PoliticsNation, Wednesday, February 26, 2014

POLITICS NATION
February 26, 2014

Guest: Corrine Brown, Jan Schakowsky, Jamal Simmons, Marcus Jeter, Steven


ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC ANCHOR, THE ED SHOW: That`s "THE ED SHOW." I`m Ed
Schultz. "POLITICS NATION" with Reverend Al Sharpton starts right now.

Good evening, Rev.

REVEREND AL SHARPTON, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, Ed. And thanks to you
for tuning in.

Tonight`s lead, the fight against stand your ground and the legacy of
Trayvon Martin. Today vigils and protests are being held all across the
country to mark a somber date. It`s been exactly two years since the
shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The tragedy that sparked a
national outcry, started as a local news story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: New tonight a deadly shooting and Sanford
Police have the gun, they have the shooter, but they have not arrested him.
And as far as the press, Keith Landry, he tells us the dead man`s grieving
family wants to know why not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that your friend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is my son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: He is your son?

This afternoon, we met Tracy Martin at the crime scene. He says his 17-
year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was shot to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: The country came to know Trayvon`s grieving parents, Tracy
Martin and Sybrina Fulton. And within days, the death of this young man
triggered massive protests across Florida and beyond. I, myself, was moved
to action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: We came for permanent justice. Arrest Zimmerman now. That`s
what this rally is about.

SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTI`S MOTHER: I want to say first and foremost,
I thank God for being here and I thank God for you being here. I still say
we need an arrest. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Less than a month after the shooting, President Obama addressed
the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My main message is to the
parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son he would look like
Trayvon. And, you know, I think they are right to expect that all of us as
Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that
we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Three weeks later George Zimmerman was finally arrested. And
his acquittal last year to set off new questions about race and justice in
America. In particular, the growing influence of stand your ground laws.

In 2005, Florida became the first state to adopt the law. Since then 66
percent of people who have invoked stand your ground in Florida have walked
free. And more people than ever are carrying guns.

Today, there are 1.1 million concealed weapons permits in Florida, triple
the number from before stand your ground. It is not just Florida. Twenty-
four other states have followed suit with similar laws. Stand your ground
is a national injustice and that`s why the fight continues two years after
the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Joining me now is Congresswoman Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida, and
a tireless fighter to repeal stand your ground. And Jonathan Capehart who
covered the for the "Washington Post."

Thank you both for being here.

JONATHAN CAPEHART, OPINION WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Thanks, Rev.

SHARPTON: Congresswoman, two years after the shooting of Trayvon Martin,
are more Americans waking up to the injustice of the stand your ground law,
do you think?

REP. CORRINE BROWN (D), FLORIDA: Reverend, thank you for your leadership
in this manner. And let`s be clear, every time a jury gets the
instructions, stand your ground is a part of the instructions. And so,
whether the prosecutors or the defendants talk about stand your ground,
when they send the jury out, that is part of the instructions. And stand
your ground needs to stand down. And I`m looking forward to joining you
and the leadership in this country, the congressional black caucus and
others in your march going to Tallahassee on the 10th.

SHARPTON: We are dealing with the stand your ground law, yes, with a
rally, vigil and prayer on the 10th in Tallahassee.

You know, Jonathan, I remember the first big rally when we got involved.
All people were asking for, no one was making a decision on the outcome of
the case, but we went down calling for this rally saying why don`t you
arrest him? How do you have a law that assumes that if a man says I felt
threatened, he is automatically acquitted, that is all. And when we found
out this law really provided that, it became a national movement.

CAPEHART: Right. And that was the key thing behind the protests that you
were involved in, that a lot of people were involved in those days before
George Zimmerman`s arrest was that they wanted an arrest. How was it
possible that a 17-year-old kid could be shot dead and the person who shot
him not be arrested, not be put into the criminal justice system and held
accountable. And that is when we came to know the name Trayvon Martin and
that`s when we came to be horrified of the stand your ground law that
allowed George Zimmerman to go free.

