when this girl was kicked off the bus by wilkerson she ended up breaking her ankle according to reports this driver should have had special considerations for this kid. >> it all happened on september 28th of 2012, but the state attorney's office just released the video so that the public could see what happened. wfts says that she was terminated from the position. she is also according to some reports facing aggravated child abuse charges. >> what was this bus driver thinking? >> from the things i read on this particular case they said that she was mad at the little girl because the little girl had slapped her and hit her when she was asking her to wait her turn and again that is just according to the reports that are out on this. we haven't been able to confirm that on our own. >> aren't you trained? don't you know better than that? >> because of this incident a task force was put together. >> they proposed more training needs to happen for people that come in contact with special needs students. >> she can't handle the frustrations of her job, she shouldn't have the job. >>> one of t

. >> now, lawrence wilkerson, the former chief of staff to then secretary of state colin powell, talksl was told to formulate a speech to the u.n. on wmds. watch this. >> he walked in my office with a sheet of papers on my hand and threw it down and said that's the script of my presentation at the united nations. it came from the vice president's office. it was junk. it was pure junk. i was in charge of putting it together. >> powell and wilkerson tear up the original 48-page script and start over with a team from the state department and cia. director george tenant suggests they base their presentation on the national intelligence estimate, which unbeknownst to paul is a deeply flawed document. >> we went into a room and he said sit down and he sat down. we were the only two people in the room. he looked at me and said, this bull [ bleep ] of contacts with al qaeda has got to be taken out. >> we found out powell and wilkerson both wanted to take out the al qaeda connection to suddam. so what happened? >> well, it doesn't come out. it remains to be part of the case that -- >> even thou

colonel wilkerson, thanks for joining us. would you describe the prevailing mindset about the war in iraq? a lot of democrats supported the war. democrats essentially had to repent if they supported the war. how do you think republicans feel about it now? >> rachel, that depends on to whom you're speaking. some like myself, i think chuck hagel, i would describe as moderates, as hagel as said in the past that iraq was a catastrophe, still believe that and believe that history's verdict ultimately will be that. others in the party are trying desperately to defend the decision because they see it as impacting their future possibilities of particularly regaining the white house. and still others just don't want to listen. they're sort of like that crew that you were describing in your opening remarks that won't believe the truth even if it hits them in the face. and incidentally i was using the lbj revelations in my seminar today to demonstrate to my students some of the things that happen at the highest levels of power in this c

tomorrow, the wilkerson case will be one of the cases considered during a senate armed services committeeng. the first senate hearing on sexual assault in the military in close to ten years. joining me for exclusive interview, two of the women testifying at the hearing tomorrow, rebekah havrilla and anu bhagwati, from the service women action network. rebekah, can you give us a preview of what you will tell the committee tomorrow? >> yes, i'll be focusing on my personal story and how the system failed me in my experiences. so my testimony will be coming from a personal perspective and personal experiences and not as much from my professional experiences. >> i want to show a sample of exactly that kind of story from the oscar nominated documentary "invisible war" of women talking about what it is like to report these rapes. >> when you report something, you better be prepared for the repercussions. >> if a man gets accused of rape, it is a setup, the woman is lying. >> i could choose to report it, but if i wasn't, you know, if they found that what i was saying wasn't to be truthful, then i

overturned the juries decision and wilkerson was reinstated. >> it is more than common sense it's aboute civilian criminal court system. >> california senator barbara boxter is asking the defense department to review the law. >>> -- the appeals court overturned a federal judge's previous ruling setting asidewalker's conviction and death sentence. the appeals court rejected the argument that the jury had been tainted because the defendant had been shackled. >>> we'll take you -- new at 6:00, some workers at the golden gate bridge are getting pink slips. when it's going to happen and who's losing out.

the charging document says wilkerson was fondling a woman there while she slept.r left his own bed that night and that his wife got the woman to leave. one air force official says the commander, general franklin, reviewed documents after the trial that the jury never got t letter from the alleged victim. we pressed air force officials but we don't know what the letter says. lisa winser, a former army j.a.g. officer who's prosecuted and defended several sexual assault cases in the military, says the commander of any base has the authority to toss out a conviction on their own, but -- >> i've never seen that happen before. >> reporter: the military justice system is fair, she says, except in some cases with punishments. >> what is the problem with consistency in punishment in the military? >> i think you see with this case and other cases that have come downrecently, that officers tend to get a more favorable disposition than enlisted personnel. >> reporter: when i asked an air force official about that, he said he couldn't respond. he said that's not relevant in th

