lafayette square when he walked across? is that why, and if not, why not?t is one of them and it was really defining for the president to do that. en to this point, the president was unae to acknowledge why the protesters were in the streets. to acknowledge what it is that they were asking for. presid trump, much like the unable to acknowledge the was problem of systemic racism and necialalities that have plagued this nationrom its birth. and that is one big difference between him and president-elect joe biden as was just pointed out. and taking the bible to lafayette square, even faith leaders and community activists have said the same thing, that he was using this as prop to illustrate what america. and that is having a country of law and order that he was the president of and it was really showing his support for law enforcement rather than his understanding for why these people were risking their lives in the middle of a pandemic to make a statement. and so, i think in tha moment even without saying it, he has -- he was taking azide. and he has said oth

we saw with the lafayette square situation in june. there was a lot of rollback time to sayd the military should not have been there that was a mistake and we regret that. >> the next secretary of state who are the leading candidates quick. >> we thought it was o'clock for a former undersecretary of defense for policy and then for the secretary of defense in 2016 and a very well respected by republicans and democrats. because she is well-liked by both parties and well respected as well. however the last couple weeks with jay johnson former head of obama and also the lead for repealing the don't ask don't tell policy, his name has floated up as a popular contender the other name last weeko retired army general former head of us central command through 2016. but austin requires if you are active in the last seven years you have a waiver from the full majority to make it happen. that's a tricky proposition given the current makeup of those who don't refer to administration and throw them a bone or the democrats may say where we puttingy i

and taking the bible to lafayette square, even faith leaders and community actists have said the same he was using this as a prop to illustrate what is america. and that is having a country of law and order that he was the president of and it was really showing his support for law enforcement rather than his understanding for why these people were risking their lives in the middle of a pandemic to ma a statement. and so, i think in that moment en without saying it, he has -- he was taking azide. and he has said other things about police officers and law enforcement making the case that ere are only a few bad apples in the bunchome again refusing to acknowledge that there are problems that go far beyond one robert: when you step back and look at these first two topics, the pandemic and race and a pandemic that has affected people of color in a troubling and significant way, has anything changed at this year's end in terms of how the country operates and how it things about dan: bob, i think we all hope that the country has changed somewhat and there has beenen se ev that there has been

attorney general himself mr william barr yes the mastermind behind the infamous let's clear lafayette squareof protesters with chemical weapons for a campaign photo op. is finally calling it quits just in time for the new year i guess the poll of his inevitable news media make over through multimillion dollar book deals speaking engagements and future appearances on the ellen show was just too much to resist for the attorney general meanwhile time magazine bestowed their gift of person of the year on president elect joe biden and his running mate kamel harris for putting their lives on the line in hospitals and health care facilities across the nation every day since koch who. will wait i'm sorry no. they didn't really do that no no no no time magazine awarded them persons of the year for putting their lives and their freedom on the line for protesting the killing of black men and women by police in cities across the no way. bad they didn't really do that either so what did harrison joe biden do to deserve time's person of the year award. thoughts questions i guess the editors of time magazi

attorney general himself mr william barr yes the mastermind behind the infamous let's clear lafayette square of protesters with chemical weapons for a campaign photo op.

attorney general himself mr william barr yes the mastermind behind the infamous let's clear lafayette square of protesters with chemical weapons for a campaign photo op. is finally calling it quits just in time for the new year i guess the poll of his inevitable news media make over through multimillion dollar book deals speaking engagements and future appearances on the ellen show was just too much to resist for the attorney general meanwhile time magazine bestowed their gift of person of the year on president elect joe biden and his running mate kamel harris for putting their lives on the line in hospitals and health care facilities across the nation every day since koch who. will wait i'm sorry no. they didn't really do that no no no no time magazine awarded them persons of the year for putting their lives and their freedom on the line for protesting the killing of black men and women by police in cities across the no way. bad they didn't really do that either so what did camila harris and joe biden do to deserve time's person of the year award. thoughts questions i guess the editors of t

this past summer, he used the national guard to create a photo opportunity for himself in lafayette square. you're exactly right. even while he continues to push these false claims of voter fraud as he files frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit, as he threatens state election officials, our country is under attack. and even his own secretary of state mike pompeo said this is coming from russia. this has caused significant breaches within major federal agencies including the ones that oversee our nuclear arsenal, and you have a president yesterday who again said this is fake news, who continues to deflect blame from russia. he's not taking this seriously, and he's continuing to undermine and delegitimize our elections. >> now, let's turn to georgia, elise. vice president-elect kamala harris is going to campaign there tomorrow. meanwhile, the republican candidates are both now running solely on false claims of voter fraud and other baseless arguments, which often have more than a tinge of racism attached. your thoughts. >> it is completely unsurprising, the behavior of these two senator

