it's good to see you. i'm jeff bennet. as we come on the air, we're expecting to see president biden on the air any moment where he'll sweep the hate crimes bill. senate republicans now appear

poised to filibuster a 9/11 commission to get to the truth of what happened on capitol hill. what went wrong with police security, the military response, and what donald trump was doing as it all unfolded. 35 republicans broke ranks and joined democrats to support it, and today majority leader chuck schumer took to the floor of the senate to dare senate republicans. >> i was within 20 feet of these hooligans. it was one of the darkest moments in american democracy. and yet not five months later, many on the republican side are trying to whitewash what happened. my senate republican colleagues must now ask themselves, are they going to join us in pursuing the truth, or are they going to cover for donald trump and his big lie? >> over the last 48 hours, we've heard many republicans, including senate leader mitch mcconnell say there are plenty of investigations already underway. but a member of his senate gop leadership added another reason. >> it could be weaponized

politically and drug into next year, anything that dets us rehashing the 2020 election, i think, is a day lost on being able to draw contrast between us and the democrats' very radical left-wing agenda. >> so it's also about concern not over the riot but politics and the potential fallout from an investigation bleeding into 2022 and getting closer to the midterm elections. there is also, of course, a former president still pushing the big lie that the election was stolen, and most republicans in congress lining up behind him, many of whom voted to overturn election results even after the deadly riot left lawmakers running for their lives, the country shocked and shaken and the u.s. capitol in shambles. one of those officials hiding was the vice president as rioters hunted for him chanting, hang mike pence, and his brother, congressman greg pence, was among the house gop to vote against the commission. his reason was, quote, this.

i think the whole thing is to spend the summer impeaching, again, donald trump. that's all we're doing. it's a dog and pony show. it's another impeachment. we're going to talk about it all with nbc news correspondent garrett haake, msnbc contributor anna palmer, and nbc political analyst philip rutger. again, our apologies if we have to cut you off to go to the president and vice president. there were 35 republicans who went with mccarthy. you also had a back and forth with nancy pelosi about this. should the democrats have a backup plan if this tanks in the senate? >> reporter: they do. they don't want to get into it. i talked to these house republicans who voted in favor of the commission, and one of them, dustin johnson, put it to me fairly quickly.

he said, look, we need to get to the bottom of what happened on january 6, and i would rather have an independent party do it than adam schiff be the one to do the work. that is the backup option for speaker pelosi and democrats. although she told me she would much rather go the bipartisan route because she wants people, mainly republicans, to engage with the commission's findings. but if the senate blocks the commission, pelosi has, at any time, the opportunity to charge any of her committee chairs with opening up a broader investigation or to create a special committee like the benghazi committee is the easiest comparison to make that would be tasked specifically with digging into this, again, if this fails in the senate and the speaker has gone to great lengths to say she would rather avoid that situation if possible. so, anna, let's talk about this if question in the senate. there were seven republicans?

the senate who voted to investigate donald trump. that's less than needed. >> definitely an uphill battle. i think a pretty honest assessment you played was from senator thune at the top where he basically said a lot of republicans don't want to be talking about this right now, and they certainly don't want to be talking about this in the 2022 sibl. so to be able to convince republicans that this is the way forward and that this isn't going to dpet months and months of headlines, i think, is going to be the challenge for chuck schumer, and we'll see, what do they end up doing? there will be changes in the house package. can schumer appease any of those types of concerns that this becomes super political and get more republicans on board.

>> he was asked if he would be willing to testify about his phone call with president trump on january 6. he quickly said no and changed the subject. there are republicans in congress who could be implicated in this. >> yes, jeff, it absolutely is a factor. recall that kevin mccarthy did have that phone conversation on january 6 but has not yet testified about it, either in a formal nature like with this commission or even in an interview or extended press conference with reporters. he has dodged questions about details of that conversation he had with president trump on january 6, and it's very clear now five months after the fact that this is not something he wants to be talking about now or ever. he, of course, says he'll testify as a part of a commission, but look, a lot of these house republicans don't want to be going through what happened on january 6 or what

