tv MTP Daily MSNBC August 3, 2021 10:00am-11:00am PDT
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welcome to "mtp daily." at any moment, we expect governor cuomo to respond the first time to a stunning report that finds credibly that he sexually harassed several women. we'll bring in remarks as soon as they happen. let's layout what's out there. the report by new york state attorney general, will he tish a james, says he harassed 11 women, retaliated against a former employee who came forward with her own harassment allegations. the report depicts his office as hostile work environment, core owed by fear and intimidation. >> governor cuomo harassed currents and former employees in violation of federal and state laws. the independent investigation found governor cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, many of
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whom were young women, by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and by making inappropriate comments. this investigation has revealed conduct that corrodes the fabric and character of state government and shines light on injustice that can be present at the highest levels of government. >> governor cuomo is speaking now, we want to layout everything the attorney general said and bring you the remarks from the start. the attorney general detailed the 165 page report late this morning, it concludes a five month investigation overseen by her office that was requested by the governor himself. what's more, investigators say allegations against the governor were not isolated incidents. >> they were part of a pattern. the governor's pattern of sexually harassing behavior was
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not limited to members of his own staff but extended to other state employees including a state trooper who served on his protective detail. >> we've already seen a number of new york democrats renew calls for his resignation. cuomo refuse toss step aside, it will be an enormous political headline. earlier, president biden said if the investigation confirmed the allegations were made against the governor, then cuomo should resign and potentially face prosecution. so there's what the report laid out. governor cuomo is speaking now, following the allegations. we will play the remarks starting from the top. here they are. >> over the past several months you have heard a number of complaints brought against me. i called for an independent review and i said at the
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beginning i would let the process unfold. i didn't want anyone to say that i interfered. i said i would hold my tongue and i have, making only limited comments. it has been a hard and painful period for me and my family, especially as others feed ugly stories to the press. but i cooperated with the review and i can now finally share the truth. my attorney who is a nonpolitical former federal prosecutor has done a response to each allegation and the facts are much different than what has been portrayed. that document is available on my website. if you are interested, please take time to read the facts and decide for yourself. first, i want you to know directly from me that i never
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touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. i am 63 years old. i've lived my entire adult life in public view. that is just not who i am. and that's not who i have ever been. there is one complaint that has been made that bothered me most, that was a complaint made by a young woman, charlotte bennett, who worked in my office and it is important to me that you fully understand the situation. charlotte worked in my office last year as an assistant. she was smart, talented, and eager to learn. she identified herself to me as a survivor of sexual assault. she said that she came to work in my administration because of all the progress we made in fighting sexual assault.
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she talked about the personal trauma that she endured and how she was handling it. i could see how it had effected her. i could see her pain. people now ask me why as i even talking to this young woman if i knew she was dealing with such issues. why did i even engage with her. that is the obvious and fair question. and one i have thought a lot about. the truth is that her story resonated deeply with me. i had heard the same story before with the same ugliness, the same injustice, the same damage. not only had i heard the story before, i had lived with the story before. my own family member is a survivor of sexual assault in
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high school. i have watched her live and suffer with trauma. i would do anything to make it go away for her. but it never really goes away. i spent countless days and nights working through issues with her and therapists and counselors. i'm governor of the state of new york but i felt powerless to help and felt i had failed her. i couldn't take the pain away. i still can't. and this young woman brought it all back. she's about the same age. i thought i had learned a lot about the issue from my family's experience. i thought i could help her work through a difficult time. i did ask her questions i don't normally ask people. i did ask her how she was doing
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and how she was feeling and i did ask questions to try to see if she had positive support of dating relationships. i know too well the manifestations of sexual assault trauma and the damage that it can do in the aftermath. i was trying to make sure she was working her way through it the best she could. i thought i had learned enough and had enough personal experience to help her but i was wrong. i have heard charlotte and her lawyer and understand what she's saying, but they read into comments i made and draw inferences that i never meant. they ascribe motives i never had. and simply put, they heard things that i just didn't say.
