tell your senator to support kristen clarke.sten clarke's confirmation hearing comes as another civil rights lawyer, vanita gupta, awaits a senate vote on her nomination to become the justice department's assistant attorney general. from our, we go to ben jealous, president of people for the american way, former president of the naacp. welcome back to democracy now! also for gubernatorial candidate in maryland. if you can comment on this right wing smear attack on kristen clarke? >> first of all, happy birthday, amy. amy: thanks. >>he iro of hearing a guest on tucker carlsen's show accuse anyone of being anti-semitic, let alone racist against a group of people, just sits with me. earlier this week the anti-defamation league called for him to be fired because of his anti-semitism in the civil rights community has long been concerned about his racism. but that is what the right wing do. there has never been a woman of color to lead the united states department of justice civil rights division. there have only been two black men to

>> rachel, i have to say i thought that kristen clarke was masterful today. she's not a tv lawyer. she's a real lawyer. and so she was really able to defend her record. she has an astonishing career as a civil rights lawyer behind her, leading the civil rights bureau at the new york state attorney general's office. she was a lawyer at the naacp legal defense fund, leads the lawyers committee for civil rights under law, worked at the department of justice for six years. and so she comes to it with just tremendous experience. but today, what people could see was just the intelligence, the poise, the confidence, and she couldn't be shaken. it's unfortunate, we should be thanking ourselves, cory booker said that, that ms. clarke is ready to serve particularly at this time in the country when we need someone with her vision, clarity, and commitment to really lead, as you say, in the enforcement of the nation's civil rights laws and to really address the crisis of civil rights that we're in at this moment in the country. >> part of the crisis or at least the confrontation that we're havi

louis that brought charges against the mccloskeys, here's the thing with kristen clarke, with ms. ke, this whole situation, her biases going into this job, she had written a piece in "the harvard crimson," and i think they were discussing this with her during that exchange that you played earlier, where she was actually saying that the more melanin someone has in their system, in their skin tone, that their brains are bigger. i guess we have calcified, withered a little brains here, lawrence, pete and i. you don't have someone like that in a civil rights division. that is not promoting civil rights, that is promoting division. it all goes back to critical race theories, which says there is systemic flaws within our public, that the entire republic must be deconstructed and rebuilt, which goes to what pete was saying with the whole reimagining and rebuilding of ty way that does not resemble the equality for all republic that we have. >> lawrence: claimed that was a satire piece, dana. that was all satire. >> and i have a bridge to sell people. [laughter] not satire. >> lawrence: pet

i think kristen clarke, in some ways, is just a mirror held up to this current-republican party.nteresting. that you, very much, have such a sharp contrast in this moment. when you talk about racism in america. and the party's willingness to grapple with these questions. i think that's part of why this attracted so much attention, zerlina, right? that, it wasn't just about this moment. it wasn't just about the fact that he was ignoring that it was satire. it wasn't just about how well prepared she was for that moment. she was clearly very prepared. knew they were going to try to make an issue of this. it's about the fact that it -- it -- it -- it represents the more fundamental contrasts between the two parties in this moment. >> exactly, and i think that, you know, the republican party. they represent a shrinking portion of the american voting population. and they know that. and one of the things they would like to say is that kristen clarke is some radical, and that she -- she hates american institutions of government. but she's worked for these institutions. she's not anti-law

when we ask you first about the kristen clark nomination. you have been an outspoken proponent at kristen clark is the right person for this job, and she should be confirmed by the senate. her confirmation hearing marked by republican's doing a fox news, pageant acting out, fox news primetime arguments against her, she is the real racist, and she's controversial. what do you make about this process is far in her prospects of being confirmed? >> rachel i have to say that i thought kristen clark with masterful today. she is not a tv lawyer, she's a real lawyer. and so she was really able to defend her record. she has an astonishing career as a civil rights lawyer, leading the civil rights bureau at the new york state attorney generals office. she of course was a lawyer at the naacp legal defense fund. be to the lawyers committee for civil rights under law. work at the department of justice for six years. and so she comes to it with tremendous experience. but today what people could see, was the intelligence, the poise, the confidence and reall

