we'll have more on this vote tomorrow and more commentary as we move on. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, jammed up in new jersey. this was supposed to be a big day for new jersey governor chris christie. his state of the state address, his day to roll out his vision for the year. instead, the cloud of scandal hangs above him. >> now, the last week has certainly tested this administration. mistakes were clearly made. and as a result, we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. i know our citizens deserve better. much better. >> mistakes were clearly made. today many new questions. here are the days of the lane

closures. september 9th to september 12th. today we're learning new details about who chris christie was with as this unfolded. "the wall street journal" uncovered this photo, taken on september 11, day three of the fiasco. it shows christie and the official who arranged the bridge closures together at the 9/11 commemoration in new york. that official seen in the red tie is david wildstein, a central figure, the official who replied "got it" after an e-mail said "time for some traffic problems in ft. lee." last week, here is what christie said about wildstein. >> i have had no contact with david wildstein in a long time. a long time, well before the election.

you know, i could probably count on one hand the number of conversations i've had with david since he worked at the port authority. i did not interact with david. >> really? no interaction? because this certainly looks like interaction. "the journal" also reports two other bridge officials were there, bill baroni and david samson. keep in mind governor christie said he had no knowledge of any bridge problems until at least three weeks later. if we are to believe christie, it means none of these officials said something to him, despite complaints from residents. e-mails reveal half a dozen angry calls on the first day of the closings, including one who accused the agency in charge of the bridge of playing god with people's jobs. a day later, september 12th, the final day of the lane closures

was the first day reports of traffic jams hit the press. that day bridget kelly, who sent the smoking gun e-mail, was in seaside heights, new jersey, with her boss. after the fire had broken out, she was there with him. but here is the key. as she was making her way down to the shore, she received this e-mail from david wildstein. "call me when you have a moment." wildstein just found out the mayor of ft. lee was upset about the closings. kelly responded "on the way to seaside. will call you later." remember, these two are at the heart of the scandal. the one who sent the e-mail and the one who replied "got it." if we are to believe christie, it means bridget kelly didn't mention anything to her boss that day, despite the message about the ft. lee mayor.

it means none of those officials said anything about traffic chaos on the bridge. david wildstein, bridget kelly, samson, bill baroni, none of them said a word to the boss. is it possible? yes. but is it a lot to believe? yes. joining me now is richard wolffe, executive editor of msnbc.com and star ledger reporter sal rizzo, live from the state house in trenton, new jersey, where governor christie gave his address earlier today. thank you for being here. >> thanks, reverend. >> thank you. >> richard, stood we have proof that the man responsible was with the governor at the time of the unfolding. what's your thoughts? >> well, two things. first of all, didn't he sound completely credible and believable in his press conference, and yet when you look at the actual evidence, how could he have delivered such an

unyielding statement, a statement with such certitude. no contact with this guy for who knows how long, well before the election. you can count on one hand the number of interactions. that's where credibility starts to fall apart and where believability, people's own confidence what n what they think was a good performance starts to crumble. and secondly, he set his own trap here. when you say mistakes were clearly made, it makes it sound like at just those events. but what happens when politicians struggle to explain themselves is that they repeat their mistakes. they add to their mistakes, and their explanations become the trouble and not the main event. >> now, sal, you covered this administration. and this is a governor that is known to keep everything close to the vest. and are we to be -- are we to be asked to believe, let me put it that way, that you have this bridge closing for three days.

the largest bridge -- and the most traffic used bridge in the state as well as the world, but in his state, and no one ever mentioned to the governor at any point in three days all of these traffic problems? let's forget that there was a conspiracy. the fact that he didn't even know that there was all of these traffic problems, all of these officials around him and no one mentioned anything to him about it, and he is in the middle of a reelection and could have been questioned at any public forum or interview, what about the bridge, that the way he operates, sal? >> yeah, it's a good question. aside from the damage that these people were suffering in ft. lee, you know, it was a political time bomb just waiting to explode for the governor. as you say, right in the middle of the election season. that's why democrats are so, you know, incredulous that the governor would have only learned about this on january 8 as he said in his press conference last week.