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charlotte, i want you to know that i am truly and deeply sorry. i brought my personal experience into the workplace and i shouldn't have done that. i was trying to help. obviously i didn't. i am even more sorry that i hurt complicated the situation. my goal was the exact opposite. i wish nothing but good for you and for all survivors of sexual assault. there's another complaint i want to address from a woman in my office that said i groped her in my home office. let me be clear, that never happened. she wants anonymity and i respect that, so i am limited about what i can say, but her lawyer has suggested she will file a legal claim for damages. that will be decided in a court
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of law. trial by newspaper or biased reviews are not the way to find the facts in this matter. i welcome the opportunity for a full and fair review before a judge and jury because this just did not happen. other complainants raised against me questions that have sought to unfairly characterize, weaponize everyday interactions i have had with any number of new yorkers. "new york times" published a front page picture of me touching a woman's face at a wedding and then kissing her on the cheek. that is not front page news. i have been making the same gesture in public all my life.
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i actually learned it from my mother and my father. it is meant to convey warmth. nothing more. indeed, there are hundreds if not thousands of photos of me using the exact same gesture. i do it with everyone. black and white, young and old, straight and lbgtq, powerful people. friends. strangers. people who i meet on the street. the woman took offense at the gesture and for that i apologize. another woman stated that i kissed her on the forehead at our christmas party and that i
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said chow bella. now, i don't remember doing it, but i'm sure that i did. i do kiss people on the forward. i do kiss people on the cheek. i do kiss people on the hand. i do embrace people. i do hug people. men and women. i do on occasion say chow bella, on occasion, i do slip and say sweetheart or darling or honey. i do banter with people. i do tell jokes. some better than others. i am the same person in public as i am in private. you have seen me do it on tv through all my briefings and for 40 years before that. i try to put people at ease. i try to make them smile. i try to connect with them.
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and i try to show my appreciation and my friendship. i now understand that there are cultural perspectives that frankly i hadn't fully appreciated. and i have learned from this. the state already has an advanced sexual harassment training program for all employees, including me, but i want new york state government to be a model of office behavior and i brought in an expert to design a new sexual harassment policy and procedures and to train the whole team, myself included. i accept responsibility and we are making changes. other complaints relate to the work environment. now, i have always said my
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office is a demanding place to work and that it is not for everyone. we work really, really hard. my office is no typical 9 to 5 government office and i don't want it to be. the stakes we deal with are very high. sometimes even life and death. we have to get the job done. i promised you that i would. and i will. but now a number of complaints target female managers which smacks to me of a double standard. first, when have you ever seen male managers maligned, villainized for working long hours, being accountable or being tough. a strong male manager is respected and rewarded, but a
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strong female manager is ridiculed and stereotyped. it is a double standard. it is sexist and it must be challenged. also, remember where we are. today, we are living in a super heated if not toxic political environment. that shouldn't be lost on anyone. politics and bias are interwoven throughout every aspect of this situation. one would be naive to think otherwise, and new yorkers are not naive. i understand these dynamics. my father used to say, god rest his soul, that politics is an
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ugly business. as usual, he was right. but for my father and me it is worth it because despite it all, at the end of the day, we get good things done for people and that's what really matters. and for those using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain, i say they discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect. my last point is this. i say to my daughters all the time that as complicated as life gets is as simple as life is. my job is not about me. my job is about you. what matters to me at the end of the day is getting the most done i can for you. and that is what i do. every day.
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i will not be distracted from that job. we have a lot to do. we still have to manage the covid beast. it is not dead yet. it is not over. we then have to reopen, reimagine our state because our future is going to be what we make it. i know we can do these things because i know the strength and character of new yorkers. look at the progress we made on covid. it is amazing. we went from the highest infection rate in the country to one of the lowest infection rates in the country. nobody thought we could do it. but new yorkers did it. that shows there's nothing that we can't do when we work together. together. together as one. as one community. as one family. as new yorkers. we will. thank you.
