♪ good evening, i'm chris matthews back in washington. i'm back and i'm thrilled to see how president obama is leading this country across what has been for centuries, the san andreas fault of american life. i'm talking about race. what the president said today carries power and truth to both sides of this red hot topic we now call ferguson. and like the word watergate, the name of this community in missouri carries far more meaning. it means something historic, something deeply rooted and whether people like to hear it or not, real as hell. and thoughtfully the president was not out there today giving soothing speeches, talking about the blue states loving the red states. he was talking about real problems, deadly problems, american problems. and just as thoughtfully a lot of us were hoping he's talking solutions. changes that can restore peace and save lives, like cameras on police officers and mandatory

training on how to make dangerous arrests without people getting killed. about minority recruitment so the communities, especially tough neighborhood have police protecting them with people who came from where they came from and know how it is. what i liked about the president, he comes at this division in our country, not denying that it exists, but making clear it does. and that he knows it does. he talked about racial differences being not unique to our time. that we've been dealing with them for centuries. but the current reality that as he put it, too many individuals, particularly young people of color, do not feel as if they're being treated fairly by police. but he also quoted attorney general eric holder, that quote, police officers have a right to come home after working a tough neighborhood and not end up dead. i trust this man who's our president and i'm sticking to that trust. in a society in which there's too much hate, he uses his superior intellect to see through the passions and the anger justified by too much bad

history. to the possibility that all have to believe we can meet the needs for of our society. respect for human beings in the community and respect for the law and those charged to uphold it. jonathan carl put it so well, we have a president who's not only stepped up to lead us on this difficult post-ferguson journey, but it deeply invested himself in making things different and better. he's invested now. we have other news tonight, of course. the pope taking a leadership role against isis. the nfl's ridiculously dishonest handling of the ray rice case. the debunking finally of the benghazi legend and the terrible discovery that 50,000 iraqi soldiers don't exist. only their pay stubs were real and all that money has been stolen by that corrupt, absurd government that w. bush and the ne-yo cons spent billions of our dollars and thousands of american lives in baghdad. but first how the president is

taking us through ferguson. the mayor of baltimore joins us and the director of the aclu's washington office. laura and michael were in the meeting with the president today. i want to hear from laura first of all. thank you for joining us at this last minute. >> you're welcome. >> what struck you as the president's message today that got to you? >> what struck me was how he articulated the depth and the way these problems are entrenched not just in ferguson, but in communities across the country. he spoke with passion. he spoke with knowledge. he said he wanted policy changes. he talked about the creation of the task force on policing. he talked about his executive order on military weapons being sent to local law enforcement. and he was just overall

specific, focused, and you could tell he was emotionally invested. >> michael, what did you think of his concrete talks about -- apparently he talked about cameras on police officers. chicago announced today they're starting a pilot program. so the police officers themselves will be able to show what happened. and anybody they mess with will be able to show what happened. and also recruit minorities, especially in places like ferguson, a white police force in a black community. and how do bring a big guy down, if you will. how to arrest a guy who is dangerous. that's the job. not to shoot to kill, but bring the guy into custody for justice. that's his job. >> i agree. young folks have been asking for police cameras and deescalation tactics -- >> de-escalation, meaning? >> saying i need backup, i'm not going to pull a gun and shoot him six times.

talk about biases against young people of color. the president laid that out. he's asking congress for $263 million to fund this program. for 50,000 cameras. what would that mean in philly? >> you look at 50,000 cameras nationwide. >> how many police officers are on the streets right now? what percent would that be? 30,000 police in new york. >> a million offices around the country. 5 to 10%. pilot programs launching in chicago. may not have stopped darren wilson from killing michael brown, but we would have known what happened if there was a body camera on him. >> and in a big community like baltimore, your thoughts? >> i'm proud of the president's leadership. i think he showed the type of leadership that the public wants across the board. he took a thoughtful approach to a very challenging problem, something that i'm doing right now in baltimore. we are grappling with the issue of how to implement body cameras and i'm determined to make it

