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New Day

Police Shooting Aftermath Streamed Live on Facebook; New Video of Deadly Baton Rouge Police Shooting; Trump Repeats Claim Clinton Bribed A.G. Lynch. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 07, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:58:16] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, July 7, 6 a.m. in the east. We do begin with breaking news for you.

There's been another deadly encounter with police. A Minnesota officer opening fire and killing a black man during a traffic stop. This scene also caught on camera.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Very different situation because of the man's girlfriend. She started livestreaming the aftermath of this incident on Facebook. Millions have already watched the video. There are really gruesome parts of it, because this is a scene in play with a man having been shot multiple times by a police officer.

This comes to light just as we're learning more about what happened in Baton Rouge, where another black man was killed by a police officer. We're hearing familiar but troubling questions and justifiable concern from families and communities.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN national correspondent Ryan Young, live with the breaking details -- Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chris, this video is very hard to watch. In fact, you can see the girlfriend's actually using her cell phone in selfie mode, shooting back in the direction of her boyfriend. After watching this video several times, it's hard to watch all the way through, especially after she's really calm, actually talking to her boyfriend after he was shot. But you'll see this all play out right here on tape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND REYNOLDS, GIRLFRIEND OF PHIL CASTILE: Stay with me.

YOUNG (voice-over): Diamond Reynolds capturing the moments after her boyfriend was shot by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop.

REYNOLDS: We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back. And the police (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He's covered. They killed my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) boyfriend. YOUNG: Philando Castile's white shirt soaked in blood and in

distress. They were pulled over, allegedly for a broken taillight around 9 p.m. outside of St. Paul.

REYNOLDS: He's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his I.D. in his wallet.

YOUNG: Reynolds livestreaming video from inside the car, with her 4- year-old daughter in the back seat.

REYNOLDS: He let the officer know that he was -- he had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm.

YOUNG: The officer, still pointing the gun inside the car, explains why he opened fire.

REYNOLDS: We're waiting for -- I will, sir. No worries. He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand up!

REYNOLDS: Please don't tell me this, Lord. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please, Officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.

YOUNG: Multiple officers at the scene ordered Reynolds out of the car, handcuffing her. Her cell phone falls to the ground, and she continues pleading with police.

REYNOLDS: Please don't tell me he's gone! Please, Jesus, no! Please, no! Please, no! Don't let him be gone, Lord!

YOUNG: Eyewitnesses capturing this video of officers trying to revive Castile before he's taken to the hospital, where he died. Reynolds, then put in the backseat of a police car, continues talking to the camera.

REYNOLDS: I can't believe they just did this. I'm (EXPLETIVE DELETED) -- (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK. I'm right here with you.

REYNOLDS: Y'all, please pray for us. Jesus, please, y'all. I ask everybody on Facebook, everybody that's watching, everybody that's tuned in, please pray for us.

YOUNG: Reynolds says her boyfriend worked as a cafeteria supervisor at a St. Paul school, had no criminal record. Crowds gathering at the scene of the shooting and at the governor's mansion demanding answers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: Now, after watching this video several times, a lot of questions about what happened before she started using Facebook live to start shooting that video. We wondered if the officer had a body camera. We found that officer does not have a body camera. He's been on the force for about five years, put on administrative leave right now as this investigation continues. But a lot of questions, obviously, about what happened in the moments before this shooting -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Ryan, it is so hard to process what we see on that video. We'll be talking about it all morning. Thank you for that reporting.

YOUNG: Very tough.

CAMEROTA: The Justice Department is investigating the other police shooting that we told you about yesterday that killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A second video now emerging of that deadly encounter with police, and it gives us a clear picture of what unfolded there.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Baton Rouge with more. What have you learned, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. It is still an emotionally-charged atmosphere and environment here in Baton Rouge. Demonstrations continuing overnight. There are no known arrests that we can report. Activists who have seen that video of what happened to Alton Sterling say it was, plain and simple, the murder of a black man at the hands of two white police officers.

