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"Freedom Is A New Concept To Him"; Two Defendants, Two Acquittals; Lawsuits Likely Ahead For Zimmerman; Morsy Critic ElBaradei Gets Government Job; Pro-Morsy Rallies Continue; Asiana Airlines Considers Legal Action; Texas Governor Defends New Abortion Bill; Rallies For Trayvon Martin; Emotional Sermon After Verdict; George Zimmerman: Not Guilty

Aired July 14, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C. Welcome to this special edition of "CNN Newsroom." 16 hours and 20 minutes over two days and finally, a verdict in George Zimmerman's second degree murder trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the Circuit Court of the 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Seminole County Florida, State of Florida versus George Zimmerman. Verdict, we the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty. So say we all, floor person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: George Zimmerman now a free man. That means no more GPS monitor. He's free to leave Seminole County. But Zimmerman's attorney say no matter where he lives, what career he pursues, George Zimmerman will forever be a marked man. Right after the verdict, people from across the nation protested, most of them peacefully. Yet many had the same message: the system is broken. Justice for Trayvon Martin has not been served.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For them to use the sidewalk as a weapon now, saying your kid can walk down the street now, not doing anything, just go to the store and somebody can get in a fight with them. A grown man can get in a fight with your kid, and they can have a gun, and now your defense is you picked up a sidewalk and beat their head in. That's not right because now it's open season on all our kids now. And I just think it was a travesty of justice this time. And I really believe we should change these laws.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this was a mistake. I don't know if it was prosecution or if it was jury, but it was a mistake.

JAMES DAVIS, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: I don't blame every white person in Seminole County for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You seem angry. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not. The system didn't work for us. It just didn't work. The system was broken initially. And I think the system continues to be broken tonight is what I'm suggesting to you.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

TAPPER: But about that system, that legal system, there are those who say it's simple: the prosecution simply did not prove its case. They did not prove second-degree murder. The state needed to show George Zimmerman had ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent against Trayvon Martin, and clearly the jury agreed that the prosecution did not make that connection.

Martin Savidge live in Sanford, Florida. Martin, how are Sanford city officials moving forward after this? We heard some warnings about protests getting too rowdy from the Sanford Police Department. What are they doing now.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think those warnings that were put out by the Sanford PD - one concern was demonstrations around the courthouse. There was a fear, a concern, that perhaps the noise level would be heard by the jurors as they were deliberating and somehow that could impact the deliberation. There were announcements that were made around the courthouse where they basically said, please, no loud hailers. You can speak, you can even speak loudly, but don't use some sort of amplification for that reason.

I think the city is well aware there are a lot of people with strong emotions, and that these emotions will take time to play out. I spoke with the mayor. And he said the demonstration areas they have had throughout this trial will remain open. The parks are still available if people wish to come and peacefully in some way, express their feelings or gather in some way. The neighborhood is not going to suddenly close its doors and say you're not welcome. They realize it takes time to for this to sort of work through.

So, the community has always kind of felt it was improperly blamed, that their police department was made to look like it had somehow failed at its job. Yet last night, the prosecution and the defense in their statements both said, no, the police department actually did their job. So this community is now trying to move forward from what everyone agrees is a tragedy, and it's one day at a time.

TAPPER: The police department there, as you say, has been under fire quite a bit. The former police chief was essentially fired. But what those who defend the police have been arguing is there simply wasn't enough to proceed with a prosecution that would result in conviction. That's what one of the detectives expressed when it came to murder two charges, and it's what the chief of police says. Did they feel any sort of vindication with this verdict? Not that they are happy about the result, but that it at least signifies that their suspicions there wasn't enough evidence were proven correct?

SAVIDGE: I think the person you really have to ask is Chief Bill Lee. As you point out, he was fired. There was no doubt about it. He was initially sort of - he stepped down and eventually was decided by the city officials that he would be fired. And yet it appears that now he was fired without maybe justifiable cause, at least when you listen to what the defense and prosecution both said last night.

