if i may, reverend sharpton. perhaps the only person that has perhaps done with angela corey, the special prosecutor, let me say this about her. she knows a lot more than we know, in terms of her investigation. when she makes a decision to prosecute, and i have a young man on death row to prove it -- she will be indefatigable in her effort, she will be relentless in the pursuit of justice, and in this case, george zimmerman has a barracuda going after him. [applause] >> let me go to you, wade henderson. you convene a coalition of leadership of civil-rights groups. the stand your ground law, the legislative leads that we will be talking with melanie campbell and others, where we go with this so that we do not just bent and move on? we need real change. where do we need to structurally move our energies toward? >> thank you, reverend sharpton. before i begin, thank you for your leadership. [applause] thank you. have you not done what you did, had you not worked the family and their incredible dignity in handling th

al sharpton, the mafia taken it off the issue.n's mother said this is about right and wrong. it's not about right or left. >> sean: but let me go to things that had been said. he was hunted down like a dog. he was executed. we have an eyewitness there that night. that saw and witnessed trayvon beating george zimmerman. but that doesn't stop lawmakers and those in the media. watch this. >> trayvon martin was hunted down like a rabid dog. he was shot in the street. he was racially profiled. >> just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. >> i believe this is a hate crime. >> next week we are looking forward to getting $1 million for the capture of george zimmerman. >> jeb bush helped pave the way for the sense lest tragedy. >> this investigation is laced with racial profiling, lies and murder. >> he was ux cuteed for w.w.b. -- executed for walking while black in a gated community. >> let's not play the double standard of trying to demonize who is dead. >> nobody knows the facts. we had an eyewitness from day one

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. sfls welcome to "politicsnation," i'm al sharpton. breaking news tonight. george zimmerman's defense team quits. turning craig sonner and hal uhrig met with the press moments ago, dropping this bomb shell. >> as of now, we are withdrawing as counsel for mr. zimmerman. we lost contact with him. up to this point we've had contact everyday. he's gone on his own. i'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to, but at this point, we're withdrawing as counsel. as of, i believe, sunday, and the last couple days, he has not returned phone calls or text messages or e-mails, leading me to believe that i can't go forward speaking to the public about george zimmerman in this case, as help representing him. because i've lost contact with him. >> as of sunday we lost contact with george. er with professionals. craig sonner, craig sonner pa, hal uhrig the defense group, we do this for a living. we try to do a good job of it. but we are not putting ourselves out to the public for continuing repr

we appreciate reverend al sharpton.ttorney crump said, the protesting is wonderful, signing the petitions is inspiring, but it is not enough. it is so critical that weç wou, in fact, engage the political process to it's fullest. every person must register to vote. we want 1 million new people to go to the polls on november 6th so that what happened in sanford, florida will not repeat. we have the very principal of standing your ground. today, we realize we must stand our ground in the words of the late josia williams, unbought -- i want to remind them that this week is the 49th anniversary of dr. king's letter from a birmingham jail. if they want to the know why we're here, we're here because injustice is here and we will stay on the case until all of the trayvon martin's across america have their rightful place in the halls of justice. i want to affirm to every parent, to every child, your life matters. your life is valuable. your life is a commodity. you are not another statistic. but we will stop heaven and earth un

>> i think you hit it on the head, reverend sharpton, equal justice under the law. we have to make sure there is equal justice for everybody. it seems so easy they were ready to sweep their son under the rug and just say nobody is going to be held accountable, like it didn't even matter. the legacy has to be that there can be no more trayvon martin's, not on our watch, and we have to teach our children to stand up and say, yeah, everybody matters. justice matters for everybody. and that has to be the legacy. reverend sharpton, the trayvon martin law, we have to work on the stand your ground law. it is kill ag lot of innocent people. >> thank you sybrina, tracy, and attorney crump. >> there is a lot of humanity in those interviews, thank you for doing that. the new attorney for george zimmerman is speaking right now with reporters, let's listen. >> did he say he was innocent or just asked to be represented? >> if he did, i would not be able to comment on it, and three to the extent he told me anything it would be a comment on the evidence andly follow the prosecutor'

