booker: i am grateful for those remarks. i would like to ask senator durbin to give some remarks as well, and senator ashley if he is here, he will do the same. sen. durbin: thank you senator booker, i am honored to be here. in this room today, we are making history written as you take the gavel, you are the first african-american chair of a senate judiciary committee. this is not only a historic moment, it is long overdue. i could not think of a better person to chair the subcommittee. our work together on the first step act showed you as a real leader when it came to criminal justice reform and i know you are showing the same leadership when it comes to police reform. the topic today is one that is near to me. as senator cotton noted, there is an abundance, an overwhelming evidence of gun violence in the city of chicago and many cities across the nation. as the united states senator, many groups come to me and say, what are you going to do about it. you are hot shots, you're a leader, you are on the judiciary committee, an

joining me now is senator cory booker, democrat from new jersey.ant to first, we're talking about the policing act, we talked about some of its provisions, what would it do? what is this a sink version about what it would do and how it would apply to the problems folks experience with policing at the ground level? >> i'm glad you brought this up, i'm a former mayor with a majority black city, black mayor, and we were doing innovative reforms, some of the made a big difference but the justice department data showed us that we had severe challenges and problems, and we went about changing them even further. but this goes to show you, this isn't about tensions, decision about overt racism, this is about systems that are desperately needed -- they desperately need change, the best way i know how to do that is to create accountability, to accountability in george floyd act has a lot more transparency. that data dabo scraped by the justice department of my city, we want to pull that data from every police department, from uses of force to racial breakdow

senator booker, it's really nice to see you. making time tonight. >> it's good to see you, too, rachel. thank you for having me. >> it feels like a very small miracle to be able to report with eyewitnesss that there are bipartisan discussions happening among three bicameral, bipartisan, very serious members of congress like you and senator scott and congresswoman bass. that alone feels like a glimmer of hope that i'm not used to feeling. is it worth being hopeful about this? >> it definitely is. i'll confirm that we've been talking literally for weeks and those bicameral, bipartisan discussions have been really promising. we all have our lines. in other words, there are things critical to me to see in this bill, and we can't get it done in the senate unless we have republican support, and tim scott has been a good faith, honest broker in these discussions. so i'm very hopeful. but look, we are in a context, and it was very real with these weeks to see death after death of african-americans at the hands of police, and on top of t

joining me now is cory booker, democrat from new jersey.r, we're talking about the policing act. we referred to the reform. what would it do? what is the sort of version to people about what it would do and how it applies to problems that people are experiencing? >> i'm a former mayor with a majority black city, majority black city council, black mayor. and we were doing innovative reforms. but the justice department took our data and showed us we had severe challenges and problems. and we went about changing them even further with the aclu. this goes to show you, this isn't about good intentions. this isn't about overt racism. these are about systems that need change. we need accountability in the george floyd act has a lot more transparency. we want to pull that data from every police department. we want to begin reporting from uses of force to even the racial breakdown of the traffic stops and more. in addition to that, we want to ban certain practices that has led to the death of people like eric garner or breonna taylor, specifically t

as chairman booker outlined. expect we will hear more about this and hearing and i welcome the opportunity work with my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to improve the availability of de-escalation training and how to recognize and respond to people facing mental health challenges to span partner sister teen law enforcement on the one hand and mental behavior health providers on the other hand. but the suggestion that mental health professionals can replace the police rather than supplement and support the police is misguided and dangerous. the simple truth is when law enforcement stands down in response was to what some people will call small crimes are when the police are defunded ali begets is more crime in more violence. so let's be clear law enforcement is not the enemy and we shouldn't try to reduce law enforcement either. not only can the police prevent additional victims but also the opportunity to connect offenders who suffer from mental illness ended the action with professionals that help them. almos

booker: may i continue? everything you say here is for the record and her neurosis. -- for the record and under oath. i imagine your testimony here could be looked at by future generations and i would imagine that perhaps one day somebody from your lineage will look back and listen to what you had to say today. mr. quraishi, your father died of covid recently. i remember how i felt when i came to this institution days after my dad died. i was wondering, for the record, could you tell us about your father's influence on you? judge quraishi: sure. difficult question. i have been prepared many questions today, but not this one. my father and i were very close. he was a significant influence in my life. i remember speaking to a room of maybe 400 lawyers two years ago and told them that in a room full of federal judges in the best practitioners in the state, my first advisor would be my father. that was true. he grew to be a close friend and also a counselor to me. candidly, he was my first influence and how i we