.. ...and learn how much you can save at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings. >>> republicans came to kristen clark'sr their skin. perhaps, they were just more interested in scoring brownie points with their xenophobic friends at fox news than actually giving clark a fair hearing. it was something else about her. i will just noodle on it, along with you. clark is president biden's choice to lead the civil-rights division at the department of justice. but, here's what's fun. some of these guys, like texas senator, john cornyn, didn't seem to do their homework before coming to class. take a look at this exchange. >> you seem to argue that african-americans were genetically superior to caucasians. is that correct? >> no, senator. that -- i believe, you're referring to an op-ed that i wrote at the age of 19, about the bell-curve theory. racist book that equated dna with genetics and race. as a black student, at harvard, that time, we took grave offense to this book. this op-ed opened with a satirical reference to -- to the statement that you just noted. >> this is satire? >> absolutely, senator. >> this

it sounds like what kristen clarke refers to as disproportionate representation. if to remedy the lack of equity the nba announced tomorrow that they are going forward and at least half of its players, 50%, had to be white, asian, hispanic, or female to better present the fans in the stands. how would we respond to that? we would understand immediately, and we would say so, that that is a racist policy. knowing even though wedge that nba players are doing a bad job, we all assume correctly, as we do with airline pilots, that they were hired in the first place because they were the best the company could find. but nevertheless they had to be replaced because they were the wrong race and gender. it's sick. you think it couldn't happen? why wouldn't it happen? by the logic of identity politics, it has to happen. nba players make a whole lot more than airline pilots. at some point someone's going to notice that. and that's the whole problem with this way of thinking, this disease way of thinking. you do not want to live in a completely racialized country were a person

kristen clarke is saying, the ceo of united airlines is saying, we need to replace the pilots currentlyairplanes because they are at the wrong skin color. only diseased people think like this. imagine if we applied the same standard to other professions, how about professional sports? african-american men account for roughly 60% of the american population, but 75% of the players in the national basketball league are black men. if that doesn't sound like equity, it sounds like what kristen clarke calls disproportionate representation. to remedy that lack of equity, what if they announced their going forward with 50% white, asian, hispanic or female to better represent the fans in the stands? how would we respond to that? we would understand immediately, and we would say so, that that is a racist policy. no one even alleged that nba players are doing a bad job. we all assumed correctly, as we do with airline pilots, that they were hired in the first place because they were the best the company could find. nevertheless, they had to be replaced because they were the wrong race and gender. s

i have also nominated anita gupta and kristen clark, highly-respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting racial injustice. they have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system. and they deserve to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there is meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it, legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, restore trust between law enforcement and the people they are entrusted to serve and protect. but this shouldn't take a year to get this done. my conversations with the floyd family, and i spoke with them again today and assured that we are but to continue to fight for the george for lloyd justice in -- george floyd justice in policing act, so i consigned the law as soon as possible. but there is more to do. finally, it is the work we do every day to change hearts and minds as well as law

fortunately, in kristen clarke, we have someone who embodies those ideals. in her role and indeed throughout her career, ms. clarke has been a strong defender of civil rights, from prosecuting hate crimes and human trafficking in the criminal section of the civil rights commission to protecting voting rights at the naacp voter defense and education fund to tackling employment discrimination is the chief of civil rights bureau in the new york attorney general's office, ms. clarke has a steadfast pursuit and objective that sadly remains elusive to this day -- equal justice for all. in that pursuit, she has exhibited qualities that we need in an individual charged with running the civil rights division -- humility, fidelity to the rule of law, and a demonstrated commitment to building broad coalitions in support of civil rights. sadly, some are so threatened by the prospect of a revitalized civil rights division that they have already engaged in baseless attacks on this extremely well-qualified nominee. many of those attacks which you have disclosed to the publ

hue at you have big shoes to, phil were all watching the kristen clark hearing. you have a lot of experience with these what we call federal consent decrees. products investigations by the department of justice into local police departments, that lead to some sort of oversight situation. do they work? is this an effective tool in the tool kit here? >> first of all, it's important chris, thanks for having me. it's important to make sure we use every tool that is in the tool kit. there's a reason why -- in fact, in the sea as the attorney general, there was some concern or fear that it was going to be an effective tool. there's a reason why it was, in the reason he's using the tool once again. it's not perfect. but it is the one thing that we have right now. at the executive level. that can go beyond the individual killing in individual murder, or individual trial, so that every aspect of policing, in a particular jurisdiction, it can be triggered by a particular killing, as this one was, in minneapolis, but it can be triggered by a number of things. comparing queu