happen. but like the president, it needs to be done in a thoughtful way and i'm very pleased he made a commitment to fund, to share funding for the cameras and i hope that congress moves forward it. we can use the help. we can't do it alone. >> it's one of the big problems of any city. you have declining tax base. middle-class people moving out of the city. poor people growing in populations because cities are where you go when you're poor. the president said it this was more than about ferguson. let's watch. >> when any part of the american family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that's a problem for all of us. it means that we are not as strong as a country as we can be. and when applied to the criminal justice system it means we're not as effective in fighting crime as we could be. there was a cautionary note, i think, from everybody here, that

there have been commissions before, task forces, there have been conversations and nothing happens. what i try to describe to people is why this time will be different. and part of the reason this time will be different is because the president of the united states is deeply invested in making sure that this time is different. >> laura, weigh those words. is he invested? can you tell? >> yes, i can really tell. he brought the young people he spoke to from ferguson. he was in a previous meeting with them. he brought them to our meeting, and they spoke eloquently. and he really identified with the young people and their fear of the police. he talked about his own experiences as a young man. he talked about his experiences as a young politician, where someone walked up to him in a ballroom and said, would you mind getting me more tea?

and he was the guest of bill clinton. it just was really heart-felt. a real difference-making strategy is being implemented. and we're going to have lots of criticism of that strategy. be clear. the aclu is not going to love everything that the president does. and we were -- are concerned about his militarization comments today, and we want to work on that executive order. but he's talking about specific action. >> what was it that bugged you, that you think would be an aclu problem, a civil liberties problem? >> well, i think that the -- on the militarization piece, that he down played the number of military-grade weapons that are going to police departments as only 4%. but people don't understand, that translates to thousands and hundreds of tanks, of humvees,

of m-14s and m-15s, and there's no accountability once these police departments get these materials. so we need to drill down a little more on this, and we are hopeful that the president will entertain some of our concerns. and i asked him a question about this. the congress is currently trying to up the amount of military equipment that goes to local law enforcement. and he's trying to reduce it. but he's not -- i don't know that he's using all of his power. because he has the power of the purse. and there should be restrictions attached to money and objects sent to local law enforcement. >> i have a concern and that is, every time i hear about robbers of a bank or a convenience store or bodega, having automatic weapons. it scares me. because the police officer has a pistol. i do worry. certainly tanks aren't the answer. but you have a level of criminal fire power out there that's frightening. do you accept that fact?

>> they don't even keep track of the military they give -- >> don't you accept the fact that the criminals are state of the art in terms of fire power? that's a fact. >> absolutely. >> that's all i want. >> but you don't need ambush protection vehicles in a situation like ferguson. now, wouldn't you agree, chris, that that was overzealous? >> what was? >> the use of these -- >> oh, yeah. by the way, i don't pretend to be an expert, but we got problems with gang stuff in chicago that's frightening and murder rates in some of the cities. but anyway, you were going to say something. >> i think those arguments are frivolous. they're two separate arguments. one is thousands of people fighting black on black crime all across this country. it doesn't mean you can't protect young people of color from the police at the same time. >> what's a frivolous argument? >> that the crime rates in

chicago are going up and they're attacking people of color -- >> who put them together? >> you just said the murder rate is going up in chicago. >> therefore what? >> mike brown wasn't a gang member. >> i never connected him to mike brown. >> but shouldn't have been in the same sentence. there are two separate conversations. >> okay, you made your argument. i made no connection of the two. let me go back to the mayor. when you have to put all this together, mayor. keeping the police well led by the commissioner and yourself, and keeping a crime rate down in your city and respecting community people who really just have kids they're trying to keep out of trouble. your thoughts? >> i think you hit the nail on the head. it's about that respect. i know very clearly that we can't do it by ourselves. a community certainly can't keep their neighborhoods safe by themselves. and the police can't do it by themselves. it has to be in relationship. that's why i was so pleased to be in little rock for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the cops program.

because for me, it begins and ends with the community. if we don't get the community on board and figure out how to work better together, we're not going to have a sustainable reduction of violent crime anywhere in the country. so i'm fully in support of what the president is doing, something that i'm doing right here in baltimore and i'm determined to get it right. >> we'll have you back again and again. thank you, mayor of baltimore and thank you laura murphy and michael skulnik. coming up, pope francis speaks of love and compassion, but singling out isis, isil. the pope is back from turkey and he's speaking out against the horror and brutality of isis. he calls the barbaric acts of theirs a profoundly grave sin against god. that's just ahead and this is "hardball," the place for politics.