>> well, a couple things about that reverend sharpton. she can always modify those charges if there is evidence that comes to light that weren't a first degree murder charge. she can simply take it back to the grand jury. that's not unprecedented. furthermore, we thought that it was somewhat a positive thing that she did not convene the grand jury because we understand the legal community when you take a matter a grand jury, you really are taking it there to let it die. where the prosecutor can wash their and absolve themselves on any liability for our failure to arrest and just put it on the jury. and say this was a private proceeding. we presented everything. and they said, there's not enough efd. we always thought of that as passing the buck or cop out to go to the grand jury bp so we commend and applaud special prosecutor angela corey for saying, i'm going to make the decision whether to arrest or not arrest, it'll be my decision. and we have always maintained, there is enough evidence to make this decision to simply arrest him. not t

[laughter] >> how you doing, reverend sharpton?i'm from 1010 baltimore, wlb, and my main issue is how we are projected in television, and i wanted to ask what could we do to make these changes? because me growing up in baltimore city, i was beat up by the police about five or six times, and it's a normal thing in baltimore. just the other day we was interviewing some kids that graduated from high school asking them what their plans were. the police jumped out of the car and told us, all these kids going to jail, don't worry about their future. which we have recorded. >> one of the things we've seen is the power of youtube. imagine if you had videotaped what you just described and put it on youtube and tweeted it out to every news organization. i mean, i think we have to think about what sort of power you actually have. i think it's, sure, there are problems in the media landscape, but you also have some power to get your story out. and if you feel like there's a rob in baltimore with the police brutality, you can film it. i mean, y

"politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> welcome to "politics nation," i'm al sharpton. a dramatic day in the case of florida versus george zimmerman. zimmerman apologized in open court to the parents of the teenager he killed, trayvon martin. and a judge ordered him released on a $150,000 bond. his lawyer says that release will likely take several days to work out. trayvon's parents were in the courtroom for that apology. we'll get reaction from their attorney in a few minutes. we brought in a special legal panel to talk about today's hearing, though. with me here in new york is catherin crier and eugene o'donnell, professor at john j. college and former new york city police officer and prosecutor. and from san francisco,ç crimil defense attorney john burrows. the day began with zimmerman walking into court shackled wearing a suit and tie. the a.p. reports that he appeared to have a bullet-proof vest on beneath his clothes. he sat quiet for most of the hearing until the defense suddenly called him to the stand and he apologized directly to trayvon's parents. >> my cli

we need more reverend sharptons, people, let's get up. [applause] >> let me thank the panelists and those that have served today. let me thank the audience. let me say to all of you no matter who you are, you have something you can do. we said today we're going to deal with alec, we're going to deal with the stand your ground laws around the country, going to deal with voter id and voter registration. what are you going to do? and findo to web sites out what organizations you can join. you may not like any of what you heard, but whatever you believe, don't criticize others. tell us what you're doing yourself. don't be a professional critic. be a real activist. the morning i got on the plane headed to sanford, florida, i got word my mother had passed. i started not to go. but then i remember my mother raised me to stand for something. i do not care what criticism i get in and out of the community, i am did what i believe. the question is, what do you believe and what are you going to do? thank you for watching. [applause] [captioning perfo

the reverend sharpton is now before the microphones. we assume that the family might have something to say very soon. let's tune in and see what's going on there. >> trayvon martin was murdered. no arrest was made. the chief of police in sanford announced after his review of the evidence there would be no arrest. an outcry from all over this country came because his parents refused to leave it there. his parents acting out of love and acting out of the basic principles this country is built on decided that they would go to some able attorneys and they went to mr. crump and mr. parks and attorney jackson. they believed in the system and believed the arrests would be made and they waited until the police chief, let us not confuse the issue, he announced there will be no arrest. that's when attorney crump called us. we were marching in selma to montgomery. some of us hit the streets. i remember the night we had the first big rally, 30,000 people. on that afternoon, governor scott asked to meet. he flew in and met and said that he was going

