Is the appropriate sentence. Today former mams Police Officer zerk Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1 2 years in prison for the Nurd R Murder Last May of george floyd. Hes been the prison since april when a jury found him guilty of several charges all for him holding his knee on George Floyds neck until mr. Floyd was deemed up conscious and he died on a minneapolis Street Corner. He was going to receive a theoretical maximum sentence but the theoretical maximum associated with any particularly crime is put up against statebased snepsing guidelines. Considering the fact that mr. Chauvin had no criminal history, the Minnesota State guidelines for a sneps in this case actually recommended a sort of presumptive sentence of about 12 1 2 years. Judges can depart from those Sentencing Guidelines and in particularly they can depart upward if there are aggravating faeblgts that make the crime worse than that source of base level offense. The judge in this case had ruled that there were four different aggravating factors that made this case essentially worse, that made it worthy of a longer sentence than 12 1 2 years. With it was nevertheless striking today to see the judge go a decade beyond that presume active guidelines there with the 22. 5year sentence. The judge spelled out his reasoning for issuing a more severe punishment than the guidelines would have suggested. He said he issued the sneps because mr. Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority, that he treated mr. Floyd with particularly cruelty, and because mr. Chauvin committed a crime with the group with the active participation of three other individuals. Those four factors justified it to the judge. But that last point, that last aggravated factor, committed with a group with the active participation with other individuals. Thats an important reminder that the legal fallout from floyds murder on that minneapolis Street Corner last year, the fallout p isnt over. The thee other Police Officers who were present for the murder of mr. Floyd have also been charmed in state court for Aiding And Abetting the killing. Theyre set to stand trial early next year. Their ongoing legal consequences for the other three officers and for Derek Chauvin, too. Earlier this year, the u. S. Justice department brought federal charges against chauvin and the other three officers. That trial has not yet been scheduled. But with this 22. 5year sentence, Derek Chauvin becomes the second Police Officer in modern minneapolis history for being nut jail. Is less than a dozen in the past 15 years. Here we are today, Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 1 2 years. Today in court during Derek Chauvins sentencing hearing, several members of George Floyds family gave what are called victim impact statements, statements by people who are affected by the crime. The first came from George Floyds sevenyearold daughter, who was allowed to give her statement bevideo and not in person because of her age. Its a sfoep video. It was played in open court today, and you can see her here. Shes speaking to somebody off camera talking about her father. What do you miss most about your daddy . Well, i ask about him all the time and why hes not here. When you ask about him what are you asking about . Well, i was asking how did my dad get hurt. Do you wish that he was still here with us . Yeah, but he is. Through his spirit . Yes. Yes. And when you see your daddy again one day, what do you want to do when you see him . I want to play with him. What kind of games do you want to play with him . I want to play with him, have fun, go on the plane ride, and see. Yeah. We used to have events every single night before we went to bed. My daddy always used to help me brush my teeth. Aww. Do you miss him helping brush your teeth. Yes. How do you hope that the world remembers him . Well, that help him because many people did something to him. If you could say anything to your daddy right now what would it be . It would be i miss you and i love you. All right. Thank you, gianna. I appreciate you answering questions today. Victim impact statement was the first time that sevenyearold gianna floyds voice was heard in that courtroom. After her statement, the court heard from George Floyds cousin and two brothers. They testified today in person. Then the defense, mr. Chauvins side called just one impact victim, Derek Chauvins mother who asked for leniency on his behalf. Derek chauvin also gave brief remarks in which he offered his cop dole eppss to the floyd family. He also said cryptically to the floyd family, there will be information later that will be of interest and some things i think will give you some peace of mind. He directed that to the inside family. The july took those statements into account before handing down the sentence of any modern Police Officer, one of the longest sentences ever handed down for a Police Officer for a use of force case on the line of duty. The case of chauvin was initially brought, tim walls took the job of Prosecuting Chauvin from the prosecutor who would over seen this in normal events. He took the case out of the traditional system that has led to so many failed indictments not just in minnesota but around the country. He gave this case to minnesotas Attorney General, Keith Ellison. He assembled the team of prosecutors that ultimately obtained not only a conviction here but now as of today, a historic sentence as well. Shortly after the sentence was hand oun, Attorney General Keith Ellison made a statement alongside