speakers include bennie thompson and derek johnson. this is 15 minutes. >> today you will hear from the president and ceo, jeric johnson. -- derek johnson, congressman bennie thompson and representative of the second congressional district. the general counsel for the naacp and the partner and cool count -- cocounsel at -- as well. we will have opening remarks from each one of those participants and then at the end, at the conclusion, we will open the floor to any questions that you may have for our panelists. at this time i will turn it over to president johnson, the floor is yours. pres. johnson: thank you. i want to thank members of the press that joined us today. the naacp decided to engage in this matter after witnessing the horrific scenes. we understand the much -- most of the domestic terrorism is witnessed -- rooted in white supremacists -- white supremacism. african-americans have witnessed acts of violence for many decades. in fact, much of the domestic violence that we have seen over the years has taken place and has been r

it is interesting in part because benny thompson, he's a victim. he was at the capitol on january 6th as were other members of congress so they're saying former president trump interfered with their ability to do their duty. and so i think exactly what jessica just said, the question is will there be depositions. there are a lot of questions about what he did after the riot started. so after individuals had sieged the capitol. so i think this potentially could be a way that a lot of additional information and evidence gets brought to light. >> it is very interesting because often the question of standing comes into play when a member of congress brings a lawsuit and this is a very different situation as you lay out. talk to me about what this means in the short-term and long-term for trump and giuliani? what does it mean if they're going to be subject to deposition? what does it mean if they could be subject to discovery? >> reporter: so i think the first question and legal defense will be donald trump will walk in and say and i was acting in my of

at this time i will turn it over to congressman bennie thompson for any remarks on the recent federal lawsuit. the floor his ears, sir. rep. thompson: thank you i appreciate the partnership with the naacp in this effort. as you know i was one of those members of congress who was in the gallery at the time of the electoral votes were being counted. i was performing what i viewed as my congressional duties. and after all of this i was asked to vote on approval. in the interim, obviously, this insurrection occurred. i did not know what was going on. it was clear to me that, as a spectatora behind me was. security was running-- was happening. security was running. the vice president was shuffled out of the area. the speaker, minority leader, the majority leader, the majority whip, everybody had a security detail was escorted out of the facility. and members of congress who didn't had to remain in the gallery to don gas masks and basically what we thought was to fend for ourselves because we really did not know what was going on. so, it was the effort around trying to find out what is goin

congressman benny thompson of mississippi. thank you. you have a standing invite to come back as you get underway with the legal proceedings. >> thank you. >>> joining me now, pbs correspondent and an msnbc analyst and nbc news capitol hill correspondent. we heard about the need to held to former president accountable. many republicans feel differently. a morning poll asked republicans about a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary. more than half of them said they would support trump. that is an historically strong position for a defeated incumbent. to efforts like these lawsuits keep trump at the forefront? >> i'm not sure that they keep president trump at the forefront. my sources tell me that we'll be hearing from the former twice impeached president at some point this week. so i think president trump will be trying to use whatever bully pulpit he can find to stay in the news and to stay relevant. what you heard from representative thompson, he wants the former president to be held accountable for sending white supremacists into the

there is this civil case brought by congressman bennie thompson against the president today. lots of republicans called for something exactly like that to be brought against president trump. those republicans today seem unsure what to do or what to say about that civil case now that it's actually happening. will they support it? they said in theory they supported exactly such a thing. but the issue of justice after trump isn't just the elements of the law that may be coming after trump. it's all these live sparking wires left behind by trump. and frankly, by william barr and jeffrey rosen and his other appointees. the way that this president and this administration messed with justice, the way they messed with the rule of law, all these things that are not at all resolved as president biden now takes over and installs his own appointees in the justice department and beyond, i mean, beyond just president trump himself being in trouble, it's all the ways his administration weaponized the administration of justice for trump's purposes. all of that remains to be unwound, and all