you gave sharpton national exposure many times.t that he has a cable news program but he uses it to advance an activist agenda that does not come under the banner of news. are you getting that? john, alabama, "hey, bill, it's truly ironic you mention msnbc has interest in seeing george zimmerman punished because they found him guilty on the air. wasn't it true for you in the casey anthony case?" you think you have a gotcha thing going on, don't you? i'll speak slowly. in the anthony case there was a trial. evidence was presented. as an analyst i evaluated the evidence and came to a conclusion. just like i did with the o.j. jumpson trial. so, john, has there been a trial in the trayvon martin case? any on the record evidence presented? the answer is no. gotcha! carl miller, west virginia -- "o'reilly if not for nbc the martin case would have been closed and a murder of another black child would go free." damning speculation. nif facts to back it up? new mexico, "you are missing the actual reason for the trayvon martin feeding frenzy

i wanted to first say, echo reverend sharpton.ot a lot of calls from government officials about when the special prosecutor makes her decision that we want to make sure that everything remains peaceful and responsible and that nothing gets out of hand. so i want to say at the very beginning before we say anything, we want all the world, we're asking everybody who really cares about justice for trayvon martin to follow the example of sabriybrina fulton a tracie martin, his mother and father and remain in. peaceful and having faith in our system and being prayerful that everything is going to work out regardless of the great length of time that it has taken. they are such a good example of keeping your composure and it's one of those things nobody, as reverend sharpton said, nobody can be hurting more than them. nobody can be more outraged than them and if they can continue to carry themselves in a dignified manner, we all should. and that's what we're praying for and begging for and imploring everybody to do especially in light of

but now what is al sharpton a show host or is he the national activist? what is he? i don't know what he is. i mean, it would be like me, all right, going out and having a campaign to change, you know, to some kind of political agenda. i mean, i don't understand what it is. >> yeah. when you asked me about this last week, i said that nbc, msnbc, should have said to sharpton can you do one of two things. you can be the anchor or the guy running the rally. i thought about it since then. i think if anybody at nbc news cares what i think, i think they need to cut their relationship with msnbc. msnbc at times is so irresponsible that it rubs off on nbc news. they put their corresponds who are covering the white house one minute for nbc and the next minute they are on msnbc on the same network that employs al sharpton and several other people who i think have been grossly irresponsible. nbc news is making a big mistake by keeping this relationship going. t is doing nothing for their credibility. >> bill: and the place doesn't even do that well. it would be one thing top 10

please welcome back to the show, the reverend al sharpton! to the show tonight. >> thank you for having me back. >> jimmy: please, oh, we love having you. i met president obama last night. i know you know this. >> yeah, we noticed. it's all over the country. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: yeah, you did see this. you've known him for a long time, right? >> i've known him since he was in the state senate in illinois. you know, one thing i like about him, aside from politics. you know, maybe the last two or three presidents, some i didn't get along with. he's very comfortable in his own skin. he's authentic. >> jimmy: he really is. yeah. >> and he proved that last night by being able to do your show. that's why i think a lot of people -- [ laughter ] other people can't do your show. >> jimmy: i'm not sure what you're saying but i'll take that as a compliment either way. >> all right. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: he actually -- he gave you a pardon to splurge on thanksgiving dinner. >> well what happened was, i started -- i stopped eating meat. and i'm on this

how do you go after these people, for al sharpton and some of the others to now try to pull back fromhe insend air ry language they were using is outrageous. >> there was rioting and a comparison story, riots and the flames versus the trayvon martin march on the other side of the picture. >> i read that article in friday's paper and outraged. all they could talk about is rodney king and trayvon martin and beating the comparison as hard as they could and reminding people, oh, yeah, there should be a riot if we dent get what we want. >> media would never admit it. they'd love to see the returning cars and buildings, and riots in the 60's, great tvs and how to sell newspapers. >> one thing in defense of the media and if they're in for social media in the beginning, trayvon martin would not have become an issue, in the beginning, media played a helpful roll. >> more news watch ahead. if you see something that's media bias, e-mail us at foxnews.com. up next, how are the media treating former senator and presidential candidate john edwards these days? >> from campaigning for president to de

