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Don Lemon Tonight

O.J. Simpson Trial: 20 Years Later; Eric Cantor's Shocking Fall; Hunt on for New House Majority Leader

Aired June 11, 2014 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

Just imagine what Anthony Bourdain would make of the eat-or-be-eaten world of Washington, D.C., where one of the most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill can see his career vanish just like that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Effective July 31, I will be stepping down as majority leader. It is with great humility that I do so, knowing the tremendous honor it has been to hold this position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tonight, the fallout from one of the biggest political shockers in years and what it means for the Republican Party and the Tea Party, as a matter of fact.

Plus, the ultimate crime story and America couldn't look away, but 20 years after the brutal murders that turned O.J. Simpson from famous to infamous, the families of the victims who will never forget. Tonight, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister joins me exclusively. You will be surprised at what she says about O.J.

Tonight, we want to know what you think. Make sure you tweet us using #AskDon.

We're going to with breaking news tonight and it's out of Iraq. A day after taking over Iraq's second largest city, militants tonight are on the brink of taking control of the northern city of Tikrit. Now an American official is telling CNN's Jim Sciutto that the embattled Iraqi government has signaled a willingness for the U.S. to conduct airstrikes to help stop the insurgents.

Jim Sciutto joins me now by phone with the very latest.

Jim, I understand 500,000 people have fled Iraq so far tonight?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.

This is a situation that has deteriorated very quickly and has gotten out of the control of the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces very quickly. Mosul, the second largest city in the country, significant security force there, it melted away, couldn't fight off the insurgents.

Tikrit, very important city, the town of Baji, which has a major oil refinery, all three of these now falling to militants. And remember these are security forces that the U.S. has trained and supplied to the cost of billions of dollars and they're not standing up to this point -- up to the task of fighting off these al Qaeda-tied militants.

LEMON: And I understand, Jim, that they're being -- this is being called a crisis, the invasion after the invasion and the withdrawal. It's being called a crisis by the Iraqi government. What is going on there to bring this to the brink now of the largest cities being taken over?

SCIUTTO: Well, this is about the ambitions of this group, ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Remember, this is a group that joined two very nasty groups of militants in Iraq and Syria, actually, so the same group fighting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the same group that controls a large amount of territory in Syria.

So, you're seeing the Syrian civil war spill over into Iraq so soon after U.S. forces left, and they have aspirations for bringing down the Iraqi government. It is a terrorist group. It is a powerful one. It is a well-armed one. And there are indications now they have been able to take up some of the weapons -- and you see there what was an American-made Humvee going by now it appears in the possession of these militants.

LEMON: And, again, the U.S. is being invited back to launch airstrikes. What will airstrikes achieve, Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, that is an open question.

What a U.S. official tells me is that the Iraqis have said that they're open to this. This doesn't mean that the U.S. is going to follow through on this. I'm told that the U.S. is considering a number of options. Among those options are kinetic options. But, you know, this is not a request that the U.S. has accepted and airstrikes would carry with them -- even though they come from on high, they would carry with them a lot of risk, risk of civilian casualties. Where do you launch them from?

And, remember, when the administration was presented with this possibility after the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the administration decided not to move forward then, you remember last fall, so, you know, I would imagine that there is a fair amount of reluctance.

LEMON: Jim Sciutto reporting on the breaking news out of Iraq, Jim, thank you very much. If we get any more information in this broadcast, we will bring it to you live, of course, right here on CNN.

We want to turn now to an ominous anniversary. Twenty years ago in Los Angeles, two vicious murders, the Bronco chase, a superstar athlete arrested, it all ended up as being the trial of the century and the verdict that shocked the country.

Joining me now is a woman whose life was changed by what happened. And her name is Tanya Brown. And she's the younger sister of Nicole Brown Simpson. She's also the author of "Finding Peace Amid the Chaos: My Escape From Depression and Suicide." She joins me now exclusively.

Tanya, thank you very much for joining us. Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of your sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. You were only 24 years old at the time. How do you feel after so much time has passed?

TANYA BROWN, SISTER OF NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON: You know, it so surreal.

It almost feels -- it really feels like it was yesterday; 20 years have gone by, and we are still talking about it. I'm grateful that, you know, Nicole is not forgotten and Ron is not forgotten. It is so surreal that is really seems like yesterday, but life has gone on.