charles booker in kentucky. and so many other folks, it's like having a primary with the avengers. there's some amazing talent. tremendous talent. ohio. [inaudible] in ohio for governor, there is so much talent in the democratic party right now, i am overjoyed

representative booker: thank you, madam chairwoman. listening to the verdict and hearing, guilty, guilty, guilty -- as much as i want to be overjoyed, the thing is, that really should be the regular thing. it shouldn't be that there is this worldwide wait to find out what the verdict is, because the truth is we are black folks in this country that, all we are doing is saying that our lives matter. we are not asking for more than 70 else is asking. we want our children to grow up we want survive. one decent quality of life as other folks get -- we want the same quality of life as other folks get. so this verdict gets us to the place where we can open the door and start to do the work to save lives so this egregious murder that happen, we can call it murder now, this just murder that happened, it should not be that it has to look like that in order for us to have some type of semblance of what people call justice for this is accountability, but not yet justice page justice for us is saving lives and that is what we are calling for as the

senator booker, really nice to see, you thank you for coming on the show.ight >> it is good to see you too, rachel, thank you for having me. >> it feels like a very small miracle to be able to report with eye witnesses that there are bipartisan discussions happening among three by partisan very serious members of congress like you and senator scott and congresswoman bass. that alone feels like a glimmer of hope that i'm not used to feeling. is it worth being hopeful about this? >> it definitely. is i will confirm that we have been talking, literally over weeks, and those bipartisan discussions have been really promising. we all have our wants, in other words things that are critical for me to see in this bill, and we can get it down in the senate unless we have republican support. and it's been a good faith honest broker in these discussions. so i'm very hopeful. we are in contact, it has been very real throughout these weeks to see death after death. african americans and police, and on top of that the george floyd trial. so, i think the sense of urgency i

you got folks like charles booker and kentucky. val demings is trying to decide whether or not she's going to run for senate or governor. she's such a tremendous talent. you've got to many other folks. if val gets in, you've got nikki freed -- you've got some amazing talent. we see the same thing in north carolina. the senate race, three tremendous talents. pennsylvania, we are going to have an open seat. tim ryan just joined. there's so much talent in the democratic party right now and i'm overjoyed to see it. we are going to have some tremendous candidates that are going to do extremely well and i want them all to know that they are point to have dnc right in

that was booker t. washington. but he was opposed to frederick douglass who said the most important thing was the right to vote. so i used to -- and i love teaching. that's my day job. and i taught a course on reconstruction and redemption. my ph.d. is in english. i teach in the english department and the department of the african-american studies. this was about the concept of the new negro leading up through the harlem renaissance. so i asked the students to play with this. give me a scenario where booker t. washington is not an uncle tom, make a case for booker t. washington, and a lot of people do. they'll say, look at china, right? if black people had developed economically, but what washington was training people for was not really going to put them in leading strong positions within a soon to be 20th century economy. he was training them more for a 19th century model of -- you know, industry and trade. and many of the lynchings, many of the lynchings, though, they were in the name of a black man attempting t

senator from south carolina, cory booker a republican from new jersey karen bass in the house, the congresswoman from california, they say they are on the verge of some kind of-so they could be held more accountable. what do you think of this compromise are you optimistic. >> greg: i hope. so i'm for any kind of compromise as you know. to pick up on what jesse is saying. if this issue -- this police issue was reported with accurate data on race and police shootings, we would actually get a proper perspective that would allow us as a country to focus on the social problems that lead to those tragic spectacles in the final moments that we see on the video. we are only reacting to the final video. and, yet, somehow we ignore all the moments that led to that

