>> two things strike me about what judge mukasey said. agree with nearly everything he just said there. these battles over electronic surveillance are not over. section 702, the entire patriot act, is now 20 months out from being a lively debate here. if anybody doubts the importance of our ability to collect, i want you to only look at the fact that the man who took down the towers in 1996 is now in custody. if you think that's random, talk afterwards. america's ability to collect intelligence about these men who have killed americans across the world for years and years, at least in that case was hiding out in tehran for the intervening now almost 20 years, is a direct result of incredible capacity that the united states has to find out where these folks are and chase them down and continue the fight. with respect to guantanamo bay, look, this president is intent on closing it. he has reduced the number of folks there dramatically. that is deeply troubling. but what's most troubling is what judge mukasey touched on, which is, i'm certai

sadly. >> judge mukasey? >> i think the source of the threat is the same as it wasnk the time of the -- what is now g referred to as the first world trade center bombing in 1993 and well before that. it's an islamic ideology that believes that history came out wrong and that it is -- it is a theory, and that -- it's a theory based in a religion. it is not without basis in the religion. obviously, there are other readings of that religion thata we would prefer and many muslims would prefer and that's a matter for muslims to work out for themselves. for us to r hand, deny that there is a religious motivation or at least a claim with some basis of a religious motivation, i think is delusional.ustiva d and if -- it's not other people who are being deluded. we are being deluded. >> i could go on for the rest of the time, but i want to make sure we get the audience into this. so happy to take questions from the audience. bud mcfarland. i think there's a mic coming around, bud, so just -- >> thanks very much to the

i would add to what judge mukasey said.he operation president bush set up in the aftermath of 9/11 existed at only a marginal level up to that point and continues today to be an incredibly important tool and the intelligence collection arsenal for our infrastructure. we get lots of information about how many moves run the world you have and i am sure we will get a chance to talk about that later. we should give full credit to the president for moving down that path and using the international banking system is another way to edify the folks who are trying to kill us here. outld trump had it flat wrong but i think it is fair to say that we are less safe today than we were six and a half years ago. i'm sure we'll talk about the. of ways that is the case with respect to the counterterrorism effort, we have moved a long way and where -- from where we were. that has put us at greater risk. >> maybe we could talk about that for a few minutes. judgment casey, you said that -- judge mukasey, you said how intrusive and how much with

i'll start with judge mukasey. in 2014, you and other prosecutors signed a letter that opposed sentencing reform. you said that you believed, quote, our sentencing regimen strikes the right balance between congressional direction and the establishment of sentencing levels, due regard for appropriate judicial direction, and the preservation of public safety, end quote. i have also been a strong defender of our current sentencing framework. but i've always said that i was open to reform. two questions together for you to respond to. would you agree that this reform bill seeks to preserve our current sentencing framework by making reasonable and responsible changes, to wit, and two, does this bill still give prosecutors the tools to go after dangerous and violent criminals? >> the answer is yes to both. what i was against in 2014 was taking the structure apart. this, as you pointed out, preserves the structure and indeed, as a number of people have pointed out, it preserves intact mandatory minimums, while at the same

>> two things strike me about what judge mukasey said. these battles over electronic surveillance are not over. section 702, the patriot act is now 20 months out from being a lively debate here. if anybody doubts the importance of our ability to collect, i want you look at the fact that the man who took down the towers in 1996 is now in saudi custody. if you think that is just random, talk afterwards, but america has been collecting intelligence about the men who killed americans for years and years, and at least in that case hiding in tehran for 20 years as a direct result of incredible capacity the united states has to find out where these folks are and chase them down and continue the fight. and with respect to guantanamo bay, this president is intent on closing it. he has reduced the number of folks. that is deeply troubling. what is most troubling is what the judge touched on, which is i'm certainly worried about the fact the back door is open and we're letting folks out and i'm worried we don't have a front door, and one is in in pr

michael mukasey is the attorney general from 2007 to 2009. before that, he was a district judge and chief judge in the u.s. district court for the southern district of new york. before joining the bench, judge mukasey was an assistant u.s. district for the southern district of new york and chief of the corruption unit between 1972 and 1976.mpeo congressman michael pompeo represents the fourth district of kansas. he sits on themien house perman select committee on intelligence. the committee on energy and commerce and the house select committee on frorebenghazi.ause he served as cavalry office in the army. before his election in congress, aerospace and hehe energy sectors. moderating the conversation is moderator eker edelman who is a distinguished fellow at the center for strategic and budgetary m assessments. he retired as a career minister in 2009. w after serving in such roles as u.s. ambassador to turkey and as undersecretary of defense foror] policy. thank you, ambassador edelman, for moderating this conversation and i ask you to join me

