Transcripts For MSNBCW The Reid Report 20140908

Aeffect waited back then . I would say a couple things about that. The United States has been engaged in an effort to support them. We have been for some time. For more than a year, at least. Separately, the concern that was expressed by the administration at the time and has been its something thats been oft repeated is a concern that we didnt want to provide assistance to every individual who said that they were fighting bashar al assad. Had we done that without thoroughly vetting them and building the kind of relationship thats necessary to understand who were providing weapons to, we would have inadvertently provided weapons to the very people were now fighting in iraq. So, there was a question of who exactly was included in the Syrian Opposition and which of those elements were interested in putting in place a government that actually reflected the will and diversity of the syrian people. And which of those were members of the opposition who were actually extremists who were hoping to use the power vacuum thats been created by this civil war in syria to try to carry out their own vision of an islamic caliphate in this region. So, the reason the administration was interested in carefully vetting the individuals who are part of the Syrian Opposition is because we wanted to make sure our assistance was landing in the hands of the people who were trying to create a government that reflected the will of the syrian people. Not to create an islamic caliphate that was carrying out acts of violence throughout the region. So, this this challenge of vetting the opposition certainly contributed to the to the policy of this administration to ramp up our assistance to that opposition over time. After we had established some relationships and had the opportunity to vet these individuals and get a better sense of what their intentions actually were. John . Reporter josh, jeff asked you a series of very direct questions. I didnt hear a direct answer. So, can you ill try again. Reporter please help me with a yes or no. Ill try. Reporter does the president intend to ask congress for authorization to expand his campaign against isil . Well, i think reporter just a yes or no. The president was asked this direct question reporter he didnt give a direct answer. Seriously. I dont know what buy in. I covered congress for years. I dont know what you mean by congressional buy in. That would imply a vote on something, a vote on appropriations or Congress Resolution or some kind of a vote. Is that what you want from congress on this, a vote, yes or no . Again, if you want to get insight into the president s current thinking about this, then i would refer you to the answer that he gave to chuck in the interview 48 hours ago. But the other thing i would point out, thats also a part of your question is, if the president decides to expand the operation and these are the kinds of questions that are best answered after the president has made some fundamental decisions about what he wants to do there. That, you know, if there is an expansion in the operation that takes place, what consequences are there for a whole range of things . For our diplomatic relationships . What kind of as answer are we going to seek from our partners . What kind of assistance would we seek from regional governments . What role does congress have . So, its heart to hard to unless were talking about a specific order from the president , its hard to talk in very specific terms about what we Want Congress to do. As a general matter what i can say is that the president is interested in their buy in, is interested in a congressional debate, and is interested in consulting closely with leaders in congress so that they feel bought into this process and they feel like the partners they actually are, as the elected representatives of the American People. Reporter remember, the president did make a decision on air strikes of syria under very different circumstances, previously in his decision at that point was that he needed congressional authorization or that he wanted congressional authorization. If he were to go in that direction again, and decide that some kind of an extended air campaign against isil targets in syria were necessary, safe to assume you would have the same view, that he would need congressional authorization . The situation from last year is a little different from the situation this year. The situation last year was related specifically to the issue of chemical weapons being used by assad regime against the syrian people. The situation right now is is related directly to the protection of american citizens in the region. The president does believe that he has all of the authority necessary, as commander in chief of the United States, to order the kind of military action thats necessary to protect american citizens. Including strikes in syria . Again, if there is an expansion, if there is an expansion of the president s military orders or if there is an expansion of the scope of operations that the president s willing to consider, at the point the president s made that decision, we can start making decisions about what sort of congressional role or authorization is required, if any. Reporter give me a sense on the timeline for a decision on this. Something the president s considering right now . Is this something we should expect in the next day or two . Or is this something over we will say when you say this reporter the decision on whether or not to expand military operations. Well, the president has been regularly consulting with his National Security team for weeks now. And when they are having these meet lgz, theyre talking about our broader strategy for confronting the threat by isil. There are a range of developments weve discussed quite a few times here, our dipdi diplomacies with iraqis. Theyve made progress and were hoping this week theyll make additional important progress in forming a cabinet. There are theres important work thats being done by the secretary of state. Hes traveling to the region this week where hes going to be consulting with regional governments. I