the woman who is slated to become his next chief of staff, in addition to bridget kelly, who was with him in seaside heights that day, regina egea on september 13th, she was copied on patrick foye's angry e-mail to bill baroni. and in that e-mail, foye says point-blank i believe laws were broken in both states and federal law. so that's an issue that also raises the question, you know, if one of the top aides to the governor who is in charge of supervising authority for him isn't alerting him to this very, very explosive situation, you know, who was informed in the governor's office, you know? who was in charge of digesting this information and responding? >> now, david, today governor christie said he would cooperate with all investigations, richard. >> yep. >> listen to this. >> i'm the governor. and i'm ultimately responsible for all that happens on my

watch, both good and bad. and without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again. >> what will you be watching, richard? >> all appropriate inquiries. the problem here is that we're now looking based on the newspaper reports at a pattern of behavior where other mayors, the victims of retribution for their refusal to endorse or their neutral positions in some of these election, the pressures they face at the time of the election. if there is a pattern of behavior, who gets to say what is an appropriate inquiry? is the governor going to get locked into a dispute about well, no, that allegation is out of bounds? that's where this is going to be headed, because, you know, we've seen this at the national level when presidents get investigated. they don't like the mission creep that is naturally a part of this. >> now, let me go back to you, sal. you know, david samson, the

chairman of the agency running the bridge, was with christie on september 11th as well, the day three of the closing. the leading investigator wants to know why a meeting between samson and christie just a week before the closures was included in david wildstein's documents. these are the documents he handed over. does the news today about samson being with christie again raise any concerns to you? >> well, you know, david samson is a key figure in the investigation i think for the democrats. he is a top appointee as the chairman of the port authority. he is the governor's top appointee. it does raise questions. why did wildstein include that e-mail about the meeting with samson and christie a week before this happened when he was only asked to turn over things relevant to the lane closures. i think you'll be hearing his name a lot more frequently as the weeks progress alongside bridget kelly and bill stepien who are due at some point for

subpoenas this week. >> richard wulfe and sal rizzo, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. ahead, new details about the woman at the heart of the christie bridge scandal. is bridget kelly still devoted to her old boss, even after he fired her? plus, republicans are trying to spin the christie scandal by making it all about president obama. but they're having a few problems with the facts. i'll set them straight tonight. stay with us. ♪ [ male announcer ] welcome back all the sweet things your family loves with 0-calorie monk fruit in the raw. ♪ welcome back [ male announcer ] it's made with the vine-ripened sweetness of fruit, so you can serve up deliciously sweet treats without all the sugar. so let no drink go unsweetened. no spatula un-licked. and no last bit un-sipped. you don't have to throw a party,

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she's the woman at the center of the bridge scandal, a top christie aide known for toughness and loyalty. that will now be put to the acid test. that story is next. sick day. sick day. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] so when he catches a cold, he's got to power through it.

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we're getting closer to hearing from the woman at the center of the chris christie bridge scandal. her subpoena is expected to drop on bridget kelly, the former deputy chief of staff, who sent the e-mail that said "time for some traffic problems in ft. lee." only she knows the motivation behind that message. was she going rogue or simply following a chain of command? governor christie has let it be known what he thinks. >> i've terminated the employment of bridget kelly effective immediately.

i terminated her employment because she lied to me there is no justification for ever lying to a governor. stunned by the abject stupidity. that was obviously a lie. proved that that was a lie. bridget clearly did not tell me the truth. >> but today "the new york times" paints a different picture. it reports that those closest to kelly say her actions were highly uncharacteristic for someone who had always been a loyal soldier but never a rule-breaker. her friend says, quote, she follows the chain of command. she is not a cowboy. but despite that, several trenton political operatives say kelly changed after being brought into christie's inner circle. in fact, they suggested she seemed to relish teaming up with mr. stepien, christie's campaign

manager in administering political payback. so what was her motivation? right now bridget kelly may be the only person who knows the answer. joining me now is the daily beast's michelle cotto. thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> michelle, what do you make of the reporting that bridget kelly was not a rogue operator? >> well, look. when you are a trusted staffer in a situation like this, part of your job is to protect the principal and even if there is no proof or any indication that christie himself was involved in this particular episode, there is the question of the kind of climate that he created in his office that led her and stepien to think that this was an appropriate course of action. and he has really not addressed those questions that well.

