he faced allegations that he called the naacp unamerican and referred to a black attorney as a boy. >> they're to still troubling and the idea that jeff sessions is just because he's a senator he should get through without a series of tough questions, particularly given those early things? no way. >>> democratic massachusetts senator list beth warren is hope for gender diversity. she's urging to consider women for cabinet positions as well. >>> president-elect trump agreed to pay a 25 million dollar settlement. students claim they were lured into paying up to $35,000 to learn mr. trump's real estate tragedies. for success. the settlement was three civil lawsuits, the agreement clears the president-elect of wrongdoing. >> a man grabs his bike, dog and hits the road. the reason he's taking on what he's calling an important mission. >>> it's a really controversial practice. declawing, your cat. the reason for the proposed ban and why not everyone is for it. >>> to go on social media earlier and apologize to you i had something going on here. but it's that time. i'll be talking to everyon

one african-american prosecutor saying sessions called him boy, he called the naacp and the aclu unamerican and he joked about the ku klux klan. session denies making those remarks. what is your reaction to this pick? >> it is very troubling to me. i think the question is whether or not president-elect trump is going to governor as he campaigned, and the campaign was very controversial, particularly on questions of race and gender and religion. i think this pick, senator sessions, is troubling from that standpoint. i think that president-elect trump should be reaching across those lines now, across racial, across gender, across religious lines. this pick suggests that he's going to govern exactly like he campaigned in a very racially-divisive way. >> you think the d.o.j. will be able to be responsible to african-american communities with senator sessions at the helm, former lawyers from the d.o.j. talk about that being a troubling issue even with african-american attorneys general loretta lynch and eric holder leaving the department. is this a step backwards? >> it is in my judgment. it is

with then senator joe biden, sessions denied calling the national council of churches and the naacp unamerican >> my opinion is they have not, they may have taken positions that i consider to be adverse to the security interests of the united states. >> does that make them unamerican? >> no, sir, it does not. >> does that make the positions unamerican? >> no. >> reporter: sessions also denied a statement that he thought klan members were okay until he learned they smoked marijuana. >> this is ludicrous. i de test the klan. >> reporter: he went on to testify that, i am loose with my tongue on occasion, and i may have said something similar to that, or could be interpreted to that. his seat on the court was denied, but ten years later, he was elected to the senate and went on to become the judiciary committee's top republican member. he told cnn's dana bash in 2009 that the allegations of racism were heart breaking. >> that was not fair. that was not accurate. those were false charges and distortion of anything i did. it really was not. i never had those kind of views. and i was caricatured in a

in 1986, his nomination was rejected smt colleagues testified that he called the naacp unamerican and refers to it as a disgrace to his race and thought the can, kkk was okay until he found out they smoked pot. he later said that was a joke. he said i am not a racist and deny those statements. he acknowledged statements about civil rights groups as communist-inspired. >> these comments that you can say about the organization or something, i may have said something like that in a general way and it probably was wrong. >> the trump transition launched the press to defend him, sighting his vote to extend the voting rights act. we should note that sessions voted against loretta lynch, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. michael glynn is facing backlash in the intelligence committee obama's director at the defense intelligence agency, but i can report that multiple officials have keep reservations about them. he is a hot head with an abusive leadership style and one called him shallow and reactionary. he said fear of muslims is rational and called the islamic faith a political ideology

. >> in 1986 he called the naacp unamerican. >> really because. >> he had done it. >> i think the naacpa totally discredited group. to does that make me a racist? let's get back to reality. you are not alone in saying this. he is quote beyond the ideological fringe. >> that's true. >> really? because i actually looked up some of his views which i'm familiar with. >> yeah. >> what percentage of americans believe we need to reduce the amount of immigration into this country. >> a think a lot of americans. >> majority. >> a lot of americans believe that. you realize that immigration from mexico right now is actually going the other way. >> i realize that has nothing to do with the question i asked you. you said he is on the ideological fringe and my point is the fringe is far outside the mainstream. and by definition, that view is at the very center of the country. it's the opposite of the fringe. >> that's one view that he holds. >> okay. so why don't you, since we're on tv live, give me an example of an opinion that he has that is on the ideological fringe. >> he wants to ban same sex ma

