Hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as americans. We are a nation founded on the truth that all of us are created equal. We are the president was certainly under fire for his remarking over the weekend after a car plowed into a crowd killing a demonstrator and gin you ar inj 20 others. He said that wrongdoing was going on on many sides. Many sides, we did not hear that from the president today. No reference to on many sides. An update on all the latebreaking developments. Seen yur White House Correspondent jim acosta is at the white house. Correspondent brian todd in charlottesville, virginia, where the suspect in saturdays attack was in Court Earlier this morning. Jim acosta, the president s remarks, very specific. A lot of people are insisting he should have uttered these words on saturday. It would have saved him some criticism. Reporter saved a lot of trouble, wolf. Clearly, a cleanup job we saw here at the white house within the last hour. I was in the room as part of the white house tv pool, wolf, when the president made thee remarks. They were scripted. He was reading off a teleprompter and i can tell you as he left the room, reporters were shouting questions at the president , as to why he did not make this kind of statement on saturday. Why he did not clearly condemn these groups that he condemned today. He obviously heard those questions as he left the room there, wolf, but did not answer those questions. But it is worth noting, yes, during these remarks he did condemn those groups by name. Called out the kkk, White Supremacists and neonazis and said justice will be delivered when it comes to the investigation into the death of the woman that was killed in that violence in charlottesville on saturday. He also said, quote unquote, racism is evil. I think what we saw reflected in the white house earlier today, wolf, and the president s statements is that he is, he is somebody who will listen to criticism. Obviously he heard an avalanche of criticism over the weekend, just about the whole country thought the president did not go far enough in condemning these groups for the violence that happened saturday. I think what you saw here is the president essentially being cowed into doing the right thing here by members of both parties. People from all walks of life who just thought the president kind of blew it on saturday, wolf. He did announce, also, and pointed out he had just emerged from a meeting with the attorney general and the fbi director that the department of justice has opened a civil rights investigation into that deadly car attack. Reporter thats right. He did not mention or suggest what weve heard from others that this was also a potential investigation into an act of terror. Reporter thats right. Are officials explaining that difference where you are . Reporter theyre not, wolf nap stood out in the prashgs. Remarks. Those are not the words used when the president made that statement. The other thing to point out, wolf, on friday when the president was making those comments wb kim jongun and escalating tensions with north korea, the president clearly said there would be a press conference. I think he described it as a Big Press Conference at the white house on monday. That is today. Wolf, if that statement that the president gave inside the white house a few moments ago is his idea of a press conference that is not a press conference. He did flot take questions from us. And i think obviously people will be drawing the contrast between how the president is not taking any questions when it comes to this situation in charlottesville over the weekend, and he was willing, and willingness, to take questions when it comes to kim jongun and the sibb osabre rattling with st late week. A clear contrast. The president at this point obviously appears to be not in the mood to take these kinds of question, but there is an opportunity later on this afternoon. Hes expected to do a, do another event here at the white house around 3 00, and at that event it is possible he will take question theres. It is possible to hear the president answer some of these questions later today. He was clearly asked why he did not condemn these groups more forcefully on saturday. He was clearly asked this here at the white house. He simply chose to not answer those questions, wolf. See if he does later in the day. Thanks very much, jim acosta at the white house. Critics of the president s initial response on saturday to that attack in charlottesville, virginia, say it was a failure of leadership and a crucial moment, and his remarks only a few moments ago, the president stepped up his criticism of hate groups here in the United States. To anyone who acted criminally in this weekends racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered. As i said on saturday, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in america. And lets bring in our panel. A lot to assess now. Chief National Security corners jim sciutto, political director davis chalian, legal analyst, former prosecutor laura coates and senior political reporter malia learned son and gloria borger. What do you make of the president s statement about five minutes in length . We just heard it at the white house. Look, its clear to me the white house and the president are trying to make a reboot. This is not a president who would ever admit that he failed a key leadership test. Over the weekend, when he failed 0 address these white sprem 1i689s directly. Sprem sich sifrts. Supremacists. The president said in the clip, as i said on