they might have known about in the run-up to it or any kind of communications they could have had with any of the organizers of the various stop the steal marches and protests and rallies that were taking place in washington around that date. it's a messy area for congressional republicans, and they would much rather be focused ahead on the midterm politics than having to unpack a lot of what happened on january 6. >> garrett, give us a sense of what these defections mean from mccarthy's leadership. he has said he wants to be house speaker, so in many ways his actions can be viewed through that prism. here you have a vote of the bill setting up this commission, and you have 35 republicans saying, you know what, kevin mccarthy, we're good, we're going to support this thing. what does that mean? >> this is a gain of getting 215 votes, getting one vote more

than necessary to lock it down if and when house republicans win back the majority. mccarthy has two challenges on his hands and they work in opposition to each other. the first one is he has to win the majority back. he's decided the best way to do that is with the help of donald trump. you cannot half embrace donald trump at this point, and mccarthy is running with pro-trump candidates by and large, he's taking the pro-trump positions on core and sometimes divisive issues, and that has shifted the base of his own party further to the right. every vote he picks up, potentially, for more trump-esque republicans on the right is what he loses from centrist republicans. that's the balance he has to keep up. when it comes to these leadership issues in particular, you can't beat someone with no one, and it's not clear who can martial the folks who are

disappointed with mccarthy but should get to the rest of that vote which we're still, what, 18 months away from? it's easy to watch as he loses the issue in some of these cases is how he handles donald trump. meanwhile, we're following some breaking news out of new york this hour. nbc news has learned that the new york attorney general's investigation into the trump organization is focusing on cfo alan wieselberg's personal taxes. he is probably the person who outside the trump family itself best understands the company's financial dealings. joining us now is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. pete, what more do we know about this investigation? >> i think the best way to understand it is this: and then there were two. we've known that cy vance's people, the district attorney in manhattan, has been looking into

this very issue. the question is did employees of the trump organization pay taxes on gifts they were given by trump or other trump officials. lavish gifts are supposed to be taxable. they're considered part of your compensation. were taxes paid on that? we know that vance's people were looking at it, and now our understanding is that the attorney general of new york, letitia james, is also looking at the same question. it's part of a much, much broader investigation into the trump organization. we learned earlier this week that some of james' lawyers are also looking at other aspects of the trump organization, too. what we don't fully know, because these are grand jury investigations, is exactly what the attorney general is now looking at that vance's people either are or aren't, but it seems pretty clear that a couple of lawyers from the attorney general's office are working with the district attorney's office to look into these matters. it could be -- we, again, don't know -- but it could be that by

focusing on wieselberg's personal potential liability, they're trying to get him to be more of a cooperating witness in the larger investigation, which is where the real action is in this case on whether the trump organization was inflating the value of certain properties to get better loans and devaluing them or misstating the value of them to try to evade taxes. that's been the big focus. now we know that there are these other tentacles. >> pete williams with the very latest. thanks, pete, for that. meantime we're watching the white house where the president is about to sign the first significant piece of hate crime legislation in more than a decade. both the president and vice president will sign the covid-19 hate crimes act. the legislation seeks to address a surge in violence against asian-americans since the start of the pandemic. you see some lawmakers gathering around the podium there. there's stenny hoyer. the aapi community, which had

more than 600 acts of violence, more than a third of that violence was reported this march. the hate crimes act will expedite doj investigations into covid-related crimes, issue guidance for online reporting available in multiple languages. joining us is the founder and ceo of rise, a non-profit for sexual assault victims. she has used her platform to bring attention to asian-american violence. this is biden standard time, so this will push it probably 15 to 20 minutes late, which is okay. this legislation, there were 63 lawmakers who opposed it, all republicans. you had 62 in the house and josh hawley in the senate. but beyond that it passed overwhelmingly bipartisan. this is a big bipartisan effort. what are we expecting to hear

from the president and vice president when they take that podium later today? >> jeff, you know how rare bipartisanship in the white house is these days. you were just showing pictures of the east room. this is what we'll see at the white house today which four months from today was inauguration day. a fairly normal east room event. look at all those lawmakers and guests not wearing masks. i don't think we've seen that yet in this biden administration so far. when they passed the covid rescue bill, it wasn't a rose garden ceremony, but a lot of lawmakers who were there were wearing masks outside, even, at the time. another thing to know about this guest list we were just provided by the white house is it is a bipartisan group at the white house. it includes senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, it includes susan collins, the republican senator from maine. when this administration has a chance to celebrate bipartisanship, that is something they're going to do. the president, we expect him to

