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Soon, Attorneys for Former Atlanta Police Officer in Court; Trump Administration & John Bolton's Lawyers Face Off in Court over Bolton's Book; Mick Mulvaney: President trump "Didn't Hire Very Well"; Howard University's John Carr Discusses the History of Juneteenth. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired June 19, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

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[11:33:03]

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Attorneys for the former Atlanta police officer, Garrett Rolfe, are due in court in just a few minutes. Rolfe waived his right to attend this first hearing in person. He faces 11 charges, including felony murder. That, of course, from the killing of Rayshard Brooks one week ago.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Atlanta tracking this case.

Dianne, what do we expect today?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, we're actually going to be walking into that courtroom in just a few moments to be able to observe what those attorneys may bring to the table with this judge.

It's a first appearance felony for many people, so Rolfe, right now, is number 12 on the list, we're told.

He was moved last night from the Fulton County Jail to another metro Atlanta jail, we're told by sources, for security purposes.

Initially, we thought he might be appearing by video. It's a Zoom court hearing. But this morning, we were told by the magistrate court justice that that would not be happening.

So, again, this is just this first appearance that he has waived appearing. His attorneys are going to be here.

Now you mentioned the charges. He faces 11 different counts, the most serious, of course, that felony murder charge. That does carry a penalty of up to the death penalty if convicted.

That's something that the district attorney says right now it's not on the table for him.

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PAUL HOWARD, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, I think it's clear that we're not asking for the death penalty. We simply cited that because statutorily that is one of the possible sentences. But we're not seeking the death penalty. I don't think anyone rationally expected that had we would ask for the death penalty in this case.

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GALLAGHER: And, of course, it can also carry sentence of up to life in prison.

John, the attorneys for the former officer, who was fired after shooting and killing Rayshard Brooks one week ago today, they said they are -- their client is going to be vindicated, that they plan a vigorous defense.

And they see that laid out today and the coming days on what they do. They have sent this note out that you'll hear more today on how it is that they defend their clients.

[11:35:10]

So we should find more out move hopefully in the next hour to hour here in Atlanta -- John?

KING: Dianne Gallagher heading into that courthouse. The hearing due to begin 25 minutes from now.

Dianne, thank you so much.

Still ahead for us, we shift to federal court. Here in Washington, the Trump administration trying to block the release of the blockbuster book by the former national security adviser, John Bolton.

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[11:40:17]

KING: Today, the Trump administration and John Bolton are facing off in court. Bolton's lawyers filing a motion late last night asking a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department's attempt to keep the Bolton book off the shelves and to seize its profits.

Legal battle over the book might seem pretty moot, right? Much of what Bolton wrote already public.

Here to share their insights, CNN's Evan Perez and Josh Dawsey, from the "Washington Post."

Evan, let me start with you.

How do we expect this to play out in court? And are we expecting to hear today or are they going to argue and then we'll wait on a judge?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We may well hear from the judge where he's leaning, John, but he has a few days to decide this. Obviously, the book is many could out on Tuesday.

But as John Bolton argues and his lawyers argue in the papers filed last night, this is already a fait accompli. The book is distributed. It's all over the world.

And for this judge to order that the -- that the book not be published on Tuesday would mean that they would have to try to pull the book from the shelves in Europe, have -- have it taken off trucks that are operated by Amazon, being delivered by Amazon.

So what we expect to hear a lot of is exactly why the harm here believes from publishing this information is irreparable, why should this information not be public.

And, of course, John Bolton is arguing that a lot of this is about embarrassment for the president. They are trying to save the president from some of the embarrassment of the details that are in this book.

And as you pointed out, a lot of this has already been made public by virtue of reviews and by the fact that journalists all over the country already have copies of it.

KING: Right.

And so, Josh Dawsey, as the president's team pushes back, the president has been tweeting and said, A, John Bolton is breaking the law. There's no evidence that John Bolton is break the law. We'll let the courts decide that. Zero evidence on the table. They say John Bolton is lying.