And one of the more gracious moments, you know, Tracy Martin and Sybrina
Fulton, was when they said over and over and over again that they weren`t -
- all they wanted was for George Zimmerman to, one, be arrested and then
to, two, face a jury and to be held accountable. And that they would
accept the jury`s decision.

Both of those things happened. The jury decided to acquit George
Zimmerman. And Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton have acquitted themselves
with unbelievable grace. And I think that, you know, for the American
people and for people who want stand your ground laws as the Congress woman
said to stand down, we need more people like Tracy Martin and Sybrina
Fulton to protest and to go to the state capitals where these laws are on
the books and to have them changed.

SHARPTON: Now, the Congresswoman, you have been dealing with these laws
and raising the question and people are now advocating like Corrine Brown.
In fact, I spoke last night with Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon
Martin. And he spoke about an epidemic of injustice. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN`S FATHER: It is an epidemic. It seems like
an epidemic where, you know, the value of African-American kids` lives
really don`t mean anything. We got to stand up as fathers. We got to
stand up as leaders and let this country know it is not OK to kill our
kids. I feel as though this country actually value guns more than they do
our children`s lives and you know, that is sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: He feels the country values guns more than our children`s lives,
Congresswoman.

BROWN: Well, I think the law invokes people to be aggressive and once
aggressive you say you felt threatened. And the disparity, when you think
about Ms. Alexander, a warning shot and got 20 years and yet you kill a
young African-American and then you just walk and you are the victim.

So it is too much disparity. The law is sloppy and it needs to be cleaned
up. It started with a castle (ph) doctrine meaning that if you break into
my home. And now it spreading to the theater, to the streets. It is
something wrong with the law. And it sends the wrong message to the
overall society, it`s OK for me to be the aggressor because I know I can
say well, stand your ground, I felt threatened. It is unacceptable.

SHARPTON: I am glad you mentioned theater because you have the incident
now with the man killing someone in a theater in Florida who because they
got in an argument threw popcorn at him. And this is a white gentleman
against the white gentleman. He is citing stand your ground. And ex-law
enforcement officer, Jonathan. And then you get the turn around here is
now the shooter is calling himself the victim of the man who killed both
Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis have called themselves the victim. Listen
to George Zimmerman and then to Michael Dunn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Thoughts about the victim, Trayvon Martin.
The victim was Trayvon Martin, you know that?

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, SHOT AND KILLED TRAYVON MARTIN: No. I certainly was a
victim when I was having my head bashed into the concrete and my nose
broken and beaten. So, I wouldn`t say I was not victim.

MICHAEL DUNN, SHOT AND KILLED JORDAN DAVIS: Yes. I was thinking about
that today. I`m the (bleep) victim here. I was the one who was
victimized. I don`t know how else to put it. They attacked me. I`m the
victim. I`m the victor but I was the victim, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: You know, as something outrageous and at the same time something
that is frightening when you hear people, two men, the criminal justice
system decide they got to understand with the jury. But two men, Jonathan,
they killed unarmed teenagers who even after that have no sense of remorse,
they don`t even say I felt frightened, now I see I was wrong or now I felt
my judgment was off. They are still -- I`m the victim. They are still
like they had the right to do this.

CAPEHART: Right. The lack of remorse is stunning. Look, to their minds,
sure, they were the victims. They were completely justified to do what
they did.

SHARPTON: Even after they find out there was no gun?

CAPEHART: Exactly. They feel justified in what they did. And
unfortunately, the law allows them to feel this way. And, the
Congresswoman brought up a very good point in her first answer to you.
Stand your ground was in jury instructions for George Zimmerman`s jury, for
Michael Dunn`s jury. It is not there in big neon letters saying this is
the stand your ground provision. It is how the jury is instructed to look
at the evidence. And it is imperative for both George Zimmerman and for
Michael Dunn to continue to portray themselves as victims in this case
because in order for you to, you know, invoke stand your ground or for the
council doctrine to be completely obliterated and to allow you to shoot
somebody because you, quote, "reasonably have fear for your life or someone
else`s life," you have to be the victim in order for that to work. And
that is the travesty of the stand your ground statute.

