04/27/18 04/27/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> kim jong-un and i declared together that there will be no more war on the korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun. amy: history was made on the korean peninsula today as a leaders of north and south korea agreed to push forward, finally ending the korean war and to work toward ridding the peninsula of nuclear weapons. we will get the latest. then we go to capitol hill where embattled epa chief scott pruitt came under fire thursday. >> i just think that every indication we have is that you

really should resign and you are undeserving of the public trust. amy: as the supreme court looks poised to uphold president trump's travel ban, we will speak with karen korematsu, the daughter of fred korematsu, whose challenge of the interment of japanese americans during told war ii went all the way the supreme court. all of that in more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. history was made on the korean peninsula today a south korean president moon jae-in and north korean leader kim jong-un shook hands at the demilitarized zone between the two countries and pledged to work to denuclearize the peninsula and to declare the official end to the korean war. today's historic summit marks the first time a north korean leader has ever set foot inside south korea. during the meeting, north korean leader kim jong-un said --

"i came here to put an end to the history of confrontation." the north and south korean leaders pledged to pursue talks with the united states aimed at negotiating a formal peace treaty to replace the uneasy 1953 armistice. this is north korean leader kim jong-un speaking today. we will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely in order to make sure our agreements signed today before the entire world will not end is just a beginning like previous agreements before today. amy: today's breakthrough comes amid a series of diplomatic developments regarding north korea and its nuclear program. last month, kim jong-un traveled to beijing by armored train to meet with chinese president xi jinping in kim's first foreign trip since taking office in 2011. kim is also slated to meet soon with president trump, in what would be the first-ever meeting between a sitting u.s. president

and a north korean leader. last week, north korea announced it would stop testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and would close a site where at least six prior nuclear tests were held. this is south korean president moon jae-in speaking today. >> it is very significant that north korea took a measure of freezing nuclear first. he will be a valuable beginning for complete denuclearization on the korean peninsula. i clearly declare that the south and north will closely cooperate for the complete denuclearization. amy: this morning, president trump tweeted -- "korean war to end! the united states, and all of its great people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in korea!" we will have more on the historic news from the korean peninsula after headlines. environmental protection agency administrator scott pruitt was

grilled by lawmakers thursday on capitol hill about a slew of scandals over his spending habits and ties to industry lobbyists. pruitt faces more than a half-dozen investigations. among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a capitol hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog agency says violates spending laws and is illegal. pruitt had the epa spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. pruitt routinely travels first or business class reportedly because he was confronted by economy class customers angry over his policies. on thursday, lawmakers demanded his resignation and pressed him on reports he has retaliated

against employees who raise concerns about his spending habits. this is the new jersey democratic congress member frank alone. that ats been reported least five epa employees were recently reassigned, demoted, or otherwise retaliated against after they raise concerns about your spending. is that correct, yes or no? >> i don't ever recall a conversation. >> i will take that as a yes. later will have more the broadcast. the senate has confirmed mike pompeo as secretary of state in a 57-to-42 vote thursday. pompeo then rushed to the supreme court for his swearing in, and then to joint base andrews where he departed to brussels for his first official trip as secretary of state. next he's slated to visit israel, saudi arabia, and jordan. the white house has also released a photo of pompeo shaking hands with north korean -un during their

secret meeting over easter weekend. meanwhile, german chancellor angela merkel is scheduled to meet with trump today. secretary of state pompeo will not be there. the national security office at george washington university has published declassified documents about president trump's nominee to replace pompeo as cia director. gina haspel, who is currently serving as the deputy director of the cia. the documents provide additional evidence as to how haspel personally supervised the torture, including waterboarding of cia prisoner abd al-rahim al-nashiri in 2002 at a cia black site in thailand, and drafted cables ordering the destruction of videotape evidence of another prisoner's waterboarding. a jury in pennsylvania has found comedian bill cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting andrea

constand, the former director of operations for the women's basketball team at temple university, at cosby's home in 2004. constand is one of about 60 women who have accused cosby of sexual assault dating back decades. cosby called the montgomery county district attorney an "a-hole" after the prosecutor argued cosby should be jailed ahead of sentencing. instead, cosby was allowed to return to his home in montgomery county, where he may be forced to wear an ankle bracelet if he leaves his house. the 80-year-old comedian is facing up to 30 years in prison. he will be sentenced later this summer. former nbc correspondent linda vester has accused long-time nbc anchor tom brokaw of gropinger and trying to forcibly kiss her back in the early 1990's. she says that once at the denver bureau office, brokaw came up behind her, put his hand on her waist, and then groped her.