those prosecutors. The outcome of this case is critically important, but by itself its not enough. My hope for our country is that this moment gives us pause and allows us to rededicate oust to the real societal change that will move us much further along the road to justice. Im not talking about the kind of kapg that takes decades. Im talking about real change, Concrete Change that real people can do now. That is Minnesota Attorney general Keith Ellison who joins us now live exclusively in the wake of this sentencing decision today. Mr. Attorney general, thank you so much for making time. Its an honor to have you here tonight. Thank you. Thanks for having me. You made remarks today talking about this being not justice but manager on the way toward justice. Overall what do you think people in this country should think about this sneps today . Overall how do you view it numerically in terms of the balance between what was prison and what was within the courts power . It was a lodge sentence for this offense, but at the same time, no matter how much time judge cahill gave Derek Chauvin, it would never restore george floyd, and that beautiful child that you just showed, her daddy wont walk her down the aisle one day, wont be at her sweet 16 birthday party. Those brothers will not be able to play with him and laugh about the old times because hes gone. That means to me that theres really no sneps thats truly satisfying, but the sentence is historically lengthy. It is a stiff sentence. It though the judge did not want to and did not intend to send a message, there was a message that was sent, which is that if you commit a murder, whether you wear a badge or not, you can face very serious consequences and your role as a state actor is not going to shield you from responsibility and accountability. It was interesting today to see the judge talk about the aggravating factors that he used to justify northward departure, an upward departure from what had been the 12 and a halfyear sentence. One of those was he actsed in a group with other individuals involved. I know that the judge that the case to have other three officers, the state charges against the other three officers for Aiding And Abetting in this murder, that trial has been pushed. It was otherwise going to be in august. It has been push to early next year in part because of concerns thats true. Claims in the court that theres too much heat, theres a desire on the part of the judge to put distance between the chauvin trial and that next trial. What should people of minnesota and people of this country expect from the next trial of the other three officers and ultimately, whats your perspective on the federal charges still mending against all four officers. Well, rachel, im a little bit limited on what im allowed to say. What i will say is those three individuals are presumed innocent but there is probable cause for the charges of Aiding And Abetting, second and thirddegree murder and manslaughter against them, and we expect to put their case in front of 12 jurors of their peers and present evidence, and we expect that the charges that we made will be found to be true by the jury, but that remains to be seen. Theyre presumed innocent. They have the right to prove yard and were moving forward to hold them accountable as will. Do you support that charges im sorry to have interrupted you. Before you speak to the federal charges, did you support the decision to move that trial to early next year rather than hold it at the end of this summer . No. That was a decision by the courts sua responsibilitia, on the courts prerogative. We were getting ready for it but the court within its own judgment felt to it would be better to move it so we dont contest that decision. But moving on to the federal charges, theyre different in nature, so were as a state, were vindicating our duty to make sure that people dont have to be fearful of murdering who murder and people who murder will be accountable. Its to make sure civil rights are vindicated. These are civil right charges. They are serious charges. If you look at the federal Sentencing Guidelines, when death as a result of a serious civil rights violation, you can be facing life in prisonment. So those are serious charges and beyond that ill let the federal authorities handle that, but theyre i think theyre proper. Theyre appropriate and im glad the Justice Department is taking it seriously. Wanted to ask you about something that happened in court today, that im not sure anybody knows exactly what it means, im not sure you know what it means but i wanted to get your reaction to it. The defendant today before he was sentenced gave brief remarks in which he did address mr. Floyds family and he said that theres going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and i hope will give you some peace of mind. It seemed both a little strange and potentially a little ominous. Do you have any insight to what mr. Chauvin was talking about or alternately, do you have any reaction to what he said snd. I only have speculation. Obviously, when he said it, it was the first time i heard it and the first time my team heard it. We obviously took our own guesses. We dont have any solid information on exactly what he meant. I will say that i think it is good that he offered his condolences. I think when you take a loved one away from someone its the least you can do is say that, but theres clearly more that could be said. I cant say that i definite actively what he was referring to. Keith ellison in the chief