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tv   The Lead With Jake Tapper  CNN  July 16, 2013 1:00pm-2:01pm PDT

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selection you'll see one or both sides saying to the panel, what if it was 11-1 or 5-1, could you be that strong soldier? that's something that lawyers try and suss out during the deliberation process. >> thank you for watching. i'm brooke baldwin. "the lead" with jake tapper starts now. >> if you've only seen the protests on tv, well, they may be coming to a city near you this weekend. the national lead, 100 rallies and vigils, 100 cities. some civil rights leaders announcing ambitious plans to protest the george zimmerman verdict across the country, even while a handful of demonstrations tip over into violence on the west coast. also, what's it like to sit on a jury, deciding one of the most controversial trials in a decade, to have so many questioning your rationality, your judgment? we'll ask a juror who served on
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another infamous murder case. and the pop culture lead. we love the ladies of the view but they're not shy of talking about subjects they aren't necessarily experts for. >> good afternoon, everyone. we begin with the national lead. despite the blistering summer heat, you could see a lot more hoodies in crowds gathering across the country this weekend. the reverend al sharpton called for 100 rallies and vigils in 100 cities on saturday, referring to it as justice for trayvon day, protesting the acquitting of george zimmerman in the kiting of trayvon martin. >> people will gather to show that we are not having a two or three day ainnger fit. this is a social movement for justice. >> sharpton called on
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demonstrators to be peaceful. a handful on the west coast turned violet. police say they will crack down after protesters allegedly jumped on cars, kicked out windows, trashed a walmart and maybe even attacked other people. 14 were arrested just yesterday. meanwhile the white house today again said president obama will not apply pressure for federal civil rights charges against zimmerman. he will leave all of that up to the justice department. >> when it comes to this case, which obviously the justice department is continuing to look into, we're not going to get out ahead of that and comment on any particulars. right now the president views this as a tragedy, the loss of a young person, for his family, for the community and for the country. >> but attorney general eric holder is not staying on the sidelines. later this hour he will speak to the naacp convention in orlando, florida, amid a ton of pressure from the black community and beyond to pursue charges against
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zimmerman at the federal level. we will bring you his remarks live. a few moments ago on cnn, we showed you anderson cooper's exclusive interview with juror b-37 who explained in great detail and some emotion about how the jury came to a not guilty verdict in this case. we want to get some reaction from our live panel. joining me is clinton yates and we have also have jeffrey toobin in new york. welcome to you both. let's listen to what juror 37 said about racial profiling and the role, if any, it played in the case. >> do you think race played a role in his decision, his view of trayvon martin as suspicious? >> i don't think he did. i think just circumstances caused george to think that he might be a robber or trying to do something bad in the neighborhood because of all that had gone on previously.
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there were an unbelievable number of robberies in the neighborhood. >> so you don't believe race played a role in this case? >> i don't think it did. i think if there was another person, spanish, white, asian, if they came in the same situation there where trayvon was, i think george would have reacted the exact same way. >> clinton, you said you think this case is about in fact about racial profiling. here is a juror who said it was not for her. >> i don't think that zimmerman uses the word suspicious. i don't think that enters his mind unless there is some element of race involved. it's very difficult to explain specific whenally what it is. a lot of people walk around neighborhoods doing a lot of things. because one teen-ager seems to be walking around looking into a house, there is a deference between suspicion and race. >> he's never seen this guy before, he's a young man, young
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men white or black are responsible for a lot of crime in this country. >> there is an assumptive component to this. >> jeffrey, it seemed like everything the defense said went right into this juror's brain and she completely agreed with their theory. >> she certainly did. the striking thing was -- that she knew the evidence pretty well. she was talking about facts of the case, but every time there was an inference that could be drawn, every time there was someone you could believe and someone you could not believe, she believed the defense version. she believed that it was george zimmerman who was screaming, she believed it was trayvon martin who threw the first punch.