So I think this police department now has realized it had a community relations problem. There is no question about that. Its perception, especially in the African-American community, there were problems. And they have since worked to try to rectify those problems. They still have a ways to go. They will admit that. Lessons are being learned. Bill Lee, though, may have been unfortunate collateral damage. We'll see.

TAPPER: Martin Savidge in Sanford, Florida, thank you so much.

We don't know where George Zimmerman will live or what he will do next, but one thing is for certain: the civil lawsuits will be coming. And not just that but possible federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. There's a big debate that started not long after February 26th, 2012, the day Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Was this case about race? Now Angela Corey, the special prosecutor who charged Zimmerman with second degree murder, she says, no, it was not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA COREY, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: This case has never been about race, nor has it ever been about the right to bear arms. Not in the sense of proving this as a criminal case. But Trayvon Martin was profiled. There was no doubt he was profiled to be a criminal. And if race was one of the aspects in George Zimmerman's mind, then we believe that we put out the proof necessary to show that Zimmerman did profile Trayvon Martin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's talk about race. I want to bring in Clinton Yates, a columnist for "The Washington Post" and Jelani Cobb, political contributor for TheRoot.com. He also writes for "The New Yorker," and he is a director of the African-American Studies program at the University of Connecticut.

Jelani, I'll start with you. Using the word profiled -- isn't there an obvious racial connotation with that word, even if it's not on it when they used it in court?

JELANI COBB, POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR, THEROOT.COM: Yes, absolutely. What happened here in the courtroom was the same thing that happens in a broader society which is that we talk about race by not talking about it. We talk around it. So the very fact what Angela Corey said was that Trayvon Martin was profiled as a criminal, this was not about race. Well, race was the reason, the central element of why he is actually profiled as a criminal.

And so even when the defense stood up, Mark O'Mara said - you know, kind of incredulous to hear him say, had his defendant been black, this never would have happened, they would have brought charges, and so on, which absolutely doesn't stand up. But saying he was recognizing tacitly there's a racial element here. And everyone knows that.

TAPPER: Clinton, I want to play some reaction from the Martin family attorney, Benjamin Crump, and get your reaction to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, MARTIN FAMILY ATTORNEY: The whole world was looking at this case for a reason. What people wanted to see, as we all said, how far we have come in America in matters of equal justice. And certainly as we have said, we'd be intellectually dishonest if we didn't acknowledge the racial undertones in this case. So we have to have responsible conversations about how we get better as a country and move forward from this tragedy and learn from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Clinton, do you think it's the racial component made it so that so many millions of Americans were captivated by the case?

CLINTON YATES, WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: One hundred percent. When you use the term profiling and you talk about race, the bottom line in many people's eyes, profiling is ill will. It's as simple as that. And so when you talk about what he said about intellectual dishonesty and discussing what we're doing in American in terms of talking about it, separating the two frankly doesn't fly with most people in America.

TAPPER: And as a young African-American male, Clinton, do you feel differently because of this verdict?

YATES: I wouldn't say I feel differently. I mean, it's not exactly surprising. This is the reality you grow up. My mother sent me a text message this morning that said very plainly, be careful. I knew what that meant, she knew what that meant and I'm sure there are millions across the country that know what that means as well which is once a ruling like this is made, you understand, everybody has made it clear, it's reasonable to profile. Whether or not you kill is going to be up for debate. Profiling alone, not a problem.

TAPPER: Jelani - go ahead.

COBB: Yes, could I add something here? One of the other things, the kind of nagging persist elements that happened in this case was the criticism saying that African-Americans were only concerned in there instance where a white person profiles and this culminates in the death of an African-American. But lots more African-Americans are killed by other African-Americans.

And I thought that was a very disingenuous argument, and the reason for that is simply this: race is what makes the question of this even being a crime. If this is another African-American, it's clear that this is a crime. A young, unarmed person should not be gunned down for the offense of carrying Skittles and iced tea home from the store.