here's some breaking news from philly. late this afternoon, bill cosby resigned his post on the board of trustees of the great temple university. he's been one of temple university's most highly visible alumni. but he's stepping down after more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault. he doesn't want to be a distraction to the board and the university itself. he's been on the board at temple since 1982. we'll be right back.

talking about a wild surprise and welcome back to "hardball." when pope francis speaks, it's usually of love and inclusiveness, but one group is most definitely not included. isis, the islamic state. the pope used fearless language to condemn the terrorist group for their evil operation, including the killing of people from different religions. the pope condemned isis in a language its followers can clearly understand, calling their actions a grave sin against god. the pope made the comments on his trip to turkey that is 98% minimum and flooded with

refugees from syria. this report on the pope's historic condemnation of isis. >> the pope left sounding more convinced than ever that isis must be stopped, stressing it to reporters on his plane. >> translator: i won't soften the phrase. they are forcing christians to free from the middle east. >> reporter: on his last day in istanbul, he met with the leader of the world's 250 million orthodox christians. for over a thousand years, relations between the two churches have been tense. at times descending into war. but now, they both face isis, which has given christians in syria a stark choice. convert to islam, or be killed. pope francis and bartholomew said they cannot resign themselves to a middle east without christians.

some neighboring countries are scarred by an inhumane and brutal war, calling it a profoundly grave sin against god. >> joining me right now, my friend e.j. dionne with "the washington post" and jason berry for "the washington post." i think most of the viewers of the show, certainly the progressives, love the fact about this, and a lot of jewish friends of mine bring this up, they like this pope because he's inclusive. but here he draws the line. you go around killing people because they don't join your religion, you're the bad guy. it's so stark. you're evil. >> he's going after them because they are not inclusive. it was really striking -- >> i'd say. they crucified people. they behead them. >> that's right. and he went after fanaticism and fundamentalism and what he called for was the solidarity of all believers. that's a remarkable thing. the catholic church is a

dogmatic church. dogma is a good word in the catholic church. here he's saying -- >> so this is a community of the faithful. >> yeah, but it's the solidarity of all believers. so his view is, the way you stop this persecution of christians is not simply to bash isis, which he did strongly, but call on other muslims to join in. this is frances, consistent with peace and love, but saying some lines have to be drawn and what isis is doing is over the top. >> jason, you think that's a strategy? include among your friends those who share religious faith who are not violent? >> i do think it's a strategy and i think it's shaped by his experience in argentina during the dirty war in the 1970s when the catholic country, deeply divided and under a fascist

regime saw priests and nuns and people on the moderate left kidnapped and tortured. he used the phrase in turkey fratricidal religion, and i think what this man is doing, is trying in his own way is to build a philosophical coalition, if you will. i don't know how long it will take for something like that to happen, but inevitably that's the direction that the western world has to move in, with some relationship with muslim -- islam. >> a lot of us are struck when it hits your own people. we're not cosmic in our thinking most of us. when you read about the yazidis, you go, that's too bad. then you read about the christian community in iraq that was getting killed or forced to convert, it gets to you. you say, those are the people where jesus came from.

that's the root of our religion over there and they're being killed for being part of it. >> you have a lot of christians being killed and a lot of christians are packing up and leaving. so, historic christian communities all over the middle east, are slowly disappearing. there are still some left in lebanon. there was a lively christian community in iraq and a lot of them have gone away. >> father casey taught us theology, but he was over at the university of baghdad, teaching over there. >> right. so i think jason's right, that there's one way of doing this, which is to say, this is islam v. christianity. but that doesn't work politically. b, that doesn't describe the reality. because there are parts of islam, i mean, turkey has had a quite significant amount of religious freedom. and even now an islamist government wants to embrace some sense of religious toleration.