SHARPTON: Well Congresswoman, two years later we continue to fight about
this law. And we will continue to fight this law. And I think that
Trayvon Martin`s name will go down in history as maybe one that helped to
change and in many ways make better some of the laws.

BROWN: Reverend, failure is not an option for us. We are going to get it
done.

SHARPTON: All right. Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Jonathan Capehart,
thank you for your time tonight.

CAPEHART: Thanks, Rev.

SHARPTON: Still ahead, Speaker Boehner has a big problem and it is called
the minimum wage. We`ll tell you how Democrats are trying to force
Republicans to do the right thing.

Plus, the I word is back, impeachment. You got to hear what GOP lawmakers
were saying about the president today.

Also, the video that saved an innocent man from going to jail. And that
police didn`t want you to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the car. Get out. Get out of the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did nothing wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Now, the police are under indictment and the victim from that
tape is with us tonight for an exclusive interview.

You are watching "Politics Nation" MSNBC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Republicans refuse to act on raising the minimum wage. But
today, President Obama and House Democrats are ramping up the political
pressure. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Let`s make sure we are giving America a raise. Let`s make sure we
are giving America a raise. One thing that Americans across the board
agree on is if you work full time in the wealthiest nation on earth you
shouldn`t be property.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: President Obama ramping up the pressure to raise the minimum
wage because if you are working full time in this country you shouldn`t
live in poverty. Today House Democrats are ramping up the political
pressure insisting lawmakers get On the Record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The future of the workers
depends on us to raise the minimum wage. All we need is a vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When this comes to the floor, it will pass. We just
need a vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s have a vote. It will pass. It ought to be the
law.

PELOSI: Mr. Speaker, give us a vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: And the Democrats aren`t waiting around for Speaker Boehner to
act. Today, they started what is known as a discharge petition to raise
the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. If 218 house members sign the petition
it goes to a vote whether or not Speaker Boehner signs off. This shouldn`t
be partisan. Look at the numbers. The annual salary for minimum wage
working is just over $15,000 a year. That is not enough to raise a family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA SIMMONS, HOUSEKEEPER: : Working as hard as I can. I mean, it is
just not enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Jessica Simmons works as a house keeper
making minimum wage and providing for two young boys.

SIMMONS: I mean, the money does not lasts. It is not enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Kevin Wheeler works as a bar tender at the
airport making $4.64 an hour.

KEVIN WHEELER (ph), BAR TENDER: And when the restaurant is slow, we don`t
get tips.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not lazy. We are not asking for handouts,
working as hard as we can just to keep our heads above water, but we are
starting to drown out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: People feel like they are drowning, living under current minimum
wage they are drowning. It is time for Congress to do what is right.

Joining me now is Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois.

First, thank you for being here tonight, Congresswoman.

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: Thank you, reverend Al.

SHARPTON: Congresswoman, you only need 20 Republicans to sign on to force
a vote on the minimum wage. What do you expect?

SCHAKOWSKY: We feel confident that if the vote were called that we would
have those 20 Republicans to pass a raise of $10.10 an hour which isn`t
going to make anybody rich but certainly would give 25 million Americans a
raise right now.

But John Boehner so far is unwilling to give us a vote. And so now as of
this minute over 150 members of the Democratic caucus have signed this
discharge petition to force John Boehner into giving us a vote. And so,
now we are going to have to put pressure when we get all the Democrats to
just get those 20 Republicans to say yes, just give us a vote. Let
democracy work.

SHARPTON: You know, when I look at this, there is no question, none, that
the American people want to raise the minimum wage. Here is one,
Democrats, Independents, Republicans, whites, Blacks, Hispanics, college
grads, non-college grads, those who make more and less than $75,000 a year.

Congresswoman, are the only people who don`t want a minimum wage hike are
Republicans in Congress?

