Signatures, we can spring the bill from committee straight to the house floor for a vote. I dont know. That sounds really complicated. Youve come farther than any of us while maintaining your balance and sparkle. We never sparkle. None of us ever thought one person could make a difference. Until you came along. If i remember correctly, isnt that, like, 218 signatures . Its not that hard. Yeah. Yeah. I guess i know women with more shoes than that. Wait, thats me. Elle, its time to finish what you started. And it worked. It works. At least i think it i cant quite remember how the movie ends, but i think given how movies like this usually i think it works. I think it works. Legally blond 2 is not a movie about a real political thing. It is not a documentary, as you can probably tell from the shoes references and everything, but this key plot twist in the movie, legally blond 2, the discharge petition, that is a real thing in our politics. There are 435 members in the house. So 218 is a majority. And if you can get that majority, if you can get 218 members of the house to sign a discharge petition, then legally blond 2 is right. You can send a bill straight to the floor for a vote even if the speaker of the house doesnt want it to be voted on. Even if it hasnt gone through committee and all the rest. It is a weird and arcane, but real shortcut that you really can take with popular legislation that is otherwise not going to get a vote despite its popularity. It almost never happens. Happened once on a gun bill in 1986. Happened once on a Campaign Finance bill in 2002. Its rare, but it is possible. And in the house right now, republicans are in the majority, but its not that huge of a majority. And if all of the democrats were in support of some popular bill, they would only need to get 17 republicans to cross the aisle and vote with them to make Something Like this work. 17 out of 234 republicans is all youd need. On Immigration Reform, it is utterly conceivable that every democrat in the house and some small number of republicans wants it to pass. Some small number of republicans in the house right now thinks that Immigration Reform is necessary and a good idea. If it did come to the floor, and the dems hung together and just a handful of sane republicans, maybe the ones with lots of latinos in their districts, if they voted the way they know you want to vote, Immigration Reform absolutely could pass, but john boehner wont bring it to the floor. Hes sitting and doing nothing about it. Nancy pelosi is now talking publicly about the possibility of using a reese witherspoon, the legally blond 2 discharge position idea as a way of end running john boehner and forcing the issue. Bringing it to the floor even if the leadership does not want it there. Immigration reform already passed the senate. It is stung in the house right now. But maybe it will take something wacky like this to unstick it. It could happen. Maybe. At least it is as likely as any other next step at this point. But meanwhile, alongside the increasingly abstract and arcane and occasionally wacky beltway wrangling over whether to move forward and how on this issue, alongside the washington incessant nattering on this issue which right now feels like it is going nowhere, at the same time, a totally different very emotional and at times daring series of actions and provocations and protests have been unfolding around the country and on the border on this issue. Actions largely taken by young people. Like these kids who worked with the group called united we dream to organize this effort that you see filmed here. These three kids, living here in the u. S. , whose mothers had been deported. These three kids went to nogales. The kids in nogales, arizona, on this side of the border, and their moms to nogales, mexico, on the other side of the border. They road tripped and agreed to meet at the fence. These kids who had not seen their moms in years got to see their mothers finally through the barrier of the border fence. Very emotional, moving demonstration. This is not play acting. This is real. These are real people, real family, real kids and their moms. This was accompanied by a very clear political message. This is what Immigration Reform looks like. Call your legislators. Pass Immigration Reform with family reunification. A similar human moving case made by jose antonio vargas. Jose was brought here from the philippines as a kid when he was too young to know the difference. He did not even know he was here illegally until he tried to get a drivers license in high school and found out the hard way. When he found out, he kept the secret. He coped the best he could and he hid that he was undocumented. As he went to college, he pursued a career, eventually by the time he came out on the cover of the New York Times sunday magazine, as someone who is in this country without papers, by that time in his life he was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. With a story to tell about why we need Immigration Reform in this country. A story to tell you just could not believe until you saw it through his personal, human, totally understandable story. This has all been going on outside of washington. This is the outside game on this issue. As congress and all the beltway pressure groups and special interests fight out the inside game, this is whats happening outside. But now in that outside game, there