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Pelosi Speaks After Democrats End House Sit-In; Results for Senate Gun Legislation Procedural Vote; Officer Found Not Guilty in Freddie Gray Case. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 23, 2016 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00] REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Families suffer. They can never really be made whole. We hope to give them some hope that their grief and so many of them are grieving have turned their grief into action in order to get some gun laws passed so that other families are spared.

Every time it happens, we have a moment of silence, a moment of silence indicative of the silence that will follow. How many more times do members expect us to stand for a moment of silence? And we do so reverentially and deep prayerful way for the families. That is not a substitute for the actions needed. The book of James, deeds not words. So you have seen with Orlando and the first anniversary of South Carolina, you saw June 17th, the anniversary.

We are stepping into a new world in terms of this struggle. A widening universe of advocates, an ever-widening circle of different suffers of our demographics in our country. Veterans forming committees chaired by Mark Kelly and Gabby Gifford. Veterans. General McChrystal wrote the op-ed about the involvement of veterans in this fight. On any number of occasions during the night, I quoted some these relating to the additional diversity engaged in the anti- gun violence fight and the involvement of our veterans.

So public safety, public health, protecting the American people is all related. And what do the Republicans do? Instead of giving us a vote on guns, they passed really pathetic Zika bill. It has been four months since President Obama submitted his emergency supplemental bill to request Zika. Think of that. Four months for an emergency funding. House Republicans have doddled, delayed, and obstructed, trying to short-change our response to this virus that threatens to do devastating damage to American families and children. Some children that might be affected by this may not being able to walk, talk, hear or see. It costs about $10 million to sustain their lives for the short time that they will live, maybe 10 years old. Malformations. It is sexually transmitted. It is very dangerous. We shouldn't be messing around with some kind of bill that does nothing.

And it is so bad that they brought a rule to the floor saying no debate on the bill. They knew there was just no case to be made for it. They knew there was a strong case to be made against it. Here we have an appropriations bill, a military construction V.A. bill, they attached this to that. They bring it to the floor. It is required to have a recorded vote. There is a stipulation as there are requirements as to how you handle an appropriations bill on a floor. They are usually all under an open rule. This is a conference report. That part is different. But I tremble at the thought of what they will do next during a regular stand-up bill. Conference report and no debate. So what opportunity was there? The debate on the rule. No debate on the rule. That is not only highly unusual. I have never seen that happen. The dead of night without debate, the Republicans forced through a radical and reckless bill. More focus on attacking women's health than on protecting women's families. Cuts off women's access and undermines our veterans as well.

On this subject, it undermines our veterans, it's a bad time to say I'm not going to pay to prevent and contain Zika, because you are going to have to spend much more money dealing with the affects which are in people's lives. So Doctor Fauci said on the subject, if we don't get the money the president is asked for, the $1.9 billion, that is going to have a very serious negative impact on our ability to get the job done. That was disappointing.

[14:35:00] Again, I cannot conceal the satisfaction that Democrats have again, working with John Lewis, with the actions of Katherine Clark and David Silini (ph), with the management of it all by John Larson, all day, and Steve Israel, all night, with the Periscope to give us access to the outside world or give them access to us, to O'Rourke (ph). Let's see, Scott and Mark Tacano (ph). So our members were very resourceful. And that just turned us up to a tree that has fallen in the wilderness that no one can hear, we would just be talking to ourselves in the chamber. I think it was 2.6 billion? What was the figure? Contacts in one way or another. Technology has enabled us to communicate in social media. All of this would not have been possible without the activism of the outside groups, whether it is Every Towns, whether it is Moms against Guns. Of course, the Brady campaign, the leader of all of us in this, Gabby Gifford's group, the list goes on and on. I was on the phone with 100 of the groups on last Sunday in preparation.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Leader Pelosi, she has been up all night, she and many of her Democratic colleagues on the House side. They staged the sit-in, 26-some hours. She is speaking since they decided to put the sit-in to a halt a little while ago, addressing how proud they are. Despite the fact, she opening saying the Republicans cut the mics, cut the cameras. They spoke up longer and louder. They now want to take their frustrations and what they want as far as keeping terrorists from getting guns, folks on these watch lists, they will take it home with them.

We do have some breaking news, from the House side to the Senate side. You know there was this bipartisan bill led by Republican Senator Susan Collins that has just come to a procedure vote on the Senate side. We have that result for you. Keeping terrorists from getting guns. How did that go down in the Senate? The answer next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:03] BALDWIN: Back to the breaking story from Washington. Out of the Senate, a bipartisan gun measure proposed by Republican Senator Collins, of Mains, falls just short of the super majority to go on for a different vote. Let's go to senior political reporter, Manu Raju.