think the president was pretty powerful in explaining the role that these governments in the region have and the stake they have in resolving this conflict. The president highlighted that so often these sunnidominated governments perceive shialed governments as the principle threat to their ability to lead their country and to remade in power. Its the president s view, and i think that theres some justification for this based on the facts on the ground, they face a greater threat from more extremist sunni elements that have demonstrated significant capacity to wreak havoc in nir region. Theres diplomatic effort to engage the International Community here. There is there are a number of intelligence efforts the president has already ordered. Weve talked quite a bit about how the president at the beginning of this situation ordered an increase in intelligence assets to get a better sense of what sort of to get a better sense of what actually was happening on the ground and to better assess the capability of both isil but also Iraqi Security forces. But also, as you point out, theres the other element to the strategy, the use of military force. That is part of the strategy. But the reason im running through this long list here is to illustrate to you that there are this broad strategy the president has put in place to deal with this is something regularly discussed among his team. Theyre discussing every element of this strategy at every meeting. In his speech wednesday first of all, a prime time address or daytime speech . Were still working through the logistics of the speech the president wants to give. Well give you more details when we know. Reporter is it the purpose of the speech to announce a new phase in this military operation or to outline what he has already outlined in different venues in the interview over the weekend, the press conferences on his last trip, what his strategy is. These are the isil the speech isnt written so i dont want to get ahead of a speech that isnt written. Reporter is it to explain what hes doing or something new . I wouldnt rule out there might be something new in the speech. The principle goal is to make sure people understand what the clear stake is for the American People in our nation in this ongoing violence were seeing in iraq and syria. He also wants to describe what sort of tools are at the disposal of the American Government as they try to protect our interests and our people in the region. And the president wants to have epts to try to lay that out clearly. Does that mean the president will have something new to say in the speech . Ill wait until the speech is written before i guess where hes going to end up. Major . Reporter you were asked a moment ago, as president decided to expand the air war in syria, you said the president will go wherever is necessary. That sounded like a very near confirmation [ inaudible ] no. If the president made a decision like this to expand military operations, you can expect the president would announce that decision. Not just little old me. Its a statement of the president s view, in terms of what authority he has a commander in chief to confront these challenges. The president is determined to act where necessary to protect american citizens. Both in the region, but here in the homeland. The president s demonstrated a willingness to do that on a number of occasions already. And that principle that principle continues to apply in this situation as well. Reporter its not a matter of whether, its just a matter of timing . Well, again, if and when the president has made a decision on long these lines, it will be something the president wants. Reporter wednesdays speech . No, the purpose of the president s speech on wednesday is broader than that. Military action is one element of our strategy. The president has this integrated strategy that relies very heavily on americas forceful diplomatic myight and range of other as spets we have at our disposal. Reporter lets say for the sake of argument, im an american who watched president s press conference and watched the interview yesterday. After seeing wednesdays speech, will i say to myself, wow, theres like 70 brand new, or is it going to be like 91 that is a particularly creative way to ask that question. I think what i would say if i would encourage that american citizen youre describing to tune into the speech and evaluate for themselves just how surprised they are by the president s speech. Reporter can you give us Something Better than that. I cant. Its early at this point. Reporter its mostly what weve heard before. Might be something new. I mean, is it to try to gather the American Peoples attention and say, in case you havent heard, heres what im thinking about, heres the context, but this isnt a declarative speech on how im going to ratchet up this conflict to a higher military level and i need congress to approve it and heres how much its going to cost and the timeline ive put together to envision achieving goals x, y and z. Were still a couple day as way from the speech so im not in a position to provide Additional Guidance to you with what the president may or may not say. Well have the opportunity to try this sgen tomorrow and maybe ill be a little more prepared. Look, the president and his team are working on the speech as we speak. Im probably overcommitting myself now. But i will try to provide a little greater insight for you and your viewers about what the president intends to talk about on wednesday. Reporter i want to follow up on immigration for a second. I want to be clear. What the president decided on saturday is he wouldnt take any action until after the november election, right . What the president said reporter is he going to revisit the entire question of taking executive action until after the election . Because to my mind and many advocates who have been pushing for this, theyre very different things. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to clarify this, to the extent there is any ambiguity here. The president will take executive action within the confines of the law to fix those aspects of the broken immigration system that hes able to fix before the end of the year. And that is a decision he has made. That is something that will occur. Now, some of the static, you might say, in the media over the weekend, was related to the president s earlier commitment to acting before the end of the summer. What the president will has decided is he will act now before the end of the year. The president has not in any way altered his commitment or interest in taking executive action, again, within the confines of the law, to solve to act where congress hasnt. More specifically, to act where Congressional Republicans have blocked congressional action. And the president s commitment to acting on this before the end of the year has not changed. He said yesterday the reason for that is because he needs to explained to American People. Why does he need until the end of the year to explain something . Isnt it true that the dominant factor, if you want to call it static, was static from Senate Democrats saying, this is a maybe a good idea . Maybe you think its a good idea. Its terrible politics for us. We want you to wait until after the election. The president clearly doesnt need nine weeks to explain this to the American People. If you wanted to explain it, he could explain it, just like hes going to try to explain the strategy on wednesday. Seems to me the only rational explanation for this is intervening Midterm Election and democrats do not want to take this on in the tooeft an already tough environment. The reason the president has made the decision to delay his announcement about executive actions hes going to take is specifically because he is concerned mostly about ensuring the solution that he offers is both sustainable and enduring. Reporter if its an executive action, it is sustaining, by definition, until the end of his presidency. He doesnt have to worry about congress. Thats the whole point. What the. The wants to do is ensure all the work thats been done over the last several years to build this powerful Bipartisan Coalition in support of Immigration Reform is sustained. And by injecting an executive action in the midst of this hyperpartisan, hyperpolitical environment shortly before the midterms, that will have a negative impact on the broader public support and on the sustainability of Immigration Reform. So, the president s i guess the short answer to your question is, the president s willing to take a little political heat from the pundits, from some of the advocates in the Hispanic Community in particular, in order to ensure that the policy that he puts forward is one that can be sustained. And the fact is, we havent seen a similar willingness from Congressional Republicans to take a little heat to do whats in the best interest of the country. In fact, weve seen Congressional Republicans do exactly the opposite. Theyve been in a situation where they dont want to take any political heat, even though they know that acting on bipartisan Immigration Reform would create jobs, it would expand economic growth, would reduce the deficit. Thats why its strongly supported by the faith community, by the Law Enforcement community, by the business community, by the labor community. These are all reasons why comprehensive Immigration Reform should move forward. Thats why it passed with bipartisan support in the senate. Theres a small but vocal group among Congressional Republicans in the house of representatives who are blocking this kind of reform. Thats the only reason were having this question right now. Reporter hes not going to do what he said he was going to on the timeline he said he was going to do as an act of kourng . Well, what the president has done look, major, its not a surprise to anybody at the white house, certainly isnt a surprise to me, i wont speak for my colleagues. Its not a surprise to me there were some people in the newspaper over the weekend critical of the president s decision to to announce these executive actions before the end of the year as opposed to before the end of the summer. That criticism was not a surprise. That criticism was anticipated. But the president is willing to take on that criticism so that we can ensure that the executive action that the president takes is sustained, its enduring and we continue to have public support for it. Look, for all of the disagreement there may be around this one issue, there should be no disputing the fact that injecting this issue into the current political environment would be really bad for the issue. Theres no disagreement about whether or not well, maybe it would help some democrats. Maybe it would hurt some others. Maybe it would galvanize base democratic voters, maybe provoke republican candidates into doing things like shutting down the government to benefit democrats. Theres a lot of views on what impact this can have on individual races but theres no arguing that injecting this issue into this sharply political polarized environment would be bad for the issue. And the president believes ultimately that thats the most important thing. That making progress on this issue is the most important thing. No one in washington, d. C. Has invested more in trying to get this done than president barack obama. And if that means the president s to take on a little more heat until we announce our decision, in order to make it more likely that these solutions will be enduring and sustained and successful, the president s happy to take on that heat in order to get that done. Reporter thank you. Lets move around a little bit. Justin . Reporter i want to follow up on that and argue with the idea that thats why were here. Reporter injecting it into the current Political Climate is bad for the issue. I mean, we just went through a year ago saying time and again House Republicans havent moved on the issue. It seems legislatively dead in every possible way. So, the only x factor out here seems to be control the senate. I wonder if you can explain explicitly why an executive action would make if it were to come this week, would be less enduring than one that happens five weeks from now, if its not what i think were all dancing around, which is that it helps