We have to warn you: the video that you're about to see is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): The outcry over Alton Sterling's death growing as this new cell-phone video captures a different angle of the 37- year-old's killing at the hands of police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?

VALENCIA: In the video, you hear the initial shots fired. Then the camera jerks away, turning back to show Sterling on the ground, bleeding from the chest.

SANDRA STERLING, AUNT OF ALTON STERLING: I was hoping that he died peacefully and instantly. No, he didn't. He suffered. He was reaching out and talking. That killed me inside.

VALENCIA: Moments later, another officer reaches down and takes what witnesses later say is a gun out of Sterling's right pocket. That gun, the reason why police say they were at the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He pulled a gun on the complainant and told them he couldn't be couldn't be around there.

VALENCIA: A source close to the investigation tells CNN the witness who called 911 said Sterling was, quote, "brandishing a gun," not pointing it at someone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up! Don't shoot! Hands up! Don't shoot!

VALENCIA: His violent death sparking protests across the country on Wednesday from Ferguson to Philadelphia. Some protesters arrested for blocking the entrance to a major freeway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We must love and support each other!

VALENCIA: Sterling's family meeting with Louisiana's governor, who turned over the investigation to the Justice Department and the FBI.

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.

VALENCIA: Just hours earlier, Sterling's 15-year-old son, Cameron, weeping uncontrollably at a press conference. The teen crying out, "I want Daddy."

CAMERON STERLING, SON OF ALTON STERLING: I want Daddy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: And according to the coroner's office, Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. Those two officers involved in the shooting have been put on paid administrative leave. One of those officers, Howie Lake, was involved in another officer- involved shooting in 2014 but cleared of any wrongdoing -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Nick. Thank you very much.

Let's discuss these shootings and what we see, what the issues are and the familiarity of both of these cases, even though they happened in very different places with different police cultures. Let's discuss.

We have CNN law enforcement analyst and retired NYPD detective Harry Houck. We also have CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill. He's also the host of "BET News," a show on VH-1 now also. Congratulations to you for that.

Listen, Baton Rouge and this place in Minnesota are very different places. They have very different police cultures. The spokesperson for Minnesota said they'd never had a shooting like this before. And yet, the incidents are very familiar. The fact patterns wind up being very similar.

We don't know what happened in the Minnesota one. We only see this aftermath video. We're going to show it to you right now. Because one, this is very rare that you get to see, as it's happening, what the experience was for the people in that car. So here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS: Stay with me.

We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back. And the police (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He's covered. They killed my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) boyfriend.

He's licensed to carry. He's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his I.D. in his wallet.

He let the officer know that he was -- he had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm.

We're waiting for -- I will, sir. No worries. He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand up!

REYNOLDS: He had to get his I.D., sir, his driver's license.

Oh, my God. Please don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that.

Yes, I will, sir. I'll keep my hands where they are.

Please don't tell me this, Lord. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please, Officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the passenger out with the hands up. Your hands. Keep them up. Keep them up!

REYNOLDS: Where's my daughter? You got my daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave away from me and walk backwards. Keep walking. Walking. Walking. Keep walking. Get on your knees. Get on your knees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: She continued to transmit. When she was in the back of the police cruiser, she lost it. Her ability to stay poised and calm in this situation is remarkable.

Her 4-year-old daughter is in the back of that car. And in the cruiser, then afterwards, she's losing it, understandably so, and the daughter is saying, "Don't worry, Mommy. I'm here with you. I'm here with you." Very tough, emotionally charged situation.

Problem is with this one, Marc, we don't know what happened before she started broadcasting. This place has no police body cams. This police force. What's your take on it?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First, this is just another argument for why we need as much policing of the police as possible, meaning body cameras and other mechanisms of finding out what happened.

Obviously, we don't know what happened before that tape. Anything could have happened. But based on what the woman is saying, based on her demeanor, based on the fact that everything she's said so far has been true -- he was licensed to carry -- it's hard to imagine that everything went according to the playbook.