and let's not forget his role in the forceful removal of peaceful demonstrators in lafayette square,king alongside the president for that infamous bible photo op. so, the question now that barr is out, how long will his legacy linger? with me now, brittney patnick cunningham, an activist and an msnbc contributor, and the host of the podcast, "undistracted." also with me, renato mariotti. what do you make of outgoing barr saying there is no need for a special counsel on the election or on hunter biden. two things that we very well know that trump wants? >> well, you know, for the first time, i think you saw a real break between barr and trump. and up until now, what we saw is barr essentially running with themes trump would have, trying to find a way to legally do what trump wanted him to do. he wouldn't necessarily go as far as trump, he would try to find a clever way to accomplish it. but now what trump is asking him to do is so plainly against the law, there's no way that anyone could possibly carry forward what trump is trying to do, other than to completely countermine the consti

barr personally ordering the removal of peaceful protesters around lafayette square outside the white house just before trump staged a photo op in front of a nearby church. in the lead-up to the election, barr parroted the president's attacks on mass mail-in voting and exaggerated claims of possible voter fraud. in his resignation letter tonight, william barr continues to beat that drum, telling the president in this letter that the justice department is still reviewing how voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election will be pursued. it is quite a tenure to say the least, but as andrew weissmann wrote about in his book, "where law ends," it started in bill barr's very first days at the justice department with him making a public lie about the content of the mueller investigation, which came as a shock to the people working on that investigation at the time that barr ambushed everybody with it. joining us now is andrew weissmann, former senior member of special counsel robert mueller's team. he served as fbi general counsel, was former head of the criminal fraud section at doj. and hi

this summer over protests, barr defended the decision to clear demonstrators from lafayette square for a photo op. and barr followed the lead in questioning the use of mail-in ballots despite no evidence to back it up. i want to bring in chuck rosenberg, friend of the show. chuck, it's great to have you on. good morning to you. >> good morning, hallie. >> let me talk about this new reporting. and again, this is literally coming in as we are on the air as i'm talking to you here in this broadcast. a source close to bar is saying he was not willing to turn his other cheek to the president's attacks. what do you make of that? >> it's interesting. barr has been a huge defender as you pointed out of this president. and i think has lied on his behalf. he gross ri li mischaracterized the mueller report and helped the president weigh in on behalf of mike flynn and roger stone, allies of the president. whether he left or was pushed out, hallie, good riddance. it's time for a change. we need somebody new to run the department of dus jjustice. >> you have thoughts on barr's resignation letter. he

national guard troops in that, you know, unlawful police riot that attorney general barr ordered in lafayette square. i don't think that's going to be happening again. and a lot of states are refusing to participate in it. in any event, the military should be very much on notice that it must conform to the rule of law and that the oaths that they swear are to the constitution of the united states and to the people and not to the president. this is not a banana republic, despite what the president wants to turn us into. so you know, i would be more afraid of a military coup, had donald trump not spent his entire administration insulting the military and calling them, you know, fools and idiots and suckers for serving the country. so, i don't think that there's some kind of secret fifth column that wants to break away from the republic and get behind donald trump, the kind of thing that aaron burr might have dreamed of. >> what is this louie gohmert effort going to look like? he needs at least one senator, i understand, to support him, and there may be a senator who's prepared to support him. and then

eventually, it was the bible across lafayette square.ou as we were heading into the election, that all of my reporting indicated that they weren't going to go down this road. they weren't going to take down the republic and trash the republican brand in the name of donald trump if it was clear that he lost the election. they just weren't going to do it, and here we are, and that's what's happening. the status quo of deferring to donald trump just has not ended to the point that they are signing on to lawsuits like this. so, i mean, at this point it's hard for me to believe when i team say, yeah, he with understand how bad this is, this is a huge problem, it doesn't reflect america or my values, but we are trying to figure out how to live with it, i mean, i can't -- it's hard to believe them anymore. >> ahead, all the evidence you could possibly need to see one elected republican after another throwing away their reputations to follow donald trump into the dust bin of history. reverend al weighs in next on "morning joe." is now a good tim

located in theheights on top of, lafayette park offers a great square a of a peaceful beauty.ge trees border greenery. it features tables and benches, a playground, restaurants, and tennis courts. there are plenty of areas for football, frisbee, and picnics. it is very much a couple's part and there are a multitude of experiences you can have together. bring your dog and watch the mean go with the community or just picnic at one of the many tables and enjoy all of the park has to offer. many couples find this is the perfect place to put down a blanket and soak up the sun. it is a majestic place you can share with someone you cherish. it is located along the 1 and 10 buses and is accessed from the 47 and 90 buses. it is ada accessible. for more information about reserving one of these locations, call 831-5500. this number is best for special events, weddings, picnics, and the county fair building. for any athletic fields and neighborhood parks, 831-5510. you can also write us. or walking in and say hello at old lock cabin, golden gate park. and of course you can find more infor