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>> that was governor cuomo's taped reaction, we say taped. you can see it was done as almost an address from the governor's mansion, if you will. it was the first thing he said is how, what a long and painful process it has been to him and his family. just worth pointing out, that's the first place that he talked about some pain and suffering, painting himself here as a bit of a victim. we should note this is from the governor's office. you saw some photos in there of governor cuomo touching other new yorkers. that was an edited decision by the feed we got from new york governor's office. that was not something we editorially would have added ourselves for what it is worth. things he did address and things he didn't address, he addressed two allegations specifically, charlotte bennett being one name
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checked, and an anonymous person he decided, he said i welcome opportunity for full and fair review before a judge and jury on that one. so let's get more details here because what's not clear is whether there are going to be any charges filed against governor cuomo, whether state, federal, or whether it was simply a civil investigation. let me bring in our nbc news correspondent, tom winters, and brand on meyers. legal analyst danny cevallos as well. let me start with you. i guess that's the real question here. is he going to face state or federal charges because the allegations outlined by the attorney general and laws that have been passed, including new ones that were signed into law in the state of new york by governor cuomo would indicate he
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could be in serious legal jeopardy here. where do things stand? >> the attorney general, chuck, said this for now is a civil matter and her investigation concludes it is a civil matter as far as her office is concerned. ann clark who helped head up the independent review said this is now a public report, all the evidence and information is out there, including text message screen grabs from one of the victims, charlotte bennett. that's out there and available if any police department or prosecutorial office wants to look at it. i have been asking around to various district attorney offices, so far they're not commenting publicly whether or not they'll pick it up from an investigation standpoint on the state level, whether that would be criminal. from a federal level as far as any potential issues for the governor there, according to pete williams, that appears to be more of a civil issue with respect to civil rights and harassment claims there. that would be the federal nexus. at this point, we have yet to hear that's something any sort of federal authority will take
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up, although it is important to remember this report was only released almost two hours ago. couple of things the governor contradicted himself within statements, he said he had not spoken about the investigation, yet had made numerous statements it was biased, even suggested so there. he originally called for this, said he welcomed independent investigation. now the independent investigation is out. and as you alluded to, he wants to now have a case go before a civil court, have a judge and jury decide on it there as pertains to one of the victims who has come forward anonymously. that's something to note as well. with respect to his discussions with charlotte bennett, she did text friends contemporaneously about discussions with the governor, where the governor talked about a tattoo she would get, suggested it should be a tattoo on her butt. he suggested his dream scenario would be to travel with the woman to the mountains on a motor bike and then they also
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discussed her relationships in the past, her previous issues with sexual assault, that she had been sexual assaulted and whether or not she could be monogamous in relationships. the governor says well, that was all an effort to try to connect with her as a victim of sexual assault. i will let the audience decide. one other kind of final point here, a lot of the claims that have been made have really been backed up by other evidence, by other people that have seen this come forward. it was interesting to me he did not address allegations brought by new york state trooper which according to the report were backed up by other new york state troopers, including unwanted touching. that's kind of where all of this stands, chuck, and obviously new york politicians are starting to weigh in and call for his resignation. >> i was going to say. i want to translate to the political issue, first, here is
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senator kirsten gillibrand with her call for resignation. >> as i said before, these allegations are deeply disturbing. i'm just reading the report now and factual evidence along with the fact that facts have been corroborated, the fact that there are 11 women coming forward is deeply, deeply disturbing. as i said already, these actions are inappropriate for the governor of new york state. my heart goes out to the women who come forward. and i thank them for their courage because this is a serious and damning report. >> i should point out, three members of congress from new york city area, king jeffries, tom squaz ee, greg meeks issued a joint statement calling on the governor to do the right thing for the people of new york state
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and resign. brendan, there's potential impeachment situation also in albany that could take place with the legislature. governor cuomo sounds like somebody that wants to have a fight and he is not looking to take the attorney general's report at her word and walk away. that sounds to me it means the ball is now in the state legislature's court. where do we go now? >> it is indeed. the assembly speaker today whose chamber is in charge of that proceeding and could initiate impeachment proceeding have put out a statement indicating the governor is not fit for office based on what's in this report and it appears the assembly will gather quickly and move forward on that. and it is no surprise the governor's statement that he is not only, he didn't address the factesque called on to resign, so he is not going to resign, he started to set the tone for that weeks ago. you saw both him and his administration begin to cast the