i mean, the governor has kind of ducked and weaved about how he needs to do a little bit of soul-searching. but i think that's going to come back again. because i think if she is following the chain of command, i think spep ytepien is going t next person who we'll all be grilling, and after that christie is going to answer more questions about the climate in his office there. >> are reports that despite being fired and denounced by christie, bridget kelly is still loyal to him. quote, even now after mr. christie's denunciation of her, friends of ms. kelly said she sounded as devoted to him as ever. her unrequited loyalty is not wavering, a friend said. >> well, quan, you find this in washington a lot as well. you have a situation where staffers' entire jobs revolve around the principle. and even when they have to fall on their sword, a lot of them

remain completely loyal on the assumption that they're serving the greater good, or that it will come back one day and they will be rewarded for their loyalty. >> now, you know, when you look at the players here, there is a lot of players beyond bridget kelly embroiled in this mess. you have christie's chief of staff, kevin dowd, and chief council charlie mckinnon questioned bridget kelly before she was fired. then there is christie's press secretary. what did he know over at port authority, two executives have already been implicated in the bridge incidents, bill baroni and david wildstein, christie's campaign manager bill stepien corresponded with david wildstein and was close to bridget kelly. i mean, is it believable that bridget kelly could orchestrate all of this by herself? >> no, no, no, no. every scandal needs a scapegoat, and she is the designated scapegoat in this.

now, whether or not you think christie had any direct involvement, you need a flow chart to keep track of all the characters and no way she could do this on her own there are some other people who at least bear part of the blame. but it happens. you have to have one central figure for people's outrage to focus on and to kind of be the fall guy. and she is clearly the person chosen for this one. >> yeah, i heard something today that just kind of caught my attention. if the motive here we're told by some, michelle, is that this was political retribution, then it would have been put together by someone to pay back those that wouldn't endorse the governor, and that someone would want to show the governor they were loyal and paid back his enemies. well, why would they do that without letting the governor know? i mean, you wouldn't do that without getting credit from the one you're doing it for.

>> well, it may be that, you know, somebody up the chain of command would know this, or it may just kind of be -- again, we go to the question of climate in the office. if it is a system whereby people do the wink, wink, nudge, nudge, we're going to get a little payback here, then you wouldn't have to keep the governor apprised of everything. and in fact he would be kind of stupid if he were involved in all of the details of every little stunt they pull. >> but wouldn't you want him to know that you were taking care of something for him if that's what you were doing, if that is in fact the motive? >> i think probably christie is a smart enough guy that he knows kind of what his mean operatives, he has kind of given them a general sense of what he expects from them. and whether or not that means that he knows every detail of everything that gets pulled in the office. it does suggest that he has a general -- this kind of stuff

comes from the top. it trickles down. >> yeah. >> so they probably know if it's okay or not to have retribution on their minds. >> all right. >> so what is going to be a problem is the drip, drip, drip, as richard wolffe was talking about if this isn't the only person who steps forward, you know, it gives greater credibility to everybody else who has ever said they have been bullied in this way. >> well, talking about the drip, drip, drip, we'll be watching and see what happens later this week when she is subpoenaed and others come forward. michelle cottle, thank you for your time this evening. >> thanks, reverend. coming up, chris christie vowed cooperation in this investigation. the question is how will he cooperate. new jersey assemblywoman linda stender is coming up.

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president obama. comparing bridgegate to benghazi and the irs controversy. but we've got some bad news. their so-called obama scandals are falling apart. remember what they said about the attacks in benghazi? >> number two, during the attack, why were rescue troops told to stand down? we need answers to that. >> we had people who were willing to risk their lives to go save them, and somebody told them to stand down. >> troops were told to stand down? that's not true. a republican-controlled committee has released hundreds of pages of documents from classified briefs and the leader of the security team in libya testified. quote, madam chairman, i was not ordered to stand down. a favorite gop talking point taken down by the facts. here is another one. the right also claimed the u.s.

ignored warnings of an attack. >> one of the top security officials on the ground during the benghazi attack breaking his silence last night. he says the u.s. government knew an attack was imminent and didn't do a thing about it. >> but the commander of the response testified, quote, i have not found the intelligence that would indicate that an attack in benghazi was imminent. and benghazi isn't the only phony scandal that is falling apart. last summer congressman darrell issa accused the white house of using the irs to target conservative groups. >> the administration is still, their paid liar, their spokesperson, picture behind, he is still making up things about what happens. my gut tells me that too many people knew that this wrongdoing was going on before the election. >> turns out congressman issa's gut was wrong.