is a bit of a new frontier. Nine young people putting themselves on the line, literally putting themselves on the border line. These are kids who were born in mexico but who came to the u. S. Illegally when they were little kids with their parents. The nine of them in protest met in mexico a few weeks ago, and then they came to the border on the mexican side heading into the u. S. And at the border they asked to reenter this country. At the pedestrian cross in nogales. They call themselves the dream nine. This kind of dare, this kind of direct action and peaceful confrontation, its controversial, even among the staunchest advocates of Immigration Reform. Does this sort of confrontation help win the argument . And whether or not it helps win the immediate argument, does it help you win the longterm fight . And whether or not it helps achieve Immigration Reform, and more humane policies toward immigrant families in the future, even then, is it just too much risk for these individual young people to take for this cause . Even if it is of their own volition . Of the nine cap and gown dreamers, these kids who went to the border, six of them are people who are already in mexico. They had left for mexico or they had been deported there already. Six of them. But three of them live here without papers. And by voluntarily leaving the country for this protest, they are courting the very real risk that they would never, ever get back in. And that even if they could get back in, by virtue of this protest, they will never, ever be able to get legal status here, even with a lifelong record of doing Everything Else right, this protest action risks it all for them. One of the ones risking it all is 23yearold lulu martinez. She was born in mexico but came to the United States at the tender age of 3. She has been here in the u. S. Ever since, in chicago, with her family. Most of her life. Lulu is enrolled at college at the university of illinois. Shes also undocumented which means that to take this leap, to use herself and her own situation, her own body to make this political case, for her it is a huge risk. Lulu martinez knew from the getgo that crossing the border into mexico could mean that she would not be allowed back into the United States where she has lived her whole life. She also knew that she was running the risk of being held in a Detention Center, essentially a prison by any other name, maybe for months, years. She was willing to take that chance. My name is lulu martinez. Im here in mexico. I still cant believe that im here, and pardon me . Really, really happy. I got to see where i was born. I got to see where my dad grew up. I got to see my cousins who are my age. And im really excited that were we know that we have a lot of support back home in the u. S. Mam mama, papa. Im going to come home. Im going to come home. That is video from the National Immigrant youth alliance. Made while lulu was in mexico preparing to make the trip back to the border to try to come back to the u. S. To demonstrate, to make the case that as a lifelong american she ought to be able to come home, and our countrys policies ought to be reformed to make that possible. When lulu and the other eight did make their attempt to cross the border back into the United States where they had lived their whole lives, the reason they look so funny is because theyre wearing caps and gowns. It is not a graduation ceremony. They are wearing caps and gowns to show their desire to finish school in the u. S. Also to call attention to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been deported during president obamas administration. Border officials, as expected, detained all nine of them when they got to the border and shipped them off to a detention facility in arizona. Now, the dream nine, these activists, that they did this on purpose. They have support. People knew they were going to do it. They have support. They have support online. They have support in the flesh, too. Members of congress signed on to a letter to president obama asking that the dream nine be brought home, that they be allowed to stay. Theyre in the Detention Center in arizona for two weeks. But the surprise ending, at least the surprise next step here, is that they are not still in detention and they are not back in mexico. Lulu martinez and the other members of the dream nine have been granted permission to apply for asylum which is a difficult thing to get, but a judge is going to hear their case. Theyll get notices to appear in court to plead that case, and they meanwhile have been released to come back home. They made it back. Joining us now is lulu martinez, one of the dream nine activists released yesterday from the eloy Detention Center in arizona. Lulu martinez, thank you for being with us tonight. Its nice to have you here. Thanks, rachel, its nice to be on. How are you doing after two weeks in the Detention Center . Are you doing okay . Im doing okay. Im really excited to be back outside the Detention Center. We, me and another fellow dream nine woman were in solitary confinement for about eight days. So we had we didnt have any communication with any of the other dream nine youth and it was really difficult having to readjust ourselves and finally be in conversation with them after eight days. Why were you in solitary confinement for eight days . We, once we entered the Detention Center, the women that were