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that is a reasonable inference from the evidence but it also suggests a juror who was very primed, very ready to believe the defense's version of everything that happened here. >> here's another clip where the juror talked about her perception of george zimmerman. >> what did you think about george zimmerman? >> i think george zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place but just got displaced by the vandalism in the neighborhoods and wanting to catch these people so badly that he went above and beyond what he really should have done. but i think his heart was in the right place. it just went terribly wrong. >> clinton, a lot of people have reacted to her use of the term "these people." >> it's an indication she's trying to set herself aside from
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others which may or may not be known which sounds mysterious or dangerous. she also said she thought george zimmerman's heart were in the right place. he also shot someone through the heart. >> there is this theory, clinton, that she believes and at least five other people in that jury box believed, which is that whatever happened leading up to the confront's, there was this confrontation, trayvon started it in his view and that's the defense theory and that george zimmerman at some point reasonably believed he needed to kill trayvon martin or he was going to be killed himself. >> a guy starts a confrontation and gets into it with another person but suddenly the guy who began it is not responsible? that just does not make sense to me. >> jeffrey, do you think hers and shows a certain level of sympathy for george zimmerman that might just be inherent?
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>> an enormous amount. another answer, anderson asks do you feel sorry for trayvon martin? the jurors says "i feel sorry for both of them." trayvon martin is dead. the idea you could put your sympathy for both of them equally -- her degree of sympathy for george zimmerman was really striking to me and indicative of someone who was a very good defense juror right out of the box. >> jeffrey, she also talked about she mentioned the stand your ground law, which of course was not introduced in -- as a defense. >> she did, although some of the articulation of the stand your ground law was actually part of the jury instructions. but certainly, for example, another thing she said was, well, everybody has a right to a gun. you know, this is -- it was a
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real, i have to say, central florida attitude toward guns, which is that guns are a constitutional, second amendment right. this is a different attitude that you see in a lot of big cities like washington or new york where lots of people are much more suspicious of guns. and i thought, again, that was indicative of a juror who was primed to agree with the defense theory of the game. george zimmerman had a gun, he was entitled to a gun and entitled to use it. >> a jury of his peers almost. >> thank you. coming up on this show. after the verdict is read, what happens to the jury in a case the whole country has been watching? i will talk to a man who has first-h first-hand knowledge of what the jury might be feeling right now. and government sponsored junk
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welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. continuing with our national lead, we can all speculate about what it was like to be a juror in the george zimmerman trial, but many of us will never fully understand what those six people experienced emotionally, how the process affected them, maybe forever. but for those who have served in a high-profile kascase, they haa bit of an inkling of how it can be. meek served on the scott peterson trial. scott peterson is currently on death row. mike joins us from san francisco. we want to play you some portions of the interview anderson did with juror b-37.
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but first let me ask you how difficult it was to be a juror in the scott peterson case. do you sympathize when we heard juror b-37 crying during her interview with anderson. do you understand why she was crying? >> i certainly do. you know, any time you go through a trial like zimmerman went through and that woo went through, it going to be emotional. we're talking about the death of a 17-year-old young man. that just doesn't set well with people and it should never set well with people. certainly not in this case. but it is a difficult task to difficult issue to go through. >> you and some of your fellow jurors wrote a book on your experience and in it there is
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discussion on how people have nightmares, people are on anti-depressants, one at least contemplating suicide that is correct it really has been emotional. and this is case, the scott peterson case, that seemed at least from the outside a lot more clear cut than the george zimmerman trial. >> well, i don't know that it was any more clear cut than what the florida versus zimmerman was, but one thing for sure, it was definitely a five and a half months that were certainly taxing to the emotions. so that said, that's what happens. the thing with peterson was we -- after we rendered the guilty verdict, we heard cheers. so that would indicate that that decision was a popular decision, not that -- i don't think there could have been a popular or