say as well, is notable as the vice president, the first woman to be in that office to speak today and highlight that fact. the president will also talk about, as we see some members of the justice department, including the attorney general there, the stepped-up tools and the increasing funding the president is also seeking to continue to combat hate crimes in this country. that was a big part of his budget request. but this president, as he's talked about in this pandemic era, the increase in hate crimes against asian-americans, he said, legislation is one thing, we need to change hearts. that's going to be part of his message as well. >> as you were speaking, we saw the second gentleman, we saw the attorney general, nancy pelosi. when they all take their seats, i guess that's our queue this is about to start. amanda, as we wait for the president to come out, give us the significance of this moment, you who have worked to raise awareness of hate crimes.

>> quite frankly, it's about time. that's not to distract from the importance of this moment. i'm very grateful to the people who championed this, and i'm grateful to the people who voted for it. and this is a first step in a long journey. of course, it's going to be beyond just this moment, beyond may, national heritage month. i'm hoping this is a continued momentum in whether or not leaders will keep on stepping up. one thing is for sure, there will be grassroots organizers like us at rise here who will continue to push our leaders to care about these issues. >> when you appeared on the show back in atlanta, you told katy that empathy and education is the solution. of course, legislation is one part of it, but i think the rhetoric and the message coming from elected leaders coming from the white house is part of this, too. tell me how that has changed significantly from one leadership to the next.

>> words matter, leadership matters. what we hear today will be really important in setting the tone of what does our country, what do our leaders prioritize? how well will it be enforced and implemented, but this is definitely a first step, and i hope our leaders enforce their commitment to make sure aapis are uplifted, are visible and hate crimes are denounced. >> amanda, mike, we'll ask you to hold on while we wait for the president. israel launches new airstrikes against gaza even as the u.s. works to deescalate the violence. a video of a black man being dragged and tasered by police. it happened two years ago, so why is it just now being made public? texas bans mask mandates.

special counsel concerning for parents of young unvaccinated children. >> i'm not happy. i have three children. none of them are vaccinated and none of them will have the opportunity to be vaccinated before school starts in august. t [sfx: bikes passing] [sfx: fire truck siren] onstar, we see them. okay. mother and child in vehicle. mother is unable to exit the vehicle. injuries are unknown. thank you, onstar. ♪ my son, is he okay? your son's fine. thank you. there was something in the road... it's okay. you're safe now. ♪♪ it's okay. ♪ i want to see you stand up ♪ ♪ i want to feel you be proud ♪ ♪ i want to hear your beating heart ♪ ♪ live out loud ♪ ♪ you can do it on your own ♪ ♪ stand up now ♪

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history says: fine jewelry for occasions. we say: forget occasions. (snap) fine jewelry for every day, minus the traditional markups. ♪♪ calls for a ceasefire in the middle east are growing as the violence between israel and gaza approach the end of its second week. secretary general antonio

onterez reiterated his call for the end of the fighting. >> the fighting must stop immediately. i appeal to all fires to cease hostilities now. and i reiterate my call on all sides for an immediate ceasefire. if there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in gaza today. >> they launched new airstrikes today. in hamas, the vast majority of which continue to be intercepted by israel's iron dome defense system. the situation in gaza remains dire, with critical infrastructure damaged from the ten-day-long conflicts. age groups are now complaining of shortages of food and water. 12 israelis, including two

children, have also been killed. joining us is erin mclaughlin who is in tel aviv, and correspondent michael crowley, good morning to you. are there signs this might be slowing down? >> the cabinet has been meeting for a little over two hours now, the entire international committee looking to see what comes out of that meeting, if a ceasefire is, in fact, announced as the countries have been calling for, countries including the united states. just yesterday president biden in a phone call with prime minister netanyahu saying he expects to see a significant de-escalation on the path to a ceasefire, but we saw pretty much anything but de-escalation today. in fact, we saw this wave of violence being fired from gaza over into israel, one rocket

