over his record in latin america in the 1980's and his conviction for lying to congress and the iran-contra scandal. this comes as president trump meets with the colombian president at the white house to discuss efforts to topple the venezuelan government. we will get the latest. then one year ago today, a gunman opened fire at the marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida, killing 17 students and staff. people to gunlose violence. people do not lose people to gun violence. people are stolen from us from gun violence. amy: since the parkland massacre, nearly 1200 children have been killed by guns in the united states. that is between three and for a day. will t the united states ever addressed the nation's gun violence epidemic? all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. congress is poised today to vote on a massive spending bill that would avert another government shutdown on friday all grazing nearly $1.4 billion for 55 miles of new wall on the u.s.-mexico border, a fraction of the $5.7 billion pres

what is cooked up in late 1984, but really 1985, 1986, is what becomes known as iran contra. which is selling weapons in this particular case, the tow antitank missiles to iran which they will use, how? why would they want these sophisticated weapons? they are in the middle of what becomes an eight-year war with iraq. iraq is being funded or supplied by the soviets. the u.s., macfarland, poindexter, ultimately oliver north, the staff member, we believe that if we cultivate what we think are the moderates within iran, they will get the hostages back for us and it is ok if we sell weapons to them because well, we can make sure that there is no clear winner in the iran-iraq war. whatever. meanwhile, we know that we also have some kind of relationship with the iraqis. for the reasons that we discussed on monday. balance of power. revenge. whatever it may be. but then, this is the contract part. this is bad enough. what does this violate? the top part. >> congress passed [indiscernible] prof. tudda: that is the second part. hold off on that for just a second. the arms embargo and?

air quote naturally would be controversial elliott abrams of iran contra fame skulking around d.c. sitting at the forefront of current us foreign policy in operations in venezuela this whole gun flights and all of that has raised many eyebrows and concerns which is why we need to be watching the hawks. to. get the. real that this would. be the bottom. like you that i got. with that we. welcome everyone the watching the hearts i am tyrone been. alive and i have not shipped any guns to menace way lately but him and lee. that's not normal for every american but everyone i do realize that not everyone here in america can claim they have not sent our mr venezuela there that this is a fascinating story because it just kind of like it keeps getting more and more layers to it and kudos for mcclatchy and other outlets for kind of beginning of this and following you know you've been there just like you said there's no no one there's no direct ties and no one's said oh the cia is coretta handed bringing guns into venezuela there's a lot of accusations and counter-accusations so we don't reall

explain to people who are not familiar with the iran-contra scandal, this happening under the reagan-bush years, the selling of weapons to iran to take that money to support the contras in nicaragua, which violated u.s. law. >> yes. so that scandal involved southern air transport, which is also a cia-front company. that really exploded into the news back in 1986 because this in an east army shot down -- sandinista army shut down a twin plane that was run by southern air transport that was taking armaments to the contra rebels fighting in nicaragua. so southern air transport was actually heavily involved in the armed shipments to iran and from the middle east to the contra rebels in nicaragua. juan: i want to ask you about eugene hasenfus. he was the only passenger to survive. i want to turn to a document made by wisconsin public television called the "the eugene hasenfus story." it featured an excerpt from the station's initial coverage of what happened him in 1980 six. >> a wisconsin man has been the focus of international news this week. eugene hasenfus. he said his mission was directed

reagan era types who found himself in hot water when he was convicted of lying to congress over the iran contra affair he was later pardoned by george w. bush which is how the game is played here in washington but mr abrams duties in the regular administration didn't end with just secretly selling arms to iran to fund contras no no no he also focused on supporting brutal human rights violating armed anti-communist groups which was us latin american policy at the time it was this record of our boy abrams that representative omar felt needed to be acknowledged in a wednesday house foreign affairs committee hearing on the current situation in venezuela let's take a listen to how this played out. doing that massacre some of those troops bragged about raping a twelve year old girl before they killed them girls before they killed them he later said that the u.s. policy in el salvador was a fabulous achievement do you think that massacre. was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch that is a ridiculous question and i guess our no no i will only miss i will make you happy yes i am not goin

he begins with the iran contra affair and then examines changes with soviet leadership. the class is about 75 minutes. prof. tudda: all right, this morning, we are going to finish up our discussion of iran-contra.