charles booker, former kentucky state representative, cedric alexander, former chief of police in rochester, new york and dekalb, georgia and former task force member for president obama. let me read, the town of windsor, virginia's statement on the traffic stop. the investigation began immediately. at the conclusion it was termed the windsor police department policy was not followed. this resulted in disciplinary action of department wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning of january. it notes that the officer was terminated. it is hard to even know where to begin here. i'm going with you, chief alexander. i don't know how you strain -- train people to be not authoritarian and not aggressive. this is not a training problem. this isn't a problem with training, strikes me as a problem hiring people that don't have maturity to be police. >> both incidents is not a

who is now exploring a run for senate, charles booker. charles, what is your reaction to this investigation? >> well, i welcome it and i join our entire community in saying thank you for hearing our cries. when breonna taylor's door was busted down, all of our doors were. but the truth of the matter is the injustices we've seen in communities like mine were happening way before that. so this investigation is really a chance to say our voices are not meaningless and the conversation for true community safety is one we deserve to have right now. it requires federal leadership, you know, as much as this is happening on the ground in the streets in my community, this speaks to structural and systemic challenges and we need leaders at the federal level that will fight for us. and that is why i'm launching an exploratory for u.s. senate to do my part in the structural change. pay a close eye and look what we're fighting for here. we're looking for

i think with the leadership of tim scott and cory booker, i think the stage is set for us to do that. we have had very fruitful conversations. i know that senator is not is an honest broker. he is serious about getting something done and he is also committed to working with his colleagues and bringing those republican votes. i can't bring the republican senators along but i do have confidence that if they will follow tim scott's lead, that we will be able to get the votes we need in the senate. >>> president biden will unveil his plan to rebuild america's infrastructure when he goes before congress next week. it seems the price tag is going to be enormous so we will explain how he proposes to pay for it. that is just ahead. >>> plus, the president vows to drastically cut u.s. carbon emissions the next decade. we will speak with an energy expert what it will take to meet that goal. stay with us. yes. ( time after time continues to play softly ) start your someday with a ring from the neil lane collection.

hmy thanks to chairman booker r bringing us together on this critically important topic. i served as united states attorney in connecticut for four and a half years and then as attorney general in our state for 20 years. so i've worked very extensively with law enforcement and police interactions with people who may have disability, mental illness or autism. i'm sure many of my colleagues have said, as i did, that tuesday's guilty verdict in the chauvin trial provides necessary accountability for the murder of george floyd, but it isn't true justice, not for george floyd or any other black or brown american killed by law enforcementth in this country. no single verdict in a single case can eliminate the generation of racial justice, inequality and inequity faced by black and brown americans in policing and across many other aspects of society. there is so much work to do. senator booker has been at the forefront and also in the senate among us, reminding us of our obligations to commit ourselves to true justice, equality, and equity. there's the need for reform and change

senator booker are you ready? sen. booker: i was having trouble admitting myself. am grateful for that. i would like to make the case, it was said earlier in an equivalency that was stunning to me about the outside groups influence on the picking of judges for the circuit and the supreme court. joe biden has said no such thing, he has directly refuted questions about outside groups governing his decision. he understands this is one of the civic glee sacred p owers given to the president. i am sure that he would feel that it would be a betrayal of that power too far out responsibility for making choices to an organization, especially one that does not necessarily aligned with these principles, values. that is dramatically different than what president donald trump -- former president donald trump did. he promised that his nominees would all be picked up by the federalist society, he also said that he turned to the federalist people and heritage foundation to assemble his initial list of 21 potential nominees. which is think that -- saying that power was turned over

don't let the leaders lead this with booker and scott. put it in committee. let's see how people mark it up. let's see what amendments they want. let people be counted for why they don't want to vote for it. don't give them the out of being able to talk on the side. let it all be exposed. people know what's right and what's wrong. van jones, you are like -- i don't know, i guess like a beautiful tulle up in the bouquet. guys like me, we're like the grass they throw in at the end that sits on the bottom. maybe i'm the foam, i don't know. thank you very much. you are the message. >> thank you, bro. >>> in a couple weeks, you will have the sentencing. that will be a very interesting aspect of this. you also have three more officers to be tried. so we're going to go back on what comes next with a criminal defense attorney who helped get george zimmerman acquitted in the trayvon martin case. this part of the analysis matters. the sentence matters. the next cases matter, too. >>> we'll be right back. >>> the george floyd murder trial is over. but the legal process