wilkerson was fondling her as she slept.k: i don't know what happened that night but we had a trial and he was convicted. the general comes in and reverses that conviction. anyway, the senator from missouri and a former prosecutor, and a ranking member of the armed services commit yo is mad. here's what she said. >> now my heart is beating fast right now. i am so upset about this. as we are trying to send a signal to women now the victim in this case wasn't a member of our military. i question now whether that unit that that man returns to, whether there's any chance a woman who is sexually assaulted in that unit would ever say a word. cenk: the case has gone to chuck hagel, the new secretary of defense. he's trying to figure out whether the convening authority the general in charge has the authority a reverse a decision like this. he wrote a letter saying. cenk: that is an interesting question. to talk about we've brought in attorney susan burke. she's joined us before. her work was in the documentary "the invisible war." s

. >> the bill comes after the sexual assault case of james wilkerson. a military panel convicted, sentenced, and gave wilkerson a dishonorable discharge in november. but an air force general overturned that decision and reinstated the officer last month. that is actually perfectly legal under the uniform code of military justice, but congresswoman speier's bill, known as the military justice reform act would amend that and reduce the power given to military generals. >>> the queen is cutting back. queen elizabeth ii is canceling some of her public appearances, including two events scheduled for tomorrow and thursday. she was hospitalized for a stomach illness. video of her leaving. she says she hopes to resume her program of official engagements next week. >>> michelle obama, she'll grace the cover of vogue magazine this month. this is actually the second time she'll appear on front of that iconic magazine. she was back in the march issue of 2009. michelle obama isn't the first, first lady to be in vogue. this vogue issue will be out next week. >>> comi

security camera shows wilkerson giving the student a swift kick as the girl spits the bus.ard saying, quote, i would buy a belt if she were mine. she would not hit adults ever again. so, apparently wilkerson was fired after this incident. >> that was a special needs child. >>> 41 minutes past the hour. coming up, we're following the meeting between president obama and abbas. "early start" back in a moment. by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection. all backed up with world-class monitoring centers, thousands of qualified technicians, and a personal passion to help protect your business. when your business is optimized like that, there's no stopping you. we are tyco integrated security. and we are sharper. try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic c" that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align. ♪ need help keeping your digestive balance in sync? try align. it's a probiotic that fortifies your digestive system with healthy bacteria 24/7. because your insides set the tone.

the earth like a grand colossus and then after that it's all been very different colonel lawrence wilkerson who served as chief of staff to secretary of state colin powell at the time of the invasion says you want his change the way the world sees the us people look at what we do they do not judge us by our rhetoric our rhetoric is high and lofty and we talk about human rights and human dignity and freedom and democracy and then what do we do we mount a war of aggression on iraq kill a couple hundred thousand people and mess it up majorly including the region much of what is happening now is a real. what we did in the right the world looks at them and they say this is not something we need in the world this kind of absolutely inept leadership and when this happens in the world of international relations the world stands up and began to balance the hedge among today many of those who cheer for the iraq war because on t.v. shows and then their memoirs the struggle to justify the decisions they made and the actions they took yes history will hold them responsible and render some sort of indict

in a statement wilkerson's lawyer accused them of political grand standing and said they hope othersen make false claims of sexual abuse. kimberly hanks said she's frustrated but has no regrets. >> i did the right thing. i reported it. i told the truth. >> reporter: michael isikoff, nbc news, washington. >> up next, we'll head to jamaica to investigate the sophisticated and often cruel scam costing americans millions every year. >>> and new proof that financial incentives really do pay when it comes to losing weight. first, these messages. ♪ [ instrumental ] [ boy ] i used to hate eating healthy stuff. but badger likes it, so i do too. i used to have bad dreams, but not anymore. [ barks ] i used to be scared of the basement. but when badger's with me, it's not so bad. [ barking ] [ announcer ] we know how important your dog is to your whole family. so help keep him strong and healthy with purina dog chow. because you're not just a family. you're a dog family. looks like your bags didn't make it. we'll send them to your hotel. [ sad music playing ] this is fun. [ sad music continues ]