in our pod were intimidated by i. C. E. Officials and cca staff not to speak with us because the cases were going to be a lot more difficult to handle. And so we wanted to organize while we were in the Detention Center and at one point we were really frustrated and decided to pass out a free legal hotline and decided to chant and encourage the women to speak out against injustices that were happening in the Detention Center and to fight their cases. Many times theyre told by i. C. E. Officials that theres nothing they can do and that the best thing they should do is just sign a deportation order. So me and maria, one of the dream nine women, ended up being charged with a group demonstration, even though we had tried to resolve the communication issue with a lot of cca staff and i. C. E. Officials. We were placed in solitary confinement for, originally it was going to be 15 days, but we appealed it and were released a day before we left the Detention Center. Lulu, everybody who participated in this action was taking some degree of risk. Obviously you all ended up at a minimum in this Detention Center for 15 days which, itself, was a cost to pay. But you in particular are putting a lot at risk by doing this in terms of your own immigration status and your own living ise ing status. Why is it worth it to you to take this risk, to do this kind of action . We understood that no one is safe from deportation. With a Record Number of over 1. 7 Million People who have been deported and separated from their families, we know that at any point we could easily be swept under the Deportation Machine and be deported back to countries that we havent been to in a really long time. So essentially we recognize that we were already running that risk and we have been in contact with a lot of youth and families who are wanting to come back into the United States, and theres no other way for them, theres no other way to come back into the United States or to apply to have legal status. And so essentially its the same risk that already was present. Having been granted this first step in the asylum process, essentially having been given leave to apply for it, thats a long process and nobody knows exactly how that will play out. Is it possible that the nine of you having been granted the opportunity to apply for asylum to be here while that process goes through, is that possible that thats going to set a precedent that other people could now be able to use that channel as a way to try to ease their own way . Were hoping so. Thats exactly what were trying to do. We hope that theres going to be a more efficient way of having people be reunited with their families without having to be in detention for weeks at a time and having to endure the really horrible conditions within the Detention Center. So were hoping that through our process of fighting our asylum cases that others will also be as excited to go through this process with us and with the support of the community and our families so that they can finally come back home after being forced out of the u. S. And having been deported. Lulu martinez, one of the dream nine activists now back home. Lulu, thank you for being here with us. Good luck. Stay in touch with us, please. Thank you so much. Thank you. Joining us now, eugene robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the washington post. Good to have you here. Great to be here, rachel. As a student of washington process and somebody who knows a lot about politics broadly, how does this very dramatic, very emotional, very sort of moving outside game being played by these radical kids who are willing to make these confrontational actions . How does that effect the policy debate in washington . Is it are they totally separate channels . Well, i think it can have some impact. I mean, this is the weirdest thing ive ever seen, actually. Immigration reform is something that some of the Republican Leadership wants to do. Eric cantor, for example, wants to do Something Like the dream act. Democrats all want to do it. And yet congress is incapable of doing it. It is just a ridiculous situation. I think this highlights the absurdity of this impasse that weve reached. Does it move things along . Does it bring us closer to Immigration Reform . Im not sure that it does, but well see what the members hear when they go home. You know, i feel like the idea of this is the very broad and old idea of moral persuasion. You hope that you open peoples hearts. You see them with their mom through the fence and you think this is going to have an emotional impact on people who are deciding what they think about this and maybe that emotional impact lets people change their arguments about it in some ways. I dont know if that works on members of congress. Exactly. It works on people, but does it work on members of congress . Does it work does it work on the republican majority in the house . Thats a basic question. Look, john boehner, i think, would love it if Immigration Reform would pass. The republican establishment wants it to pass because of the partys problem with latino voters. But boehner says he wont bring up a bill thats not supported by the majority of the majority. So maybe hes secretly rooting for reese witherspoon. Exactly. For a discharge position that takes him off the hook basically and allows him to go forward and he doesnt take the blame. Its, frankly, unlikely that thats