>> how many divisions does the hope have? stalin said as if the pope didn't have any power, and the pope had a big hand in bringing down communism with reagan and harry truman too, all the rest of them. but he did have a big hand, pope john ii in killing communism. and here he is taking on isis, having knocked off the sieve -- soviet union. how about the european cunning -- countries that are catholic, will they help against isis or not? your question, how many divisions does he got? >> i think he's got a lot more divisions than we give him credit for. this is the most popular single person in the world. in poll after poll, he ranks literally at the top. people look to him, not just as

a symbol of virtue, but as someone who personifies hope, and the idea that things can be worked out. you know, for so many of these young europeans, who are living at home, like many americans who are living at home because they can't get well-paying jobs, he is making an issue of globalization of indifference, anesthesia of the heart. he's an economic populist. by the same token, what he is doing in using the kind of nimble diplomatic language that he's using, unjust aggressors, is inviting moderate muslims and islam across the world to join in the resistance against this brutal and sadistic movement we see sweeping across iraq. >> same question, does he have divisions? can he move some european countries to join us in going after isis? >> i think he can move -- you know what's funny. i think he'll have more affect

in the islamic world than in europe. he spoke at the parliament and talked about how europe is falling asleep. it's lost its vitality. he spoke very much as a person of the third world. i think his effect is going to be on bringing around moderate muslims and creating a sense that the catholic church is an ally with islam, as long as they -- >> i agree. that would be right up there with a miracle. it's why we live, to hope for miracles. that would be a true miracle, if he a christian, catholic leader would excite the people like jordan and those countries to act here. and we have the iranians to deal with here. i don't know if they're listening. anyway, don't go nuclear. thank you, great having you both on. coming up, newt gingrich loves to call president obama the food stamp president. don't you love that line? but it was congress that pushed for deep cuts in food stamps and it's having an effect on those

who count on the program to eat. my colleague is coming up with new reporting on that. we're going to push against the legend, compare it to the need for it, and this is "hardball," the place for politics. over 200,000 people are hospitalized every year with flu complications. so to kill the germs that may make your family sick, we recommend using lysol disinfectant spray every day. lysol is approved to kill 80 germs, including hard to kill viruses that can live on surfaces for over 4 weeks.

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welcome back to "hardball." if you want to take a cheap shot at the poor in this country, american poor, just say food stamps. ronald reagan used to talk about the young bucks who use food stamps to buy vodka. case in point, newt gingrich used food stamps to attack president obama. here he is. >> president obama is the most successful food stamp president in american history. >> i think we can draw a really sharp contrast between a paycheck president who knows how to create jobs, and and a food stamp president who knows how to kill jobs. >> we represent the paycheck, and he represents food stamps. >> obama is the best food stamp president in american history.

>> no american president has put more people on food stamps than barack obama. >> now, if this were a woody allen movie, the key phrase would be "food stamps." we know what he's talking about, sign language. and last year, louie gohmert said people on food stamps bought king crab legs. while average american wage earners can't do that. stuff like that passes for reality. but actual food stamp recipients struggle and can barely afford the basics. that's a fact. in our upcoming series, the invisible us, my colleague debunks the stereotypes, the legends from the right and explores what it really means to live on food stamps. the great alex wagner joins us now. you have something here to teach us. >> yeah, chris. you know, the narrative has so wildly shifted from the reality. we went down to a county in eastern kentucky, which

depending on the year is the first or second or the third poorest area in the country. and one in every two residents is getting assistance from the federal government to make ends meet. in specific, we visited one family, a single mother of four kids, who is trying -- literally, everything she can do to make sure there's supper on the table every night for her kids. i went shopping with her, chris. i heard what louie gohmert had to say about king crab legs. this woman could not afford kraft macaroni and cheese because it was 35 cents too expensive. the narrative out there about the poor taking advantage of the safety net is insidious and powerful. and we did our best to try to correct the record in some way. >> let's take a look at a clip from our series. you profiled a single mother of four who relies on public assistance to survive. here it is. >> usually i get a box of elbow macaroni and i just get regular sandwich cheese and put it in

