. good evening and welcome to "politicsnation." on today's program i will talk with sen toy i can't brown long. she served 15 years in a tennessee state prison for murder. now free, she is telling her story about justice, redemption, and finding faith in her new book she tells it all.

but leading off tonight, mood shift in washington after another week of misdirections and back tracking by trump and his allies. the fate of trump's presidency has entered more unchartered territory with trump's stonewall strategy crumbling and some key figures in the state department spelling secrets against his wishes. as peggy noon of "the wall street journal" pointed out. president trump has chosen this moment to let his inner crazy flourish dramatically. the fights and meltdowns, the pelosi insults, the urgent letter, and in another sign of a shift, republican leader of the senate mitch mcconnell snow indicating that the impeachment process may take longer than expected and feeling an impeachment trial is all but

inevitable. so we ask tonight, will the probable and dramatic impeachment hearings move needle of public opinion even more against president trump? if so, will senate members move in the same direction? joining me now, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst susan del percio, and host of "open mind" on pbs, alexander hefner. susan, will the shift that we're seeing -- consistent shift now and public opinion on impeachment, will it continue to go against the president, and will that tide take some republican senators with them? >> it could. and here's why. we see that the president's numbers are in trouble because of syria, because of his actions there, not just with republican senators, but with the public. that is problem, leaving our allies on the ground. he in essence failed if commander in chief test in the

last week. so his numbers are hurting him. >> so the five-day cease-fire, we're just imagining all these air raids? >> that happened, but at the end of the day we had 300 civilians killed, rev. you can't undo that. when this president said everyone's happy, there's no one that's happy except for iran, russia, and turkey. kurds aren't happy, united states shouldn't be happy. we potentially have this affect us at home instead of overseas. we want to keep the terrorists over there, and that's what the kurds were helping us do, fight isis. when it comes to impeachment, it depends what the testimony is, and it also depends on how the democrats handle this. i think they should let a professional investigator or staffer do the questioning versus having members of the house do their own kind of

questioning or rating. >> how have you seen people from the state department testifying against the wishes of this president? this president is used to people being loyal to him. we're seeing people that seem to be to be more loyal to the country than him, something he doesn't seem accustomed to. >> the native state is an orwellian reality tv show. i agree with susan. you need a professional, someone above the fray, nonpartisan to interrogate these witnesses. moreover, let's go back to speaker pelosi. i think she's brilliant here. if we can keep this republic intact, as she quoted one of the founders in conceiving of this impeachment inquiry. i think it's so important that she emphasize the restoration of constitutional and democratic norms. if that is the thrust of the hearings, and if that is focus

of this investigation, then the american people already, over 50% of the american people say impeach him and eject him from the office. so this is a confirmation test. and so far i think the speaker is going back to the core documents that define us as a people. trump's effort to host foreign leaders at his own resort smacks, again, of this -- >> but he's not going to make a dime off it. the fact that the average in that hotel in june in florida is 38% occupancy, he's guaranteed a sold out place because of people using the restaurants and the golf course. but he's not going to make a dime. it would be 60 something percent empty if he wasn't having it there. >> he's not going to make a dime, right, just like the kurds are not in jeopardy. again, it's orwellian. what he is saying is projecting falsehoods, the truth we know.

in this case of the trump impeachment inquiry, i think it is incumbent upon us as americans to see the seriousness of this mission. for speakers pelosi to focus on the ukrainian for their debacle, a treasonous foreign policy that puts russia first and not america first. and then for her also to focus equal attention on violations off emoluments. whether you have tax returns or not, you can make a case, that will come down to the supreme court. if you don't, it's clear he's benefiting professionally from this office. it's an opportunity for the american people to see that the democrats care about domestic security. trump wants to say that his bravado is making us great again, but no. the constitution makes us great, and i think she has a mandate now to say no, it's not you strict constructionists that are adhering to the autocracy. >> where are republicans, susan?