falling on a civilian home in ashkelon. the northern part of gaza today targeting hamas tunnels as well as rocket launchers. an escalation of sorts in violence today. whether that leads to a full de-escalation, a full ceasefire, again, remains to be seen. hopefully we'll hear very shortly. jeff? >> michael crowley, what would i ceasefire actually look like in practical terms and would the u.s. have to be involved in those negotiations? jen psaki was asked about this today in a press briefing, and she said the reports of a potential ceasefire are encouraging but there are those lingering questions about how it would all work. >> there is only so much the u.s. can have a role in this situation. we don't deal directly with

hamas, which the u.s. considers a terrorist organization. we can help try to remediate the process, but the real lynchpin right now is egypt. we do have leverage over the israelis, but i think what we're seeing is that that leverage is limited. president biden has been urging over the past week plus in increasingly firm tones prime minister netanyahu to deescalate, and we're not really seeing it, even after that phone call yesterday that came with the sharpest tone yet that we've seen. the prime minister came out after that in somewhat complicit defiance and said, we'll finish when we finish. we're going to finish our mission. i think the white house can't be particularly happy with what they're seeing right now. >> can you unpack for us the political motivation they have to keep on fighting? his grip looked like it might have been slipping away a few

weeks ago. >> it is a little puzzling on the military aspect in the sense that the israeli military has been saying for i think a couple days now that they've basically been running out of targets. i had a source who is in touch with the administration say that's been communicated to the u.s., that the mission, as they see it, is basically complete and there aren't that many more targets. however, as long as hamas or other actors there, including islamic jihad might be firing rockets in israel, israel, i think, is going to feel a need to retaliate. that could prolong things. but the strategic mission could be coming to an end. for netanyahu, there is also this political dynamic at work. now, i'm not going to impute any motive to him for his political survival, but this man is like a cat. forget about nine lives, he's

got about 19 lives. it looked like he was done for a few weeks ago. i'm not going to say that's why he's acting the way he is, but it is a reality. >> michael crowley and erin mclaughlin, my thanks to you both. coming up next, a woman thought she was being lowballed on the value of her home, so she made it look like her home was owned by a white person. you might guess what happened next. stay with us. happened next stay with us nobody builds 5g like verizon builds 5g because we're the engineers who built the most reliable network in america. thousands of smarter towers, with the 5g coverage you need. broader spectrum for faster 5g speeds. next-generation servers with superior network reliability. because the more you do with 5g, the more your network matters.

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improve the appearance of the intestinal lining, and provide lasting steroid-free remission. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers, including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. you could take your uc treatment in a different direction. ask your gastroenterologist about xeljanz. welcome back. we're going to take you to the white house now where you see president biden and vice president kamala harris. they're set to pass anti-hate

crime legislation. >> good afternoon, everyone. let me start by thanking all the leaders here. the united states on both sides of the aisle who helped pass the covid-19 hate crimes act. thank you. [ applause ] and a special thanks to senator mazie horona and congresswoman grace meng for leading this incredible effort. and i know you did not do it alone. and there are many more i could name, a couple of whom i will. among them, senator tammy

duckworth. senator richard blumenthal, senator jerry moran, congresswoman judy chew, congressman don byer, and congressman fred upton. because of you, history will remember this day and this moment when our nation took action to combat hate. thank you, all. around this time last year, when i was in the senate, senator horona and senator duckworth and

i introduced legislation in the senate for anti-hate crimes in our country. about that time more than 1,100 anti-hate incidents had been reported since the start of the pandemic. today that number is more than 6,600. i'm talking about incidents where businesses are being vandalized in our biggest cities and in our smallest towns. i'm talking about a 61-year-old man getting kicked in the head. two elderly women being stabbed while waiting for the bus. eight people in atlanta getting shot on a tuesday night. this violence, it did not come from nowhere, and none of it is new. in my life, my lived experience, i have seen how hate can pervade our communities. i have served in the justice

system, in the legislative branch and in the executive branch. i have seen how hate can impede our progress. and i have seen how people uniting against hate can strengthen our country. those here today are united. this bill brings us one step closer to stopping hate, not only for asian-americans but for all americans. it will expedite the justice department's review of hate crimes, every type of hate crime. it will designate an official at the department to oversee the effort, and it will expand efforts to make the reporting of hate crimes more accessible at the local and state levels. but after the president signs this bill today, our work will not be done. here is the truth. racism exists in america.

xenophobia exists in america. anti-semitism, islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, it all exists. so the work to justice remains in the years ahead. it is my honor to say to you what you already know. we have a president of the united states in one joe biden who is committed to this work. he is determined to -- i will quote from him -- give hate no safe harbor. and i'll tell you firsthand, i've seen what you know. his actions match his powerful words. it is my great honor to introduce the president of the united states, joe biden.