saturday, comma, making the case perhaps he believes he was expanding upon his remarks which were criticized roundly by every party. Members of the Republican Party. So he didnt talk about domestic terrorism. His attorney general did. And this is his effort at rebooting, but i think many times we judge our president s, but by how they respond in the moment. To these to these kinds of issues and i think he failed that test and this was an effort to say, okay. Heres my doover. What he did do, David Chalian, today, he failed to do on saturday, mention by name the kkk, the ku klux klan, neonazis, White Supremacists. Thats what people wanted to hear him specifically utter on saturday. Took him a few days. He finally did it. Right. No glorias point, as i said on saturday, hoping to blur the lines. That is not what he said saturday and why he had to give this Statement Today nap was a really, really strong statement against what happened three days after the fact. Imagine in reality, wolf, if hed given that statement saturday, what all of us around the table would be saying about the president s remarks . The fact so give him his credit for finally getting out there and making very strong remarks, but dont do it without asking the question what have we learned fundamentally about this president in this episode . About his initial instincts . Can you sort abdicate this and with a makeup statement and monday, thats the question. This may check the boxes for republican critics in his own party and others to say, yes, this is what we looked for here. I dont think it erases the question of, why was this not his initial instinct on saturday . It wasnt his instinct on saturday. We have to look at donald trump and say what was his instinct on saturday to do . His instinct to say, on both sides. Right. And now as theyre trying to reboot, clean it up, whatever wah tount ca you want to call it, this was a strong statement. Ask yourself the question. What is the test of leadership . Having moral clarity, i believe, in the moment, which Something Like this occurs. Again, you have to say, yes, he gave the right statement days later. Right. And what did it take to get him there . Right . Hes days and days of condemnation from republicans, and real outrage at his both sides kind of framing on saturday. I think, also, incumbent on this president i think in a way it hasnt been necessarily on others to really separate himself from White Supremacists. Listen to what White Supremacists have said, david duke, essentially has said he sees donald trump as a fellow traveler. Someone in word and deed articulates the kind of america that White Supremacists want to see. I think its incumbent upon this president to disavow them, say that white sprem sicht upremaci neonazis dont speak for him or the kind of america he wants to create. The socalled idea of american being great, neonazis have no part of that america that donald trump says he wants to create. He didnt really do that. I think we also have seen from this president , when he see as threat. Right . A threat for instance in inlegal immigrants voting. Set up a commission to look into that. When he talks about Illegal Immigrants creating he set up a hot line. Right . Looking into that. There isnt much policy at this point in terms of addressing this. The doj is certainly looking into it. Any kind of fullscale investigation into this, we havent seen that. Laura, he did say the department of jut is formally opened a civil rights investigation. He did say the department of justice has opened up a terror investigation. Walk us through from the legal perspective the difference. Certainly you have the Civil Rights Division coming in to play because you have the affiliation of neonazis, White Supremacists, saturated with racism and bigotry. A National Information to go to the Civil Rights Division. You dont have a terrorism investigation at this point. The u. S. Code defines domestic terrorism and this falls under that investigation but its a bone without a hook. What it looks like for an uncontemplated unprecedented driving a car into other people as a weapon of mass destruction, you say. Thats the hook theyre looking for and why they cant legally say it. Clo cloak kwouly ka loke cloak equolloquially wo say, talking about racist act as opposed to a terrorist act. I dont understand the attorney general, the president s National Security adviser among others called it an act of terror. We didnt hear that from the president specifically, although his critics already are points out if a muslim had driven a car into that crowd of individuals you know he would have called it an act of terror . No question. Youve seen quick president s statements, tweets, principally, whenever there is a, activist islamicinspired terrorism abroad, seen that less so and sometimes never when you have acts of terrorism, for instance, targeting muslims. Weve seen the president come under criticism for that. An interesting point i would make, senior members of the military in addition to the ones you named come out very publicly on that very day saturday. One being the chief of naval operations, admiral John Richardson saying bigotly that no place in this country. Of course, that happens as youve also heard senior members of the military challenge the president on his transgender ban which to this point is still just a tweet. Not an executive order, still saying anyone can serve. Struck me that early on in the trump presidency, the thought had been that the president s generals in effect will moderate him on key National Security