mitt romney made a strong statement about syria, blood on your hands. are we seeing some kind of mounting of some republicans that are beginning to find their backbone? could we even see a mitt romney eventually decide to give him a primary? >> well, i don't think that mitt romney will do that. i don't think he's going to primary president trump. i don't think any real substantial republican is at the point where they would primary him. it just doesn't make sense because he does have the republican base. but the republicans did speak out on what happened in syria. mitch mcconnell wrote a fact op-ed and said the house didn't go far enough in condemning the president's actions. but that was on policy. that's what's so weird about this president. he has no core sense of values, so he doesn't care if you disagree with him on policy because he doesn't care what the policy is. but on impeachment that affects him and only him and he cares a

lot and he'll go after it. this is why the republicans have been very careful. if you remember just a couple weeks ago when the whistle-blower came out and everyone left town for the break. >> right. >> all house, senate, everyone was quiet, the republicans. they didn't want to say anything. they were happy to be away. now that they're back, they're also trying to be quiet because they never know what's going to come out of this president's mouth or twitter. >> or tax returns. >> this is where i kind of disagree with you a little bit on what to focus the impeachment on. donald trump was meddling in and seeking aid from a foreign power to meddle in the 2020 elections. that is clear and cut. he said it himself. >> he asked for china and others to come in. >> right. but just that one thing is enough that everyone gets, oh, you don't get to ask foreign

powers to come into our elections. it's proactive. it's not 2016, it's not people looking back, oh, did he, didn't he? no, he did, and let's go forward. >> well, witness number one is donald trump. witness number two is mick mulvaney that stood up there and said, yes, this is politics, get over it. i mean, you have never seen a chief of staff acting or not, stand up there and say, yes, we interfered with an investigation and we tried to hold money from a foreign government, military aid that was already approved by congress. yes, we did that, and that's how politics is, get over it, even though he tried to moon walk it back later, he said it on tape. this is the acting chief of staff of the president of the united states, alexander. >> to susan's point, yes, transparently you can say unlawful admissions should be an article of impeachment, something as clear as day a

violation of the sacred trust of the oath of office that the united states president takes. i don't disagree with you. i think that you can have a second article focused on obstructive measures. you can have a third article that focuses on corruption broadly as it's seeping into this administration. >> but you can't have it all wrapped up before the end of the year. there's only so much time you have. if you have to make a case for each charge, that will take three times as long if we do it with those three charges versus having just one thing you can present and really try to have it done by the end of the year so that we don't have to deal with it in 2020. >> an expulsion from the office, the idea of removal from the office is going to come from secretary mathis, secretary tillerson. >> you think others are going to come forward? >> if we're at a place where republicans are going to deny this presidency, its legitimacy, it's not going to be because of the articles but because of what

that triggers. i think that you see secretary mathis evolving himself. >> very interesting statement the other night at alford smith dinner that i think forecast that he may be forthcoming, susan, with more because as careful and strategic and let's say his way of being the military man that doesn't give a lot, to make a crack like that saying i got my bone spurs on the field and donald trump got it from a doctor was quite a statement to come from general mathis. >> i also think it was a warning shot. that's what it served as, i don't think general mathis wants to get into the political fray at all. he would have to say to see a clear and present danger for him to come in: he doesn't want to be responsible for the election of 2020. you can see it. he doesn't feel like it's his job to do it. i agree what's going to change it is all the testimony. it's going to be the sondland

testimony. it's going to be former cabinet members' testimony, rick perry. these people are going to have to get in front of the house at some point. >> it's going to come from the testimony and one more press conference from the acting chief of staff, mulvaney. just one more might help us get there if that's what we're trying to do. thank you, susan, and alexander. coming up, senator bernie sanders is officially back on the campaign trail following his heart attack last month. today he was endorsed by congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, will that help with his poll numbers? but first, my colleague, richard lui, with other stories we're watching this hour. richard? thanks, rev. here are the stories that we are watching this hour for you. let me start with this. it lost its tropical storm status, but nestor is still battering parts of the gulf coast, packing 45-mile-an-hour sustained winds and bringing