going to happen. Even if boehners in the back room nudging it along. Ultimately i think hes going to have to make a decision, and i dont think its inconceivable that he will change his mind, that he will let some immigration bill come forward. I think its maybe unlikely, but its not inconceivable. I think that the impact of what kids like these are doing is, its controversial even among people who support Immigration Reform. I think it is easily underestimated, though. Yeah. If the only impact they have is on strengthening the emotional connection to the issue of people who already want it to happen, particularly for the Latino Community who wants it to happen, they are creating a lot more political inertia. This is the way movements develop and grow. Its with brave people taking risks. Sometimes suffering the consequences. And, you know, there are always voices saying youre going too far, this is too much. I remember hearing those voices about the gay marriage issue just a few years ago and look at where that issue is now, because people went there. I think it is all to the good for advancement on this issue that they went for it. Yeah, i mean, they had to be brave even within their own movement to do it. It will be interesting to see how this asylum thing works out. Thats a technical issue as well. Thats a whole different legal theory. Eugene robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the washington post. Thank you for being here tonight. I like your glasses. Thanks. Youre welcome. Regardless of what you do for a living, you do not want a staffer who says he is, quote, holding his nose in order to work for you. Yes, these are strange days for some very senior politicians right now. Hold on, that storys coming up. woman this place has got really good chocolate shakes. growls man thats a good look for you. woman that was fun. man yeah. man let me help you out with the. woman . Oh no, i got it. man you sure . woman just pop the trunk. man vo i may not know where the road will lead, but. Im sure my subaru will get me there. announcer love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. But you had to leave rightce to now, would you go . World, man oh i cant go tonight woman i cant. hero thats what expedia asked me. Host book the flight but you have to go right now. Hero laughs and i just go . This is for real right . This is for real . I always said one day id go to china, just never thought itd be today. Anncr were giving away a trip every day. Download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. Expedia, find yours. [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtec®. Powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. Zyrtec®. Love the air. To fly home for the big family reunion. You must be garths father . Hello. Mother. Mother traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. Two words. Double miles this guy can act. Wanna play dodge rock . Oh, you guys and with double miles you can actually use, you never miss the fun. Beard growing contest and go i win whats in your wallet . 2010 was a very fun year to have a job that involved explaining things in american politics. All hail the news gods, all of a sudden it kind of looks like some of the best parts of 2010 are coming back. Republican Christine Odonnell of delaware says i still am not a witch, but she says she is thinking of running for senate again. Despite how things turned out for her in 2010. Woohoo. Republican ken buck of colorado, the guy who said voters should pick him because he doesnt wear high heels, yeah, ken buck has just said he is launching his own repeat bid for senate. Also, republican joe miller of alaska last seen, by me, anyway, trying to explain as we tumbled down a series of escalators in anchorage trying to explain gay marriage is a state issue which is why he supports a federal amendment against it. Yeah, joe miller, that guy, also says he is going to run for senate again from alaska. Because, hey why not . In 2010, there were those three amazie ining characters. There was also Sharron Angle who said her supporters would turn to Second Amendment remedies if she didnt win at the ballot box. Wow. There were those guys in 2010. Then remember after rand paul announced on this show that he was running for senate from kentucky in 2010, he then came back on the show and refused to say whether or not he would have voted for the civil rights act. The republican class of 2010 was crazy. It was crazy to cover, at least. And, of course, all of those amazing characters lost in 2010. Except for rand paul. Rand paul won. He won that senate seat in 2010, and in order to do so, he had to win his kentucky primary that year which was essentially a death match against mainstream Mitch Mcconnells protege who rand paul was running against. The protege was a guy senator mcconnell had hand picked to become his junior senator in the job. Mitch mcconnell expected to hand that Junior Senate seat to whoever he wanted, but that did not happen because rand paul beat Mitch Mcconnells handpicked guy. Senior senator Mitch Mcconnell is senior senator to junior senator rand paul even though senator mcconnell tried so publicly to keep the senator paul thing from ever happening in the first place. Its kind of an awkward thing, right . Once rand paul won the seat, the uneasy resolution of the whole thing in kentucky came when the Campaign Manager for rand paul