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Don Lemon Tonight

Coronavirus Skyrocketed in Three States; Trump's TV Pushes Conspiracy Theory; Players Facing Two Crises; Sports World Grapples with Twin Crises in America: COVID-19 and Racism; White House Pick for a Top Pentagon Post in Jeopardy After CNN Uncovers Conspiracy Theories Pushed by Nominee; Death of George Floyd Forcing Police Departments to Reckon with Biases and Systemic Racism; Colorado Governor Appoints Special Prosecutor to Investigate Death of Elijah McClain, Black Man Who Died in Police Custody. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired June 25, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon.

It is 11 p.m. here on the East Coast.

Here's our breaking news. A tragic milestone, this country reaching a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, 37,077 new cases reported. The three most populous states, California, Florida, Texas now setting records for new coronavirus cases on a daily basis.

Florida reporting more than 5,000 cases today for a second day in a row. Texas reporting 6,000 cases today, the highest number reported in a single day. The governor of Texas putting the brakes on any new phases of reopening in his state.

One medical expert in Texas warning the state's biggest cities could see what he calls apocalyptic surges in cases. President Trump in deep denial about the spike in the pandemic leaving a serious void in the national leadership.

And a source saying that he will never change when it comes to wearing a mask. He doesn't like the image and he won't admit that he is wrong. Yet, this virus is killing Americans every single day. I should say more and more Americans now every single day.

Well, let's discuss now with some folks who can tell me if I'm right about that. CNN's White House correspondent John Harwood, and Dr. Jonathan Reiner, he is the director of cardiac catherization program -- the cardiac catherization program at George Washington University Hospital. Gentlemen, good evening to both.

John, 31 states now seeing a rise in new coronavirus cases. The CDC thinks there may be 10 times as many cases as reported. But here is what the president was focused on for an hour of propaganda on Fox News tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You can't. Look, Chicago is an example. It's like, worse than Afghanistan. You say, is that a racist statement. It's not racist. Frankly, black people come up to me and say thank you. Thank you, sir for saying it. They want to help. The cities, it's like living in hell.

It's very controversial to say stop and frisk. Stop and frisk. Rudy Giuliani started stop and frisk and he did a great -- it was a great thing he did for New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The president is downplaying the pandemic as some kids with sniffles and rambling about race and black people thanking him and on and on. I would like to know who those black people are. But, why? Why is he doing this?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, the president is fixated on two distinct ideas. One is that he had this strong economy that was going to, he was going to surf to re-election until he was hit out of the blue by this pandemic.

Now, he didn't build the greatest economy in the world as he says but he is fixated on that. So, what he is trying to do is get back to that by in essence wishing the pandemic away trying to avoid focus on it and shift back to the economy.

The second thing he is fixated on is the idea that racial conflict works for him. It worked for him in 2016 to get the Republican nomination and the presidency. And so, he is beating that drum. Trying to alarm white voters about black and brown people in the United States.

The problem that he has is that the polls show it's not working, in particular it's not working among whites. He carried whites against Hillary Clinton by 20 points in 2016. In the polling that gap narrowed substantially for -- in the direction of Joe Biden. He's got big problems.

LEMON: Dr. Reiner, let's bring you in now. I want you to take a listen, this is the White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow. What he had to say about the pandemic, this was earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The growth rate is only up a little bit. We are going to have hot spots, no question. We have now, you know, Texas and parts of the south, the Carolinas, Arizona. We just have to live with that. That's, I think that part of the story of the declining impact of the virus but it does linger and it does pop up. We are going to see these things. But the economy is not going to be closed down again. There may be certain places where there is. That is up to the local authorities.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: So that was doctor Kudlow -- no. no, sorry. He's not a doctor. So, Trump says that, you know, we see a few embers. We might see, Kudlow says a few hot spots. You actually have a medical degree unlike both of them, Trump and Kudlow. Are they wrong?

[23:05:01]

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes. Don't listen to Dr. Kudlow. Calling Texas, for instance, a hot spot is like calling the sun a hot spot. Yes. I'd say it's hot. The pandemic is roaring in Texas and Arizona and Florida. In fact, if you look at the number of cases in those three states, that's a third of the new cases in the United States come out of those three places.

