more people in -- on u.s. soil are killed by non-radicals or extremists, do you think that you are properly organizing resources to focus on the domestic terrorism threat? attorney general lynch: we are tracking a number of threats on u.s. soil and abroad. the death of anyone is of great importance. without commenting on how we allocate resources i would say that we take all threats seriously, whether they come from a foreign terrorist organization, at the mess militia organization, or simply individuals who post threats on mine. we take all of those matter seriously and develop what we feel of the resources necessary to protect individuals who come under those threats and if we learn of the matter too late to vintage -- vindicate the interest and bring the killers

to justice. thank you all. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> on wednesday, attorney general loretto lynch was the enote speaker at the national black prosecutors association awards luncheon, honored the top award during their annual meeting in washington. the attorney general talks about community involvement by police departments and her opposition to mandatory minimum prison sentences. this is about 30 minute. >> our attorney general has

dedicated her life to public service. two presidential appointments for the eastern district of new york. she received her jd from harvard law in 1984. she served with distinction, first on the front lines, and then while running a branch office to her two terms as united states attorney. she oversaw one of the nation's premier litigation offices representing the united states and three of the five boroughs of new york city, including both suburban counties on long island. her district at the time encompassed 8 million people of diverse backgrounds. as the top law enforcement officer in new york, she oversaw all criminal investigations and prosecuted virtually every type of crime. she made community outreach a

priority. she brings this background to benefit our nation. general lynch is the 83rd attorney general sworn in in 2015 and is the first african-american woman to hold this position. [applause] ms. pearson: the presidents award of excellence is awarded to an individual organization that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in service and commitment to furthering the overall objectives of the national black prosecutors association, which is the advancement and education, recruitment retention of african-american prosecutors, upholding the honor and dignity of the bar

cultivating relationships among the nations, prosecutors perpetuating the history of the profession and providing service to the community. to me, it is simple. i along with the other members watch with pride as attorney general lynch took on drug dealers and terrorists in new york. we cheered when the nomination was announced because we knew it was well deserved. we marveled as she handled question after question that was thrown at her with cool, calm, and the collected manner we had expected from her. and we cheered on confirmation day. this is the pride of the ascent of a fellow member who supported us all the way. as the president of the national black prosecutors association, it is the greatest honor in my career to be able to present the

attorney general with this award, because she has been a role model to me as an african-american female prosecutor, and to so many others. general lynch, the words he spoke three so true. we do not look to revenge and retribution. we look to the law. thank you for being the epitome of what we strive to be as prosecutors. the award is presented to loretta lynch. [applause] ms. lynch: whew. well, here we all are.

it is such a pleasure to be here today. i want to wish all of you a good afternoon. i have seen the agenda and i have been here before. it is such a pleasure to see everyone.

i want to thank you for that gracious and kind introduction. thank you so much. and also for your leadership of this outstanding organization that i know means so much to so many. former president, where is bruce? how are you doing? you served again with pride and distinction. thank you for your service, as well. [applause] ms. lynch: both your current and former president have been on the front lines that every lack prosecutor faces each day. sometimes the fight to win for your place. i think both of them for their efforts and inspiration to all of you and to me. i think this organization. national black prosecutors has been a stalwart to this cause. i am so happy to see you all.

it is a pleasure to stand with you as you move forward in the work. there is nothing more humbling than to receive an award from your peers. this means the world to me, this award of excellence. it has been -- i will treasure this because i treasure all of you, and i want you to know that. so thank you so much. for more than three decades, nbpa has provided the encouragement that i have received from this organization. you have always been looking outward to the countless individuals who want to