It's been -- I have lived out 20 years of my life and I have had to go through a lot of chaos, as the title of my book says, to get to where I'm at today. But, yes, 20 years ago tomorrow, my life and my family's life turned upside down forever.

LEMON: We are going to talk about some of the challenges that you faced in your life and your book, but I want to go back to the events of 20 years ago, if you will.

You reveal that your father actually called O.J. during that infamous Bronco chase. And when O.J. was in that Bronco, right, being driven by his friend, what did he say to him?

BROWN: "Juice, don't do it. You have two kids. Don't do it," you know, kind of, like, what Tom Lange was talking about last night on the special. It was the exact same thing that my daddy was saying to him,

"Juice, don't do it. You have two kids. They love you. We all love you."

People don't understand that this was family. This wasn't a stranger who did this. This is somebody who I have known since I was 7 years old. So, you know, he was my dad's son, basically. And he was uncle O.J. to me. And, you know, so maybe if it was a stranger, I would be feeling different, but this was -- again, it's so surreal that, you know, this is somebody who I have known since I was 7 years old.

There -- you're showing a picture of it right now, but, you know, nobody wanted to see this happen. And it could have easily been prevented. But years ago, when my sister had first called 911 for -- I think it was in 1989 for a batter -- he was beating her up -- or there was a 911 call, so, but, yes, my dad was just being my dad, and just the soft soul that he is and nobody wanted to see this happen.

LEMON: Do you know what he was saying so your dad, what explanation he was giving for running from police? Was he saying -- you know, it was interesting for him saying he's not guilty, yet he's running from police. What was he saying to your father?

BROWN: I know. You know what, I don't even know. I wasn't on the other line. I couldn't hear.

But I was in my parents' room and he was in his office. And I just remember that conversation, and I think that day my sisters were up at Nicole's condo cleaning -- cleaning everything out because her condo was being looted.

And all I remember is my mom just sitting on the edge of the bed just saying: "I want my kids home. I just want my kids home."

LEMON: Yes.

BROWN: And, yes, it was just -- again, we didn't want to see this happen to a family member, yet alone -- I just saw pictures last night of my dad hugging O.J. at the funeral. You know, that episode brought things back last night.

LEMON: You were talking about the conversation with your father, but let's talk about a conversation that you had with O.J. Simpson, because you said you did not believe he was guilty until a phone call from jail that changed your mind. Tell us about that.

BROWN: Yes, there were all these little incidences that happened, and a private phone call was one of them. He had called my private line shortly after his arrest.

And it was a very narcissistic conversation, what turned out to be, you know, I'm so -- I was waiting for him to say I'm sorry or this is horrible that this is happening, some sort of acknowledgement from what just happened to our entire family.

But it was nothing. It was more: "You know I would have put myself in front of a train for your sister. You know I loved your sister." And then it turned into: "Well, what did she ever do to -- what did she ever do for me?"

And I'm like: "She gave you two kids. She gave you a house."

And it just turned very narcissistic. And then it just kind -- and then we had a family friend of ours that had an aneurysm and I brought that conversation up, and he basically said: "I don't care about him. Look at me. I'm in this seven-by-nine cell with a steel toilet."

So, it really turned -- it really turned back to him, and then there was the cut on the finger. What people don't know is that I ran -- I was driving with him in the limo on the way from St. Martin of Tours for the funeral service to the cemetery, and there was a cut on the finger.

And I was sitting in the limo looking at this going, that's the cut everybody is talking about. And then I -- and then when the DNA came out and the blood evidence, I was, like, that just sealed -- that sealed the envelope.

LEMON: But the moment that changed for you was that phone call when he called you from jail...

BROWN: That phone call.

LEMON: ... in the initial days.

You mentioned the children. You said, "She gave you two children, Justin and Sydney. They lived with O.J. for many years after the trial. How are they doing now as adults?

BROWN: You know what, they're doing great. They have really carried themselves tall and they're good kids. They're not even kids anymore. They're young adults. They're in their late 20s.

They're professionals. They have gone on with their life and they have really created a sense of normalcy for their life. They're Sydney and Justin, and they're not O.J. and Nicole's kids.

And they have had -- they don't -- it is not their identity. They identify with it, with this whole tragedy and this incident, because it is part of their life, but they don't -- it is not part of them anymore.

LEMON: Yes.

BROWN: And they have really -- yes, they have really -- they're standing tall and with dignity. I'm very proud of them.