"the wall street journal" reports the fbi won't file criminal charges in the irs case because, quote, investigators didn't find the kind of political bias or enemy hunting that would amount to a violation of criminal law. bureaucrats made mistakes. but was this a political scheme? nope. congressman issa must be pretty embarrassed. so what is he up to in the new year? well, "the hill" reports his 2014 agenda is irs, benghazi, and fast and furious. if at first republicans don't succeed in finding a scandal, i guess they'll try, try, try again. joining me now are dana milbank and goldie taylor. thank you both for being here tonight. >> hi, reverend. >> hello, reverend. >> dana, a lot of republicans responded to chris christie's problems, but waving the

benghazi and irs flags, but now those have just fallen apart. your reaction. >> yeah, i mean, benghazi, the irs, and even fast and furious, we're going way back now. is it time to start bringing the blue dress back and maybe get ken starr back into the committee room. darrell issa's had a rather difficult time of it during his time as chairman. what he has done in each case, and wearing this play yet over again and again with benghazi, he comes out with some outlandish accusation, releases some selective bit of information. and then we get all the information. and that contradicts what he said in the first place. and that's of course what happened with irs when we found out, well, they were targeting groups of all ideological persuasions and the selective release of information in the benghazi case has now been demonstrated it wasn't all of those things they were talking about. >> right. >> and it wasn't al qaeda as darrell issa continues to insist that it was.

>> no, well clearly it has fell apart. but goldie, is this just really being used by them to try and distract from what is going on with christie or because they can't defend anything with christie, so they're trying to just come back with the old talking points that clearly has fallen apart and continues to fall apart? >> you know, reverend, this was the agenda clearly before the debacle that is chris christie sort of emerged. what is happening is, and i say this all the time, if you show me your budget, if you show me your agenda, what you do with your day, then i can show you your sals. if you look at darrell issa's values, if you look at darrell issa's budget, what he does with his day, it shows he values not what is going on with the american people, but what is going on with his politics, what is going on with his party. this is a form of baiting, really, getting people whipped up on issues that don't really exist and into the voting booth

in order to keep a certain select people in power. so that's really what this is about. if darrell issa was really about doing his job, then maybe he would be investigating what happened in target, with that retailer's unveiling of i think it was 120 million people's personal information. how did that happen? that impacts real americans' lives. so i wonder if you take a look at the kinds of agenda items that he puts forth, if you could really begin to understand what he is after here. he certainly isn't after the truth for the american people. >> now, you know, dana, when goldie talks about budget, let me tell you something that was very interesting to me. the new budget bill unveiled last night mentions four times, four times that it bans funds going to the defunct organization group a.c.o.r.n. a republican group forced a.c.o.r.n. to disband three years ago. doesn't it show that when the

gop gets an idea for a scandal they'll never let it go. you're still putting in the budget four times that you're not going to front a group that you had disband three years ago? >> you can't be too sure, reverend. in case they come back to life, they're going to make sure they don't get any money in there. it actually shows to the extent to which our government is on autopilot, and for all the house republicans' talk of redoing the way washington works, they're basically just, you know, cutting and pasting the budgets from years past. and those include some of their pet provisions, even if they're no longer relevant. >> you know, goldie, republicans are constantly talking about impeachment when it comes to the president. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was asked than last night. listen to this. >> you as a lawmaker really have two meaningful options. and the main one that has been used historically is try to impeach him. i mean, is that -- is that ever

considered as opposed to running into the courts and trying to get them to do it? the other is try to defund the president's legislation, which you guys have tried before. >> yeah, defunding is a less dramatic response. the challenge there is the u.s. senate is in democratic hands, and they basically, you know, enable the president to do all of these things. >> now, we've heard others bring up impeachment. but she brought to it mcconnell. and if you notice, he didn't dismiss it. he just talked around it. what do you make of, that goldie? >> well, that's because no one, not mitch mcconnell, not megyn kelly, no one, not even on the right believes that there is something that this president has done that really warrants impeachment, or that they can, you know, get an impeachment, bill of impeachment through the house and through the senate. it certainly just cannot happen. what this is, this is about ratings baiting. this is about feeding an audience that really wants to hear this kind of thing day in and day out. this isn't about what this president is or is not. this is about the next election.

