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Don Lemon Tonight

Trump Family Facing Serious Criminal Charges; Remembering George Floyd's Death Anniversary; President Biden Calling On Senate To Act; A Video That Shook The World; It Took Five Days For GOP To Condemn Marjorie Taylor Greene's Anti-Semitism; President Biden Still Optimistic Of A Bipartisan Deal; Senator Rand Paul Receives Suspicious Package. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired May 25, 2021 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST (on camera): "DON LEMON TONIGHT" starts right now with its big star, D. Lemon.

Very interesting thing today, Don, talking about one year since George Floyd's murder. It means such different things as a marker to people. And just when you think you can't be shocked anymore. I wouldn't think that people could see this in two ways, because I thought that this was the incident where really everybody had their eyes opened for the same reason in the beginning.

And yet, now a year later, people say you're marking it because you want to defund the police. Or yes, we're marking it because nothing changed and it has not gotten better. Completely opposite perspectives on the same event that seem so clear.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: We're marking it because it was a horrific event that happened. Do you remember -- I remember where I was the first time, I saw it. I had to close the door and it was too emotional, too painful, I was at least. It was too painful to watch. I couldn't believe it. I said there's got to be something more than this and there wasn't.

It was what it was, it is what it is, and obviously it played out in the verdict. Thankfully this time justice was served as so many other times it wasn't served. But just think about a year ago, Chris. I mean, you were still, you know, coming out of your sickness, right, of COVID.

We were all at home in quarantine, nowhere to go, nothing to do but to watch this on our screens. The world was shocked and horrified as the world should have been. And now a year later, you have people making excuses for it, again, not surprising, but sad.

CUOMO: I had Karen Bass on, she seems pretty optimistic.

LEMON: I love her. I love having her on. She's just a really decent human being. Nothing to do with her politics. She's just a decent human being and she speaks the truth, and so, unlike so many in Washington, D.C.

CUOMO: She said something that could have been really helpful to members of the left's/like left fringe early on. Instead of defund the police, she said, no, you need to think about how to refund police and give communities more control over who goes to what kinds of call because police have had way too much put on their plate.

I've never had a leader on the left say that before on my show.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: And it would be really helpful in winning a lot of reasonable people in the middle to hear a Democrat saying that.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, I did a citizen by CNN today, you know, that we do. It was me, Kamau, Laura Coates, and Sara Sidner. And we talked about all of the -- it's, you know, it's one size fits all for policing in this country and it's not fair quite frankly, to the citizens of the country and it's not fair to police officers.

And so, listen, personally I know people get upset with me, especially, you know, the defund the police movement. I think that many of the things that they want within the movement within that initiative, I think it's great. I think it should be looked at. I just -- I think the word just doesn't help at all.

CUOMO: Look, they know. They try to put it on people saying you know what we meant.

LEMON: Yes. No, you don't.

CUOMO: That's politics.

LEMON: Anytime you're explaining, you're losing.

CUOMO: What you -- right. And you care in a game where everything you say and you guys do it too on the left and right. It doesn't matter. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the audience. You're going to twist it, you're going to take it out of context, you're going to play it to advantage. And you should have known that when you said something like that that you were giving them the cudgel to beat you over the head with.

But again, Congresswoman Bass said it the right way tonight. Whether she can get anything done, we'll see.

LEMON: Yes. I think we'll -- definitely, obviously, think that there should be police reform. I think we need to reinvent quite frankly policing in this country, how we use police officers, what they're used for, what is the actual concept of policing? Is it more peace officers or are there people who crack heads?

CUOMO: Or both.

LEMON: Or both.

CUOMO: Depending on the call.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes. I was going to say in some instances you're going to need police officers. Look, when I'm in trouble, if I have to call police or I have to call 911, I want the police to show up and I want them to show up fast. I don't want them to be defunded. I don't them to show up at my place or wherever it is that I am without the tools that they need to work with or to handle the situation.