[ applause ] >> thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. progress is possible. we're moving. good afternoon, everyone. since the beginning of my campaign, madam speaker, the campaign for president throughout, and you would call me and tell me keep it up, was about bringing people together, about uniting the country. we need to unite as one people, one nation, one america. and that was the thing i was most often criticized about. how can you unite the country?

we must unite the country. i said it in my kickoff speech in philadelphia, i said it again when i spoke at gettysburg, and i emphasized it in my inaugural address. a lot of people pressed to elected officials were somewhat skeptical it could be done. it's just beginning, but i'm confident we can do this and so much more. and i believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as americans. one of them is standing together against hate, against racism. the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation. today i can say that because of all of you, many of you sitting right in front of me, you've taken that first step, this important step. i'd like to thank the congress and the members who are here today, democrats and republicans, who came together to get the covid-19 hate crimes

act on my desk. well, on a desk i'm about to sign. but i want to thank the majority leader schumer, and i want to thank speaker pelosi for your leadership. i also want to thank the leader from the state of kentucky for letting it go forward. it's important. it's important. most of all, mazie -- senator -- i called you mazie, i apologize, mazie. i called chuck chuck, anyway. senator horono, senator duckworth who helped deliver this 94-21 vote. when you get involved, tammy, you don't screw around.

94-1. grace meng and judy chew who helped get 264 in the house of representatives. i also want to thank republican members of congress for their leadership, including senator moran and senator collins. i also want to thank, as i said, to all of the folks, all the people here today who are involved, and those of you whether you're in the congress or not, supporting this effort. i say thank you, thank you, thank you. we have a lot more to do but we simply have not seen this kind of bipartisanship for much too long in washington. you're showing that a democracy can work and deliver for the american people. just days after the mass shooting in atlanta, vice president harris and i, we went down to atlanta to meet with asian-americans and the community across georgia. it was a raw and emotional visit we had. we heard about their pain, their fear, anger and all that existed

in the community, and the feelings were about those feelings that they felt invisible. not seen. we heard how too many asian-americans had been waking up each morning this past year genuinely -- genuinely -- fearing for their safety just opening the door and walking down the street. and safety for their loved ones. the moms and dads who when they let their kids out the door to go to school were worried. attacked, blamed, scapegoated, harassed during this pandemic. living in fear for their lives, as i said, just walking down the street. grandparents afraid to leave their homes even to get vaccinated for fear of being attacked. small business owners targeted and gunned down. students worried about two things, covid-19 and being bullied. documented instances of hate against asian-americans has seen

a shocking spike as the vice president outlined at the front of her comments, let alone the ones who have never been reported. gut-wrenching attacks on some of the most vulnerable people in our nation, the elderly, low wage workers, women brutally attacked simply by walking outside or waiting for a bus. asian-american women suffered twice as many incidences of harassments and violence as an asian-american man. the conversation we had in atlanta is one we're hearing all across the country, that all of this hate hides in plain sight. it hides in plain sight. too often it is met with silence, silence by the media, silence by our politics, and silence by our history. for centuries asian-americans, native hawaiians, pacific

islanders have helped build this nation, often to be stepped over, forgotten or ignored. you know, they've lived here for generations and are still considered by some as "the other." "the other." it's simply unamerican. for all of those who are hurting, we see you. the congress says we see you, and we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias. my first week in office, i signed a presidential memorandum directing federal agencies, all of them, to combat the resurgence of xenophobia. not just one, every agency. attorney general garland, deputy attorney general lisa monaco, associate attorney general adam gupta are all here today. they are strengthening a

partnership to combat these crimes and also to take on violent extremism and terrorism. with this new law, the department of justice and our entire administration is going to step up. right now this is a critical problem of hate crimes being underreported. it stems from two challenges. first, there is lack of resources and training for state and local law enforcement to accurately identify and report hate crimes to the fbi. secondly, for more people in communities of color, there are language and cultural barriers in how to communicate what's happening to them. this law is going to make a difference. for example, the department of justice will issue clear guidance for state, city, and tribal law enforcement agencies on how to establish law for hate crimes, working with services to raise public awareness of covid-19 hate crimes that occurred during the pandemic.