and make my own macaroni and cheese. >> sarah hoskins is a 28-year-old single mother of four. she relies on food stamps to make ends meet. for sarah, there's no crab legs. >> you wouldn't buy this? >> not the kraft. it's a dollar. >> for families like the hoskins, even the basics are sometimes too much. >> i don't use vegetable oil, i use grease. >> is that cheaper? >> yes. i can get a tub of lard, a five-gallon bucket of lard and it's like $30 for the cheapest brand they got. >> you know, that's pretty rough. i get the sense you don't get the great, healthy, fresh vegetables and all the new -- the stuff the rich people go shopping for. you got to take what's there. >> yeah, that's a woman, forget about the kinds of saturated fat. this is a family that can't afford cooking oil, and it's going back to 1930s depression

era lard to cook food because it's the cheapest. i mean, again, the choices that are being made are not between $5 and $15 products. it's pennies. it's nickels that decide -- >> where do people get the idea you can buy vodka with food stamps? where did it come from? >> i think, as with every huge safety net program there are going to be a few people that try to take advantage of that. the problem is that the narrative does not account for the vast majority of people. food stamps sees very little fraud compared to many national programs, and the narrative that this is a bunch of lay-abouts, buying crab legs and vodka, is really destructive. because, chris, as you know, there are real-world consequences. last september, house republicans passed a bill to cut $40 billion from food stamps. now, it didn't make it in the senate, but that is what the republican party would like to do, a program that keeps -- that

affects 75% of the families on food stamps, have elderly people, the disabled and children. those are the people on food stamps. >> it's interesting that you as a journalist have to report this, the fact that the democrats who believe in these programs and some moderate republicans, never get off their butts and do so. that's why people make fun of those programs, there's nobody defending them. your series is called "the invisible us." thank you, my colleague. up next, president obama tries to heal the wounds of ferguson. and ray rice has been cleared to play ball and league commissioner, roger goodell, is taking big hits for his lack of straightforwardness, that's one way to put it. and did you hear the republicans' report on benghazi? they didn't find the administration did anything wrong. must be discouraging for them. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. here's some news you may find surprising.

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♪ ♪ welcome back to "hardball." president obama faces an historic task as he confronts the shock waves out of ferguson. we talked about that. and pope francis looks to rally the world against the horror that is isis. does he have the divisions to

win the war? and nfl commissioner roger goodell takes another big hit on his ray rice saga. a judge rules ray rice can play and that goodell hasn't been straight with the public. tonight's roundtable includes huffington post editorial director howard fineman, and washington post opinion writer, jonathan capehart. i want to go with christina on this question. do you think the president got something going tonight? is he going to move ferguson somewhere good? >> he has been telling close advisers for a long time that he wants some movement to do something about race in america. this is an opportunity for him, coming out of a bruising midterm election, to try to do something. one of the things he said when this meeting was over, this is not going to be one of those commissions that we'll wait on forever. >> the current commission -- >> i want recommendations and we'll see something happened. eric holder has a lot to do with that. they're very close.

will it change how america feels about this? who knows. but he sounds serious. >> the president is invested, that's the key. i got a question for you. will the pope change history or is this just religious talk? can he beat isis? >> well, we're about to find out. what else is the pope going to say? he's the pope. of course isis is evil. but to have -- >> it floored me, my friend. because the pope -- to name a country, he called isis itself evil. >> yes, it's evil. and if it has any sway over the people in the arab world, in the muslim world to get them to turn against isis, then that's productive. but we're going to have to wait a long time to see if that's going to happen. >> what else we got going? [ laughter ] a man from pittsburgh and the

home of the steelers and of course the pirates, nfl commissioner roger goodell says that ray rice misled him. that rice's version of events was different from what everyone saw in the elevator tape. that's why he initially suspended rice for a couple of games. now a judge is ruling that goodell's narrative is bogus. espn called the ruling a damning 17-page report that says goodell was full of it. that he knew what happened inside the elevator before the footage came out. and that at the time, they saw this security camera footage. she's out cold on the floor. you know, ray's carrying out there, dropping her on the floor. not showing a lot of love there. the woman's out cold. did he think a slap did that. rice even demonstrated how he hit her when he met with goodell, the way he said it. goodell doesn't seem to be able to get it straight. this is rolling disclosure of the worst kind.