now mississippi democratic congressman benny thompson filed the suit in his personal capacity.aacp is representing thompson in court. congressman, good to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> let's talk strategy then we'll talk merits. why this way? >> it an option available to us and clearly, the actions of january 6th we should be able to shut down completely if we're successful in our lawsuit and hold those individuals accountable, i think from a punitive stand point, we'll put them out of business. we can't allow the rioters' activities just because people disagree with the outcome of an election. people should not have over run the capitol to stop the confirmation of the election, that's just not who we are. so my lawsuit takes on the ku klux klan act of 1871, and we bring that forward to this day to get us some remedy. >> right, you don't take on the act. you're actually motivating the act. i get the grievance but it about the method and the law, you know this, but for the audience, benny thompson and his private capacity as a citizen has a right to sue. what is your

but bennie thompson deciding to do this.a chairman, a prominent democrat, but he's not someone who runs to the cameras every day. this is this a this is smart politics for democrats or let's try it out and see if we can get on the record some of the evidence of the unanswered questions, who are they texting, who are they emailing with? >> i think it's the latter because as we saw during the impeachment trial, that was one of the big unanswered questions. what did donald trump do in the run-up to january 6th. what did he do when the riot happened, and what was his immediate reaction? what were the interactions that happened at that time? and what is his level of interaction with any of the folks on the ground on january 6th? those kind of questions, if you recall during the impeachment trial, his attorneys deflected virtually all of those. they instead attacked house democrats for not investigating it themselves. if it does go forward, if he is deposed, donald trump is, perhaps we could learn a lot more information about what

it's unclear if it was connected to this lawsuit that was file bid benny thompson today.s is a suit that is troublesome for the former president on two separate fronts here. first, this is the serious civil lawsuit, accusing trump and je giuliani of conspiring with the far-right groups like the proud boys and oath keepers to incite that capitol insurrection. it traces trump's rhetoric over the course of several months and links it to the threatening and violent action by members of these groups. not only at the capitol, but also earlier last year when they threatened other government officials on issues that trump spoke out forcefully on, like covid lockdowns. second, wolf, this case is significant, because it could subject the former president and others to depositions and disclosure of other crucial information that could expose some more details on what exactly trump knew about this attack, wolf. >> jessica, how difficult will this conspiracy charge be to prove? i know you've spoken to experts. >> yeah. the attorneys say they acknowledge this is an uphill battle here.

this is bennie thompson as bennie thompson saying these guys hurt me and it wasn't just the proud boys, they were conspireing with trump and giuliani. might be hard to prove but the big fight will be can they get past the preliminary stages so they can get a deposition, get discovery? that will rank as a win. >> if they do get to deposition, harry, what about executive privilege, how does that factor in? >> very good question. i think the lawyer you spoke to was a little bit too quick in saying it can't apply because he was, in fact, president at the time. but everything is open here, brianna, and your executive privilege is about keeping confidential people advising you so you can make the right decisions. i think he's basically waved almost everything and, of course, anything from the proud boys themselves along the lines of we did it for trump, trump said this, that's, of course, fair game. >> and that, sara, is one of my questions because the proud boys, the oath keepers, would certainly welcome an association with the president. that's not good for the president in this case for s

and the enforcement of the law. >> reporter: all of this comes as democratic congressman benny thompson civil lawsuit accusing former president trump and rudy giuliani of conspiring with far right extremist groups to incite the riot. if it moves forward, trump could have to answer questions and turn over documented about january 6. >> it is possible he's have to raise his right hand and tell all and giver up documents and there was a lot of social media back and forth and maybe phone calls and the proud boys will certainly be deposed. so we may find out a lot more about the course ever conduct leading up to the 6th. >> reporter: a spoke person for trump said they did not incite any violence at the capitol. rudy giuliani has not yet responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. wolf. >> brian, thank you. >>> just ahead, anderson cooper is standing by to join us live here in "the situation room." we're going to preview tonight's cnn town hall with president joe biden. lliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for thirty six months. experience amazing at yo