LEMON: And they have been very quiet after this, doing their own thing, and not really garnering much media attention, which is good for them.

You have written a new memoir. Let's talk about your book. It's called "Finding Peace Amid the Chaos: My Escape From Depression and Suicide."

you have a lot of advice for people going through loss because you suffered a lot. And you dealt with depression and you dealt with other things.

BROWN: Yes, you know, this is my message and my -- the whole purpose of me writing this book is so people start walking through the tornadoes of life.

There is daily life chaos on every level. And if we don't address our issues, our anxieties, our stress, our distress, our despair, our grief, whatever that is for you, if we don't face that stuff and really cope with it head on, you will find out -- you will end up where I ended up, which was a psyche unit 10 years after Nicole got killed. And I don't recommend going into a psychiatric ward.

But my message is, is that nobody is alone in this, nobody is alone in this storm of life. Stuff happens. It is just how -- are you going to live it out on your own or are you going to pick up the phone and reach out for help?

And thank God my suicide attempt was interrupted by my sister Dominique, thank God.

LEMON: Yes.

BROWN: But I didn't know that there was a hospital with a psychiatric unit right down the street from me. So I know the resources.

And if there -- I know there is a lot of hurting people out there, a lot -- death happens every single day. You know, stress happens every single day. And I didn't face any of that stuff. I had to bury six friends of mine in high school, two friends of mine outside of high school, and then the murder of my sister.

And what did it, Don, was the cancellation of my wedding in 2004. And losing a relationship is one thing, but trying to kill yourself over something is totally different. So, I knew I was spiraling down.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And you did something about it.

And, listen, I want to remind our viewers, because I think it's very important. The book you have written, it's called "Finding Peace Amid the Chaos: My Escape From Depression and Suicide," written by Tanya Brown.

And the whole world will be watching, Tanya, tomorrow. There is going to be a candlelight vigil taking place for Nicole and Ron Goldman.

BROWN: Yes.

LEMON: And we thank you so much for joining us here at CNN, and we're thinking about your family as well. Thanks again.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

LEMON: When we come back, what happened after the verdict, the cast of characters made famous by the trial of the century, where are they now?

Also, aftershocks from the GOP earthquake that cost Eric Cantor his job. Who else should be worried?

We want to know what you think as well. Make sure you tweet us using #AskDon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Twenty years after the O.J. Simpson case exploded into the head headlines, where are they now? O.J. himself is behind bars, not of course for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

He was sentenced to nine to 33 years for a Las Vegas armed robbery and kidnapping plot. Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark stopped practicing law and went on to write four mystery novels. Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, who coined the famous phrase "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," he died in 2005 of a brain tumor. Now CNN's Kyra Phillips has the stories of some other famous faces

from that trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": This is Interstate 5. Police believe that O.J. Simpson is in that car.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been 20 years since NFL Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase that unfolded live on national television.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All along Sunset Boulevard, there are people stopped as well ahead of the chase.

SCIUTTO: What followed transfixed millions of viewers and was dubbed the trial of the century.

JIM MORET, FORMER CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it became a national obsession because it was the perfect storm of media, 24-hour cable news, celebrity, murder, a beautiful woman, a young man with so much promise killed in such a personal way.

MORET: I'm Jim Moret in Los Angeles.

PHILLIPS: Jim Moret covered the phenomenon for CNN.

MORET: The O.J. Simpson murder case was the first true reality show for the country.

PHILLIPS: In a racially charged courtroom lined with TV cameras, a memorable cast of characters surfaced as a real-time soap opera unfolded.

JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY: If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

PHILLIPS: So where are some of these unforgettable characters now?

No one knows where he is.

PHILLIPS: Gil Garcetti, who was in front of the camera as the DA, is now behind the camera.

GIL GARCETTI, FORMER PROSECUTOR: This is my ironworker series. My focus is on photography and other things not related to the law. I made that career decision when I left, after the voters told me to leave. This book is called "Water Is Key."

PHILLIPS: Garcetti is a globe-trotting photographer with critically acclaimed exhibits and pictures published in six books to raise money for social causes like clean water.

But Garcetti hasn't strayed too far from the law or politics.

GARCETTI: There is Kyra over here, Sedgwick.

PHILLIPS: He became a script consultant for TV dramas "The Closer" and "Major Crimes," and his son is now the mayor of Los Angeles.