this isn't about convicting him on articles of impeachment. they know that that can't happen. this is about 2014 and feeding red meat to a base of low information voters who act on nothing else. >> you know, dana, the house judiciary committee held a hearing last month about how the president has failed his constitutional duties. here is some of the reasons they gave. listen. >> and you can insert whatever you want, benghazi, fast and furious, the irs targeting of advocacy groups, nsa overreach, if you like your health care, you can keep it. >> the president ordered anwar al awlaki killed by drone strike. >> the president effectively enacted the dream act itself. >> the deep-water drilling ban. mr. holder's attempt to reform criminal justice by selectively enforcing our laws. mr. obama's unilaterally ignoring immigration laws in many cases. >> dana, you wrote about this.

how desperate are they? >> well, you know, these are just everyday run of the mill policy disagreements. and rather than saying we disagree with the president, they say we want to impeach the president. and what was very important about that fox news clip you played there is of course mitch mcconnell knows that that's not going to happen. but he is not going to say it because he himself is in a tough primary battle with this tea party republican, and all the crazies in the base are saying impeach him, impeach him. and mitch mcconnell can't get up there and say guys, impeachment isn't on the table because that could lead to him losing his own job. >> dana milbank and goldie taylor, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thank you. more subpoenas coming in the chris christie bridge scandal, and new investigations being opened. we'll talk to a key new jersey democrat at the center of all of it. that's next. ♪ we're gonna be late. ♪

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admitted that mistakes were made in the bridge scandal. and he vowed to cooperate with all appropriate inquiries. but what will that cooperation look like? and what is next in this investigation? new jersey assemblywoman democrat linda send thor is with us. assemblywoman, thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> where do you believe this investigation is headed now? >> well, on thursday we will go back in for a special session, and we will reauthorize the subpoena power. and in new committee will get to work. part of the work of that committee is going to be issuing new subpoenas. i expect they will go to bridget anne kelly and bill stepien for starters. and as well, i expect we're going to hire a special attorney to come in and work with us on this investigation. >> now, you subpoena them, they come in. you're on the committee. what questions do you want the answers to?

>> well, the obvious question first that has gotten so much attention from bridget anne kelly is what did she mean it's time for traffic in ft. lee? the questions are lengthy. i want to know about a traffic study that the governor said he never had anything to do with traffic studies, but we know from some of the documentation that in fact he was involved with authorizing other traffic studies. i want to know -- >> he was involved in other traffic studies? >> according to the documents that we already have, according to the comments made. >> but there was no traffic study here? >> he -- in the documents we have, reference was made to an additional separate traffic study in another community that he authorized. >> okay. >> which is different than the one that was purported to be imposed upon the people of ft. lee. >> okay. >> so i want to understand. if you are not involved in any traffic studies, that's what you have already said to us, then explain. this it's just one there are so many questions. every question creates another opportunity for another ten, plus all the issues of redactions.

who was taken off of the list? is it somebody that we need to know? they need to identify that. this is going to be lengthy. it's going to be methodical. we have a lot of work to do. >> now, let me put up this photo that was in today's "wall street journal." it's a photo of wildstein and baroni and samson. baroni is not in the photo, but he was there. this was at 9/11. all of them with governor christie. >> yes. >> now, is it believable to you that all of these guys could have been with him while we're dealing with the bridge closings, we're beginning to hear complaints. this is the second or third day. and no one would have mentioned to the governor that they're having all of these bridge problems and traffic problems, and he is in the middle of his reelection campaign. i mean you run for office. just the fact that it can come