guilty to two counts of withholding information from congress regarding your involvement in the iran contra affair i felt i understand why members of this committee or the american people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful vika responded that wasn't a question i went on with that that was not that was not a question yes or no do you think that massacre. was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch there is a ridiculous question of i guess our no no i will only miss i will make a yes i am not going to respond to that kind of personal attack which is not a question do you feel that your parents actions in iran contra are permanently impair your ability to fairly and transparently deal in the region since we all know the outcome of what happened then do you feel that a major problem baggage that you bring to the table i don't. know i've been doing this job for two whole weeks i think is a fact of history we should not dig our heads in the sand or make believe that this never happened because he did. the hearing also touched on then as well as for ng dat wa

reagan era types who found himself in hot water when he was convicted of lying to congress over the iran contra affair he was later pardoned by george w. bush which is how the game is played here in washington.

william barr is the one who recommended those pardons in iran-contra. he started as attorney general, this president's campaign chairman received a sentence recommendation from prosecutors of 19 to 24 years in prison, plus tens of millions of dollars to pay. like i said, it's all happening at once now. i think it will fit. want a performance car that actually fits your life? introducing the new 2019 ford edge st. capability meets power. in the first suv from the ford performance team. the new 2019 ford edge st you won't find relief here. congestion and pressure? go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritin-d relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. claritin-d relieves more. >>> in addition to the sentencing recommendation from prosecutors tonight, special counsel's office telling a judge tonight they think president's campaign chair paul manafort should serve 19 to 24 years in prison. in addition to that recommendation from prosecutors tonight, we also within moments o

william barr is the one who recommended those pardons in iran-contra. the day he started as attorney general, this president's campaign chairman received a sentence recommendation from prosecutors of 19 to 24 years in prison, plus tens of millions of dollars to pay. like i said, it's all happening at once now. news around here. ♪ sources say liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. over to you, logo. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ when your flight gets in late, it's never too early for coffee. oh no no no. your new boss seems cool, but she might not be sweatpants cool. who is that ready this early? it's only 7 am. somebody help me. close call. not quite ready to face the day? that's why we're here with free hot breakfast and a warm welcome. book at hampton.com for our price match guarantee. hampton by hilton. book at hampton.com for half of small businesses fail within 5 years.ne. and more people than ever struggle with debt. intuit is here to change this story... with giant solutions like turbotax, quick

testimony included an exchange with the freshman congresswoman who question to about his role in the iran contra affair in the 1980's. >> the committee will come to order. as a situation in venezuela continues to unfold, it is important to keep up on the latest developments on how the united states will continue to engage on this issue. i will introduce the panel prior to their statements. let me also welcome all the members, public, and press we are glad to have our friends from c-span here to cover our hearing. before we start, all members hav may have five days to submit for the record. let me start by saying the humanitarian crisis in venezuela is heartbreaking. are living inlans poverty. more than one in 10 children suffered from malnutrition. and nearly 10% of the country's population has fled overseas. 31 million what makes it even more heartbreaking is that this crisis is entirely man-made. venezuela should be one of the wealthiest and most prosperous countries in the hemisphere, but the corruption and incompetence and mismanagement of nicolas maduro have driven that country off the edge

included in exchange with the freshman congresswoman, who questioned him about his role in the iran-contra affair and his two guilty pleas. rep. engel: as the situation in venezuela continues to unfold, it is important that the committee here from policymakers on the latest developments and how the united states will engage on this issue. i'm glad to welcome our panel, who i will introduce prior to their statements. let me welcome all our members, the public, and the press, and our friends from c-span. before we start, without objection, all members may submit statements and extraneous questions to the record. let me start by saying that the humanitarian crisis in venezuela is heartbreaking. 90% of venezuelans are living in poverty. more than one in 10 children suffers from malnutrition and nearly 10% of the country's population has fled overseas. what makes it even more heartbreaking is that this crisis is entirely man-made. venezuela should be one of the wealthiest and most prosperous countries in the hemisphere, but the corruption and incompetence and mismanagement of nicolas maduro hav