a second time, she says, brokaw insisted on visiting her in her hotel room and then tried repeatedly to forcibly kiss her. brokaw has denied the accusations. in spain, thousands of people poured into the streets in cities across spain in protest after five men accused of gang-raping a teen girl back in 2015 were found not guilty of rape and were convicted of only the lower charge of sexual abuse. the five men, who called themselves "wolf pack," lured the teenage girl into a building and repeatedly raped her while filming the assault on their cell phones. the men's lawyers claimed that the video footage showing the woman immobile, with her eyes squeezed shut, was evidence of consent. this is social worker adriana monparle speaking at a protest in madrid thursday. >> i feel shame we're still in a

country like this one. in the 21st century, they are saying this is just abuse, justin abuse but she had to defend or so. i feel shame. amy: and in more news about violence against women, the danish inventor peter madsen has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder is a swedish journalist. he is admitted to dismembering her body and dumping her into the sea. she's a graduate of the columbia journalism school. in arizona, 50,000 teachers walked out of their classrooms thursday, shutting down hundreds of high schools in the latest massive teachers strike to protest cuts to education funding. this is educator mary kotnour. .> the bottom line is funding funding for education. a lot of people think it is just for teacher salaries, and it is not. it is funding for our schools, our kids. the fundinghad increased since 2008.

it is for our support staff as well. it is for everybody. it is not what some people think, just for teachers. amy: thousands of teachers in colorado also walked off the job and converged at the state capital of denver, forcing 27 districts in colorado to cancel classes. president trump gave a rambling, 30-minute phone interview with "fox & friends" on thursday, in which he railed against the scandals that forced trump's personal physician dr. ronny jackson to withdraw from consideration as veterans affairs secretary, boasted about firing former fbi director james comey, claimed he had a congress more than any other u.s. president history during his first year in office, and admitted that his longtime personal lawyer michael cohen had represented him in the $130,000 non-disclosure deal with adult film star stephanie clifford, also known as stormy daniels. pres. trump: my goal would represent me and represent me on some things. he represents me like with his

crazy stormy daniels deal. he represented me -- amy: president trump had previously claimed he knew nothing about the $130,000 nondisclosure agreement cohen paid to clifford only days before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about her alleged affair with trump in 2006. in new york city, 14 members of the group jewish voice for peace were arrested at a protest in front of new york democratic senator chuck schumer's office, demanding he call for an independent investigation into the israeli military's killings of palestinian protesters in gaza. israeli forces have killed at least 36 palestinians, including two journalists, since the weekly friday protests erupted on march 30. in wisconsin, tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate after an explosion at a husky energy refinery in superior.

at least 10 people were injured in the blast. one is in serious condition. the cause of the explosion is unknown. and in alabama, the editorial board of the montgomery advertiser published a public apology for its previous coverage of lynching, the same day the national memorial for peace and justice opened in downtown montgomery thursday as a monument to victims of white supremacy in the united states. in the editorial, the board wrote -- "we take responsibility for our proliferation of a false narrative regarding the treatment of african-americans in those disgraceful days. we propagated a world view rooted in racism and the sickening myth of racial superiority. we must never be as wrong as this again." the montgomery advertiser was among many white-owned newspapers across the united

states that failed to investigate -- and at times even celebrated -- the white mob violence that killed thousands of african-americans throughout u.s. history. instead, it was black journalists, mostly notably ida b. wells, who exposed the horrors of lynching to the world. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. history was made on the korean peninsula today. jong-un and i declare together that there will be no more war on the korean

