Hearing, but thats what it turned into. Of course we know its going to be partisan, but this hyperpartisanship that were in now is just really unprecedented and its really unbelievable. I was embarrassed actually watching today. I was sitting there, saying, chris, this is whos running our country . What is going now we know why people want to vote the bums out. You know what, thats the hope. The hope is people will see this and say we want better. No matter your stripe, right, left, or reasonable, that you make different choices based on what youre seeing. Look, i am a lawyer, which means that im very, very good at eating chinese food. Or reading body language. What was that . It sounded like you and me after ten drinks on the weekend. Well, speak for your simpselt i do have to say, you know, we have to figure out what were going to do, and i dont think the people in washington, many of them did themselves a service today, any service. Guaranteed. Thank you, chris. See you soon. Nice job. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. What we saw on capitol hill today was nasty. A hearing that erupted into chaos from the very first question. A partisan bareknuckle brawl. Embattled fbi agent peter strzok going head to head with republicans well into the night, defending himself against attacks over his antitrump texts. At no time in any of these texts did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action i took. And the suggestion that i in some dark chamber somewhere in the fbi would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safeguards and somehow be able to do this is astounding to me. It simply couldnt happen. It was a day of shouting matches and speeches disguised as questions, which he didnt get a chance to really answer or rebut much of the time. All of it playing out on live tv. In one embarrassing exchange after another, like this one about his affair with a former fbi lawyer, lisa page. And i cant help but wonder when i see you looking there with a little smirk how many times did you look so innocent into your wifes eye and lie to her about lisa page mr. Chairman, this is outrageous. The credibility of a witness is always an issue. Mr. Chairman, please. Mr. Chairman, this is intolerable harassment of the witness. What is wrong with that . You need your medication. You need your medication. Were going to hear from her in just moments. And what can you say about this exchange . This morning i watched by the way, im a dentist, okay, so i read body language very, very well. And i watched you comment and actions with mr. Gowdy. You got very angry in regards to the gold star father. That shows me that its innately a part of you and a bias. Sir, i disagree. I dont know if youre saying this experience is like being at the dentist if thats what youre suggesting. Ladies and gentlemen, the congress of the United States of america, our leaders. We voted them in. Playing politics and trying to discredit the russia investigation just days before President Trumps face to face meeting with vladimir putin. One thing is for sure. If russia intended to sow discord in this country, mission accomplished. Joining me now is congresswoman Sheila Jacksonlee, a Texas Democrat who is on the Judiciary Committee and was at the hearing today. Congresswoman, thank you for joining us. I appreciate your time. As chris said and as anderson said before, we invited republicans on. None of them chose to come on. We thank you for coming on. What was it like inside the hearing room, and did we learn anything new today . Don, first of all, thank you for having me. And i wish the republicans had come on because really, don, truth is nonpartisan, and i truly believe that in these hearings, we should give the person people hope, hope in their constitution, hope in their governance and those who govern. What it was like was a shark tank if i might unfortunately use a phrase or maybe a popular show because there were a group that wanted nothing more than to undercut, to cut down peter strzok as opposed to getting facts. And thats what the American People they can live with transparency and truth, and that is what we wanted to get out, the story. We wanted to reinforce, don, if i might, pages and pages of the Inspector General. And for those who dont know, an Inspector General is in every agency. And it has a firewall around it where it can investigate its own. And clearly in this document, although bias was evidenced, they said it had nothing to do wth the investigation, or there was no bias in the investigation. And it says it specifically here. All of the republicans had this document, and so they could have chronologically gone through a time line maybe to show maybe their dislike for peter strzok or what they thought was bias even though it was proven not to be. But they chose not to do that. They chose to be personal. They chose to divide. And certainly it looked as if democrats who really were trying to parse through what a hearing should be, the witness should be able to answer, we should have a certain decorum. Listen, congresswoman. We should not talk over the witness. I dont disagree because i was frustrated watching. Whether you agree with him or not, at least give him the chance to explain or respond