Fox's Bill Hemmer hosts panel to praise Bill Barr's plan to charge Portland's mayor and his claim that Black Lives Matter uses Black people as props
Geraldo Rivera: “He's absolutely right about Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter doesn't care about Black lives, they care about Black lives that are killed by cops.”
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From the September 17, 2020, edition of Fox News' Bill Hemmer Reports
BILL HEMMER [ANCHOR]: Very interesting remarks, the AG Bill Barr accusing Black Lives Matter, the movement, of using people as pawns as you heard there. I wanna bring in our team, Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Correspondent at Large, host of the "Road Kill" podcast and Leo Terrell, civil rights lawyer and host of "Leo Terrell" podcast". Gentleman, podcasts on a pause for the moment. Geraldo, what do you think? He said a lot there? But that whole comment about props and African-Americans, what did you make of that?
GERALDO RIVERA [CORRESPONDENT AT LARGE, FOX NEWS]: I think it was right on, Bill. First of all, he's my most -- Bill Barr, the Attorney General is my most favorite person in the Trump Administration. If the president had selected him initially, we never would've had the Russia hoax or the impeachment hoax. Too bad for us and for history. He's absolutely right about Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter doesn't care about Black lives, they care about Black lives that are killed by cops. The Attorney General suggested that dozens of Black men killed annually under controversial circumstances in their encounters with police. If that number is accurate, that's how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend, Bill. A dozen, 12 Black people were killed by other Black people last weekend in Chicago. One weekend. So where was the Black Lives Matter outrage? Where was the protest, where were the, you know, the Democratic candidates, where were the activists who were so troubled by Black lives like George Floyd's?
HEMMER: So often we ask that question about Chicago. Leo, hang on a moment here, here is how Bill Barr concluded that similar thought from last night.
(VIDEO BEGINS)
BILL BARR: I view the question of Black lives as not only keeping people alive but also having prosperity and flourishing in their communities, and most deaths in the inner-city of young Black males below the age of 44, the leading cause of death is being shot by another Black person.
(VIDEO ENDS)
HEMMER: Leo, I've had you on a lot. What do you think of the comment there?
LEO TERELL [FOX NEWS GUEST]: I want to be very clear about this. I wanna echo everything Geraldo said and Bill Barr. I've said the exact same thing maybe about twenty times. You know why he's getting flack? Because he's white. I've said the exact same thing. Black Lives Matter, Bill Hemmer, does not care about Black police officers. This is a Democratic playbook, we've got to stop this. It's okay for a white person to say the same thing that a Black person said. I agree with Bill Barr. I agree with Geraldo Rivera, 90% of Americans. Black Lives Matter is a game that uses Black lives involving police officers as a tool to manipulate the public. They don't care about Black on Black crime or Black police officers being killed. I applaud Bill Barr, period.
[...]
HEMMER: Leo, we've also confirmed that Bill Barr has asked prosecutors in the Department of Justice to explore charges against the mayor in Portland. Keep in mind, some people died during those riots.
TERRELL: And let me tell you right now, as a civil rights attorney, again, Bill, I applaud Bill Barr. Why? Because the loss of lives when the Portland mayor gave the keys to the city to criminals infringed upon federal property, infringed upon federal civil rights of individuals who were murdered, who were murdered in that area. What is the obligation of federal government? To enforce federal law, civil rights law. This is my wheelhouse. The attorney general is correct to investigate to see if criminal charges are warranted against government officials and individuals.
HEMMER: If that message went public months ago do you think we would have seen what we saw? Do you think mayors and some of these big cities might hesitate the next time the mob rolled through their town?
TERRELL: Let me think about that. No. Because you know what, Bill? The Democrats, let's be honest, are playing politics with the crime and Black Lives Matter. They're using this and now it backfires. It's reflected in the polls. They had an agenda to blame Trump, and they used the George Floyd murder as a pretext for all this chaos and destruction. It was a political game played by the Democrats.