So, it's a giant problem. And I think that we've already seen Governor Abbott do is pause the opening, the further opening in Texas. But as some of your earlier guests this evening have stated I think you are going to see places like Texas have to close.

There is a real risk in places like Houston of hospitals being overrun. Capacity being totally exceeded. I think that we may quickly get to a point where parts of Texas are going to have to shut down. And that would be the responsible thing to do.

And I'm hoping that the leadership in those states has the political courage to do that. They won't have the backing in Washington. It has to come from the state houses. And we have to have the courage to shut down places where the virus is out of control. There is no other way to do it.

LEMON: It's not up to Kudlow or the president really to shut states or cities down. That's up to the governors, right?

REINER: Right.

LEMON: And local officials so they can't say.

REINER: Right.

LEMON: I was shocked when he said the economy is not going to shut down again. But that's not -- that really up to Larry Kudlow or Dr. Kudlow. You know, we are told that the White House, Dr. Reiner that the coronavirus task force briefing is going to return tomorrow.

REINER: Yes.

LEMON: The most important question for our country's top medical officials.

REINER: I want to know from Drs. Birx and Fauci how they -- what their threshold is for shutting either a municipality or a state down. I want to know what their goals are for increasing testing. The president seems to think that testing is overrated, I think. And many other people think that we need multiples of what we are doing now.

We are doing now about 500,000 tests a day. Some places like the Harvard group think we need to be doing five million tests per day. I'd like to know what Birx and Fauci think about that. We're not close to the end of the first wave. But I'm worrying about the second wave, perhaps this fall, and I want to know what PPE we have in the national strategic stockpile.

We're still using N95 masks as are most places around the country. I want to know what kind of stockpiles we built. I don't think we built many.

LEMON: Yes. I just --

(CROSSTALK)

REINER: These -- it's hard -- they're hard to find. There are so many questions.

LEMON: OK. Just really quickly, John, because I really have to run here. Is there any indication that they have to take this seriously, that the Coronavirus Task Force is actually going to have a briefing tomorrow because it's been quite a while?

HARWOOD: They can't avoid it. The numbers are too high. The potential that hospitalizations and deaths are going to skyrocket and overwhelm the hospital capacity in those sun-belt states is simply impossible to avoid and you see it in the reaction from the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona. They are alarmed and the administration is responding.

LEMON: John, Dr. Reiner, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Now I want to get to Erica Hill with the latest on the rise in cases all across this country.

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the nation's three most populous states, California, Florida, and Texas, things are going from bad to worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PRESSE, PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT: I think history is going to look back forgivingly upon the United States and Americans who are going down this road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Los Angeles County now has more confirmed cases than any county in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are still in the first wave of this pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Texas pausing its reopening to, quote, "corral the spread of COVID-19," also restricting elective surgeries in four counties. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're running out of that time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Texas Medical Center now using nearly all its regular capacity ICU beds in the greater Houston area. Hospitals are also a concern in Florida which just added more than 5,000 new cases. Governor DeSantis resisting calls for a statewide mask mandate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's incredibly unfortunate that this has become so political.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: While in hard-hit Miami where masks are required the mayor is now considering a fine for anyone who ignores his order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MIAMI: If we don't want to go backwards the only option that we have right now is to order masks in public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The CDC confirming more young people are contracting the virus. In Ohio where cases have jumped in the last 24 hours, nearly 60 percent of the state's cases are people between the ages of 20 and 49.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We have increased testing, but no analyst that I talked to believes that the total increase is due to that at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:10:03]

HILL: Hospitalizations and ICU admissions are also up, especially in the Cincinnati area. Across the country for every person diagnosed, ten more were likely infected. As many as 20 million people according to new findings from the CDC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: That's about 10 times more people have antibodies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: There is new concern for pregnant women. The CDC reporting Thursday they may be at higher risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms, especially black and Hispanic women.

Disneyland's reopening now delayed. California says it hasn't met the criteria. Apple closing more stores in Florida because of the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): The data is telling us yes right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: While in New York City plans are underway for a phase three, bringing back indoor dining, sports and dog runs on July 5th.

Erica Hill, CNN, New York.

LEMON: Erica, thank you very much. Well, this country is seeing a record number of coronavirus cases in a single day, well, Fox News is pushing its denial campaign in defiance of reality. We'll have the facts, next.