And so only when we inject the element of race and racial identity and identification and the history of race in this country does it actually become a question as to whether or not a crime has been committed. And so for the back story - I'm a historian. So we look at this in terms of context. For the back story, this echoes in the lived experience of African-Americans, in the lived memory. It echoes back to the period of lynching, extra legal justice and so on. So this is confirmed by an entire slate of historical experience. This is not simply oh, about George Zimmerman. This is about everything that happened prior to him. This is about the fact that the history - that as Faulkner said, the past is not over. It's not even in the past.

TAPPER: Clinton, we have to take a break, but I want to get your final thoughts on the verdict and your reaction to it.

YATES: I think when we live in a state of America in which somebody can stalk, accost and effectively kill someone without any repercussions, we really need to re-evaluate what we're doing as a human race.

TAPPER: All right. Clinton and Jelani, thank you so much for joining me. We really appreciate it.

COBB: Thank you.

TAPPER: Hopefully we'll talk to you more later this week as the conversation continues.

Coming up next, congregations across the country ponder the reaction to the Zimmerman verdict. We're about to take you to the church where members of Trayvon Martin's family usually worships. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CECIL SMITH, SANFORD, FL POLICE DEPT.: You have to anticipate that there are going to be people who aren't going to be happy by what's taken place. And it's important for us to let people understand this is that there are things and plans that are in place to make sure that the city remains safe. Should things occur, we have the ability to respond to those things, and I mean, if you go into the downtown area of Sanford, it's business almost as usual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Business almost as usual in Sanford, Florida, where 17 months ago, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Now, Mr. Zimmerman is a free man. He was acquitted last night on all charges by a jury of six women late last night. Zimmerman's response to the verdict was subdued and silent. The Internet, on the other hand, seemingly erupted in outrage: both outrage of those who supported a guilty verdict and were disappointed and those who supported a not guilty verdict and were angry at those who felt differently.

What leaked onto the streets mirrored that emotion. but mostly it was nonviolent, thankfully. Several peaceful and vocal marches popped up across the country. Many holding signs asking for justice for Trayvon and chanting, "No justice, no peace." In churches across the country today, preachers made last-minute changes in their sermons taking into account the Zimmerman verdict. CNN's John Zarrella is at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens. That's the church where Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, usually attends. John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jake. This is the neighborhood, the Miami Gardens neighborhood where Trayvon grew up, where he lived, the park he attended not far from here. And yes, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin often attended this church here today. There was some thought that perhaps they might be here this morning for perhaps the 11:00 a.m. service. They did not come. But the pastor, Arthur Jackson, did talk with Sybrina today. This is part of the message that he got.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUTHUR JACKSON, PASTOR, ANTIOCH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: They are very upset. They are very heart broken as you can imagine, as any parent would be, the senseless tragedy of losing a child. But I applaud her. I commend her faith in God. She still trusts in God amid the trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: And in fact, the pastor, Pastor Jackson said that Sybrina asked him to convey that message to parishioners here this morning to continue to trust in God. And while she was not here, there were some other members of the family that did attend. A cousin and an aunt and an uncle. As you might expect their feelings, they were hurt, they're sad, they're confused and they are devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IESHA FELTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S RELATIVE: We're just -- keep everybody in prayers. Just remember, Trayvon, as Sybrina always said, could have your son, could have been my baby, could have been anyone in America today just walking to the store and coming back with Skittles and iced tea.

ROBERTA FELTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S RELATIVE: Well, I think a lot of the young people in this moment may be feeling very burdened like we all are. But they have to stand strong on their faith. They have to know that God has it. No matter what, that he has it. We give it to him. We give our burdens to him. So just stand strong and be peaceful and stand together and hold one another up.

MILTON FELTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S RELATIVE: Just be peaceful. The verdict is in. Be peaceful about what it is. Conduct your self accordingly.