Senate Democrats to retain control of the chamber . The reason that Immigration Reform over the last five years has made so much progress reporter has it made progress . Well, it passed senate with bipartisan support. Every democrat in the house voted for it. We know we havent tested the proposition but everybody in here let me know if you disagree, but i think know would stipulate this would also pass bipartisan support with bipartisan majority, the president would certainly sign it. Thats evidence of significant progress. I mean, its not ancient history to cite the experience of 2006, where you had democrats and republicans on both sides of the issue. Reluctant to engage in a debate about it, let alone reluctant to vote for it. So, so we have made a lot of progress over the last five years. The reason for that is twofold. The first is, its become clear what the facts are. The facts are that it would be good for job creation. It would be good for economic growth. It would reduce the deficit. So, the facts are clear about why congress should take action on this. The second thing is, a lot of difficult work was done to find common ground. Thats difficult in this town. Thanks to dutiful efforts of this administration, democrats and republicans in the senate, they brokered common sense and coupled a proposal that would do good for the country. Meant neither side got everything they wanted but they were able to arrive at a piece of legislation that everybody acknowledges would be really good for the country. So, there is painstaking work that was put into striking that compromise. What we have also seen in the context of these Midterm Elections is a pretty gross distortion about the facts of our immigration system. Reporter will that change after the election . What will change is well be past it. I dont think any think about it, justin, i dont think any republican candidates right now are contemplating a sixfigure ad buy the third week in november. Are they . If they are, i hope theyll spend their money that way, but theyre not going to. So, the tone and heightened nature of the debate will just be different. Will will still be republicans against common sense Immigration Reform . Yes. I readily agree that will be the case. But will they be in less of a position to distort the facts about what that position actually is . Yeah, i think they will. [ inaudible ] the reason the president feels confident about well, ill take that in two ways. The first is, we want to preserve the strong public support that currently exists for Immigration Reform. Right . That weve worked hard in painstaking fashion to couple together this coalition of democrats and republicans in washington, d. C. And Business Leaders and labor leaders and faith leaders and leaders in the Law Enforcement community all across the country in support of this proposal. But buy injecting it into the highly charged political debate six or eight weeks before the Midterm Elections is to subject this issue to gross distortion and partisanship that could alter that balance. We dont want to do that. That means the president is willing to take on a little heat and be criticized by certainly by republicans but even by members of his own party in order to protect the issue. Ultimately, that is the goal. Weve said for quite some time, the president s goal is solving problems. Not just playing politics. Reporter just press secretary josh earnest taking sustained volley of questions. Number one if president will go to congress for authorization to go into syria to pursue terrorist isis and if the president errored from walking away from executive action on immigration and why he did that before the midterms where politics is at play. Peter alexander joins me now from the white house. Quite a briefing. Sustained volley of questioning. Very persistent questioning from the White House Press corps. Lets start with the isis question. Is there anything coming out of the white house now that gives you a sense of the answer to one of the questions that was in that briefing . Whether there will be anything new in the statement that the president will make to the country on wednesday . Reporter well, i think jay made it clear its unclear if well hear anything clear tomorrow, to put it clearly, right . I spoke to Senior Administration officials and theyre telling me the president wants to use this platform on wednesday to try to put this argument in the most spre comprehensive and clear terms he has so far. What we have not heard is whether or not the president will indicate his intentions to launch air strikes in syria. But today jay was very vague saying basically the president believes he has the authority to do whatever is necessary as concern to any threat that may be presented to american citizens or basically american personnel in that region or here in the United States. The Senior Administration official also said to me that were there to be air strikes in syria, the Top Priorities would include some of the locations where weapons are housed. They would include some of the training sites that exist in that country. And also the leadership. I took that to mean, clearly the drones that have been flying over syria in recent days and weeks have been gathering up the intelligence in advance of the president s decision to be made. We just dont know whether, in fact, the president will communicate that very clearly to the American Public on wednesday or whether or not hes still going to hold that out as basically a card as he says he can do whatever is necessary, wherever that would be. Peter, just in talking to your sources, i think whats not clear, and maybe the reason that briefing went on so long, is the white house is saying they all the president already has the authority to go into syria, to conduct air strikes. Then what is it that the president and the white house is seeking from congress . Is it authorization . Is it affirmation . What exactly does the president want from congress . Reporter you put it very clearly right there. Thats what were trying to figure out right now. It seems like what josh earnest was saying, if the president decides