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good evening. top of the hour after a day unlike any we have seen in politics before. it began with the fbi director's announcement that one of the two major presumptive presidential nominees should not in his agency's view be indicted despite the fact he doesn't like what she did and moved on to the president loudly endorsing that candidate and ends with her opponent loudly condemning her and the entire criminal justice system, calling it rigged, suggesting the fix is in. donald trump, hillary clinton, president obama, fbi director james comey. bill clinton and more. all stars of a political drama that could be playing out until november. first, donald trump. he's the one we just heard from tonight in raleigh, north carolina. >> we now know that she lied to the country when she said she did not send classified information on her server.

she lied. she sent vast amounts of classified information, including information classified as top secret. like a criminal with a guilty conscience, clinton had her lawyers delete, destroy and wipe away forever except i still say there are geniuses that can find them, 30,000, think of this, 30,000 e-mails. this again disqualifies her from service and just think of it. how can you have this? bill and hillary clinton raked in millions of dollars from foreign governments, special interests, and international corporations in exchange for favors, folks. for favors. she's crooked hillary. don't you understand that? this is one of the most crooked politicians in history.

hillary clinton's policies have spread isis and made iran the dominant islamic power in the middle east. hillary clinton can't keep her e-mails safe and you know what, folks? she sure as hell can't keep our country safe. >> donald trump tonight just a few minutes ago in raleigh, north carolina. joining us from there, cnn's sara murray. that was just a small part of a 66-minute address by donald trump which rolled the fbi information in and out of kind of a free-flowing stream of thought event. >> reporter: well, that's a good way to put it. there were a lot of sort of trumpisms in the speech as well. he talked about his hair for awhile, saying he knows more about golf than bill clinton. there was also from donald trump's perspective a pretty strong indictment in that speech against hillary clinton, against president obama and trump is really trying to hammer home this notion that the system is rigged against average americans, people like the

clintons are always able to get ahead and they are able to get away with anything. i think we are going to see that move beyond what he had to say today which was focusing on the e-mails, on comey's decision not to recommend charges against clinton but also to take that forward and essentially to paint the idea the clintons have been getting away with stuff for their entire life and that's what they would be doing in the white house, pronmoting special interests and trying to put themselves ahead of american workers. with trump, the challenge is can he make this case without ending up on a tangent, whether talking about his hair or a judge or a golf game. he did seem to manage to do all of that in about 66 minutes tonight. >> all right. thanks so much. stick around. before going any further, i want to take a closer look at the fbi director's announcement. this was an extraordinary moment in washington and american politics. here's cnn's jim sciutto. >> no charges are appropriate in this case. >> reporter: with those seven words, fbi director james comey

spared hillary clinton the devastating prospect of an fbi indictment just four months from election day. >> in looking back at our investigations into the mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. >> reporter: however, in a surprise announcement at the conclusion, what he called a painstaking investigation, director comey issued damning criticism of the presumptive democratic nominee's use of multiple private e-mail servers. >> although we did not find clear evidence that secretary clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive highly classified information. >> reporter: the fbi found that of the 30,000 e-mails clinton turned over, 110 e-mails contained classified information at the time they were sent or received. including classifications

ranging from top secret, the highest level, to secret and confidential, the lowest level of classification. the fbi's finding contradicts secretary clinton's evolving explanations of her e-mail use beginning with her claim that none of the information she read or e-mailed was sensitive when she read or sent them, implying they were only classified after the fact. >> i am confident that i never sent nor received any information that was classified at the time it was sent and received. >> reporter: in fact, the fbi found numerous e-mails containing information which was classified at the time they were sent. director comey also addressed the candidate's more recent claims that none of the e-mails were marked as classified. >> i'm confident that this process will prove that i never sent nor received any e-mail that was marked classified. >> reporter: in fact, the process found that a small number of e-mails were marked classified at the time she and her staff sent them.