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investigation as politically motivated and biased. it was telling that the governor wasn't going to accept findings of this report, and it is disturbing to us at the times to learn when we inquired in december about the female trooper who was hand selected by the governor as he directed someone on his detail to have her appointed to his detail after seeing her at a bridge dedication ceremony, and we learned through this report today that the administration had lied to us, mislead us about that trooper being put on the detail without the appropriate qualifications at the time. so it is very revealing, this report. the question is will the democratic-led assembly have muscle it needs to move forward with an impeachment proceeding, and how quickly would that unfold. >> brendan, what kind of political support does governor cuomo have in the legislature at this point? if he lied to you on this, i
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have to assume a lot of state democrats feel a bit lied and mislead to as well. i mean, he looks to me to be a politician on an island right now. >> he is. and hindsight is approaching on that island and he is running out of beach. he has a lot of fading support. he had support from some who said let's await the process. now the process has come and the indication of the report is that the women are to be believed and that there was enough evidence to support and corroborate their allegations, so i think you'll see this week especially, it would shock me to see people still come out in support of him after this report. >> hang with me. let me bring in danny cevallos. defense attorney. if you had been the governor's attorney, i am going to play one
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sot. guys, sot 1, he says i want you to know directly from me. play that directly from governor cuomo. >> the facts are much different than what has been portrayed. i want you to know directly from me that i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. i am 63 years old. i have lived my entire adult life in public view. that is just not who i am. and that's not who i have ever been. >> danny, he did not to me, it was interesting. at first looked like to me he was cherry picking what he thought were his strongest denials, charlotte bennett being one, perhaps the anonymous accuser. and when you pick some, that means there's others you don't want to discuss, but that seemed categorical there.
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would you have advised him to say that because he could face a lot of different jeopardy here. >> no. he should not have said that. he called to mind that iconic video, must have brought to mind for you, chuck, almost wanted him to hold his fingers like bill clinton did. >> wag his finger. >> i did not have sexual -- exactly. he had a special way hooking his finger over the thumb. i almost expected that. if history taught us anything, do not make those kinds of blanket denials. they can come back to hurt you, especially in light of not 20, 30, 40 minutes ago, someone was at a podium saying he made some admissions, other things he denied, but pretty much seems he may have admitted to some of the conduct. that may come back to bite him. he says his attorneys conducted their own investigation and that may be true, but going out and saying that blanket denial, then following it up with i'm 63 years old.
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what was going to come after that, i wasn't sure. some of that i thought he could have done some editing on. i am glad you pointed out the editorial point that that montage of him kissing of people was not an msnbc choice, that was his own camp. they put together a nice presentation. nice package. but i don't know that in the end i would have advised him to put on that kind of show because every one of those words is going into a transcript and it could be used against him. look, we lawyers are super risk averse. i get it. we're always on the side of don't say anything but this may have been one of the moments a little shorter, little editing may have helped. >> let me ask you this, danny. what does he face here? the attorney general hasn't said she's bringing charges. perhaps a u.s. attorney could, perhaps state or federal, there's certainly enough lawson the books he could face something here from the state or
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feds, but sounds like he's also got civil jeopardy here, too. what would be your biggest concern if you were andrew cuomo, the individual? >> start with criminal. tish james implied without saying it, she is not pursuing criminal charges. statistically, we're not likely to see criminal charges and here is why. every year, thousands upon thousands of sexual harassment claims and lawsuits are filed alleging violations of title vii, federal law. it is alleged that governor cuomo violated. a tiny fraction of those civil lawsuits are accompanied by criminal investigations and prosecutions, and i expect just statistically speaking, even if there was groping and physical contact that could arguably fit into a criminal statute, there's a big difference between meeting the preponderance of evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt standard.
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that's a real challenge to a prosecutor to take this on as a criminal case. >> let's move to the politics now. donna edwards, you get to put that hat on, if you will. i want to play a quote from the governor because it sounds to me like at least the framework of how he believes he could politically survive this. take a listen. sot 2, guys. >> today we are living in a super heated if not toxic political environment. that shouldn't be lost on anyone. politics and bias are interwoven through every aspect of this situation. one would be naive to think otherwise, and new yorkers are not naive.