he wants to launch air strikes in syria, then he will decide if he believes he needs Congressional Authority in terms of some form of a vote. It was that idea of the phrase buy in we heard the president use, josh earnest use, were trying to get a better understanding of right now. Beyond that, its important to note the president is going to communicate to the two democratic and two Republican Leaders of the house and senate what he described as intensive consultations. But hell be visiting with them to give them a better lay of the land about what he intends to announce on wednesday. Even as josh said that, he acknowledged the speech is not yet written. Theyre writing it as we speak. Peter alexander, thanks very much. During an interview on sunday with chuck todd, host of meet the press, the president said there will be no american boots on the ground. But he used some familiar american wartime president type language when he voeed to, quote, hunt down the terrorist Group Responsible for the beheading of two american journalists along with major conquests in iraq and syria. Over the course of months we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of isil. We are going to systematically degrade their cants, shrink the territory they control and ultimately were going to defeat them. Let me bring in dana milbank, Political Columnist for the washington post. Have you to help me square that circle. You have the bellicose language, the hunt them down language were getting from the president. A long way from where he was before. Today you have josh earnest hedging his bets about what it is the white house is trying to do to de grade isis. Is it going into syria . If so, do they think congress has a role to play. Is this confusing or are we not listening to the white house properly . It is confusing and the president needs to do a bit of a delicate dance here if he goes out and presents something very specific in terms of his plan. Well, then, it can be criticized up on the hill. If its not specific enough, you get the kind of criticism that he was getting a couple of weeks ago, that it sounded weak, that he he didnt quite mean what he said when he said we dont have a strategy. But that did him a good bit of damage. What he needs to do on wednesday is sound tough, as he has been doing. Hes been getting some plaudits from democrats and republicans alike on that. He has to thread the needle between laying out anything too specific there they can chew up on capitol hill. But also avoid the other extreme of just being vague, as he had been before. So, it is very difficult. You know what, if its confusing to understand sort of what the white houses strategy is, the congressional confusing is even greater because you have certain members of congress, senator bill nelson, the latest victim of isis was from florida, so senator nelson potentially introducing legislation that would explicitly thoers going into syria. You have these different points of view from people saying, yes, we need to take specific action, including darrell issa getting involved in that. Is there any cohesive, even majority coming out of congress as to what they want to see done . Joy, you have trouble getting a cohesive majority to say the pledge of allegiance or the opening prayer these days. No, of course theres not now. This president , like virtually every president the last 30 years, 40 years, december and republic democrat and republican, he will say he has the inherent constitutional ability to do that. Theres a case for that. He can postpone the reckoning in congress. Certainly, the president would like to have affirmation from congress with a vote. The first time in syria, when he dropped the ball in congresss court there, they couldnt do anything, couldnt agree on anything. Then the United States looks weaker. He doesnt want to say, please authorize a specific conflict. Even though they agree in principle, theres so much dithering and incompetence they cant agree. Even when congress appears to be chickens running around in the dark, the arc of the country always moves toward war in these situations. Lets get a question about the second part of that press conference, which is the immigration. The decision that the white house made to delay executive action was supposed to be a healing move. It was supposed to bring down the temperature on capitol hill. But it seems like its kind of done the opposite. It may have brought down the temperature on the republican side. They were ready to pounce and go after vulnerable Senate Democrats because of that. The problem is the president is now deepened the problem with his base, the immigration activists who have been demanding action. Not just for months, but for years. Its been stalled and stalled. Largely by republicans in congress. And i think the president made his situation a bit worse by saying hell take action by the end of the summer. So he backed himself into a corner now. So, he may well be a shortterm shrewd political move but at the cost of goodwill among his supporters. Dana milbank, thanks for hang around. We just learned Baltimore Ravens terminated ray rices contract after new footage evolved in the Domestic Violence allegation. Well have much more on that. Today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. If youve had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Over 12,000 financial advisors. So, how are things . Good, good. Nearly 800 billion dollars in assets under care. Let me just put this away. How did edward jones get so big . Could you teach our kids that trick . By not acting that way. Ok, last quarter. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. So ally bank really has no hidden fethats right. Accounts . Its just that im worried about you know hidden things. Ok, whys that . No hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. Lets go to that breaking news out of maryland. Ravens just terminated ray rices contract, in the wake of new calls for harsher punishment of the nfl star for beating up his thenfiancee back in february. A tweet from ravens official account moments ago reads, the ravens terminated ray rices contract this afternoon. The termination comes after new Surveillance Video has been released by tmz sports. I want to warn you, it is disturbing. Inside an Atlantic City Hotel Elevator you see ray rice and fiancee involved in an altercation. Rice then delivers a blow that leaves her unconscious on the floor. He then drags her body into the hallway, picks up her shoe and gives her body a little kick with his foot. As the New York Times points out rice was charged with felony assault in march, but after she declined to testify against his her, they were recommended for counseling. Roger goodell succespended him two games. They just upped it to six game minimum suspension. In addition to calls for stronger punishment, today the nfl says, quote, the video was not made available to us and no one in our office had seen it today. Dave zire, and jamel hill is cohost of two numbers never lie and i want to get everybodys reaction to the decision by the nfl to suspend ray rice. I think a lot of people right now will probably rush to give the Baltimore Ravens credit as if they, you know, had any kind of moral high ground here. Personally, like a lot of people, i find it very difficult to believe the nfl or the ravens knew the full extent of what happened. This is a league a couple years ago where wide receiver dez bryant of the dallas cowboys, an nfl gm asked him if his mother was a prostitute. They make it their policy as a league to know everything about the background of players, especially when when it involves criminal incidents. I dont understand how the nfl nor the ravens could be in the dark for this. Until i find out more on that end, i am absolutely not in the camp of giving the reiavens cret as if they deserve praise for doing something they should have done in the first place. Goldie taylor, how do they think she wound up unconscious . It begs the question, whether or not, first of all, if the police were involved . They were. There was an investigation. You have to believe there was a way for the nfl to discover there was something more to the video than there was that they saw before. Is it a good enough sdus for the nfl to say, hey, we just learned about this video on tmz . I agree with jemele. I believe they did know. In fact, a spokesperson for the nfl pushed the lie that somehow this woman assaulted ray rice before she was hit. They said there were mitigating circumstances. Now that tape has come out, a tape im certain they believed never would come out, now that its come out, they suspended ray rice. This should have been done a long time ago. He should have been up for a oneyear suspension or banned from the nfl from jump. But i dont believe, given the reporting ive seen today, that this is the first that the nfl or the ravens have seen of this tape, given how they characterized it back when this happened. Dave, we had a real debate in our morning meeting today about whether or not even to show that clip. I know that you have strong feelings against really having that tape out there. Isnt it the case that had that not come out, the nfl would have continued this fiction that they did all they could do in terms of punishing ray rice . Well, then shame on us, goldie im sorry, jemele and joy. Shame on us we need to actually see the videotape of her getting knocked unconscious to realize violence against women took place in that elevator. Shame on ravens for treating violence against women like an exercise in public relations. Shame on the nfl for being so untrustworthy, whether were talking about concussions, players health, now women, when no one believes them when they say they havent seen this tape before. Shame on us for not actually thinking about janay rice at the moment and what its doing to her that the videotape was released and now rereleased. We were yu set about the celebrities having their accounts hacked and clicking on the nude photos. With this video out there, how does that serve janay rice . Thats a valid point. We showed it one time. We dont to want run it over and over again. I think that is a good point. You know, goldie, i want to play another video i think was just as disturbing in a lot of ways. And it was the video of janay and ray rice together, a press conference they had together on may 23rd. I think this is equally disturbing in a lot of ways. I dont call myself a failure. Failure is not getting knocked down and not getting up. I regret the role i played in the incident that night. I can say im happy that we continued to work through it together and we are continuing to strengthen our relationship and our marriage. I mean, we didnt have the whole tape. Theres a part in the middle where he says, unbelievably, he says failure is not getting knocked down. Its about getting back up. The look on her face, the look on her face. Then she apologizes like she was at fault. The basic dynamic of the violence that to me was apparent in that clip. How does the nfl make any sort of excuse for not being able to see it on her face how much of a victim she was . You know, joy, i wont litigate their relationship. Im not in it. But ive been there. Ive been the apologist, the person that covered for him. He said he was okay, he was my man and he loved me. So, ive been there. What i will say is that this nfl commissioner questioned that victim in the presence of her attacker. That defies every moral code yes. Around Domestic Violence that has ever been written. So, that is malfeasance in and of itself. If anybody ought to be suspended tonight f anybody ought to have a sit down for a game or two, it ought to be Roger Goodell. Is there any reason why this young woman should have been made to attend a press conference at which she then apologized for her part in an incident in which she was beaten . Thats why i think a lot of people, and rightfully so, myself included, are very sickened by the Baltimore Ravens. They put on this sham of a press conference, and goldie is right. Anybody with a basic knowledge or understanding of Domestic Violence knows that you would never put a victim, an abused woman, in that position. It brins forth to what i think will be maybe a problem Going