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unpopular decision with peterson quite frankly from my perspective. with the florida versus zimmerman, it was pretty obvious that anything but a guilty verdict was going to be a problem, it would be unpopular. so -- >> tell me about what some -- >> that was probably -- >> tell me what some of the jurors from the peterson jury have gone through, about how difficult it has been for you, for them. and why do you think that is? >> well, to answer your question, some of the problems we went through, we had one juror after the trial have a nervous breakdown. very stressful. very stressful. i talked to other jurors who had nightmares. one of the lives of the jurors' well being was threatened. my personal life was threatened
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because of somebody who disagreed with our decision. so the answer to that is to the question of why does this thing happen in this country? common sense in this country is uncommon and there are some people in this country who are troubled. >> the threats i can understand, sir, that would be horrible for anybody. but is there a degree of guilt in holding someone's life in your hands and that making a decision that will affect that life? does it -- i know that that's a lot of power to give to a person. >> yes, it is. and i can tell you that there's no guilt -- understanding it from my point, my personal experience from having spoke with each one of the jurors, there's no guilt about our decision. nobody -- you know, i'm probably even more firm now in my conviction that scott peterson
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is guilty than i was at the time of the trial. the man is where he belonged to be. if you were to ask my 11 fellow jurors, they would tell you the same thing i'm sure. though we haven't spoke with each other for some time, i have stayed in touch with a few. it is an awesome responsibility to have a person's life in your hands. and, you know, we don't -- we don't normally -- the average citizen, they'll never get that opportunity. and they should thank the good lord that they don't because it's something you don't want to do. >> we thank you, mike. we thank you and your fellow citizens on that jury. >> coming up, she's a model, an actor and comedian and an activist with some think is a potentially dangerous message. is jenny mccarthy the right pick to co-host "the view"? and this hour erik holder will tell the naacp his personal feelings about the death of
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welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. it's time for the pop account lead. what do the former playboy play mate of the year, the ladies of "the view" and the tragic medical messtory have in common? the tragic medical mystery is the rise in autism and related diagnos diagnoses. the one thing the medical community seems to agree on is the rise in autism is not related to vaccines given to
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children, vaccines that save lives. here's a part of this that makes it our pop culture lead. in recent years actress, model, former game show host and 1994 former playboy playmate of the year has made it a crusade of sorts to spread the world the unscientific and unmedical word that vaccines cause autism. according to a university of michigan study, one out of four parents surveyed say they place some trust in information provided by celebrities about the safety of vaccines. so now jenny mccarthy is getting a powerful platform speaking to moms as one of the ladies of "the view." >> our next newest co-host is jenny mccarthy. >> the search to find a new woman for the abc powerhouse "the view" is over. >> she's opinionated enough to
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help us begin the latest chapter in "the view" history. >> but some of those opinions are, according to her critics, potentially lethal to children. the former playmate is no doubt gorgeous and compelling, but jenny mccarthy is also an outspoken and many doctors and scientists say irresponsible voice on the dangers of vaccine. she's seen her with her son evans. >> without a doubt in my mind, i believe vaccinations triggered evan's autism. i think they need to wake up and stop hurting our kids. >> the problem is the credible, medical and scientific community say she is wrong that, numerous studies have found no link between vaccines and autism and in this celebrity-infused culture, her words could have a potentially deadly impact by scaring parents away from sac vaccines. >> that message she's giving ou
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has been roundly, roundly disproved time and time again. it's an unfortunate and dangerous step that abc is making. >> this m.i.t. producer wrote "the panic virus." >> i think what abc has done here is further legitimatized her views, and those are views that have been shown not only to have absolutely no founding in science, but also to be potentially really dangerous. >> we've reached out to abc for comment but we have not heard back. one thing for certain, mccarthy is a force to be reckoned with. she's written three books about healing autism through the environmental changes she says cured her son. and she's a member of generation rescue. >> when you do raise a concern about environmental trigger,
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there is another side that wants to label you, especially us, as an anti-vaccine movement, which is absolutely not true. we're not telling people not to vaccinate. i don't understand when it's so freaking hard to comprehend we deserve safe shots. >> well, it's hard to comprehend because the vaccines without preservatives mccarthy advocates for are not considered a viable alternative by most experts. >> what she's advocating is a return to vaccines that don't have preservatives in them that both keep them safe and also make sure that those vaccines aren't contaminated in any way. so she's proposing something that isn't a realistic option. >> as for mccarthy's new permanent position, she released a statement saying in part "i look forward to making "top topics" a little bit hotter."