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>> donna, it is all just politics. that's what the line seemed to throw out there. by the way, it is notable that the jeffries, meeks, swazy joint statement, coupled with previous resignation calls in the new york congressional delegation, means every member of the new york delegation is on the record calling for some form of resignation for what it is worth, chuck schumer back in march. that's something notable there. donna edwards, that sounded like if we're going back to the clinton play book, the vast right wing conspiracy. this is our toxic political environment and it sounds to me setting up a political environment saying i am a victim of the toxic political environment. like i said, he looks like a politician on an island right now. where do the democrats go? >> you know, that really
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stretches credibility given these are a mass of democrats that called at some level for his resignation. the only thing that's really toxic here is the environment, work environment that governor cuomo created. the predatory behavior, i read the report and what it describes if you were reading it about anyone else is a predator. it didn't matter who you were, as a woman, you work for him, you met him at an event, saw him at a wedding, he felt it was okay. to say inappropriate things and touch you in inappropriate ways. i think the lieutenant governor in new york would make a fine governor. this governor shouldn't serve a single other day given the behavior that he has engaged in. and what tish james, the attorney general laid out, was a set of facts that span criminal, civil, inappropriate behavior
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and so i do hope that someone takes up those cases. we certainly will see them in the civil courts. i don't see how andrew cuomo survives. he will for a time because he'll be the same kind of bully that he was, that he has apparently been in his office, but politically he has gotten a no confidence vote from members of the new york delegation. >> what would you advise president biden to do here, he might be the only democrat who could in a private conversation talk, i could make the argument, he might be, he and bill clinton, maybe barack obama, the three of them, might be able to talk cuomo into resigning. how would you advise president biden to go about this. >> i don't know, president biden has already publicly said that if this report came out in exactly the way it did that governor cuomo should resign.
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i think that opens the door for a private conversation and if that private conversation does not work, it certainly opens the door for another public call for the governor's resignation. not only not having the political support of democrats in the state but not having national political support. who would want to stand and take a photo with governor cuomo right now? that's my question as a politician. >> well, i mean, i don't know if it is fair, let me ask you this, his people may say look what happened to ralph northam, the democratic party told him to resign, he didn't, and now look where he is at. governor northam showed a lot of remorse for what he was accused of. i didn't hear that from cuomo. >> not at all. governor cuomo was defiant, essentially challenged the
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credibility of the accusers when their stories and their testimony corroborated, is laid out very plainly in the report. governor cuomo is a different sort of character. he is by nature defiant and aggressive. and so i expected him frankly to respond in this way, but it doesn't mean he will survive politically because of that. i just think this is untenable. 11 women on the record detailing their interactions with the governor. it is hard to see how you survive that way. >> including a state trooper. look, including a state trooper. that will resonate. before i let you all go, brendan, donna edwards mentioned somebody i was going to ask you about, the lieutenant governor. talk about a bind she is in. what does she do? i assume she would like to run
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for governor, tish james may run for governor, don't know what andrew cuomo will do as far as that is concerned, but kathy hokel if he resigns stands to be governor. what does she do? >> she has not taken a position on this as you know. in the legislature, she's well regarded by her fellow elected leaders and many people privately remarked they think she could step into the job and do a good job as governor. again, as my colleagues here noted, he is a fighter and he will not go down. i think the assembly and senate will have to remove him from office for this to be over. >> see what it looks like, next stop, private joe biden phone call works, next stop is albany and legislature. brenld and, i have a feeling we'll be talking to you and tom, danny, donna.