to what youre saying. But also i noticed that many of the democrats were you know, had praise for him. I think one of them said he should have been given a purple heart or something for appearing today. Do you think that democrats were maybe a little easy on him . I dont think so. I know there was a lot of emotion there, and that emotion obviously evidenced in some very complimentary words. But heres the point. We had read the materials as the republicans had. We wanted to get to the point of why there was a seeming difference between proceeding with the clinton emails, which again has been put to rest by the i. G. Report and the final report, and the russian investigation, which is still ongoing. And i think it should be evident that, in fact, what has happened is the side the republicans did not speak anything about the russia investigation, and thats why i asked that question, don, at the end. What gave you the sense in 2016 of the seriousness of the russian investigation. Lets play this. Lets play it. And thats when he indicated, if you will, that he felt that they had gotten credible evidence from a credible person and that this was extremely serious. I want to play it and get you to respond to it. Here it is. I think trying to keep this at a level not talking about open investigations only your yes, maam. So the predicating information, the information we had which was alleging a russian offer of assistance to a member of the trump campaign, was of extraordinary significance. It was from a credible source. I know you lost your earpiece but i was trying to play that because you were explaining it. How significant is that . Enormously significant. I think the important point of that, don thank you for playing that was it goes to the crux of the line of questioning that republicans were asking, is cant you cover up or shortstop, if you will, the clinton investigation dealing with her emails, which by the way had already been investigated except for that surprise announcement by director comey, which we later found out had no substance to it. But the point of this issue was and what we got from peter strzok later is it didnt matter yes, many people thought that trump would not win. But what he said to himself or maybe to his staff, suppose he did win. He said even candidate trump would want to know whether there was credible evidence from a credible person that indicated that something was awry. In this instance, the russian involvement in skewing the election to one candidate versus another. He would think any patriot, any american would want that information, and it made perfect sense. But i think his innocence of answering my question and the fact that he was under oath, i think gave it more strength to it. Thats what i wanted to get out. Were you, peter strzok, biased and unfair to either candidate . And what is the level of seriousness of an intrusion from a foreign entity that is our adversary from a credible source that something was going wrong with the election . I think that was extremely important. I hope the American People saw that answer and the truthful manner in which mr. Strzok wanted it to be offered. That is what we missed in the overall hearing as well as the connection to the administration, to the campaign of a long series of involvement with russia from donald trump at the trump tower to the dirt on hillary. That should have been the collective impact of this hearing, not an attack on peter, or not an attack on individual members or an attack on the american constitution. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee, thank you. I appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. Joining me now, congresswoman Bonnie Watson coleman, a new jersey democrat, who is on the Oversight Committee. She was also in the thick of it at todays hearings. Thank you for joining us this evening, congresswoman. Thank you for having me. I want to play this fiery moment that you had with trey gowdy. Here it is. Starting with the political death penalty, an impeachment is not the logical way a neutral you know, point of order. Were demanding equal time. Mr. Chairman, if you cant control yourself, how do you expect this committee to control itself . Youve been out of control since youve been on this committee. Why dont you leave it alone . This is not benghazi. Wow. I mean is that how you see todays hearings, another fishing expedition . Oh, absolutely. I mean let me just tell you one good thing i think came out of this hearing. There is still no indication that whatever mr. Strzok had on his text message exchanges, nothing has impacted the findings of the investigation. Thats what the final report showed. Go on. Thats what the final report shows. We went into that knowing that. Weve come out of that knowing that, if we dont know anything else. We really could have been using our time as an Oversight Committee and a Judiciary Committee to look at issues that weve not been dealing with, that are very important to the American People, such as the separation of families and children, such as whats happening in puerto rico now after all these months, such as whats happening with criminal Justice Reform and affirmative action . Whats happening with this president , who is representing