tour trung quoc Amy Klobuchar on Friday said tour trung quoc it was 'absolutely false" and 'a lie' that she declined to prosecute the white officer who knelt on the neck of George Floyd, killing him, when she was a state prosecutor and the officer was involved in another case.
That officer, Derek Chauvin, was part of an October 2006 shooting that came under investigation by the state prosecutor's office. Klobuchar was the head of that office before she was elected to the Senate in November 2006, taking her new post in January 2007.
She told MSNBC the decisions about Chauvin shooting case were made by her successor and she was already in office by the time that case went to the grand jury.
'This idea that I somehow declined a case which has been reported on some news blogs, and then sent out on the internet, against this officer is absolutely false. It is a lie. I don't know what else to say about it than it is a lie,' she said.
'The case went was investigated, that investigation continued into a time where I was already sworn into the U.S. Senate. I never declined the case. It was handled and sent to the grand jury by my successor, and he has said that his office had said that it was not my place to make the decisions because the decisions were made when I was in the U.S. Senate. In fact nine months after I was in the US Senate is when I went to the grand jury,' she added.
Amy Klobuchar said it was 'a lie' that she declined to prosecute the white officer involved in George Floyd's death when she was a state prosecutor and Derek Chauvin was involved in another case
While Amy Klobuchar has condemned the slaying of George Floyd, Derek Chauvin (pictured) was involved in another case during her time as state prosecutor
Chauvin was among six officers who shot and killed Wayne Reyes, 42, in 2006 after the man allegedly pointed a gun at cops. The grand jury found that the use of force was justified.
Klobuchar has been frantically defending and clarifying her role as a state prosecutor in the wake of Floyd's death as she also tries to salvage her bid to be Joe Biden's running mate on the Democratic ticket.
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, who endorsed Biden in that state's crucial Democratic primary and gave him a victory there that saved his presidential campaign, questioned Klobuchar's history on African American issues.
'It certainly won't help,' the powerful black congressman told Vanity Fair when asked if Floyd's death hurt her vice presidential chances.
'But it's not just this. Her history with similar situations when she was a prosecutor came up time and again during the campaign. I suspect this incident plays into that,' he added.
Minneapolis police officers had long faced charges of racism, including during the time Klobuchar was a prosecutor, an issue the Minnesota senator addressed during her own presidential bid but is now facing greater scrutiny.
She declined to bring charges against many police officers who were involved in shootings during her seven-year tenure at Hennepin County attorney. Instead she often opted to send cases to a grand jury, which was a common practice.
But some experts say that process favors police officers.
Klobuchar told MSNBC she was following the state procedure on those cases but added, that, looking back, 'I think that was wrong.'
'I have said repeatedly back when I was the county attorney, the cases that we had involving officer involving shootings, went to a grand jury. That was a true in every jurisdiction across our state. And that was true in many jurisdictions across the country. I think that was wrong,' she said.
'Now, I think it would have been much better if I took the responsibility, and looked at the cases and made the decision, myself. But let me make this clear. We did not blow off these cases we brought them to a grand jury, presented the evidence for a potential criminal prosecution and the grand jury would come back with a decision,' she added.
Klobuchar declined to take herself out of consideration to be Biden's running mate. He is facing increased pressure to chose an African American woman to be on the ticket with him when he challenges President Donald Trump in November.
'This is Joe Biden's decision, and he was an excellent vice president, and he's gonna make the best decision for him for our country for the pandemic and the crisis we're facing to take over leadership of who's the best partner with him to come in there with the competence that he is going to show with the compassion, he's going to show with his strong support and understanding of the African American community. He will make that decision. He will decide who he's considering,' she said.
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, who endorsed Biden in that state's crucial Democratic primary and gave him a victory there that saved his presidential campaign, questioned Klobuchar's history on African American issues
Amy Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor has come under fire after the police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this week. The senator is pictured in Las Vegas in April
Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor is being questioned as as the Democratic senator is on Joe Biden's list of potential vice presidents to run with him in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Biden is pictured in a mask during a Memorial Day service this past weekend
Chauvin was among six officers who shot and killed Wayne Reyes, 42, (pictured) in 2006 after the man allegedly pointed a gun at cops. A grand jury found that the use of force was justified
There were more than two dozen cases involving police-involved fatalities that were not charged by Klobuchar during her tenure as a prosecutor. Those matters again were left to a grand jury, which was a common practice, reports the StarTribune.
Biden has remained mum, so far, on who he will pick as his running mate. He has promised to pick a woman.