mukasey. general thank you.: i have submitted a written statement that caused jews that constitutes my testimony and i will not burden the record by repeating it. it is easily summarized. i think that sentencing is a matter not only for judges but the political branches as well, including particularly for congress. i think this bill achieve proper balance by preserving mandatory minimums where they are necessary, and yet increasing the flexibility with which judges can approach sentencing. having the principal measure of the success of anything, it is not the incarceration rates rate of crime rate -- but the rate of crime. it is the departments position that it will be set in by the prosecutors in that district where the case was originally brought and decided of course by the sentencing judge, applying all of the skaters that are set forth in 35 53 38. in addition to the record of which defendant while incarcerated. senator grassley: you are done already? [laughter] mr. shelton. helton: our n

mukasey: default mens rea is exactly what it is. in the absence of a standard, the standard is mens rea. it would not prevent congress from setting a different standard in those areas of activity when it was necessary. but there was a considered judgment made that it was necessary. nor would it set aside regulations that impose civil penalties and other sanctions. the only thing that we are dealing with are situations where people are potentially being deprived of their freedom, plus whether they are deprived or not, are being charged as criminals. in those areas, a default requirement is absolutely necessary. let me just add, i don't see how you can have this bill and reduce the injustices that seem to exist without a mens rea provision. i don't see how you can. >> this is all important. i think all of you excellent witnesses. you have added something to this discussion. that criminal that releasing just 1% of the current population in prison will result in approximately 32,000 additional murderers, robberies, aggravated assaults,

attorney general michael mukasey to evaluate its internal controls. >>> national football league owners are in town today and holding meetings on possible team moves. the raiders and two other teams will be the topping of conversation. the raiders -- topic of conversation. the raiders and chargers have proposed a shared stadium to be built in carson. the st. louis rams plan to build a faa silt in englewood. there are some changes after the sharks missed the play-offs for the first time since 2003. pete deboer is the new head coach. martin jones is the top goaltender and this season's captain joe pavelski. >>> the government is testing new technology to help them crackdown on people who illegally fly drones near airports. that technology would help to locate drone operators by detecting the device's radio signal within 5 miles. according to the faa it receives about 100 reports a month from pilots who spot drones flying near planes and airports. >>> a presidential candidate on the defense today what ben carson had to say about guns that has everyone talking. >> and yet another threat on

i'll start with judge mukasey. in 2014, you and other prosecutors signed a letter that opposed sentencing reform. you said that you believed, quote, our sentencing regimen strikes the right balance between congressional direction and the establishment of sentencing levels, due regard for appropriate judicial direction, and the preservation of public safety, end quote. i have also been a strong defender of our current sentencing framework. but i've always said that i was open to reform. two questions together for you to respond to. would you agree that this reform bill seeks to preserve our current sentencing framework by making reasonable and responsible changes, to wit, and two, does this bill still give prosecutors the tools to go after dangerous and violent criminals? >> the answer is yes to both. what i was against in 2014 was taking the structure apart. this, as you pointed out, preserves the structure and indeed, as a number of people have pointed out, it preserves intact mandatory minimums, while at the same

judge mukasey i was wondering if i could ask you a question. you've spoken about the important role that congress plays in setting the limits of punishment. on the top end and the bottom end. setting the top range and the bottom range. now, if we as a congress can agree, if we can get to the point where most of the senators and most of the members of the house agree that certain penalties under current law are greater than necessary and if we decide to reduce those penalties, wouldn't it also be appropriate in that circumstance for us to make those reductions available not only to those who will go through the system in the future but also those who have already been sentenced? >> it may or may not depending on the case. i think that many of those cases particularly those that end -- paradoxically those that end in pleas rather than trials are the result essentially of a negotiation involving both charges and length of sentence, such that you would not necessarily want to come in after the fact and decide that that bargain doesn't make sense an