My heart is heavy. Also, I'm very proud of the Trayvon Martin movement. All tragedies are converted to a good and positive nature.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZARRELLA: Now it's interesting, many members of the community here that we talked with here at the church expressed to us if you thought that this community was going to erupt in violence, as many people did in the wake of a verdict, then that in itself was stereotyping. And they said that in itself is just wrong, and that they are focusing their anger on changing laws, particularly here in Florida. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, John, thank you so much. Well, much of the nation is on the Zimmerman trial and the verdict. There's much other news you need to know about, including the sudden death of a star from one of TV's most popular shows, "Glee." We'll have the details in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: A sudden and unexplained death in the world of pop culture. Actor Cory Monteith of the hit show "Glee" was found dead Saturday. He was only 31 years old. Monteith was with the "Glee" cast when the show debuted in 2009. Two years ago, he won a Teen Choice for top actor in a comedy. Among those in shock today, "Glee" director Adam Shankman. He talked to CNN on the phone this morning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ADAM SHANKMAN, DIRECTOR, "GLEE": I had several interactions with him yesterday where he said to me he was feeling amazing and he even said "I'm feeling fantastic again." And you know, he was obviously referring to, you know, this year with going to rehab. So I'm like everybody else, really devastated and confused by what happened.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: Monteith's body found in a Vancouver, Canada, hotel room. An autopsy will be performed Monday. But police have already ruled out foul play.

Let's bring in HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky. Dr. Drew, thanks for joining us. We don't know the cause of death. But obviously we do know the young man, the actor, Cory Monteith struggled with addiction issues since he was at least 13 years old. We just heard the "Glee" director refer to Monteith's drug problems. What are your thoughts?

DR. DREW PINSKY, HLN HOST (on the phone): Yes, Jake, I think it's pretty apparent when somebody has a chronic, potentially fatal illness, particularly when they die young, you have to think of addiction. Whether or not we even had any knowledge of addiction, addiction is one of the leading causes of death of young people. And this is just another reminder that addiction in fact is a fatal, fatal disease.

Unfortunately, we don't know too much about what happened here. It is also a reminder in the period after somebody has been treated is sometimes one of the more dangerous intervals. They may have been on a substance for a long time, become tolerant to it, clean up, take something that would have been otherwise a nominal or small dose to them, but because they are no longer tolerant, it can be sufficient to kill them. TAPPER: One of the big questions I think for those of us that don't traffic in the world of addiction is people like Cory Monteith who struggled with addiction and yet had so much going for him, so much money, so much ability and the means to try to combat this addiction. Do those riches, does that fame, does it make it easier or harder? Do you have access to more ways to combat the illness or you just have a bunch more enablers?

PINKSY: It's a great question, Jake. And it sort of cuts both ways. The biggest problem I've had treating celebrities over the years is that they make a lot of money for a lot of people and they love their work and go back to their work prematurely. If you look at Robert Downey and his success and recovery, it's really because he just left work and focused on recovery for years before he ever contemplated coming back. Even then he only came back under the supervision of his peers.

So yes, by the same token, he does have access to good treatment. And let's be fair, treatment works but addiction is a fatal illness. It's a chronic fatal illness like so many others. And we don't see insulin doesn't work because a diabetic gets a complication or a diabetic gets blood sugar out of control. We say time to go back in and get treatment.

The difficult part about addiction recovery, though, is to keep that person engaged, keep that recovery as a priority in their life and keep everybody understanding if they don't do that, their life is in danger. This is just another reminder of that, and it's a sad, sad tragic reminder.

TAPPER: So sad. Dr. Drew Pinsky, thank you so much.

PINKSKY: Appreciate it.

TAPPER: A nightmare in Canada keeps getting worse. Five more bodies recovered from the scene of the train disaster in Quebec. That raises the death toll to 33. And more than two dozen people are still believed to be missing. The 73-car train filled with crude oil derailed in the center of town and the tank cars exploded.