Forward with these strengthened Domestic Violence policies. The policy as it stands is basically putting the victim in the position where they are burdened with justice on the person who is abusing them. And thats a very big problem because thats what happened with hadder. What is she supposed to say . She has a child with this man. Shes probably worried about the financial ramifications of it. Of course shes going to take Roger Goodell she hopes he doesnt take away her husbands livelihood. Unfortunately, thats a very real situation that the nfl has to understand about what theyre doing to victims by putting them in this awkward position with their attackers. Dave, i can see you want to get in. Just that i agree with jemele so much. Youre putting these women in the position of actually undermining their own economic security. I mean, theres no privacy. Theres no confidentiality. All there is punishment. Thats the nfl responding with im upset about this, because its the same mass cue lynnist reaction to Domestic Violence causes it in the first place. Big daddy Roger Goodell will come in with his big foot and make everything okay. Big bully gets little bully. Thats not how you stop Domestic Violence. You need to have a discussion about how to mend women, how to get women to get out if they want out and the power to navigate their own relationship. The statistics are horrifying. 25 of women who are killed by their partner are killed after they leave their partner. 65 of abusive situations take place after they leave. These situations are incredibly difficult for these women to negotiate. The idea the nfl would make it harder for these women to negotiate these situations is really disturbing. Yeah, its pretty unbelievable. Stay with us. Important conversation. Were going to continue right after the break. 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Roger goodell, they put out a tweet in which they said Roger Goodell announced based on new Video Evidence that became available today, he indefinitely suspended ray rice. New Video Evidence, is it disingenuous . Ill start with you, jemele, to take this action and say its based on new evidence when this is essentially part two of the same evidence they had before . I think it is disingenuous, as has been pointed out, i think our legal analyst here at espn said it best, what do they think happened in that elevator that would lead to her being unconscious . Clearly and for him to take a plea bargain, thats an admitance of violence. I think for Roger Goodell, hes admitted hes wrong in print and maybe i dont know, maybe he didnt see this video and theres been conflicting reports. Our own Chris Mortenson reported few months ago some in the nfl brass had seen the video. If they had, im wondering, how did this not get to the commissioner, a man who prides himself knowing the ins and outs of this league. Whether it was new England Patriots with spygate, michael vick, he has made it his business to know when the nfl brand, when that is being compromised, to know everything he knows about that situation. So, even if the police for some reason did not provide the nfl with that video, we all know, there are more video cameras in casinos than virtually anywhere else. So, why wouldnt you as the commissioner, if you didnt have this video, ask for it anyway . Dave, lets take a step back. We do have an overall question of the culture. And whether its college players, High School Players accused of something horrible but still put on the field, you know, almost sort of race horse style. The most important thing is they are allowed to play. What about this larger picture of the nfl as a place where you can actually be adjudicated in a case of Domestic Violence, have the police come to your door, be arrested and not have an immediate suspension, longer than two games, at least until the legalities play out . How much power take a step back. How much power are people comfortable with the nfl and Roger Goodell with having over their players lives . How does that actually, once again, lets go back to janay rice. How does is that help the women in question . How does it help them navigate Domestic Violence to know to come forward could mean a sixgame suspension, lifetime ban, the hammer coming down on them and their lives . These are really important questions. Ill tell you, the nfls slow jemele heard me say this is before. Always seem to be, hate the player, dont hate the game. Now all the criticism gets to be focused on ray rice. Hes the person whos put out there. No discussion about the history of Domestic Violence in the nfl and how the nfl has not dealt with it in the past. Theres no discussion about, i have to say this name, Javon Belcher who took his own life in 2012 after taking the life of his own child. He took his life in front of his own coach. I said they should cancel games that sunday because of the gravity of what took place. Roger goodell did nothing. Plausible deniability. Thats the most disturbing part of this, its only an issue because it was caught on tape. Goldie, now the thing is you do have this is couple now cut off essentially from the league and from whatever assistance might have been there in terms of medical, in terms of social services help, in terms of Mental Health counseling. And is it the answer, then, to simply, as dave said, hate the player, dont hate the game . So cut loose the player. Cut loose the family. Because this woman is still in the situation. Now essentially, not that were going to presume what will happen, but now shes in the middle of the reason why her husband is no longer playing football. Well, two things first, joy. You know, to daves point, lets call her name. Her name was casey perkins. Javon belcher killed casey perkins. She has a name. Lets back up and talk about what our responsibility is. Who is the d. A. Who did not see a clear case of aggravated assault inside of an elevator and charge this player with it . Charge this human being with that . Why was he eligible for Diversionary Program in the first place . So, yes, there is a responsibility by the nfl not to put, you know, their rove new before