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also, i sat down with charles ogletree just on friday. he is a fellow harvard professor of professor gates. the two are friends, are colleagues and also, charles ogletree representing professor gates. listen to just a bit of what he told me when i sat down with him last week. >> why you doing this, is it because m a black man and you're a white police officer. >> was he saying it as calmly as you're saying it to me? >> the recordings will show. you can imagine that he's feeling this sense of indignity people feel every day. it has nothing to do with race. there are people who feel powerless when they have done everything they can legally to protect themselves and find that what professor gates found is that in a moment, you have been arrested. >> you heard charles ogletree there. he told me on a couple occasions that in fact, this was not about race. this was a matter of bad judgment by a police officer. but still, since the incident happened, we have been talking in this country a debate about racial profiling. so i asked him when did th

i can only go on what i've heard from charles ogletree who is skip gates' attorney. again, they said their options are, indeed, still open as to how they want to move forward. i still believe a conversation is important. because here is the other piece. the officer said he was within his rights. they dropped the charges. if you believe he was wrong and should have been arrested why drop them? >> that was edited out of our interview. the question when i asked that to the other officer he said it was a misdemeanor and probably would have gotten adjudicated away anyway. >> what also happened anderson, you and i know, the public perception is you didn't have anything to sustain the arrest and knowing full well he likely wouldn't be convicted. >> professor watkins, do you believe this is an issue about race or do you think two people with big egos or clashing egos? >> i think the answer is that we don't know. that is the problem we were making bandwagon assumptions based on things we didn't know. look, either sergeant crowley violated procedure or he didn't. if he did vio

well, everybody's got him backing down, the president trying to calm everybody down, but charles ogletree the attorney for the professor involved spoke to me yesterday and again trying to tell everybody, calm down. this isn't really all about race. >> he's feeling this sense of indignity that people feel every day and if has nothing to do with race. there are people who feel powerless when they've done everything they can legally to protect themselves. >> not all about race. we'll get into that a little more a little later. >>> also, if you didn't get a chance to see "black america 2" this week, shame on you. you missed a lot. also missed a very emotional moment between ka median d.l. hughley and his teacher. got choked up talking about the teacher that made a big difference in his life. >> why is what he's saying upsetting you so much? >> because i was this close to never making it. never being nothing. >> amazing tears. talking about this guy 38 years ago. talk about that, and our question to you this morning, did you have a teacher who inspired you to do great things? we want to hear a

i read the police report, and the statement issued by professor gates' lawyer, charles ogletree, and it seems to me that once they establish that professor gates was in fact the occupant of the home, that was the time to the police officer to say, "ok, thank you," and leave the premises. professor gates, in my view, committed the sithat has affected african-american males since their arrival on the shore -- he made the mistake of getting uppity. -- getting uppity with that white man. when you get uppity, they punish you for it. if he had said, "sir, may i please have your badge, number and name," he may have gotten it. i believe that professor gates did ask for it and i believe that he also said things to the police officer about the police officer's mama that upset him. >> the police officer has a good record. >> he does not have to be a racist to have himself acted -- >> i am not applying that r- word to what he did. i'm just saying that the dynamic in fall, that you are upset in your own home -- you have a right to act like a fool, as nina said, in your own home. why do i have to

charles ogletree, the attorney for the professor, say anything about how heat it had got in terms of language or words used by his client? >> the one thing he did say is he felt that professor gates was coaxed into coming out of his home. the second he comes out of his home, then that gives the police more authority to be in a position to ultimately arrest him. >> what's that mean? coaxed into leaving? >> those were the words that charles ogle tree y50d. that's what he said. >> he's got to defend his client. >> the exchange was so remarkable to me was that obama decided to engage in the question in a very animated way, but then when i realized that he knew professor gates, he lived in -- >> called him skip. >> this was extraordinary -- >> may i say something about that? the one thing that made me uncomfortable with gates himself, if there's any truth to what the police reported, is when he said, according to the police report, do you know who i am? anytime you sit there and echo those words or put those words out there like that, that implies, you know what? i have a relationship wit

i read the police report, and i also read that statement issued by professor gates' lawyer, charles ogletree , and once they establish that professor gates was the occoquan of tomback -- the occupant of the home, that was the time for the police officer to say thank you and me. what happened? professor gates, in my view, committed the sin that has affected african-american males. he made a mistake of getting uppity with that white man. when you get uppity, they punish you for it. if he had said, "sur, may i please have your badge, number, and your name?" he might have gotten it. i believe that professor gates did ask for it. he said something to the police officers about the police officer's mama that upset him. >> but the police officer has a good record. >> he does not have to be a racist to -- >> i am not applying that r- word to what he did. i'm saying that the dynamic in fall, you are upset in your own home, and you never write to act like a fool, as nina -- you have a right to act like a fool, as nina said, in your own home. how do you become disorderly in your own home? >> i have been