he faced allegations that he called the naacp unamerican and referred to a black attorney as boy. >>any of those statements they're old but they're still troubling, and the idea that jeff sessions is just because he's a senator he should get through without a series of very tough questions particularly given those early things, no w way. >> meanwhile democratic massachusetts senator elizabeth warren is hoping for some gender diversity in trump's picks. today she urged the president-elect to consider women for cabinet positions. >>> also today president-elect trump agreed to pay a $25 million settlement over trump university. students claimed they were lured into paying up to $35,000 to learn mr. trump's real estate strategies to success. the settlement revolves around three civil lawsuits. the agreement clears the president-elect of any wrongdoing. >>> to a developing story a national epidemic far worse than most thought is hitting hard right here at home. yesterday alone nearly fief tow people overdosed on heroin in philadelphia. police are trying to figure out if it was a bad batch

nomination when they discovered that when he was working as a prosecutor in alabama, he called the naacp unamerican. and he addressed a black lawyer as "boy." that's why jeff sessions couldn't get through senate confirmation process under the old rules followed by democrats and republicans. he couldn't get through a republican-controlled committee. if jeff sessions had been an editor of something like breitbart, ronald reagan wouldn't have even nominated him. the reagan administration discovered those things about jeff session only after he was nominated. but that was then. and trump is now. trump is now. and we don't know what the rules are now. someone who traffics in much more than what jeff sessions said back then will be with the president every day in the white house as his senior strategist. we don't know who will be in that president's cabinet. and we don't know that now for two reasons. donald trump hasn't decided. and most importantly, we don't know if the old rules still apply. joining us now, managing editor of bloomberg politics and co-host of with all due respect on msnbc. also with u

denied him a federal judgeship in 1986 over allegations he made racial remarks, calling the naacp unamerican and communist inspired. one african-american u.s. attorney who had worked under sessions testified that sessions called him, quote, boy, and joked about the kkk, saying he was okay with them until he learned that they smoked marijuana. sessions denied the allegations and says he has never been a racist. >> i am not a racist. i am not insensitive to blacks. i supported civil rights activity in my state. >> reporter: in the senate, sessions has earned the reputation of a staunch concern afternoon and garnered respect from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. if confirmed he will be taking the reins as the chief law enforcement officer in the country, at a time when the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color is front and certain. >> everyone needs to be held to account. just because you are a sitting senator going before those who are your brothers and sisters in the same body doesn't mean you're entitled to just walk into a position that is frankly one of th

this is a person who called not only the naacp unamerican but the southern christian leadership conference which was started by martin luther king jr.. this is a person who has said the voting rights act is intrusive. this is a person who went after people who were registering african-americans to vote and went after them because actually turnout went up in that place in alabama. the voters of alabama might have thought that he was good for them, but he is not good for america. he will turn the clock back. we're talking about a justice department that is supposed to be on the side of americans. they are the top enforcer of our federal civil rights laws. he is not the person who is going to protect us from what happens at the state level. he will turn the clock back not only on what the attorney general holder and lynch has done but think about cutsenbeck. think about robert kennedy and the history of that division will be gutted under his leadership. we're talking about jefferson bow reguard sessions, a southerner who is proud of his heritage, who is fine with talking -- calling african-am

he called the aclu and naacp being unamerican.e thought kkk was okay until he learned they smoked pot. some is in dispute. the question for the media is this was 30 years ago and how important should that loom? >> what i think is important in both of these cases for flynn and sessions, these stories are opening with conflict rather than credentials and he's had 30 years of credentials since then. with flynn specifically i have a little bit of whiplash over that kind of coverage because when he was up for vp earlier in the summer the press was interested in this outsider pick with strong credentials that would help donald trump with his national security policy. but now there's a lot of questioning about it. >> the contrast, kelly, to the coverage of jeff sessions and it's fair to bring up the old stuff but he's had a 20 year senate record since then. there's a buzz from the past. "new york times" when eric holder was named attorney general at the end of 2008, high achiever poised to scale new heights. now he's very liberal compare