what benny thompson is seeking is three things. money is one of them.t. a simple declaration that giuliani, the proud boys and trump interfered with his ability to certify the vote. he also wants an injunction from preventing them from ever doing something like this again. if we have to do this group by group, so be it. >> i hear you. jason, if we're at a point we're using the 1871 kkk act to deal with donald trump, it underscores what a colossal failure every other avenue has been. >> i completely agree, nicolle. we wouldn't be here if you didn't have so many complicit cops at the capitol. let's be honest. we're still investigating. we wouldn't be here if we didn't have so many people who i think will be exposed in congress for having participated in this. given the weaknesses in our criminal justice system -- how many people did we see at the insurrection beating cops, gauging out eyes, saying they wanted to kill nancy pelosi, being allowed to walk around. at least we can get into their pockets. as far as i'm concerned, if i can bankrupt a racist, i c

democratic congressman bennie thompson, who is chair of the homeland security committee, is filing this suit with the backing of the naacp. his suit says that trump and giuliani conspired with far-right groups, the oath keepers and also the proud boys, to incite the attack. thompson is citing a rarely used federal statute which was passed after the civil war. it's called the ku klux klan act of 1871. and it was created to combat violence by the white supremacist group. the suit says in violation of that law, quote, the defendants conspired to prevent by force intimidation and threats. the plaintiff as a member of congress from discharging his official duties to approve the count of votes cast by members of the electoral college following the presidential election held in november 2020. let's get more on this now with cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. what is congressman thompson's lawsuit seeking from the former president and rudy giuliani? >> yeah, so this is a civil suit, and it is seeking monetary damages from trump and giuliani, but what's even more significant about this

point if the announcement is at all connected to the lawsuit filed by democratic congressman benny thompsonin this complaint, thompson is laying out this alleged conspiracy against trump and giuliani. in the lawsuit, it traces trump's words and actions in the months leading up to the insurrection, and it details how trump and giuliani really, in the terms of this lawsuit, spouted misinformation, angry rhetoric for weeks before the election as well as after, and then linking all of that rhetoric to the attacks from the hundreds of people that included members of the proud boys and oath keepers. now, this lawsuit, jake, is definitely an uphill battle because congressman thompson is suing under a statute that was intended to combat the violence of the kkk in the late 1800s, but crucially if this case moves forward, it could subject the president and others, potentially giuliani as well, to depositions, disclosure of other information that could potentially expose more details on what exactly trump knew about this attack. now, as for the reaction to this, we have not yet heard from rudy giulian

the case is being brought by congressman benny thompson of mississippi and it is backed by the naacp.ic chair of the house homeland security committee. so despite being acquitted this weekend for inciting the violence, donald trump is still facing fallout. this comes as a moment that the

at this time i will turn it over to congressman bennie thompson for any remarks on the recent federal lawsuit. the floor his ears, sir. rep. thompson: thank you i appreciate the partnership with the naacp in this effort. as you know i was one of those members of congress who was in the gallery at the time of the electoral votes were being counted. i was performing what i viewed as my congressional duties. and after all of this i was asked to vote on approval. in the interim, obviously, this insurrection occurred. i did not know what was going on. it was clear to me that, as a spectatora behind me was. security was running-- was happening. security was running. the vice president was shuffled out of the area. the speaker, minority leader, the majority leader, the majority whip, everybody had a security detail was escorted out of the facility. and members of congress who didn't had to remain in the gallery to don gas masks and basically what we thought was to fend for ourselves because we really did not know what was going on. so, it was the effort around trying to find out what is goin

>>> i want to turn to benny thompson, and elizabeth newman, threat prevention and security policy in the department of homeland security. first, congressman thompson, there are a few things that were absurd about what we heard today, at least from the questioners. let's start with ron johnson. the idea that, in his mind, the attackers were not supporters of donald trump and if they seemed to be, they were pretending to be supporters of donald trump, that they were agent provocateurs, who i assume he anticipates was antifa, who were not there. and the people who stormed the capitol were frail, overweight and had their children with them. i didn't see any of that in the footage i saw. you are the chair of the homeland security committee in the house. what do you make of ron johnson's assessment? >> well, his assessment is absolutely wrong. joy, everyone saw who broke into the capitol. the insurrectionists were prepared to do everything possible to harm members of congress, capitol police, everyone. the intelligence that was provided even talked about the persons who were coming. if you