in 2010 left the rand paul camp and went to work for the enemy. He went to work for Mitch Mcconnell. The campaign guys name is jesse benton. He is a longtime, lifelong rand Paul Ron Paul loyalist. Now hes supposed to seem like a Mitch Mcconnell loyalist . Okay. Neat. It was such a bizarre kind of ironon patch to this whole rift, trying to make it seem like there was a healing in the rift between these two competing wings of Republican Party. But it also made clear who won between those two competing factions. Right . Mitch mcconnell tried to beat the ron paul rand paul wing of the party and he lost. Because he knew he lost, he knew he would need that other side to come around to his side if he was ever going to survive his own Reelection Campaign this year. Old mainstream Mitch Mcconnell hiring the rand paul operative kind of sort of solved problems for everybody. Sort of. The fit has always seemed a little unnatural. Today, though, there was an unexpected twist in an ongoing story weve been reporting all week out of iowa. The story about alleged bribery in Iowa Republican politics. A local Iowa Republican politician accused of demanding and getting payment, cash payments, from president ial campaigns in return for their endorsement. In a tape recording released yesterday by a conservative website called the Iowa Republican, a conservative republican state senator who allegedly demanded and allegedly got bribe money from the ron paul for President Campaign for switching his allegiance from Michele Bachmann to ron paul, in the tape he talks with another conservative activist in iowa about whether ron paul, himself, knew that his campaign was bribing people for their endorsements or whether maybe it was just the campaign guys like jesse benton who knew about the bribery. I understand ron paul came out and said nobody gave you the lying thats going on is just incredible. Its one thing to be smart politically and tough, you know, but, you know, ron paul out there lying. So you think he knows . No, actually, i think he doesnt. What do you think he knows . All these guys are corrupt. Who do i think knows . Everybody you told. Do you think the whole ron paul like all of them know . I mean, the inside group . That was the state senator who allegedly asked for and got the bribe money from the Ron Paul Campaign for him to endorse them saying he knows the campaign chairman, jesse benton, knew about the bribe. Jesse benton denies that. The aftermath of the Iowa Republican cash for endorsement scandal remains to be seen in iowa. The state senator who reportedly got the bribe from the Ron Paul Campaign is still a state senator in iowa. Ron paul, of course, is personally out of politics. Hes now cashing in on the speaking circuit. It is his son whos running for president now. But jesse benton, jesse benton is the guy who moved on out of paulville and into the mainstream. Hes now the Campaign Manager for Mitch Mcconnell in that reelection effort. And Mitch Mcconnell really is in the reelection fight of his life with not only a strong democratic challenger, but also a strong republican primary challenger who is hitting him from the right. And then today, another new twist in this story. Another tape released by the same guy who released the alleged bribery tape yesterday. Except this time it isnt just other people talking about Mitch McconnellsCampaign Manager, this jesse benton guy. This time its Mitch McconnellsCampaign Manager, jesse benton, allegedly talking about Mitch Mcconnell. Between you and me, im sort of holding my nose for two years because what were doing here is going to be a big benefit for rand in 16. Thats my long vision. Holding my nose to work for Mitch Mcconnell . Still seems like the greater sin here is the alleged bribery. Paying republican politicians to switch their endorsements . But pretending youre committed to a candidate in public, being his public spokesman and in private saying youre holding your nose about it and youre in it just to help some other guy, and its that other guy, ick. Late this afternoon, in an attempt to make fun out of his miserable turn, the Mcconnell Campaign posted this picture of jesse benton holding his nose. See, its just all good Kentucky Republican fun. Seriously. Fun. Lets play [ all ] whos new in the fridge i help support bones. [ ding ]. The immune system. [ ding ]. Heart health. [ ding ]. And muscles. [ ding ] that can only be ensure complete [ female announcer ] the fourinone nutrition of ensure complete. A simple choice to help you eat right. [ major nutrition ] nutrition in charge. Thto fight chronic. Osteoarthritis pain. T. To fight chronic low back pain. To take action. To take the next step. Today, you will know you did something for your pain. Cymbalta can help. Cymbalta is a pain reliever fdaapproved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. One nonnarcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. Tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. Antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. Cymbalta is not for children under 18. 