>> i read the arbitrator's report. she's a former federal judge. and in no uncertain terms, she makes it clear that she didn't believe roger goodell's account. everything that she looked at indicated that goodell and the other nfl officials knew full well what happened in that elevator -- >> that she was slugged? >> that she was hit and she was knocked unconscious, that they knew that. there's no way they could not have known that. therefore the sudden pr change that roger goodell went through, on the theory that he was surprised by what he learned later on, was bogus. whatever else happens here, the credibility of the national football league, which is a major cultural and financial institution in this country, and its leader, roger goodell, is under serious assault. matter of fact, there's no credibility left. >> janay has broken her silence. here's what she told nbc's matt lauer about commissioner goodell. here she is.

>> when the commissioner of the nfl says ray was ambiguous and the nfl says that it was a starkly different sequence of events, is the commissioner lying? >> i can't say he's telling the truth. you know, i know for a fact that he told -- that ray told the honest truth, that he's been telling from february. >> and you think the league and the commissioner covered their butts. >> i think they did they had to do what they did for themselves. >> she was the victim of the assault. you never know, people have all kinds of motives. she's saying her husband was honest from the beginning. and that goodell covered up. >> you are seeing two different issues. this is a pr battle. they are making an effort to come out publicly. ray rice is going to be part 2 tomorrow. roger goodell is under fire. that's part of the battle. the broader cultural issue about domestic violence and national sports is getting a look.

usually when congress gets involved in sports, it's grandstanding. tomorrow, jay rockefeller's swan song, as he leaves this institution, is going to really examine this. they have all the major sports associations there, the players association is the only one for the nfl that has refused to come and testify -- >> what would you like to see? some new judgment that if there's a judgment of domestic violence, you don't play for five years or whatever. >> jay rockefeller is saying he wants to see some consistency from the mlb to the nfl to the nba -- >> is anybody good at this? >> not necessarily. every sports league is basically a world unto itself, where they protect their own and they write their own narratives to suit themselves. >> here he is, by the way. >> write their own narratives to suit themselves. >> matt lauer asked ray rice about his prospects of signing with other teams. talk about the commercial

situation you mentioned. this is to some extent, let's face it, pr. let's watch. >> what do you think it would take for another owner and another group of fans to put the images of that video behind and say, we'll take a chance on ray rice? >> one thing i think that, you know, they would have to be, you know, willing to, you know, look deeper into who i am and realize that me and my wife had one bad night, and i took full responsibility for it. and one thing about my punishment and everything going along with anything that happened is that i've accepted it. i went fully forward with it. i never complained. i never did anything like that. i took full responsibility for everything that i did, and only thing i can hope for and wish for is a second chance. >> i'm a regular person in many ways. i have to argue that with some people, but, when i watch an nfl game, i don't care who's playing, i like to watch the pros. i watch the passing and the excitement of the whole thing.

i don't really focus on the off-the-field stuff. i think i'm like most fans. it's a split screen. one screen you don't want to look at. so i can understand why a team would sign him. >> well, right. and it gets to the bigger issue here, which is because of that split screen that you just talked about, nothing will change. roger goodell, and the owners -- >> but that includes concussions, it includes all the bad stuff that happens in the nfl. >> yes. as long as -- >> the kid just -- >> as long as the owners have confidence in roger goodell who has promised to make the league a $20 billion league, as long as he's full steam ahead on that trajectory and as long as the fans don't raise hell about all of these things, nothing's going to change. [ all speak at once ] >> the nfl isn't selling just football. they're selling themselves as an integral part of american culture and they have to take responsibility. in not fantasy narratives, what they did here.

>> roundtable staying with us. looks like republicans in the house has dumped a report that basically debunks all the legendary talk about how bad hillary was, how bad susan rice was. this was an amazing report. will it put out the fire? i don't think so because lindsey graham is still stoking it. we'll be right back. make your , we recommend using lysol disinfectant spray every day. lysol is approved to kill 80 germs, including hard to kill viruses that can live on surfaces for over 4 weeks. it works on hard and soft surfaces to help stop the spread of bacteria. so help keep your family healthy with lysol.

>> back with the republicans' startling new report on

benghazi. it debunks their own conspiracy theories about the obama administration. "hardball" coming back in a moment.