eric wilkerson is on scene for king 5. >> reporter: we're in the slide zone minutes ago watching the hillside continue to crumble. every three to five minutes, you see another chunk of dirt crumbling down. >> reporter: one home is less than ten feet from the slide. officials call the ground incredibly unstable and fear there is nothing they can do to prevent the slide from growing. after a late spring storm stalled over the area last week, dumping half a foot of snow and saturating the already soaked ground. and the forecast is not good, with more showers on the way and several homes getting ever closer to the edge. >> the way the bank looks, in the next rain, i wouldn't expect to see half of it here. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >>> turning now to a big development in sports from late last night. well, they had a good run, but the heat has finally cooled off. miami has dominated the league this season, as lebron james led the team to 27 straight victories. it's the second longest streak in the history of the nba and all major american pro sports, but that ho

colonel wilkerson's victims have been in contact and she wants you to know kool endured eight months of public commemoration and investigations. why bother to put the investigator's prosecutors judge jury and me through this if one person can set aside justice with the swipe of a pen. i have your copy of her statement which has been submitted or the record madam chairwoman. reforms to date have clearly not been addressed and have targeted the symptoms without addressing the root cause which is that the military justice system is fraught with inherent bias conflict of interest abuse of authority and held in low regard to the victim. where is a civilian has a constitutional protections of an independent judicial system servicemembers do not. members must report an assault to their commanders however if those commanders take action and prove that an assault occurred they also prove failure of their own leadership. congressman put commanders in charge of violent crimes. through adjudication and posttrial. commanders have too often fail to care for the victim or prosecute the perpetrator.

. >> powell and wilkerson tore up ought original 48-page script and started over with a team from therector george tenet subjects they base their presentation on the national intelligence estimate which unbeknownst to powell is a deeply flawed document. still, he is wary. >> we went into a room, he slammed the door shut. he said, sit down. and he sat down. we were the only two people in the room. he looked at me and he said, this bull [ bleep ] of contacts with al qaeda with # has got to be taken out. it's bull [ bleep ]. and i said, i agree with you. let's take it out. done. within a half an hour, tenet comes in, and explosively tells about this high level al qaeda operative who has been interrogated and admitted to these contacts. whoa. and we put it back in. >> that would be the dupus confession extracted from al-libi, the result of torture bit egyptians. both of us convinced ourselves that if the intelligence committee believed what we were presenting, then we had to believe it. because they were the experts. >> i wrote part of speech and what i saw over the course of weeks, up un

. >> colonel wilkerson, that view that you are seeing out in the world, that's reflected in public opinionling. that's people saying they think the war in iraq was a mistake. thank you so much for your time tonight, sir. i really appreciate having you here. >> thank you, rachel. >> a reminder that our look back at how the count was sold on the iraq war, hubris is going to air this friday at 9 pm eastern. today was a big day for american politics. by new think betamax. think pong. bowledly into the future. onsump, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. witthto fight chronic.ation, rosteoarthritis pain.ses to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step.

that's why the wilkerson case was different. there was this appearance of impropriety even without looking at the facts of the case. that's typical in every unit throughout the armed services. >> one of the things i really do stress is, it is about leadership. the hostility isn't necessarily even towards women. the hostility is towards the feminine, the perception of being less than and the perception of being weak. even though i was the only female in my unit, i was not the only one that was targeted for abuse. we had two other males in my unit that were targeted regularly for sexual harassment and sexual abuse that went through a lot of the same stuff that i did. it was not a gender issue. it was a we are targeting what we see as less than. just by me being a woman i was automatically less than even though i was as good as they were. the mindset when you have that mentality, and, again, you have the leadership that allows that to continue every day. i can't tell you a single day i was in my unit that didn't go some by by some

. >> and let me say this about wilkerson, who is featured prominently in the book and has been cast inomething of a wise man, right? he's saw through it, i mean, the moment where he writes down the mark on the calendar and says colin powell says we're going to find a wmd, go to the paper. i'm sorry, but there was a failure on the part of those folks to do the right thing. it's very easy for me to say that, i understand, but it's still wrong. >> blame colin powell for believing that and still giving that speech. now he's seen as a wise man, and the president courts him, you know, networks court him, and we pay a lot of attention, but he knew. you know, he knew when he took the job, he was there to be a front for these guys and he served dutifully as that front. >> you think he knew that? >> in the beginning, yeah. >> cheney was down and pulled him out of line, really discovered him in the white house when he was in the white house as an intern. and then car lucci and all those guys. he had a lot of history with those republicans and i'm going to defend him because i like him. >> he's li