GARCETTI: I said, Eric, didn't you learn anything from me? And he said, yes, I did. I'm going to run.

PHILLIPS: The prosecution, the defense, and even Simpson's house guest, Kato Kaelin, became household names.

KATO KAELIN, FORMER HOUSE GUEST OF O.J. SIMPSON: It was walking out of the courtroom and having cameras flash. I can't explain it. It was, like, oh, my goodness. Now I became this public image, and people saw it as a TV show. And I'm one of the characters, and they wanted to relate to it. I was the soap opera Kato character.

PHILLIPS: In the past two decades, Kaelin has embraced his fame, taking parts in reality TV shows like "Celebrity Boot Camp, "Give Me My Reality Show," "Eye for an Eye," and the very fitting "House Guest," which never got off the ground.

KAELIN: You know, I'm a nice guy.

And I'm dropped off in the middle of nowhere with a suitcase and no money. I have to knock on doors and say, hi, I'm TV's Kato Kaelin. Can I live here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you remember what happened to O.J. when you lived with him?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Today, Kaelin has his own online interview show.

KAELIN: And speaking of credits, you have a new song out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.

PHILLIPS: And is launching a clothing line.

KAELIN: The media called me the biggest slacker in the world and freeloader. I said, you know what? Embrace your inner slacker. Come up with Kato potato, Kato Kouch Potato, and so we came up with Kato Potato line.

PHILLIPS: A collection of loungewear complete with pockets for snacks and a remote control. Kaelin can now laugh about his role in the trial that cemented him in pop culture.

KAELIN: I always think that my epithet is going to read, my 15 minutes are up. And -- but I do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Interesting. A lot of people made a lot of money off of that.

Kyra Phillips, thank you very much for that.

Joining me now, Yale Galanter, O.J. Simpson's former attorney in his armed robbery and kidnapping trial. Jeffrey Toobin is with us tonight as well. He's CNN senior legal analyst and the author of "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson," not vs. but v. O.J. Simpson, and attorney Carl Douglas, who represented Simpson in his criminal trial.

Jeffrey, I want to start with you.

There is some video of a very young Jeffrey Toobin. I want to take you back to that trial. You're in the courtroom. You sat behind the Goldman family as the verdict was read. What was that moment like?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It was like nothing that ever I have experienced before or since. It aged me, obviously, the going through it.

I was stunned. And, remember, the jury was out only for one day. And just to lay my cards on the table, I thought then and I think now O.J. was completely guilty of killing those two people. And I thought the jury got it wrong. And I was horrified, frankly.

And then to compound the outrage of the day, we saw how the public reacted. We saw the incredible racial divisions, the black folks cheering the verdict, white people appalled, which somehow made the whole experience both more important and more depressing, because it created a political event.

LEMON: You were in the courtroom. So, you didn't see that.

TOOBIN: Not until later, right.

LEMON: Those of us who were watching, you know, from their homes and I was watching in a newsroom, and really took a moment to observe people. And you're right. Even in a newsroom -- I was working for a local FOX station in New York -- there was a separation of black and white people and what they thought about it.

We will talk more about that.

But, Carl, I want to get to you, because there was -- this was another big moment in the trial. You were there at that defense table that famous moment, that drama when O.J. tried on that glove, and then, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

What was that like?

CARL DOUGLAS, ATTORNEY: I will tell you, Don, I have been a lawyer for 34 years. I'm in trial right now.

But that is, without question, the most dramatic moment of my life. None of us knew at the moment what was going to happen. The experiment that Chris Darden tried to spring on us in and of itself was a surprise. So I remember sitting just two people away from Mr. Simpson when he first tried on that glove.

There's a camera to your right watching everything that was going to be happening then. And I recall Johnnie telling us, after having a quick sidebar, they're going to try on the glove, so not anyone react. And then I remember O.J. first putting on the nylon latex glove and after he first tried to put on the actual glove itself, the murder glove, it became clear that it didn't fit.

And you saw O.J. holding up his hand and standing up and walking over to the jury. He was then in full actor mode, I can tell you.

LEMON: I was just going to say, that was quite a bit of acting. Right?

TOOBIN: He sure was.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Because he played that moment for all that it was worth.

Yale, I want to talk to you, because you were O.J.'s attorney from 2000 to 2013, I'm pretty sure. So, Yale, if you can hear us, give us some insight on what O.J. thought about -- OK, Yale, can't hear us. So, we will get back to -- Jeffrey, you thought it was a bit of acting.