SCHAKOWSKY: You got it. Republicans in Congress, because 71 percent of
Americans say let`s raise the minimum wage. It is wide spread belief that
no family can really live on $14,000 or $15,000 a year. And so we want to
raise the minimum wage not just for them, though, for all the rest of us,
too. If money is put in people`s pockets they are going to go out and buy
stuff and we are going to stimulate the economy. And beyond that, Rev.,
those individuals because they can`t live on these poverty wages turn to
the government for help. So the taxpayers are subsidizing companies like
Wal-Mart or McDonald`s, companies that pay a minimum wage, because those
people need Medicaid, they need food stamps. They come to the government
just to survive. That means taxpayers are subsidizing them. And that`s
just wrong. The American people don`t want to do that.

SHARPTON: Now, you know, some Republicans really, really to me it is a
galling notion because some just don`t oppose the minimum wage hike, they
are against any minimum wage at all. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think it is government`s business to be setting
the minimum wage.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I want people to make as much as they can.
I don`t think the minimum wage law works.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you do not believe in the concept of minimum wage?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: you would abolish the minimum wage?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, some don`t believe in any minimum wage. How do you
fight that, Congresswoman?

SCHAKOWSKY: It is just shocking. You know, if the minimum wage had kept
up with CEO salaries, it would be $70 an hour right now. If it just kept
up with the growth in productivity it would be about $22 an hour. And if
it just kept up with inflation it would be $10.50 an hour.

So people are working hard. They are working as much as they can,
hopefully full time and they still have to live in poverty. The president
was right. No one should have to work and not be able to get out of
poverty.

SHARPTON: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky thank you so much for your time
tonight.

SCHAKOWSKY: Thank you, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Ahead, four million enrolled in Obamacare. So Speaker Boehner
is ready to let the repeal obsession go, right? We got you next.

And police brutality caught on tape. This video surfaces and now police
officers are indicted. The victim joins us exclusively ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Breaking news tonight, President Obama has a cold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I have been working so hard I might be getting a cold. I actually
think I`m OK. I got to get covered. Got to get covered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Good thing he is covered. And guess who else is covered?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We now have four million Americans who have signed up for quality
private health insurance through the market place exchanges, four million
people have already signed up because of you, four million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Four million Americans have enrolled all through the health care
exchanges. So now, I`m sure the GOP is finally ready to move on and time
to drop all of that repeal Obamacare talk, right Speaker Boehner?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Is there anything that Congress can do between
now and the 2014 midterms that the American public would be meaningful they
can do together?

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We could repeal Obamacare
and get the monkey off the backs of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Get this monkey off our backs? Repeal Obamacare? What about
the GOP`s own plan to gut Obamacare? It will end up kicking one million
workers off the health care insurance. So I wonder what is better for
America. Four million Americans getting covered or one million losing
coverage?

Did Speaker Boehner and Eric Cantor think we wouldn`t notice they need a
reality checkup? Nice try. But cover this one because four million
Americans just got you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Forget calling the president a socialist or communist or gay
Muslim Kenyan, the right-wing has a new pet name for President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Look, in America we don`t have a king.
And the reality is that that house belongs to the people. It`s not just
the president`s residence. The White House belongs to the people. And we
have serious disagreements with the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So now President Obama is a king? That from the man who keeps
telling Republicans to, quote, "stop saying stupid things?"

But let`s face it, the right is so sure that President Obama is a king that
today Congressman Darryl Issa and his fellow Republicans held a second
hearing on the president`s failure to execute the nation`s laws. The chair
of the committee opened up by decrying the president`s uber-presidency. He
also talked about tyranny. But he was just the warmer bath for this
congressman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LAMAR SMITH (R), TEXAS: The Obama administration has ignored laws,
failed to enforce laws, undermined laws, but neither the president nor the
attorney general have the constitutional right to make or change laws
themselves. That is what happens in a dictatorship or a totalitarian
government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: A dictatorship, a totalitarian regime.

Here is my question, if the president is really a dictator, why don`t they
just impeach him? Today one congressman claimed none of these hearings are
about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RAUL LABRADOR (R), IDAHO: Actually a reporter who`s here today just
went off about the impeachment part of our -- of our hearing when there was
only maybe one sentence uttered about impeachment in that entire four or
five-hour hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: What? Who is talking about impeachment? Not us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if he wraps himself in the cloak of I have spoken
and there is nothing you can do about it? And so -- and we have used the I
word here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: That`s all this nonsense is about -- a way to get rid of a
president. But if the Republicans really want to do that, how about going
out and winning an election?

