During Wednesday night’s Democratic debate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) attacked Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) for her actions as attorney general of California. Gabbard said that Harris needed to apologize to the people who “suffered” while she was the prosecutor. 

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The Hawaii U.S. representative accused Harris imprisoning large groups of racial minorities for low-level drug related crimes, using long sentences to keep people in jail and use them as free state labor, and for concealing evidence that would keep an innocent man on death row.

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“When you were in a position to impact these people’s lives you did not and worse yet in the case of those on death row, innocent people, you actually blocked evidence that would have freed them, until you were forced to do that, and the people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor, you owe them an apology.”

Harris rebutted the statement, but seemed taken aback. “I did the work of significantly changing the criminal justice system and I’m proud of that work, to not just give fancy speeches or be in a legislative body and give speeches on the floor but actually doing the work,” she said. 

Gabbard’s attack came after Harris questioned former Vice President Joe Biden about his comments on two former pro-segregation senators. She added that had those senators had gotten what they wanted, she, Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and President Barack Obama, would not have attained their offices. 

Biden fired back by reminding Harris that under her watch California had two of the most-segregated districts in the country. 

Gabbard and Harris’s exchange prompted Twitter users to create the Hashtag #KamalaHarrisDestroyed.

 

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