And, as you said, and as you heard Jim Moret say in that piece, right, this case was all about celebrity, it was about sex, it was about race, and murder. How did this trial change the way the media covers a case like this, with gavel-to-gavel coverage? Even, you know, before O.J., there wasn't that, was it?

TOOBIN: Well, what happened was there was a tremendous backlash mostly among judges against cameras in the courtroom, because I think they felt that Judge Ito, Lance Ito, looked bad, didn't do a good job controlling the courtroom, and they said, the heck with this, we don't want cameras in our courtroom.

And if you think back to the big televised trials since O.J., they have almost all been in Florida. And Florida is the state with the famous sunshine law, where everything is open to the public. But Casey Anthony, the Zimmerman case have all been in Florida.

All the other big cases, including every case in federal court, has not been televised. So I think there really has been a backlash to cameras in the courtroom. And I think...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: But even -- even for the Conrad Murray trial, I was out there, and there were cameras in the courtroom for that as well, which was interesting.

Hey, Yale, I want to get back to you because you were having trouble.

Can you talk to me? You were O.J.'s attorney from 2000 to 2013. Tell us, did he share any insight on that infamous Bronco chase?

YALE GALANTER, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: Yes. I mean, we used to discuss it a lot, Don. And, you know, the most surreal thing to him was that everybody

characterized it as a chase. And it was never a chase. I think the Bronco never went over 35 miles an hour.

LEMON: OK, slow-speed chase.

GALANTER: A.C. was on the phone with law enforcement. They knew where he was going. It was -- it really wasn't a chase.

A chase is, you know, something where cops are trying to run you down. And the police here made an intentional effort not to stop it. So he was -- you know, there are a lot of things that we discussed about the trial, and the chase was just one of them.

LEMON: But, Yale, he wasn't driving to the police department to turn himself in. It wasn't a high-speed chase, but, you know, he was -- he was trying to flee.

GALANTER: Well, I don't think he was trying to flee.

He had told me numerous times he was wanted to go visit the grave. A.C. was trying to control him. It was obviously a very emotional moment, and when it ended, the police knew exactly where he was going to go, that he pulled into the driveway. You know, he sat in the car for a number of hours. The police handled it very well. Nobody was injured, and they took him into custody.

LEMON: Yes. OK. We will talk more. Stand by, everyone. I want you to stay there.

When we come right back: The verdict was read, and some were in shock, some were celebrating. And which side were you on? Which side were you on has -- may have had a lot to do with race. So, what has changed today? We will talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Imagine this: 150 million people tuned in to hear the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial. And to put that into perspective for you, the population of the United States at the time was 266 million. A hundred fifty million people tuned in, 266 million people in the United States at the time. So it is no surprise the case continues to fascinate, especially with what it tells us about race in America.

So back with me now is Yale Galanter, Jeffrey Toobin and Carl Douglas.

I'm going to start with this, because Jeffrey Toobin jumped ahead in the workbook here and started talking about the race polarization here. This is what a new CNN/ORC poll shows now, that a majority of African-Americans now say that Simpson was guilty. This is a big turnaround from 1994, when six in ten African-Americans believed that the charges were not true. What has changed, Carl?

DOUGLAS: You know, probably time and the intensity of the moment at the time. For African-Americans, in 1995, it was very, very important that there

be justice, or at least a perception of justice. There was a police officer that was caught in a lie. There were pieces of evidence that were found or suspected of being planted. This was the police state doing what they could to convict someone who they thought was guilty of a crime.

As time has passed, as the groundswell has continued to grow, as O.J. has been in custody and out of the public eye for the last many years, I think the tide has now changed somewhat.

LEMON: Yes, Jeffrey, does that change in perception have anything to do with the book that he eventually wrote, you know, the one where you said "If I Did It"? Why would he ever do that?

TOOBIN: Well, I think it's an accumulation of things. If you look at all the evidence that has come out since the criminal trial, including the civil trial, where the photographs of him wearing the Bruno Magli shoes, these very unusual shoes, where the footprints were found at the murder scene. I mean, the evidence is so overwhelming in this case that I think people with calm reflection of time have come to see the truth about it, that he's guilty.