up at a campaign stop so he would know what to answer. no one, it is believable to you, no one would have mentioned to him this problem? >> it's not believable to me. i don't think it's believable to most people. but we need to see the documentation that proves it. clearly, a picture where they're being gathering. they know each other. those people are close associates. we relied on those people to be his advisers, to speak to him and guide him in policy and planning. >> do you feel that the fact that we're hearing now from different mayors throughout the state that when they didn't make endorsements, that things happened like meetings canceled that would have helped their city or that they felt shortchanged with some of the sandy relief money. does that add to the kind of fervor in your committee that you want to get to the bottom of whether or not there was some

improper use of public funds as well as the public in terms of the george washington bridge situation? >> absolutely. we know that the port authority has enormous resources. david wildstein was in charge of capital projects. i think that one of the things that we will want to know is identify all the capital projects. let's look at where they went, what towns got money. let's look at the towns that made requests that didn't get money, and where did their elected officials sit in this listing of people who endorsed and didn't endorse. >> wow. >> so many questions. >> a lot of questions. well, a big thanks for coming tonight. >> thank you. >> and we definitely will be watching. new jersey assemblywoman linda stender, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. oup, right? pfft! [ laughs ] you nearly had us there. canned soup. [ male announcer ] they just might think it's homemade. try campbell's homestyle soup. over the pizza place on chestnut street

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now to the story of jonathan farrell, the unarmed college student who was shot and killed by a north carolina police officer in september. today jonathan's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against that officer, randall character. the charlotte police chief, the county and the city were also named. last september, jonathan was driving home late at night when he crashed his car. he went to a house to ask for help. the woman inside thought he was a burglar and called 911. when police arrived, officer character fired 12 bullets at him, killing him.

the lawsuit states jonathan was unarmed and committed no crime. quote, despite being completely incapacitated and mortally wounded, he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back as he laid dieing on the ground. the officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter. the criminal case will go to a grand jury next tuesday. the video from the car, from the police car dash cam has not been released, but sources tell a local tv station what was on the tape. >> video from one or more of the patrol cars shows ferrell was clearly empty handed as he approached officers. at one point, ferrell hiked up his pants, perhaps to show he had no weapon there's either. >> an unarmed young man gunned down by police as the wheels of justice roll forward, relatives of jonathan ferrell say they

still have too many unanswered questions. joining me now are jonathan ferrell's mother, georgia, and his brother, willie. also with us is the family attorney for chestnut. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> first, i'd like to express my condolences for your loss, mrs. ferrell. how are you holding up? >> i'm doing as well as expected. i'm holding up okay. >> all right. christopher, why is the family filing this lawsuit? >> well, rev, you know, the civil justice system is really our only avenue right now. we've been waiting for an indictment since last year. the indictment didn't come, or at least it still hasn't come. a grand jury is not being commenced the same day we're filing the lawsuit. we're trying to make the wheels of justice roll a little faster here and get some answers to questions and get some evidence that we have been asking for from day one and that have been concealed deliberately. >> why it is taking so long for

them to decide on an indictment or not? >> you know, it baffles me, reverend al. i mean, everyone knows what happened here. we have 12 shots, ten at a downward ainge into jonathan ferrell who is unarmed, who has commit nod crime, who is looking for help after being injured in an accident. it's very clear that this is cold-blooded murder. the only question is why is it taking so long for us to have a criminal trial. negative, the lawsuit states that officers can use force when, quote, the individual to be subdued is engaged in aggravated active aggression. >> correct. >> that are likely to result in the death or serious bodily injury to an officer. ms. georgia ferrell, does that describe your son, someone like that? >> not at all. not at all. >> tell us about jonathan. >> jonathan was a very gentle young man. he obeyed the law. jonathan never got in trouble. outside of the home or at home. jonathan was a very caring

person. he loved everyone. >> and reverendal al, that's why we want the video released. if you see the video, it is very telling that this is cold-blooded murder, that he was not an aggressor, that he possess nod threat to officer kerrick. officer kerrick just killed him. >> officer kerrick's attorney had no comment about the civil lawsuit, but he did say this about the criminal case, and i'm quoting, we're confident at the resolution of this case it will be found that officer kerrick's actions will be found justified on the night in question. >> what do you feel than as your brother is the victim here and you're sitting there with your mother, will? >> first of all, i hate that the situation had to occur the way that it did. and i don't -- we really want this stuff to take place so no other parent or family have to deal with the situation that our family has had to deal with at the time. and we would really hate for another child or innocent person to have to deal with the danger