comey also questioned secretary clinton's argument that her private servers were never breached. >> the system we used was set up for president clinton's office, and it had numerous safeguards. it was on property guarded by the secret service and there were no security breaches. >> reporter: in fact, comey concluded that while the fbi found no direct evidence of such breaches -- >> we assessed it is possible that hostile actors gained access to secretary clinton's personal e-mail account. >> reporter: secretary clinton's spokesman quickly welcomed the finding while repeating the candidate's apology. as the secretary has long said it was a mistake to use her personal e-mail and she would not do it again. we are glad that this matter is now resolved. donald trump was, of course, less convinced. tweeting quote, fbi director said crooked hillary compromised our national security. no charges.

wow. hash tag rigged system. jim sciutto, cnn, washington. >> our thanks to jim. back with our panel now, marc lamont hill, corey lewandowski, kayleigh mcenany. you just heard in that piece a litany of things laid out by the fbi director james comey that are not as hillary clinton said they were over the last year, whether or not she sent classified e-mails, whether or not she sent e-mails that were marked classified, whether her system perhaps had been hacked. different than she had originally depicted. in your mind politically speaking, how is life different today for hillary clinton than it was yesterday? >> well, first i'm sure she's breathing a huge sigh of relief not being prosecuted most likely is an extraordinary relief. it's bad for bernie, good for her. it means the party will come together. there's not this looming threat there will be an indictment probably over the summer. that's big for a campaign that was largely hanging a bit waiting for that to happen. that said, this does not erase

questions of trust. hillary clinton was not completely honest or forthcoming. i don't believe she was lying about the classified stuff. i happen to believe she was just wrong. not because i have some abiding faith in their honesty but because you don't lie and say i didn't send anything classified when you know it was going to be subjected to such scrutiny. obviously she was wrong. this is more a question of incompetence or mistake or oversight than some venal sin that happened with regard to the classified piece. ultimately, hillary clinton looks a little less competent, little less careful, but probably scott-free on the legal side of things. >> basil, she is already losing to donald trump on the issue of who is more honest and trustworthy. this does not make her look more honest and trustworthy. >> i would disagree. i would disagree. >> this is more trustworthy today? >> i would disagree. on the question of trust, hillary clinton has won more votes than any other candidate in this primary cycle. there have been questions about her going back 25 years, repeated by a lot of folks including newt gingrich chiefly

among them in many respects. to be honest, i think there's a lot of this trust issue baked into her campaign and candidacy going back a long time and there was really no causality there. it's been consistently repeated. wait, wait, wait. wait a minute. here's my point. many things can be true at the same time we are sort of trying to find this narrow path to get to a place where a lot of people that were talking and commenting about this today are simply not telling the truth. it could be true that director comey is beyond reproach. it could be true the facts of the case as you mention are simply different facts. it could be true that she did not have the intent with respect to these e-mails and this is the end of the investigation. those things can be true. i think we can get past that. >> it is also true that in all the recent polls, trump is booting her on the issue of who is more honest and trustworthy. >> "wall street journal" latest

poll 69% of respondents don't believe hillary clinton to be honest. today did not help that number. i'm sure that number will go up. bottom line, she has lied systematically, said things that weren't accurate, weren't truthful. she knows the truth. three and a half hours of an fbi investigation where the director said there was no intent i think is probably not enough time to make that decision. almost 70% of the american people at the end of june didn't think she was honest and trustworthy. that number will go up today because once again the clintons have skirted the law very closely and gotten away with it. >> i don't want to let this moment pass without noting the incredible drama of the moment, when the fbi director walked out today in a news conference that was unannounced. when he announced it we didn't know what he was going to say. then he went behind that microphone and told us no one else knew what he was going to say. he hadn't told anyone else in the government what was about to happen. this was really unusual. >> there has never been a public event involving an fbi director

or any prosecutor as far as i'm aware where the stakes were higher and the ignorance of all of us was greater. i was sitting there like everyone else sort of watching him weave through the facts thinking he's moving this way, oh, he's going to say charges are justified, oh, he's going to say charges are not justified. it was really an extraordinary moment. and you know, the fbi usually opens and closes investigations by saying nothing. they leave it to the department of justice, to the attorney general or u.s. attorneys to speak out about the facts of the case. this is something the fbi almost never does. >> we still have evan perez with us. if we can go to you, one of the open questions, the fbi director made clear that he's only recommending at this point no charges be brought. what happens next? loretta lynch has said she's going to accept the advice of prosecutors. who are the prosecutors who will decide what to do? >> well, you still have prosecutors at the justice department national security