[23:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Fox News pushing misinformation and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic, and the Washington Post is reporting that three new studies show how conservative media has discouraged audiences from taking steps to protect themselves and others. Is their coverage costing lives?

Brian Stelter has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST, FOX NEWS: I don't like any of the headgear situation that people are wearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It should be a simple concept, covering your face for the common good. But on Fox News that keeps clashing with a misguided notion of individual rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: I'd rather just roll the dice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: And Fox's coverage matters because President Trump consumes it night and day, and so do millions of others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is not a lot of evidence masks would help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Fox's talk shows feature contrarians who give viewers license to ignore experts and to laugh at the people who do take the dangers seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAGEN MCDOWELL, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: Bring on the shame police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Dagen McDowell, ahead of the president's rally in Tulsa last week predicted that the media would criticize Trump fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCDOWELL: They are going to panning the crowds to panic pause. Pointing people out on TV. They don't have masks on. And you know what, Trump supporters, embrace it and love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: And after the rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAT TIMPF, CONTRIBUTOR, FOX NEWS: You noticed a lot of those people not wearing masks. You also look at it though everyone there was having so much fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: So much fun. And so little concern in right wing media about the consequences. Mostly, though, they just don't talk about the virus much at all. They have moved on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST: Sleepy Joe campaign.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS: Obamagate.

INGRAHAM: Dividing Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Granted some guests do drag the conversation back to reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, CONTRIBUTOR, FOX NEWS: Because the president and many Republican governors are not encouraging people to wear mask. This is this a paradox where it's actually hurting the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) STELTER: Emphasizing common sense steps like face coverings, which, by the way, are a must-wear at Fox News headquarters, a recent memo reminded staffers to done a mask in all shared work spaces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEHMET OZ, TV PERSONALITY: Masks are not about a political philosophy, are not about people shoving their desires in your faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Dr. Oz with a simple message on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: Masks are about being kind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Hopefully the president was watching.

And knowing anything about the president he was watching, he hears all this rhetoric from Fox. Predominantly, Don, Fox just doesn't talk about the virus as much as it focuses on other stories like deep gate -- deep state scandals and as a result, people come away ill-informed.

LEMON: Yes. So-called. I like to say. I like to give a caveat, so called deep --

STELTER: So-called.

LEMON: Yes. Is there any way to describe that so-called Fox News town hall that we saw tonight besides an hour of propaganda? Any other way to describe it?

STELTER: I would say an hour of poor propaganda. That would be the best way to describe it because this was not wrapped up in anything but just, you know, back and forth. Talking points from one person to another. No real value added.

You had an audience of 50 people socially distanced, their temperatures are checked ahead of time, wearing masks in the audience. And this is an hour of missed opportunities. The president could have addressed the pandemic head on, he could have talked about the importance of taking safety precautions. But he did not. He instead focused on his own anger, his own bitterness, his own resentments and of course Hannity reflects that back to him.

Look, as you mentioned, Don, a number of new studies showing the effect of conservative media's downplaying of the virus on millions of people. How the rhetoric from right-wing media actually affect people's lives.

This is a quote from one of the many people studying this. This is the chief editor of the Harvard Kennedy School misinformation review, saying we are receiving an incredible number of studies and solid data showing that consuming far-right media and social media content was strongly associated with low concern about the virus at the onset of the pandemic.

That was back in February and March. But, Don, I suspect researchers will find the same thing is true now as we are in the throes of this ongoing crisis. When you are not hearing valuable productive information from government leaders and from media leaders like Sean Hannity, people end up in a very troubling and even dangerous situation.

LEMON: I would consider this a public service announcement more than a criticism of Fox News.

STELTER: Right.

LEMON: Because people are dying.

STELTER: Right.

LEMON: And the cases are going up. Thank you, Brian. I appreciate it. Many professional athletes grappling with two crises, right. Two crises. The coronavirus and racism in America. It's now -- is now the time for the return of sports? That's the question.

[23:20:00]

Look who's here. Man, I can't wait to talk to Bob Costas. He is going to weigh in, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, with two major crisis hitting sports leagues across this country as they try to find a way to begin or resume their seasons, more and more players are testing positive for COVID-19. And some athletes, particularly in the NBA are questioning whether now is even the right time to bring sports back as the nation confronts systemic racism.