heavy rain. nestor made landfall east of panama city, florida. forecasters are saying that florida, georgia, and parts of the carolinas can expect search inches of rain over the weekend. police officers near seattle say they prevented a massacre. they seized a gun arsenal from a suspected leader of a neo-nazi group, 24-year-old caleb james hull was not charged with any crime, but under red flag laws, police are allowed to confiscate guns for people deemed to be a risk for themselves or others. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton right after this. the way it works best for you, i'll take that. wait honey, no. when you want it. you get a delivery experience you can always count on. you get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. you get fast and free shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. that's what you get

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i am more ready than ever to help create a government based on the principles of justice, economic justice, racial justice, social justice, and environmental justice. [ cheers ] to put it bluntly, i am back. [ cheers ] >> senator bernie sanders marked his official return to the campaign trail earlier today at a rally appropriately called "bernie's back" held in long island city in new york. the event was hosted by new york representative alexandria ocasio-cortez who works endorsed sanders at the rally.

joining me now is former ohio state senator, nina turner, national cochair for the bernie sanders 2020 campaign. nina, he's back, seems to have a lot of enthusiasm from the crowd and seemed passionate himself. >> he did, rev. he was back in his element and people were really feeling the vibe. we had almost 26,000 people attend that rally at last count. seems as though to listen to him today he was never on pause. >> their concern about his health, will that, in your opinion, despite the debate the other night in ohio, will that concern affect him, you think, with the polls and with some of the voters particularly in the early states? >> i don't think so, rev. i mean, the senator, if he could not do this, he would not do

this. he's continuing on the path for the people. when folks see him, as you mentioned how he was on the debate stage talking the same talk about standing up for the people and going up against a corrupt system, what he did on that stage really illustrates that he's back. >> he's but an about an in some polls slipping and elizabeth warren gaining. how do you respond to the surge of elizabeth warren? >> polls go up, polls go down. it happens for most, i won't say for all the candidates, but it happens. the truest poll is the poll on election day. we'll keep our eyes on the prize. there are other measures that show the instruct her's strength. we have as a campaign 3.3 million donations that have come into this campaign. volunteers made 1.3 million calls in the five early states. and the senator has a true revolution, 1 million adorns. headrest surpassed any other candidate in fundraising in that

mari manner, even president trump. that's where their heart is too. >> i've known you a long time. you've been one that has worked the african-american community and the broader community. where bernie sanders has been slightly under water is in the black community. even today, most of the crowd was white. we're seeing elizabeth warren starting to gain in the black community. how is he going to address that? >> rev, there were rainbow mosaic if you will at that rally today. her polling better with the african-american community, an essence poll recently came out that had the senator with 18 to 34 years old, he polled better than both vice president biden and senator elizabeth warren. >> 18 to 34? >> even in 2016 he received 5 million more votes across the ethnic spectrum. we introduced the millennials and zs. he's been the south carolina

about ten times, 55 events. we're working hard to earn the vote of the black community as well as other communities. >> let me ask you this. following hillary clinton's comments surrounding russian interference in tulsi gabbard's response. i'm just catching up with the foolery that's going on. keep your head up. does that comply the bernie people will be supporting tulsi in this fight, and do you risk looking like the left is, again, going to be dissatisfied if they don't win the primaries and, therefore, some sit it out as people accuse the sanders campaign of in '16. >> not at all, rev. more of senator bernie sanders supporters voted for secretary clinton than her supports, as you know, voted for then-senator obama in 2008. people are going to go out to vote. your voice is your voice, so don't give it up for anything.