division that have been overseeing this investigation and so we expect they will accept comey's recommendation. but then there's the other question of what the state department does. typically, when someone commits violations like what is described in this report by the fbi, the state department would pull their security credential or perhaps put -- do some kind of administrative penalty. these people who work for mrs. clinton and mrs. clinton herself of course have left the state department so there's really not much they can do to them. however, what you would normally do is put something in their file for the next time that someone applies for a security clearance. so the question is, if clinton wins in november, how are they going to deal with this question of the members of her staff who were part of this problem, who created part of this problem, and how are they going to deal with their security clearances and mrs. clinton herself, how $she get a security clearance if you have this information in her file. obviously if you are the

president, you have to have access to classified information. >> truly is fascinating. the fbi director made that point. just because there may be no legal repercussions there could have been employment repercussions. everyone stick around. we will continue this conversation shortly. a bit more now on the criticism of director comey. if the suggestion is political partisanship, he's a pretty unlikely target as gary tuchman explains. >> state your name. >> reporter: james comey became the seventh director of the fbi in 2013. in the beginning of president obama's second term. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. >> reporter: however, years before that, he became the number two at the justice department under president george w. bush. it happens to be a registered republican who donated to both the mitt romney campaign in 2012 and the john mccain campaign in 2008. he also served as counsel on the senate whitewater committee in 1996, investigating both hilary and bill clinton.

his reputation for bipartisan fairness has long been well known. when comey took over the fbi director spot, this is what mueller had to say. >> i have had the opportunity to work with jim for a number of years in the department of justice and i have found him to be a man of honesty, dedication and integrity. >> reporter: comey gained a degree of fame for his role in one of the most dramatic incidents during george w. bush's tenure in the white house. comey's boss, attorney general john ashcroft, was gravely ill in the hospital. two of president bush's top aides rushed there to try to get ashcroft to endorse a warrantless eavesdropping program. comey was acting attorney general while ashcroft was in the hospital and when he found out about the plan, he rushed to the hospital and stopped it. >> i was very upset. i was angry. i thought i had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man. >> reporter: the eavesdropping

program was not endorsed. as a federal prosecutor, comey dealt with the khobar towers terrorist case. following an attack 20 years ago in saudi arabia that killed 19 service members. he prosecuted members of the mafia. >> we are here this afternoon to announce the unsealing of three separate indictments against 14 alleged members and associates -- >> reporter: and he prosecuted america's domestic diva. >> martha stewart is being prosecuted not because of who she is but because of what she did. >> reporter: donald trump tweeted the system is rigged after comey's statement regarding hillary clinton. >> we are expressing to justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case. >> reporter: but if donald trump becomes president, he will have to work with comey. comey still has eight years left of a ten-year term. gary tuchman, cnn, new york. >> gary tuchman, thank you so much. interesting day for hillary clinton. not all bad.

next, she and president obama sharing the stump and sharing the political love in their first campaign appearance together. later, donald trump's ongoing vp auditions. bob corker of tennessee tonight. newt gingrich tomorrow. joni ernst yesterday. chris christie also under consideration. we will talk about what could be going into that decision when we continue. u dare follow your dreams. think big. or demand your own space. don't you dare leave it all behind. don't you dare ask what's next. introducing the first-ever cadillac xt5. ♪ in my gentleman's quarters, we sip champagne and peruse my art collection, which consists of renaissance classics and more avant-garde pieces.