korean president moon jae-in as he held a historic summit with north korean leader kim jong-un. after shaking hands of the demilitarized zone between the two countries, the two leaders pledged to work to denuclearize the peninsula and to declare the official and to the korean war. today's historic summit marks the first time a north korean leader has ever set foot inside south korea will stop north korean leader kim jong wrote in a guest book "a new history starts now, in age of peace from the starting point of history." kim and his south korean counterpart pledged to pursue talks with the u.s. aimed at negotiating a formal peace treaty to replace the uneasy truce that was brokered after the 1950-1953 korean war. this is north korean leader kim jong-un speaking today. we will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world will not end as just a beginning likely disagreements before today. amy: today's breakthrough comes amidst a series of diplomatic the elements regarding north korean new care program. last month, kim jong-un travel to beijing by armored train to meet with the president of china

in kim's first foreign trip since taking in 2011. kim is also slated to meet soon with president trump, in what would be the first-ever meeting between a sitting u.s. president and a north korean leader. last week, north korea announced it would stop testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and would close a site where at least six prior nuclear tests were held. this is south korean president moon jae-in speaking today. >> it is very significant that north korea took a measure of freezing nuclear first. it will be a valuable beginning for the complete the koreanation of peninsula. i clearly declare that the south and north will closely cooperate for the complete denuclearization. amy: this morning, president trump tweeted against james comey once again, he then tweeted -- "korean war to end! the united states, and allf its great people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in korea!"

we go right now to hawaii or we are joined by retired u.s. army colonel, former state department diplomat, ann wright. she is a member of women cross dmz. , talk about your response to what has just taken place on the korean peninsula. did you ever think you would see this day? >> holy smokes, no. remarkable. really the last 12 hours have stunned everyone. workncredible, incredible that has been done by the south korean government with the north korean government. and for them to have been able to come out with a communique, an agreement that is stunning. i mean, i could not have written it any better. we of the world who want peace

for the korean peninsula, who could have written everything down, we could not have added anything more to what they have come up with. it is a beautiful, beautiful agreement, worked very hard by both governments. basically hope the united states government will agree with all parts of it and that, indeed, the people of korea will finally have peace on their peninsula. amy: as you mentioned, this really has been push forward by the south korean president, moon jae-in. he campaigned on this. he has pushed very hard for this meeting. what is actually in the document that they signed from the economy to denuclearization? breathtaking,is the amount of things that are in this communique. everything from denuclearization of the korean peninsula to a

peace treaty to know more war on the korean peninsula, to establish a peace regime, to have family reunification starting on august 15. ,o connect railroads and roads to seize all hostile acts on land, air, and sea, to transform the dmz into a keystone. to have a maritime peace zone. to hold military talks in may that president moon will go to north korea and to say there will be disarmament in a phased manner as tensions are alleviated. i mean, it is a really beautiful, beautiful document that will require a lot of work, for sure, a lot of commitment to make sure that this does not get derailed in any way. but it is really a very comprehensive statement of peace

for the korean peninsula. amy: you are a retired u.s. army colonel. you quit the state department over your opposition to the war in afghanistan. you are a fierce critic of president trump. but do you believe that president trump deserves credit for some of what has taken place today? >> absolutely. not enough percent of the things that president trump is doing i don't agree with, but even when he was running for office when he said "i will talk to people. i will talk to kim jong-un," it was like, well, that is a very good statement. .ndeed, he has followed through i soon he hopes that they do have a very good summit in late may or june. it is very important that the united states follow through with what the south korean government and the north korean government have done. and i certainly wish that president trump -- wish president trump goodwill for

this and wish him goodwill that he will approach other aspects for peace and a for the better of the environment, keeping our planet safe for everyone. but he does deserve a little bit of credit for this. amy: as the korean leaders embraced each other on the demilitarized zone, the white house released the photograph of mike pompeo, who was secretary of state nominee at the time -- he has been approved -- and kim jong-un in that sigrid easter -- secret easter day meeting. the significance of that, ann wright? >> as the director of the cia at the time to have spent the intelligence chief of the united states instead of the secretary of state them although by that time tillerson i believe had are ready been fired.

but president trump having in mind the nomination, i guess, of mike pompeo to become secretary of state, it does put him in a at leastthat he has met kim jong-un. hopefully, they will develop some sort of a relationship so the united states and north korea can have a reasonable relationship. it is very important that we give credit where credit is due. toope not only is he able smooth out relations with north korea, keep relations with south korea, and i hope he is able to rebuild the state department -- which so desperately needs to have some attention from the trump administration. amy: what does this mean for, what is it, something like 20,000 troops in south korea, u.s. troops in south korea today? i can imagine those 28,000 troops are just breathing a sigh of relief.