during his 1986 confirmation hearings, colleagues testified he called the naacp, quote, unamerican andn african-american who had worked under sessions testified that sessions called him boy, and joked about the kkk, saying he was okay with them until he learned that they smoked marijuana. >> this assertion is ludicrous. i detect the klan. the rule of law is an important thing. >> reporter: as u.s. attorney in alabama, jeff sessions prosecuted the head of the state kkk for abducting and killing an african-american teenager and he said he sought to end segregation in alabama schools. sessions told cnn in 2009 he has never been a racist. >> those were false charges and distortions of anything that i did, and it really was not. i never had those kind of views and i was caricatured in a way that was not me. >> reporter: sessions was later elected alabama's u.s. senator and became a ranking member of the same committee that denied him the job as a federal judge. over the last 20 years in the senate, sessions earned respect from colleagues on both sides of the aisle and developed a reputation

>> in 1986 he called the naacp unamerican. >> really?sunday i tuned. in i was looking for tucker. i saw this beautiful anchor. and then abby was here, too. [ laughter ] >> clarify. >> abby a beautiful anchor along with pete. and tucker is now doing the 7:00 show and he is doing what journalist do best. saying you wrote a column saying the senator is a racist. give me one example. it was painful for because for seven or eight minutes jonathan allen could not name one thing where is he racist. jeff sessions said controversial things. 70's and 80's. he is going to have to account for that this n. these confirmation hearings but to call someone a racist and not have a specific example is outrage just. >> speaking of calling people a racist. another thing that happened that we talked about at the top of the show was the cast and crew of the broadway show, a very famous broadway show hamilton, it's been very successful. i think you have seen it. i have not. i would love to. >> it's a great show. that's why the reason why vice president elect w

for example, that the naacp and civil liberties university are unamerican. >> these comments that youould say about a county organization or something. i may have said something like that in a general way. and that probably was wrong. >> also brought face to face with the justice department civil rights attorney who knows him well and who was asked, is sessions a racist? >> i don't know whether he is or isn't. i probably ought to know, but i don't. i really can't say. >> but the would-be judge's case came in alabama. defendants in a perry county case, were political and civil rights leaders for more than 20 years. albert was an aide to martin luther king jr. their scrapbook has all the marches. >> this is bloody sunday, albert can see, that is him right there. >> albert turner guided the mules at martin luther king jr.'s funeral. the federal government charged him with doctoring the votes, and mail fraud. >> i just don't think jeff sessions came in with an ounce of evidence. >> blacks charge harassment by u.s. attorney jeff sessions noting there was no investigation of white vote frau

. >> reince priebus calls sessions honorable, the naacp and other groups that allege he called them unamerican ago say sessions is the wrong choice. is it fair to judge jeff sessions on allegations from 30 year s a years ago as criteria in which to measure whether he's fit for attorney general? >> no. especially when you look at the rest of his body of work. the fact he was bringing suits to desegregate schools, advocating for awards for rosa parks and her several rights activism, he was prosecuting klansmen. he has a great resume having been a u.s. attorney, having been the attorney general of alabama, served on the senate judiciary committee. you would be hard pressed to find someone in america more qualified for the position of attorney general. his life's work is very impressive. if the democrats are going to hitch their wagon on some comments from 30 years ago, that signals to me his confirmation will go smoothly. >> i think he's the perfect candidate for extreme vetting. there's a lot of evidence that miles up. i don't know that he's the towering civil rights figure that brian and reince

testimony from former colleagues that he referred to organizations like the naacp and other civil rights groups as being quote unamerican and communist inspired. then an individual said that he said that the kkk was fine until he learned that they smoked pot. he is going to be the man now who, in effect, will be in charge of sort of shaping civil rights policy, defending the constitutionality of what in effect could be policies that would limit muslim immigration in this country, which has been a primary issue for donald trump as well, so jeff sessions, he will play a huge role on a lot of issues, americans are focusing on for so many. >> nay just put out a statement, have sifr russly against. he could be in charge of deportation levels, immigration, deportation the executive orders we know will be cancelled. the dreamers, all of that. >> he can do that quickly. they can overturn quickly. >> on mitt romney. you covered him. how surprising is it given his declarative opposition to donald trump during the primaries that he would be going to register for either a round of golf or a lot of talk this weekend and potentially