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>> the jenny mccarthy era of "the view" is set to begin september 9th. >> and it's been five long days since the instant classic "sharknado" debuted on sci-fi, but the waiting is almost over. the screenwriter says that "sharknado 2" is already in the works, even though the twitter buzz did not translate into ratings gold. extra's mario lopez caught up with the star of "sharknado" at his chippendale show in las vegas. he said there has to be a sequel. and for those of you who can't wait for another terribly good action movie, enter "ghost shark." we're getting a sneak peak at
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the next sci-fi original, premieres august 2nd. just awful. >> coming up in politics in new york, is there enough forgiveness for both weiner and spitzer to get back in the game? and the criminal trial is over but the department of justice could still try to pursue criminal charges, civil rights charges rather, against george zimmerman. we'll hear from attorney general eric holder live this hour. stay with us.
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bringing our nation together, addressing common challenges and focusing attention on the problems and the inequities that too many of our citizens continue to face. even as this convention proceeds, we are all mindful of a tragic and unnecessary shooting death of trayvon martin last year in sanford, florida, just a short distance from here. and we're also aware of the state trial that reached its conclusion on saturday evening. today i'd like to join president obama in urging all americans to recognize that, as he said, we are a nation of laws and the jury has spoken. i know the naacp and its members are deeply and rightly concerned about this case, as passionate civil rights leaders, as engaged
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sit as soon citizens and as parents. this afternoon i want to assure you of two things, i am concerned about this case. and as we confirmed last spring, the justice department has an open investigation into it. now, while that inquiry is ongoing, i can promise that the department of justice will consider all available information before determining what action to take. but independent of the legal determination that will be made, i believe this tragedy provides yet another opportunity for our nation to speak honestly, honestly and openly about the complicated and emotionally charged issues that this case has raised. years ago some of these same issues drove my father to sit down with me, have a conversation, which is no doubt familiar to many of you about how as a young black man i
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should interact with the police, what to say and how to conduct myself if i was ever stopped or confronted in a way that i thought was unwarranted. now, i'm sure my father felt certain at that time that my parents' generation would be the last that had to worry about such things for their children. since those days, our country has indeed changed for the better. the fact that i stand before you as the 82nd attorney general of the united states serving in the administration of our first african-american president proves that. yet for all the progress that we've seen, recent events demonstrate that we still have much more work to do and much further to go. the news of trayvon martin's death last year and the discussions that have taken place since then reminded me of my father's words so many years ago, and they brought me back to a number of experiences that i
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had as a young man when i was pulled over twice and my car searched on the new jersey turnpike when i'm sure i wasn't speeding. or when i was stopped by a police officer while simply running to catch a movie at night in georgetown in washington, d.c. i was at the time of that last incident a federal prosecutor. trayvon's death last spring caused me to sit down to have a conversation with my own 15-year-old son, like my dad did with me. this was a father/son tradition i hoped would not need to be handed down. but as a father who loves his son and who is more knowing in ways of the world, i had to do this to protect my boy. i am his father, and it is my
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responsibility not to burden him with the baggage of eras long gone, but to make him aware of the world that he must still confront. this is a sad reality in a nation that is changing for the better in so many ways. as important as it was, i am determined to do everything in my power to ensure that the kind of talk i had with my son isn't the only conversation that we engage in as a result of these tragic events. in the days leading up to this weekend's verdict, some predicted and prepared for riots and waves of civil unrest across the country. some feared that the anger of those who disagreed with the jury might overshadow and obscure the issues of the heart of this case. but the people of sanford and for the most part thousands of others across america rejected this destructive path. they proved -- they proved wrong
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those who doubted their commitment to the rule of law. and across america diverse groups of citizens from all races, backgrounds and walks of life are instead overwhelmingly making their voices heard as american citizens has the right to do through peaceful protests, rallies and vigils designed to inspire responsible debate, not to incite violence and division. and those who conduct themselves in a contrary manner do not honor the memory of trayvon martin. i hope that we will continue to approach this necessarily difficult dialogue with the same dignity that those who have lost the most, trayvon's parents, the same dignity that they have demonstrated throughout the last year and especially over the past few days. we should be proud of those two people. [ applause ]
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they suffered a pain that no parent should have to endure and one that i as a father cannot begin to conceive. as we embrace their example and as we hold them in our prayers, we must not forego this opportunity to better understand one another, and we must not fail to seize this chance to improve this nation that we cherish. today, starting here and starting now, it's time to commit ourselves to a respectful, responsible dialogue about issues of justice and equality so we can meet division and confusion with understanding and compassion and ultimately with truth, however hard that is. it's time to strengthen our collective resolve to combat gun violence but also time to combat violence involving or directed toward our children so we can prevent future tragedies.