Another twist in the Edward Snowden saga. The journalist, Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story of the NSA surveillance program leaker, told an Argentinean newspaper that Snowden still has information that would be the United States's quote, "worst nightmare" if the information were ever released. He warned the U.S. government if anything were to happen to Snowden, that information would be immediately revealed. On Friday, Snowden said he would ask Russia for temporary asylum. But Russian immigration officials have reportedly not yet received an asylum application.

One person who is not talking today is George Zimmerman. He stayed out of sight since leaving the courtroom last night. But up next, we'll hear from his brother who spoke with CNN just a few minutes ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TAPPER: George Zimmerman has been found not guilty in the killing of Trayvon Martin by a court in Sanford, Florida. But there's another court that could still hold him accountable or at least try to. Federal court. The head of the NAACP said he was outraged by the verdict, and he told our Candy Crowley he will urge the Justice Department to file a civil rights suit. Ben Jealous says it was racial profiling by Zimmerman that led to Trayvon Martin's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN JEALOUS, HEAD, NAACP: And they will make a choice about whether or not they will pursue criminal civil rights charges. We are calling on them to do just that because when you look at his comments and when you look at comments made by young black men who lived in that neighborhood, about how they felt especially targeted by him, there's reason to be concerned that race was a factor.

We're upset with a situation in this country where as black people, as black parents, parent raising black boys, black girls in this society, that it feels so off that our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys. The robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteer who thinks they are keeping folks safer. We want to finally live in that country that our kids say the country is every day when they say the pledge and they say this is one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. We yearn to be in that place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: George Zimmerman at the center of one of the most high-profile criminal cases (INAUDIBLE) he's walking free. So what is life the day after you're declared not guilty in a case of this magnitude. That's just one topic our Kate Bolduan and Chris Cuomo asked Zimmerman's brother, Robert, today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": When is the last time you had a chance to speak with your brother and get a sense of where his head is now?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S BROTHER: We heard from George last night. He is adjusting. That's really the best way I can put it. I think he's been caged in. He's had these constraints with GPS and having to show up to court every day and having this weighing on him. Freedom is kind of a new concept to him all over again, as bizarre as it sounds, he really is free to move about this country and do whatever he pleases for the first time in a long time.

CUOMO: Any idea of plan for him now?

ZIMMERMAN: No. I as his brother would like to see him heal, re- center himself. Take some time to rest and relax. The stress has been incredible on him, on our family. I think it's important that he take some time for himself. He's been through a lot. I can't foresee any plans or meaningful engagement he'd have with society for a while because of the threats that are still going around and continue to.

KATE BOLDUAN, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": I want to ask you about that because you have mentioned previous concern for your brother's safety and your family's safety and that continues as well. Mark O'Mara had even told CNN that George doesn't go out without wearing a disguise or some body armor, something under his clothing. What are the threats your family has been receiving?

ZIMMERMAN: You know, people take to social media and I know it's just someone behind a computer screen and that may embolden them, but the threats are vile. They are vicious. They're disgusting and they are sometimes in person like people wearing shirts with my brother's face on it in crosshairs or encouraging others to act out violently against him. I know that you can't take every one of those seriously, but you can't afford to be wrong about a threat either. You can be dead wrong if someone were intent on harming you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: That's just a portion of what Robert Zimmerman had to say today. Next hour, we'll give you his reaction to NAACP's push to the Justice Department to file a civil rights case against his brother, George, and the issue of media bias.

Plus he'll tell us if George Zimmerman will still carry the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin.

And just ahead, we'll delve into the possible legal troubles Zimmerman could still face. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: The last acquittal in a high-profile case you might remember was Casey Anthony. She was found guilty of not murdering her 2-year- old daughter Caylee. Here is a glimpse of what life has been like for her since, cameras, still cameras, courthouses. She got slapped with several lawsuits after she was acquitted.