But I also want the right police officers, the right police officers to show up, the police officers who are going to, who know how to de- escalate the situation, who aren't going to profile me or other people of color or anyone for that matter. And so, I do think that we need to -- I know people hate that term too, reimagine policing. I actually do think that we need to do it.

CUOMO: It just needs to be better. I mean, we're using the same --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- model that came out basically at its inception. You talk to any good police commissioner in any big city that deals with any kind of real scope of problems, bring in a brat or somebody like that, and they will you exactly this.

[22:04:59]

They'll say we have so much on our plate, so many different kinds of situation that we have to handle that we're not trained for, don't have the funding for, don't have the resources for and it's not fair.

LEMON: You know what, Chris. You know this. You know this. We have friends who are police officers. Police officers themselves will tell you, yes, we need help. I don't want to go out on every single call. Look, if there can be some sort of peace officer or some sort of mental health person that can deal with situations that we don't have to go to, yes, 100 percent.

The unions, the unions are the ones and they are trying to protect their men and women in uniform, I understand that, but it's the unions are the ones who are fighting against it, most police officers will tell you, look, all the help I can get, I'll take it.

CUOMO: Well, the big issue, and this is what I think is going to deal -- be the deal breaker, the left will say you have to remove immunity in order to have accountability --

LEMON: Qualified immunity.

CUOMO: -- and the theory of the case is they know they can get away with it.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Now, I don't know that that's a fair analysis but I know that's the issue. The right will never give it to you --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- because it will be seen as definitively anti-cop.

LEMON: The biggest anti-cop movement or event that I've ever seen in my entire life --

CUOMO: January 6th.

LEMON: -- January 6th, 2021. The biggest one.

CUOMO: Good thing we know everything we have to know about it, though.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Put it in the past.

LEMON: Yes, it's done.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Forget it. Past it past.

LEMON: It's over. Yes. We don't have to.

CUOMO: We don't need to know it. It would only be politics if you looked at it.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: We know everything already.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: No reason to look at it.

LEMON: Well, let's get on, let's talk about something that's going to happen that is happening now and I've got to get to it and that's the grand jury I want to talk about. I'll see you later.

CUOMO: Big news. I love you, D. Lemon. I'll be listening.

LEMON: I love you as well. See you later.

This is CNN Tonight. DON LEMON TONIGHT. I started to see Chris laugh. He knows I'm going to say and he tries to jedi mind trick me every time.

This is DON LEMON TONIGHT.

Listen, there's new legal trouble for the former president. The Manhattan district attorney convening a grand jury to decide whether to indict Trump, executives at his family business or Trump Org itself on potential criminal charges. That is according to the Washington Post. Which reports the whole

thing suggests the D.A. believes he found evidence of a crime either by Trump, someone close to him or his company, evidence of a crime. So, we got a lot more to come on this story tonight. We have experts who are going to walk us through, all of it, what this means for Trump, the organization, the people who run his company, his family, so on and so forth, and even for the so-called Trump era.

That as we mark one year since the death of George Floyd as we just discussed, doesn't feel like it's been year, does it? And then it feels like it's been a lot but it doesn't feel like it's been a year. It feels like it's been longer.

One year since George Floyd was murdered before our eyes and we can say that because there was a murder conviction, found guilty. Murdered by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for an excruciating 9 minutes and 29 seconds. The video we all watched driving hundreds of thousands of Americans and people around the world out into the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and sparking a racial reckoning.

But is it a reckoning? Is it really? Have you really reckoned with the racism that killed George Floyd? Have we? His family in Washington today to press for the bill that bears his name, the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. His daughter, Gianna, who last year told President Biden her daddy changed the world. Visiting the White House today, then leading the chant say his name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Say it loud, baby.

GIANNA FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S DAUGHTER: Say his name.