do have been assigned to north -- to south korea with all of the tension, it must have been very, very difficult for all of the u.s. military there as well as the civilians of south korea having to live under all of the rhetoric that has been going on. but i feel quite certain that our u.s. military is breathing a great sigh of relief with this agreement between north and south korea. the ann wright, you crossed demilitarized zone as a member in 2015.cross dmz did you think this moment can come and you you see a unified korea in the future? >> well, indeed. ahn, who i was with in honolulu ofwe watched the beginning the talks between the leaders, and of course, this has been our dream, not just women across the

dmz, but all of the people that have been working on the issues of the korean peninsula for decades. indeed, it is a remarkable occurrence today that our dreams are really coming true. if this agreement is implemented in the way that it is written, it will really provide such a relief to both the people of north korea and south korea that they don't have to live under the potential military action that indeed there can be corporation on economic areas that will help north korea -- i mean, the people in north korea are not dummies. they are very smart people. i think they will be able to use this opportunity to increase their standard of living and the family rina vocation part of this, that the people of the korean peninsula in were artificially divided 1945 that indeed they will be

resume family relationships. and that the korean peninsula will become a safe place, a place of peace for the world. amy: we are currently showing leaders,age of the two south and north korea, as they hold hands, continue to embrace each other. you think, ann wright, the crippling sanctions that president trump imposed on north korea drove kim jong-un to this point? and what do you think we could see if north korea is opened up? >> well, the pressure that the international community has put on north korea definitely had to have had some effect on kim to be moreecision open. however, i think the greater thing was that, indeed, because they have developed nuclear

weapons, that they feel secure they can defend themselves from any type of regime change -- which is still the policy of the united states. although, hopefully, by the tweet that president trump to this morning, regime change is no longer our policy. but i think between the confidence that kim jong-un had because of the nuclear program sanctions thated had to be hurting, those things combined put him in a position that, ok, let's deal with the west. i think he is dealing very well with it. and the numbers or the amount of natural resources that they have in north korea, the intelligence of the people of north korea -- i mean, with all of the all of the things the international community has done to them, they still developed nuclear weapons, they icbm put -- they developed

's, put satellites into space. it is that like under all of the sanctions that they were just totally crippled. they are very smart people. i think with a little bit of a chance, we will see remarkable things happening for the people of north korea. amy: ann wright, thank you for being with us, retired u.s. army colonel, a member of women cross dmz. speaking to us from hawaii today about this distorted development on the korean peninsula. the meeting of the south and theh korean leaders across dmz. we will continue to cover this. tune in next week and over the weekend for the latest developments at democracynow.org . this is democracy now! when we come back, we go to capitol hill where the epa , manystrator scott pruitt say has rolled back environmental regulations to an extent we have not seen in decades, was grilled on capitol

hill. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. environmental protection agency administrator scott pruitt was grilled by lawmakers thursday on capitol hill after a slew of scandals over his spending habits and ties to industry lobbyists. more than a half-dozen investigations. among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a capitol hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent washington energy lobbyist whose firm

roster of fossil fuel companies. pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which the government accounting office says was illegal, that it violated spending laws. pruitt had the epa spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. pruitt routinely travels first or business class, reportedly because he was confronted by economy class customers angry over his policies. on thursday, lawmakers demanded pruitt's resignation. they pressed him on reports he has retaliated against employees who raise concerns about, among other things, his spending habits. this is the new jersey democratic congress member frank pallone. >> it has been reported that at least five epa employs were recently reassigned, demoted, or otherwise retaliated against after they raised concerns about your spending. is that correct, yes or no? >> i don't ever recall a conversation. >> i will take that as a yes. amy: scott pruitt claimed during thursday's hearing that allegations of unethical behavior are untrue and intended

to derail president trump's agenda. >> much of what has been targeted toward me and my team or a bestf truths stories that have been so twisted, they do not resume a reality. i welcome the chance to be here to set the record straight in these areas. let's have no illusions about what is going on. those who attacked the epa and attack near doing so because they want to attack and the real the president's agenda and undermine this administration's priorities. i'm not going to let that happen. amy: for more we go to washington, d.c., where we are joined by emily atkin, a staff writer at the new republic. also with us from berkeley, california, is michael brune, executive director of the sierra club. , talked about yesterday's hearing. talk about the allegations against pruitt and the more than