So, let's discuss now. Hall of fame broadcaster, Bob Costas. Bob, I'm so happy you're here. And you finally taken the opportunity to come on. I know that you have been very busy. So, we appreciate you coming on.

[23:24:59]

So, let's talk about this, the return of sports. Whatever that would look like would bring back some kind of normalcy, but there are two big issues that we have to grapple with right now. And of course, that's coronavirus and the country's original sin, which is racism.

What place does sports have in America at this time at this intersection that we have between race and health?

BOB COSTAS, HALL OF FAME BROADCASTER: Well, it would take the race part of it. The idea, and I heard some people express it. Former NBA player Stephen Jackson who was close to George Floyd, they looked almost like brothers almost like twins. We all know that story. Stephen Jackson has expressed his views. So too has NBA player Kyrie Irving that now is not the time to return to play because they should be concentrating on the social issues.

But even if the present movement is extraordinarily successful the idea that systemic racism is going to have an end point in the foreseeable future or that all of our problems will be behind us in the foreseeable future that doesn't strike me as logical. And we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

If NBA players return to play or players in any sport they have an even greater platform and more eyes will be on them. So, I really don't buy that argument.

However, there is certainly a good argument to say that even with the best intentions and the best medical expertise brought to bear if you need a 100-page protocol and that's what baseball has, for instance. If there are so many needles to thread then it's reasonable to ask even as we cross our fingers and say I hope they can get in the 60- game season and hope it goes off without a hitch.

There are so many whys and where for and so much doubt about how much jeopardy this might place a given player or his family in, that to me is the more pertinent question right now.

LEMON: Yes.

COSTAS: Is now the time to return and even if they do return can they do it successfully amid the coronavirus pandemic. I think the social issues, if anything, they'd be better highlighted if the players are back doing what they are known for doing.

LEMON: Let's talk -- and the players now seem to be empowered, more empowered than I've seen them at least in recent times, Bob. LeBron James is also speaking out about how the NFL handled Colin Kaepernick's protest. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: As far as the NFL, I'm not in those locker rooms, I'm not with those guys but I do understand that an apology, I have not heard a true official apology to Colin Kaepernick on what he was going through and what he was trying to tell the NFL and tell the world about why he was kneeling when he was doing that as a San Francisco 49er.

So, I just see that to be still be wrong. And now they are listening some. But I still think we have not heard that official apology to a man who basically sacrificed everything for the better of this world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A very simple question, Bob, considering what's going on in the country. We have been watching over the last couple of weeks. Does the league owe him an apology, Colin Kaepernick? COSTAS: Well, there is an implicit apology and saying we were wrong

about this. He has ruffled some feathers on a personal level, and I think that would make the apology tougher to come by. But whatever it may be worth, Don, I think I was the first and maybe still only network sports broadcaster in the summer of 2017 when the issue first arose to flatly say that Colin Kaepernick had been black balled. He was black balled. Is he as good as he was during the 49ers' Super Bowl season? Likely not. He was in decline and who knows how good he is after three seasons away. You know, the shelf life of an athlete is short.

LEMON: Right.

COSTAS: But at the very least he deserves a chance to prove that and certainly in 2017 he was good enough to be on the roster of many NFL teams. So, he was black balled. And I think some sort of official acknowledgment of that would be helpful.

LEMON: Thank you for answering that. Another hall of fame sports journalist as yourself is speaking out about this moment. This is HBO's Bryant Gumbel on what he calls the black tax. Watch this, Bob.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT GUMBEL, HOST, REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL: It's the added burden that comes with being black in America and it's routinely paid no matter how much education you have or how much money you make or how much success you've earned. The black tax is about more than just the added stares, whispers and suspicions when you are out and about. It's about the many instances of disrespect and instability your color seems to engender.

And being expected to somehow always restrain yourself less you not be what white Americans are never ask to be a credit to your race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Listen, I can second that. From your perspective do you see things changing? And people are more vocal now and people seem to be more open about understanding --

[23:30:03]

COSTAS: Yes.

LEMON: -- what black people are facing in this country. What do you think of what Bryant said there?

COSTAS: Well, first of all, Bryant's perspective is 100 percent valid because it's his perspective. He has lived it. He is an experienced journalist and intelligent man. I watched it as it happened. I got goose bumps listening to it.