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and we must confront the underlying attitudes, the mistaken beliefs and the unfortunate stereotypes that serve too often as the basis for police action and private judgments. separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation's attention, it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and so dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods. these laws try to fix something that was never broken. there has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if, and the if is important, if no safe retreat is available. but we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating
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the common sense and age old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat outside their home if they can do so safely by allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. the list of resulting tragedies is long and unfortunately has victimized too many who are innocent. it is our collective obligation. we must stand our ground to ensure -- [ applause ] we must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent. we must also seek a dialogue on attitudes about violence and
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disparities that are too commonly swept under the rug, by paying tribute to the young man who lost his life here last year. and so many others whose futures have been cut short in other incidents of gun violence that have passed too often unnoticed in our streets. [ applause ] and we must do so by engaging with one another in a way that is at once peaceful, inclusive, respectful and strong. as we move forward together, i want to assure you that the department of justice will continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law. we will not be afraid. we are committed -- [ applause ] we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that in every case, in every
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circumstance and in every community justice must be done. for more than a century this organization -- >> that's attorney general eric holder speaking about the trayvon martin case and the george zimmerman verdict before the naacp convention in orlando, florida. we're going to take a quick break and be back with reaction to the speech from a veteran prosecutor. tion systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" ...and a great deal. . thanks to dad.
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welcome back to "the lead," i'm jake tapper. before the break we were listening to attorney general eric holder talk about the george zimmerman verdict at the
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naacp convention. let's get reaction from paul henderson, a veteran prosecutor. paul, it was interesting, he did not specifically talk about the civil rights charges that the naacp has been calling upon the obama administration to file against george zimmerman. >> right. he did not. i think what he did was initially acknowledge the sentiment going on throughout the country and talk about it being an emotionally evocative situation and try and address his concerns from the administration, i believe he's speaking on behalf of the administration, and he did not start with federal charges. i think that was purposeful because the federal charges are very difficult given the circumstances to move forward on. now, what i appreciate is that what his administration and what he has said in the past is that an investigation is ongoing and they will pursue this to the fullest extent of the law, but understanding that federal approach in terms of the civil rights violations is an uphill
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battle and it's really challenging. so i for one appreciate as an attorney and as a community member that his approach in addressing this issue starts off with, one, acknowledging the community sentiments and then also talking about the danger of expanding self-defense laws. and i thought that was really one. most interesting things that he laid out in the beginning of his speech because i believe that's an allusion to the stand your ground laws. it's an interesting approach to how he's delivering this speech butch it's very good so far. >> one of the things that the attorney general said about the verdict, not in this speech but i believe it was yesterday, was that he thought it was an unnecessary death of trayvon martin. saying "unnecessary," suggests that he does not believe the
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defense argument of self-defense. george zimmerman's argument is it was necessary to kill trayvon martin. is it risky? we only have a little time but is it risky for him to give his opinion on matters like that? >> well, i think the way that he gave his opinion saying that it was unnecessary does not violate any of the findings and certainly reflects his opinion and i think if you talk to both sides of the fence, people that were supportive of the defense of zimmerman and people that were supportive of the prosecution, all collectively feel like the death was unnecessary, that this should not have happened. and i think that that's really true. i think the sentiment being reflected and the angst and anger are from different communities that feel disenfranchised from the process and feel issues weren't brought up that should have been brought up and directly related if the trial and left them compounded
