Harris: ‘We do have 2 systems of justice in America’

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr are “spending full time in a different reality“ when it comes to racism in the justice system.

“The reality of America today is what we have seen over generations and, frankly, since our inception, which is we do have two systems of justice in America,” Harris told CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union" in response to Barr’s comments that there are not two systems of justice for Black and white Americans.

“I don't think that most reasonable people who are paying attention to the facts would dispute that there are racial disparities and a system that has engaged in racism,” she added. “There's no question that we have seen an unacceptable incidence for generations of unarmed Black men being killed. Nobody can deny that.”

In an interview Wednesday on CNN, Barr acknowledged “there are some situations where statistics would suggest” people of color are treated differently than white people but said the justice system was not inherently racist.

Harris, a former prosecutor who served as attorney general of California, also said charges should be considered for the white police officer who shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wis.

“I am not in full position of the facts of the case,” Harris said. “But based on what I've seen, I think that charges very much should be considered and should be considered in a very serious way and that there should be accountability and consequence.”

When asked about the suspension of a group of police officers involved in the suffocation death of a 41-year-old Black man, Daniel Prude, in Rochester, N.Y., Harris said she expects the state’s attorney general to “review all of the evidence and make the appropriate decision.”