>> even though biden is the winner -- >> people have to go vote. >> bernie's supporters will enthusiastically vote? >> rev, you said enthusiastically. no candidate can transfer their voters, first of all, we' will not get to that, but you're going to hear senator sarah sanders say what he said in 2016. he was on the trail with secretary clinton and did more event for her than she did for obama. >> obama won. >> i got it rev. there's a lie that's being permeated and continues to be that senator sanders' voters voted for the secretary than her voters voted for then-senator obama before he became president. so let's be clear about that. in terms of congresswoman tulsi gabbard, we went through a red scare in the '50s under mccarthyism. it is wrong for people to level that stuff at the congresswoman with no proof. we know what people do do malign

somebody's reputation. she's served this nation, still serving this nation in the military. don't come at her like that or any candidate. but i do believe and i agree with brother van jones when he put it out there that some of this is revenge for her supporting the senator in 2016 and really calling out the dnc. it's wrong. so whoever we support, we must never go that far and start to red bait. russia being a threat to this country is real in terms of what they did in 2016, but to lay it at the feet of congressman gabbard is sad. >> thank you for being with us. this week we lost a man that speaker nancy pelosi called congress' north star. coming up next, we remember the life and career of the late, great, elijah cummings. >> are we facing possibly two more years of him as chairman even though it's against their own party rules?

>> reverend, i really don't know, but that's up to the republicans. they can do what they want. but i'm going to always be seeking the truth. oh! oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7 and maintained it. oh! under 7? (announcer) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? (announcer) a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events

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and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program call or visit do you think this president can deal with people that don't agree with him? >> i want to use this, reverend, as a door to get into the white

house and talk to him about voting rights. i want to talk to him about the affordable care act. i want to talk to him about those things, educating our children and improving our communities. i live in the city and have lived in the city for 35 years. i would appreciate him not just blanketing the inner cities of our country as if they're some kind of hell hole. >> that was the late, great elijah cummings doing one of his many appearances that he had here on "politicsnation." the maryland democrat died thursday morning after a battle with long-standing health issues. i knew culminations very well. he was a loved and admired husband, father, son, brother, and statesman. in this day and age, he was a rare breed, one who put people before politics, striving each day to make this world a little brighter for his district in baltimore and the rest of the

country. he had the perfect blend of strength and humility. he was a fighter that did not have to bring rancor. he was able to challenge someone without belittling them. from a youngest, cummings was a tireless fighter for civil rights and he worked hard for a better america up until his very last days. the shoes my friend left to fill in congress are larger than life. he was a special man and will be truly missed. representative elijah cummings was 68 years old. forever rest in power. ♪

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as the impeachment inquiry into president trump's alleged abuses of power rolls on, republicans in congress are still looking to protect the president from the consequences of his actions, even as a new pew survey shows a majority of americans, 54%, approve of the house decision to conduct an inquiry. i'm joined now by republican representative bill johnson of ohio who disagrees with that inquiry. thank you for coming on, congressman. explain to me why you disagree with the american people polled that say they agree with the inquiry? >> i'm not sure i've seen those kind of polls, reverend

sharpton. >> this is a pew poll. you can look it up. >> yeah, well, i've seen other polls too that say the opposite. i can tell you that the people i talked to here in ohio, they think this whole thing is nothing more than a distraction. they would much rather us be talking about how to lower drug prices, how to fix our aging infrastructure, how to create jobs and opportunity for them. they're not interested in another false narrative, sham of an investigation. >> i agree with you on that. i agree with you on that. >> i'm glad we agree. >> we agree on that. and i was expecting the president who talked about infrastructure for almost three years to do something about it. he's done nothing. >> we haven't been able to get nancy pelosi to bring an infrastructure bill to the floor. >> we expected this president to deal with a health care plan he said that would be better. you could deal with an inquiry