vamos a recordar que el aÑo 1979 contra irÁn contra jimmy carter era el presidente que la puso. 1965 que son dadas por autoridad presidencial. por ejemplo, en 1996 clinton la declarÓ cuando las avionetas civiles estadounidenses. y como olvidar la de 2001 respuesta a los ataques terroristas del 11 s durante el gobierno de george bush. si te preguntas cuantas lleva el presidente donald trump en estos mÁs de dos aÑos, vamos a recordarlas y nos vamos el 20 de diciembre de 2017 con el bloqueo de la propiedad de personas involucradas en abusos de los derechos humanos. las sanciones fueron para el general demian mar por su funciÓn de perseguir a un grupo Étnico emocional . 12 de se tiene del dominio hecho por elecciones de medio tÉrmino en plena investigaciÓn de la trama rusa. y 27 de noviembre de 2018 decretÓ emergencia nacional y bloqueÓ las bene de colaboradores con el rÉgimen de ortega en nicaragua declarando que constituye una amenaza inusual y extraordinaria para la seguridad nacional y la polÍtica exterior de estados unidos. por supuesto estas tres hay que sumarle la de hoy. regresÓ

elliot abrams is a right-wing hawk who was convicted in 1991 for lying to congress during the iran-contra scandal, but he was later pardoned. amy: abrams also defended guatemalan dictator general efraÍn rios montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people in guatemala in the 1980s. the senate judiciary committee has narrowly voted to approve william barr's nomination to become attorney general. every democrat on the committee voted against barr who previously served as george h.w. bush's attorney general. during that time, he was involved in the pardon of six reagan officials, including elliott abrams, for the iran-contra scandal. he also oversaw the opening of the guantÁnamo bay military prison, which was initially used to indefinititely detain h haitn asylum seekers. democratic senator amy klobuchar of minnesota said, "this is not the time to install an attorney general who has repeatedly espoused a view of unfettered executive power." in related news, acting attorney general matthew whitaker is heading to capitol hill today to testify before the house jud

she had a guilty plea for misleading congress in the iran-contra affair. >> i failed to understand whybers of this committee or the american people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful. >> if i could respond to that. >> it wasn't a question. that was not a question. >> omar asked about abrams 1982 testimony to downplay a massacre in el salvador by u.s.-backed forces. she asked if they would back it up if the rebels committed war crimes. >> i don't think this entire line of questioning was meant to be real questions so i will not reply. >> omar pressed again asking if u.s. interests include protecting u.s. rights and protecting genocide. abrams said that is always the position of the united states. >>> the wife of bill schein is pushing false anti-vaccination claims on twitter. darla schein claimed without evidence that childhood diseases such as measles keep you healthy and fight cancer. sheila meanted the fact that her children received the mmr vaccine and said people of her generation are healthier now because they had measles as children. her comments come as

do you feel that your past actions in iran contra have permanently impaired your ability to fairly and transparently deal in the region, since we all know the outcome of what happened then? do you feel that is a major problem, the baggage that you bring to the table? mr. abrams: i don't. i have been doing this job for two whole weeks. i can tell you that members of congress have raised it. no latin american of any nationality of whom i have dealt has raised that question per we have had lots of discussions of how to promote democracy in venezuela. guess i should say since i have been attacked and now three times, in my own defense, if you look at the record of eight years, when we came in, there were military dictatorships that -- rep. espaillat: that's a fact of history -- mr. abrams: in country after country, there have been -- chile is a good example. i think it is a record of promoting democracy. i think it is a fact of history, which are it did and you were at the helm of that. >> i was at the helm of promoting democracy in latin america. >> you may want to characterize it that wa

reagan era types who found himself in hot water when he was convicted of lying to congress over the iran contra affair he was later pardoned by george w. bush which is how the game is played here in washington but mr abrams duties in the reagan administration didn't end with just secretly selling arms to iran to fund contras and a note he also focused on supporting brutal human rights violating armed anti-communist groups which was us latin american policy at the time it was this record of our boys a broom that representative omar felt needed to be acknowledged today when with a house foreign affairs committee hearing on the current situ.