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right

what do you think about al sharpton moving back and forth?is at a news conference with the parents. he is interviewing the rally. he is heading a rally. >> the journalistic in me has a bit of a problem with that because that's just not how i was raised as a jrnlist. there was this understanding that there had to be pure objectivity. you were not the story. you reported on the story. but i understand -- in the short time that i have been in the business and well over the decade it's changed completely, and so the businesswoman in me looks as it and says, well, it's a win-win. al sharpton is not only part of the story, he is helping to create the story, and then he gets to report on the story. if these are the new rules of journalism, then i dare any other journalist out there to say to themselves, wow, if i had this opportunity to not only create the story but report on the story and essentially generate ratings for myself, i'm not sure they would walk away from that and say i wouldn't do that. >> jane hall, aep sharpton is entitled to do what

sharpton starts right now. >>> welcome to "politics nation" i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, the investigation into trayvon martin's death is gaining intensity. today, fbi is back at the scene of trayvon martin's death for a second straight day. fbi agents are at the scene of the crime, going door to door, questioning potential witnesses, and compiling information on zimmerman's background. one week from today, april 10th, a grand jury is set to begin hearing details about the case. so there is a rush, a major push for this investigation, to move forward, to see if there is another enough to make an arrest. state attorney angela corey has said there is no guarantee the case will go to that grand jury. meanwhile zimmerman's lawyer says he's ready to turn himself in. as necessary. quote, he's not hiding from the authorities. if he's asked, he will turn himself in. there's not going to be a man hunt or anything like that. today could be a critical day in this investigation. joining me now is kathryn cryer, a lawyer, former district court judge and prosecutor in t

. >> welcome to politics nation, i'm al sharpton, tonight, dramatic new video that could turn the trayvone down. and bring us one step closer to justice. this new sanford police video shows trayvon's killer, george zimmerman arriving at the police station just minutes after the shooting. >> well, it was roughly 45 minutes after the shooting, according to the time stamp on the tape, but does it show us anything? >> maybe, maybe not. maybe there was a medic called to the scene who cleaned up blood had there been blood. we don't know. and remarkable two things. the shooting take place on february 23rd. weeks went by before anybody heard about this case. what happens in the interim. that's something that should be investigated and reported. the other point just like with the obamacare coverage on the supreme court this week, we've had an orgy of rampant speculation, one photo line and a video came out and another narrative and nobody knows for sure, it's incredibly irresponsible for members of the media and particularly members of congress to go out better to go out with the rushes to judgmen

. >> al sharpton wants to talk about the trayvon martin case.ell you what that's all about. >> secret service prostitution scandal and gsa embarrassment as well as the >> bill: did you see that segment tonight, as you may know i are criticized al sharpton and others for convicting george zimmerman in the travon martin shooting. >> 45 days ago, travon martin was murdered. no arrest was made. >> we cannot allow a legal precedent to be established in this city that tells us it is legal for a man to kill us, tell any story he wants, and walks out with the murder weapon. >> now, i feel those kind of statements are absolutely wrong. and said that to trayvon martin's mother sybrina fulton. sharpton saul -- saw that and referenced it. >> i even saw with bill o'reilly should sabrina apologize for me. i don't know what i'm supposed to ask for. all i asked for was arrest and all ski for peace. bill and i go to dinner all the time. we have a relationship. >> bill: here now to analyze juliet huddy. >> bill: not going to dinner all the time once in a while an