position of organizing this prosecution, which resulted not mope the historic verdict but in todays historically long sentence for Derek Chauvin. I know this has been an exhausting process and theres lots more still to come. Thank you for helping us understand tonight. Thank you. Much more news. Stay with us. H more news. Stay with us youll find a better life is in store at miracleear, when you experience the exclusive miracleear advantage. It starts with our free hearing assessment. Plus Innovative Products that fit your needs and budget. With free service and adjustments for life. Were so confident we can improve your life, were offering a 30day riskfree trial. Call 1800miracle today and experience the miracleear advantage for yourself. The world were inheriting, its in crisis. Call 1800miracle today and experience we got here after years of bad policies, climate deniers, polluters, lobbyists. But now. I do solemnly swear. Finally a president who gets it. 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We dont just work at recology, we own it, creating opportunity and a better planet. Now, thats making a difference. Ok. So the prosecutor starts off with some immediate like drama in the presentation. Its one of those presentations that like goes big right out of the gate. Which is good, provided that it all rolls out smoothly. But heres how it goes. Prosecutor stands up, adjusts the mike and says, this is a case about greed. But not groed for money. Dpreed for power. The judge im sorry. Im going to interrupt. What . Im sorry im going to interrupt. Pull the mic way up close. You can start over if youd like because i didnt hear you. Youve steeled yourself and practiced the whole first line. The whole point is seize the home. Take the floor, this is a case of now just start over. Adjust the mic. She starts over. Prosecutor this is a case about greed but not greed for money. Greed for power, for press teaming, for importance. Its about this man, steven calk who wanted a powerful Government Title and gave out millions of dollars in bank loans to try to get it. He was the chairman and ceo of a bank called the federal savings bank. He pushed his bank to lend to paul man fort a political lockieist. Calk gave out millions because manafort gave him things even more valuable. And manaforts help in getting caulk on a top job. In other words, he took a bribe. Manafort gave him favor and kauk gave him bank loans. This for that. Bribe from Paul Manafort because he used it as his personal piggy bank. Were going to learn that in july 2016 palm manafort asked for a loan he was running the president ial campaign for donald trump. The bank has greed to make the loan and manafort put caulk on the campaign. Youre going to learn that the loan had all sorts of red flags but kalk didnt care. The first loan closed shortly after Election Night once it became clear that manafort can help caulk because trump had won the election. The second was approved. Its a little interruption from the judge at the top kind of steals the thunder but bang, right back into it. That is how the trial opened this week in a courtroom, federal courtroom in the Southern District of new york, the allegation at the heart of this trial is that on the donald trump for president campaign, the campaign manager, Campaign Chairman excuse me was offering consideration for highlevel u. S. Government jobs in exchange for cash. In exchange for millions of dollars paid to him in the form of loans from a small midwestern bank, loans that definitely would not have gone to him. He definitely did not qualify for. Had he not and he would not have received them from that bank had he not been offering to make the Bank President literally secretary of the army provided that the dude caused up the cash. The most Eye Opening Testimony so far in this trial has been from an employee of the bank who explains in fine detail on the stand why in the normal course of events there was no way that trumps Campaign Chairman who got 16 Million Dollars from this little bank unless there was Something Else that was part of the deal here. She explains, for example, how they learned that the credit score has dropped several hundred points to a point where it was so low, most lenders would not lend to someone with a score like that. She explains her surprise at learning he had an unpaid balance on a credit card. That is something the bank had to discover on its open because Paul Manafort didnt disclose it to them me went to them for his loan. In September 2016 she gets an email from somebody else at the bank who says, just an fyi, looks like these guys are in default to genesis. Heres how that went on the stand. Question, did you know who genesis was . I believes it was another lender. Question, what does it mean . Answer. It means he took out a loan and did not pay. Question why is it relevant . Because if they didnt pay a loan to another lender that makes us believe that they will not pay back our loan, either. So surprise. Turns out credit way below what they would approve anybody for. Surprise, 3400,000 and surprise actively defaulting on another loan. She and her colleagues loernd that manafort proposed putting up a property that he owned as collateral for the loan. They were surprised to learn that theres a mechanics lean on the property because Paul Manafort has hired somebody to work on the property and he didnt pay them, either. Then they found out that actually he doesnt really open that property, anyway. He just neglected to mention that he doesnt open the property outside right, which he had led them to believe. In fact, he had a two and a half Million Dollars mortgage on that property. He wants to use the property as collateral for the loan. Ites got a 2. 