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did all her exes get invited? no ones got moves like uncle joe. ♪ when it's go book on choicehotels.com for instant rewards like gift cards, plus savings of up to 20%. book direct at choicehotels.com if hillary clinton's day began on a low note albeit not the lowest imaginable which

would have been criminal charges, her day ended on a political high. president obama joined her for the first time on the campaign trail giving her his full support. that's an understatement. on a day she needed all she could get. that's an understatement. more on that from cnn's jeff zeleny. >> reporter: it was a day hillary clinton had long been waiting for. arriving on air force one with president obama, who she's counting on to fire up his old coalition for her. but their appearance today in north carolina overshadowed by the fbi's decision to recommend no criminal charges for handling classified information as secretary of state. the fbi announcement lifted one cloud hanging over her, yet it hardly cleared the air. more than ever, clinton must now convince voters she has good judgment and can be trusted in the oval office. and she's turning to the president for help. >> i have had a front row seat to her judgment and her toughness and her commitment to diplomacy. >> reporter: she's relying on his rising approval rating to

help her own standing and defeat donald trump. >> after all, he knows a thing or two about winning elections. take it from me. >> reporter: their debut on the campaign trail came in battleground north carolina. a blue state in 2008 where obama narrowly won. and a red state four years later where he barely lost. the clinton campaign is fighting hard to turn it blue once again. >> we are going to fight for every vote in this state and with your help, we're going to win it. >> reporter: obama and clinton's relationship has come full circle. from rivals -- >> shame on you, barack obama. >> reporter: -- to allies. >> hillary! >> reporter: now they need each other. her election will help his legacy live on. >> i couldn't be prouder of the things we have done together but i'm ready to pass the baton. and i know that hillary clinton is going to take it. there has never been any man or

woman more qualified for this office. than hillary clinton. ever. and that's the truth. >> reporter: few sitting presidents are popular enough to be invited to the campaign trail. ronald reagan is the last. >> win one last one for the gipper. >> reporter: obama plans to campaign far more aggressively. for him, taking down trump is personal. >> barack obama should end this and he should provide the public with a birth certificate. >> yes, in fact i was born in hawaii, august 4th, 1961. >> reporter: today in charlotte, clinton raised that controversy to rally democrats and remind them of the stakes. >> someone who has never forgotten where he came from and donald, if you're out there

tweeting, it's hawaii. >> reporter: the president took his turn belittling trump, too. >> everybody can tweet but nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you sat behind the desk. >> jeff zeleny joins us now. jeff was there in 2008 and there again today for these remarkable moments between barack obama and hillary clinton. one thing that was not mentioned today by either of these two politicians was the fbi investigation. what are you hearing from the clinton campaign about how they are reacting privately and whether or not she will react publicly at some point? >> well, she will definitely have to react publicly to this. this was not the time or place for it. in fact, they were taken completely by surprise of the timing of this. but they know they will have to address it and really go through everything that she did for the last year or so, say she was sorry, apologize and try and move on. i think among democrats that's

going to work here but there is concern inside the campaign that those independent voters, even some republican voters who may have been on the verge of supporting her given all the things happening on the other side of the aisle here may be set back by this. look for her to react to this in the coming days, perhaps in an interview, perhaps in an act of contrition in some respect. she has been laying the groundwork for that. last week we heard her talk about she knows she needs to restore her trust in voters. that's why she was doing this. they knew this was coming out at some point. but so striking to see the president with her there today. he was trying to help her along with that. he said that he had a front row seat to her good judgment. we will see if that carries any weight with the american public. >> jeff zeleny, thank you so much. back now with our panel. i want to start with you, you are a republican but a student of politics. turns out this barack obama guy is good at this campaigning thing. >> thps aboat's about all he wa at. it's been a disaster for his

presidency. barack obama is an asset for hillary clinton now. he's popular because of how crazy this whole election cycle is. it makes barack obama look like a great president. people have short memories. she desperately needs that energy because people are not energized for her, per se. and barack obama brings that. this is his element and if the optics look good for her. now, she's not going to be able to escape. we will see how long that lasts. she will not be able to escape her terrible poll numbers when it comes to trustworthiness. she can't escape now -- well, if we had a candidate on our side that was able to articulate better than he does now instead of these rants that he goes on for an hour, that could articulate the economic disaster that this presidency has been and all the other issues that from foreign policy on down, it would be no contest. it wouldn't matter. but people actually because of what we have such a weak candidate on our side, what we have is that barack obama's over 50% in popularity. this is crazy. i don't think anybody would have