CROWD: George Floyd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): But that bill, the president wanted on his desk, didn't make the deadline. President Biden reportedly telling the family that he doesn't want a rush bill, he wants the right bill. And tonight, the young brave woman who shot the video of George Floyd's murder, a video that we never would have seen if she hadn't been there to bear witness.

Tonight, Darnella Frazier is speaking out again and what she has to say is extremely powerful, I just want to read some of what she says about what she saw. OK? She says, a year ago today I witnessed a murder, the victim's name was George Floyd.

Although, this wasn't the first time I've seen a Black man get killed at the hands of police, this is the first time I witnessed happen in front of me, right in front of my eyes, a few feet away. I didn't know this man from a can of paint but I knew his life mattered. I knew that he was in pain, I knew that he was another Black man in danger with no power. I was only 17 at the time, just a normal day walking my 9-year-old

cousin to the corner store. I'm not even prepared from what I was about to see, not even knowing my life was going to change on this exact day in those exact moments. It did. It changed me. It changed how I viewed life. It made me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America.

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We shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around police officers, the same people that are supposed to protect and serve. We are looked at as thugs, animals in criminals all because of the color of our skin. Why are Black people the only ones viewed this way when every race has some type of wrongdoing? None of us are to judge. We are all human.

Like I said it doesn't feel like a year. It feels like it's been a lot longer. So much has happened in the past year, we've seen so much. The police officer kneeling on George Floyd's neck literally crushing the life out of him. Thousands and thousands of protesters taking to the streets, peaceful protesters gassed across from the White House in what became Black Lives Matter plaza.

And all that happening in an America where millions of us were sheltering in place from the worst pandemic in 100 years. To the New York Times headline, which was U.S. deaths near 100,000. Now it's more than 590,000. It's been a year of huge change. But where are we tonight? Where are we?

We've learned that hate is flourishing from anti-Asian hate to anti- Semitism, to the trolls trying to bring America down like the QAnon congresswoman doubling down on her blatant anti-Semitism and ignorance again today, comparing a vaccine logo -- God -- to the yellow star. Well, it's yellow, not gold, the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear.

And listen to this. Then-candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2020 defending confederate monuments by, get this, comparing them to statues of Hitler or Satan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Whether I see a statue that may be something that I would fully disagree with, like Adolf Hitler, maybe a statue of Satan himself, I would not want to say take it down. But again, it's so that I could tell my children and teach others about who these people are, what they did, and what they may be about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): My dad used to say, God rest his soul, fools never learn. And I said fool. Nobody is putting up statues of Hitler or Satan. And now, it took leaders of our party five whole days to speak out against the lunacy of one freshman congresswoman.

The top three House Republicans putting out statements today -- they stepped in front of the camera for a number for a number of days it could have said something. Talk is cheap. This is the party that threw Liz Cheney under the bus for telling the truth. It took them five whole days to condemn Marjorie Taylor Greene's anti-Semitism. Here's Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I'm always torn between does she really believe the stuff or is it just for attention? I think it's just for attention. What we can do as a party is take a stand and say you don't belong in our conference. That's what I think we should do.

If there was a kind of organic within the conference movement to oust Liz Cheney, certainly we can have the same kind of movement to oust somebody that, you know, is trying to compare wearing a mask to the Nazis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Of course, it's just for attention. Now I want you to think about this. Whatever you do for a living. If there was someone in your workplace who said some -- I almost said it, some stuff like this, what would happen to them? Would they still have a job? Would they still be respected? Would you still respect them? Would you? Would they still hang on? I think you know the answer.

Sources telling CNN GOP donors and House members urged McCarthy to put out a statement today criticizing Greene. But they say he's not likely to kick her off or out of the conference. One source saying, quote, "Donald Trump likes her, he supports her, and Kevin doesn't want to upset Trump."

And there you have it. That's what Republicans are signing up for, allegiance to -- you know how this part goes. Are you ready? Say it with me. A disgraced, twice-impeached, one-term former president who could face potential criminal charges over his family business.