>> we're back with our round table. howard, christin rarks and jonathan drowned out on another report of the fatal 2012, the year of 2012 benghazi attacks. the report found no wrong doing by the obama administration. no deliberate distortion of intelligence information. and no order to stand down from a military rescue. even though this latest report

echoes similar findings from several other congressional investigations, debunking right-wing conspiracy theories, the gop shows no signs of accepting these results. i must say most of the gop has gotten quiet on it. the fact that nobody is making noise about it. >> yeah, they slipped this final report out there in a time that nobody would pay attention to it. you have to argue that the republicans in the house intelligence committee, where the republicans control the chamber, are in on the conspiracy to cover up for hillary clinton. if you're going to take it seriously. >> do you remember when ronald reagan admitted he sold arms for hostages? and then later on, he took it back? >> yeah. so basically, there's a rejectionist front. they're aiming at hillary. even their own committee says there isn't one?

>> how come the most famous amigos -- and personally, i like all of these partners. two of the republican guys out of that trio of amigos has been dumping on her. john mccain says name one thing she's ever done. and now this guy is going back to benghazi to stick it to her. >> it's one thing that resonates. >> but these guys are ready for hillary with an instagram need. almost always in the comments, someone used a hash tag, remember benghazi. >> there's the tea party people who want to find a conspiracy, a vast, dark back held cometer conspiracy. and there's the simple fact that republicans want to take as many pot shots as they can. >> they know their target.

>> they know their target. >> look, mike rogers, in that committee, has a habit of dumping this out when everyone is looking over here, elsewhere. >> well, no, at least folks are talking about it now when it was dumped around thanksgiving when the preliminary report was released on july 31st. everyone else was focused on ted cruz and the chaos he was causing in the house. >> let me draw the picture. they're debating. can e candy crawley is moderating. what about benghazi? that's right. that's right. well, actually, there wasn't any dishonesty. what happens then? >> well, then, the republican party will have to deal with it. but, as we know, couldn't care less about what this report says. >> the moderator will straighten it out.

>> that's why the republican leadership has trey gowdy out there looking for something to be able to counter the mike rogers' report. >> they have to reauthorize it for the next congress. and they're absolutely going to stretch this out as long as they can. >> did you ever play basketball, shooting baskets, i'm going home, in the dark, after shooting ten in a row. they're going to stay all night until they get their point. >> it's about keeping it in the headlines. it's not even about finding conspiracy. >> i think the report is full of crap. i'm saying the house intelligence committee is doing a lousy job policing their own. >> nice words, huh, john? crap? lousy? >> a gentleman from the south who apparently thinks he's going to run for president. >> they're going to argue that

the house intelligence committee is part of the conspiracy. >> what a group. when we return, let me finish with a happy note about our growing family. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. ly see the softness in our comfort cushions. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft? --i don't know my credit score. that's really important. i mean - i don't know my credit score. don't you want to buy a house...like, ever? you should probably check out credit karma, it's free. credit? karma? free? credit karma. really free credit scores.

we're for an opens you internet for all.sing. we're for creating more innovation and competition. we're for net neutrality protection. now, here's some news you may find even more surprising. we're comcast. the only isp legally bound by full net neutrality rules. let me finish tonight with a happy note. from the left, there's julia, our granddaughter there.

thomas, our actor son appears in the news room. phillip, our son, our attorney, daughter-in-law and the newest member of the family, brandon matthews. there he is. the only one in sarah's arms. he hasn't figured out what he's going to do in his life. this is our family on thanksgiving. all healthy, all lovely and now brandon and joey have now been christened. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." ferguson protests continue around the country. as the st. louis rams take a stand in america's living rooms. >> tayvon austin and kenny britt acknowledge the events in ferguson.

>> then, in cleveland, a 10-year-old shot and killed by police. tonight, an alarming discrepancy between the video and the police version of events. tonight, janay rice tells her version of the story. >> i actually thought why did you just leave me there like that. he was terrified. >> and a turkey was spared. the career on the hill was not. why the obama girls are right about pardoning a turkey. >> "all in" starts right now." good evening from new york. this afternoon, president obama met with civil rights leaders, law enforcement and other officials to discuss how to repair the relationship between police and communities of color. following the announcement by bob mccullouch that a grand jury would not indict police officer darren ferguson in the killing