LEMON: When you look at, you know when you look at what was happening with the L.A. Police Department, that played a big role in it, because you know, there were many charges of racism in the L.A. Police Department. You had Rodney King, which wasn't long before that. All sorts of things. And people thought that this was the system that was setting up a black man, Yale, during that time.

GALANTER: Yes, you know, I agree with Jeff, and I agree what Carl said. I think that obviously time has passed.

But, you know, O.J., instead of going along with his life and just playing golf and being quiet, has done some incredibly stupid things. I mean, he had the "If I Did It" book, but before the "If I Did It" book, you know, he had the Direct -- was caught stealing cable; you know, he was investigated by the DEA for drugs. Then the Las Vegas thing.

I mean, whatever goodwill he had when that verdict came out, and whatever people truly believed he's innocent, his stupidity since then has just turned America against him totally. And, you know, now he's obviously one of the most vilified and hated humans on the planet.

LEMON: Although, and of course -- go ahead, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: It just -- if I can add sort of the crowning absurdity of the O.J. Simpson case, I think, is that he was acquitted of the crime that he was guilty of, the murders of Ron Goldman and his ex-wife Nicole Brown. And then he was convicted in this totally bogus case in Las Vegas, where Yale tried hard and decently to defend him, where as far as I can tell, a crime didn't even take place. So, you know, as far as I'm concerned, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. But he's locked up for exactly the wrong reason.

LEMON: Yes, but you know, today...

GALANTER: Jeff is 100 percent right. That jury hated him with such a passion, it didn't matter what I said, what I argued, what the prosecutors were going to do. They were going to convict him because of all the stupid things he had done in the last ten years and the fact that most people thought that he had committed the -- the murders. I mean, and Jeff's right. He should have never been convicted in Las Vegas.

LEMON: And he is appealing that trial on grounds that he didn't get a fair trial. I want to get Carl in here. Because Carl, today you know, there are many similarities, you know, that I've spoken about with the George Zimmerman trial.

O.J. meant something, obviously, to African-Americans. George Zimmerman, for some reason, means something to conservatives and -- or many white people in the country. It's a very similar thing that happened with George Zimmerman and O.J. How would this trial be handled today?

DOUGLAS: I'm not sure that there would be a great deal of factual difference. There may well be, Don, a difference in perception. A difference in the way that the media might play the case. But for some reason, we Americans are always fascinated with the issues of race.

And concerning what Jeff said, I think in order to understand the verdict from the prism of an African-American juror, you really have to understand the dynamics that was going on then between the African- American community and the Los Angeles Police Department. Those jurors filtered the facts of that case through the prism of their own experience. So it really is unfair to castigate the jury without understanding the greater context within which that trial sat in that day and age.

LEMON: I've got to go. Thank you, everyone. I appreciate it. Great conversation.

We have the stories of some of the other key players. Make sure you tune into "CNN Spotlight, The O.J. Simpson Trial, Where Are They Now?" That is Friday night at 10 p.m. Eastern.

And coming up, Congressman Eric Cantor will soon be out of a job. What happens after his shocking ouster? That's straight ahead.

But first, CNN's original series, "The Sixties." Make sure you watch tomorrow night at 9 Eastern. Now here's your Sixties minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John F. Kennedy died at approximately 1 p.m. today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole world is poorer because of his loss. ROBERT CARO, AUTHOR: America was a different place on the day before

John F. Kennedy was killed. The assassination changed the trajectory of the '60s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember it. I'll remember it as long as I live.

CARO: Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you kill the president?

LEE HARVEY OSWALD, SUSPECTED ASSASSIN OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: No, I've not been charged with that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lee Harvey Oswald has been shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Information concerning the cause of the death of your president has been withheld from you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story has been suppressed. Witnesses have been killed. We have a right to know who killed our president and why he died.

ANNOUNCER: "The Sixties," tomorrow night at 9 on CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A veteran Republican lawmaker says Eric Cantor's stunning defeat in the primary election is sending shivers through the GOP, and now Cantor's stepping down as the House majority leader, the second highest ranking Republican in the GOP-controlled House, and the scramble is now under way to replace him.

Joining me now is our chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, I want to read this tweet that a viewer sent to me. And it was similar to a question that you asked Eric Cantor today. Steven says, "How does a guy like Eric Cantor manage to lose touch with his constituents when his district is just outside of Washington?"

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really not that far. It's a pretty easy drive. I'm sure you've done it yourself.