and cia no longer have to worry about where their funding comes from i mean the whole reason that iran contra snafu happened under reagan secretly selling arms to iran in order to fund the contras in nicaragua was because reagan's goods needed the cash nowadays the military and intelligence apparatus that were once for cash are you ok but is twenty one trillion other california dollars of the pentagon was one time someone of the pentagon as money going to come from. that's like a super bowl halftime show asking where's. going to come from. where we're going to go. but more importantly as we spread military weaponry and devices around the world when has that ever had unintended consequences. just as the whales that have been marching right up onto the beach in order to tell everyone how much they love antisubmarine sonar. they love it. sure scientists call these mass stranding of vents but i think the real term is illegal immigration or i want. papers do they have has anyone even checked a new study has found mass stranding events of the whales were extremely rare prior to the one nine hundred

and the infamous iran/contra hearing and the infamy of ollie north. >> i came here to tell you the truthe ugly. >> north revealed he removed money from the iran deal to the nicaragua contras and he claimed his higher-ups at the white house knew about it, possibly even the president. now comes cohen, the latest entrant to a pantheon of perfity. those who turned on presidents to come clean to you about important matters that were lied about and/or covered up. of course, cohen's not at the same level of power or prestige at any of these other examples, but this is the trump administration. those qualities are in short supply and it's fitting, given this president's background, that a lawyer and fixer known for tough talk and being loose with the truth would be the echo of the chief executive. we are the company we keep, right? those on the left, be sure to see what cohen can say and show to back up any statements. even in a political trial, you can only claim to know what you can eventually show. please stick to the matters that are most serious. scandal is seductive, believe me, i know, bu

at the end of the iran contra investigation when then-president bush sr., well, let's pardon casper if weinberger who was -- casper weinberger who was indicted, it was barr who said, well, let's pardon more people, the cia people and elliot abrams. so he's somebody who is going to protect the president. but i think he also knows legally and politically it's very important that the mueller investigation proceed. so the spotlight should be, as marc -- mark suggests, not on the past, but on the future. we don't know who's going to run against trump if trump runs in 2020. we know who now is the attorney general, and this is the important player in the coming months, maybe coming two years. chris: and, katety, i've got less than -- about 45 seconds left. how transparent should barr be? when the mueller report comes out in saying -- >> i think he should release as much of it as possible was compromising any kind of a technique. the american people, because it's news, they absolutely deserve to know what is in the mueller report. as we're looking in the future, y

this happened in watergate, in iran contra, the tower commission investigated while lawrence walsh, theigated. you know, the 9/11 commission investigated 9/11 while the fbi was conducting its criminal and counterintelligence investigati investigation. in particular, congress is accountable to the public, unlike mueller. mueller may not actually be able to release a public report, whereas congress is actually investigating this on behalf of the american people -- >> that better not true. >> so they can understand what russia did. >> did you just say that mueller is not -- the department of justice and mueller is not accountable to the public? certainly, he's accountable to the public. >> how so? >> certainly he has a -- >> he's accountable to the public because he's a public servant. >> so you agree he should produce a public report? >> let him make the point. you know why asha's saying it. we just had senator dick durbin on. hold on, just for context. just in case people weren't watching alas inin ining "a.c. had dick durbin say barr thinks the law may be tying his hands and may not all

tudda: all right, this morning, we are going to finish up our discussion of iran-contra.

he believes that at the time it was the end of the iran contra investigation by lawrence walsh.very -- he said at one point that he had an itchy finger for 18 months to fire him and he was very upset about what he called the dragging in that investigation going on every possible -- >> chris: you think you might interfere with mueller? >> no. he's made it clear he will not but he's going to look at it and he's got very interesting perspective on all of this at the end of the iran contra investigation with sven president bush senior decided let's pardon caspar weinberger who was indicted. it was him who said let's pardon more people, the cia people and elliott abrams, so he somebody who was to protect the president but i think he also knows legally and politically, it's very important that the mueller investigation proceed, so the spotlight should be, as mark suggests, not on the past, but on the future. we don't know who's going to run against trump one from bronze in 2020. we know who now is the attorney general and this is the important player in the coming months, may be comin

the revelations of the iran contra affair gave new momentum to the work of the peace activists. evidence showed that the weapons were coming from the largest pentagon arms depot on the west coast california was conquered naval weapons station. all they were alan and i went out just to check out the situation. and discovered that on one side of the road. were literally hundreds of buggers with all these weapons. there's a train track and these bunkers that came out and across they highway and then went out to the pier is where these balls were loaded on to the ships. we had a press conference in which that are in store planning to start a forty day fast. of our hearts a conscience is what we were doing and why my son was there he is fourteen years old. brian and duncan murphy and. david duncan. place themselves on the tracks. here jane not good i'm pretty sure saying you know we just go out there and we stay on and then the train slows down and stops. a couple of people cross the road and went over to the front gate of the watson station inform them that we were blocking and ther