there will also be a devoted official at the department of justice whose sole job is to expedite the review of hate crime reports. and thanks to two families here today, we will help state and local governments and assure that hate crime information is more accessible to the public. heather hire, whose life was taken standing up to nazis in vengeance in charlottesville. a proud son of a foam emigrated from lebanon was gunned down in front of their home seeking new beginnings in the united states of america by a neighbor fueled by hate. he and heather were murdered on the same day one year apart. instead of sharing the dreams they had for their children, both families share profound grief.

and they've shown incredible courage to turn their pain into purpose. i hope you won't be offended, but i ask both families to please stand. [ applause ] >> i want to thank you for being here. because i know it's hard. no matter how celebratory it is, a law is being changed. when you have to show up at something memorializing your family, it's like you got the news 10 seconds ago. it's the hardest thing to do. i know from experience it takes enormous courage. but i hope that every day that's passed, a memory of your son and

daughter brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. because i promise you, a lot of people understand who have gone through similar things. it's hard. so i really mean it when i say thank you. thank you for being here. it takes a lot of courage. [ applause ] >> because of you the law named after kareem and heather is now a law, that all hate crimes are reported with a focus on ending these crimes. it will provide a resource to specialized hate crime units. it will also help states create hotlines for hate crimes at state and local levels that will be accessible for people with limited english proficiency, and it provides resources and training for state and local law

enforcement to identify, investigate and report these heinous crimes. but of all the good that the law can do, we have to change our hearts. we have to change the hearts of the american people. i mean this from the bottom of my heart. hate can be given no safe harbor in america. i mean it, no safe harbor. it can't be dismissed like, well, that's just what happens. my sister valerie and i talk about it all the time. you've got to speak up. speak up and speak out. it's in all of us. all of us together to make it stop. my message is to all of those who think this doesn't matter to them or this is not a problem, look around. look in the mirror. look in the eyes of your

children. every one of us are lessened. every one of us are lessened. we're all hurt by this hate. it has a way of seeping, sort of, through the cracks in the communities and children who it wouldn't have crossed their mind. words have consequences, as the senator knows. he preaches it. he understands it. consequences. but silence is complicity. silence is complicity. and we cannot be complicit. we have to speak out. we have to act. that's what you've done. and i can't thank you enough. i'm proud today. i'm proud today of the united states. i'm proud today of our political system in the united states

congress. i'm proud today that democrats and republicans have stood up together to say something. let me close with this. grief, as we all know, is universal. but so is hope. so is love. it sounds corny, but it really is. and hope and love can be contagious. we're the united states of america. we're a good and decent people. we're unique among all nations in that we're uniquely a product of a document, not an ethnicity, not a religion, not a geography, a document. think about this. i'm being literal.

uniquely a product, a document that says we hold truth to be self-evident, that all men and women are held equal of certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. every time we're silent, every time we let hate flourish, we make a lie of who we are as a nation. i mean it literally. we cannot let the very foundation of this country continue to be eaten away like it has been in other moments in our history and happening again. i looked at this law that you all passed as maybe the first break, first significant break

in a moment in our history that has to be turned around. has to be turned around. as a consequence, we should do what is required by the obligations of this democracy by our faith in god and our faith in each other to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly, and as fellow human beings and fellow americans, remember, we're unique in all history as a nation. this is the united states of america, for god's sake. may god bless you all, particularly those who pushed this through and continue to push it. now i'm going to sign this bill, which is a great honor. i don't know whose calling, but tell them we're busy.

i was going to say unless it's my sister, but she's here. so i would like to invite to the stage senator horono, senator duckworth, congresswoman grace meng, congresswoman judy chu. senator richard blumenthal, and senator miran but i don't think he can be here today. i should put the table down in the middle of all of you and sign it down there, but thank you, thank you, thank you.

thank you, mr. president. it's okay. thank you. thank you. congratulations. that is president obama signing into law anti-asian legislation. you saw him bang the pens. the pen that's are signed by legislation are kept by lawmakers as a keepsake.