the case we are talking about the colonel james wilkerson, who was convicted and his commander simplyrturned it with the stroke of a pen, as you say. that happened very recently. it's the case you said last week was probably a tipping point in the history of this subject. >> i think it is a tipping point. i think he read the transcripts and spent time on it. these cases are so important. you have to hear the witnesses. they are he said/she said. when you have a consent defense or it didn't happen defense, which was the case in this one, you have to hear the witnesses and determine who is telling the truth. this judge in this case is not really a judge. he doesn't have legal training. he didn't hear the witnesses, yet, he decided to make it all go away. i think it sends the wrong message at a point and time that our biggest struggle is getting women to come forward in very difficult situations to report the crimes and make sure we can fair out the cowards committing the crime of rape and sexual assault. >> where i learned most of what i know is in the documentary that was nominated for

if you are clemency letters stating a relationship with wilkerson. please think of his family, et cetera. many of them, especially from the pilot community and their wives her caustic pitcher alec letters alleging the judicial system as corrupt and the trial not legitimate. they claim prosecutors were bullied and unethical. the panel was biased because they were pilots. the judge made bad decisions. i am a slut, liar, unprofessional. this information goes to the general and he is to look at that contemporaneously was supplanting his judgment to the fact trainers. there is no good reason for that. i can't go blind and i would love it if one of you at tommy wai and our system after the appeal is finished then there's an opportunity for clemency by an executive authority to commute a sentence, to pardon someone, but not prior to a decision on whether the case was in fact conducted legally. how can someone's judgment about the factual determination in a case be clear if they are being bombarded with evidence of character of the defendant who hadn't taken

stigma of air force but in a colonel james wilkerson who was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault before airforce the tennant creek franklin tossed out the conviction. new york senator gillibrand who chaired the senate panel blasted the military's handling of sexual assault. >> i am extremely disturbed based on the last round of question and answer that each of you believe that convening authority is what maintains discipline and order within your ranks. if that is your view, i don't know how you can say having 19,000 sexual assaults and rapes a year is discipline and order. i appreciate the work you're doing. i honestly do. but it is not enough. your achievingour choosin discipline and order, i am sorry to say you are wrong. >> a trial has begun in ohio for two football players accused of raping a classmate last august. the young men possibly urinated on the girl's unconscious body, later chronicling their actions on social media sites. during opening statements, prosecutors said the victim was too drunk to make a decision on her welfare and vowed to introduce the suspects' socia

colonel wilkerson said it has been in contact and wants you to know i endured eight months of publicer to pick the investigators, prosecutors, judge, jury and meet through this if one person can set if a justice of this type of pan. i have here a copy of your statement which has been submitted for the record, none of chairwomen. reforms to date have clearly not successfully address this epidemic because they target systems without addressing the root cause of the military justice system is fraught with inherent personal bias, complex adventures, abuse of authority and a low regard for the team. civilians have the constitutional protections of a system, service members do not. however, if those commanders take action improve assault occurred, they prove failure of zero leadership. from victim care to the processes through adjudication and posttrial. commanders are too often fail to care for the victim or prosecute the perpetrator. they have failed to in this long-standing epidemic. we also need to ensure prevention efforts are inclusive of mail service members. the majority of efforts

here is lawrence wilkerson former chief of staff to powell. >> powell walked into my office and walked the window and said i wonder what'll happen when we put 500,000 troops into iraq and comb the country from one end to the other and find nothing. >> david, do you think the lessons about intelligence, what has been learned, that in today's landscape that insiders will be more prone to blow the whistle? >> one can only hope. they do that at their peril. they would lose their job. back when we were arguing about the war, about the invasion of iraq before the invasion, there were people inside the bureaucracy, the national security agencies, who knew the intelligence was iffy. on occasion they would give anonymous quotes to people in the media. they got sort of low bald and downplayed. but they didn't come forward because they'd lose their job. we still, you know, there was plenty. this is what's tragic here. there was plenty of indications that the bush/cheney crowd were not telling the full truth and more importantly could not be trusted with the invasion and the post invasion plans. y

in response the girl slaps and pushed wilkerson. shows her kicking the girl down the stairs. she fell and fractured her ankle. >> it's horrendous. to think that somebody who works with kids all the time does this. she should never work with kids again ever. >> now, after kicking the girl, she gets back in the driver's seat. the camera sees her eating and driving with one hand. in addition to facing charges, she was fired by the school district. >> it could soon be illegal to light up in palo al to's smaller parks. recommend the city ban smoking in all parks that are less than five acres in size. that would cover as many as 22 of the city's 38 parks. two public meetings before it goes to the full council. >>> employees at one of the nation's biggest drug store chains must disclose their weight or pay more for health insurance. employees must report health information including weight to its insurance carrier or pay an extra traffic $50 a month. employees must also report body fat and blood pressure levels. critics say the requirement is a violation of privacy and could lead to