expected that. a year ago we thought she would have to run against barack obama. now they're best buddies. >> one of the thing the president no doubt wants to do right now is enhance democratic unity. you are not supporting hillary clinton. you are not going there. >> green party. >> but from what you saw today, how does what the president did for hillary clinton, do you think it helps in a unity front? >> yes. it absolutely helps. when you have a president who is very popular, standing next to you, it absolutely helps. it speaks to the trust issue. he went directly at the trust issue. obviously people will say she was your secretary of state, you have no choice but to stand next to her because benghazi's a mess, it's your fault. if these other things are a mess, russia, whatever it is, it's your fault. obviously voters who don't trust her will still not trust her after barack obama is done talking. but he helps bring voters out, rally people, brings voters of color out, helps pull the tight states like north carolina and maybe florida and maybe virginia and maybe ohio and pennsylvania. those things are good for him. the key is not barack obama.

it's what bernie sanders does in the next two weeks. >> know what he was doing? sending out e-mails during the campaign. seriously, his campaign was sending out e-mails about the platform during president obama's speech there which was a really interesting dynamic. what do you make of that? you want to see bernie sanders stop with that? >> yeah, i do. yes, i do. i need him to whatever process he needs to go through, he needs to take his supporters through to be able to turn to hillary and get out there working for hillary. i need him to do that. that's important for us. but there is unity right now. you see barack obama today, joe biden's coming up very soon. elizabeth warren has been out there. there are major democratic leaders already supporting and campaigning with hillary clinton. so yes, i would love bernie sanders to do whatever he needs to do to come on board but in lieu of that, this process is moving forward. >> corey, you were inside the

trump campaign. do you view running against barack obama differently than running against hillary clinton? do you think he's a tougher candidate to take on than the secretary? >> i think what you have is you have a third term of the obama administration is what you are looking at right now, which is unparalleled, unemployment rates. people aren't even looking for jobs anymore, taken off the rolls even though they are unemployed. this administration has done nothing to reduce the national debt, nothing to cut taxes. that's the extension of what hillary clinton is looking to do. she's now trying to tie herself to president obama to save what is potentially a very very flawed candidate. what we see is that bernie sanders has still not withdrawn from this race. he lost the fbi primary today, unfortunately, but still has the secret service protection. he's not getting out of this race. he's staying there to make a point. that is not helpful to hillary clinton and will ultimately, his people who are disenfranchised with the way the system works, will support donald trump. >> that i think is up for dispute right now. there are a lot of people who say they will ultimately come

aboard. >> 12 people will vote for donald trump. >> the president's approval rating is over 50%, very high for a president in his second term. he's out there speaking on behalf of hillary clinton. who does donald trump have like that who can match the star power, the political gusto of president obama out there speaking on his behalf? >> there are a lot of people. newt gingrich, chris christie -- >> chris christie is unpopular in his home state right now. >> if you look at the real clear politics average, there are actually four polls that came out in the last four days that show he's under 50%. there's a reason for that. 65% of this country thinks we are on the wrong track. obama has sat in the white house largely unchallenged but now that he's on the campaign trail, you will have donald trump saying this is the worst recovery we have seen in five years. there is still double digit unemployment for millenials. the president can sit in the

ivory tower and act as if the economy is just fine. but it's not. >> can i push back? i will push back on the pushback. for eight years, republicans have tried to delegitimize this president by saying he's not even from here. the fact is he has lowered unemployment substantially and when wages have stagnated, he and other democrats have pushed for increased minimum wage and even today, there are signs there is growth. even with minimum wage increases. so let's be clear about his record. >> he's not running for re-election right now. that's why we can go to break. trump advisor says we should know next week who donald trump's running mate is. we will take a look at the short list of possible trump vp choices. donald trump has kind of told us what the list is. gary, gary, gary... i am proud of you, my man. making simple, smart cash back choices... with quicksilver from capital one. you're earning unlimited 1.5% cash back

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brace yourselves. the wait is almost over. an advisor to donald trump tells cnn his vice presidential choice will be announced next week. the list has been whittled down to several likely picks, a group that includes tennessee senator bob corker who introduced trump at his rally tonight. whether trump goes for senator corker, another senator, another experienced politician, or rising star remains to be seen. with the convention less than two weeks from now, the speculation has never been more intense. tom forman with a look at the possibilities.