the lives of human being but theres also a responsibility of the District Attorney in this case to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. While someone is clearly engaged in aggravated assault is in a Diversionary Program is beyond me. I want to bring in mike florio from nbcsports. Com. Inopportune time for the nfl to get this aired because theyre not getting any kudos for this move. Talk about this affect on the game and on the league. The league should be basking in the glow of what was a very successful Opening Sunday of the regular season. We all knew inevitably, eventually, the video of what happened in that elevator would emerge. We all assumed it would come from tmz. And it did. It shocks me in hindsight that neither the ravens nor the nfl insisted on seeing that video, assuming the reports are true and the statements are true, that nobody saw the video. Its beyond me why though didnt see the video. All they had to do is say to ray rice, if you want us to believe the story, get your lawyer to get the video and give it to us. That apparently didnt happen. Thats amazing. We all knew at some point the video would come out. How much is down to the due process afforded to players because obviously they have a union and negotiate a contract that does lay out some of the way this goes. I get the impression the issue of the video never came up. Nobody bothered to think, we cant get the video from the prosecutor but we can get the video from the player. We can get the video through the players lawyer. How cue not want to see that video before making a decision as to what the appropriate punishment is for ray rice . I think a lot of what were seeing today is a reaction possibly because ray rice and his wife werent honest with the team, the league, about what happened in that elevator. Either way, once you see that video, you have a far different impression and belief of what should happen than what folks had previously. Id say especially the league, a twogame suspension never would have happened had they seen this video. This story rocketing all around the world. People seeing the video, the reaction, the fact hes suspended. Price secretary josh earnest commented on this very situation. Baltimore ravens announced they terminated the contract of ray rice. I realize you did not know that. But probably have seen or heard about this pretty dramatic, horrific video of him beating up his wife. The president has spoken out on this issue a lot. Vice president i think today is at an event about the passage of the violence against women act. What kind of comment could the white house offer about this situation . Well, i havent seen the news because of what you just said. Let me say it this way. This administration and this president do believe strongly that the scourage of violence against women is something that needs to be aggresses ively battled. I dont want to make comments on this individual person and individual nfl team. Have you seen the president and Vice President make very forceful comments about how important it is for men in particular to step up and step forward and make clear that violence against women is something that is is not and cannot be tolerated. And that the most important thing, or one of the most important things we can do to try to end the scourge of violence against women is for men to band together. To send a very clear signal it is unacceptable for i want to get a final comment from each of you. Mike florio, even the white house, getting comments from that level. Just shows you how this has resonated through the sports world and beyond. Its been unanimous since the nfl announced the twogame suspension. The nfl gets things wrong from time to time. No one believed the twogame suspension was sufficient based on what we knew then. Now the question is, whats sufficient punishment for ray rice now what we know now. The team has spoken strongly and the league has spoken strongly by suspending ray rice indefinitely. Jemele hill, a final comment, anything else that should be done by the league at this point . I think at this point theres going to be some serious questions that Roger Goodell must answer to. I think this is a lasting mark negative mark, obviously, on his legacy as a commissioner. And i think it was just a week ago a lot of people were giving him credit for the strength in Domestic Violence policies. Now it seems like his credibility is completely shot. And i would also say i think this has shed an unfortunate light about what Domestic Violence victims go through, as goldie mentioned. If you cant get any justice in Law Enforcement, i mean, what else are we left with here . Indeed. I wish we had more time. Dave zirin, goldie taylor, jemele hill, very important discussion. That wraps things up for the reid report. Visit us online. The cycle is next. Vo this is the summer. 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With centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. With our visionary cloud infrastructure, Global Broadband network and Custom Communications solutions, your business is more reliable secure agile. And with responsive, dedicated support, we help you shine every day of the week. Centurylink your link to whats next. The cycle begins with breaks news in the sports world. Baltimore ravens suspended star running back ray rice indefinitely. The team just terminate the his contract, sending out this tweet. The flurry of activity coming hours after new Surveillance Video was released by tmz sports showing the star knocking out his thenfiancee back in february. Here is the video. Its disturbing. Inside an Atlantic City video hotel, you see rice and thinks thenfiancee. Rice delivers a blow that leaves her unconscious on the floor of the elevator. He then drags her body into the hallway. Picks up her shoe and gives her body a little kick with his foot. Here he is dragging her out of the elevator. Rice was charged with felony assault. After his nowwife janay palmer refused to testify against her husband, charges were reduce on youed. Nfl commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for just two games. Just last month