Manu, explain what happened.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: This is a complex Senate procedure. It was a procedural vote, Brooke, that was trying to demonstrate how much support Susan Collins' compromise gun measure has. What we saw, 52 Senators voted in favor of advancing this bill. Now, the Senate eventually needs to pass a bill out of its chamber is 60 votes. It fell eight votes shy of the 60-vote threshold to get it out of the chamber. That essentially means her plan is not going anywhere. It could, of course, come back up for a vote at some point at a later date. What it demonstrates is that this effort to strike a compromise on the no-fly list to deny suspected terrorists the right to buy firearms on that no fly list. That proposal does not have the necessary support particularly from her own party, Susan Collins' own party -- she is a Republican -- to get this out of the Senate chambers. Right now, we are sort of at a stalemate. The Senate is voting on an alternative voting plan right now that will also fail falling short of the 60 vote threshold. We are back to square one on Capitol Hill -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: What an emotional week on Capitol Hill.

Manu, thank you so much.

We will wait for some reaction. More on the fiery debate in a moment.

But let's go back to the breaking news out of Baltimore. As we were reporting, Caesar Goodson, the police van driver, accused of taking Freddie Gray on a quote, unquote, "rough ride" after the 25-year-old was arrested last year. Officer Goodson faced seven charges, including second-degree murder. Prosecutors argued Goodson intentionally caused Gray's severe spinal injuries with reckless driving. The judge said their evidence could not prove that.

With me, "Baltimore Sun" reporter, Justin Fenton, who was on the story from the get-go; and civil rights attorney and former prosecutor, Charles Coleman Jr.

Welcome to both of you.

Justin, first, quickly, on some color from the courtroom. You were inside. How did officer Goodson react and any members of Freddie Gray's family?

JUDSON FENTON, REPORTER, THE BALTIMORE SUN: Officer Goodson placed his hand over his heart and looked up after the verdict was read. He had supporters in the courtroom. Shook hands with them. Two of them were fellow officers charged in the case. Freddie Gray's stepfather attended. We weren't able to talk to him. We expected the family attorney will be issuing a statement.

BALDWIN: Staying with you, Justin, the judge not buying the rough ride theory that he was intentionally jostled around, unbuckled in the back of their police van. Why didn't the judge buy the prosecution's argument?

[14:45:08] FENTON: He said it was a very serious accusation. They weren't able to back it up. One of the key pieces of evidence that they presented was a video of the van rolling through a stop sign and taking a wide turn. After watching the video, he wasn't sure the van didn't stop at that stop sign. He said they came well short of proving this was an intentional act, more over, the lesser counts. The reckless endangerment, that he didn't take care of Freddie Gray, it is foreseeable what would happen if the state hadn't met their burden to prove those charges. This seems to have implications for a lot of the other cases. Officer Goodson, all he was charged with, all the allegations encompassed what other officers are charged with to a lesser degree. It remains to be seen how the state can proceed with the other cases.

BALDWIN: That's a great point. We'll look back on that in a second.

Charles, turning to you, to underscore people who are watching, of all six officers facing charges, this was the officer who faced the strongest charges possible. If anyone would be convicted on something, you would think it would be him. None of them. Were you surprised?

CHARLES COLEMAN JR, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: I was, but I wasn't. You are absolutely correct. This was the home run that the prosecution needed to hit. This was the big case they need a conviction on if they had any real chance of sustaining two officers. These were the most serious charges against the officer who they believed was most culpable about being responsible for Freddie Gray's death. It does not bode well for the remaining two officers.

BALDWIN: What happens there?

COLEMAN: Well, it's question --

(CROSSTALK)

COLEMAN: right. If you recall, when Edward Nero was acquitted a couple of weeks ago, we sat and talked and I predicted that we were likely to see other officers opt to have bench trials. That was sort of the blueprint that had been laid for securing an acquittal.

BALDWIN: By the way, bench trial, no jury.

COLEMAN: Right.

BALDWIN: Just a judge.

COLEMAN: A question of law, not a question of fact. Typically, when you have a question of fact, it is, did this person do it? Are they guilty? When you are talking about a bench trial, it is just, the person has admitted, hey, this is what I did, but it is not illegal. I'm not criminally liable for this. The judge has to make a determination as to what that is. In this case, Judge Williams found that he was not criminally liable. I think what we are going to see again, two more bench trials. BALDWIN: Justin, you are there in Baltimore. You saw everyone come

out last year. Now, it seems to me, I've been watching the pictures, pretty quiet. What's the reaction from folks who live in the city?

FENTON: There has been the sense, since last year, that what happened was a very unique phenomenon. It was building on what happened in other cities. To a certain extent, people expected this outcome. I polled my Twitter followers. I have about 700 votes. Unscientific, but 65 percent of the people thought he was going to be acquitted on all charges. You talked to people in the community, they felt that result was going to happen as well. There's a feeling that officers are not held accountable criminally when things like this happen. The state's attorney's office, with this case, was trying to change the paradigm. They were trying to say when these things happen, it is not merely a civil lawsuit, not merely administrative penalty, but there should be criminal penalties. So far, Judge Williams has said they don't have the evidence to convict these officers.

BALDWIN: Justin Fenton, with "The Baltimore Sun," thank you.

Charles Coleman, appreciate you swinging by. Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Coming up, much more on several breaking stories today. It has been a busy Thursday, including two enormously influential decisions from the United States Supreme Court. One, a huge win for the supporters of affirmative action. The other, a crushing blow to President Obama's immigration plans. We will take you to the Supreme Court live.