issues, for instance, north korea. Interesting to see the voices pop up on social issues like this. Transgender and now on this. Senior military officials beating the president to the punch as it were, calling out the kkk. White supremacists, racism, explicitly, took the president some time to do. Gloria, he opened up his statement with sentences how strong the u. S. Economy is. And with the fbi director and then went into a strong statement condemning the ku klux klan, white supremacist and neonazi groups. Some saying why did he need to open with rhetoric about the Strong Economy . That struck me in the wrong way as well. I must say. I think this is sort of a moment for the country and the president needs to recognize that, or should recognize that, and start out by saying, look, this is something that needs to be addressed here. And i would argue that that you can address the country on this in a, in a separate address, and say, this is a moment for us to sit and reflect and maybe were going to have a commission thats needed. Maybe we need more public conversation about this and as your president , let me talk to you about what im think being a and what we are doing, and then at some other point perhaps later today talk about trade policy and et cetera, et cetera. I think honestly, this deserved, particularly since it was a very detailed statement, this deserved its own address. From the president to the nation, David Chalian . It will be treated that way. I doubt many of us will run the economy, gets repeated over and over again. I notices, wolf, remember, we came out with a poll last week. A couple things that didnt get attention last week all of a sudden i went back and looked at has trump changed the stature of the presidency . 55 of americans say hes lowered it. 17 said raised it. Will trump unite the country, divide it . 35 unite it. 61 said he wont. Ask yourself if what happened over this weekend, did he help this standing he has with American Voters or hurt it . I think todays statement is obviously an attempt to make it up, but hes already got such low marks on these kinds of big perceptions of donald trump in the presidency, wearing the presidency as an office, and he has so much work to do with the American People he clearly understood he had to try to correct some of that. And if i may, the idea of having a hate Crime Investigation, important thing and stoep have. Doesnt replace the semantics of the terrorism l of it, but its important. And the counterprotests, can this department of justice effectively carry out a hate Crime Investigation and a potential conviction and prosecution . My instinct is based on the claiming back, going back on a lot of policies in the Civil Rights Division alone. Perhaps not at adamant or strident in their attempts to do so. A point of concern people have. The idea came out yesterday and talked about the idea, look, a hate Crime Investigation will happen. Terrorism, et cetera. Will he under his leadership be able to actuate the more than soap boxes and carry out an effective investigation . And you worked for the department of justice, prosecutor there. I did. Do you not have confidence in the career professionals who will be involved in this investigation . Confidence in the career professionals. Unfortunately many of them are beholden to the whim of the political appointees who are forced to make the ultimate prosecution decision. That is where the buck stops. Because it stops there, there can be a great deal of work done by the career prosecutors and they are affected and they are patriots to the core, but if the buck stops in front of the door that says, i have a debt here. Not a great deal changes. That remains to be seen in this administration. And the idea this was a oneoff and treated as such. I think a lot of people when they saw the crowds gathered there, marching in charlottesville, with those torches, you were surprised at the numbers there. And the boldness, right . They didnt feel like they needed to wear hoods at that point. So this idea of whether or not this was a more widescale problem and if this administration is in a place inclined to look at it. Let me just get jim sciutto in. Jim, it may be three days late. He probably should have done this speech, these words, on saturday. But he does deserve credit for finally coming around and specifically naming those hate groups. Listen, he did it. A very strongly worded statement. He named kkk. White supremacists. He called them repugnant. Said they have no place in 21st Century America and said it very strongly. I wonder as i listened to the statement and seeing the president come out and deliver it, not via tweet or via just a statement or through unnamed officials, i wonder if we saw the hand of the new cheech of staff to some degree john kelly there . A military man, perhaps with the authority to tell the president , this is what you have to do. I wonder if thats a sign of his new leadership in that white house . All right. Everybody stay with us. Were going to have a lot more on the breaking news. Jim sciutto, David Chalian, nia malik henderson, and gloria borger. And the attack that kill add young woman in ohio appeared by video link. The suss spektr appeared before the jump and was denied bail. The suspect. Brine todd is on the scene in charlottesville, virginia. Much more on the breaking news, right after this. For your heart. Your joints. Or your digestion. So why wouldnt you take something for the most important part of you. Your brain. 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