45 million mortgage against it. Oh, but sorry. Turns out he also forgot to mex an additional hundred Million Dollars he had borrowed against that same house. That again was going to be the collateral for him getting millions more dollars in loans of this bank. This bank is pigging out that this loan may not make sense. Prosecutor, question, do you understand what hes saying here when he says what the hell . How can he be a Million Dollars off . Answer. Yes. What is he saying . Answer he could have mistaken two and a half million for instead, it would be three and a half million. Question when you say he, who is the he . Answer i believe it would be Paul Manafort. Question can read what you wrote . Yes. I wrote, quote, he is so in debt. Question and who did you write there to . Answer i wrote it to the head underwritering in the bank. Is that positive or negative . Are you saying a good thing or bad things about the loans to the head underwriter . Answer im saying a bad thing. Quote, it became very obvious that this was a bad loan. The head underwriter and myself were, quote, exasperated by the information coming in about the loan. Question, dove any basis to know the views other than the emails weve seen . Yes. He and i spoke on the phone. Question do you remember anything he told you . Answer i dont remember specifically. We were both in agreement that this loan was not good. Question did he provide you any advice on what to do . Answer yes. What advice did he provide you . Answer he told me to hold on to all the emails. Or save all the emails because the fbi will be looking into this. At which point the request defense pops up, objection she was right. The fbi did ultimately end up looking into this and the emails are handy. And you know, its something to have the employee from this bank there on the Witness Stand saying i did not believe that the borrower, Paul Manafort, had the ability or the will to repay the loan. She said given the prospect of what this means for steve caulk, though, i understood with my Life Experience that no matter what this loan would be made. The bank making this load would result in steve calk getting something of advantage. I believe theres no way that steve would not make this loan. That would mean he would not get a position within the Trump Administration. This case is under way now in the Southern District of new york. Banks are federally insured. Theres a federal government interest in making sure that banks dont get ripped off by people who are using banks as piggy banks to pay for Government Jobs which are not supposed to be able to buy. And if you are supposed to be able buy them you shouldnt be able to buy them by giving the money to paul freaking manafort. But that was the Trump Campaign. One of the things that president s now pardoned Campaign Chairman is said by prosecutors to have done is he allegedly bribed this bank ceo with the promise of a job for the low, low cost of 16 million and otherwise totally indefensible loans he never should have gotten and never would have qualified for. But the guy who he was offering federal government positions to, if the guy would only pay Paul Manafort. The guy put in writing what exact jobs he wanted in exchange for his banks money, which he was stuffing in Paul Manaforts pockets. He made a list. Quote, ambassadors i would like in rank order. Number one, united kingsessingdom. Number two, france. Number three germany. Italy, spain, australia, china, united nations, the eu, portugal. Portugal after the eu . Come on. In addition he would like in rank order a list of what he labeled Perspective Roles in the Trump Administration, which goes to show you for one thing, the man could spell neither the word pro speckive nor the word rolls. Nevertheless he thought paying Donald Trumps Campaign Chairman millions of dollars. He thought his well his number one perspective role is that he should be the top official in charge of the United States army. In fact, after the dude, you know, agreed to pay up, the trump transition in fact interviewed him to potentially be secretary of the army. We got that confirmation on the Witness Stand from a very well known witness, do you remember Anthony Scaramucci . The mooch. He testified this week in this Bribery Trials a witness for the prosecution, he testified that the Prospective Bank rolls guy who is short rolling by sending all the banks money to Paul Manafort. He is so in debt. Scaramucci testified he did take lots of communications, calls, and texts and emails about getting steven calk that job. Mr. Scaramucci ultimately did kind of offer that the dude could be undersecond of the army if hed be good with that. Mr. Scaramucci on the Witness Stand this week in Southern District of new york. Hes reading his Text Messages for the prosecution. At 7 46 p. M. Scaramucci writes and hes reading out loud. Quote, would he take undersecretary of the army. Are we double sure . Then he says, if so, i think we can get it done. And scaramucci didnt know as far as we can tell, right, that manafort was getting paid by this guy, but this is the way the Trump Campaign worked. Manafort was the Campaign Chierm Home Run chairman. Hes going to make this die the undersecretary of the entire United States army. Sure, why not . Because thats what the campaign brought to the table. In addition to