i dont know. Hes not representing americas interest as hes overseas. Why arent we doing the kind of oversight and the kind of accountability of the things that are going on right now . But you what about the way this president has enriched himself being in violation of the emolume emoluments. But that does not help the party that is in charge right now. Exactly. Again, to the point of what the report showed, what peter strzok did and lisa page, inappropriate, but did not affect the outcome of the investigation. Absolutely. I want to play this. This is another moment this is with congresswoman louie gohmert. Ive talked to fbi agents around the country. Youve embarrassed them. Youve embarrassed yourself, and i cant help but wonder when i see you looking there with a little smirk, how many times did you look so innocent into your wifes eye and lie to her about lisa page . Mr. Chairman, this is outrageous. The credibility of a witness is always an issue. Mr. Chairman, please. Have you no this is intolerable harassment of the witness. What is wrong with that . You need your medication. Wow. Gohmert asked strzok about his affair. Many saw that as inappropriate. You said, does he need his medication. Do you regret saying that at all. I probably would not have said it had i thought about it but i was really quite frustrated at that moment. I was frustrated because i knew that all of these antics that they were displaying were just simply ways of covering up for what this president , who is ill equipped to represent us, is doing to the American People and to people who have no voice. I was very struck by how mean the congressman was, how unnecessarily disrespectful he was, even though i recognize that all of this they are involved in are nothing but tactics to cover up with the president is or is not doing. So if i you know, i guess if i were not so disgusted at that moment and feeling quite frustrated that they were treating this witness as if he were some terrorist that they had caught and not some individual that is flawed just like the rest of us, maybe i would not have said that. But i did say it, and he certainly did manifest behavior that questions whether or not he has it all together all the time. Ive got to run, congresswoman, with all due respect. Can you give me a short answer here . How do you think this played with the people at home who are watching, with the constituents, with americans . I think theyre probably very hurt. I think theyre very concerned. I think that, however, with all you think it makes a difference even with conservatives or with the president s supporters . Well, i dont think anything makes a difference with his core supporters. But i think other people have to see that at the end of the day, we didnt need to be spending our time on this. They didnt learn that this investigation had been compromised by this one individual, who couldnt possibly impact the outcome of the investigation. He didnt have the last word. He didnt even have the next to the last word. So the people should question why would republicans put so much effort into this, and why would they try to tear this individual apart about an issue that weve already resolved and we know the answer to . Congresswoman Bonnie Watson coleman, thank you for your time. Thanks for having me, don. When we come back, if you think what you have heard so far was contentious, wait until you hear peter strzok go head to head with congressman trey gowdy, next. Im a fouryearold ring bearer with a bad habit of swallowing stuff. Still wont eat my broccoli, though. And if you dont have the right overage, you could be paying for that pricey love band yourself. So get an allstate agent, and be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Can a ring bearer get a snack around here . Heres something you should know. Theres a serious virus out there that 1 in 30 boomers has, yet most dont even know it. A virus thats been almost forgotten. Its hepatitis c. Hep c can hide in the body for years without symptoms. Left untreated it can lead to liver damage, even liver cancer. The only way to know if you have hep c is to ask your Healthcare Provider for the simple blood test. If you have hep c, it can be cured. For us, its time to get tested. Its the only way to know for sure. The new united explorer card makes things easy. Traveling lighter. Taking a shortcut. woooo taking a breather. Rewarded learn more at theexplorercard. Com lean on me, when youre not strong and ill be your friend ill help you carry on lean on me. Blue moon is a belgian style wheat beer. Brewed with valencia orange peel for a flavorful refreshing taste that rises above. Join tmobile. And get netflix included for the whole family. So you can get lost in space in your own backyard. Or get pumped up for your grand entrance. Only tmobile lets you watch your favorite movies and shows in more places, without paying more. Get an unlimited family plan with netflix on us. And right now at tmobile, buy one Samsung Galaxy s9 and get one free. Embattled fbi agent peter strzok forcefully defending himself at a fiery daylong hearing. House republicans accusing him of bias in the russia investigation over antitrump Text Messages he sent to a former colleague. I want to talk more