." >>> coming up, congressman benny thompson joins the show next.ck... that doesn't happen. this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is a different kind of asthma medication. it's not a steroid or inhaler. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it's one maintenance dose every 8 weeks. it helps prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing, and lower use of oral steroids. nearly 7 out of 10 adults with asthma may have elevated eosinophils. fasenra is designed to target and remove them. fasenra is not a rescue medication or for other eosinophilic conditions. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. this is the sound of fasenra. ask your doctor about fasenra. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. are you managing your diabetes.

leading that lawsuit is congressman bennie thompson, chairman of the homeland security committee and he joins me now. congressman, thank you for being with us this evening and let me go right to it. you compared modern day extremist groups like the proud boys and oath keepers to the ku klux klan, claiming the groups morphed out of the klan connection. please explain. >> well, as you know, that law was passed back in 1871 because the ku klux klan were preventing newly elected officials from the south coming to washington and doing their jobs. we saw members of congress doing their constitutional duties and reaffirming the election of november. and so in the midst of members of congress doing their job, these renegades, these terrorists, these right wingers broke into the united states capitol and stopped members of congress from doing their constitutional job. so it's clear in my mind there's no difference between the ku klux klan of 1871 and the proud boys and oath keepers of 2021. >> now, some breaking news from last night, the department of justice has brought charges against six s

top house democrat bennie thompson has filed a civil lawsuit against trump and his personal attorneye raud in d.c. for their roles in last month's deadly riot. backing the suit, the naacp. thompson, who chairs the house homeland security committee, accuses trump and giuliani of conspiring with far right groups, the proud boys and oath keepers who are also named in this suit to incite that attack. let's go straight to cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. what exactly does this lawsuit allege. >> reporter: this is a significant and novel lawsuit, from the top democrat bennie thompson backed by the naacp and it accuses former president trump and rudy giuliani of actually working in some sense with far right groups to incite the insurrection at the capitol so to make this conspiracy claim this lawsuit traces trump's words and actions in the months leading up to the insurrection. it really details how trump and giuliani spouted what they were referring to as misinformation and angry rhetoric for weeks before the election and weeks after the election, and, brooke, in one part of th

representative bennie thompson, democrat congressman from mississippi.reciate your time this morning. >>> and that capitol insurrection was breaking point for one top arkansas republican saying he's leaving the grand old party after "many sleepless nights." abandoning the gop to become an independent. he make this statement. >> i watched as members of our own party and former president tried to overturn the results of a free and fair election. "were you watched violence in the halls of our nation's capitol and couldn't believe our eyes. we couldn't believe what we were seeing was our own country, but it was. for me, that day was the final straw. >> adding while his values haven't changed the values of the republican party have. >>> don't go anywhere. part two of my discussion with race and inequality in birmingham is coming up. >>> and pete buttigieg joins reverend al sharpton discussing infrastructure on vaccine distribution and his role as the first openly gay cabinet secretary. that's on "politicsnation" today, 5:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. astern on ms

mississippi congressman bennie thompson chairs the homeland security committee.is suit seeks unspecified damages. it could be the first in a wave of new legal action against mr. trump. the former president attacked senate republican leader mitch mcconnell today as a political hack. in a statement, he blamed mcconnell for losing the senate majority, and said if republicans stay with him they will not win again. mcconnell voted to acquit mr. trump in his senate impeachment trial, but condemned his behavior. a cold and quiet "mardi gras" passed today in new orleans. the pandemic and the weather canceled parades, closed bars and kept bourbon street blocked off. instead, homeowners had elaborately decorated their houses and fnt yards as stationary floats for people to visit. they ranged from life-sized gardens to dinosaur exhibits. and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained 64 points to close at 31,522-- but the nasdaq fell 48 points and the s&p 500 slipped 2 points. still to come on the "newshour," the governor of new york admits under-reporting the