Joining me now are Karen Finney and Jamal Simmons.

Thank you both for coming on the show tonight.

KAREN FINNEY, MSNBC HOST, "DISRUPT": Hey, Rev.

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you for having me.

SHARPTON: Karen, let me start with you, what`s behind hearings like this
one that we saw today?

FINNEY: Oh my -- yes, you would think Darrell Issa would have, you know,
more things to do because you know at the end of the session he`s going to
say well, there wasn`t enough time to talk about jobs or, you know, any of
those other things that could actually help Americans.

I mean, look, I think it`s exactly what you said. They want to essentially
have the conversation about impeachment without saying impeachment,
although, you know, Jamal and I were talking -- listen, I say go for it.
You want to try to impeach this president, great. Because then that`s how
we`re going to win the 2014 midterm elections.

SHARPTON: You know, Jamal, one congressman at the hearing today, he talked
about how all reform needs to come from the American people. Listen to
this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Mr. Chairman, all true reform starts with the voice of the people.
If American voters rise up and speak loudly enough they will be heard in
the quarters of the White House and in the halls of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: But, Jamal, help me out here. Didn`t the American people rise
up? I mean, didn`t they rise up and re-elect the president? If I`m not
mistaken he won re-election by nearly five million votes.

SIMMONS: That`s right. He is the first president I think to be re-elected
with the majority of vote I don`t know since when. When`s the last time
that happened?

(LAUGHTER)

But the reality here is they want to put this moniker of king or emperor on
President Obama but, you know, President Obama has issued fewer executive
orders than any president -- any two-term president in the last maybe 100
years, certainly less than George W. Bush, certainly less than Bill
Clinton, certainly less than Ronald Reagan.

So this notion that he`s doing something that other presidents haven`t done
is really -- is really not about executive orders. It`s about the fact
that these people don`t want Barack Obama to be president.

SHARPTON: Right.

SIMMONS: And they are spending all their time talking to the sliver, the
smallest sliver of the American public who thinks that he shouldn`t be
president. And like Karen a minute ago, you know what, they want to
impeach him, let`s impeach him, let`s have that fight. It worked out
pretty well for the Democrats last time, let`s do it again.

SHARPTON: You know, if the president is such a king and a tyrant, how can
he also be weak, Karen?

I mean, just listen to the right wing`s past argument.

FINNEY: Right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: The president has shown absolutely no
leadership.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Obama`s leadership style which,
in effect, doesn`t exist. The man is a bystander.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It`s called leading from behind.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: I think he is perceived as extraordinarily
weak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t believe that he has shown so little leadership.

DONALD TRUMP, BILLIONAIRE REAL ESTATE: We really need a new leader. We
don`t have a leader right now.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I don`t think he has the first idea
of how to use executive power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: He doesn`t have to use executive power, he is a weak, he`s a
bystander.

FINNEY: Right.

SHARPTON: How can you be that and a dictator?

FINNEY: Right. He doesn`t know how to use it but he used it too much.
Right?

SHARPTON: Right?

FINNEY: I mean, that`s their argument. You know, Rev, it strikes me just
listening to that, the people who are really thwarting the will of the
people and acting in an imperious manner are the members of Congress, those
Republicans who are ignoring, as you pointed out, a president who got
handily reelected but also poll after poll after poll that shows that the
Republican Party in their beliefs are farther and farther away from the
things that Americans care about and the things that President Obama is
fighting for.

And I think, you know, what that says to us is unfortunately what Jamal
just said. This is personal. This is about they don`t want Barack Obama
to be president. They want to do everything they can to undermine his
legitimacy and his authority in the eyes of the American people. And for
the most part it`s not working with the exception of that very small sliver
of their base. And that`s who they are catering to.