I did ask Eric Cantor that question today and his answer was that he actually went home to his district every single week. Going home, of course, and actually campaigning and doing the things you really need to do to prove to your constituents that you're in touch are two very different things.

But the one thing that we have to maybe tell our viewers, remind them, that this was not a general election campaign, meaning it was a very small percentage of his constituents who actually voted; 12 percent, that's it. They're the only ones who showed up in this primary, and obviously, the vast majority didn't want him to come back.

LEMON: You also asked Eric Cantor about what he did before he went to bed last night. I thought it was a great question. And I couldn't wait to hear his answer. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Did you kind of look in the mirror before you went to sleep last night and said, "How did I let this happen?"

CANTOR: No, because I really do believe that we did everything we could. I'm very, very proud of my team on the ground in Richmond for all they did. There was a tremendous outpouring of support on all sides. And I, you know, again, I just came up short, and the voters elected another candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: He answered it with candor. So what's next? We know there will be a vote on June 19. Who's going to run to replace Eric Cantor?

BASH: Right now, it's the No. 3, Kevin McCarthy, who wants to move up a slot. He hasn't formally announced, but it's very clear from his aides, from other people he's been talking to, that he wants. And Cantor himself virtually endorsed him today, said that he wants McCarthy to be his successor.

One of the things that is going on in the dynamic to fill maybe two leadership slots is that right now -- people might not know this -- all of the leadership positions are filled with either sort of blue- state Republicans or purple-state Republicans. There's no rock-red- state Republican representing -- represented in the leadership. And many people in the rank and file want to change that.

So that's going to be a big question about whether anybody from -- whether the Tea Party wing or just the more conservative wing of the caucus is going to be in the leadership.

LEMON: We've been talking a lot about the loser. Let's talk about the winner last night, and let's hear from him. This is Dave Brat last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BRAT, REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: It's not about David Brat winning tonight. It's about returning the country to constitutional principles. It's about returning the country to Judeo-Christian principles. And it's about returning this country to free-market principles where no one is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So as my grandmother would say, used to say, you know, you too kind of favor each other. They do -- they look similar. They have very similar looks.

BASH: They do.

LEMON: But we don't know very much about him.

BASH: It's like Eric Cantor with a blonde dye job, right?

LEMON: Right. Right.

BASH: It's very true. It's actually a little bit eerie.

We don't know that much about him, because we didn't even know his name, most people who even cover politics, until 24, 36 hours ago at this point.

One thing is clear is that he's got some -- he's got some work to do. He is a first time politician. He has a staff of two in this campaign, just two. And I think that the evidence is in a question he was asked today about his position on the minimum wage, and he said something like, "I've got to get back to you. I don't have a position yet."

Well, No. 1, he's an economics professor. No. 2, it's not like nuclear physics where people have to maybe Dave into the policy. Everybody gets minimum wage, gets the concept of minimum wage, because it's pretty much involved in everybody's lives.

So maybe we appreciate the candor as reporters who try to listen to politicians and they try to flub their way out of that kind of question, but the fact that he didn't have a policy position on something really basic is going to change pretty fast.

LEMON: We can hear that Dana Bash is alone in the Capitol from the echo. All right, Dana, get home safe. We appreciate your reporting. It's been a long day for you. Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: When we come right back, the battle for the soul of the GOP. A Tea Party conservative goes head to head with a Romney Republican. That's next.

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LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. So tonight the Tea Party is declaring victory. Whose victory? A previously unknown economics professor, Dave Brat, who vanquished Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary last night.

So joining me now is Scottie Hughes. He's a news director of a Tea Party News Network and author of "Roar: The New Conservative Woman Speaks Out."

Oh, Kevin. And Kevin Madden, the CNN political commentator and Republican strategist.

Good to talk to both of you. Kevin first: 24 hours after Cantor's stunning loss, who or rather what is the GOP? KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I think the GOP

has always flourished when it's been a party of ideas and it's a party of reform. And also a party that is built from the bottom up.

I think that's one of the great things that the Tea Party has always brought to the Republican Party, is that fundamentally, it's a -- it's a reform element within the center-right electorate that is trying to remind Republican candidates across the country that they have to be in touch with the voices of grassroots conservatives across the country.