However, he also has been under pressure to pick a candidate who will resonate with black voters. Two black women said to be under consideration have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement: Senator Kamala Harris of California, who was a district attorney and state attorney general; and Representative Val Demings of Florida, who was the first female police chief in Orlando, Florida.
Klobuchar has been courting black leaders as she tries to keep herself in the mix. She called the Rev. Al Sharpton; Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP; and Leslie Redmond, the president of the Minneapolis NAACP, The New York Times reported.
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Klobuchar had already faced skepticism over her qualifications to be Biden's vice president before Floyd's death.
She has her strengths too, including her appeal to suburban women, a voting block that will be a crucial swing vote in the 2020 election. Polls show she also appeals to older voters, who have been fleeing from Trump in the wake of his handling over the coronavirus pandemic.
Critics, however, said she may not appeal to the left enough to help beat President Trump, and she drew backlash over the conviction of Myron Burrell, a black teen, when she was a Minnesota state prosecutor.
Questions have been raised over the case that got Burrell, a black man, a life sentence for the slaying of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002.
The young girl was killed by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table.
Several black activist groups from Minnesota asked Klobuchar to drop out of the race over revelations that Burrell may have been wrongly convicted.
Questions have been raised over the case that got Myron Burrell, a black man, a life sentence for the slaying of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002
The gravestone of Tyesha Edwards, 11, who was fatally shot in 2002 by a stray bullet allegedly shot by Myron Burrell, now serving a life sentence
Klobuchar had prosecuted the case.
When asked about it on Fox News earlier this year while she was still running to become the Democratic presidential nominee, she dodged the question.
Klobuchar then said, 'I didn't know about this new evidence. No, I didn't know about this new evidence until I saw this report,' she said of an Associated Press investigation of the case.
''I couldn't have. I haven't been in the office for 12 years.'
Klobuchar later asked the district attorney's office in Hennepin County to launch an independent review of Burrell's case. She also met with Burrell's family.
Read more:
George Floyd's death returns spotlight to Klobuchar prosecutor past - StarTribune.com
Protests in Minnesota Renew Scrutiny of Klobuchar's Record as Prosecutor - The New York Times
James Clyburn on the Floyd Killing and The Role of Race In The Coming Election | Vanity Fair
That officer, Derek Chauvin, was part of an October 2006 shooting that came under investigation by the state prosecutor's office. Klobuchar was the head of that office before she was elected to the Senate in November 2006, taking her new post in January 2007.
She told MSNBC the decisions about Chauvin shooting case were made by her successor and she was already in office by the time that case went to the grand jury.
'This idea that I somehow declined a case which has been reported on some news blogs, and then sent out on the internet, against this officer is absolutely false. It is a lie. I don't know what else to say about it than it is a lie,' she said.
'The case went was investigated, that investigation continued into a time where I was already sworn into the U.S. Senate. I never declined the case. It was handled and sent to the grand jury by my successor, and he has said that his office had said that it was not my place to make the decisions because the decisions were made when I was in the U.S. Senate. In fact nine months after I was in the US Senate is when I went to the grand jury,' she added.
Amy Klobuchar said it was 'a lie' that she declined to prosecute the white officer involved in George Floyd's death when she was a state prosecutor and Derek Chauvin was involved in another case
While Amy Klobuchar has condemned the slaying of George Floyd, Derek Chauvin (pictured) was involved in another case during her time as state prosecutor
Chauvin was among six officers who shot and killed Wayne Reyes, 42, in 2006 after the man allegedly pointed a gun at cops. The grand jury found that the use of force was justified.
Klobuchar has been frantically defending and clarifying her role as a state prosecutor in the wake of Floyd's death as she also tries to salvage her bid to be Joe Biden's running mate on the Democratic ticket.
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, who endorsed Biden in that state's crucial Democratic primary and gave him a victory there that saved his presidential campaign, questioned Klobuchar's history on African American issues.
'It certainly won't help,' the powerful black congressman told Vanity Fair when asked if Floyd's death hurt her vice presidential chances.
'But it's not just this. Her history with similar situations when she was a prosecutor came up time and again during the campaign. I suspect this incident plays into that,' he added.
Minneapolis police officers had long faced charges of racism, including during the time Klobuchar was a prosecutor, an issue the Minnesota senator addressed during her own presidential bid but is now facing greater scrutiny.
She declined to bring charges against many police officers who were involved in shootings during her seven-year tenure at Hennepin County attorney. Instead she often opted to send cases to a grand jury, which was a common practice.