SHARPTON: You know, meanwhile on FOX News today the network was promoting
this. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the Constitution? Is the president
overreaching his authority ignoring America`s supreme law? Congress
debates and Gretta gets answers tonight "On the Record."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, they`re really hyping and promoting this notion up,
Jamal, out of where based on what is beyond me.

SIMMONS: They are hyping it up. And again, this president is not doing
anything different than any other president except for one thing. I mean -
-

SHARPTON: He`s doing less in terms of executive orders.

SIMMONS: He`s maybe doing less. And let`s remember this. What is the
point of the orders that he is going after? He is trying to increase
funding for schools, $200 million for schools to wire them for the
Internet.

SHARPTON: Right.

SIMMONS: He is trying to make sure that kids who are brought here by their
parents don`t get kicked out of the country because they didn`t have their
paperwork in order. He is trying to make sure that we actually have a
health care system that functions and that God forbid small businesses and
businesses have a little more time to adjust to the health care system. So
either they are -- they think the health care system is a burden on
business or they want to relieve businesses of that burden and help them
accommodate themselves. But they want to have it both ways and you just
can`t.

SHARPTON: Well, health care for people that couldn`t afford it and dealing
with these things, as you`re talking about with kids, is totalitarian,
Jamal. You just don`t get it.

(LAUGHTER)

Karen, how far is too far to where the Republicans in your opinion cross
the line and really start energizing their own demise in the midterm
elections or have they already began doing that?

FINNEY: I think they`ve already begun doing that, Reverend. I mean, you
know, quite frankly, I mean, they`ve crossed the line about the second day
President Obama was sworn in as president. And they`ve only gotten worse
every single day since then. And, again, you know, one of the things that
we saw when they finally -- when they had the little compromise recently,
what do we see? A little bump in the numbers.

I think the reality is the American people want to see compromise, they
want to see things getting done. So a lot of this rhetoric and a lot of
this wasted time on, you know, these ridiculous hearings are not what the
American people want and I think the closer we get to the election the
stronger the argument against -- you know, this is what happens when
Republicans are in charge.

SHARPTON: Karen Finney and Jamal Simmons, thanks for coming on the show
tonight.

And be sure to watch "DISRUPT" with Karen Finney weekends at 4:00 p.m.
Eastern right here on MSNBC.

Up next the dash cam video that kept an innocent man out of jail and that
may put the police behind bars. We`ll talk to that man in this video next.

Also the tragedy that led to the 1965 bloody Sunday and why we are still
fighting to protect our right to vote. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Tonight accusations of police brutality and cover-up. In what
merely turned into a gross miscarriage of justice, in the summer of 2012
Marcus Jeter, a 30-year-old man from New Jersey, was charged with eluding
police, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on an officer. He faced at
least five years in prison.

Here is what happened. Police responded to a domestic violence call at
Jeter`s home. No charges were filed and Jeter says he left the home after
speaking with officers. In a dash cam video handed over to authorities you
can see police pulling Jeter over shortly afterwards. As the first police
officer approaches Jeter`s car he pulls out his gun. The other officer is
holding a shotgun. They begin screaming at Jeter to get out of his
vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the car. Get out the car. Get out of the
(EXPLETIVE DELETED) car.

MARCUS JETER, EXONERATED BY SECOND DASH CAM VIDEO: I did nothing wrong. I
did nothing wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands up. (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Get out the
car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.

JETER: I did nothing wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.

JETER: I did nothing wrong, Officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t go for my gun. Don`t go for my gun. Get out.
Stop resisting. Stop resisting.

JETER: I`m not resisting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you trying to get my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) gun?
Get off my gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Police claimed Jeter grabbed for their guns then he resisted
arrests. But no prosecutors say a second dash cam video has come to life
and it seems to show a very different story.

This video is from a second police car that arrived on the scene and
slammed into Jeter`s car. That crash was not mentioned in any police
reports. And in this video you can clearly see Jeter`s hands are up in the
air. He does not appear to be resisting arrest. But that doesn`t stop one
of the officers from later hitting Jeter repeatedly, even after he is
handcuffed. The officer hit Jeter in the back of the head.