about this with someone political analyst patrick healey, National Security and legal analyst susan hennessy, and counterterrorism analyst philip mudd who worked for both the fbi and the cia. Were you guys watching your tv boxes today . Madness, i tell you. Im a former theater reporter, don, and this is like nothing i ever saw. I mean an incredible standoff, and clearly both sides had something to you know, quite a bit they wanted to prove, political points that weve always seen in congressional hearings. But the level of sort of vitriol and the role reversals of republicans like really going after the fbi, you know, basically trying to undermine, it seemed like, sort of an investigation. Mmhmm. It was really just striking. An upside down world, my friends. Susan, so i want to play this moment. This is between trey gowdy and peter strzok. Watch this. Your testimony is bob mueller did not kick you off because of the content of your text. He kicked you off because of some appearance that he was worried about. My testimony, what you asked and what i responded to was that he kicked me off because of my bias. Im stating to you it is not my understanding that he kicked me off because of any bias, that it was done based on the appearance. If you want to represent what you said accurately, im happy to answer that question, but i dont appreciate what was originally said being changed. I dont give a damn what you appreciate, agent strzok. I dont appreciate having an fbi agent with an unprecedented level of animus working on two major investigations during 2016. I can assure you, mr. Chairman, at no time in any of these texts did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action i took. Furthermore, this isnt just me sitting here telling you. You dont have to take my word for it. At every step, at every investigative decision, there are multiple layers of people above me, the assistant director, executive assistant director, Deputy Director and director of the fbi and multiple layers of people before me, section chiefs, supervisors, unity chiefs, all of whom were involved in all of these decisions. They would not intolerate any improper behavior in me any more than i would tolerate it in them. That is who we are in the fbi. And the suggestion that i in some dark chamber in the fbi would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safeguards and somehow be able to do this is astounding to me. It simply couldnt happen, and the proposition that that is going on, that it might occur anywhere in the fbi deeply corrodes what the fbi is in american society, the effectiveness of their mission, and it is deeply destructive. Well, damn. So, susan, he tried to defend himself, saying despite these Text Messages, he left his political beliefs at the door, that it didnt impact any investigation. Do you think he succeeded. Yes, i think that agent strzok is pushing back on this notion that we see Congressional Republicans trying to conflate again and again and thats that individuals in the federal government have personal political beliefs. Thats not the same thing as bias, so they have an obligation to take those political believes and whenever they hit the front door of the fbi or other parts of the federal government, they set them aside and serve the American People. One thing that was astounding about the hearing today was the degree to which congress, especially the majority members of congress, appeared unable to even understand the concept that you could have a political view and not have it impact your work, as if it was so foreign they couldnt even comprehend it. You know, for individuals who work in federal law enforcement, who work in the intelligence community, all across the United States government and the United States military, this is not a concept thats difficult to wrap their minds around. So i really do think that at some level, it reflects on the characters of the individuals who are asking it and who are failing to understand, you know, this really basic principle. Its difficult to wrap your head around if youre a partisan. But heres my question, phil, as i was watching that and looking at trey gowdys face. I thought that in that moment, strzok was very effective. Regardless of what you think about what he did yes, it was inappropriate what he did. Given his role in this investigation, he should not have been doing it, but i thought he was pretty effective. Do you think this is why they stopped allowing him to answer . When he would get one word out, they would cut him off or make their questions statements instead of questions. Sure. Let me take you on the other side of this, don. Ive done a lot of hearings in my life. Some were friendly. A lot were hostile. Before the iraq war i did a lot of hostile hearings with former cia director george tenet. When youre in that situation, especially in an open hearing, when members of congress, republicans and democrats know theyre on a camera, one of the questions you have is am i going to walk out of this room making news or not . I dont know mr. Strzok, but if i were him walking into this hearing, id have a simple question. My reputation has been damaged. Its been damaged appropriately. He did things he should not have done. Am i going to walk out of this room either damaging my reputation or the fbis reputation further, or am i going to make news . Tell me which of those he did. I didnt see any news in the hearing today beyond the fact that republicans and democrats cant conduct a sensible hearing for the American People. And i didnt see him damaging himself. So i would go back and say the republicans wanted him to Say Something that would be embarrassing. He didnt, so they wanted him to move on. I agree with you. They wanted him to Say Something stupid, and he didnt. Speaking of that, in that vein, they made him read the Text Messages out loud. Were going to play that, and youll see it for yourself, next. Does your Business Internet provider promise a lot . Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business gives you gigspeed in more places. The others dont. We offer up to 6 hours of 4g Wireless Network backup. Everyone else, no way. We let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. Them, not so much. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go on line today. House gop members at todays raucous hearing accusing fbi agent peter strzok of bias as he fought back all through the daylong session. Back with me, patrick healey, susan hennessy, and philip mudd. As promised, i want to play more from todays hearing. At one point darrell issa made strzok read his texts. You want me to read this. Yes, please. Omg, hes an idiot. Hi, how is trump other than a dush . Trump is a disaster. I have no idea how destablizing his presidency would be. So considering what phil said just before the break, was that about how lighting how inappropriate the texts were, humiliating him, or both . Yes, i think it was an effort to humiliate him. I do think its worth noting that calling the president an idiot, suggesting he was unfit for the office of the presidency, those were views that were expressed by republican members of congress in the very same period if you look at comments made by ted cruz, Lindsey Graham and others. So strzok isnt really dramatically departing from the own partys representations in that moment. I think what theyre really trying to do is undermine the investigator in order to undermine the investigation, in order to undermine the larger fbi. You know, that really was the entire goal of what really was sort of political theater today. You know, and i dont think any of the American People can walk away from watching this exchange with any degree of confidence in the ability of the u. S. Congress to actually conduct meaningful oversight. Phil mudd, i think she makes a very good point, and i have made similar points about that. The difference is hes in charge of an investigation. Hes an fbi agent, phillip. But the question is i wonder what Text Messages from the same people who were asking those questions today at that same time would show, what they were saying to each other or friends or whomever about donald trump. Theres a simple proposition here, don, and that is tens of millions of americans voted. Some of them hated Hillary Clinton, and im sure among friends, lovers, spouses, they sent nasty things. The same things were sent about donald trump. I had a governmentissued blackberry back in the day, im sorry to say, at the fbi. I sent personal messages, i admit, openly, first time in public, that i should not have done that. The problem in this case is not whether he sent personal messages. Its using a governmentissued phone to say things about politics that are appropriate to say in the home. Everybody during the election was saying stuff that was harsh. His mistake was saying it on a governmentissued phone. He should be embarrassed by that. He should never have done that. But to expect that somebody in an investigation doesnt have a political view that means they despise Hillary Clinton or despise donald trump, thats not what america was two years ago. You know that as well as i do. Lets talk about the facts here, patrick, because if he wanted to influence the election, he could have leaked that there was an investigation, and he didnt do that. Sure, absolutely. I mean he had plenty of opportunity if he, in fact, wanted to stop donald trump from becoming president potentially. All through october, as it seemed like different controversies were blowing up, certainly kind of the hacked emails on the left, there would have been plenty of opportunities to leak. And, look, washington agents leak. There was pressure certainly on, as we know now, you know, within the fbi. But whether to disclose in an Ongoing Investigation was going on of the trump campaign. He could have done that in so many different ways, don. Instead, its just interesting today it did remind me a little bit of the benghazi hearing with Hillary Clinton. The sort of hours of questions kind of going over the same sort of points, laying bait over and over again, you know, in hopes that someone would either lose their temper. But trey gowdy saying damn, thats a very conscious decision. What representative gohmert did about the smirk and the wife, i mean that is so clearly about laying bait and trying to get someone to Say Something because frankly they knew that ultimately there didnt seem to be any evidence that he actually did, you know, interfere