and we're going to have our day in court. >> federal lawsuit brought by congressman bennie thompson andcp alleges the former president, quote, conspired to prevent by force intimidation and threat the plaintiff as a member of congress from discharging his official duties to approve the count of votes cast by members of the electoral college. it's a kind of ingenious use of the 150-year-old statute known as the ku klux klan act, which was designed to prevent klan terror against government officials. elie mystal argues in a new piece, the statute is almost tailor made for this type of situation. and elie mystal joins me now. first, describe to me the relevant part of the law and why it works for this situation. >> well, it was designed as you pointed out in your open, it was designed to stop the klan from intimidating officials trying to carry out enforcement of the 14th amendment. so the 14th amendment says that you can be a member of congress. the reconstruction south elected many african-american people to represent them, both in state houses and in the federal legislature. the klan tr

that is exactly what congressman bennie thompson said earlier on msnbc. he, of course, is the chairman of the house homeland committee who will continue to investigate and look at all of these movements. take a look at what he said about what he said should happen to everyone who stormed the capitol january 6th. >> a number of their leaders actually participated in charging through the doors, a number of them broke windows coming in. they provided security for some of the other people around. they are a bad group of people. you can assemble but peacefully assemble. what we saw on january 6th is not a peaceful assembly. but as you know, there was no permit for the march to the capitol the former president encouraged the group to come to the capitol and stop the heal. >> members of congress, of course, were the targets of that insurrection, they taking the investigations into their own hands. we should expect two different hearings starting on the senate side tuesday and kicking off and ending with another one on the house side on thursday. all of which we

so that's -- just filed now with the congressman benny thompson and the naacp here in federal court. >> and incitement is obviously a legal term, there is a bar that would have to be reached in this kind of a lawsuit, am i understanding that correctly, pete? >> incitement is a criminal statute, so this is a civil lawsuit claiming that there was a conspiracy, combining together that basically, as i say, it takes all the house managers' claims that president trump sort of planted the seed for this, fired the group up, used all these terms that egged these groups on and notes, as the fbi complaints against these groups have said in court, that they said among themselves that they were coming to washington at the request of the president. >> where does this go next, pete? obviously it has to work its way through the court system first, right? >> right. i assume that the first thing that will happen is the lawyers for the president and giuliani and to the extent that the oath keepers and proud boys get lawyers they will file a motion to dismiss, they will say there is no proof of any cons

. >> congressman bennie thompson along with naacp is suing mr. trump and rudy giuliani over the capitol riots on january 6th the lawsuit accuses them of conspireing with two extremist groups to block the vote count by storming the capitol. he says he did not incite to cause any violence. >>> we want to get to more weather because extreme weather conditions are on the move nbc meteorologist janessa webb has the details. good morning >> good morning. good morning, everyone our second storm system is starting to form i think the first part of the story is the bone-chilling cold. we continue to be in the deep freeze, even though the windchill alerts have kind of subsided across most areas in the southern plains, but still intact in the upper midwest. we can see temperatures down to 35 below look at our storm. it's moving very quickly and forming across the southern plains, dumping a good amount of snow but we're seeing freezing rain for austin that is not going to help the power problems that we're going to continue to see in that area. it's a good d

that he played in the attack on the capital filed by democratic congressman bennie thompson, the lawsuit points to words and trump shared leading up to january accusing him in rudy giuliani of mobilizing their supporters for an attack that would keep congress from certifying election results. the lawsuit cites a post-civil war law that allows civil actions to be brought against people hu use force or intimidation to prevent anyone from the duties of office, the law was originally intended to combat violence from the kkk joining us now live to talk about this lawsuit and what it means for the former president. our favorite donna crane political science lecturer at san jose state university. good evening, ghana. good evening, you're my favorite is so this lawsuit it harkens way back to the 1800's, how is it applicable today. >>it's it's kind amazing piece of law i had to go look myself it was it was hazy in my memory, but that's absolutely right so it was an active in the 1870's. >>because congress want to put into the 14th amendment. so we all remember that the 14th amendment was one of i

that he played in the attack on the capital filed by democratic congressman bennie thompson, the lawsuitoints to words and trump shared leading up to january accusing him in rudy giuliani of mobilizing their supporters for an attack that would keep congress from certifying election results. the lawsuit cites a post-civil war law that allows civil actions to be brought against people hu use force or intimidation to prevent anyone from the duties of office, the law was originally intended to combat violence from the kkk joining us now live to talk about this lawsuit and what it means for the former president. our favorite donna crane political science lecturer at san jose state university. good evening, ghana.