As soon as prosecutors saw the second video with Jeter`s hands in the air
they dismissed all charges against him. And now two of those police
officers have been indicted on conspiracy and misconduct charges. One
officer was also charged with aggravated assault. Both have pleaded not
guilty.

Marcus Jeter was an innocent man facing five years in prison. If that
second video had never been made public he might be behind bars today.

Joining me now is Marcus Jeter and his lawyer, Steven Brown.

Thank you both for being here.

Marcus, let me start with you. Are you still shocked at how close you came
to spending five years or more in jail?

JETER: Yes, I am. I am still in disbelief. You know, I go back and forth
in my mind thinking, you know, what would I be doing right now, you know,
had that second tape not come to light.

SHARPTON: When -- I mean, how did the prosecutors learn about the second
dash cam video?

JETER: Well, we were actually -- me and my lawyer were actually going over
paperwork. And he noticed a log, a video log that was in the discovery.
And when you look at the video log it shows that there were three cars that
were at the scene, two of them had video running. And each video was
signed by a detective that, you know, when I guess they take it out the
car.

SHARPTON: So this video, the second video, Attorney Brown, was listed but
in their investigation they never looked at the video?

STEPHEN BROWN, JETER`S ATTORNEY: The prosecutor`s office claimed that they
didn`t have a second video. So we made several attempts to get it from the
prosecutor`s office while the case was pending. They didn`t release it so
we filed a over request directly with the township. I think they
inadvertently gave it to us. I don`t think they intended to give it to us
but they did give it to us and that ultimately exonerated Mr. Jeter.

SHARPTON: So you had requested from the prosecutor the second video.

BROWN: Yes.

SHARPTON: And they kept saying they didn`t have it.

BROWN: They were unable to obtain it from the police department.

SHARPTON: But you were able to obtain it?

BROWN: Yes.

SHARPTON: Now that is very interesting. When they told you to get out the
car, when they first pulled over, why didn`t you get out the car?

JETER: Because they had guns drawn.

SHARPTON: So when they tell you to get out the car you are looking at one
officer with a gun and another with a shotgun.

JETER: A shotgun. Yes.

SHARPTON: And as -- Attorney Brown, as they were saying stop going for my
gun, I mean, what was all of that about?

BROWN: A cover-up to cover up their actions, we believe. There was no
justification for the stop. There was no crime that he had committed, no
charges had been filed. So we don`t understand why they pursued him.
Everything that they said in all of their charges were false.

SHARPTON: Now let me play this sound again because this I found very
interesting. Listen to them as they say stop going for my gun. I want you
to explain what you think was happening here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t go for my gun. Don`t go for my gun. Get down.
Stop resisting. Stop resisting. Why you trying to get my (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) gun? Get off my gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Were you going for a gun or were you resisting while they were
saying that?

JETER: No. I wasn`t.

SHARPTON: So what was the yelling all about, Attorney Brown?

BROWN: We were trying to find that out from the police as we prosecute
this case.

SHARPTON: So they are just yelling things that`s not happening and then
the second video shows that that in fact wasn`t happening because your
hands was in the air?

JETER: Yes.

SHARPTON: What -- I mean, what is -- what did it feel like, you are there
being hit and being accused of doing something that was not going on? I
mean, what was running through your head?

JETER: Well, in the time of it happening when -- it just felt like it was
just so programmed, you know, almost like, you know, they practiced it or
was rehearsed, you know. Because my hands were up the whole time and he`s
reaching over my lap to take my seat belt off and his elbow meet my jaw
he`s saying stop trying to take my gun, stop trying to take my gun. You
know, and I just felt like they were setting the stage.

Now whether they were setting the stage for the convictions and all the
charges that they charge me with.

SHARPTON: Right.

JETER: Or they were setting the stage for a little bit -- something more
serious, you know, like possibly murder. Because the actuality of it all
is had one of the other officers felt like maybe I was trying to grab this
officer`s gun, you know, it could have ended very bad. You know.

SHARPTON: A lot of people around the country have no idea of situations
like this. And let me say, I don`t agree all police are bad, I don`t
believe most are, but this is inconceivable to them which is why this tape
becomes important, Attorney Brown, so they will understand that there are
just situations that are bad and that people are not making these things
up.