in july, it was during a house judiciary committee he was asked about the use of teargas in lafayette squarehere's part of the exchange. [video clip] >> do you think it is ever appropriate to use teargas on peaceful protesters? >> it is appropriate to use teargas when it is indicated to disperse. >> on peaceful protesters? >> sometimes, unfortunately, peaceful protesters -- >> i ask you to look at this video. [video clip] >> this is the video capturing the nation's attention. vy that video was of a na veteran being beaten and by officers. do you think that was appropriate? >> there seems to be gas in the area, i don't know whether it was directed at him. >> do you think what happened was appropriate? >> the inspector general is reviewing that. >> do you think he deserved to get pepper sprayed and beaten to the point of broken bones? >> as i say, the inspector general is going to review the incident. >> do you think americans who show up to peacefully protest should expected to be beaten and pepper sprayed and have their bones broken by federal officers? >> i don't think what was happening im

we saw the lafayette square situation in june, with despair, and -- with mark esper, saying that they should not have been there. it was on the president who said we should not have been there, so that is an issue that the next administration will try to take on some form. host: you mentioned the next secretary of state, who joe biden my pick. who are the candidates? guest: secretary of defense are a tricky one. many it was a lock for michelle's porno, a former secretary of defense for policy michelle, a former secretary of defense for policy. she is a respected figure by republicans and democrats and assuming she would clear confirmation because she is well-liked by both parties and respected inside the building, as well. uploadedle of names out since. jeh johnson, the former security had for president obama who is appealingead for certain policies. his name has apparently floated up as a top-tier contender. the other name that came out last week was a retired army general, former of u.s. central command from 2013 to 2016. the interesting thing with austin his he would require a waiv

located in the middle of pacific heights on top of a hill, lafayette park offers a great square a offul beauty. large trees border greenery. it features tables and benches, a playground, restaurants, and tennis courts. there are plenty of areas for football, frisbee, and picnics. it is very much a couple's part and there are a multitude of experiences you can have together. bring your dog and watch the mean go with the community or just picnic at one of the many tables and enjoy all of the park has to offer. many couples find this is the perfect place to put down a blanket and soak up the sun. it is a majestic place you can share with someone you cherish. it is located along the 1 and 10 buses and is accessed from the 47 and 90 buses. it is ada accessible. for more information about reserving one of these locations, call 831-5500. this number is best for special events, weddings, picnics, and the county fair building. for any athletic fields and neighborhood parks, 831-5510. you can also write us. or walking in and say hello at old lock cabin, golden gate park. and of course you can

square this christmas eve. under the stay-at-home order, retail stores can operate at 20% capacity. >> just some cologne, you can't see it in there, some pajama pants. >> lafayetteeckham scored these deals without waiting in any lines. >> normally i'm from here, the city is normally busy, and i like how union square is. i'm missing out on that. i didn't realize i was. >> andrew wiles works at the adidas store at westfield mall where there was only a moderate line through outs the day. >> the previous holidays were more hectic because more tourists were coming in. a lot of people spend the holidays in san francisco. so we would have more people from out of the country. >> pandemic or not, procrastinators found themselves in a familiar place. >> because we are too disorganized, some of us, you know, so it's just last-minute you know, and you want to surprise someone for christmas. >> if san francisco, betty yu, kpix 5. >>> still ahead tonight, we're hearing from the family of a custodial worker found unresponsive in an east bay middle school. police insist they have the wrong idea. >> i'll never stop fighting for my son. >> lines of people wrapped around the block

white house said it was the attorney general who ordered the clearing of peaceful protesters in lafayette square. barr denied he gave the order but did not deny encouraging it. peaceful protesters had -- in front of st. john's church. it was a grotesque display of unnecessary force. most recently the attorney general's obedience to the president resulted in him falsely claim that mail-in ballots have been used since the civil war and relied upon by millions of americans during this pandemic, opened the floodgates to widespread fraud. voting experts described his claims as far as cal -- as far as kal and the attorney general revealed how little he knew about basic election laws and the safeguards in place. his apparent intent was not to inform the public but to slow down the public about the integrity of the vote. attorney general barr rewrote about -- prompting the election crimes branch to resign his post in protest. for each of these actions, attorney general barr was publicly badgered by president trump to act publicly badgered by president trump to act. now, maybe the attorney general barr b