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Eric cantor being wrong. Wrong to the point where he even got the you are wrong noise. We did not know it at the time, but while we were busy debunking eric cantor, we achieved our first ever prebunking on the show. We were more right than even we knew. We were right before we knew we were right. It was spectacular. And he was even more wrong than we could have imagined. Hold on. That trains a coming. The Postal Service is critical to our economy. Delivering mail, medicine and packages, yet theyre closing thousands of offices, slashing service and want to layoff over 100,000 workers. The Postal Service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. The problem . A burden no other agency or company bears. A 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post Office Revenue while the Postal Service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. Congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. When shes happy, she writes about bunnies. When shes sad, she writes about goblins. [ balloon pops, goblin growling ] she wrote a lot about goblins after getting burned in the market. But she found someone to talk to and gained the confidence to start investing again. And thats what you call a storybook ending. Its not rocket science. Its just common sense. From td ameritrade. Its just common sense. Shes always been able its just her way. Day. But your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. Cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moments right. You can be more confident in your ability to be ready. And the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30tablet free trial. Say you are walking down the street and an fbi agent shoots you. Even say youre not just walking down the street but maybe youre committing a crime and an fbi agent shoots you. Either way, the bottom line is you have been shot by someone who works for the fbi. If the fbi shoots you, for whatever reason, the entity that looks into the fact that the fbi has just shot you is the fbi. The fbi, itself, examines the circumstances surrounding them shooting you. And if past is prologue, what happens when they look into those circumstances is that they determine that they were justified in shooting you. That is what has happened over and over and over again without exception for the last 20 years. Thats what Charlie Savage from the the New York Times turned up in his recent blockbuster front page reporting for the New York Times reviewing the last 150 fbi shootings going all the way back to 1993. The fbi looked at all of those shootings and determined them all to be justified. 70 people fatally shot. 80 more people wounded. Every single one of them ruled to be justified. 20 years, 150 people shot. Almost half of them killed. And the fbi was in the right every single time. The fbi batting a thousand. According to the fbi. And thats all that ever matters because really nobody ever asks anybody else to look into it. Right now, this selfevidently super dodgegy even laughably dodgegy fbi internal review process is the only review process by which the bizarre shooting death of igrahim todashev is being checked out. He was killed during an interview with the fbi inside his orlando condo. The way we found out hed been killed is the fbi put out a statement saying mr. Todashev had been killed following a violent confrontation inside his condo. What kind of violent confrontation . The fbi wouldnt say officially but then the anonymous leaks started spewing. First anonymous Law Enforcement sources said that he was armed with some kind of knife. Except then they said he was not. Then anonymous leaking Law Enforcement sources said he was actually armed with some kind of pole or broom stick. And then anonymous Law Enforcement sources said, okay, no, maybe he wasnt armed with either of those things, either. Then they said, okay, no, no, no, they got it this time. The new line is he didnt have anything, didnt have a knife or blade or ceremonial sword or broom stick or pole or anything like he said before. Actually he lunged or something. Or he tried to throw over a piece of furniture maybe . Yeah, in other words, whatever happened, whatever reason Ibragim Todashev was subjected to legal force during an fbi interview, nobody who knows the truth is telling the plain truth about it. How will we no what happened . Ibragim todashevs father has trav traveled to physical tl to meet with the Florida Council on American Islamic relations. For months now, the aclu in florida and massachusetts, also the boston globe and Boston Herald called for some kind of an independent investigation. For somebody to look into how and why this guy was killed other than the folks who killed him. Its the only review weve been told were getting is the uniformly 100 selfexculpatory process that the fbi assures us is something we ought to trust in. The chances of an independent review have seemed slim. First of all, anybody outside the fbi reviewing an fbi shooting is pretty much unheard of. It has been known to happen maybe twice that we know of in modern history. Its basically never. And then late last night the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they said they were declining to investigate the shooting. Then the medical Examiners Office in florida said they were told by the fbi they couldnt release todashevs autopsy report though they were finished with it. It seemed like it was going to end with the fbi investigating itself, alone, just like they always do using the process that always says the fbi was right. But then today there was an unexpected breakthrough. The top prosecutor in orlando announced that he would conduct a, quote, independent review of the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force in this case. However, there is no timetable as to when he will complete his review. There will be no further Public Comment regarding this matter until the state attorneys review is completed. Todashevs father is scheduled to speak publicly in florida on tuesday. Hes threatened to sue the fbi for killing his son. How big a deal is the fact we had an independent review announced of an fbi shooting . Is this likely to shed light on this case . And why did it happen . Joining us is howard simon. Thank you very much for being with us. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Good evening, rachel. Did i describe this new development accurately in terms of what the state Attorneys Office says theyre going to do here . This is going to be an independent review of the circumstances of the shooting . Well, youve described it accurately using his words, but we dont know what independent review means. And i think, you know, its crucially ambiguous, and i think you put your finger on the crucial point. Does independent review mean that there will be an independent set of eyes just reviewing the file sent to him by the fbi . Or will he actually conduct an independent review in the sense in which hell call in the Orlando Police officers who are there, hell send out his investigators to interview the witnesses and the neighbors and so on. How independent will this be . And we dont know. I mean, this is clearly a breakthrough, and very unusual that somebody has stepped up to say, well, maybe we should take a look at what the fbi has done here, but frankly, i dont know what that means. Howard, when other people have declined to bring independent investigations in this case, they have said they dont have jurisdiction to do it, that they dont feel empowered to investigate a shooting that was perpetrated by an fbi agent in the pursuit of his or her job. Is it your view if this orlando prosecutor wanted to do a real material investigation, looking at physical facts, looking at evidence, interviewing people visiting the scene and all those things, is it your view the prosecutor is legally empowered to do that . I dont see why not. This is a shooting that took place in his jurisdiction. Its a shooting and a killing that took place in the state of until physic florida. Frankly, i dont think all the various Law Enforcement agencies have been speaking with one voice. This has a kind of almost sometimes a keystone cops flavor to it. We wrote to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the state police, who are legally charged with the responsibility of investigating the shooting death of anybody at the hands of Law Enforcement. They wrote back saying, this is a federal investigation, it would be inappropriate for us to interfere. Inappropriate for the state police, but apparently not inappropriate for the states attorney in orange and osceola county. People ought to get their story straight and their act together. This is a killing that took place in orlando, and orlando officials have the responsibility, and florida officials have the responsibility to investigate it. Just as our sister affiliate in massachusetts has said that since there were massachusetts state troopers present there, massachusetts officials have the responsibility to investigate what role they played in it as well. Howard, what else do you want from the fbi at this point . Obviously youre making the case that there are other authorities outside the fbi who have the authority to get involved here if they wanted to. Just like this prosecutor in orlando has said that he would. In terms of what the fbi could disclose that they havent yet, what else do you want to hear from them . Well, i think its premature to say what we want to hear from them. I think were really talking more about process, and i think you put your finger on it earlier. The principle thing i want out of this is with regard to the fbi, and i have to say, rachel, with regard to any police Law Enforcement agency in the country, they shouldnt be entitled to investigate themselves. Yeah. Theres got to be some oversight of what they did. Whether its by another Law Enforcement agency, whether its by a court, whether its by an independent agency. But we do not build confidence in our Law Enforcement agencies when we simply allow them to investigate themselves because what happens is what you just summarized from the Charlie Savage story. They will always be exonerated. Howard simon, executive director of the aclu of florida. Keep us posted on your involvement here. I feel like this is moving now in unexpected directions. Its turning into a very, very interesting case. Thank you, howard. Thank you. I have to say the Charlie Savage piece from a couple weeks ago in the New York Times, you can never predict whats going to be a huge story. You just think on its face if you found out that the fbi only ever investigates itself when it shoots people, and 150 out of 150 times it has exonerated itself in shootings, wouldnt you think that would be kind of a topic of National Political discussion . Never can tell. Well be right back. That grandma was the one . When her sister dumped me. Grandpa was my dad a good athlete . No. Oh dad, you remember my friend alex . Yeah. The one that had the work done. Good to see you. Where do we go when we die . The ground. Whos your girlfriend . His name is chad. And thats where babies come from. [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing. This looks good [ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack. Its what you see is what you get food. Its oscar mayer. 