>> we have two corys now, cory booker of new jersey. and karen bass, who was the speaker of the california assembly before she came to congress. so she has incredible skills as it relates to negotiation. and both are saying they believe we can come up with a compromise, which i think the nation desperately needs. i'm on the helsinki commission, we travel the world to try to prevent war. i don't know if americans realize, but we have developed a horrible reputation internationally were people are already questioning our commitment to democracy. and of course they believe that the united states, on issues of race, is [ inaudible ] and may be behind even some of the backward nations or nations that are not as industrialized and financially solvent as are we in the united states. and so we have a lot to say to sources, trying to get this legislation through, and i think we will inadvertently make a statement to the international community. and i think that's desperately needed. >> congressman emanuel cleaver with us 'til the top of the hour

senator booker. senator booker: stacey abrams, real quick. the difference between absentee voter i.d.'s and voter participation. i think there are things muddled in that. i would really appreciate if you would give some clarification why the georgia laws are limiting particular voters access. ms. abrams: thank you, mr. senator. when you address voter identification when you are walking to a polling place, you are demonstrating who you are for the purposes of receiving a ballot, but you are not asked to surrender that piece -- that proof. you are not asked to give it to a poll worker who will then be able to retain it in perpetuity. you show it to prove wh you are and then you pro -- who you are and then you proceed to the voting booth. georgia for 15 years had a similar situation with regards to voting by mail but instead of requiring you to put identification in an envelope that would be clearly marked for anyone seeking to steal your identity, it instead said you could use a signature verification process. we took exception to the signature

liquor store in these oakland police investigators say booker's liquor stores.o the location of the deadly shooting back on april 10th followed by suspicious fire a few days later we believe that the first homicide that >> be the next us little be says muslim shop targets across the country for violent acts. but this is different. this is a new level. this is a this beyond. >> acceptable where we're not only are you killing these clinics inside their place of business. but now you're taking it to the home taken to the family. this is this is outrageous. >> the oakland police department and crime stoppers are offering up to $40,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. has it made you kron 4 news, a former california college student charged with murder in the 1996 disappearance of classmate. kristen smart. >> has pleaded not guilty. 44 year-old paul flores was arraigned today on a first-degree murder charge in the killing that authorities say happened as he tried to rape smart in his dorm room at cal poly san luis obispo after an offcampus party smar

i met with cory booker for 45 minutes an hour ago. i encouraged him to see what we can do. very serious problem that must be dealt with in a strong way. a systematic bias in policing and in law enforcement and we have to do everything we can to erase it. cory booker believes he's making good progress and i think we have a decent chance of getting a strong bipartisan bill. >> do you think there is some immunity required if you want to attract great people to be police officers and not have them be afraid? >> i am not going to prejudge what corey and tim and others are working on. i have told them we want a bill, we want it to be a strong bill, this is a very, very serious issue and we have to -- we need strong medicine. >> the other issue is as president biden talks about his hyu hun hundred days in office, we know it is expected to cost $2 trillion which would bring the total to $4 trillion. the second half is expected to cost the same. it appears you and the president both support using reconciliation getting it done. you passed it with 65 votes. my colleague dana bash ask

liquor store in these oakland police investigators say booker's liquor stores. also the location of the deadly shooting back on april 10th followed by suspicious fire a few days later we believe that the first homicide be the next us little niece as muslim shop targets across the country for violent acts. but this is different. this is a new level. this is a this is a beyond. >> acceptable where we're not only are you killing these clinics inside their place of business. but now you're taking into their home taken to the family. this is this is outrageous. >> the oakland police department and crime stoppers are offering up to $40,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. has it made you kron 4 news. >> and the south bay, the santa clara county fire department has released these images. we're going to show you a house fire and los gatos and broke out monday bear creek road crews were able to contain it within about 3 hours. no one was injured, but there was extensive damage to the home. now the cause is still being investigated and although this fire