half dozen inspector general investigations of the sitting epa administrator. >> sure. yesterday was the masters class in the art and denial of, like you said, the fact there are a dozen investigations going on regarding the administrators behavior. scott pruitt sat in front of congress for six hours yesterday and basically said he either wasn't responsible for the scandals that are facing him or he did not know about them at all or their being blown out of proportion. -- n't think that amy: he did not about where he lives, that he was being $50 a night to energy lobbyist family where, in an apartment what, if he doesn't stay there that night, he doesn't have to pay?

$50 a night. >> his deflection for that was, welcome of the epa ethics counsel said this was fine. what he did not know about was, not his staffr that have been relocated was a retaliation for anything. he said, oh, that was because they have performance issues. and he did not know whether or not there was a $43,000 inndproof booth installed his office. he did not know it was that expensive. like i said, was the masters class in deflection. i don't think he actually swayed anybody that was in a pretty convinced either of his guilt in all of these matters or of his innocence most of amy: iowa to turn to democratic congressman ben ray lujan of new mexico questioning scott pruitt. >> mr. pruitt, today you repeatedly blamed gore chief of staff, your chief counsel, career officials, and others.

yes or no, are you the epa administrator? >> i said that in my opening statement. i do not blame them. >> just a simple yes or no question. are you the epa administrator? >> i said i take responsibility of changes. a sibley have not failed to take responsibility. i simply recited the facts. >> it is a simple question. are you the epa administrator? >> yes. >> do you run the epa? >> i do. >> are you responsible for the many scandals plaguing the epa? >> i have responded to many of his questions are today with facts and information. >> are you able to answer that in yes or no? >> it is not a yes or no question. >> it is pretty clear it is a guess or no answer. there is clear concern not only by the entire congress -- and of preset you being here, but these questions need to be asked than answered. >> and we have answer them. >> you are not the only one

doing these ugly things, these terrific things, these scandal plagued things in this a administration and i hope this is one of many hearings this committee will have so we can get to the bottom of this and make sure tax tears are made whole. amy: that is democratic congress member of new mexico questioning scott pruitt. you had thee, sierra club. your major concerns about scott pruitt and were they address yesterday in this hearing? >> know, of course not. our concerns about scott pruitt have never been addressed has what underlies or what is underneath all of these personal scandals, whether it is the first class flight all around the world or the 18 person security detail that gets dragged to disneyland and the rose bowl -- all of this stuff, the pot them making class in italy, the raises for epa officials, the republican opposition research on to his own staff -- all of these things are, frankly, a lot less important than the things that scott pruit is doing in his professional capacity to

undermine the safeguards that protect our air in our water and our communities and our climate. scott pruit personally supported the dakota access pipeline, supported the keystone xl pipeline, supported the pulling out of the paris climate accord. scott pruit has personally supported the undermining of the clean power plan, which would limit the amount of air and walked pollution coming -- water pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. he is lobbied for gas pipelines to be built was to gas export terminals to be built. he has personally supported the rolling back of regulations that would limit the amount of methane pollution coming from power plants and pipelines. he is the most corrupt epa administrator that we have ever had in our countries history. we now have 200 members of congress, democrats and republicans, in the house and the senate who are calling for his resignation. and it is because he is

undermining the quality of our air, of our water, of our climate, and he is unfit to serve as epa administrator. about -- iu talk want to play for you frank pallone, congress member, democrat, from new jersey. >> in october 2017 right before epa to ban a rulemaking to ruin at 31-year-old small-business owner in south carolina died while using methylene chloride. his brother is here today is that i want to thank him for traveling here from south carolina and continuing to advocate for a bin of this deadly chemical. or you are others that epa aware of his death when the agency a bin of the ban of this deadly chemical, yes or no? are you aware of his death? >> it is important to know we ever proposed been in place -- >> ivies become your not going to admit -- unfortunately, if you're come another 31-year-old man, joshua