Also ahead, House Democrats greeted with cheers and many well wishes after emerging from a more than 24-hour sit-in on the floor of the House. So what is their plan next? We'll talk about that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:16] BALDWIN: A moment on the House floor that took America back to the historic sit-in of the civil rights issue. This was a different issue, the debate over gun control. Democrats, led by civil rights icon, John Lewis, occupied the House floor for some 26 hours demanding a vote on gun legislation. The sit-in ended a short time ago. Congressman Lewis tweeted, quote, "From Newtown to Charleston, how long will it take for Congress to act?"

It is a sentiment held by many in the great city of Charleston, South Carolina, a year after a gunman slipped into a side door of Mother Emanuel AME Church.

I went back to the city and talked to the people left to pick up the piece.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confirmed it is the suspect responsible for the shooting. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: White male, early 20s with bowl hair cut.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 30 minutes ago, he was arrested in Shelby, North Carolina.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Roof was traveling with a Glock semiautomatic handgun in the back seat.

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN (voice-over): A 14-hour manhunt led to the capture of Dylan Roof. On the night of June 17th last year, he walked into a historically black church and pulled out a handgun and killed nine people as they closed their eyes in prayer.

(on camera): You are the police chief. How did you all know who or what you were looking for, for the next 14 hours?

GREGORY MULLEN, CHIEF, CHARLESTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: A very alert citizen who had watched the TV news was able to spot the car.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Police released this security camera footage of the gunman entering the side door of Mother Emanuel AME Church eliciting help from the public to catch him on the run.

[14:55:08] MULLEN: There were some anxious moments as we were waiting for confirmation that they actually had him in custody. Anybody who would certainly commit this type of a crime, you never know what they were going to do.

BALDWIN: CNN was given rare access inside the Bible study room where the shooter sat among a dozen church members for an hour before eventually targeting them in his rampage because of the color of their skin. I spoke exclusively to those left behind.

MULLEN: There was no doubt in my mind that it was a hate crime.

JOSEPH RILEY, (D), FORMER CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, MAYOR: He was not in sane. He was a racist bigot. He came here because he hated black people and he wanted to cause a race revolution.

BALDWIN (voice-over): 40 years ago, Joseph Riley was elected mayor of the city of Charleston. I spoke with him on his last day in office.

RILEY: I ran for mayor to build bridges between the African-American and white community. What was so tragic about the 17th of June was, that was a bigot who lived 120 miles away.

BALDWIN (on camera): If he were sitting here, is there anything you would ask of him or say to him?

POLLY SHEPPARD, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I would ask him why.

BALDWIN: You would?

SHEPPARD: And ask him to pray for god's forgiveness. Repent. God will forgive him. It doesn't mean you don't have to pay for your sins but he will forgive him.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Just before the madman ran out of the room, police say he stood over a witness and uttered a racial slur. He then told Polly Shepherd he would let her live to tell the story of what happened that night. Polly says, it wasn't Roof but God who left her here.

SHEPPARD: My memory, it comes and goes.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Of that night?

SHEPPARD: Anything is delayed. I can put clothes in the washing machine and forget them. Two days later, I will remember. By that time, they will have to be washed all over again.

BALDWIN: What did you do with the clothes you wore that night? Did you hold on to them?

SHEPPARD: I have them.

BALDWIN: Did you was them?

SHEPPARD: I washed them.

BALDWIN: Why have you held on to them?

SHEPPARD: I plan to wear them again for one thing.

You have killed some of the most beautifulest people that I know. Every fiber in my body hurts.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Roof in his trial set to begin in November. But he has already faced the families of his victims in court, a stunning scene just 48 hours after the massacre.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. God forgive you and I forgive you.

RILEY: In a few days, those family members stood up at a bond hearing and told that hateful man they forgave him. That was unscripted, unexpected. It was amazing.

BALDWIN (on camera): How long did it take you to forgive?

SHEPPARD: Two, three weeks. I sat home and I thought about all these people who lost family members. I didn't lose any family members. I've forgiven him. You have to turn it loose. It affects you if you don't turn it loose. He has won.

BALDWIN (voice-over): For some, forgiveness doesn't come easy. Esther Lance's mother was murdered that night.

(on camera): You talk about having little hate in your heart. Do you still have the hate in your heart? ESTHER LANCE, MOTHER KILLED IN SHOOTING: Before I can forgive him, I

have to heal all of me. Right now, I'm not healing, because you took my mama.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Roof has pleaded not guilty to 33 federal offenses, including a hate crime and firearms charges.

LANCE: I can't forgive him for this right now.

BALDWIN (on camera): Do you think if it would come to the death penalty, would you want to see him put to death?

LANCE: Yes, yes.

BALDWIN: Before you retired, you were a nurse in that detention center.

SHEPPARD: Yes.

BALDWIN: Where he's being held. So if you had not retired, you could be tending to this man.

SHEPPARD: And I would.

BALDWIN: You would?

SHEPPARD: He would get the best care --