. >> bennie thompson filed a civil suit against former president trump, and others involved in the january 16 insurrection, does president biden have any response and does he support efforts to use civil courts to hold president trump accountable? press sec. psaki: he supports the rights of individuals, members of congress and otherwise to take steps through the judicial process, but i do not think we have a further comment on it that -- than that. >> foreign policy. there was a rocket attack in iraq yesterday. iraqi officials said that the group that took responsibility is tied to iran. my question is whether you have made a determination and what kind of retaliation would be deserved? press sec. psaki: appreciate the question. we are working through attribution with iraqi partners. i will convey that we are outraged by last night's rocket attack in the iraqi region. initial reports indicate that the attacks killed one civilian contractor and several civilians including american contractors and we offer our condolences to the contractor killed. iraqi people have suffered for far too long

and house homeland security chairman bennie thompson filed a federal lawsuit against him, rudy giuliani, the proud boys, and oath keepers, accusing them of violating an 1871 law, originally intended to stop the ku klux klan from disrupting government business. a spokesman for mr. trump denied the allegations. >> if it were any other citizens they would be brought up on criminal charges. >> president trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office. >> reporter: minority leader mitch mcconnell defended his vote to acquit, but some rank and file republicans say he doesn't speak for them. >> i would have liked to see leader mcconnell zip his lip. >> reporter: tonight in a statement, former president trump fired back at mcconnell: "mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if republican senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again." more republican senators could face censure for their votes to convict, including pennsylvania's pat toomey and maine's susan collins. we've also learned the first hearing on the capitol breach will be held by a

a leading democrat has filed a lawsuit against donald trump for his role in the capital riot bennie thompson accuses the former president of inciting last month's assault lawsuits part of an expected wave of litigation connected to the scene it seems punitive damages includes trumps personal lawyer rudy giuliani as well as members of too far right groups to form a militia leaders from the central african republic have pleaded not guilty to a series of crimes including rape murder and torture going on trial at the international criminal court accused of senior roles in the mainly christian militia which persecuted muslims start fasten reports from the hague. and. listened quietly when the long list of charges was read out murder rape recruitment of child soldiers they both the night any involvement pursuit of. you made of it mr president i repeat i don't recognize myself in the accusations against me i am not guilty. but prosecutors say they have overwhelming evidence that tom and i saw and i have led the ante bellum movement in a campaign meant to remove the muslim population from the countr

>> reporter: in that new lawsuit, the naacp and prominent democratic congressman bennie thompson lay blame for the riot at the feet of president trump, guiliani and groups like the proud boys and oath keepers, citing the 1871 ku klux klan act, which bans any actions designed to prevent congress from carrying out its duties. a spokesman for the former president dismissed the lawsuit, saying "president trump did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the capitol." today, the white house said president biden supports the 9/11-style commission to investigate the attack. and we learned the first congressional hearing about security failures leading up to the assault will be next week, david. >> next week. all right, pierre thomas tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> and when we come back here, the deadly plane crash in wisconsin shortly after takeoff, coming down in a neighborhood, in a moment. 5g ultra wideband-- wow! th (vo) the new samsung galaxy s21 is here and it's on verizon 5g ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. available in parts of many cities. it's not just a great

homeland security chairman benny thompson of mississippi says rudy giuliani and members of the prouds and oath keepers are listed as defendants the federal lawsuit accusing them all of "carefully coordinated campaign to prevent lawmakers from confirming president biden's victory. >> now here we come full circle with this plan of the oath chemo keepers and proud boys our president at that time, donald trump >> the former president's team responded to the lawsuit insisting he did not incite any violent at the capitol and rudy giuliani is no longer representing the former president in any legal matter. >>> the sheriff of brunswick county says it is unlike anything he had ever seen. >> we are on the ground with the latest damage and death toll millions in texas enduring more than the brutal weather. than the brutal weather. ntneanwer grid failure w than the brutal weather. ntneanwer grid failure w ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for nearly a decade, comcast has been helping students get ready. we've connected 4 million low-income students to low- cost, high-speed xfinity internet. we're working with hundred