I think sometimes in this atmosphere, if you say anything that seems to be optimistic, some people wrongly interpret that as you are soft pedalling or trying to mitigate the historic horrors and the present problems. That is not the case.

But I am 68 years old. I was in college in the early 1970s. I had black friends, but most of my friends and associates were white. I can tell you, I went to a northeastern university, it was a different time, but I can tell you that the vast majority of my friends idolized -- didn't just approve of it -- idolized Muhammad Ali and Tommie Smith and John Carlos and Lewis Alcindor that later become Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and Arthur Ashe.

I think that there are millions and millions of white Americans who cannot fully understand the experience because we can't. I can't fully understand your experience, Don. You cannot fully understand mine. But I think there are more people than the present events might lead us to believe who have had their hearts in the right place for a very long time.

And now it is playing out in the streets. We see -- you can see confederate flags outside NASCAR venues. But the bigger story is all of the drivers, and only Bubba Wallace is an African-American among them, all the drivers marching with him. And NASCAR, knowing that a portion of their fan base is going to be alienated, taking a strong and unequivocal stand here and saying there will be no confederate flags here. We will not tolerate any of this.

I think that is an optimistic part of the story and citing that does not soft pedal the horrors and the injustices that also brought us to this point.

LEMON: We appreciate your perspective. I appreciate your perspective. Bob, you are always welcome on this program to discuss this or any issue. I appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much.

COSTAS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thank you. I want you to check out my new podcast, "Silence is Not an Option," where I take on the tough questions. We have these conversations like Bob and I just had. I take on the tough questions about being black in America, about racism in America, the history of it, and where we go from here.

In episode two, I am going to talk with "Turner Classic Movies" host Jacqueline Stewart about her -- this is her new introduction. She was the one tasked with contextualizing "Gone with the Wind" on HBO after it was removed from HBO Max. And the important lessons that we can all learn. Find it on your favorite podcast app. Make sure you do tune in to that. You'll find it fascinating. Trust me.

CNN uncovering false smears and conspiracy theories pushed by the Trump administration's nominee to a top Pentagon post. Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata is outrageously calling former President Barack Obama a terrorist leader. A CNN KFile report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The White House's pick for a top Pentagon post is in jeopardy after CNN's KFile uncovered repeated conspiracy theories and Islamophobic comments posted by the nominee, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, calling President Barack Obama a Muslim and now deleted tweets and making multiple bogus claims against former CIA Director John Brennan.

Joining me now to discuss are CNN's KFile senior editor Andrew Kasinsky and CNN global affairs analyst Max Boot. Good to have both of you on. Thank you so much.

Andrew, I'm going to start with you, because Tata has pushed wild conspiracy theories. He has made outrageously false claims against the former president, Obama. Tell us what you found.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Well, yeah, just like you said there in the intro, he called former President Obama a Muslim in 2018. He also referred to him as a terrorist leader and tweeted a conspiracy that President Obama was a Manchurian candidate trying to take America down from the inside. Now, he also tweeted a number of anti-Muslim remarks, calling Islam the most oppressive and violent religion that I know, and attacked Obama, saying that he normalized Islam.

Now, it gets even more conspiratorial when we get to former CIA Director John Brennan, saying in a tweet, and it's sort of hard to believe. He said in a tweet that when John Brennan tweeted a quote from Cicero, he was actually trying to order the assassination of Donald Trump.

He didn't just make these comments on Twitter. He actually also made them on the radio. I think we have a few of those comments that we can play for people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. ANTHONY TATA, RETIRED UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICER: I think that John Brennan is a clear and present danger and a threat to this nation. He supports the overthrow of this particular president. He needed to have his access to information revoked. He manipulated ISIS intelligence for President Obama.

It would not surprise me if eventually it came out that he was somehow allied with some foreign power.

[23:40:00]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow! Fox News, OAN, there you go. So what is Tata saying about these -- OAN, I should say -- what is Tata saying about these resurfaced comments?

KACZYNSKI: Yes. So Tata sent a letter to the Armed Services Committee. That is the committee that would have to approve his nomination before he got a full Senate vote.

He said I deeply regret the comments that I made on social media several years ago. My tweets were out of character. He went on to defend his nomination a little bit, saying, my regret has nothing to do with my nomination, and then cited his lifetime of public service.

So, he is very much fighting for his nomination right now.