But some experts say that process favors police officers.
Klobuchar told MSNBC she was following the state procedure on those cases but added, that, looking back, 'I think that was wrong.'
'I have said repeatedly back when I was the county attorney, the cases that we had involving officer involving shootings, went to a grand jury. That was a true in every jurisdiction across our state. And that was true in many jurisdictions across the country. I think that was wrong,' she said.
'Now, I think it would have been much better if I took the responsibility, and looked at the cases and made the decision, myself. But let me make this clear. We did not blow off these cases we brought them to a grand jury, presented the evidence for a potential criminal prosecution and the grand jury would come back with a decision,' she added.
Klobuchar declined to take herself out of consideration to be Biden's running mate. He is facing increased pressure to chose an African American woman to be on the ticket with him when he challenges President Donald Trump in November.
'This is Joe Biden's decision, and he was an excellent vice president, and he's gonna make the best decision for him for our country for the pandemic and the crisis we're facing to take over leadership of who's the best partner with him to come in there with the competence that he is going to show with the compassion, he's going to show with his strong support and understanding of the African American community. He will make that decision. He will decide who he's considering,' she said.
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, who endorsed Biden in that state's crucial Democratic primary and gave him a victory there that saved his presidential campaign, questioned Klobuchar's history on African American issues
Amy Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor has come under fire after the police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this week. The senator is pictured in Las Vegas in April
Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor is being questioned as as the Democratic senator is on Joe Biden's list of potential vice presidents to run with him in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Biden is pictured in a mask during a Memorial Day service this past weekend
Chauvin was among six officers who shot and killed Wayne Reyes, 42, (pictured) in 2006 after the man allegedly pointed a gun at cops. A grand jury found that the use of force was justified
There were more than two dozen cases involving police-involved fatalities that were not charged by Klobuchar during her tenure as a prosecutor. Those matters again were left to a grand jury, which was a common practice, reports the StarTribune.
Biden has remained mum, so far, on who he will pick as his running mate. He has promised to pick a woman.
However, he also has been under pressure to pick a candidate who will resonate with black voters. Two black women said to be under consideration have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement: Senator Kamala Harris of California, who was a district attorney and state attorney general; and Representative Val Demings of Florida, who was the first female police chief in Orlando, Florida.
Klobuchar has been courting black leaders as she tries to keep herself in the mix. She called the Rev. Al Sharpton; Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP; and Leslie Redmond, the president of the Minneapolis NAACP, The New York Times reported.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
'This shouldn't be "normal" in 2020 America': Barack Obama... Minneapolis mayor declares 8pm curfew as fourth night of... Joe Biden tweets 'enough' after Donald Trump's 'when the... Minnesota Attorney General expects 'there WILL be charges'...
Share this article
Share
1.3k shares
Klobuchar had already faced skepticism over her qualifications to be Biden's vice president before Floyd's death.
She has her strengths too, including her appeal to suburban women, a voting block that will be a crucial swing vote in the 2020 election. Polls show she also appeals to older voters, who have been fleeing from Trump in the wake of his handling over the coronavirus pandemic.
Critics, however, said she may not appeal to the left enough to help beat President Trump, and she drew backlash over the conviction of Myron Burrell, a black teen, when she was a Minnesota state prosecutor.
Questions have been raised over the case that got Burrell, a black man, a life sentence for the slaying of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002.
The young girl was killed by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table.
Several black activist groups from Minnesota asked Klobuchar to drop out of the race over revelations that Burrell may have been wrongly convicted.
Questions have been raised over the case that got Myron Burrell, a black man, a life sentence for the slaying of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002
The gravestone of Tyesha Edwards, 11, who was fatally shot in 2002 by a stray bullet allegedly shot by Myron Burrell, now serving a life sentence
Klobuchar had prosecuted the case.
When asked about it on Fox News earlier this year while she was still running to become the Democratic presidential nominee, she dodged the question.
Klobuchar then said, 'I didn't know about this new evidence. No, I didn't know about this new evidence until I saw this report,' she said of an Associated Press investigation of the case.
''I couldn't have. I haven't been in the office for 12 years.'
Klobuchar later asked the district attorney's office in Hennepin County to launch an independent review of Burrell's case. She also met with Burrell's family.
Read more:
George Floyd's death returns spotlight to Klobuchar prosecutor past - StarTribune.com
Protests in Minnesota Renew Scrutiny of Klobuchar's Record as Prosecutor - The New York Times
James Clyburn on the Floyd Killing and The Role of Race In The Coming Election | Vanity Fair