And when we look at the officer's response afterwards, he seems so unhinged, he seems so off balance that I wonder if he overreacted. I wonder if he couldn't handle the situation properly. We'll find out as more information comes out.

But this is something that happens so consistently. Black people, armed or unarmed, seem to get this type of response. And white people often who are armed get a different type of response. That's the problem we have here.

CUOMO: Harry...

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's not right.

CUOMO: What -- how do you see it, Harry?

HOUCK: Well, you know, like Marc is saying, you know, we still have to wait for the investigation to conclude here.

But the fact is, you know, we have one side of the story right now. The girlfriend. I've got to wait until I hear the officer's side of the story.

It appears that when the vehicle was pulled over -- and you can see that the officer is visibly shaken that he just had to shoot that gentleman.

[06:10:08] The fact is that officer had told him that he wanted to see his I.D. And then, once he said that he had a permit to carry a gun -- and of course, we don't hear this on the video -- the officer had told him to put his hands outside the window. Whether that happened or not, I don't know. We're going to have to wait and see what happens.

But clearly, it shows you the fact that you need to comply with police officers, especially when you have a gun permit and you are carrying a weapon.

Just recently, a black young man did a YouTube video when he was stopped by police. And he showed how cooperative he was. And the fact is, if you're carrying a weapon and you have a permit to carry a weapon, that officer is the one that's going to disarm you, because a lot of times that weapon is close to where your wallet is; and the officer is not going to let you get near it. And just because you've told me you've got a permit to carry a gun doesn't mean that I believe you. I need to see that.

CUOMO: Right.

HILL: We have to be careful though, because Harry just said something really important. He said this proves that you have to be compliant with officers. That would suggest to the American people that this man wasn't compliant. And I don't want to assert something that could be counterfactual.

CUOMO: We don't know -- we don't know what happened.

The girlfriend is -- the girlfriend was really compliant, even though you can veritably argue they were being unreasonably severe with her, in those circumstances.

But Harry, let's just go through the analysis as we need to in those situations. Harry says the officer looks unhinged. I don't think anybody is going to argue with that. And what that does is one good thing, one bad thing.

One, it introduces the suggestion of training. And also, it takes away some of the animus that goes into these analyses where you start to think these cops want to shoot people. He does not seem happy about what just happened, which at least gives you on a human level an idea that while...

HILL: That does nothing for me, Chris.

CUOMO: Well, I understand that it doesn't do anything in terms of the final outcome.

HILL: It doesn't do anything in terms of the analysis.

CUOMO: Well, but some of these cases, it seems like the cops just decided to shoot the guy...

HOUCK: Well, it does have something to do with the analysis.

CUOMO: ... willy-nilly or that they think he deserves it. Or that, you know...

HILL: Well, there are extreme cases. Like Charleston, with Walter Scott.

CUOMO: Right. That's what -- that's what I'm thinking about. When that guy was running away, and that cop decided...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: So here, this police officer seems very upset. To Harry's point, it is very unusual fact pattern, Harry, which you know, where someone tells a police officer they have a legal carry permit and then it winds up turning into a shooting, an active shooting...

HILL: That's my point.

CUOMO: ... on the part of the person who's stopped.

HOUCK: No, no, no, no, no, no. You cannot compare any other incident with this one. Each and every one of these incidents is different. I don't care how close it looks like another incident or not.

HILL: Right. Hold on, hold on.

HOUCK: Specific incident.

CUOMO: But Harry, you're using the fact that the guy has the gun as an exacerbating factor, an aggravating factor for the cop. I'm just saying, having done the research about these shootings...

HOUCK: No, no, no, no, no.

CUOMO: It's very rare that somebody tells a police officer, "I have a gun" and tries to pull it out.

HILL: So two things, right...

HOUCK: But it's very -- but it's very rare also, if the officer is told that he's got a gun, that somebody puts their hands where they're supposed to put their hands. That's a fact. And we don't know -- listen, Marc, you're going entirely on what this woman's saying. OK?

HILL: No, I'm not.