That's where we are tonight after a year of turmoil, a year of hate and division, a year of COVID, a year of reckoning with race in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. That's where we are tonight. Still with the craziness, the insanity on the right. One party, that's who the Republican Party -- that's what the Republican party is right now. That's who you are right now. Own it.

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The party of insensitive statements about the Holocaust and Jewish people. The party of anti-Semitism?

It's like nothing any former president has faced before. Manhattan's D.A. convening a grand jury, that is expected to decide whether to indict Donald Trump if prosecutors present criminal charges in their investigation of the Trump Organization. That is according to the Washington Post. The latest, next.

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LEMON (on camera): So, here's what we're learning tonight, that the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury in its criminal investigation of the Trump Organization. That is according to the Washington Post. It will consider whether to indict the former president, President Trump, Trump executives, or the company itself.

I want to discuss now with CNN's senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI, he is author of "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump." Also, with us our senior legal analyst Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor.

Thank you both for joining.

[22:19:57]

So, help us -- help us understand what this means. Laura, I'm going to start with you because according to the Post, the district attorney, Cy Vance, believes that he has found evidence of a crime, if not by Trump then by someone potentially close to him or by his company.

So, what does that indicate to you because Michael Cohen, you remember Trump's former attorney, he's talked about the Trump Organization essentially being a small mom and pop company. So, what does it mean, Laura?

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: And going beyond that as well, right, talking about the idea of inflating assets for the benefit getting bank loans, but deflating them to get a tax benefit of some sort in fashion. There's a whole wide scope.

We know that the New York attorney general and Cy Vance his Manhattan's D.A.'s office has combined forces. This tells me that the scope not only has widened, but also that they're prepared at this point to present something to the grand jury.

They will just convene a grand jury to allow them to have subpoena power, that's very important. You convene it usually at this stage to figure out whether if they will allow you to indict someone on very serious offenses. You present evidence to them. You give them the documentation you have been gathering over time.

Remember, Cy Vance's office is the one that went to the Supreme Court twice to secure President Trump -- former President Trump's tax information and the like. He did not give the willingly or voluntarily. And now you get the idea of presenting to a grand jury over a six-month period, this noted them, to be able to give information to say, hey, does any of this add up to the crimes we would like for you to indict on?

It shows forward movement. It does not mean that there is an indictment in a particular case or particular charge that we're aware of at this point. We know that the grand jury is never impaneled simply to spin its wheels.

LEMON: Andrew, the former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer -- listen, all payments, all money, right, he signed the checks. He was the chief financial officer. But I want you to listen to the former daughter-in-law, his former daughter-in-law who was on Erin Burnett recently about -- talking about the Trump Organization. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER, WEISSELBERG, ALLEN WEISSELBERG'S FORMER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW: As far as I'm concerned, there's been nothing legal going on in the past 21 years.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Will Allen Weisselberg flip on Trump?

WEISSELBERG: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): OK. That was an emphatic one-word answer. Yes. So, what do you think about that? Because the New York attorney general's office opened a criminal tax investigation into Allen Weisselberg, so what was -- what would it mean if he flipped?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Don, it would be a really bad day, I think, for the former president and for the Trump Organization if Allen Weisselberg decides to provide state's evidence. You know, it's easy for his former daughter-in-law to provide her opinion in that way, but essentially, what investigators are going to try to do here is to put pressure on people who they want to come on board to become witnesses.

One of the ways to do that is to look into their tax situation to determine, as has been alleged in this situation by some of the folks who are in the know, that people in the Trump organization may have received benefits like, you know, rent and things like that, other benefits through their employment that maybe weren't declared as taxable revenue.

So, it's just one of the many streams that I'm sure investigators are looking down to see if there are leverage points, they can use against people like Allen Weisselberg to convince him to cooperate against the Trump Organization.