these, oakland police investigators say booker's liquor stores. also the location of the deadly shooting back on april 10th followed by suspicious fire a few days later, we believe that the first homicide that >> be the next us little be says muslim shop targets across the country for violent acts. but this is different. this is a new level. this is a this is beyond. >> acceptable where we're not only are you killing these clinics inside their place of business. but now you're taking it to the home taken to the family. this is this is outrageous. >> the oakland police department and crime stoppers are offering up to $40,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. has it made you kron 4 news. there has been a fund set up for the father and the daughter of the goal is to reach $50,000 for the family right now. >> there's a little more than $22,000 has been raised if you'd like to donate. we have a link at our website kron 4 dot com homicides are currently on the rise across oakland. there have been 43 so far this year, 2021, this is the m

senator booker is leading the negotiations on this bill. and i have so much faith in him to get to something meaningful. every one of us on this panel in our different ways knows that we can't just say, hey, let's just have another study of this. we've had a lot of study of this, people are dying. we need changes and that includes changes to standards and practices, changing the standard from reasonable to necessary force. that would make a huge difference. it's things like transparency. when you have good officers but then you also have officers that have messed up a number of times and they're able to go to another department and you don't even know it, there should be data collected on that. you have to have more accountability. so i'm not going to get ahead of the negotiations here. but the fact that we have senators on both sides that are seriously talking right now and moving forward on this is something we haven't seen forever, because i don't want just one verdict, i want to see system okay change. it would be good for everyone, inc

senator booker, are you available by remote?'t hear him. >> i've been muted sorry, i was having trouble unmuted myself. i'd like to just first make the case, it was said earlier in a equivalency that was a bit stunning to me, about outside groups influence on the picking of judges for the circuit and the, in particular, the supreme court. i want to just say that joe biden has said no such thing, in fact, he's directly refuted the questions about outside groups governing his decision. he understands this is one of the civically sacred powers delineated to the president of the united states of america and is an executive power and i'm sure he would feel it would be a betrayal of that power to farm out responsibility for making choices to an organization especially one that doesn't even necessarily align with his principles, his values for evaluating judges. that is dramatically different than what president donald trump, former president donald trump said. and i'll quote him. trump promised that his judicial nominees would all be

to pass the bill and, instead, pointed to republican senator tim scott and democratic senator cory booker who are trying to strike a deal. >> they are going to have to decide where they can find agreement moving forward. >> senator scott proposed his own police reform bill back in june but it was blocked by senate democrats. >> they don't want this president to have a victory on another serious issue confronting the minority communities this. is pure, pure race politics at its worse. >> today senator scott indicated a deal may be close saying, quote: i think we are on the verge of wrapping this up in the next week or two. now, president biden also used yesterday's verdict to push for the confirmations of two of his nominees to top job at the department of justice. they have been in limbo for months amid republican accusations that they are trying to defund the police. those are accusations that both of those nominees deny and today one of them got through anita gupta confirmed as the first woman of color to serve as associate attorney general. bret? >> bret: one republican vote on that as

i think tim scott, karen bass, cory booker, i think they want to get to yes. but politics can get in the wednesday. in "the wall street journal" on wednesday, karl rove wrote this, a perception that's long haunted democrats, that they're antipolice and weak on law and order, hurt them in 2020. it's likely to inflict more damage on their prospects in 2022. when i read this, the alarm bells went off in my head, you can see the political strategists could get in the way here and say, hey, we want the issue, we don't want a solution. >> yeah, he was looking at the whole problem, the policing problem, through a political lens. but i think there has come to be a gelling of the idea that we have a societal problem going on here. we have a policing problem. and you think from there, a, the police are so important, they're crucial to domestic tranquility in the most stressed places in america, in the most -- communities where life is hardest, we say communities, we mean neighborhoods. cops go there and they protect people, and they represent the law, which is an import