HOUCK: So I'm going on my analysis. What I'm doing -- yes, you are.

HILL: No, no, no.

HOUCK: I'm doing only analysis based on my experience about officers.

CUOMO: Harry, slow down. Slow down.

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Let me jump in. First of all, you're saying you're going on your experience. Thirty seconds ago you said we can't go on anything but this case. But when it comes to police experience, somehow we can rummage through history and pull out facts and data and anecdotes.

HOUCK: That's why I'm here, because we both have experience in situations like this. That's why I'm here, and I'm talking.

HILL: Right, Harry. I agree with you.

HOUCK: I've been in these situations before.

HILL: Harry, let me talk. Harry, what I'm saying is you shouldn't go through your experience. But just a moment ago you said we shouldn't take up any other case. When we look at other cases and we look at other data, people very rarely say to a police officer, "Officer, I am licensed to carry," and then pull out the gun and engage in a shootout. That rarely...

HOUCK: How do you know that? What statistic are you talking about, Marc? There's no statistics out there that people say -- rarely tell police officers that they're carrying a gun.

HILL: But there are statistics that speak to people...

HOUCK: What statistic are you talking about? HILL: I can answer if you let me talk. There are statistics that speak to people who have licenses to carry and the number of incidents they engage in of gun violence, with police officers and without police officers.

In terms of armed crimes and also in terms of everyday actions. That's just a fact, Harry. But let me get to the bigger point here.

HOUCK: From what? That's just something you're saying. You're pulling it out of the air.

HILL: Harry -- Harry...

CUOMO: Harry, hold on a second. Everybody knows that you want to do these cases the right way. You want to make sure that it's not led by emotion and that you understand what happened from both perspectives. That's going to be very tough in the Minnesota case, because we don't have a body cam video.

But just to put this one piece to rest, because I'm sure that people will be responding to it, yesterday after Baton Rouge, which we'll talk about later in the show, because there's new developments there, as well.

CUOMO: I went through the last 50 cases of these that got media attention. And none of them was that fact pattern involved. And in talking to a couple of guys who are still on the job and a couple of lawyers about it, it's just not a very common fact pattern. That's all we're saying.

We don't know what happened here. We're going to have to wait for the testimony and all the other forensics they do. But that's why it was being brought up.

There's no question that because of this -- the girlfriend broadcasting the way she did, this is a very hard situation to take. But we are in the same place we always are, Marc, which is we're going to have to wait and hear what the officer says.

HILL: We're going to have to. And I want to hear what the officer says. I want the testimony, the investigation. Everyone deserves that.

CUOMO: Certainly, he was very upset after it. He seemed very nervous and scared about what had happened. So we'll find out why.

HILL: A lot of killers do, though. I'm not saying -- you know, we don't know yet, but I'm saying that's not exculpatory.

HOUCK: You know, police officers are always treated after a shooting. They go directly to the hospital, because it is a very emotional thing for a police officer to go through.

CUOMO: I can't even imagine. I would never want to be in the situation that officer was in that video. Harry, thank you very much.

Marc, appreciate it as always.

In the next hour, we're going to speak live to the mother and uncle of that Minnesota man who was killed by police to get a little bit more understanding of who he was and how he wound up in this situation -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris.

We're going to turn now to the 2016 race. There was news made on both sides yesterday. Donald Trump giving his firmest defense yet of that tweet with the six-pointed star that many saw as anti-Semitic. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton gives a stinging attack on Trump's business records.

Let's get to all of it with CNN's Manu Raju. He is live outside Capitol Hill, where Trump will meet with Republicans today. Manu, take us through it.

MANU RAJU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.

Actually, right behind me is where Donald Trump will be here in just a couple of hours and try to unite Republicans on Capitol Hill behind his candidacy. But he actually may find a crowd that's a little thinner than expected.

A number of Republicans tell CNN that they will not attend today's meeting with Donald Trump. One reason why is they're frankly a little bit uneasy still about his candidacy. And one of that -- one reason why they may still be uneasy about his candidacy, his theatrics on the campaign trail yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's very sad. You know, it's very sad.