LEMON: Laura, very simple question which I'm getting from everyone. Is Donald Trump going to be indicted? That's the question everyone is asking me. Can you answer that question?

COATES: We can't answer that question. Here's why. For the very reasons that Andrew was talking about. One of the reasons that you want to look for leverage points is because you want to develop your case for the areas that you might otherwise be weak.

Now when you're talking about former President Trump who has routinely spoken about the use of accountants and legal counsel, all of which to try to provide advice to give him the distance essentially -- one area removed from being able to say that here was my specific intent, here was my directive. It makes it a more challenging, not impossible case.

You look for people like, say, a Weisselberg who can provide information about the intent of the person that might be your larger target. Now, Weisselberg already is a pretty large target. If he weren't attached to former President Trump, the head of a huge organization like this and having that capacity as a CFO and other information about the finances is a very large fish.

But if you have a bigger target in mind or a wider-reaching organization mind and a wider-reaching investigation, you want those leverage points to secure the answer to the question you've now asked. One person is able to provide when the direct target does not provide the contextual clues and maybe direct evidence if somebody has not had an e-mail trail or a text message trail or otherwise which we know former President Trump often did not have.

That's why you look for somebody like a Weisselberg in addition to others who may be able to give information to really present to a grand jury so they can answer that question.

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LEMON: You know, he's been -- Andrew, Donald Trump has been sued for fraud. He's been impeached twice. he's facing defamation claims from two women. Multiple lawsuits connected to the January 6th insurrection. And that's not even a full list of what's going on with him. But, I mean, is this in a different category as a criminal grand jury? Is this different?

MCCABE: It is. But let's not forget that he also has a distinguished record of dodging responsibility for a lot of things. Right? This is a guy who's run, you know, businesses and hotels and casinos into bankruptcies. He's walked away from massive loans to his lender, primarily Deutsche Bank. He's been inexplicably forgiven for some of those loans. Scored massive tax deductions.

So, he is a, he is a very cagey guy. Right? He has managed to dodge the bullet many, many times. This, however, is a different bullet. This is not somebody coming and saying you may have violated the tax rules and now you owe us money. This is -- these are two separate investigations that could end up in criminal charges, which means you go to jail. That is an entirely different prospect and we'll see how he does this time.

LEMON: All right. Andrew, Laura, thank you both. I appreciate it.

MCCABE: Thanks.

LEMON: George Floyd's family in D.C. today one year after Floyd was murdered. His brother speaks out right here. And I'm going to speak with Biden domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and the holdup in the policing act named for Floyd. We'll talk about that.

[22:30:00]

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LEMON (on camera): President Biden had hoped that by today the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would be passed by Congress. And while that goal was not reached, the president pressuring the Senate to get its act together and to get the bill to his desk as quickly as possible.

We have a lot to discuss right now with Ambassador Susan Rice, the White House domestic policy adviser. We're certainly grateful that you're here. Thank you so much for joining us, Ambassador.

SUSAN RICE, DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISER, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Great to be with you, Don.

LEMON: So, let's talk about President Biden. He says that we have to act. We face an inflection point, but Congress missed his deadline to pass policing reform. Is there a risk -- risk that we're going to end up without action being taken?

RICE: There's always that risk, Don, but I think for the moment there's reason to be encouraged. There's a very serious and constructive negotiation ongoing between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate led by Senator Cory Booker on the Democratic side and by Senator Tim Scott on the Republican side.

Congresswoman Karen Bass and colleagues from the House very much involved. We are in close communication with them. We are trying to be supportive in any way we can, but they are in a serious negotiation. And as long as that continues and they continue to make progress, I will personally remain hopeful.

LEMON: You know, the president has said, Ambassador, that George Floyd's murder changed the dynamics of race in the U.S. What's changed?

RICE: Well, I think a lot of things have changed. Obviously, we don't have this legislation yet, but I think in many parts of our country from people of all ages of all races and all background, there's a much greater awareness that in some fundamental ways our system is still not fair.

