Kamala Harris’ fiery exchange with Democratic candidate resurfaces following endorsement from Joe Biden

Kamala Harris’ fiery exchange with Democratic candidate resurfaces following endorsement from Joe BidenSource: CNN

Transcript

00:00Congresswoman Gabbard, you took issue with Senator Harris confronting Vice President Biden

00:04at the last debate. You called it a quote false accusation that Joe Biden is a racist.

00:09What's your response? I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal

00:13justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people

00:18all across this country today. Senator Harris says she's proud of her record as a prosecutor

00:24and that she'll be a prosecutor president. But I'm deeply concerned about this record.

00:28There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana

00:33violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.

00:38She blocked evidence. She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row

00:45until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use

00:50them as cheap labor for the state of California. And she fought to keep cash bail system in place

00:56that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way. Thank you, Congresswoman. Senator Harris,

01:01your response. As the elected attorney general of California, I did the work of significantly

01:12reforming the criminal justice system of a state of 40 million people, which became a national

01:17model for the work that needs to be done. And I am proud of that work. And I am proud of making

01:22a decision to not just give fancy speeches or be in a legislative body and give speeches on

01:27the floor, but actually doing the work of being in the position to use the power that I had to

01:32reform a system that is badly in need of reform. That is why we created initiatives that were about

01:38reentering former offenders and getting them counseling. It is why and because I know that

01:42criminal justice system is so broken that I am an advocate for what we need to do to not

01:46only decriminalize but legalize marijuana in the United States. I want to bring Congresswoman

01:51Gabbard back in, your response. The bottom line is, Senator Harris, when you were in a position

01:56to make a difference and an impact in these people's lives, you did not. And worse yet,

02:00in the case of those who were on death row, innocent people, you actually blocked evidence

02:06from being revealed that would have freed them until you were forced to do so. There is no excuse

02:11for that. And the people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor, you owe them an apology.

02:18Senator Harris.

02:21My entire career, I have been opposed, personally opposed to the death penalty,

02:26and that has never changed. And I dare anybody who is in a position to make that decision,

02:31to face the people I have faced to say, I will not seek the death penalty.

02:35That is my background. That is my work. I am proud of it. I think you can judge people by

02:40when they are under fire. And it's not about some fancy opinion on a stage, but when they're in the

02:45position to actually make a decision, what do they do? When I was in the position of having

02:50to decide whether or not to seek a death penalty on cases I prosecuted, I made a very difficult

02:56decision that was not popular to not seek the death penalty. History shows that, and I am proud

03:01of those decisions. Senator Harris.