RAJU (voice-over): Donald Trump fired up and lashing out.

TRUMP: Lie, lie, lie. Lie! Dirty, rotten liar.

RAJU: Again accusing the Clintons of bribing Attorney General Loretta Lynch, just hours after the A.G. announced that Clinton will not be charged for her use of a personal e-mail server.

Trump also doubling down on his most recent Twitter controversy.

TRUMP: I took the star down. I said, too bad, you shouldn't have left it up.

RAJU: Insisting that he saw no problem with this tweet that his team sent then revised after it was widely criticized for being anti- Semitic.

TRUMP: Could have been a sheriff's star. Could have been a regular star. My boy comes home from school, Barron. He draws stars all over the place. I never said, "Oh, that's the Star of David, Barron. Don't."

RAJU: The Republican nominee then turning to Twitter to compare his tweet with the "Frozen" book cover, writing, "Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the Star of David also?"

Hillary Clinton's campaign mocking this argument, tweeting, "Do you want to build a strawman?"

In his hour-plus speech, Trump hit a number of controversies, refusing to back down once again from his comments about Saddam Hussein.

TRUMP: And I don't love Saddam Hussein. I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damn good at killing terrorists.

RAJU: While looking ahead to November, signaling a future role in his campaign for Newt Gingrich, rumored to be on Trump's V.P. short list.

TRUMP: In one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government. That I can tell you.

RAJU: Meanwhile, Clinton remained mum about her own e-mail controversy while keeping a laser focus on her opponent, criticizing Trump's bankruptcies in front of the former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City on Wednesday afternoon.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he will do if he wins in November.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Now, in just a few hours, Chris, FBI Director James Comey will be on Capitol Hill facing questions from it the House Oversight Committee over the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mail arrangement. Expect a grilling. House Republicans are just not satisfied with Comey's decision not to refer this case for a criminal prosecution.

This is just the beginning of an intense pressure campaign. Loretta Lynch will be on Capitol Hill next week, testifying, as well. And possibly even legislation to deny Hillary Clinton the right to classified intelligence, all part of an effort to keep this issue alive, Chris.

[06:02:00] CUOMO: What a bizarre disconnect, Manu, that we have. Congressional hearings going on about Hillary Clinton, and we have these two police shootings, and we're not hearing anything from the people down in D.C. about it yet. Thank you for the reporting.

Donald Trump still defending this tweet that people called anti- Semitic. The use of the six-pointed star. Should he still be fighting it? Is this a sound strategy? Or should he just try to move on, if not apologize? We're going to discuss with our political panel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, they took the star down. I said, too bad. You should have left it up. I would have rather defended it. Just leave it up and say, no, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star.

I said, "Bad guy, really bad guy, but he was good at one thing. He killed terrorists." Next day, "Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein." I don't love Saddam Hussein. I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damn good at killing terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:25:03] CAMEROTA: That was Donald Trump re-litigating a couple of controversies that have cropped up this week. That was moments after the Justice Department said it would not pursue charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of that private e-mail server as secretary of state.

So let's discuss it all with our panel. We want to bring in "Daily Beast," Washington bureau chief Jackie Kucinich, CNN political analyst; and national political reporter for "The New York Times," Alex Burns; and CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Laura Coates. Great to have all of you here.

Jackie, so Trump is only sorry in terms of what many perceived as that anti-Semitic symbol that he took it down, that his staff took it down from his Twitter feed, because it was really an ode to the childhood favorite "Frozen," as he tweeted out here. Look. Look at this star used in the "Frozen" ad there. I guess Hillary Clinton played by Elsa in this version.

JACKI KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I was talking to a Republican who has advised several presidential campaigns. And he told me he was despondent over the current state of affairs. And it's because of things like this. If you're a Republican, you should be talking about Hillary Clinton's e-mails right now. And oh, by the way, Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

So the fact that he's doubling, tripling down on this star thing it just -- it's beside the point.