in this investigation, at least according to the i. G. Patrick, phil, susan, thank you so much. When we come back, former president george w. Bush speaking out tonight. Were going to tell you what he says disturbs him about our countrys current policies. It is such a good time to kiss it is such a good time to dance it is such a good time to [ laughing ] scoobidoo doobidoo scoobidoo doobidoo [ goose honking ] [ laughing ] a bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. Progressive helps keep you out there. Its the fuel that helps power color this stunning and hair this healthy looking, every time you color. Its the oilpowered formula in olia. It propels color deep into hair and without ammonia. Its in the oils. Olia. Brilliant color, visibly healthier hair. But, with more exercise and a change in diet, it can be reversed. Ive tried exercising. It just makes me hungry. For bacon. I love bacon, too. And who really likes to exercise . Not me. Me neither nobody [both laugh] so, were good . What . Oh, you still have prediabetes. Big time. Former president george w. Bush weighing in tonight on the immigration battle thats roiling the country. Im disturbed by the debate thats taking place because i think it undermines the goodness of america. I think it doesnt recognize the valuable contributions that immigrants make to our society, and it obscures the fact that the rhetoric does that the system is broken and needs to be fixed. Lets discuss with cnn political commentator Symone Sanders and alice stewart. Symone, strong words by the former president and the repudiation of a sitting president. Whats your reaction in. I agree with former president george w. Bush. I think all americans should be concerned about what i believe is a humanitarian crisis at our border, which was manufactured by the sitting president , donald trump. I absolutely am glad that former president george w. Bush is speaking out. I think in these times, many folks feel that because of decorum and protocol and how, you know, thats not how we usually do things, to speak out against a sitting president or to, you know, challenge him so forcefully, that its not something we can do in this moment. But to see that, you know, the former president felt convinced and convicted that this is what he should do i think is reassuring to all of us. And i hope more republicans speak out and do something about this crisis. Its interesting, symone, because he never criticized barack obama when he was in office. Barack obama didnt put kids in cages, don, and rip children and after those kids were ripped from their mothers, both of them, put them in cages and what is the equivalent of prison. So there you have it. I was just trying to show this must be something he feels extremely strongly about in order to do that. Go ahead, alice. Yeah. I mean i wish we could stop everything and play that entire program for the rest of the show, and we can all bask in some president ial civility for a while because it was a really nice program at the clinton school. And, look, president bush made an extremely important point, is that our immigration system is broken and does need to be fixed. Unfortunately the way that the Current Administration is going about doing it, it has created some incivility and some really problems along the border. Look, i support the president s policies of Strong Border security and enforcing our current immigration laws and which includes but i do but you also agree with what the former president said. I do because i think the current family separation issue has become deplorable, and the fact that we cannot unite these parents with their children is heartbreaking. And as president bush said, it just goes to show a very uncivil part of where we have come and that were not showing the true compassion that we need to those that are coming into this country seeking asylum. He made some extremely good points, but he did it in, i view, as a very respectful way. The trump reunified 58 of the roughly 100 families. They say 46 have been deemed ineligible because some have been accused of crimes in dozens of cases. Given the way this has been handled, do you trust this assessment . Is that the end of it . I dont think this is the end of it, don. I think people across the country and legislators on capitol hill are going to continue to demand answers from the Trump Administration. Secondly, i also dont trust the assessment. The Trump Administration had no intention of ever unifying these families again. Remember, they took kids who came across the border in texas and sent them to places like new york city, minnesota, and other places that we still just dont know. So i am very concerned about anything that we hear from the Trump Administration, and i think everyone should just, you know, be very leery of any numbers coming from them. So, alice, lets talk about something that we discussed last night, which was a very tough, very honest conversation we had here. Candid yet tough. Theres been a lot of racial incidents happening all over. We reported on 62yearold Timothy Trybus harassing a woman at a park because she was wearing a tshirt that said puerto rico. Watch this. Youre not going to change us. You know that . Im not trying to change