my father extended himself privately and through his lawyer charles ogletree to resolve it early on. he was very thankful that the president's reinforcement actually got sergeant crowley at least considering attempting a resolution. >> also, i talked with gates' attorney ogletree. you'll hear more of that interview. we'll replay part of it for you this morning later this hour. >>> in a state known for corruption and bribes it is a new low for new jersey. the alleged brokering of human organs. s open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day

gates told fellow professor charles ogletree, that he did cooperate. producing two photo ids to prove who he was and was astonished to see several police officers gathered who placed professor gates under arrest, handcuffed on h own front porch. with the story getting wide circulation, the cambridge police department dropped the disorderly conduct charge completely in the interests of justice. a statement issued by gates' attorney, walter prince, called the incident regrettable and unfortunate and not one that should demean the character of professor gates or the cambridge police department. >> people thought with the election of barack obama, racism is over. i don't think black people thought that. this proves that. it's obviously not over. >> reporter: the case may be over, but the incident won't soon be forgotten. mike taibbi, nbc news, new york. >>> when "nightly news" continues on a tuesday evening, banks rush to raise interest rates and fees on credit cards. at a time when customers are struggling. so what is the deal? >>> later the american with

holmes who just finished an interview with charles ogletree, professor gates' attorney. he's actually responding to what we heard for the first time. t.j. joins us on the phone. how is ogletree -- well, i guess, what did he say once he heard the interview, t.j.? because i know you just wrapped up your interview. >> well, some of the things he's saying at this point, kyra, is that they are really looking forward to moving forward. he said he has been in touch with police and other officials there, the district attorney as well, and that this is no longer, in his words, about race. he said he has never said -- at least ogletree, and, remember, representing gates -- this is not about race. this is about an officer and bad judgment. however, kyra, just a few questions later, he went back -- and i asked the question, well, why is it that this is all about racial profiling? why has this become what it is in the public eye now? he says, this case became about race when that witness called and said she saw two black men at the door. so, i found it interesting in that -- in one br

charles ogletree is even saying that he never thought racial profiling was connected to this case andnever mentioned it, but that was a conversation all along and that really bothered me. it's sort of like getting a speeding ticket when you're going 70 miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour zone. if you look at the procedure and law and definition of disorderly conduct and that stuff, the officer had a right to arrest professor gates, but probably shouldn't have. >> that's interesting. reverend, after the president spoke yesterday afternoon, you had both the mayor of cambridge and police saying they are pleased with that wha the president had to say. do you think this is a positive sign that we are moving toward a resolution? >> i think so. i agree with the professor. the reality is that this was an incident where there was a misunderstanding. it was unfortunate and president obama, doing a favor for a friend, got sucked into a fire storm where he didn't know the details. i think that this has been exaggerated. this was not racial profiling as the professor said. it was something that got

we asked charles ogletree when this will be over, he said frankly it will never be over because the conversationbout race is so difficult. for the bottom line on president, the policeman and professor we turn to our chief washington correspondent and host of "this week." george stephanopoulos. good morning. >> hey, jake. >> i do wonder if there is a disconnect between president's desire to move from the incident as his stated desire to have this become a teachable moment. where do you think the story goes? >> i think there could be and i think white house is struggling with how to deal with that right now and when to deal with it. there is no question they want this individual incident and all of the details, all of the messy details, to go away and want to get national focus back on health care right now but i think they understand that this is something that stirs up a lot of passion in the country. i think they'll support those efforts up in cambridge to get the community together up there and maybe support a series of community forums around the country. what is still an open question is how

i got off the phone with charles ogletree, the attorney for professor gates, saying there were inconsistencies in the police report, that he did indeed show his i.d., show proof of address and the situation should have ended there. but the point is it never should have escalated. >>> let me read the report on paper here. while i was led to believe -- led to believe that gates was lawfully in the residence. i was quite surprised and confused with the behavior. i asked him to provide me with photo identification so i could verify he resided at that residence. gates initially refused. that's his case. the lawyer for gates says that's not true. >> i would also like to add this point. initially upon reading that report, i'm saying you're professor gates, you should know better, as an iconic figure, you have to understand that everybody is not you, and if something like this isn't de-escalated and escalates to the point it did, ultimately it's a reflection on you, and who knows if another black person in that situation, how things would have transpired. i was thinking along the lines that indeed pro