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with the verdict that ultimately came out. >> paul henderson, veteran prosecutor, thank you for your time. we appreciate it. coming up, my next guest has lived in this town to know all its secrets and he's willing to be banned from every cocktail party in town. us. obesity. and as the nation's leading beverage company, we can play an important role. that includes continually providing more options. giving people easy ways to help make informed choices. and offering portion controlled versions of our most popular drinks. it also means working with our industry to voluntarily change what's offered in schools. but beating obesity will take continued action by all of us, based on one simple common sense fact... all calories count. and if you eat and drink more calories than you burn off,
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welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. now it's time for our political lead. let's talk about washington, d.c. for a second. i've worked here for about 20 years, live here with my wife and kids. though i'll route for the phillies till my last dying
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breath, washington is my home. it's also home to my friend mark leibovich. he has a new book dropping today about washington called "this town, two parties and a funeral plus plenty of valet parking in america's guilded capital." he says this is a city so interconnected, a city of beautiful, busy people constantly writing the story of their own lives, it's far from being homelessly divided, it is is in fact hopelessly interconnected." are you there? >> i'm here. >> mark, you're usually on the side of you and i talking about how crazy this is. and now you've written a book about this. why should the viewers read this book? why would they care? >> i actually do think this book is aimed at people outside of
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washington. there's been a lot of anticipation, speculation and tidbits taken inside the beltway but ultimately i want people outside of washington to know what the city that i think they fundamentally are disappointed in truly has come to. and the fact is it's a very, very guilded age in washington right now and i wanted to sort of flesh out what the full carnival has really looked like and what america is paying for. >> and it's a lot of connections and people paying for connections and people trafficking on connections and cashing in on those connections. what of all the things you describe in this book, what bothers you the most? is it the politicians who leave capitol hill and then become lobbyists? is it the people who completely sell out their ideals? what gets under your skin the most when it comes to d.c. that bother you? >> i would say now the level of outrage has sort of reached a low point. people expect when they run
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against congress that they'll run against the swamp and get in and settle in like a warm bath. after they leave congress, they'll get a job and lobby, even though they vowed they wouldn't lobby. there's a level of you can say something and not mean it and that's just the way the game is played in washington. it's sort of a weird answer to your question but it's the nonoutrage, the fact that we've come resigned to certain way of doing business here. >> you describe president obama as someone who has a lot of disdain for this town but as somebody who is completely part of the system, his own insider who traffic inside the same offices, the lobbying, but he doesn't seem to be blamed for what the aides all around him cashing in are doing. >> well, i think -- barack obama, his message of hope in 2008 and change was incredibly
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powerful, especially in that time. first of all, the presidency exists on a plain that i could not even begin to understand. that's almost its own separate history. but ultimately there have been these series of never minds in this campaign and administration, whether it's we're not going to opt out of the campaign finance system, we're not going to work with super pacs, they worked with super pacs, we're not going to let lobbyists into the white house and so forth. eventually it wears you down. ultimately a lot of the washington insiders that got him elected who said they weren't of this world have really settled in nicely. >> mark, thanks so much for talking to us. we'll see you soon on our political roundtable i hope. >> thanks, jake. >> coming up, an illegal shipment. we'll tell you about the hidden weapons authorities found on a boat in the panama canal. stay with us. matt's brakes didn't sound right... ...so i brought my car to mike at meineke...
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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. welcome back to "the lead." it's time for the world lead. you'll never believe what panamanian authorities found hidden under a cargo of brown sugar? unidentified weapons, including
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missile parts. u.s. officials say they're looking into the possibility that cuba was sending a surface-to-air missile radar back for an upgrade. i'll turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room" or as he's known, wolfnado. powerful words from eric holder, sharing his personal take on the death of trayvon martin and slamming the law in florida. and a juror says it was trayvon martin who threw the first punch. a martin member is here to respond. and breaking news out of canada. in the last few minutes we've learned what killed the