and sometimes what they do is they will sign their name with multiple pens and you get sort of a herky jerky signature on the legislature. what he chose to do instead was to bang each one on the table, just some context there. back us with is mike memoli. and i will tell you this, you have covered president biden for nearly 15 years. he is at his most emphatic and unequivocal when he is talking about the promise that this country holds and that's what we heard from him in that last three or four minutes of his remarks. what was your take on what you heard today? >> i was really struck watching this event. this was clearly about more than just one single piece of legislation. you can draw a direct line between this event and the moment two years ago almost today that he formally kicked off his candidacy in philadelphia with a rally and a

message that called on the founding principals of this nation. the idea of all men being created equal, and a very stark warning around the direction he saw the going, he called it a battle for the soul. part of the guest list was the mother of that young woman that was killed in those clashes. and that's what the president said explicitly. that this one piece of legislation in his view was the beginning of a break from what we have seen in this country over the last four years. he didn't mention his predecessor's name but he didn't

have to. he singled out knot just heather's family, but kalib jabar. his family is going to mark the six year mark of the loss of beau. >> yeah, she has committed herself to the work that her daughter, heather did, all of that advocacy work. burning now to a developing story out of louisiana where a civil rights investigation is under way into the deadly arrest of a black man two years ago. footage newly obtained show louisiana state troopers beating, dragging, and using a stun gun on reagan ronald green in 2014.

here is the video, we warn you it is disturbing. >> the brutal 2019 arrest and subsequent death of ronald green was captured on body camera. officer, i'm scared. i'm just scared. >> in the video obtained and released, louisiana state troopers cull a 49-year-old black man from his car after a dangerous high speed pursuit. >> green is tased multiple times, but much of what happened is off camera. during the graphic and disturbing video he is punched, nut a chokehold, and put in the dirt. one officer describing the violent arrest.

>> that officer later died in a single car crash hours after learning he would be fired for his role in the incident. state police offering no comment on the audio. >> i had to see my son take his last breath. i had to see what they did to him. >> green's mother says after her son was shackled he was left to die as officers washed their bloody hands. >> i saw it was the first time and i said this is premeditated murder. >> green's family says louisiana state troopers tried to cover up the beating outside of monroe. first saying he died on impact from the car crash. but never mentioned the beating. >> the video is probably one of the most disturbing videos that i have seen of police brutality. it invokes the image of slave catchers when hunting down a run

away slave. >> this morning the lsp says their investigation remains under review while a civil rights investigation is also under way. >> that was nbc's miguel almigare reporting. with us now is david henderson, a civil rights attorney and a former prosecutor. troopers initially told green's family that he died on impact his car hit a tree. then they said he died on the way to the hospital after struggling with police. the video that we're seeing two years after the fact tells a very different story. why has justice been so delayed in this case. >> that's a good question. it is especially hard to thans question after we just heard the president talk about serving

justice. i think before george floyd it was very normal to see body cam footage and this was not released voluntarily. it didn't come without a fight or a struggle. i think what is most concerns is in addition to the force, the misrepresentation that the families made to the family and in terms of why it took so long to contest this is because in this example the police are clearly wrong for doing what they did and it will take some pressure to keep them accountable. >> in this case they're still opposed to the video being released to the public. the release of the video under mines the investigative process and compromises the fair and impartial outcome. the question after that is is that a normal response? what's up with that? >> that is a normal response, in that situation it's completely misleading. the reason that investigations are typically kept secret. the individual being investigated generally doesn't

know it so they can't do things like leave town. in this situation the police officers all know they're being investigated. so the delay is just giving them time to prepare statements. if they are serving injustice and it prevents the justice department from keeping the police accountable for what they did. >> thank you, that does it for me. we have more coverage now. >> good afternoon, everyone. we're watching developments overseas in new efforts to end the fighting in gaza, israel,

and they make a point to walk out during the speed and compare them to the nazis and isis. u.s. ambassador linda thomas greenfield who has been blocking a security council resolution says the united states has been working behind the scenes with more than 60 diplomatic meetings at the highest levels. >> we have not been silent. infact, i don't think any country is working more urgently and fervently toward peace. >> and just moments ago they convened the security cabinet. we'll have more reporting