I want you to listen here. President Trump calls himself a very stable genius. He says he hires all the best people.

His former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, says the reason books like this comes out is the president does just the opposite. Listen.

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MICK MULVANEY, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: I'm not going to say they are liars. I'm going to say they are wrong.

And if there was one criticism that I would level against the president is that he didn't hire very well. He did not have experience at running government and didn't know how to put together a team that could work well with him.

The military personality is just not the type that works well with Donald Trump.

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KING: That's the problem here, the president didn't hire very well?

JOSH DAWSEY, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, at one point, the president hired Mick Mulvaney for three different jobs that he held at the same time.

The other point I would make is the president has a number of former advisers, Jim Mattis, John Kelly, Rex Tillerson, now John Bolton, who have made pretty remarkable comments about him. Pretty remarkable in any administration but -- in vicarious terms.

And like Bolton has said, that he's incompetent, that he's unfit for office and we haven't seen that before.

And the president goes and says his former aides, from Jeff Sessions to Tillerson to Kelly to Mattis, are either dumb as a rock or were never fit for the job or burned down and other critical terms we haven't seen from other presidents.

There's some sharp break-ups here, horrible break-ups between the president and some of the folks who he entrusted to top positions in the government.

KING: Right. John Bolton, we used to put in the same camp -- not that they agree -- we used to put in the Neo-Con tougher lines when it comes to Russia, puts John Bolton in the same camp as Mike Pompeo, former member of the House, then CIA, now State Department.

But look at this from Secretary Pompeo: "The John Bolton is spreading half-truths and outright falsehoods. It's both sad and dangerous that John Bolton's final role is that of traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with the people."

In addition to that statement, Evan and Josh, look at this tweet from Mike Pompeo. The president will certainly like this. Mike Pompeo tweeting the Merriam Webster definition of traitor in the context of John Bolton.

Evan, to you first.

Just to watch this, the knives are out. There's no other way to put it.

PEREZ: Right. And, look, this is not -- it's not a bug. This is a feature of the Trump White House.

We know, frankly, one of the interesting things about this book is that it confirms a lot of the reporting that we've had from Josh and from some of our -- the members of our White House team that really portray a group of people that are -- that spend all their day knifing each other. That's what they do.

It's a little bit like kids in like the playground, you know. They are going around and tattling on each other. They are trying to set up each other. And that's what comes across in this book.

[11:45:04]

A lot of it is -- it seems like John Bolton score-settling. So that's one of the things that really you have to take away from this work that John Bolton has now published.

KING: We'll watch the court hearing play out today. And we'll continue the conversation in the days ahead, as I suspect the book continues to make its way around the town and the world.

Josh Dawsey, Evan Perez, thank you so much.

When we come back, we're going to talk more about the history of Juneteenth.

And as we go to break, some live pictures here. This is a march from Centennial Park to the state capitol in the city of Atlanta. It is a march, of course, to remember the history of Juneteenth and also to remember the here and now, including right there in the city of Atlanta.

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(CHANTING)

(SHOUTING)

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KING: That is John Wall on the left of your screen, point guard for the Wizards, member of the Wizards, and the NBA champion Washington Mystics.

Marching as part of a Juneteenth rally here in Washington, D.C. They are downtown near the arena where they play making their way to the museum of -- African-American History -- Museum of African-American History here in Washington, D.C.

And this one of a number of rallies underway across the country to commemorate Juneteenth, a day that marks 155 years since the last remaining African-American slaves were told here in the United States that they were free.

This year's march comes as it looks like a turning point, at least an inflection point in the country after weeks of nationwide protests and unrest.

Let's talk more about the significance of this day, historically and this year, with Greg Carr. He heads the African-American Studies Department at Howard University.

Thank you so much for being with us on this day.