LEMON: It was interesting because he says, comments I made on social media several years ago, my tweets are completely out of character, but we just heard sound bites of him making similar statements. So, it wasn't only on social media.

Max, let me bring you in here, because you write in The Washington Post that Tata should be running a QAnon bulletin board, not the Pentagon policy shop. This is essentially putting a birther conspiracy theorist into a high-level post at the Defense Department.

MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Right. I mean, this guy, Don, is basically a racist, Islamophobic, conspiracy monger. I mean, this is weapons great nothingness (ph) even by the standards of the Trump administration. I mean, they have truly lost the power to shock me. But I am a little bit shocked that somebody with these views could possibly be nominated for the number three job at the Defense Department.

And, you know, his attempt to walk back what he said with the letter that Andrew quoted in -- by the way, I command the KFile team and Andrew for finding all of this stuff -- but, you know, now, Tata is trying to walk it back.

But he can't walk it back. It is not like, you know, he said one bad thing or he dropped the "F" bomb in public or he belched before polite company. That is not what he did. He has years-long record of making insane, racist, conspiratorial claims. He can't walk that back. Somebody who believes the stuff that he had said cannot possibly be allowed into the Pentagon, much less given the number three job there.

LEMON: Well, here is more. The offensive comments that you said against people of color, he said Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a vicious, race baiting racist. He suggested that I am on the liberal plantation and others that were disgustingly false about President Barack Obama repeatedly. Thank you.

BOOT: Yeah. It just goes on and on.

LEMON: Thank you both. I appreciate it. Colorado is now looking more closely at the case of a 23-year-old black man who died in police custody as the nation reckons with racial injustice. That is just one of the many cases getting another look. We have those stories. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police has turned the spotlight on police departments across America, and how police departments interact with communities of color. More tonight from CNN's Omar Jimenez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has now been one month since George Floyd's death. Since then, nearly every night in places across the United States protests, demanding justice and change, forcing some police departments to reckon with biases and even racism head-on.

DONNY WILLIAMS, CHIEF, WILMINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: Today is a challenging day for me, because as your new police chief, one of my first major tasks is to announce the termination of three veteran Wilmington police officers.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In Wilmington, North Carolina, video detailed and an internal review showed one officer describing a woman he arrested as a Negro and an N-word on multiple occasions, while another officer said he is ready for civil war and felt society needed a civil war to wipe them off the effing map. That will put them back four, five generations.

Attempts to reach each of the three officers for comment were unsuccessful.

WILLIAMS: Why are we releasing this information in this way? It is because of the times that we are in. And it is the right thing to do.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Another action protests have pushed is revisiting cases where justice may be in doubt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop! Stop, you are being suspicious.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Back in August 24, 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, 23- year-old Elijah McClain was stopped by three white officers on his way home from a convenient store, after a 911 caller described a suspicious person wearing a ski mask.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop!

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In an ensuing struggle, officers said McClain reached for one of their guns, according to a report from the district attorney, before McClain was placed in a chokehold and briefly lost consciously, but then began struggling again, according to the report.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you keep messing around, I'm going to bring my dog out and he's going to dog bite you. Do you understand me?

ELIJAH MCCLAIN, BLACK MAN WHO DIED AFTER BEING DETAINED BY POLICE: I can't sit myself (ph).

JIMENEZ (voice-over): McClain was given a powerful sedative ketamine by paramedics who arrived on the scene, according to the report. He later had a heart attack in the ambulance and was pronounced dead three days later. The state has now appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to calm the hell down.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In Tucson, Arizona, boy camera footage shows police wrestling with 27-year-old Carlos Ingram-Lopez after being called to the home where police say he was drunk, yelling, and running around the house naked.

[23:50:00]

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Ingram-Lopez went into cardiac arrest while handcuffed and was declared dead at the scene. The three officers involved resigned. The police chief offered his resignation, as well, but that was rejected by the city council.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arrest the cop!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said arrest the cop!

JIMENEZ (voice-over): And then in Louisville, an officer involved in the shooting and killing of Breonna Taylor was fired, more than three months after police broke down the door to her apartment and then attempted drug sting and shot her eight times while exchanging gunfire with her boyfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, I'm happy to hear that it -- that he was fired. He should have been fired. It's just the beginning, though. It's so much more to go. There are so many other people involved. Somebody still has to answer for what happened to Breonna, though.