BROWN: One of the things that comes out of this is the importance of
having video cameras running at all times during these stops and
investigations. But for the fact that the tape came to surface this man
would probably be in jail today.

SHARPTON: You know, this is incredible story, Marcus. What do you say the
police now are -- two of them are indicted? What do you say to those that
are watching this tape that they should take away from your story? What is
the lesson you hope that is taken away by the average citizen that watches
this?

JETER: Well, I just would hope that the average citizen -- anybody that
goes through the situation, you know, you got to stay calm. You know you
got to -- it`s kind of hard. And, you know, you don`t -- you can prepare
for something and it won`t affect you until you actually are in a
situation. You know, it`s almost like a person is dying of cancer. You
know, your family member. You`re prepared for them to die but you don`t
actually know how you will handle it until that day comes. You know.

SHARPTON: Yes.

JETER: So, I mean, in that situation I don`t want anybody to ever have to
be in that situation but if you are I just say stay calm. You know, try
your best, you know, and pray.

SHARPTON: That`s all you can do. And then after prayers are answered
fight for justice and hopefully something like what happened with this
second tape can happen to others.

Marcus Jeter and Steven Brown, thank you for -- thank you both for your
time tonight.

JETER: Thank you, Rev.

BROWN: You`re welcome, Rev.

SHARPTON: Ahead, blocking the vote. Early voting on Sunday banned in Ohio
and Democrats are fighting back.

Plus, the first lady`s Let`s Move campaign against childhood obesity has
had star power behind it. Today there`s a lot to celebrate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: We`re celebrating some great news tonight. The obesity rate for
young kids is dropping. Federal health authorities report it`s down 43
percent in the last decade. About 8 percent of 2 to 5-year-olds were obese
in 2012, down from 14 percent in 2004.

It`s been four years since the First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off her
Let`s Move campaign and the president established a task force on childhood
obesity. And over the years she`s encouraged kids to lead active and
healthy lifestyles with the help of some star power.

Yesterday she did the Zumba with Mario Lopez. And who can forget mob
dancing with Jimmy Fallon. Or dunking with LeBron James while encouraging
kids to eat healthy food. She brought Elmo to the White House to help
harvest her garden. She led a focus group with Will Ferrell to ask kids
about their favorite fruits and veggies and she even did this skit on the
"Tonight Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: I do try to exercise every day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really? Because I think exercise is ewe.

OBAMA: Exercise is not ewe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: All this star power has gone towards some amazing progress. But
there is still work to be done. The study also showed blacks and Hispanics
suffer much higher levels of obesity compared with whites. But let`s all
keep moving in the right direction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Finally tonight, the battle to protect voting rights. On this
night in 1965 civil rights activist Jimmy Lee Jackson died of gunshot
wounds inflicted by an Alabama state trooper. The shots were fired during
a peaceful protest and Jackson was unarmed.

To protest his death civil rights leaders organized the first march from
Selma to Montgomery. It became known as Bloody Sunday after police used
tear gas and belly clubs on protesters.

The national outrage over these images helped build support for the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. The right to vote was won by blood and sacrifice. But
today it is under attack.

Ohio`s Republican Secretary of State John Houston announced he will
eliminate early voting on weekday evenings. It means many won`t be able to
vote after work. He also completely is eliminating early voting on
Sundays. This is proportionally affect black voters who often vote in the
Souls to the Polls drives after church services.

This is blatant voter suppression in the country`s most pivotal swing
state. But we got the right to vote because people sacrificed. Our votes
were soaked in the blood of martyrs and we will not let them take them
without fighting firmly and nonviolently to protect what others made sure
we had.

Thanks for watching. I`m Al Sharpton. "HARDBALL" starts right now.



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

Transcription Copyright 2014 ASC LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is
granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not
reproduce or redistribute the material except for user`s personal or
internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall
user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may
infringe upon MSNBC and ASC LLC`s copyright or other proprietary rights or
interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of
litigation.>