we're all watching the kristen clark hearing. you have a lot of experience with these -- what we call federal consent decrees. mfrp from the department of justice into local police department that's lead to some sort of oversight situation. do they work? is this an effective tool in the tool kit here? >> first of all, thanks for having me. it's important to make sure we use every tool that isn't s. in the tool kit. there is a reason request a former attorney general tried to neutral they are tool on his way out the door. in fact, he spent time in the seat as attorney general. there was some concern or fear that it was going to be an effective tool. but there's a reason why it wasn't used. there is a reason why our attorney general is using the tool once again. it's not perfect. right? but it is the one thing we have at the executive tlaefl can go beyond an individual killing, an individual murder or individual trial to look at every aspect of policing in a particular jurisdiction. it can be triggered by a particular killing as th

and kristen clarke or eminently qualified highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice anita and kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system and they deserve to be confirmed we also need congress to act george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name you just heard the vice president speak of it she helped write it legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments to sort trust between law enforcement on the people they're interested to serve and protect but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done my conversations with the floyd family i spoke with him again today. i assure them we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the georgia floor just as simply see an act so we can i can sign a law as quickly as possible there's more to do finally is the work we do every day to change hearts and minds as well as laws and po

republican lawmakers have coalesced with their allies in right-wing media in targeting kristen clark.anuary, right-wing voices have sought to cast clark as a left-wing radical. even yesterday at her confirmation hearing she was accused of being anti-semitic and a champion of cop killers, that's despite support from the jewish council and current police chiefs. "the new york times" editorial board lays it out like this. the real reason some conservatives want to take down ms. clark is that she's been an effective champion of voting rights for black, brown, and poor people. that's why she was nominated and that's why people like tucker carlson are grasping at straws to tank her nomination with lies. joining our conversation is mara gaye, katie benner is still here. mara, the right wing has taken this weird step in doing what i think ashley parker first coined, the quiet parts out loud. they're now smearing and trying to scandalize an incredibly competent and impressive nominee as an extense of their effort to sort of not have any obstacles in their campaign to suppress voting rights. >>

let me play more of kristen clarke from today.t feels like another time. >> i had the privilege and honor of sitting above the senate floor in 2006 for the 98-0 vote to reauthorize the voting rights act. i know there's six members of this committee that were there for that vote. i believe bipartisan support for voting rights is something we should continue to aspire to. we know ongoing voting discrimination remains a real problem in our country. the voting rights act has proven to be one of our most powerful tools, passed by this body, the senate, in the help to ensure that eligible americans have full access to the ballots. >> olivia, i had store gotten the margin on which the reauthorization act passed, and then signed by a republican president. it is not helpful to say that the republicans were good and now they're bad. the republicans have never been really good in this area, but they've never been this bad. these are republican-backed bills, 108 of them, making their way through 47 states. even the republicans supporting them

so the civil rights division, hopefully headed by vanita gupta soon and kristen clarke can once again be in the business of holding entire police departments accountable and not just individual actors like derek chauvin. but they can go so much farther. they can impose remedies that empower the communities that they're investigating instead of pumping more money into police. similarly, the justice in policing act can do more to take funds out of what we know is a broken system and reinvest them in people so that, again, instead of looking backwards and enforcing backwards, we can be building up communities looking forward. >> all right. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >>> the floyd family's lawyer says that painfully earned justice has arrived. we're going to hear from him and george floyd's brother about what this verdict truly means. dually-adjustable, i, foot-warming, temperature-balancing... proven quality night sleep we'v've ever made. and now, the new queen sleep number 360 p p5 smart bed is only $1,79999, save $600. only for a limited time. when a truck hit m