JIMENEZ (on camera): In firing Detective Brett Hankison in Louisville, the police chief wrote in a letter that the actions displayed extreme indifference toward the value of human life, when he fired, blindly, 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment.

Now, CNN, again, has reached out to the attorney for Hankison, and Hankison himself, but have yet to hear back. Now, in regards to the attorney for the Taylor family, they say this is a step, but they want to see the other officers involved held accountable, and more specifically, they want to see charges filed. Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Omar, thank you very much. Appreciate that. I want to talk more about Colorado's governor appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the death of Elijah McClain last year.

Joining me now is Mari Newman, an attorney for Elijah McClain's family. Mari Newman, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us.

MARI NEWMAN, ATTORNEY FOR ELIJAH MCCLAIN'S FAMILY: Thanks for having me. LEMON: Absolutely. Today, Colorado's governor appointed the special prosecutor that we talked about to investigate Elijah's death. Governor Polis said in a statement, and I quote, "Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern."

The McClain family has been calling for an independent investigation since last year. What are they saying tonight?

NEWMAN: That's exactly right, Don. Last year, we stood on the municipal center steps, demanding an independent investigation. And what did we hear then? Crickets. Crickets for almost a year now. And, in fact, after -- only after a petition was signed by millions of people, there has been now international media attention to this case.

And finally, the mayor of Aurora claimed that he had hired an independent investigator to look into the case. It took the media about five minutes to figure out that the so-called independent investigator was actually a former police officer, turned lawyer, whose entire legal practice is dedicated to defending officers who use excessive force.

The fact that the city of Aurora tried to claim that that was an independent investigator when so clearly it was somebody who was brought in to do what Aurora has done time and time again, which is to circle the wagons and defend its brutal police officers, finally got some attention.

But honestly, why did it take almost a year, international media attention, millions of people signing a petition, for a responsible adult to finally step in and do what should have happened right from the outset?

LEMON: Well, let's talk about that, because there is an outcry on social media. More than two million people signed that petition, as you just said. Do you believe that was the catalyst that prompted Governor Polis to announce that his administration would re-examine the case?

NEWMAN: Without a doubt because the McClain family has been calling for independent investigation since last year. We were very, very vocal about the fact that it was a corrupt system. The city of Aurora has a very longstanding problem with both racist and brutal policing, which has been manifested now in the murder of Elijah McClain.

But I have been a civil rights lawyer here in Colorado for the last 20 years and what Aurora has done now is the same thing that it's been doing all along and the same thing that we've seen across the state and across the nation, sadly.

LEMON: My colleague Chris Cuomo spoke with the original district attorney who cleared the officers. He said the autopsy did not prove that they caused Elijah's death. That's -- that's the evidence that -- that was not there. What is your reaction? Excuse me. He said that the evidence was not there. What is your reaction to that?

NEWMAN: There are a couple of reactions. The first one is the claim that the evidence is not there is specifically because all three of the officers who went hands on to grab, tackle, and inflict multiple kinds of excessive force on an innocent young man all intentionally dislodged their body cameras as they did that.

Why do I say it's intentional? I know it's intentional for a variety of reasons. One is all three officers' cameras came off as they tackled him. But later in the video, we can hear times when somebody picks up the cameras later and they are told to move the camera away and later to turn off the camera.

[23:55:04]

NEWMAN: There are at least three different times in the video where people are told to either remove or turn off cameras that have been recovered. So to the extent that there is any evidence lacking, it is explicitly because of a concerted effort by Aurora police officers to tamper with the evidence and avoid accountability.

Now, with regard to that autopsy, it's about the most ridiculous document I've ever read. The coroner here is not a medical professional. So while the autopsy is done by a doctor, it is a political position. And autopsy report shows that in fact the autopsy --

LEMON: Mari --

NEWMAN: -- sorry. Too long, huh?

LEMON: Finish your thought, yeah, because I have to run.

NEWMAN: The autopsy was attended by two members of the Aurora police department, two members of the district attorney's office, and it bends over backwards to say everything except for the truth, which is this is cold blooded murder of an innocent man.

LEMON: We want to keep on the story and we'll have you back as more information comes out. Thank you, Mari Newman. We appreciate it.

NEWMAN: Thank you so much.

LEMON: And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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