Let me just start with your reflection. This is a day where most black Americans reflect. Now, all Americans I think have a better understanding of Juneteenth, which in and of itself is a good thing.

But put it in the context for you of this moment. As we see this reckoning, an officer due in court in 10 minutes, and another police shooting of a young black man in Atlanta. Just a few weeks in the rearview mirror from the George Floyd shooting, many would say murder, in Minneapolis.

Put the history, in the context of today.

DR. GREG CARR, PROFESSOR & CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES, COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, HOWARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL: Sure. Happy Juneteenth, John.

And we are in the moment. I think that we're in a horizon in this society. We're seeing a transformation, multigenerational, multi- racial, something we haven't really seen before.

And when, on Memorial Day, we saw George Floyd killed, the historical convergences are amazing. George Floyd went to Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas. Jack Yates was a formerly enslaved African who, in 1972, along with a few others, put together $1000 to buy what became Emancipation Park for the purpose of celebrating Juneteenth.

Juneteenth, as we know, comes out of 1865, as they received the surrender from the Confederate general in Galveston, Texas. And one year later, they began an emancipation celebration.

Juneteenth is just one of many emancipation celebrations in the hemisphere. They are usually in August in the Caribbean. January 1st, which marks the Emancipation Proclamation. That was known as Emancipation Day in the north prior to the end of the Civil War.

And as we come forward to 2020, what we are seeing is this country is engaged in the fundamental question it continues to return to. If this is going to be a truly plural society, will we rewrite the narrative of that society to reflect the varying experiences of the people in that society?

And for our people of African descent in this society, Juneteenth is more important than July 4th.

KING: And do you believe, in that important context -- and thank you for sharing it -- do you believe the rewriting will happen? I can show you a map where a number of cities and states are talking about changing police -- rules about policing and police tactics and trying to reduce the use of force.

And that is just one tiny piece of what needs to be necessary. But it is action and it is relatively quick action in this moment.

Are you convinced that enough pen will be put to paper, if you will, on these issues?

CARR: Well, I'm thoroughly convinced, John. If not this time, soon. We can't look at these events as separate or out of context of the larger thrust of history.

There's a momentum in this country that begins when the Settler Project (ph) begins itself and resistance to the Settler Project (ph) begins.

Juneteenth, for example, we find that, while we mark June 19, 1865, there were nine regiments of black troops in Texas already spreading the word prior to that. So what we see in 2020, we have reached a moment when all the momentum

of the previous general strikes against the social order have emptied into one another.

And we're at a moment now in this country where there won't be a majority of one race soon. And folks have decided that they want a different type of society.

So certainly, if we didn't reach this time, we will reach it ultimately, I think.

KING: Greg Carr, appreciate your history. And I also appreciate your optimism. We'll come back and we'll continue this conversation another day.

Happy Juneteenth to you as well, sir.

CARR: Happy Juneteenth. Thank you, John.

KING: Thank you.

This Sunday is, of course, Father's Day. A great time to catch up with our "CNN Hero," Sheldon Smith, who, for a decade, helps teach parenting and life skills to young African-American fathers in Chicago who want to be better dads.

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SHELDON SMITH, CNN HERO: The message I'm trying to spread is that black fathers are important.

When businesses were closing and during layoffs, we wanted to make sure that our fathers, that we were there for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many boxes of food you need?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like one box.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll give you two.

SMITH: The young men in our program have beautiful hearts. And they are volunteering their time so that they can be better fathers.

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[11:55:02]

SMITH: And right now, we're talking about the injustices in America that need to be changed.

We have to continue to believe and work together and not make it about when a death occurs that this is a time that we need to stand up.

Right now, as a country, as a nation, we have an opportunity to change and show the word what we're really made of.

Once you invest, build and believe, you bring about a different solution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, thank you so much.

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KING: To see the full story, a moving story about Sheldon's efforts, go to CNNheroes.com.

We'll be right back.

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