when police arrived, gates was already inside, in a written statement, gates' attorney charles ogletreegates handed his harvard university i.d. and valid driver's license and asked the officer for his name and badge number. >> can't necessarily fault someone for trying to help or protect someone if they were reporting something they thought was happening. but at the same time, you know, he's, you know, lived here for quite a long time. >> reporter: gates claims the officer left the house without giving his name, but the police report states a police sergeant asked for the gentleman's information to which he stated, no, i will not. the report adds gates was shouting to the sergeant that he was racist, yelling this is what happens to black men in america. one of the nation's preeminent african-american scholars, gates is the director of harvard's w.e.b. dubois institute. he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. >> very familiar story, heard it before. and, you know, you can also wonder would we be hearing as much about it if it wasn't as common. >> tomorrow night, starting at

the other day i talked to jesse jackson, al sharpton and charles ogletree. one of the things they brought up that is race mutual is the abuse of police power. we know that is a serious problem. if there is abuse i hope it will be investigated. that's a serious problem here. >> what do you make of it? you know professor gates. >> we were colleagues at "the new yorker." we are trying to slot this in various legal categories. this was a misunderstanding. everybody just didn't understand the facts. everyone acted, i think, understandably given the circumstances. skip gates, he's arrested in his own house, for breaking into his own house. no wonder's upset. crowley gets yelled at by skip gates apparently. he gets upset. now they are working it out and having a beer. nobody is arrested. nobody is suing. nobody is going to jail. this seems like an appropriate resolution of an unfortunate situation. something that's nothing more than that. >> wendy, has your client met the professor now? >> she has not. all she has -- in terms of contact with him, she's read that he

in an e-mail he said -- and last night i spoke with gates' attorney, charles ogletree, and i asked him if he was amazed that the president would call both men directly. >> well, if you know president barack obama like i do, it's not amazing at all. he wrote in his book "destiny and hope" the very same thing, indignities he experienced, things he couldn't quite understand. he worried about his children might be affected by that. it's a conversation we all tip around but now we have an opportunity, and indeed an obligation to have a conversation about race in america in a way that might move us all forward. the election of president obama was the spark that generated this conversation but trying to govern, all of us taking personal responsibility, all of us, understanding our brothers' keeper, all of this will make an enormous amount of difference. >> is professor gates going to sue? >> don't know. >> why not? >> because that decision hasn't been made. right now he's not thinking about suing. he's thinking about resting and meeting with the president and sergeant crowley and thinking abo

charles ogletree, gates attorney, it is not on the table but they are saying at this point it is not a consideration to do a lawsuit. we just want this conversation to continue. we want more sensitivity training and to have this, again, as a teachable moment. >> i have got to tell you, i have learned as much in the last ten minutes on this story from you with your excellent reporting on this, stuff that we hadn't heard. we hadn't heard the other side yet. it sounds like there is a little bit of backing down on all sides on this thing making for an even healthier debate in the end. i think it is good for the national conversation as well as from don lemon's report on what was coming in from the other side as well. this is good tv. i am so glad, t.j., that you were able to bring us that. >> we were going the wrong direction. it may be now we can have an intelligent conversation, cooler heads, calm down. maybe we will see picture of those three guys at the white house having a beer. >> this could end up being good for a lot of americans. this is the kind of conversation with race relati

moments after that, i got a phone call from his attorney, charles ogletree who responded this way when i said, are you okay with this? and what would you like to say? and he said to me, he goes, i applaud the president's intervention and i look forward to working this out with all parties amicably. i said, are you going to sue? he said, it depends on the response from everyone involved and as how he will proceed in all of this. as you mentioned, lou, i did speak with one of the guys who was there at the press conference today and one of the guys who was there when this all went down, a black sergeant who's been on the force for 26 years. he strongly stood by his colleague and he also talked about what went down that day and some of the disturbing things he claims he witnessed while this was all going down. when you were at the scene, what did you hear him say? >> i heard it coming -- this is how a black man -- very loud, very loud, this is how a black man is treated in america. a white woman calls the police and gets arrested for breaking into his own home. >> reporter: does that distu