a few were actual clemency letters stating the relationship with wilkerson. pleads think of his family -- please think of his family, etc. many of them, especially the ones from the pilot community and their wives, wrote caustic, vitriolic letters alleging that the judicial system is corrupt and that the trial was not legitimate. they claimed the prosecutors were bullies and unethical, the panel was biased because they weren't pilots, the judge made bad decisions, i am a slut, a liar. unprofessional. now, this information goes to this general, and he is to look at that contemporaneously with supplanting his judgment for the fact finders'. there is no good reason for that. i can't think of one, and i would love it if one of you would tell me why -- in our system after the appeal is finished, then there's an opportunity for clemency by an executive authority. to commute a seasons, to pardon someone -- to commute a sentence, to pardon someone, but not prior to a decision on whether the case was, n., conducted legally. how can someone's judgment about the factual

wilkerson charged with child abuse and has been fired. >>> a day-long standoff in fort wain, indianaice surrounded the house where a gunman was holding a 3-year-old boy hostage. earlier, pulled a woman off a city bus and fatally shot her. the gunman was killed by a sniper. the young boy was safely rescued. >>> a move in california to require classroom doors locked from the inside to protect students from harm. safety experts say the locks helped save children in the newton massacre in december. while campuses in california have the locks, older schools do not. lawmakers say updating the locks would cost as little as $30 each. >> schools in this country don't have a whole lot right now to defend themselves. so every little bit helps. and this may not sound like a lot, but actually it is a lot. >> some critics meanwhile worry about a scenario where a gunman gets inside the classroom and locks police and rescuers out. >>> the federal government released new information about the nation's obesity epidemic. and it's not good news. a new survey from the centers of disease control shows the

. >>> a colonel, james wilkerson, was convicted by a jury, a military jury, of sexual assault. and with a stroke of a pen last week, a general dismissed those charges against him. my heart is beating fast right now. i am so upset about this. i question now whether that unit that that man returns to, whether there's any chance a woman who is sexually assaulted in that unit would ever say a word, because what that general just said is that jury's decision didn't matter. >> all right. welcome back to "morning joe." that was senator claire mccaskill last week, calling on the pentagon to explain why an air force general was able to overturn a sexual assault conviction, and senator claire mccaskill joins from washington, mark halperin, mike barnicle and lee a gallagher are all back with us. senator, good to see you. >> thanks. >> going to talk budgets in a minute. what's happened since your testimony back then, pretty gripping and stunning stuff you have been talking about. >> i have been working on this as have some of my colleagues for a number of years and i want to make sure that

a colonel, james wilkerson, was convicted by a jury, a military jury, of sexual assault. that occurred at aviano. he was sentenced to dismissal, forfeiture of pay and one year in jail and with a stroke of a pen last week, a general dismissed those charges against him. a general with no legal training, a general that had not been in the courtroom and this general did it against the advice of his legal counsel. now, my heart is beating fast right now, i am upset about this. as we are trying to send a signal to women, the victim in this case wasn't a member of the military. i question now whether that unit that that man returns to, whether there's any chance a woman sexually assaulted in that unit would ever say a word because what that general said is that jury's decision didn't matter. the rules say that the convening authority not only has complete discretion as to whether or not a case is brought without any legal training required, that general, that convening authority also has the right to either reduce punishment or dismiss the cases for, quote, any reason or no reas

a few were actual clemency letter stating the relationship with wilkerson.lease think of his family, et cetera. many of them, especially the ones from the pilot community, and their wives, wrote costa, vitriolic letters, alleging the judicial system is corrupt and that the trial was not legitimate. they claim the prosecutors were bullied and unethical. the panel was biased because they were not pilots. the judge made bad decisions. i am a. a liar. unprofessional. now, this information goes to this general, and he is to look at that contemporaneously with supplanting his judgment to the factfinders. there is no good reason for that. i can't think of one and i would love it if one of you would tell me why, in our system, after the appeal is finished then there's an opportunity for clemency by an executive authority. to commute a sentence, to pardon someone, but not prior to a decision on whether the case was, in fact, conducted legally. how can someone's judgment about the factual determination in a case be clear if they are being bombarded with evidence of ch