We do not have equal outcomes, whether we're talking about in the realm of criminal justice or in terms of economic justice, in terms of voting rights, civil rights, and we've seen that played out time and again.

But the fact that we have greater awareness, we have greater commitment to trying to embrace policies and approaches that recognize that we are all individuals of equal worth and all have dignity and we deserve each of us an opportunity to fulfill our God-given potential.

That's what Joe Biden believes, that's what he is governing to achieve. And we made a very significant progress already working with Congress to put in place important measures that reflect that commitment to equity and to greater justice.

LEMON: Listen, you folks there in Washington, you have a unique challenge because, you know, -- and I have to preface this question by saying, in my job, in most jobs, when people don't operate in reality or with logic, they no longer have a job. OK. But that is not happening in Washington.

I mean, listen, President Biden is going to need bipartisan support quite frankly to get this policing bill passed. But when the GOP is clinging to the former president and a big lie, you got Marjorie Taylor Greene making these asinine and hurtful comparisons to the Holocaust, does that make working across the aisle almost impossible?

RICE: It can be challenging, Don, no question. And this is a moment where, you know, it's unclear how far we will get. But let me say one thing. We understand that for the system to work, it needs to deliver. Our democracy needs to deliver for the American people.

And to the extent that we can accomplish that through working with -- on a bipartisan basis with the Republican Party, that is clearly President Biden's strong preference. Whether it's on the jobs panel or the family plan, or whether it's on policing reform.

And there have been pieces of legislation that have emerged from Congress on a bipartisan basis. Last week the president was honored to sign the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which recognized that hate crimes against any American group, but in particular, Asian-Americans who suffered violence and hate in the wake of the COVID pandemic, should be protected.

[22:35:02]

The president has called out very strongly the horrific anti-Semitic attacks that have occurred in this country over the last two weeks. These need to be condemned. And these are the sorts of things minimally that we ought to be able to agree on.

And thankfully last week Congress proved that, you know, 94 to 1 in the Senate that we could come together. So, I am not prepared to write off bipartisan cooperation. On the contrary, there are glimmers of hope --

LEMON: I feel you.

RICE: -- and we are -- we are determined to do our utmost to get as far as we can on a bipartisan basis. But at the end of the day, there may be things we can't agree on. And as the president has said so many times, the only thing that he will not tolerate is inaction.

LEMON: Well, listen, it's been said, especially when he was running and when he was first elected that if anybody can do it, if anybody knew the Senate, if anybody knew Washington, it was Joe Biden, the former vice president and president-elect then. But in 2019, he said that Republicans would have an epiphany once Trump was out of the White House.

In an interview published today in the Atlantic, and I'm quoting Biden's first interview after the inauguration. He said this. He says "they're in a really tough spot. You expect people to be willing to get into the second edition of profiles in courage, but it's awful hard. I think there's enough people out there, but I don't know." So, has he changed his views on bipartisanship? RICE: No. I think look, the president knows better than anybody how

the Senate works, how Congress works, and he knows that it's worth the investment to try to bring the two parties along to the greatest extent possible on important pieces of legislation.

But he also is a realist, and he's -- you know, he'll do what he can to get that bipartisan cooperation. But at the end of the day if it's not forthcoming, or if it's not sufficient, if it's not fundamentally serious, then he will take what action he can to get what needs to be done - done for the American people. He couldn't not be clearer about that. So, you know, we'll do our best and we'll get it done.

LEMON: All right. I'm going to be optimistic along with you and I hope the viewers and the American people are as well. We will be watching and reporting. Thank you, Ambassador. I appreciate your time.

RICE: Great to be with you, Don. Thank you.

LEMON: George Floyd's family met with the president, vice president, and congressional leaders today, and they're here to tell me how it all went. That's next.