do you feel that your past actions in iran-contra have permanently impaired your ability to fairly and transparently deal with the region since we all know the outcome of what happened then? do you feel that's a major problem that you bring to the table? >> i don't. and i've -- i've been doing this for two whole weeks. and i can tell you that members of congress have raised it. no latin american of any nationalalty with whom i have doubt have raised it. and we've had lots and lots discussions of how we're going to promote democracy in venezuela. i guess i should say since i've been attacked three times, if you look at the reagan record of eight years, when we came in, there were military dictatorships -- >> that's not an attack. that's a fact on history. >> when we left, in country after country, there had been transitions that we supported. so i think it's a record of promoting democracy -- >> respectfully, i differ with you. i think it's a fact of history. we should not dig our heads in the sand and make believe this never happened because it did and you were at the helm of it. i thi

a irÁn y canalizÓ las ganancias a las fuerzas de la contra que aterrorizaban a nicaragua.r en el sur de florida. a la hora seÑalada, abordamos el aviÓn. el plan funciona con precisiÓn militar. una vez arribamos al aviÓn y nos informaron que iremos en la aeronave con mayor capacidad de transorte de fuerza aÉrea americana. pudimos ver los suministrosproveÍdos por la agencia de desarrollo internacional. >>son toneladas de ayuda humanitaria. comida y medicinas. arroz para unas 2000 personas que puede durar por lou farmacÉuticos para que pueden durar hasta 90 dÍas para unas 40mil personas. >>podemos verlo todo, gran trabajo que estÁn realizando para llevar esta ayuda humanitaria al pueblo de venezuela. >>despuÉs de atravesar el mar caribe, nos estÁbamos acercando al aeropuerto de cÚcuta. el presidente de colombia y su delegaciÓn, recibió a los funcionarios estadounidenses y luego de platicar con los soldados, que hicieron entrega form territorio colombiano. el presidente duque recordaba el propÓsito de esta operación. en cÚcuta como se hace sentir una energÍa especial, aquella

to that kind of personal attack which is not a question do you feel that your parents actions in iran contra are permanently impair your ability to fairly and transparently deal in the region since we all know the outcome of what happened then do you feel that a major problem baggage that you bring to the table i don't. know i've been doing this job for two whole weeks i think is a fact of history we should not dig our heads in the sand or make believe that this never happened because he did the hearing also touched on one as well as foreign debt was asked whether at the dad had been discussed with the opposition and whether it be us had war into russia that there is a chance that sloan's to caracas would not be repaid he replied negatively adding that the opposition promised to pay all legal debts and addition that china has stopped giving new loans to the even as well and government. the session didn't go down in tartly without a hitch it was interrupted several times by protests from antiwar activist code pink national code director ariel gold was arrested at the hearing. thank you for th

respond to that kind of personal attack which is not a question you feel that your past actions in iran contra permanently impair your ability to fairly and transparently deal in the region my question is whether you're aware of any transfers of weapons or defense equipment by the united states government to groups of venezuela i asked this question because you have a record of such actions nine hundred ninety one you pleaded guilty to two counts of withholding information from congress regarding your involvement in the iran affair i fail to understand. why members of this committee or the american people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful i don't think this entire line of questioning is meant to be real questions and so i will not reply latin american politics expert michael durham sees abrams appointment as designed to send a clear message to venezuela he's arrogance in the testimony to congress he's it just shows that he's super confident he knows that nothing is going to happen to him the government should never have gotten involved with things he's been involved

best known for his major disclosures about the iran contra scandal in the one nine hundred eighty s. he is the founder of consortium news where he has reported extensively on the crisis in ukraine and the forces behind the unrest and in geo is a non-governmental organization how many n.g.o.s are quite legitimate they represent good causes that maybe they help people in a country feed or deal with water problems or deal with various kinds of social problems but there are some n.g.o.s that have become funded by government entities and serve more the purpose of that government rather than trying to serve the people that they are sensibly working for one thing we saw in the one nine hundred eighty s. at that point the central intelligence agency had been largely discredited because of the scandals that had been exposed in the one nine hundred seventy s. but that being years the cia has secretly financed its overseas activities of the national student association but then there came to light a fantastic web of cia penetration so when the reagan administration came in there was this concep