he has two critical nominees would do that, you need a good and kristen clark and he of course as i've noted the george floyd, he's also called in his initial budget for increasing funding for the department of justice civil rights division by millions in order to advance accountability and reform or abuse policepractices and finally multiple states have taken action . it's not enough and he wants to sign federal legislation into law his own administration has taken steps even while that legislation is working through the negotiations that happen incongress . >> can you share with us what the president's position onis on qualified immunity, no not lawrence and chokehold ? >> i don't have anything new to share with you other than what he's said on the campaign trail. >> following up on that question earlier, trump and biden supported legalization of marijuana. why does he still opposed taking that step, two thirds of americans support legalizing marijuana, the senate leader is pushing for it. huge numbers of elected democrats support legalization and why is he reluctant to take that fin

tomorrow, president biden's nominee, kristen clark, will appear before the senate for her confirmationannouncement of her nomination, she previewed what her focus would be. >> we are at a crossroads. i am -- if i am fortunate enough to be confirmed, we will turn the page on hate and close the door on discrimination by enforcing our federal civil rights laws. >> a new approach to race and policing from the top as the violence is ongoing is where we start this hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends. ashley parker, "washington post" white house bureau chief and an msnbc political analyst is here. also joining us, eddie glaude, chair of the department of african-american studies at princeton university and an msnbc contributor is back. and the reverend al sharpton is here, host of nbc's "politics nation" and the president of the national action network. rev, there's so much new information coming in, just in the last hour. i want to get your thoughts on all of it, but let me start, first, you're in the center of so many of these tragedies because the families reach out to you

look at who he is trying to get confirmed for the head of the civil rights division, kristen clarke,g back hard because she's had an op-ed saying, defund the police! pull resources, but be strategic! now she denies she wants to do this, but she wants to defund the police. you couple that when there was a similar investigation and he said, we have to dismantle the whole department. i do indeed have defunding the police, whether they say it or not. we've already had 200 officers, 20% of the minneapolis to police department. what a disastrous formula as they seek to defund, the police department. >> emily: harris? >> harris: part of what shannon talks about is why we saw that departure that she just mentioned. 40 officers last year and another hundred 20 took a leave of absence. that's 20%, 840 officers. they're leaving during a pandemic, during a protest that took violence. you have fewer people to look at, people who are left behind i wish we could see more transparency with the actual investigation for all the reasons that leo mentioned! i know how these things work and were not allo

here's santa cruz with kristen clarke on attending a conference as a college student. take a listen. >> if there's a police officer in philadelphia or new jersey today watching this hearing, how are they supposed to react to your nomination to one of the senior positions at the department of justice knowing that as a student you participated in a conference celebrating and lionizing cop killers who murdered a philadelphia police officer and a new jersey state trooper? who should a cop today watching this react to that news? >> matt, they don't say real audience for these attacks? >> i think this is a great question because the republican party in washington, d.c., all of them, ted cruz is a perfect example of it, doesn't care about legislating anymore. they've given up on legislating and a vision for broadly what they want to do in america. they've fundamentally given up on real political ideology. all it is is about viral moments. look at ted cruz's twitter feed. he's not arguing about tax rates. he's not arguing about what should we do on education. he's not arguing

administration as the earlier guests were noting if they can get them confirms, they've got people like kristen clark who don't even know their veterans of the space who know these issues like the back of their hand, who frankly have retract records not just with activists who are former with police themselves. people who are willing to work out these issues. what's difficult here, i believe the ad biden administration and they're officials when they say they care about these issues. this is a top priority. what is difficult here is that the united states of america is a local and state government issue. it's not an issue in which the department of justice or the presidency, the white house can just come in in a sweeping piece of legislation and change how policing works in america. in 18,000 police departments, many of whom operate as relatively independent local militias, it's weird to think of them that way but that is the reality. they report to their police chief and to whoever they hire hires them, they may have state laws that they report to but they have different sets of laws. and the feds t

that became very apparent today when kristen clarke, joe biden's nominee to lead the doj's civil rightsions like "why did you want organize a conference of champion cop killers and domestic terrorists" and "why did you

they have kristen clark who are veterans of, who know these issues like the back of their hand. who have great track records. not just with activists but police themselves. people willing to work on these issues. what is difficult here. i believe the biden administration and their officials when they say they care about these issues. this is a top priority. the united states of america, policing is a local and state government issue. it's not an issue in which the department of justice or the presidency and the white house can just come in in a swooping piece of legislation, change how policing works in america. we have 18,000 police departments, many of whom operate as relatively independent local militias. it is weird to think of them that way. they report to the police chief and to whoever hires them. via city council or mayor. they have state laws to report to. but those different sets of laws and the feds do have limited power in terms of the real oversight. and even the conversations they have, whether about the george floyd policing act or other congressional potential fi