paint, died using a stripper to refinish his bike. i learned about joshua from his mother who sent me a deeply touching letter. i would ask to put that into the record in which she states she hopes for fun will be the last to die from this chemical. cooks can we see the letter? >> i will give it to you. real people with names, with brothers, with mothers come a you have the power to finalize the van of ethylene chloride and prevent more deaths, but you have not done it. do you have anything to say to these families at this point? since i was trying to indicate earlier, there's a proposed ban in place that we are reviewing present. there's been no decision at this time -- >> obviously, you have nothing to say to these families. look, you say you're going to do something but these chemicals are still on the shelves will stop amy: frank pallone questioning pruitt at yesterday's hearing. emily atkin, talk about the

cases he is talking about here. >> these are the most effective moments of yesterday's hearing, i think. ist congressman pallone talking about are the dozens of deaths of americans who had inhaled paint strippers or other household items that contain methylene chloride. what he is talking about is there was a proposed ban of methylene chloride in place, put in place by the obama administration right before trump took office. a few months later, scott pruitt's epa delayed that proposed ban. as you heard him say, they are reviewing it. and that has happened across the board at epa. was scott pruitt has done in terms of his policy actions is delayed regulations in an attempt to either repeal or weaken them later. but that has put a hold on these processes. is talking about people

who died using something that they were able to buy at a regular, you know, home depot or something like that. he is asking, do you have anything to say to these people? i don't think scott pruitt was prepared for those questions. he had a 23 page document preparing him for questions about his ethical scandals, his alleged corruption, his alleged taxpayer waste. i think he was last prepared to deal with questions like these from pallone that cited real people affected by his policies. you actually saw members of congress do this all day. you saw people bring up the heads of native american tribes that are relocating due to sea level rise and asking, do you have anything to say to them about why you are delaying climate change action? do you have anything to say to them? scott pruitt recently said he thought maybe climate change will be good for civilization. there's one congress member who said, what are you going to say

to the shell fishermen in my district who can't make a living anymore because of ocean acidification? scott pruitt did his thing that to flex.which is he he starts talking about the policy. he says "with respect to" a lot. he does the opposite of trump. trump talks recently to try to give you the point. to the common person can understand it. scott pruitt goes into over talking to almost confuse you and act like he is saying something when he is actually not saying anything. amy: this big trend i want to to democratic congressman tony cardenas of california questioning scott pruitt. >> the list of your failures is long and your wasteful spending is an embarrassment to government and very offensive to the taxpayers who pay all of our salaries. this administration is so packed with unethical behavior, but yet

at the same time, you have to understand that your power directly impacts health and well-being of vulnerable populations in this country. seniors, our children, our sick, and are disabled. why youmpting to ask spend nearly $68,000 on hotels and travel from august through february and $50,000 in modifications to your office, including a privacy booth that cost over $43,000. in an oversight desk with ornate woodworking that costs over $2000. we already know some of these purchases were made in violation of federal law. when you appear before the subcommittee in december, the subcommittee, you said your phone booth is used for classified conversations and sensitive conversations with the white house. has this $43,000 phone booth -- has it been certified as a skiff? also, using it -- are you using it for classified conversations.

is it appropriate? >> it has not been certified as a skiff and it does provide protection on confidential communications. it is important to know where this originated. i did have a phone call that came in of a sensitive nature, and i did not have access to secure communications. i gave direction to my staff to address that. out of that came a $43,000 expenditure that i did not approve. that is something -- >> you are not taking responsibility for the $43,000 spent in your office, your sing the staff did it without your knowledge? >> they took that processor and signed off on it all the way through. >> so you are not involved? >> i was not involved in the approval of $43,000. if i had known, i would have refused it. amy: emily atkin, your response to what he is talking about here in response to congress member cardin us, the transfer event where he did not invite the press? >> sure.

it is incredible to hear him say that career employees did this at the epa with regard to his $43,000 soundproof booth. what he is saying is that only did he not approve that expenditure, knowing that scott pruitt has been so obsessed with his own security and security medication, sweeping his office -- for listening devices. he is saying that neither he nor his political staff, the people he brought in, had anything to do with that. at the same time, you mentioned the transparency event where reporters were not invited. secrecy and security has been hallmark of scott pruitt epa. it is sort of mind blowing to hear him say that he had nothing to do with something that clearly is so core to him. amy: the office of this is illegal, expenditures more than