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World, man oh i cant go tonight woman i cant. hero thats what expedia asked me. Host book the flight but you have to go right now. Hero laughs and i just go . This is for real right . This is for real . I always said one day id go to china, just never thought itd be today. Anncr were giving away a trip every day. Download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. Expedia, find yours. Lawre once upon a time, august was the month off from politics. It is not anymore, because congresss august recess time is now august recess town hall time, which is the time in politics that we never had before 2009. Because in august 2009, we got all of those shouty, shouty, super shouty town halls. You got the health insurance, your private employer you all are the most to gain. Ahhhhhhhh so fun a shouting good time. What is important to remember about that screaming mess back in 2009 was that those seemingly spontaneous yeley grass roots town halls were not actually grass roots responses to health reform. They were a coordinated and organized effort by big money groups, like cook brothers and americans for prosperity, right . Under grassy sounding names like patients united now. These pressure conservative groups distributed this around the country, on how to do the town Hall Meetings. They came out with printed questions to ask. Look, dear friend of freedom, here is your step by step guide to disrupt the town Hall Meetings for your senator at a location near you. The kit even came with google maps of the upcoming town hall events. And it worked, people read the preprinted questions and shouted down and silenced the members of congress with questions about health care and it was all very intimidating and strategic. Republicans looked back on shouty, shouty august 2009 as kind of a high water mark. It may not have let them stop obama care, which passed any way, but they always thought the big august helped them in the next year. Now that were in the odd year, and it is august again the republicans are trying to recreate that august magic, through the handy dandy kits. This is what they sent to the house members telling them what to do during the districts month break, telling them what to do to convene the town halls. The emergencies, there are myriad bad effects of the health care, the patients, emergency town hall, we still hate obama care. And the point of the planning kit is not just to organize your supporters to show up and be only message, it is about controlling what the events are like, so they become campaign stops. It is kind of a pageant of obama care hatred that ends up on youtube. However, if you cannot actually script and cast it like a pageant and you do actually let real people in by some lapse in your organization, sometimes things go horribly off message, like this republican town hall with pat mchenry, caught on tape yesterday by a liberal pac. Im 53, my wife is 53. And without obama care we would have no health insurance. I would like to ask you and the Republican Party to answer the questions, why do i not have a moral right and access to health care, and why not fund obama care, and could save billions over the next ten years . Turns out there is nothing in the how to stoke fury during the august recess midterm, there is nothing in that guide when somebody actually turns up who likes obama care. Despite all best efforts to make sure that they stuck to the script, the town hall was actually a town hall, becoming a Real Exchange between the constituents and their representatives. Apparently making all involved unsettled. And maybe that is a good thing. And now conservative and liberal groups are putting out web casts to find out when theyre doing a town hall near you. This august, nobody likes giving up a season for when we didnt have politics for now that we do have politics, and if august is the time where we have real unscripted conversations about policy issues, that may not be so bad. We have links to town halls near you. Well be right back. Dont tell mom. Dont tell mom dont tell mom. Okay. Dont tell mom. Dont tell mom. Dont tell mom . Yeah. The best stories youll ever tell start with, dont tell. Dont tell dad. Start yours in the new santa fe. From hyundai. To get our adt Security System. And one really big reason the house next door. Our neighbors house was broken into. Luckily, her family wasnt there, but what if this happened here . What if our girls were home . And since we cant monitor everything 24 7, we got someone who could. Adt. 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And whether or not you think it is a good thing or bad thing whether or not the deficit is shrinking faster than new jeans in a hot drier, it depends on what you think about the politician. This is the growing deficit. The growing deficit is not a thing, it is not growing, it is shrinking, and we learned it is shrinking faster than we originally thought, and we would have a smaller budget than they previously forecast. So earlier when we previously debunked eric cantor, we were sort of wrong. It is actually going to be smaller than we said it was going to be. So