i've also nominated two key justice department nominees, anita gupta and kristen clarke, who are eminently qualified, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. anita and kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities, to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system. and they deserve to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, to restore trust between law enforcement and the people they're entrusted to serve and protect. but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. in my conversations with the floyd family, i spoke with them again today. i assured them we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the george floyd justice in policing act. so i can sign it into law as quickly as possible. there's more t

i've also nominated two key justice department nominees, lenita guta and kristen clark, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. lenita and kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system, and they deserve to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, to restore trust between law enforcement and the people that are entrusted to serve and protect. but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. my conversations with the floyd family, i spoke with them again today. i assured them, we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the george floyd justice in policing act, so i can sign it into law as quickly as possible. there's more to do. finally it's the work w

i've also nominated two key justice department nominees benita gupta and kristen clarke or eminently qualified, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. benita and kristen have the experience and the skill. necessary to advance our administration's priorities. our criminal justice system, and they deserve. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to tell michael systemic misconduct and police departments to restore trust between law enforcement and the people there entrusted to serve and protect, but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done, my conversations with the floyd family i spoke to him again today. i sure that we're going to continue to fight for the passage that george florrie justice and police in act. so i can sign the law as quickly as possible. there's more to do. finally it's the work we do every day to change hearts and minds a

anita gupta and kristen clark who are 'em neeminently qualifi, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice anita and kristen have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system and they deserve to be confirmed. we also need congress to act george floyd was murdered almost a year ago there's meaningful police reform legislation in his name. you just heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to tackle systemic misconduct in police departments, to restore trust between law enforcement and the people they're entrusted to serve and protect. but it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. in my conversations with the floyd family, i spoke with them again today, i assured them we're going to continue to fight for the passage of the george floyd justice and policing act so i can sign it into law as quickly as possible. there's more to do finally it's the work we do every day to change hea

i have nominated to code key justice department nominees, kristen clarke who are heavily qualified, highly respected lawyers who have spent their entire careers fighting to advance racial equity and justice. moneta and kristin have the experience and the skill necessary to advance our administration's priorities to root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system and they deserve to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered almost a year ago. there is meaningful police reform, legislation and his name. you heard the vice president speak of it. she helped write it. legislation to assist us until mike systemic misconduct and law enforcement and the people that are interested to serve and protect. it shouldn't take a whole year to get this done. my conversations with the floyd family my spoke again today and i assured them we will continue to fight for the passing of the george floyd policing act so i can sign it into law as quickly as possible. there is more to do. finally, it is the work that we do every day to change hearts and minds as

about the confirmation for the justice department number three despite a lot of opposition and kristen clarkll. what will be the change here? 51-49 vote. what do you think they'll be able to accomplish and change at justice that's important? >> i think it's just going to be amazing. i have worked with these two women who i believe are phenomenal. and they are going to make a big difference between them and the number one thing that needs to happen is the rebuilding of the department of justice. so that it is a justice department that works for america and not a justice department that works for an individual. and i think they will lead the way. they will restore the civil rights teeth in the department of justice. >> congresswoman karen bass, can you keep us up to date, please with, what is going on with this bill? a lot of interest. the please keep in touch with the show. thank you very much. >> absolutely. >> have a great evening. up next, i'm shocked. just shocked, i say, to find the right-wing freaking out over the chauvin verdict. no, really. totally astounded. down right flabbergasted.

