CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BLITZER: Jim Acosta at the White House, thank you very much.

I want to get some more on all of this.

The Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro, is joining us right now.

Attorney General, thanks so much for joining us, a sad day for clearly everybody in Pittsburgh, throughout Pennsylvania, indeed throughout the nation.

Let me get your thoughts on the president of the United States right now. You said yesterday that the president hasn't risen to the level that Americans need him to, at least not yet.

Do you think the visit today will make things better?

JOSH SHAPIRO, PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, we will see, Wolf. We will see what comes after this visit, whether he offers words of healing, words of unity, or whether he continues to divide us with his speech and with his tweets.

I think the ball is really in the president's court. As I have said before, I think we need a healer in chief. We need someone to help tone down the political rhetoric, turn the temperature down on that, and bring people together. Words matter, Wolf, and the president so far has failed to find the

words to bring the American people together.

BLITZER: What do you make of the protesters in Pittsburgh who came out only a block or two away from the Tree of Life Synagogue to protest against the president's visit?

SHAPIRO: Well, Wolf, I was on those streets just a day or two ago, and I was visiting with a lot of the people in the Squirrel Hill community, just an incredibly wonderful and diverse place.

They're sad. They are angry, and they're trying to channel that sad and, you know, angry feelings into something that is constructive. And so they come out on to the streets peacefully and they stand arm in arm, and they speak up and they lift their voices. And that's the American way. That's what they should be doing at this time of grief.

Sadly, I think the president's presence there today and those protesters who came out in the street to follow the president's visit distract from the real issue, and that is the 11 Pittsburghers, the 11 Pennsylvanians, the 11 Americans who have to be buried today and in the days ahead.

The focus should be on them and the lives they lived and the indelible marks that they left in our community. And that is the story that I hope people would focus on.

BLITZER: As you know, there are some white nationalists out there who believe that the president actually sympathizes with their views.

Some of the protesters were complaining about that in Pittsburgh today. Do you believe the president has gone far enough in denouncing those people?

SHAPIRO: Not even close.

And the president continually allows his words to be misappropriated by white nationalists like those who you are describing and other hate organizations. He allows his words to fuel some of their activities.

And understand this very clearly, Wolf. Hate speech begets hate crimes. We need to understand that words matter in this country, and perhaps no one's words matter more than the president of the United States.

And so when he tweets and when he speaks in these divisive ways, it tears us apart and it gives these other individuals, it gives these groups sort of a permission slip to go forward.

I think there's another group here that also have to be condemned, and that is people who remain silent in the face of this type of hateful rhetoric coming from the president, whether they're people in his own party or others.

We all have a responsibility to stand up and speak up and speak out loudly against this type of divisive rhetoric. Whether it is on the left or the right, we all have a responsibility to do that hard work.

BLITZER: Do you believe, Attorney General, that the shooter in this particular case who went into that synagogue Saturday morning, as these 11, mostly elderly individuals, one 97 years old, were simply praying -- they had their prayer books out with them, and he came in with an AR-15, three Glock pistols, and simply started shooting and killing these individuals.

[18:15:18]

Do you think this individual, if convicted, should get the death penalty?

SHAPIRO: I do, Wolf.

Let me be very clear, though. This is a case being handled by our very able federal partners. I have worked closely with the U.S. attorney in the Western District, as well as with folks at the Department of Justice. It is my understanding they will be seeking the death penalty.

So, while it is not our case in the state, it is a decision that I support to seek the death penalty for Mr. Bowers.

BLITZER: Could he also face state charges?

SHAPIRO: Yes.

My understanding is the Allegheny County district attorney is pursuing charges as well.

BLITZER: One final question before I let you go, because I know you have been investigating this media platform Gab, where this individual was posting all sorts of anti-Semitic, hateful comments.

Where does that stand, your investigation of that right now?

SHAPIRO: Well, Wolf, I'm a strong supporter of people's First Amendment rights to speak, whether it is speech I agree with or disagree with.

What is not tolerable in this country and what is not constitutional in this country is when -- to allow speech that incites violence. And what we are examining from both a criminal and civil perspective here in Pennsylvania is whether these platforms are enabling language that is inciting violence.

I think it is too soon to tell where our investigation will lead, but I can tell you it is an issue that we are focusing very closely on.

BLITZER: Josh Shapiro is the Pennsylvania attorney general.

Thanks so much for joining us.

SHAPIRO: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source