$5,000 had to be approved. this was $43,000. there was a soundproof and the this one had not even been certified as soundproof. michael brune, if you could talk more about his record and how you feel the republicans versus the democrats dealt with pruitt yesterday will stop and are you calling for his resignation? >> we're most of kelly kline for his resignation. he is unfit to serve as epa administrator. we have been pleased by the number of republicans thus far in the senate but increasingly large number of republicans in the house that are also calling for his resignation. it is clear this is a person who should not be epa administrator. you should never have been appointed. you certainly should never have been confirmed. he should be removed from office as quickly as possible. as i said earlier, the scandals around the phone booth or the security detail, all of this stuff with his first-class

travel, the sweetheart deal to stay at a lunch or economy them a couple of blocks from the capital -- all of that is an abuse of taxpayer funds people should be outraged by it because you are paying for it as a taxpayer. but what i believe is more concerning and was reflected in commerce mental loan's -- congressman pallone's testimony, havingect's actions are on people all across this country. right now scott pruitt is working on undermining the clean car standards, which is a standard that is supported by 90% of americans, democrats and republicans, because it cuts air pollution, cuts water pollution and climate pollution and it saves people money. what it does is makes cars more efficient. it helps people to transition to cleaner vehicles -- hybrids, electric vehicles -- or simply more fuel-efficient vehicles that reduces our dependency on oil and it makes innovating industries in the auto sector

more successful. this is one of a dozen -- dozens of things this epa administrator is doing. he either is denying science, denying climate science, trying to muzzle scientists, dissolving advisory boards, trying to undo safeguards or he is cutting the enforcement of those safeguards. is downent of the epa by 40%. so we are challenging this epa administrator, challenging him in court every day. it we also need to see him removed from office as quickly as possible. amy: emily atkin, your latest piece is headlined "the epa is acting like big tobacco." how? >> scott pruit imposed a rule to change what kind of science the epa can use in order to create regulations. it is marketed as a transparency policy comes of the administrator is saying that only open data can be -- only studies that use open data can be used.

that action disqualifies the vast majority of health research on air pollution, let pollution, climate change, and what i described in the piece is this is a tactic lifted directly from the tobacco when they tried to disqualify research about the health effects of tobacco in order to avoid paying financial penalties. and i should add that the tobacco lobbyist who worked on that for big tobacco is now taking credit for that for the epa. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, emily atkin for the new republic, michael brune, see our club. -- sierra club. coming up, as the supreme court looks poised a pull president from's travel ban, we will speak to karen korematsu for the daughter of fred korematsu, shown to the internment of japanese americans during world war ii which of the supreme court as well. stay with us.

amy: "paper moon" by frances "chickie" white.

the u.s. supreme court looks poised to uphold president trump's travel ban, which blocks most people from seven countries -- including iran, libya, somalia, syria, and yemen -- from entering the united states following oral arguments wednesday, in which justice anthony kennedy appeared to side with the conservative side of the court. lower courts have repeatedly ruled against versions of trump's travel ban, saying they were unconstitutional and in violation of federal immigration law. among those who have asked the supreme court to rule the travel ban unconstitutional are the children of japanese americans who were interned during world war two. joining us now is one of those children, karen korematsu, daughter of civil rights icon fred korematsu who was jailed for refusing orders to be sent to an internment camp set up for u.s. residents of japanese ancestry. his case went all the way to the supreme court. last year karen korematsu wrote

the "washington post" writing -- i believe we will soon see that are found to be unconstitutional . for more we go to austin, texas, where karen korematsu joins us founder and executive director , of the fred t. korematsu institute. welcome to democracy now! explain what happened to your father and why you see this so closely correlated with what has happened in the supreme court this week. , amy.d morning it is good to be with you. thank you for bringing focus to this issue and to my father.

he thought in 1942 that the executive order 9066 that was hastily issued, i might add, by president roosevelt, violated and civil rights as americans. all due process of law was denied. he thought it was wrong as an american citizen to be incarcerated when he had done nothing wrong. so that is why he fought his case all the way to the supreme court. amy: and talk about what happened to you. mywell, i learned about father's work is actually in high school when my friend was giving a book report about the japanese-american incarceration camps. then she said, but there was this one man that resisted the military orders, and it ended up to be a landmark supreme court

resist the korematsu united states. she did not say "fred" at the time and it wasn't until after the class was about my father. amy: talk about your internment, karen. >> well, i wasn't actually born in one of the camps at the time. course, withe, of my father telling me after i learned about this in school. found inevidence was 1983 that proved there was no military is the city for the japanese americans to be incarcerated, his case was reopened under a little-known meant an error has been able for the court. a legal team took on the case pro bono.