i yesterday as well sat down with charles ogletree the professor for professor gates who seemed to back everyone away from the edge if you will. >> people are wondering about legal issues that may arise from this. >> not on the table. no lawsuit on the table. he also said it's not entirely about race. take a listen. did professor gates do anything wrong? not in a legal sense in break some law but did he do anything wrong as a private citizen as an upstanding citizen as a responsible season and not give due reference to the police officer? >> no. of course he's angry. he's given two forms of identification. he said i am who i am. he said, you know, i want to file a complaint against you because you're not listening to me. i want your badge and your number. >> you acknowledge that maybe he did come across as upset or animated or belligerent interpreted by the officer as that. >> i'm not sure how the officer would interpret that. if you ask a homeowner how you feel in your own house and you produce identification and the officer knows it's you, how do you feel, i can't imagine many people

i want to hear from sergeant crowley, skip gates, i want to hear from charles ogletree, i want to seehe officer's record. i want us to do our research to make sure we're not going to destroy the career of an innocent man. what that does is is undermines our ability to fight racial profiling across the country. >> michael, do you think there were premature statements made perhaps by the president and perhaps by others? >> well, no, i think in regard to president obama he was merely stating his opinion when asked a question at the close of a press conference. i still think he didn't call the police officer stupid. he said acting stupidly, as professor watkins just indicated, all of us make mistakes. i think in this case we have to see the legitimacy of the possibility he acted inappropriately. i think all people who are thinking rationally regardless of what actually happened since none of us were there, we don't know what transpired, when you arrest the middle-aged guy with a cane a distinguished professor in the home, you know that he was not breaking and entering, then from there, i

. >> reporter: overnight, we spoke with professor gates' attorney, harvard professor, charles ogletree. what was your client's reaction to the president's comments tonight? >> he was simply pleased that barack anowledged that he was a friend. and that what he had read and heard and understood to have been reported, that professor gates did not violate the law by being in his own house, with identification, saying that he was there lawfully. >> reporter: but what if professor gates' neighbors, a man who didn't want his face shown, but claimed to witness the arrest, seemed to bolster sergeant crowley's case. >> i would have to say, that the police reports, he was belligerent. >> reporter: wednesday night on cnn, professor gates called sergeant crowley, a rogue cop, and threatened to sue. my lawyers and i are considering further action because this is not about me. this is about the vulnerability of black men in america. >> reporter: but overnight, gates' attorney told us there is no lawsuit planned right now. and it is possible this whole thing could be resolved amicably. does professor

beside him, professor charles ogletree of harvard law school, whose students have included 1 barack obama whom we have heard of since. margaret carlson is the editor of bloomberg news. our senior national corresponded at npr and a longtime host of "all things considered." david brooks is a columnist for "the new york times," and those of you know a battery of sons working on their curveballs. we will do tonight is try to work through with this panel some of the different aspects of the early stages of the obama presidency, what we have learned about him, what maybe are some of these excesses, what are some of the problems that may be looming out there. then we will turn to you for questions and then we will bring it back at the end and i will ask the panelists some lightning around questions where i will try very hard to hold you to one-word answers with final thoughts before we go out the door. let me start with a broad question. these have been very eventful first few months of the president, probably not since reagan's first few months, if not 1965 lyndon johnson or franklin roosevelt

in a written statement, gates' attorney law professor charles ogletree said -- >> you can't necessarily fault someone for trying to help or protect someone if they thought a break nu was happening. at the same time, you know, he's lived here for quite a long time. >> reporter: gates then says the officer left the house without giving him his name. but he asked for the gentleman's information, to which he stated, no, i will not. there were reports that gates was shouting to the sergeant that he was racist, yelling, this is what happens to black men in america. one of the nation's pre-eminent african-american scholars, he is the director of w.e.b. dubois' institute. gates claimed the police refused to listen as to why he was there and he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. >> we've heard it before. and, you know, you can almost wonder would we be hearing so much about it if it wasn't so prominent a person. >> our thanks to our affiliate reporting there. we would like to point out gates is featured in the cnn series "black in america." once again, we want to just clarify that

and officials, there are questions that we might get them answered by secretary dan professor charles ogletree. give it up for doctor ogletree. put your hands together. [applause] >> thank you, reverend jackson. very happy to be here in chicago once again at this annual june conference. and i want to really before i introduce our panelists, is to congratulate reverend jackson. when you think of the title of this conference, a more perfect union, that turns which use more than 200 years ago as the aspiration for what america would be. and it's ironic, isn't it, that he we are in 2009 was our first african american president ever, our first african american attorney general ever, our first woman general ever and we still have an incredible economic and political social education problem in our country. and we can't get to a perfect union without a union between the private and the public, between the rural and urban and suburban, and between those who are the have-nots and those who are the have a lot. and i want to thank particularly director tom vilsack for coming here because of all the place