We can expect the same probably for George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin's family could file a civil lawsuit against him and of course, there could be civil rights charges if the NAACP gets its way.

Joining me now to talk about all this, former district attorney and prosecutor, Beth Karas, attorney and criminal prosecutor, Faith Jenkins. Beth, I want to start with you. Let's play Mark O'Mara said last night when asked about possible civil lawsuits against his client.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If someone believes it is appropriate to sue George Zimmerman then we will seek and we will get immunity in a civil hearing. We'll see how many civil lawsuits are spawned from this fiasco.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: So what can Zimmerman do about these civil lawsuits that may be about to come his way?

BETH KARAS, FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND PROSECUTOR: Well, when Mark O'Mara said we will get immunity from civil lawsuits, it sounds like he wants to invoke the stand your ground procedure, which he did not do in the civil -- criminal case. Had a judge found what this jury found, then he would have been immune from criminal prosecution and civil liabilities.

So by his word choice, it sounds like maybe he feels like he can actually get a stand your ground hearing at this point and have a judge find I kind of agree with the jury here and there's immunity from civil liability. Otherwise if he doesn't go that route he seems pretty confident his client is absolutely innocent which means no civil liability. He's confident about that.

TAPPER: Faith, Zimmerman is also suing. He filed a libel suit against NBC for editing his now famous 911 call. How do you think the verdict could impact that lawsuit of Zimmerman's against NBC?

FAITH JENKINS, ATTORNEY: Well, it could have an impact just based on the fact that he has now been absolved of criminal liability. Now he can use that and go into court and argue, look at how the narrative and media exposure almost impacted the outcome of this case. That's the argument that he's going to make, to see if he can succeed in that lawsuit. Beth is right about this stand your ground immunity. If he wins a stand your ground hearing, he's also absolved of civil liability and I think that's what Mark O'Mara was alluding to last night.

TAPPER: Beth, the NAACP president earlier this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," urged Attorney General Eric Holder to file federal hate crime charges against Zimmerman. Holder had previously spoke about the bar needed for these types of charges in an interview last year. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The federal hate crime we have to prove the highest standard in the law, something that was reckless. That was negligent does not meet that standard. We have to show that there was specific intent to do the crime with the requisite state of mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Beth, that sounds like an even higher standard than the one the prosecution faced with this trial, which the jury said they did not meet. Can you give us a sense of how likely these charge will be to be filed?

KARAS: Yes, when you look at the statute, it's a fairly new statute. It was enacted after James Byrd, Matthew Shepard's death, one, because he was a gay man left to die after being beaten up in Wyoming and James Byrd, a black man, tied to a vehicle and dragged to his death, disgusting case. That is what motivated this Section 249 of the Criminal Code under federal law.

Now the question in those cases that the victims were picked out because of sexual orientation or race, that has to be proven here. People say, yes, he did racially profile Trayvon Martin, but the Justice Department may feel he's got an explanation for why he did it. We may not be able to meet our burden but we'll see.

I mean, they are looking into it. I suspect they will conclude their investigation fairly quickly because they have had the case for a long time and they know, I'm sure, they have been following the trial.

TAPPER: Faith, what do you think? Do you think the Justice Department will ultimately seek these charges against Zimmerman? It does seem like a higher bar based on what Holder said a year ago?

JENKINS: I actually don't think so. It's very different. The facts of the case, the racial profiling, yes, I think that actually happened based on what we heard on the tapes and the evidence prosecutors presented in court. That's very different from making a race-based -- committing a race-based crime. Did George Zimmerman kill Trayvon Martin in part because he was African-American?

I don't think the facts support that. I don't think that actually happened. I do think he was racially profiled and Trayvon's death could have been prevented had he not done that. To take it a step further and say it was a race-based crime, I don't think the Justice Department is not going to find that.

TAPPER: Indeed it sounded from what Holder said almost as if he was hinting to at that, he said something that was reckless, that was negligent, does not meet the standard we have to show there was specific intent to do the crime with requisite state of mind.