. >> michael mukasey, good to have you on.>> right now, new focus on the lockerbie plane bombing. some say others may be involved and now the brother of one of the victims is getting investigator's attention as he searches for more answers, greg? >> reporter: jenna, this is a story of one brother's love for another and that man's search for justice. táyt locherbie bombing left 189 americans dead. among those victims on board. 25-year-old david dornstien. remembered by his brother ken. >> he was that kind of person who lived for memorable conversation and lived to make a difference in the moment with you. it was a blow to lose him when i was 19. >> reporter: many others believe others need to be found. and suffer several trips to libya and digging. he had a documentary, he might have come up with with the goods. they knew there was a bomb maker but didn't know who or where he was. and dornstein thinks and backed up with evidence that a former libyan explosive experts now serving time in a libyan jail on other charges. >> i want

attorney general michael mukasey to review its internal procedures.uel and rival draftkings reportedly placed bets and made a lot of money using inside information that is not available to the public. >>> and amazon is taking on etsy. the online retailer launched a new site called hands made at amazon hosting about 5,000 sellers. they have a so-called factory free policy for their products. etsy has a head stamp the company went public this year and has 20 million customers, they have a head start. but i'm not worried about amazon. >> they are not going to be hurting. >>> jill, there is a new trend when it comes to dining. what can you tell us about it? >> more people are dining alone. open table says reservations for tables of one are up by 62% in just the past two years. it's the fastest growing party size. open table says the stigma of solo dining is gone. frank and michelle? >> it's just no fun, though. >> but i think it's always good, i think it's good therapy if you can dine alone without your cell phone. >> without your phone. >> it shows a lot

mukasey. general thank you.: i have submitted a written statement that caused jews that constitutes my testimony and i will not burden the record by repeating it. it is easily summarized. i think that sentencing is a matter not only for judges but the political branches as well, including particularly for congress. i think this bill achieve proper balance by preserving mandatory minimums where they are necessary, and yet increasing the flexibility with which judges can approach sentencing. having the principal measure of the success of anything, it is not the incarceration rates rate of crime rate -- but the rate of crime. it is the departments position that it will be set in by the prosecutors in that district where the case was originally brought and decided of course by the sentencing judge, applying all of the skaters that are set forth in 35 53 38. in addition to the record of which defendant while incarcerated. senator grassley: you are done already? [laughter] mr. shelton. helton: our n

former attorney general mukasey, who was a long-term federal judge in new york, made the point that it's not the incarceration rate that measures the success of our sentencing practices. it's actually the crime rate. and so i know there are many people who feel like we've overincarcerated, but i think we need to keep our eye on the ball, and that is on the crime rate. and as a result of these reforms in texas, our total crime rate dropped by 16%, something worth paying attention to. but even more impressive than these statistics is the stories i've heard from former inmates who have actually taken advantage of this opportunity to turn their lives around, and they paint a powerful picture of how these reforms can be used and the potential impact this legislation across the country. again, nobody is naive enough to think that everybody is going to have a turn-around story and experience like this, but last week i had the chance to visit with a number of faith-based and nonprofit groups in houston this time as well as some of the former inmates that they have supported, all of whom are help

that was myself and former attorney general mukasey filed a friend of the court brief in favor of that case supporting the bloomberg administration. and when de blasio came into office, he withdrew the appeal, an appeal where almost any lawyer would have told him the second circuit was signaling him we're ready to reverse the case. what does stop and frisk do? look, i started it with bill bratton. [laughter] so i take full responsibility for it. it takes guns out of the hands of bad guys. gun control does not do it. chicago has two to three times more murders than new york, we have the same gun control laws, but in new york we've been much more aggressive in stopping, questioning and frisking peoplement and in the act of doing that, you take the gun. when you do that often enough, people don't take the gun out anymore. >> police officers have died in the line of duty since there have been police officers. it happened under your watch. >> always a tragedy. >> we've had four in ten months, and i'm just guessing, your comments. are you blaming mayor de blasio -- >> no. >> so how would you

attorney general michael mukasey is going to conduct a review.eties behind the scenes can be dealt with. congressman hakeem jeffries is asking the judiciary committee to look at all of this and a couple of new jersey lawmakers, senator bob menendez and congressman frank palone are asking the federal trade commission to look into this game. this is a booming industry, some $3 billion could be spent here over the next few weeks, throughout the football season. so this is a lot of money. it is unregulated and a lot of government officials want to see that changed. >> ron mott, thank you very much. >>> nbc's parent company, comcast and nbc sports group are investing in fandual. >>> much more ahead as we approach the top of the hour. we? ekt to lear from the outgoing speaker of the house john boehner ahead of his week's party election for a new speaker. >>> plus, the fbi takes down an international nuclear smuggling ring. was the nuclear material bound for isis? pete williams is looking into that. next right here on nbc news. >>> i'm meteorologist bil