anyone. Im trying to come here for a i birthday party. You should not be wearing that in the United States of america. Are you a citizen . Yes, i am a citizen. Can you please get away from me. Then you should not be wearing that. Please get away from me. Officer, i feel highly uncomfortable. Can you please are you a citizen . Please, officer. So theres a lot there. One, that Puerto Ricans are u. S. Citizens. The other is that the officer didnt do anything. He has resigned. But that man has now been charged with a felony hate crime. Why dont we ever really hear President Trump denounce racist acts of violence . He tweets about all kinds of things. He responds to all kinds of other events, but he doesnt bother with this. Do you think this even bothers him . Why doesnt he do it . I dont know why he wouldnt do it. I would like to think that if hes asked about this, he would certainly do so because this is the very reason why hate crime legislation was created, because acts of violence based on a persons social group or their orientation or where they came from, that should not happen. And the fact that we have legislation in place goes to show that enough is enough, and this cant be tolerated. And you say this man made several points. Theres so many things wrong with this video, but the fact that this man approaches this woman who is not doing anything wrong and accuses her of trying to change america because shes wearing a puerto rican shirt. As you say, puerto rico is a u. S. Territory, so she is a u. S. Citizen. So this guy is not just bigot the aed and racist, hes also an idiot because he didnt know that fact. Also that the officer didnt step in and do something, and hes been removed from his duties. Symone, do you want to get in 0 i aword on this . One i think theres something to be said that the officer resigned and was in fact not fired. So often folks do not believe in the Justice System because they have not been met with justice. Thank you both. I appreciate your time. When we come back, the case that galvanized a civil right movement. A 14yearold africanamerican boy abducted and brutally murdered. The white men accused of killing him acquitted. Why the investigation into emmett tills death being reopened 63 years after his death. And now for the rings. Im a fouryearold ring bearer with a bad habit of swallowing stuff. Still wont eat my broccoli, though. And if you dont have the right overage, you could be paying for that pricey love band yourself. So get an allstate agent, and be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Can a ring bearer get a snack around here . Who says summer gets all the fun . Not us. Because southwest has 69 oneway sale fares for travel throughout september and october. So you can fill the rest of your year with amazing trips. From Football Games to reunions, or just a break from the office. These 69 oneway sale fares are ready to make your september and october a whole lot better. Book now at southwest. Com. Low fares. No hidden fees. Thats transfarency. The new united explorer card hooks me up. Getting more for getting away. Traveling lighter. Getting settled. Rewarded learn more at theexplorercard. Com but, with more exercise and a change in diet, it can be reversed. Ive tried exercising. It just makes me hungry. For bacon. I love bacon, too. And who really likes to exercise . Not me. Me neither nobody [both laugh] so, were good . What . Oh, you still have prediabetes. Big time. We are learning tonight the Justice Department has reopened the investigation into one of the most brutal examples of racist violence in american history. The murder of 14yearold emmett till in 1955. More than a half century before black lives matter. In a time when attacks against africanamericans were horrifyingly common has the power to shock to this day. Well, till, was a chicago kid visiting family in mississippi when he was taken from his bed in the middle of the night on august 28, 1955, accused of making advances toward a white woman. 21yearold caroline bryant. Well, he was beaten, shot, and then dumped in a nearby river with a cotton gin fan strapped to his neck so it would weigh him down. Caroline bryants husband roy, and his halfbrother, j. W. Millen, they were tried by an all male jury. Their Defense Attorneys called on the jury to acquit their fellow white men. After less than an hour of deliberation, they were found not guilty. They confessed to the murder the following year, telling a reporter, quote, i like he said the word. I like niggers in their place. I know how to work em, but i just decided it was time a few people got put on notice. Thats the end of the quote. In 2008, caroline bryant, the woman whose claims led to emmett tills brutal death told a historian writing a book about the killing that the story she told in court at her husbands trial, that till made sexual advances towards her, she said that story was not true. Emmett tills death could have been lost in a long and shameful history of racial had it not been for his mother. She was so horrified by the state of her sons body, that she demanded her sons funeral be open casket so the world could see what happened to her son. I warn you, this image is graphic, but i want you to see it, these photos galvanized the Civil Rights Movement in america. 