and deal with those issues at the same time. you're not just a one-issue congress. you can walk and chew gum at the same time. if you have the admitted allegation, when i said admitted, i'm saying the president saying that he sees nothing wrong with foreign governments interfering, investigating, that would impact an american election, how is that not serious enough for an inquiry? >> well, are we talking about the russian collusion delusion or what are we talking about? because there's been no evidence that there were actual impacts to our election. >> let me tell you a secret. that's how come you have an impeachment inquiry to get the evidence. if you have a president standing in the driveway of the white house saying that i hope china comes in, i hope others come in, if you have people that are in the state department under your administration, the republican president's administration, saying that these things have

happened, how do we act like they didn't happen and that's not important? do you think if this president in any way, shape, or form was trying to withhold monies approved by congress, milled aid, saying i want you to move on an investigation on a potential opponent of mine, are you saying that's something you should not at least inquiry about in an impeachment proceeding? >> i tell you what we should do. >> i'm asking you, do you think that rises to the bar. >> i'll answer your question. i'm going to answer your question. >> all right. >> and the answer to your question is this. if there's going to be an inquiry, reverend sharpton, then why aren't we doing an inquiry the way it was done by both republican and democrat speakers of the house during the nixon and clinton administration? there was a republican in charge as a speaker when clinton was impeached. the white house counsel was

allowed to be involved in the hearings to present evidence and object to evidence during the nixon impeachment under a democrat speaker of the house. there was due process for president nixon. the white house counsel was allowed to be there. it was not done in secret like is being done by adam schiff right now today. >> well, you are arguing -- >> if we want to get answers torpto these questions -- >> just a second. you didn't answer my question. i'm asking you whether or not if these things happened, would that not require an impeachment inquiry? we can argue the process, which we can debate whether what you say is true, but yes or no, would those facts lead, in your opinion, to a necessary impeachment inquiry? >> the operative word that you said there was "if."

i've read the transcript of the call between president trump and the ukrainian president. i've read it. and there is no quid pro quo. now, we do know that vice president biden withheld financial aid to the ukraine in order to launch an investigation or to get a prosecutor fired that was investigating his son. >> biden said that was because the prosecutor was not dealing with corruption. >> wait a minute. so it's okay when vice president biden does it. >> but biden's not the president. we're talking about impeachment and biden already explained that this president has people now in his own administration raising very serious questions. we just had republican congressman francis rooney of florida say he supports it. so there are people that are taking the opposite view on your side of the amphetamiisle. your state attempted to purge thousands of voters in the

rolls, particularly those in predominantly democratic districts. >> you and i have agreed on some things already, and i think there's another thing that we agree on. i think we agree that america's election should be conducted with the utmost of integrity. and what secretary of state la rose is attempting to do, what he's trying to do is carry on what former secretary of state, lieu lieutenant governor john house ted started to do, which is update and clean up our voter rolls. we have people on those rolls that are deceased, people that have moved out of the state, we've got duplicate enters in those roles. >> seems like the deceased is only on the democratic side and districts of democrats seems like the moving vans can't find their way to republican districts. but we'll have you back on. i always appreciate that you do come on and you do exchange with

me. let's put it that way. thank you for being with me tonight. bill johnson. coming up, a young woman was a victim of sex trafficking. she spent 15 years behind bars, and now as an adult and free the last, she speaks about her horrific journey and impressive quest for redemption. my conversation with san toyia brown long is next. a wealth of . a wealth of perspective. ♪ a wealth of opportunities. that's the clarity you get from fidelity wealth management. straightforward advice, tailored recommendations, tax-efficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. fidelity wealth management. to help you grow and protect your wealth. ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪

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e. this past summer after serving 15 years in a tennessee state prison, cyntoia brown long finally found freedom. the victim of child sex trafficking, she was just 16 years old when a judge handed her a life sentence for killing johnny allen in 2004 after he picked her up and brought her to his home. she maintains that she killed allen in self-defense. brown long would not have been eligible for parole until her late 60s. but former tennessee governor bill haslam commuted her sentence. she's now the author of a new book titled "free cyntoia: my search for redemption in the american prison system." earlier this week i had a chance to talk with her. >> thank you for being with us, cyntoia. first of all, you've been a

national symbol. you got people that don't agree on politics, but united around you. some of the publicity you were concerned whether it was going to be helpful or not. >> i was. we had received word from the governor's office, from his adviser that some attention was not helpful. you have to think too in a state like tennessee, something that draws a lot of attention from the public, it creates that much more scrutiny. and so i was definitely concerned that it may backfire a bit. but, you know, god worked it out. >> that's what i wanted to talk to you. obviously everybody knows what i do, but the real story that i wanted to talk about is during this time you found god. >> yes. >> and you fell in love, got married. and you really represent what

reforming one's self is really all about. you prove what a lot of us argued, that people can do things, but that's not who they are. explain how that evolution happened you to while you were incarcerated? >> it was a process. i think it would have been a lot faster had i received, you know, proper support from the actual prison system in terms of rehabilitation. but i really had to fight for it. i enrolled in an education program for the local university, lips comb university. they actually came to the prison. we took college courses. and it just helped me to start to better myself, to start to want for more myself, to learn that i can actually lave meaningful life. and it provided me with a very positive community within the prison. and so it was a long journey because i had to actually undo a

lot of the unhealthy patterns that i had gained over the course of many years. so it's not going to be overnight, but it was definitely -- it was definitely a long process. but i think that they helped me a lot, and i don't think it was complete, though, until i actually came to god. even though education, learning, staying out of trouble, working on my past, unresolved issues, it's when i developed a relationship with jesus that things turned around. >> when i was growing up, they used to call it correction facilities. now it's detention centers. what you're speaking to is how we need to really be correcting behavior and giving people a route to really become who they can become. if you were to address authorities on your advice for how we could make the criminal justice system more helpful to

people incarcerated, to reform them, what would you think are the things they need to try to do? >> number one, i think we need to start, you know, thinking about other options other than incarceration. >> right. >> that shouldn't be the first thing you jump to. there are so many other resources that can help people when they get into situations, find out what they've done what they've done and refer them to things that can help them and not throw them away because it's convenient. you go by a strict -- it's not helpful. while they're in the prison systems, actually start investing in programs, actually start caring about what are these programs going to actually help people? in the prison where i was, drugs had come in, the whole opioid epidemic came in. >> entered the prison? >> into the prison. it was sad. you had young women who had come in never doing drugs and being

vulnerable in prison. all of a sudden they're addicted. the prison officials know it. they've had women die from overdoses. but there's still not a drug program at the actual prison. >> wow. >> there's peer recovery that's been started, which is other women trying to help each other, but there's no actual drug program. and you see that a lot. they see problems and they don't necessarily come forward trying to fix it. they kind of just ignore it. they cover it up and say it doesn't exist. and i think when they actually start trying to help people and try to rehabilitate people. >> you faced your sentencing because of what happened to you. what deuo you say to young wome that would keep them out of doing things, getting involved in being trafficked and getting involved in unsavory way? is it a question of self-esteem? is it a question of environment?

because obviously you've committed to trying to help make the criminal justice system correct say to young women in terms of how they could not fall into the same path that could make themselves become a victim of a system that would incarcerate them rather than give them a chance to really change themselves and evolve into who they ought to be? >> so for me, in terms of trafficking, you know, one of the things that made me more vulnerable is i had wanted acceptance from so many other sources. i was willing to do anything to be accepted by other people. and i found myself just living to please the wrong people. environment had a factor in it as well because here i was on the run. i was living on the streets around people who were telling me certain behaviors were acceptable. it was acceptable to have sex with men for money. and that's not saying overtly