scaramucci, Another Trump Transition Official testified this week about thousand vetting process worked around this guy who was involved in the Election Bribery Scheme of manafort. Honestly, in normal administrations, i think i think officials will sometimes have little reunions, gettogethers, hows your family, living in d. C. , catch up. They were going to meet up at the criminal proceedings theyre going to be witnesses at. Hey. Havent seen you sins the Rudy Disbarment Proceeding let me know how it goes with the subpoena. I know. Its so hard to keep in touch. I keep having to get phones, too. Darn fbi. They got all my stuff. I mean, being an ex Trump Administration official is a thing that isnt true for other recent administrations going back to watergate. Other than Anthony Scaramucci, the other Trump Transition Officials who testified in this trial this week, his name is corey langehofer, hes working in politics. Which they guess is another kind of work these folks can find for themselves, questioning the Election Results from 2020 . Today, the New York Times was first to report that lawyers for the Trump Organization have been informed by New York State prosecutors that criminal charges are now being considered against trumps business and they may come very soon. You may recall that Trump University was pursued as a Criminal Fraud Scheme by new york prosecutors. Trump university was ultimately shut down and trump had to pay 25 million to settle that matter. Then it was the trumps foundation, the big charity that was pursued also as a fraud scheme. It, too rpgs was shut down and trump was forced to pay millions of dollars. Now its the Trump Organization. Its his core business, and as early as next week, the Trump Organization itself looks like it may be criminally charged as well as potentially individual employees or executives of the Trump Organization. Now, whether or not the former president ever faces potential criminal charges himself in this matter and theres no sign of that at this point what this nevertheless represents is the very real prospect that the former president will be forced out of business with criminal charges that could come as soon as next week. And think about how that arrives right now. Think about the sort of mind set that may be at play here, right . This word that the the Trump Organizations lawyers met. Theyre trying to talk them out of filing criminal charges. Prosecutors have made it known to them that criminal charges are likely and soon. In a matter of days. And that news arrives with a day of the president s personal lawyer, rudy guiliani, having his license to practice law suspended in New York State for what a new york court found were his repeated knowing lies to the public and to the courts about trumps fantasy that he somehow didnt lose the last election. That news arrived yesterday, within a day of Michigan Senate republicans publicly Debunking Trump and guilianis claims about the election being stolen in that state as well. Last night we learned about the effort to, quote, audit the Election Results in the State Of Georgia. That effort is getting turned back by a state court in georgia. Looks like the Trump Supporters fantasy of doing to the president al vote in georgia what theyre doing to it in arizona. Looks like that wont happen thanks to a judges ruling yelled. Today we learn that the u. S. Justice department is suing georgia for Voting Restrictions that republicans passed into law on the basis of all the supposed fraud that trump has been climg happened in that state in the election which he lost. It is a huge deal. Well have more on that coming up in a couple of minutes on the show. But like i said, take these things together. Right. Put these things together as bricks in the same wall. Things are not going well in trump world right now. In a way that is i think worse than anything since the first week in january. I mean, from the Trump Campaign criminal bribery trial in that new york courtroom this week, which is turning into a little reunion of Witnesses Techg for the prosecution, to the brick falls that trump is starting to hit about him being reinstated as. Be one thing he was quietly nurturing that hope. Hes been crowing about it for months as it starts to become impossible and humiliating, his pup statements that hell be reinstated are things hes up against himself. Ever hear him say, oh, i was wrong . Turns outs thats not going to happen. Really . And then theres the cold hard consequences that trump is starting to bash into from rudy losing his law license to shutting down the business. This is all quite bad if you are donald trump. Putting Business Out Of business . This is existentially challenging stuff to him and its all piling on top of each other in fairly short order. I put these things together. I cant predict the future and neither can you. I know i said this one other time this week. I feel like it is worth having a headsup on this. They say when the things get weird, the weird turn pro. When things get quite this bad, things also tend to get weird and radical. Im not sure anybody can predict whats going to come next out of trump world given all the pressure theyre facing on all these different sides. We know hes planning a rally in marin county california, tomorrow. We also know one of these Election Conspiracy movies is going to be released this weekend. The Big Cyber News audit that Trump Supporters have been running in arizona, it was supposed to end yesterday but its still happening theyre apparently still keeping it going