So one of the things that really happened, I think, in this race with -- down in Virginia was that you saw a candidate who was much more focused on his ascent as part of leadership. A gap emerged between him and his constituents, and he paid an ultimate price in a primary. And I think that's sort of the reminder, I think the lesson that we learned from Virginia 7.

LEMON: So, Scottie, you know, usually we talk about the winner. We are spending more time now talking about the loser. So let's talk about the loser a little bit more. Why did Eric Cantor lose?

SCOTTIE HUGHES, AUTHOR, "ROAR": Eric Cantor lost for one main reason: the word "immigration." You know, he sat there and brought up this principle that each Mitch McConnell was smart enough not to bring up until after his primary.

You can also look at the fact that he repealed the sequester. He put into laws that actually raise taxes. And the only time that we really ever heard the words [SIC] "conservative" come out of his mouth was last night in his giving up speech. So that...

LEMON: But, Scottie -- Scottie, Eric Cantor was one of the most conservative leaders -- Republican leaders in Washington, in the House.

HUGHES: When he was elected. And he ran -- we were actually very happy with him. But I think this is what is great about my party and my side of it and my group, is that we hold ours just as accountable. We expect action. We just don't want the words that are on the campaign trail. And that's what you saw in this. You run as a Tea Party conservative, we're going to hold you accountable to that.

LEMON: OK. But Kevin is saying -- Kevin is not mincing immigration, and you're mincing immigration. Kevin is saying he was just out of touch.

HUGHES: And that's what is out of touch. The people of the 7th District of Virginia did not want the immigration reform that he was pushing through.

LEMON: Go ahead, Kevin.

MADDEN: Well, look, I think immigration was an issue. It was not the issue. Look, I think Eric Cantor has, you know -- I think he ran previously

as having run against some of the immigration reforms that were previously proposed by those folks like Senator John McCain, back in 2007, I believe. And then when he came back, he did talk about the need for immigration reform this time.

Look, I think the big difference here on the issue of immigration is that everybody up on Capitol Hill believes that we need immigration reform. That the current system that we have is not serving our economy, not serving our national security objectives.

HUGHES: Kevin, you're wrong.

MADDEN: I think the difference here is that Eric Cantor, he tended to take a couple of different positions, and a lot of that had to do with the simple fact that he was a -- part of leadership on Capitol Hill. And that's where I think that canyon emerged, was his role as a party leader and his role to the people of the -- 7th District in Virginia, somehow there was a conflict there.

HUGHES: But -- Kevin, here's the deal. You said different issues. That's called flip-flopping. That's what we're missing in our party. We want leadership. We expect Eric Cantor to stand up to this president. He didn't. Therefore, it's time for him to be removed.

MADDEN: That's was one of the criticisms that Democrats had of Eric Cantor, was that all he ever did was oppose Barack Obama. So I think it's hard to square that criticism with ultimately his profile.

LEMON: Let me get this in very quickly, because the president said similar sentiments that you're talk about, Kevin, in 2012, right? But he said, "Should I win the second term, a big reason I'm going to win the second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest growing demographic group in this country, the Latino community."

So they have won. You know, Scottie's Tea Party may have won. But are you really doing the party more damage than you are helping it?

MADDEN: Well, look, on the issue of immigration, and I also think as far as demographics go, is the wider electorate, the Republican Party does have a demographic crisis.

I think increasingly one of the big worries that I would have and in trying to grow the party is that we've become a party that's defined by what we're against: that we're against illegal immigration. But we have to become a party that's what we're for. What does a modernized immigration system look like? How does it fit into our larger...

LEMON: Kevin...

HUGHES: Kevin...

LEMON: ... and Scottie, I've got to go. I'm so sorry. I'm up against a hard break. It's almost the top of the hour. Anderson has to get on. Thank you very much, Scottie Hughes, Kevin Madden. We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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LEMON: Time now for "CNN TONIGHT Tomorrow," the stories that you're going to be talking about tomorrow.

First, an update on our breaking news. The White House condemning the deadly violence in Iraq launched by the radical Islamist militants. And the administration says it will provide and as required increased assistance to Iraq's government to help it fight back. An American official tells CNN that Iraq has indicated a willingness to allow U.S. air strikes against those militants.

In the meantime, what's called the world's most widely viewed sporting event, the 2014 World Cup, kicks off tomorrow in Brazil. Soccer tournament is held every four years, and 32 teams from around the world are competing for the title of world champions.

I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching. That's it for us tonight. "AC 360" starts right now.