of the stuff that my brother had to go through. >> you know, one of the things that really i had to take a real pause back and look is, georgia, when i heard that the family had decided to forgive in this situation. you want justice, but you hold no acrimony toward the officer? >> no, i do not, reverend, because i love god. and what i was told in sunday school from a child to forgive. vengeance is mine, say the lord. but he do speak of justice. and i want full justice. >> and christopher, all you're seeking here is justice given what you see as the evidence, you feel this case should move forward in a court of law and let a jury decide on the fate of this officer and whether he be guilty or not? >> absolutely. and we want to see changes in the policies and procedures, the training. we want to know how is it that a

murderer could be hired and this is an animal control officer who was suspended in his first year of employment at the police department. so we want to know how it was that he was hired at charlotte-mecklenburg police department. we want to know how there were 179 incidents in a two-year span of injuries for arrest or attempted arrest at the charlotte-mecklenburg police department. there is a policy and practice here, and we need answer because the citizens depend on it. >> you have seen a tape that they will not release from the dash cam video. what son the tape? >> murder. murder. it illustrates the fact that this officer at no time was under threat. as highlighted by the fact that he is flanked by two other officers who never fire one shot. but you hear it's the succession of the shots, reverend, al that is so con have i beening of him. it is one, two, three, four, pause. one, two, three, four, five, six pause. one, two. that's two pauses, two times, two opportunities to stop. all the bullets from the autopsy

report are downward and at an angle. he was shooting down. this man pose nod threat to him. this was a man looking for help. >> and then after he was mortally wounded, they handcuffed him while he was on the ground? >> reverend al, the epitome of barbaric inhumanity was the fact that the medical examiner had to remove the handcuffs from this young man's hands. they handcuffed him after he was dead, shot ten times. handcuffed. >> georgia ferrell, what do you say to people around the country that are watching you tonight as you stand and ask for justice for your son, saying you are forgiving, but you want justice. what do you want the say to america tonight? >> i want full justice, and i pray that no one else in america, anywhere else have to have their child brutally murdered the way jonathan was. jonathan was one of the best people you could meet. >> georgia and willie ferrell, i want to thank you both. and again, you have our condolences and in my prayers.

>> thank you. >> and christopher chestnut, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, rev. >> we'll be right back. we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners.

at the beginning of his state of the state address today, governor christie addressed the bridge scandal. said today that mistakes were made, trying to get to the bottom of this scandal or trying to get out of this. that's next. in the nation, we reward safe driving.

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chris christie said something today that sounded very familiar. mistakes were made. >> for the last week has certainly tested this administration. >> mi mistakes were clearly made. and as a result, we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. >> mistakes were made. it's something we've heard before from politicians in trouble. president reagan used it in 1987 talking about the iran/contra scandal. >> we did not achieve what we wished and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so. we will get to the bottom of this, and i will take whatever action is called for. >> serious mistakes were made. president bush said pretty much the same thing, discussing the war in iraq. >> our troops in iraq have fought bravely. they have done everything we have asked them to do.

where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me. >> again, where mistakes have been made. we've heard it from democrats as well like bill clinton and john kerry. and today we heard that familiar refrain from the governor of new jersey. yes, mistakes were made. but what happens now? is governor christie trying to get to the bottom of this scandal or get out of it? today he vowed to cooperate with the investigation. so will he? what really bothers me is that it seems that whoever was involved and whomever their help was, it seemed that the people of new jersey and the people traveling through didn't matter to them. children on their first day of school, seniors that may have needed medical attention.

people that on september lived right in the shadows of what was once the world trade center in a serious day of high alert. it didn't matter to them. they must be held accountable because no matter who is guilty or not, we can't live in a nation where people are just collateral damage for political retribution. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. new weeds in the garden state. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm kris matthews back up in new york. let me start tonight with. this governor chris christie now faces the ticking clock. each second takes him closer to the moment when those he has blamed for this bridge scandal testify under oath. if he hasna