[22:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): It has been one year since George Floyd was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer. President Joe Biden hosting Floyd's family at the White House as lawmakers at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue negotiate a policing bill named for Floyd.

Here with me now, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, and Ben Crump, attorney for the Floyd family. Gentlemen, good evening. Thank you.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR FLOYD FAMILY: Good evening.

PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S BROTHER: Good evening.

LEMON: Philonise, how are you doing?

FLOYD: I'm doing OK. Just -- it was a hell of a day today. Just me waking up knowing that this is the day that my brother was brutally murdered by a police officer who was sworn in to help others, it was just like picking at a wound all over again.

LEMON: You met with the president today for an hour as lawmakers negotiate that policing bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. You called the president genuine. What did he tell you today?

FLOYD: You know, he just had a basic conversation of just -- just basically letting us know that he supports what's going on. He's behind us 100 percent. He's praying for us and the same thing, he hoped that we get accountability. He just hoped that we can make it out what's going on because he said, hey, this is going to be a lifetime journey, he understood because he lost someone that's special. He lost a couple of people that's special to him.

So, he understands everything, from us to even Gianna, you know. And I watched him with Gianna and I was, like, wow, you know, this is the president. He's showing who he really is. He's just a genuine person. He just -- he loved Gianna. He talked to her and played with her, so I know he's an awesome guy with his own grandkids.

LEMON: Yes. We have the picture of Gianna, George's daughter, walking into the White House today. What an incredible, iconic picture there. You mentioned how the president, you know, was interacting with her, but what did this mean for her?

FLOYD: Gianna? It was, it was good. You know, you got to understand that Gianna is still a child.

LEMON: Right.

FLOYD: But she understands that her dad has passed. But the grieving process -- a lot of people don't know what goes on behind closed doors. But one thing that she said -- it has stood out all across the America -- her dad has changed the world.

LEMON: Yes.

FLOYD: And not just here, globally. That's huge because you have to understand, Europe was watching, Germany was watching, Ghana was watching, Brazil was watching, Italy, I can just keep naming places. Everybody was always contacting me letting me know that, hey, we stand behind you in solidarity and if we got to leave London or Italy to get there just to march with you, we will do that.

LEMON: Yes. I try to get -- my dad died when I was young. I didn't quite grasp the concept of death. Like I sort of got it. But I think what young people understand is that the people around them are in mourning and are not the same anymore and they're sad.

[22:45:06]

And I'm sure Gianna is affected by that and by not seeing her father again.

Ben, I have to ask you, you know, the bill didn't make it to the president's desk today. I know that Philonise is glass half full optimistic guy. You think this bill is going to make it?

CRUMP: I do, Don. After meeting with the Speaker of the House and Congresswoman Karen Bass, and then talking with Senator Cory Booker all from the Democratic side of the aisle, then spending an equal amount of time with Senator Tim scot and Senator Lindsey Graham, they all were very consistent.

They said this is as close as they have ever been on a meaningful bipartisan bill on police reform. And they even went as far as to say that they are hopeful that it will be done sooner rather than we all think. So they all are saying the same thing, that they are working through the night negotiating sometimes two, three hours a night after hours.

LEMON: Yes. OK. Well, we'll see where that goes. Again, the president wanted it on his desk but he told the family understand he didn't want a rushed bill, he wanted right bill. So Philonise --

FLOYD: The bill.

LEMON: Yes, he said that, right?

CRUMP: Yes.

LEMON: Let's talk about Darnella Frazier for the folks at home who may not know if you haven't been keeping up with everything, Darnella Frazier, just to remind people, Darnella Frazier is the teenager who took the video of George Floyd's murder, Philonise's brother's murder that was seen around the world.

This is what she says today. And I quote here part of what she says. Even though this was a traumatic, life-changing experience for me, I am proud of myself. If it weren't for my video, the world wouldn't have known the truth. I own that. My video didn't save George Floyd but it put his murder away and off the streets. Murderer away and off the streets."