Beth and Faith, thank you so much. From trial highlights to verdict reaction, tune in tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern for an "AC 360 Special: Not Guilty, the George Zimmerman Trial." That's 8:00 tonight. In a minute, we'll turn our attention to some of today's other big news including Texas Governor Rick Perry explaining why his state's new restrictions on abortions are not an attack on women's health care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: A flurry of activity today is Egypt's interim government tries to get on their feet. Among the most significant development is the swearing in of Mohamed ElBaradei as interim vice president for foreign relations. ElBaradei was a vocal critic of deposed President Mohamed Morsy. Morsy supporters are still out there staging mass protests. But in the wake of past week's street violence, a state run Egyptian news agency said prosecutors have frozen the assets of at least 14 people including several members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist leaders.

Asiana Airlines says it's considering legal action against the San Francisco TV station and the NTSB. The airline is upset for KTVU using racially offensive names in a report about the pilots aboard 214, which made a crash landing in San Francisco last weekend. The NTSB said the TV station called looking for information on the pilots. Fake names for the pilot were then confirmed by a summer intern working at the NTSB. It was not immediately clear who generated fake names, but the NTSB insisted it was not the intern.

In Texas, Governor Rick Perry has nothing but praise for the lawmakers who just passed his state's new restrictions on abortions. In an exclusive interview on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," the governor replied to critics who say the restrictions will hurt women's health care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: In the state of Texas, we put some substantial amount of money into women's health care programs over the course of the last two years partly because the Obama administration pulled our funding to the state of Texas because they disagreed with Texas restrictions on these abortions. Most people in this country believe six months is too late to be deciding whether or not these babies should be aborted or not. We put the limit at five months in this bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: As for the obligatory question as to whether or not he will run for president again, Governor Perry said he's focused on the final 18 months he has on his current job and not 2016.

As we've been reporting it's a very subdued Sunday in churches across the country. Next, what they are saying about the George Zimmerman verdict at the church where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: The Zimmerman verdict has sparked emotional protests across the country. It started outside the courthouse in Sanford, Florida last night. People demanded more protests and wept openly. The demonstrations quickly spread from coast-to-coast. Listen to this rally in San Francisco last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for --

PROTESTERS: Trayvon Martin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for --

PROTESTERS: Trayvon martin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: People shouting for justice for Trayvon Martin while marching through the streets of San Francisco. Things remained mostly peaceful except for one protest in Oakland, California, where a public transit police car was smashed. In Washington, people marched late into the night calling for more to join them. In Chicago, protesters carried a giant sign saying, we are all Trayvon. They also chanted not one more.

Back in Florida, a group of young demonstrators had an emotional moment as they sang quietly on the steps of the capital building in Tallahassee. There are those who heard the verdict and expressed relief, even approval. There are those who felt shock, anger and frustration. There are those who shook their heads at what a tragedy it is.

All types of people headed to pews to find answers. Let's focus on those feeling disappointment. Nick Valencia is outside Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where Martin Luther King, Jr., once preached. Nick, what's the mood there this morning?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a mood of disappointment, Jake, a lot of very frustrated parishioners showing up here this morning. More than 2,000 of which we're supporters of Trayvon Martin. Pastor Warnock used the majority of his or large part I should say of his sermon to pay tribute to Trayvon Martin. One of the most powerful moments during the service was when he called upon all his parishioners 18 years old or younger to join him at the front of the altar.