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this morning, new york city became the first in the u.s. to require proof of vaccination in indoor restaurant dining, gyms, performances. i just put my vaccine card in a photo album on my phone. i imagine others will do that soon. surges everywhere, with nearly 40 states doubling cases in two weeks. officials and politicians are finding themselves in cross hairs after premature celebrations that the pandemic was on the way out. now issues that made the pandemic a lightning rod are back. should cities, counties, bring back mandates, capacity, should they implement vaccine requirements. we'll hear from president biden on the coronavirus response and global vaccination efforts. as i said at the top, nowhere is the surge more acute than florida, nowhere more acute than florida than in jacksonville. let me bring in somebody i have known a long time, the mayor,
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lenny curry. mayor curry, the numbers look dire. what have you seen this morning, any signs of hope that maybe these peaks will start to -- i guess the curve can dip. what can you share with us. >> hey, chuck, it has been awhile. wish we were having a conversation about a better subject. look, it is spreading, the variant is spreading in our state and jacksonville now. we know the strongest tool is for people to get vaccinated. i along with other leaders are messaging get the vaccine. in regular communication with hospital leadership and ceos, they're stressed, strained, doctors, nurses, administrators. and this is largely unvaccinated people. we can solve this and navigate this if people get the vaccine. >> what are some -- have you found an effort that works, have
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you found, look, everybody is looking for best practices. it is clear lotteries aren't working, bonuses aren't working. you know, don't call it a mandate mandates. saw that ryan tan a hill said i finally got the vaccine, i didn't like the nfl protocols. that was one of the triggers in my head that says you know what, this is why mandates might work. where is your head on that? >> i don't think we should mandate people get vaccinated but i think we need to educate them, continue to educate them. what we're seeing with the variant that we didn't see before are younger people hospitalized. i know people in their 30s recently hospitalized, and they got through it, but it was tough. as we tell stories, more people get vaccinated. we've seen increase in vaccinations in jacksonville in the last couple of weeks and i believe that's a direct result of messaging and people hearing the stories of people getting
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sick that never thought they would. >> is there any point where you're going to feel the need that you need to put in some new mitigation efforts, a don't call it a mandate mask mandate if you will, walking up to the line. what are you considering for your part of the county? >> last year i had a mask mandate in place, we had the surge that happened last summer. at that time it was still new, still a lot of unknowns about transmission. there was a point in time we thought it was transmitted off surfaces. we didn't have a vaccine then. we have a vaccine now. that is the answer. if someone wants to wear a mask, businesses want to impose mask mandates, that's their prerogative. i would encourage them to do that if that's their decision. the real way forward, we have to be focused, laser focused on messaging to get people
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vaccinated. my family is vaccinated. i had no side effects, zero side effects. some members of the family were a little tired when vaccinated, but that's how we're going to keep people safe and get through this. get the vaccine, please. >> there's a hot debate in washington, d.c. over the eviction moratorium. a lot of money went out. you've got some complaints that jacksonville hasn't figured out how to get money meant for landlords or renters out the door, what is your response to the allegation, is this a bureaucratic issue, something else? what say you on the eviction moratorium money that i know many cities like yourself got. >> well, whoever made that allegation about jacksonville, that's a false allegation. all the federal dollars we received the height of the pandemic and since, even when we had to practice social
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distancing, even before we had a vaccine, we were a model for the state, for other cities. we got our money and got it in people's hands rapidly. i have a great team that organized protocols to do it safely. if someone makes me aware of the fact we haven't gotten federal dollars into people's hands that need it, i will look into that, make sure that's fixed, but i believe that's a false allegation. >> is there anything you would do to extend an eviction moratorium yourself? do you have any of that power? >> i don't. i do not have that power. >> and finally, schools. go ahead, mayor, i'm sorry. >> i was going to say that this has been a tough year on everybody and some have had it much tougher than others, people that lost jobs, income are having difficulty paying bills, we do need to continue to find ways to help.
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anybody that lost a job because of a lockdown, that was imposed by government and we need to figure out ways to help get them back on their feet. >> all right. i'm running short on time. mayor lenny curry, republican from jacksonville, appreciate you coming on, sharing your experience and what you're dealing with with the new surge of the delta variant. thank you, sir. up next, as the investigation into the insurrection gets under way on capitol hill, u.s. capitol police reveal two more officers that responded to the attack died by suicide. a member of the committee investigating the attack joins me next. g the attack joins me next. terror... ...no, no, the smile... ...and that second right before the first tear comes... ...what?! pizza on a bagel-we can all agree with that. do you want a hug? (vo) unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. that's how we've become the leader in 5g.