. >> so the federal lawsuit filed by the naacp on behalf of mississippi congressman bennie thompson accusesmer president and rudy giuliani and the proud boys and oath seekers of the insurrection. alleges, the klu klux klan act, preventing members of congress from carrying out their duty. here is what trump's adviser jason miller has to say. president trump has been acquitted in the democrat's latest impeachment witch hunt and the facts are irrefutable, president trump did not plan, produce or organize the january 6th rally on the ellipse. miller goes on to say rudy giuliani no longer represents trump in any legal manners, though we've confirmed he's stopped oozing, he has that going for him. jason thompson and tim miller, if i'm a student at morgan state, heard a professor say this lawsuit may have good kick in it. remind us what it could accomplish. >> if you can't throw white nationalists in jail, you could empty their pockets. this is a civil case, could be financial damages if donald trump or members of his administration are seen to be guilty of starting this insurrection. here's the t

house democrat benny thompson filing a lawsuit earlier today backed by the naacp against trump and rudy suit accusing them of conspiring with the far-right groups, the proud boys and ethiopia keepers to incite the attack on january 6th. the suit cites a law from right after the civil war that was designed to protect elected officials from ku klux klan intimidation. team trump still claiming the president didn't incite violence, so let's talk about that, naacp president and ceo derrick johnson is here and cnn legal analyst elie honig. derrick, we saw symbols of hate marching through the capitol that day, the confederate battle flag, a new setup outside, a gal lows, and last week we learned shocking details about what black officers experienced. this obscure anti-klan was designed to protect lawmakers from violence. why do you think this law in particular would be effective? why this approach, sir? >> the law was created to ensure congress persons could area out their duties free of intimidation and threats. it came in the backdrop of the civil war to protect southern lawmakers who were s

now suing trump for his alleged role in the attack we're talking about democratic congressman bennie thompson of mississippi, he's the one o filed the lawsuit. it points towards and tweets that trump shared leading up to january 6. it accuses him and that rudy giuliani of mobilizing supporters for an attack aimed keeping congress from certifying election results. the lawsuit cites a post-civil war law that allows civil action against people whose use force or intimidation to prevent anybody from the duties of office that law was originally aimed at violence from the ku klux klan dates back to the 1800's. donna crane, a political science lecturer at san jose state university says it still holds up. >>active in the 1870's because congress wanted to put into the 14th amendment. so we all remember that the 14th amendment was one of is to the constitution passed after the civil war and what was happening is that southern states and the kkk or still determined to deny african americans there some rights so congress put a little into the amendments as you said just a moment ago one of the provisions

congressman bennie thompson filed a civil suit against former president trump. [inaudible] does president biden have in response to that entity support efforts like that to use civil courts to a president trump accountable? >> he certainly supports the rights of individuals, members of congress and otherwise to take steps to the judicial process but i don't think we have a further comment on it than that. go ahead. sorry, trevor. go ahead. >> it was just on foreign policy first. there was a rocket attack in iraq yesterday, and i rock -- [inaudible] my question is what he made that determination as well and what kind of retaliation with there be? >> appreciate the question here we are still working through attribution with our iraqis partners to determine precise attribution for this attack. that's a priority. i will convey we're outraged by last night rocket attack in the iraqi kurdistan region. in this report indicate several members were injured including one american servicemember and several american contractors and we offer our condolences to the loved ones

house homeland security committee chairman benny thompson has filed a federal lawsuit accusing trump