and nobody knows why or exactly what theyre doing, even as trump and supporters claim that the vote will be certified and hell be reinstated as president. They would be done in april. Then they said it was done yesterday. Theyre not done. Theyre still doing something, and nobody knows what. None of this is good. With this much treasure on trump right now, i think that anythings possible. Im hoping for a very boring weekend. I always am. But heads up. Spicy like them pajama pants. Hey, the camera is staying up here. This is not the second date. Are you tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . Hey, the camera is staying up here. What if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks . Now they can Downy Unstopables inwash Scent Boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. Pour a cap of Downy Unstopables into your Washing Machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. With 6 times the freshness ingredients, Downy Unstopables gives you more of what you love. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have Downy Unstopables inwash Scent Boosters. gong rings this is joe. Combative Yelling he used to have bad breath. Now, he uses a capful of therabreath fresh breath oral rinse to keep his breath smelling great, all day long. Combative Yelling therabreath, its a better mouthwash. At walmart, target and other fine stores. Todays 22 and a half year prison in the killing of george floyd was also a reminder of the federal government, specifically the u. S. Justice department, has stepped up on policing issues since the Biden Administration started. The federal investigation, the pattern and practice investigation of the whole Minneapolis Police department, the federal charges being brought against chauvin and three other officers in the trial thats yet to be scheduled. Another pattern and practice investigation in louisville where Brionna Taylor was killed, federal hate crimes charges brought against Three Georgia Men being believed to be involved in the death of ahmad a bring. Arbery. Before today we had seen comparatively little from the biden Justice Department. When it comes to the other major responsibility of its division which of course is protecting Voting Rights. Youll remember that the Justice Department sent a stern letter to arizona warning them that their socalled audit might violate federal laws. They cents a stern letter but no followup action besides the letter itself. Then a couple of weeks ago Attorney General farland gave a speech in which he said the Justice Department would look at Restrikive Voting Laws around the country as well as threats to Election Officials. That was just a speech. Today, though, we finally saw some action. First, a memo from the Deputy Attorney general, announcing the creation of what appears to be a substantive task force inside the Justice Department the that will respond to and look to head off threats against Elections Officials and elections workers around the country. Thats a substantive thing. That matters. Also, landing like a, you know, cannon ball in the keep end of the pool today was the Justice Department announcing a major lawsuit against the State Of Georgia for its ream passed bill to dramatically scale back access to Polling Places in that state. Today the department of justice is suing the State Of Georgia. Our complaint alleges that recent changes in georgias election laws were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color in violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights act. Our complaint challenges several provisions of sb 202 on the grounds that they were adopted with the intent to deny or abridge black citizens equal access to the political process. Heres the government complaint referenced there by Attorney General garland and by kristin clark, the recently confirmed hefd of the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department. Its about 46 pages. Its very readable. The thing that leaps outs at you even if youre not a lawyer is that what the Justice Department is saying about georgia is that not only have they taken these unjustified steps to restrike the ability of some Georgia Cannians to vote, the very serious allegation is that it wasnt incidental. It was done with intent. As the complaint, the lawsuit states playly, quote, passage of senate bill 202 was motivated by discriminatory purpose. They list all the ways. Then they say this, quote, the Georgia Legislature enacted zmet bill 202 with the knowledge of the disproportionate effect that these provisions both singly and together would have on black voters ability to participate in the mill process on an equal basis with white voters. With knowledge of the disproportionate effect. The Justice Department really mincing no words. But the Justice Departments lawsuit today was not the first to accuse georgia of exactly that. Theres a question now as to what happens with this big Justice Department action going after the state and all the other entities that have started suing georgia over this exact fact. Interesting future here. Hold that thought. Well be right back. Hold that thought. Well be right back. Coverage customizer tool . Sorry . Well, since you asked. 