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a little preparation will make you and your family safer in an emergency. a week's worth of food and water, radio, flashlight, batteries and first aid kit are a good start to learn more, visit safetyactioncenter.pge.com welcome back. we had some somber news last night from the d.c. metropolitan police department, announced two additional officers who were both present at the january 6th insurrection on the capitol have died by suicide.
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since the attack on january 6th, four officers who defended the capitol that day have since taken their own life. congressman pete aguilar, how much these suicides -- there have been four of them now of police officers from that day -- how much effort are you guys going to investigate into their specific cases and what might have triggered, if anything, on january 6th may have triggered this with them? is this something that you think your investigation will cover? >> well, let's first, you know, on behalf of the select committee, our hearts go out to these officers' families who have had to endure this and to all of those capitol police officers and metro police officers. we want to make sure they have
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the help they need. in our hearing, your heard officer harry dunn talk about the importance of getting checks and mental health and making sure they had access to therapy. those are the types of things we should be focused on right now. the committee will investigate and look at a lot of different facets but the important piece we can do is to make sure those officers have the tools and resources they need. thankfully, congress was able to pass a supplemental appropriation to help them deal with the trauma they endured. >> so where do we go next in this investigation then? we've heard from the capitol police officers and the metro police officers that responded that day. it was an important moment, i think, for the public. but where do we go next in your investigation? what is happening now and what is happening that we won't see on camera?
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>> the investigative phase will be next. so a lot of that will be off camera. there will be opportunities for us to do hearings in the future, but i think there's a lot of work this committee has to do with our very capable staff in making sure we get to the details and the core ofthese issues. a lot of that will be thoughtful and deliberate, but much of it will be behind the scenes as we start to pull together the facts of what transpired and what led up to and created january 6th and the role that the big lie played in all of that that was perpetuated by folks within the country. >> when it comes to trying to figure out, as one of your colleagues on the select committee said, liz cheney, document what was happening every second of the day january 6th in and around the oval office and the president
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himself. did you interpret the statement from sort of the president's legal team as sort of they're not going to fight subpoenas of certain people around him? do you get the sense that perhaps folks around the former president are going to be more cooperaive than you thought going in? >> time will tell. the former president was not very cooperative in understanding that congress was a coequal branch of government. i'm not going to completely draw that conclusion. we will take steps. we will get to the facts. we owe the officers who protected democracy and were that last line of defense for us that day, we owe them the truth. they asked us to hold folks accountable and tell the truth. so we're going to do that. that means hearing from a variety of people who have knowledge about january 6th. so to the extent to which those
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around the president played a role, we will get to the bottom of that as well. >> meanwhile, i want to play something kevin mccarthy said about being subpoenaed himself. take a listen. >> the conference's position to fight any subpoena that may be issued against republican members, including yourself? >> i think if they had the five members that we, the republicans, want to put on there, we'd gladly go. if this is just going to be a dccc, we see it as a sham. it's not something that's serious. >> so it sounds like he would abide by a subpoena and he's not saying he wouldn't just yet. so how do you read between the lines? and is there any chance more republicans get seated on this select committee? >> we have a quorum of the committee. we're going to continue to do our work. we have democrats and republicans around that table.
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our work is non-partisan. it isn't just bipartisan. so we will get to the facts. the minority leader, if he has something to offer -- and clearly he indicated that he had a conversation with the former president. if it's substantive and has something to do with the response on january 6th, then at some point we may want to know that. we'll let that piece play out and we'll develop our work product. there will be plenty of steps between here and there, plenty of fact-finding and work the committee will undertake. >> congressman aguilar, democrat from california, appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspective. by the way, if you or someone you know needs some help right now please contact the national suicide prevention hotline.
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1-800-273-8255. take these bouts withdepression seriously. mine is called america's two major political parties are simply too big. the root of the issue is that this country really has four parties crammed into two tents. is it time to break up the big parties? just like we talk about breaking up big tech. that does it for us this hour. hour fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. trelegy for copd.
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