that's why i am for getting a full slate of people over at the department of justice, including kristen clarke to deal with hate crimes. why? because my state is plagued by these issues and we're not going to tolerate it. we are going to fight back and make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to recognize these things. just this past february, a teacher driving in the seattle international district was assaulted with a sock containing a rock. the attacker was called with felony assault but in the a hate crime. we are told there are widespread reports of aapi elders and women throughout western washington who have been verbally harassed and randomly physically assaulted. in king county coalition against hate and bias is collected information about these attacks. but we no that they have been -- but we know that there have been many, throughout many communities in our state. just a few months ago a woman in king count kind and her two children were acausted by a man screaming at them just to get out. get out, get out, get out of the and a man was recorded spitting on them and yelling a

merrick garland in his nomination hearing when someone raised the question about vanita gupta and kristen clarke, merrick garland may not have known either one of them beforehand, but he made it abundantly clear this is the team he wanted to run the department of justice. no ifs ands or buts about it. they knew the law and their own legal experience valuable to him and the department of justice and to the nation. there is no question that he is committed to vanita gupta as he should be. i will yield back at this point and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia is recognized. mr. warner: thank you, mr. president. and i'm sorry i missed the -- the incredibly thoughtful comments of the democratic whip who i think spoke on the topic -- one of the topics that i'm going to speak about. mr. president, how much -- i think i've got ten minutes, is that right? okay. okay, thank you. mr. president -- the presiding officer: the senator from use whatever time he needs. mr. warner: i thank the presiding officer and thank -- mr. durbin: if i can -- mr. warner: i want

garland at the head of the doj and hopefully some really substantiative change, if we confirm kristen clarkcivil rights division will set some pregnant not just in the doj that will trickle down to police departments across the country, large and small. it's beyond a few bad apples and a few incidents. we have to have a real, widespread, systemic clearing out of officers and officers who aid and abet type of behavior. there are far too many communities and families that have gone through this very same thing that the floyd family have gone through and we don't even know about it. you think about what that does to a community, it has to be a system change from washington, d.c. to police departments across the country. >> absolutely. republicans have a $568 billion counterproposal for an infrastructure package, one that republican senator shelly moore capito of west virginia calls, quote, the most robust plan that we've ever put forward as republicans. nbc news reports it calls for $299 billion for roads and bridges, more than $60 billion for both broadband and infrastructure and public trans

kristen. and yes, we did find physical evidence at at least two homes. >> reporter: her remains still haven't been found. we talked with our legal analyst, steven clark, about the break in the case. >> they may have gotten information from the defendant's cell phone. somehow, tracking him to communicating with someone else about the crime. >> reporter: clark says there are similarities between try thing case and the murder of sierra lamar, the 15-year-old who disappeared in 2012 on the way to school. her body was never found, but the suspect was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. >> you don't have a murder weapon. you don't have a crime scene as we know it. and you don't have a body. those are going to be big challenges for a prosecutor to overcome when you're trying to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: still, paul flores is being held without bond. the smart family releasing a statement saying in part -- >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area news. >>> new at 11:00 tonight, invitation accepted. a live look at the nation's capital where joe biden will address a joint session of congress in two weeks. house speak

today we make the case for vanita gupta and kristen clark and to address the unfair and unsubstantiated attacks that we have heard from the other side of the aisle against these eminently qualified women. i have worked closely with ms. gupta and ms. clarke for many years and i am confident they will lead the department of justice with honor and integrity. their nominations also represent an historic opportunity to make progress toward the goal of ensuring that our government looks moore like the people d. more like the people it represents, especially at the department of justice. when we confirm ms. gupta, she will be the first civil rights lawyered and the first woman of color to serve as the associate attorney general 689 and when we confirm ms. clarke, she will be the first senate-confirmed leader of the civil righted division to be a woman of color. and they will bring years of experience to bear to take on the challenges we have right now, like hate crimes, which we are taking action on this week in the senate; like voting rights, where we just had hearing today in the judiciary c

and kristen clarke the same. born in an area of new york city that i'm sure senator schumer knows in a public tenement type of building. she overcame all the odds. graduated from law school and served in the department of justice. and when the junior senator from texas comes and refers to vanita gupta and kristen clarke as radical twins, zealots, ideologues, it's disgusting. it's terrible. it's a terrible reference to a fine life each of them has lived. and this notion, this notion that somehow they have fooled the fraternal order of police into believing that they really do love police when in fact, at the republicans argue, they just want to take all their money away, we know better. the fact vanita gupta has the endorsement of every major law enforcement organizations puts to rest some of the charges that are made against her. i can't believe what they're saying about these two nominees. but i think that a majority of this senate is ultimately going to judge that they are ready to serve this country again and