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Designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke. So youre ready for the day with a fresh face for a fresh start. For a limited time get a 5th Cartridge free. In march, the republican governor of georgia signed a new law to radically restrict Voting Rights in georgia. Just four days later civil Rights Groups like the naacps Civil Defense fund sued the state over the law. They argued the restrictions in that law have a pronounced disparate impact upon voters from historically disenfranchised communities, a result so clear that it can only be intentional. It can only be intentional. Now almost three months later those groups are being joined by a heavy. The u. S. Department of justice, which today announced that on behalf of the American People it too will sue georgia to block that law. Our guest is associate counsel with the naacps defense fund. Thank you so much for making time. Its a pleasure to be here. I hear the echo in your lawsuit from march and the Justice Departments action today, talking about intentionally targeting voters of color, that language in your lawsuit. Today the Justice Department saying that the law was motivated, meaning the intent was discrimination, motivated by discriminatory purpose. For us nonlawyers, can you help us understand the gravity of that charge and how important it is to whether or not this law is constitutional . Absolutely. To allege that a law is intentionally discriminatory requires you to prove that the legislators acted with intent, that they were aware of the consequences of their actions, and they intended for those consequences to be so. We know that in the case of georgia, the particular provisions of this 90plus page law that evolved over time from something that was just a few pages to this tome that ultimately is one of the worst Voter Suppression laws that weve seen, is the result of legislators effectively examining what worked for black voters in this last election where there was historic turnout in both the November 2020 election and the subsequent runoff election, and then crafting a Suppression Bill that addresses the very ways in which black voters were able to exercise their fundamental right to vote so robustly. So what we see in this 90page law is a restriction on the time in which you can request an absentee ballot. We see restrictions on the ability of Election Officials to voluntarily send out Absentee Ballots to eligible voters to enable them to vote through this wellused mechanism that people have used across the country for many decades without incident. It limits the ability of people to cast ballots outside of their designated precincts and have those ballots counted for the races that have nothing to do with where that precinct is assigned. There are just particular ways, if you look at the exact provisions of this law, you can see a roadmap to how black voters were able to exercise their right to vote and now how that right to vote will be fundamentally denied and abridged. Do you expect that the Justice Department may intervene in your lawsuit or that in some other way well see these lawsuits essentially become joined . Obviously youre aiming at the same target here. Well, rachel, there are seven lawsuits, and now with the department of justice, one additional lawsuit. Many of the Lawsuits Overlap in their claims. But we represent individual plaintiffs and groups that have distinct interests. So the department of justice is operating, as we know, on behalf of the United States government. And the United States government has a distinct interest in ensuring that our elections are free from Racial Discrimination. We also have a distinct interest as an organization that has worked for over 80 years to protect the rights of black voters to ensure that they can exercise the franchise free and fair of discrimination. So we have brought claims of intentional discrimination. Weve brought claims about the effects of this law on black voters. And especially voters who have disabilities. Lets not forget that many of these provisions affect individuals who may face particular challenges in light of the pandemic and in light of limitations that they may face, and that these restrictions make it much more difficult for persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote. So we represent a very broad class of plaintiffs that is distinct from the interests of the u. S. Government. But we are delighted that they have filed this lawsuit, that they are bringing their artillery to this fight. We need all hands on deck. And i think the number of organizations that have sued on this law is a reflection of how deleterious and offensive it is to our general norms and expectations about how we should treat the right to vote in this country. The fact that so many groups are alleging Racial Discrimination should be a real signal as to how clear it is to so many of us who care to deeply about the right to vote. Associate director, counsel of the naacp Legal Defense fund, thank you for giving us that perspective, i hadnt heard it put in those terms. Thank you so much. Keep us apprised. Youre very welcome, thank you, rachel. Well be right back. E very you, rachel. Well be right back. Did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins . Heartburn happens when Stomach Acid Refluxes into the esophagus. Prilosec otc uses a unique delayedrelease formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. It then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Did i tell you ive been doing this for like 13 years now and im still absolutely terrible at it . I just barreled through i think two, maybe three commercials. Like, thats totally illegal in cable news but i just did it. Like, ive never done this before. 13 years. I apologize. But i do it all the time. Sorry. That does it for