last summer, together with cory booker and represented of karen bass, i introduce the george floyd justice in policing act. this bill would hold law enforcement accountable, and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities. this bill is part of george floyd's legacy. the president and i will continue to urge the senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as i start. this work is long overdue. america has a long history of systemic racism. black americans and blackman in particular have been treated, throughout the course of our history, as less than human. black men are fathers, and brothers, and sons, and uncles, and grandfathers, and friends, and neighbors. their lives must be valued in our education system, in our health care system, in our housing system, in our economic system, in our criminal justice system. in our nation. . because of smart phones, so many americans have now seen the racial injustice that black americans americans have known for generations. the racial injustice that we have fought for generations, that my parents protes

i believe that senator booker and senator scott have received their support as well.just need to now have that become public with public statements by our leadership, which i think that you will see in the next day or so. >> okay. let's talk about the content of the legislation itself. my colleague leigh ann was talking through some of the potential differences that you have here. my question for you, is there a red line on any one of these particular issues if, for example, the ban on chokeholds is not in the legislation, democrats cannot support that? if there are red lines like that, what are they? >> no. first of all, i mean, you know that i'm not going to negotiate on tv, especially just one side. >> i predicted you would say that. >> i don't believe you can come to a negotiation and say, here, take it or leave it. that's just not the way it's done. i certainly have things that i want to see in the bill that might be my internal red lines. we have to see. the bottom line is that we have to have transparency. we have to have accountability. i think what's going on

charles booker, doing the same. cedric alexander, thank you for speaking to us with truth.reciate all three of you. >>> republican leaders' reaction to the infrastructure plan. infn allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! all good ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. >>> congress is back in session. president biden is pushing the next big agenda item, comprehensive infrastructure and jobs package that's popular with the majority of the american public. hosting an oval office meeting, he made clear he would be willing to negotiate the cost of the package to win public republican support. but it was telling that rnc chair woman ron a romney mcdaniel summarily dismissed bipartisan cooperation before the meeting even took place. >> this infrastructure bill is a debacle and democrats want to ram it through without any cooperation with republicans, without any discussion, without any compromise. it will deci

>> first, let me tell you our leader on the democratic side is cory booker. he is chairman of the crime subcommittee. he and senator scott and karen bass have been negotiating. i'm working with them. they are the leaders in this process. let me say -- add to this the obvious. what happens in minnesota sets the stage to do something, show we can be productive. we can deal in problems in law enforcement in a constructive way. i want to applaud tim scott. the words you hear from him were an indication that he is trying to reach that goal as well. i think we have a chance. there will be a follow-up meeting this week. i'm going to sit down with those that i mentioned earlier. i think we have a chance to put something together. >> on infrastructure, at this point i feel like there's a lot of ingredients on the table and perhaps you are not quite sure how you are going to make the meal. is it go it alone? is there a bipartisan component? is it all bipartisan? it seems to me the most realistic thing is, maybe you can come up with smaller bipartisan deals and you have

thank you senator booker for your generous introduction. i think president biden and attorney general garland for this opportunity to return to the department again. let me think my family, i wife carolyn and my sons. they are here with me today. watching from afar, my sister and my parents. i am incredibly grateful and incredibly lucky to have all of them in my life. in the 1960's, my parents were korean immigrants who came to the united states to pursue graduate degrees. they both chose big ten schools. my mom minnesota, my dad purdue. they met here, settled here, and my big sister in indiana and then be in new jersey and became proud u.s. citizens. there -- their hard work and fundamental decency have been the root of any success i have had and will always be a model for what i would like to show my own children. in 1984, my parents took the family on a classic rv trip to the american west. i was 11 years old and the trip made a big impact on me. the grandeur and beauty of the yellowstone, the arches, may severity, every park visit inten

now, senator booker has raised serious concerns about extending the d.e.a.'when it comes to these fentanyl analogues. for example, he notes the racial -- significant racial disparity in fentanyl analogue prosecutions. people of color compromise 68% of those being sentenced. he also notes that addiction is in fact a public health crisis and we cannot prosecute ourselves out of the opioid epidemic, a lesson we should have learned in the war on drugs. so there is an important debate about how to effectively combat the abuse of fentanyl. we cannot resolve it today on the floor of the senate. and the d.e.a. authority is scheduled to expire next week and will be gone. last week the house passed a bill extending the scheduling order until october 22. senator booker has agreed not to object to the house bill, so the senate have have an opportunity to debate the future of this d.e.a. authority and consider other important reforms to our criminal justice system. so at this point i'm going it to ask consent to pass hershey h.r. 26 -- to pass h.r. 2630, a five-month exte