I mean, we saw the truth in that video. What do you say to her, Philonise?

FLOYD: I want to tell her thank you. I want to give her a big hug. It's nothing that I can do to thank her for what she did. She stood out there just like a soldier would out there in the army, and she videotaped all of that while she watched my brother being tortured to death.

It wasn't her job to go out there and help, but what she did was show the world what they did to my brother. And that's even better because we get the opportunity to get down to what's happening right now. People are being killed every day, and sometimes they don't even have (Inaudible) people sweeping under the rug.

But this is one death that they couldn't take away. This is something that the world has watched over and over again, just like me. Whoever watched court TV seen my brother die 100 times. Whoever watched CNN seen my brother die 100 times.

LEMON: You know, I want to put up this video. This is video of your brother -- of your brother's vigil just wrapping up in Minneapolis. What do you say to that community and the communities across the country that rose up following his murder?

FLOYD: I just want to -- I want to thank them. They all ignited a flame in them that they didn't even know that they had. They all walked out on faith because they knew there was a pandemic and COVID was out there. They put their lives on the line for what was right. That was amazing.

The gratitude that I have for them is big, you know, it's extremely huge. My heart is huge. And I understand that they had kids. They could have lost their lives. It's a blessing to have people like that who step out and do the right thing because that day that officer, he didn't do the right thing. He did make a mistake because a mistake can be made right.

My brother was tortured to death, and this is the day that will always be remembered all around the world forever and I will make sure we cement his legacy. And that's one of the biggest reasons I started my institution called the Philonise and Keeta Floyd institution for social change, we're turning our pain into purpose.

LEMON: Yes. Ben, you're optimistic after year what has transpired over this past year?

CRUMP: We've made significant progress, but when you think about all of the Black people, especially Black men being shot in the back like Anthony McClain in Pasadena, Trayford Pellerin in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when you think of Daunte Wright being shot during the Chauvin trial --

FLOYD: Exacerbating.

[22:50:00]

CRUMP: -- and Kia Johnson (Ph) being shot in the back. I mean, so many men. We have to get this bill passed. And the one thing I was very -- that was very encouraging, Don, was we all talked about they're trying to pit the police unions versus the civil rights groups. It's not either their issue or our issue. It's an American issue. And we have to solve this issue together.

That's the only way we will get meaningful police reform on the federal level. We have not had it in 57 years, Don Lemon, --

LEMON: Yes.

CRUMP: -- and that's why it has to pass to prevent some of these unnecessary killings of Black people.

LEMON: Ben and Philonise, thank you both. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Suspicious powder --

(CROSSTALK)

FLOYD: Thank you.

CRUMP: Thank you.

LEMON: -- at Senator Rand Paul's house and he is blaming, take this, an '80s pop singer.

[22:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON (on camera): Take this. The FBI and other law enforcement officials are investigating a package with white powder sent to Senator Rand Paul's home in Kentucky. Senator Paul suggesting the '80s heartthrob Richard Marx is behind it after the "Right Here Waiting For You" singer tweeted that he would buy drinks for the neighbor who broke Paul's ribs in 2017 in a backyard attack.

Well, the tweet has been taken down by Twitter for violating the site's rules. In a statement to Politico, the senator says that Marx, quote, "call for violence against me and now we received this powder- filled letter." There is no evidence of that.

Marx responding to critics on Twitter saying that he was just making a wisecrack and sarcastically saying I'm the only person on Twitter who ever referenced Rand Paul's neighbor?

Well, remember, Senator Paul was awarded more than half a million dollars in a lawsuit against the neighbor who attacked him. The neighbor attacked Senator Paul and left him with six broken ribs and bruised lungs after getting angry over a brush pile.

People, pull it together. Violence. Never the answer.

Next, a grand jury convened in the criminal investigation into a former President Trump's business. That jury, well, the jury that could decide whether to indict him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)