95 days after tills death, rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in alabama in one of the first battles of the civil rights era. Parks would later say, i thought of emmett till, and when the bus driver ordered me to move to the back, i couldnt move. Now his case has been reopened thanks to a bill that bares his name. It allows the department of justice to investigate unsolved civil rights violations, the department saying, the till case has been reopened by doj based upon the discovery of new information. Sources familiar with the case tell the Washington Post that new information detailed in a book by the same historian who interviewed tills accuser, led to the reopening of the investigation. But in america, where black and brown people still face the threat of violence every day, will emmett till finally get justice 63 years later . Joining me now is keith boshon, maker of the film the untold story of emmett till, who actually, we went to the same high school. We did. Like one or two years at the same time. Lets talk about this new information that the Washington Post is talking about from the doj. Do you think its because Carolyn Bryant, because the confession, she said it was madeup . Yes, i have to say thats the reason why the case was reopened. Last year, when it was announced, when news broke that tim tyson had actually interviewed Carolyn Bryant and she confessed to him that she fabricated the story, red flags went up everywhere, and i, myself, began to push for the reopening of the case again. So behind the scenes, they were able to do it. So the news that youre hearing today of course is new to a lot of people, but this was something that we already knew about. It was reopened in 2004, they exhumed his body, did an autopsy and decided against charges. What happened . Unfortunately, a grand jury decided not to indict the two remaining people who were still alive who could have been prosecuted for the kidnapping and murder of emmett till, that was Carolyn Bryant, who were all speaking about today, and henry lee loggins, one of the black men who was forced to participate in the murder. Why do you think it would be different . Do you think it will be different this time around . Thats a great question. You have to have hope. Those of us who have fought for civil rights in this country and continue to fight for civil rights in this country, and justice, you can only hold on to hope and faith that justice will prevail. Yes, this is a 63someoddold case coming up on the 25th of july, well be celebrating epet tills 77th birthday. So for many of us, this may seem like its so long ago, but for the family its not. This case still haunts them every single day, not to mention the generations of folk who had moved from the south, to get away there this type of horror that took place in mississippi. The great migration that we all learned about, and we all speak about, we have to remember, those folks were affected as well. And when you talk about this particular case being the catalyst that sparked the american Civil Rights Movement, i think its extremely important that we all somehow seek and fight for justice and closure in this case. Carolyn bryant, she said, nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him. This fabrication of the story is nothing new to us. Many of us who have studied the till case and investigated the case, we know when the case reopened in 2004, thats some of the evidence i brought forward to the Justice Department that she fabricated that story in 1955. The only thing was, perjury only held a twoyear statute of limitation. You think if she had told the truth back then, dont you think it may have been the same verdict . Unl fortunatefortunately, it likely be the same. So what does justice look like . Justice is truth. There are so many things around the name emmett till and his memory right now. In the deep south and the delta, mississippi, theres a huge Tourism Industry that goes out and you can visit the sites where emmett till was in 1955. And all that is great. I want to see truth and reconciliation in this country, but you have to have truth before before reconciliation. Tell me the name of your movie. The untold story of emmett lewis till, it was a documentary out in theaters in 2005 that prompted the case to be reopened in 2004. Appreciate your time. Thanks so much. Thanks for watching. Early start begins right after this. Please dont, im saving those for later. At least you dont have to worry about renters insurance. Just go to geico. Com. Geico helps with renters insurance . Good to know. Been doing it for years. Thats really good to know. Ill check em out. Get to know geico. And see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. The president starts his First Official trip to the uk by slamming the prime minister. President trump says trade deals are in jeopardy because theresa may didnt take his advice on brexit. Now tens of thousands are protesting the president. How many times did you look so innocent into your wifes eye and lie to her about the [ all speak at once ] mr. Chairman, its outrageous. May i respond . Yes, you may. Sparks fly for ten
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