senator booker and congresswoman bass. but can he gets the colleagues to move on this?top republicans have asked him to speak to the nation on behalf of the republican party following president biden's address to a joint session of congress next week. joining our conversation, democratic congresswoman lee of california, she is the former chair of the congressional black caucus. it is a pleasure to talk to you today. i wonder if i could get your thoughts on all the events of the week and then dive into what's happening up there, the verdict and then today another family grieving in public and calling for change. >> sure. thank you for having me this afternoon. this is quite remarkable week, a defining moment. not only for the african-american community but for the entire country as a whole. the verdict i believe really opened and cracked the door to accountability, police accountability. but true justice would have been that mr. floyd never would have been killed and countless others so we have to see this as a moment, yes, finally, finally, finally there was some accoun

democrats like cory booker of new jersey about finding some common ground here. what we've seen from the white house is that president biden has said policing reform is at the top of his vaend but he p he's trying to let this quiet diplomacy between republicans and democrats on capitol hill proceed for the next couple of days to see if they can find some common ground. but the reporting suggests and my colleague has a great story on this tonight in the "washington post," that the president is going to make a key part of his speech when he addresses that but clearly there's public momentum, didding something here. >> general mccaffrey, i mostly wanted to talk to you about foreign affairs tonight but let's start on things domestic. that is the intersection and similarities between your life's work and policing here in the united states. in your line in urban cam bat they call it trigger discipline. these are harsh terms for a harsh business. a will the of veterans come back and get jobs in domestic police departments here. i know you well enough to know you've had

these negotiations are at a really delicate place as senator booker said. we shouldn't make perfect the enemy of the good as we're trying to take steps and make progress. it is really important that what we do is meaningful and not just a spit and a polish as my mother used to say. we have to do something important. it makes it easier to hold police officers accountability, it's important that we stick to -- stick to making real chaufrpg there. >> so if modifying or getting rid of qualified immunity, what's in discussion is modifying qualified immunity, if that is not part of the final language that is put in front of you, senator, is this effort a failure in yaur eyes? ? >> i see that as an incredibly part of this whole endeavor. i won't say what i'm going to do or not do. it's important this is real and meaningful change. i think qualified immunity is real and meaningful change. i'm also -- i think as you were just saying a moment ago, this is actual serious negotiation here. democrats and republicans trying to find common ground and i want to support tha

i mean they in fact madam walker and booker t washington did get off to a rocky start. so there's a real drama there real life drama. he was the most powerful black man in america and she wanted his endorsement. so she attended his conference, but it was a little different from or a lot different from what you see in the film. she went to his tuskegee campus uninvited and kind of charmed her way in and then she appeared at his 1912 national negro business league convention, and she had just contributed a thousand dollars to the building fund of a ymca in indianapolis. so he knew who she was he had met her before but when she got to the conference, she was ready to speak and he said no, but it's different from what you see in the film and i think i like the reality more because she waited until that. stay of the convention would he didn't give her an opportunity to speak and she stood up and gave a great speech saying i'm a woman who came from the cotton fields of the south and i have built my own factory on my own ground. so that conversation behind the scenes never hap

booker is joining us virtually. you will be after mr. booker. sen.ker: so using religion as a shield is something that has been done for many years, a shield for discrimination. i believe in freedom of religion. i believe in free exercise. i believe in the fundamentals that our country was founded upon, but i also know that for too long, religion is used to discriminate, it has been a painful part of the story of america. i really want to turn the -- turn to the panelists to help me to spell this out. we still live in a nation -- and i would think we would join together as a senate in a bipartisan fashion to say it is wrong to deny somebody the ability to serve on a jury just because they are lgbtq. it is wrong to deny someone a seat at a lunch counter just because they are lgbtq. this is something that we should all be working to end. we have seen this phenomenon of religion being used to justify slavery, segregation, bans on interracial marriage. as recently as 1983, bob jones university argued before the supreme court that its racial discriminator