Dozens walked to the front of the church all holding hands. He looked at them and he said very sincerely, you are our future. He says the world needs your voice. We're counting on you. After the service, I was fortunate enough to run into a group of young black men who were visiting from Jacksonville, Florida here on a college mentoring program and I asked them what they thought about the George Zimmerman verdict. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Who of you all in this group has ever been racially profiled or felt they were a victim of racial profiling. So when you look at a story like Trayvon Martin and you see the rule, what do you guys think, being young black men?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes I be thinking I'm next, walking through my neighborhood. Sometimes I don't -- not only do I be in my neighborhood, I be like out at the landing and stuff like that, and there be a lot of people just looking at me. Like even when I'm in business attire. I just think about all these cases and like I be trying not to do, you know, some things like turn my music up loud or anything like that. I just think and use that as like a tool to help me stay away from --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Pastor Warnock added to his theme by saying that this happened for one reason and one reason only because black youth are treated as problems and not people -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Nick, thank you. The Zimmerman verdict came down very late last night, but not too late for the nation's headline writers. Next, the sampling from today's morning papers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: The outcome of a criminal case in a small town in Florida is being felt nationwide today. It was obviously front page news in Florida. "Not Guilty" declared the "Tampa Tribune" as well as the "Orlando Sentinel." But also the lead on newspapers across the country as well, "Zimmerman Walks" says the "Los Angeles Daily News." The "L.A. Times," "Zimmerman not guilty." And the no holds barred "New York Post," simply states "Tray-vestey."

We want to take a look at the final moments of the trial from the judge's instructions to the reactions on the street. This is everything you need to know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE DEBRA NELSON, SEMINOLE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: To prove the crime of manslaughter the state must prove two elements beyond a reasonable doubt. One, Trayvon Martin is dead. Two, George Zimmerman intentionally committed an act or acts that caused the death of Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman cannot be guilty of manslaughter or committing a merely negligent act or if the killing was either justifiable or excusable homicide.

MARK NEJAME, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Technically it could be a debate going on between manslaughter and second degree. It could be a debate going on between manslaughter and acquittal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the circuit court of the 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Seminole County, Florida, state of Florida versus George Zimmerman. Verdict, we, the jury, find George Zimmerman not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Completely shocked. Utter shock. I cannot believe he was not found guilty.

MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY: Obviously we are ecstatic with the results. George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in self-defense. I'm glad the jury saw it that way.

DON WEST, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY: I am gratified by the jury's verdict as happy as I am for George Zimmerman. I'm thrilled that this jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty. For that we are eternally grateful.

BERNIE DE LA RIONDA, PROSECUTOR: I am disappointed as we are with the verdict, but we accept it. We live in a great country that has a great criminal justice system. It is not perfect but it's the best in the world. We respect the jury's verdict.

ANGELA COREY, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: To the living we owe respect. To the dead we owe the truth. We have been respectful to the living. We have done our best to assure due process to all involved. We believe that we brought out the truth on behalf of Trayvon Martin. ZIMMERMAN: I really can't put into words how relieved we are as a family. That's what my father said. Having said that, I don't think it's a time for high-fiving. I've acknowledged, we all have acknowledged Mr. Martin, Trayvon Martin lost his life. It was not an act of murder. It was not an act of manslaughter. The jury has spoken. Our judicial system has spoken, but that does not diminish the tragedy. Death is tragic in any circumstance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And this just in, President Obama has issued a statement about the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case. I'll read it to you in its entirety. "The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy, not just for his family or any one community but for America. I know this case elicited strong passions and in the wake of the verdict I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son.

And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves as individuals and as a society how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that's a job for all of us. That's the way to honor Trayvon Martin."

A statement from President Obama issued just moments ago read in its entirety commenting on the verdict in the Trayvon Martin trial.

Hello, I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C. Welcome to this special edition of CNN NEWSROOM. The not guilty verdict definitely does not mean Zimmerman is in the clear. Martin Savidge is live in Sanford, Florida -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, yes, there are a lot of things that still need to be resolved in this particular case, even though we've had a rendering of not guilty. For instance, civil suits are likely. Not likely, you can almost guarantee that they will be coming. Mark O'Mara, the defense attorney understands that. They will be ready and prepared he says.

On top of that, you know, the reserve perjury charge that was placed against Shelly Zimmerman for apparently lying under oath. That needs to be resolved. And then there was the question of whether the --