federal conviction was overturned or vacated in 1983. but it still stands on the supreme court record. and that is a warning that after all of this time, next year it will be the 75th anniversary of my father supreme court case. this is the caution that we want .he courts to be reminded of amy: i want to turn to a clip from the documentary produced by eric paul fournier. it's called "of civil rights and wrongs: the fred korematsu story." >> one day my girlfriend wanted to meet me. i was waiting for her at the corner. she did not show up. .ran out of cigarettes like a darn full, i went across the street to the drugstore and someone recognized me, i assume. when i came back, outstanding -- and the police came.

they looked at me as said, do you see any short, japanese person around here, asian? i said, no. they looked at me and said, let me see your identification. cameat time, the two mp's from the military. they said, we have to take you to city hall. after i was arrested, i never did see my girlfriend again. there must've been something going on, but i did not know. amy: karen korematsu, talk more about what fred korematsu is saying, your father. >> actually, i would like to correct the title. it is "of civil rights and rights." also coproducer of the two-time in the award documentary. like i said, my father thought it was wrong to be put in prison

when when he had not violated any laws. up hope thatave someday he would be able to reopen his case. the result of the 1983 decision was governmental misconduct. that is what relates to the executive order and what is happening with the muslim travel ban now. and that is what we are wanting and tort to be aware of stop repeating history. it is important that we remind the courts that there needs to be a separation between judicial and executive. is an overreach, we feel, on the president's part. and being in the supreme court on wednesday and to hear the

justices and the argument was really alarming, in some ways, because they could have addressed a lot more of the situation that our immigration of civils and people rights and civil liberties that we want to uphold. neal kaytal, the attorney representing the state of hawaii in the supreme court this week, tweeted quoting your amicus brief -- explain ultimately what happened to the case from federal court to the supreme court, and also the compensation after decades that japanese americans got.

were you one of those, as a child of someone who ultimately was jailed for resisting the interment camps, who got that kind of compensation? the case, as i said, was my father supreme court case. two cases were also reopened by the court procedures. the convictions -- the personal convictions and federal convictions or vacated, but the supreme court case still stands. in oneid, i was not born of the incarceration camps. only people that were. theyer, by the time that brought recognition that this year is the 30th anniversary of the civil liberties act of 1988 that was the official apology to everyone of japanese ancestry that was incarcerated.

and there was reparations. but it was really the apology that everyone wanted. that you had to be living. so people like my grandparents who had passed away, you know, there was nothing that they would have received most of it did not go to the families, per se, only those that were living. dish theason that the import reason that the reparation was needed was for education. that is when the civil liberties public education fund originally section by congress was started so that we could educate future inhumanity about the of the incarceration and dust , they couldorematsu for being with us, daughter of fred korematsu had of the fred t. korematsu institute and the

i am amy goodman. this is democracy now! this is democracy now! [captioning

>> colameco: of all the places in brooklyn to be cool, i would've never figured on red hook, man. i mean, you can kind of figure out why williamsburg and bushwick and those places are cool because the subway connects them to new york city. there's mass transit. red hook's the middle of nowhere. to get to red hook, you got to take a bus, basically. nearest subway stop's 25 minutes, the f train to carroll. so it's crazy. and this used to be the docks of new york city. "on the waterfront," that movie they filmed in hoboken. but that actually was the story of red hook. all the merchandise that came through new york came through red hook. when containerized vessels replaced the need for dock workers unloading boats, all that stuff moved to jersey. and then, red hook just kind of languished. it's always been blue-collar working class, but then, in the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, this was way off the grid. and now it's on fire. so today, we're spending a whole day in red hook. best barbecue place in new york city, hometown barbecue, red hook. uncouth vermouth, she's so cool. she's making a little, small batch of vermouth. red hook, brooklyn, red hook winery. they're doing really great wines in red hook. we're going to do