propositioning me for sex with money. but, you know, you get the sugar daddies. you get the older boyfriends who will take care of you. and just really engraining that in my mind that that was okay and that's normal for women and that's just not true. and it puts in your brain that your body is a commodity. and it's so unhealthy. we still see it now. we see it in all kinds of messaging. we see it in social media. you know, women being encouraged to get likes by being half naked. you know, it's the women who are always out there presenting themselves in that way that are getting the most followers. and, you know, that really when you take that in when you're young, like it changes your understanding of things. and you think that you can give of yourself in certain ways to be accepted and that's what you want to do. so before long, my whole identity was based on how someone else felt about me. it was based on what i could do for other people. like, where i could please other people. so by the time that i met the man who actually turned out to

be my trafficker, i thought this was my boyfriend. i thought we were in a relationship. but it's not true. and i had all these unhealthy ideas about relationships. and so i just really encourage having conversations with young girls, with young women about healthy relationships. about boundaries. about protecting yourself even within a relationship. and what that looks like. and i think that we should do more of that. i think we can do more of that even in schools. like, i know when i was young, we had -- i think it was like life skills or health class. >> right. >> and, you know, you taught me how to put a condom on but you didn't teach me about that. you didn't teach me how to protect myself, you know, emotionally and mentally. and i think that's important. >> all of this is in this book "free cyntoia." >> it is. >> made people like me really

rethink some of the things, as well as how we really need to effect the criminal justice system. and you started writing the book while you were incarcerated. >> i did. i did. >> what made you start doing that? >> well, you know, i'd always been told that i should write. and so i had tried and i had started and i had stopped. and it just wasn't coming. and then i was actually at a church service. there was a church in nashville that came into the prison and it was a minister by the name of ms. laketha and she told me god said write the book. and she was anointing us all. and i said, okay. and i sat down to try again to write this book and all of a sudden, it was just coming. it was just flowing from me. i was like, okay. so i finished the manuscript. i turned it in. of course, it wasn't good enough by itself. so they brought in another writer. you know, and that process took about three months. and so i was -- i was finished with the book before i was released from prison.

>> it's an excellent book and it's -- you know, as much as you are a symbol of what was wrong with the system, you are a symbol of what could be right if we just get it right. >> absolutely. and if we give people chances. i think there's so much room for us to show compassion where we don't. you know, and that's a big part of it. we're all people. we're all subject to being in the prison system. every one of us. like, it -- it can be your daughter. it can be your son. you know, when it happens to you, then, yeah, you want to be an advocate. but think about the fact that it could happen to you and it affects us all. i would encourage everyone to get involved. >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. the book is "free cyntoia" and surge certainly glad you're free. the minister who told you to write the book. i'm glad somebody told me to read it. >> thank you. >> thanks, again, to cyntoia brown. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. up next, my final thoughts stay with us we're oscar mayer deli fresh and you may know us from...

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potential mass killing that has been averted. firearms belonging to a suspected leader of a neo-nazi group have been seized in washington state. according to court documents, the man, 24-year-old, male, was thought to be preparing for a quote race war. it brings back, again, our celebrating and glorifying of weapons and people feeling they

can solve issues with guns and killing. it also brings the question of those that really have committed themselves to a race war. to a battle between those of different races, different colors, different kinds. both are dangerous and both we need to really deal with, not run from it. and be cautious of how we feed into those, whether we think it's a large group or small, it really doesn't matter. that is why we must fight passionately for what we believe but fight smartly. that we don't trigger off what we're trying to avoid. we want one nation under god indivisible with liberty for all. we do not have to be ugly to try to bring about that beauty. that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern for a new live edition of "politicsnation."

up next, more impeachment coverage with my colleague richard louie. and good to you. i'm richard louie right here in new york city. some major developments this week in the impeachment inquiry of the president of the united states. and this hour, we're going to show you the major developments and tell you how the tide may be changing in support of impeachment. acting chief of staff mick mulvaney is coming under major scrutiny for admitting quid pro quo with the ukrainian president, which he later tried to walk back. but is it too little, too late? and there's also the president's lawyer rudy giuliani. we'll take a deeper look at his role in dealings with ukraine as