the other thing is i have been with reverend sharpton. i have been with reverend jackson in numerous cities where we have talked about the problem with black-on-black violence. the problem with black-on-black crime. one time i went to a jail with jesse jackson and a room full of black guys all there for drug offenses. he said why don't you help me shut this prison down. he said what do we do? he said don't come back no more. he didn't talk about the white man and unequal drug. he said you be responsible. that's the key. black leaders do talk about responsibility. right now there is a dead kid whose family isn't getting justice and has nothing to do with black-on-black violence. >> bill: in your parkway he is not getting justice. the justice system is on the case ands you know is flicked by the stand your ground law which we went over last night that very responsible way. >> it is. >> bill: it's a very difficult case. i don't know if you are going to throw around he didn't get justice because in your eyes the only justice is the arrest and

we know that the reverend al sharpton is in washington, d.c.tional action network, his organization, and he was with the martin family there. do we know any more regarding this timeline, kerry? >> here is what i would say. if the information is correct and it would be a natural courtesy that the special prosecutor would indeed advise benjamin crump, their attorney, and in turn them about this, perhaps a little before us, if that was indeed the case, then i think that we are 25 minutes away from getting official word if that information is correct. that would give us what we were told, a three-hour warning shot of when there is going to be this news conference. >> thank you, kerry. a lot of moving parts. if kerry can stick around, that would be fantastic. i want to go back to the scene in new york. with he have michael blum berg and members of the naacp talking about the stand-your-ground law and the fact that more than 20 other states have similar laws that they're referring to as second chance on shoot first. let's listen in. >> succeed in pus

al sharpton; mr. ed schultz, you have people very firm conviction it's not so much about the evidence as it is about the fact that a young, unarmed black teenager was shot dead doing -- >> bill: none of those people were there and they don't know what happened. here is what is happening in the country. have you got this big fisher, they come up with startling shot of zimmerman's head covered with blood, okay? so that's on channel 7, and then you turn to channel 4 and instead of hard news niagara falls. you have, as you put it, an ideological take on a life or death story that's going to be decided by a jury. now, in your opinion, does this taint the entire nbc news operation? >> well, that's an excellent question. i think taint might be a strong word. let me just say that nbc also has people like pete williams who are lawyered and excellent analysts and abc has dan abrams a wonderful analyst also, i believe they are now invested, bill, in a way that is more political than it is legality niagara falls.

the other thing is i have been with reverend sharpton.been with reverend jackson in numerous cities where we have talked about the problem with black-on-black violence. the problem with black-on-black crime. one time i went to a jail with jesse jackson and a room full of black guys all there for drug offenses. he said why don't you help me shut this prison down. he said what do we do? he said don't come back no more. he didn't talk about the white man and unequal drug. he said you be responsible. that's the key. black leaders do talk about responsibility. right now there is a dead kid whose family isn't getting justice and has nothing to do with black-on-black violence. >> bill: in your parkway he is not getting justice. the justice system is on the case ands you know is flicked by the stand your ground law which we went over last night that very responsible way. >> it is. >> bill: it's a very difficult case. i don't know if you are going to throw around he didn't get justice because in your eyes the only justice is the arrest and convict

al sharpton; mr.schultz, you have people very firm conviction it's not so much about the evidence as it is about the fact that a young, unarmed black teenager was shot dead doing -- >> bill: none of those people were there and they don't know what happened. here is what is happening in the country. have you got this big fisher, they come up with startling shot of zimmerman's head covered with blood, okay? so that's on channel 7, and then you turn to channel 4 and instead of hard news niagara falls. you have, as you put it, an ideological take on a life or death story that's going to be decided by a jury. now, in your opinion, does this taint the entire nbc news operation? >> well, that's an excellent question. i think taint might be a strong word. let me just say that nbc also has people like pete williams who are lawyered and excellent analysts and abc has dan abrams a wonderful analyst also, i believe they are now invested, bill, in a way that is more political than it is legality niagara falls. >>