CAMEROTA: He wants to defend himself.

KUCINICH: He's trying to win the argument. He wants to just win this argument. And by doing that, he runs the risk of losing the war if this keeps on happening over and over again, as we've seen it.

CUOMO: He sees himself as being victimized. We've had a lot of contact with him. It certainly wasn't an ode to "Frozen." They brought up the "Frozen" thing to say, "Why don't you talk about this star?" We're going to hear another cycle of it. Said, "Ooh, now you said it's about 'Frozen'."

CAMEROTA: He tweeted it. Let's just read the tweet. "Where is the outrage for this?" CUOMO: He's not saying he based this star on the "Frozen" star.

CAMEROTA: He's saying it's the same star.

CUOMO: But it wasn't an ode to it is what I'm saying. It's just saying that you're going to hear from him about this, because that's how defensive he is.

KUCINICH: But that doesn't make it right.

CUOMO: No, look, there's nothing right about it. We know where the image came from. We don't know why they put it on. But they know it was clumsy. It's the type of thing that usually gets an apology and you move on. But not here. Not with this team. Not with this candidate. Why, Alex?

ALEX BURNS, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, Chris, I think you're seeing, really, a set of bad habits learned during the Republican primary come back to bite Trump in the general election, when he was appealing to a set of voters who really just wanted the red meat.

He was able to never apologize for anything, double down on everything, stand by staff members who were surrounded by controversy. And the applause meter just kept going up and up because primary voters saw it as a sign of strength. The general election is really, really different. A standard campaign, a conventional campaign would have identified the person who sent that tweet, probably fired them, apologized, and moved on before we got into the business week and the e-mail cycle.

CAMEROTA: And Laura, a standard campaign would also have made more hay of the findings about Hillary Clinton's e-mails that came out yesterday. They would have fastened on that. But of course, the Trump campaign doesn't go by the standard playbook.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, they don't. It's odd, because that particular decision by the Justice Department not to prosecute Hillary Clinton, it's certainly political fodder for the Trump campaign and the Sanders campaign that still exists, although I don't think it still has any legs left. And although it's politically damaging for Hillary Clinton, legally her troubles are over. And it should be acknowledged that it actually is.

CUOMO: Right, except that what you can do politically, say it was the wrong call. That you're right; this is discretion. It was odd that FBI -- the head of the FBI would say they're not going to prosecute them. That's the DOJ's role. It's not unprecedented, but it's odd.

That decision doesn't end the debate about whether or not they should have prosecuted. And you just had more e-mails come out that were marked classified with Clinton. And it raises the same questions about her trustworthiness. There's "there" there, isn't there?

KUCINICH: Absolutely. Comey's whole statement completely destroyed a lot of the things Clinton has said over and over and over again throughout this campaign, but it can be particularly politically damaging, because you have a Congress that is more than willing to spend lots and lots of time having hearings. We're already seeing the beginning of it. There's every indication that old Benghazi and the e-mails could become her new Benghazi in this Congress.

CAMEROTA: So what's going to happen today on Capitol Hill when Jim Comey goes up there and the lawmakers ask him questions?

BURNS: I think the big question is just how far Republicans think they can push it in an adversarial way with Comey. There are a lot of people in the party outside of the sort of hard-core Trump base and outside of the people who are focused overwhelmingly on defeating Clinton, who think that a showdown with an FBI director who has been really harshly critical of Hillary Clinton is actually not a great look for the party.

But why would you move the focus off of her and onto a guy, a really, at least so far, unquestioned integrity.

CUOMO: People are going to get to know Comey now. He has a ten-year appointment, so that kind of insulates him from politics. He is not the guy to go toe to toe with about the way he makes decisions. We'll see that today.

Let me ask you something, Counsel. Does it seem a little odd or tone deaf that they're going to be talking to the FBI director today about this e-mail investigation and there's no action on Capitol Hill about what we're seeing with the police shootings, again, at least to ask questions, at least to get some kind of board together. That's all these congressional hearings are about is just to hear what...