so, i'm so grateful to congressman bennie thompson who's chairman of homeland security working with theally go after some of the incidents that happened on january 6th, along with other prosecutorial offices as well as the president himself speaking out against it. we know that the last administration, the fbi, under director chris wray, raised the alarms about white supremacy and extremist groups being a major terrorist threat. but they did not have the force of the president supporting them and was thwarted many times in that effort. so, i think this is a turning leaf for us, one to be very clear about what is going on in this country, and then being very vigilant on how to tackle it. >> listen, i know that you were an impeachment manager, but you do other things and you're on other committees when it comes to washington, the work that you do in washington, d.c. so, let's talk about something that's very important to you because the president touted his covid relief package tonight. he said the money needs to be spent now so that the country can come roaring back. as it stands now, de

representative bennie thompson from minnesota brought a lawsuit using an old obscure federal law thatts using force of threat against the government. this is the tip of the iceberg. we'll see personal injury lawsuits. the key issues in those cases will be can the plaintiffs prove that donald trump or whoever they name as defendants caused their injuries, and that those injuries were reasonably foreseeable? think about it this way. if you were to play a videotape of that january 6 rally and at the end hit pause, you ask the question, now, from this point on is it reasonably foreseeable, would you reasonably expect people to be injured? if the answer is yes, those lawsuits will succeed. and if the answer is no, they will not. i do expect to see a lot more of these kinds of lawsuits coming down the pike. >> a lot of focus on new york state over the last week or two. a viewer from new york writes in to ask, just how significant is it legally that the fbi has opened a criminal investigation relating to the handling by governor andrew cuomo's office of data relating to covid deaths in new y

house democrat bernie thompson -- bennie thompson, excuse me, filing a lawsuit earlier today backed byhe naacp against trump and rudy giuliani. the suit accusing them of conspiring with the far right groups the proud boys and the oath keepers to incite the attack on january 6th. the suit cites a law from right after the civil war that was designed to protect elected officials from ku klux klan intimidation. well, team trump is still claiming that the president didn't incite any violence, so let's talk about that. naacp president and ceo derek johnson is here and cnn analyst elie honig. our time is a little short. that squeezed us a little bit. i apologize in advance. derek, we saw symbols of hate marching through the capitol that day, the confederate battle flag, a noose set up outside, i gallows. this obscure anti-klan law was designed to protect lawmakers from intimidation and violence, but why do you think this law in particular will be effective? why this approach, sir? >> the law was created to ensure congress persons could carry out their duties free of intimidation and threats.

. ♪♪ >>> benny thompson filed a lawsuit against donald trump and rudy giuliani for allegedly conspiringist groups. the first lawsuit said that the attack was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the electoral college. the lawsuit contends that trump and giuliani violated the ku klux klan act. the suit brought on behalf of several lawmakers also names the proud boys and the oath keepers and cites many of the claims made against trump in the senate impeachment trial. thompson explained the need for the suit -- >> if the trump administration's philosophy of engagement like happened on january 6th becomes the standard, then every election you disagree with, you just go into the capitol and tear it up. just like you are a third world country. >> trump adviser jason miller released a same in response to the action that read in part, president trump did not plan, produce or organize the january 6th rally on the elipse. president trump did not in-crites oricite any violence

>>democratic congressman bennie thompson of mississippi, the areas he filed the lawsuit. it points to words and tweets that trump shared leading to a january 6. it accuses him and attorney rudy giuliani of mobilizing supporters for an attack aimed at keeping congress from certifying election results, the lawsuit cites a post civil war law that allows civil actions against people hu use force or intimidation to prevent anybody from the duties of office that law was originally aimed at violence from the ku klux klan. the dates back to the 1800 so how does that apply we talked to san jose state university political science lecturer donna crane for an explanation. >>did in the 1870's because congress want to put that he's into the 14th amendment. so we all remember that the 14th amendment was one of is to the constitution passed after the civil war and what was happening is that southern states and the kkk or still determined to deny african americans there some rights so congress put a little tease into the amendments as you said just a moment ago one of the provisions that