>> thank you very much, everybody. >> reporter: as the most outside outsider to seek the white house, trump has a reason to load his possible veep list with insiders. >> you want somebody that can help you with legislation getting it through. >> reporter: or political savvy, many see indiana governor mike pence as a player with a bonus. he's popular with evangelicals. trump met pence and his family, tweeted very impressed, great people. senator tom cotton from arkansas has also drawn praise. senator bob corker from tennessee has deep experience in foreign affairs and he might help with more moderate voters. and of course, there's former speaker of the house newt gingrich, a champion of conservatives, veteran campaigner who thinks trump should be coached toward a more civil message. >> the odds are very high he's going to win. >> reporter: but trump is struggling with women. that could point him to iowa senator joni ernst, whom he met with monday. she's an iraq veteran from a

battleground state and her past criticisms of him over women's issues could bring credibility if she gets on board. or he might consider mary fallin, the first female governor of oklahoma. and some have even suggested former governor and veep candidate sarah palin although she admittedly brings baggage. >> i wouldn't want to be a burden on the ticket. i recognize that in many many eyes, i would be that burden. >> reporter: and then there is loyalty. jeff sessions from alabama was pushing trump before any other u.s. senator and new jersey governor chris christie, who could help with blue collar voters in the rust belt, stood firmly with trump even when he was pilloried for his early support. >> tonight is the beginning of donald trump bringing the people of our nation together to help america win again. >> reporter: one challenge to shortening the list, the billionaire candidate has been such a sharp critic of mainstream politicians that some potential running mates may be

leery about jumping on to the trump train for fear that if he loses it could be a one-way ticket to republican purgatory. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> more on trump's potential vp picks after a quick break. and later as we inch closer to cleveland and the republican national convention, we meet a delegate who does not want to vote for trump. he thinks trump is unfit to be president and argues the state law prevents him from voting his conscience. 're lovin' their vegetables. this is huge news! it's all thanks to our birds eye chef's favorites side dishes perfectly sauced or seasoned. what are you..? shh! i'm live tweeting. oh, boy. birds eye. so veggie good.

for hillary, it's always been about kids. it's in the quiet moments when you see why she does this. and when millions couldn't get health care, this first lady worked with republicans and democrats to fix it. creating the children's health insurance program, so that every child gets the health care that child deserves to have. now eight million kids are covered. that's the kind of leader she is. and the kind of president she'll be.

i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message.

talking about donald trump's short list of potential vice presidential picks. earlier i spoke with cnn political commentator and former advisor to president obama, david axelrod. you can hear his podcast at cnn.com/podcast and cnn inside politics anchor john king. david, let me start with you. it's sort of in vogue lately, the last few cycles, to say the vice presidential pick doesn't really matter. ultimately people only vote for the presidential candidate here. but you make the case that for donald trump, this pick, this vice presidential selection is especially important. >> i think it is important in his case. i generally agree that vice presidential candidates rarely win elections for you. they can sometimes help you lose elections. we saw that in 2008 with john

mccain and sarah palin. but in this case, donald trump is really on probation with voters as to whether he has the preparedness to be president of the united states and this really is your first presidential appointment. so people will be looking closely as to whether he picks someone who gives them some reassurance that he can govern. back in 2008 one of the considerations for barack obama in picking joe biden was that joe biden had 36 years of washington experience, was chairman of the senate foreign relations committee and offered some counterweight to concerns that obama was too young and inexperienced to be president of the united states. trump in a different way needs to reassure people and that's why i was interested tonight that he was campaigning with bob corker, the current chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, and may fit the bill for the kind of reassurance that trump needs to send. >> john king, who is it going to be? if you can't tell me exactly, at

least as we sit here tonight, who is leading the list? is it these people donald trump is floating very publicly inced? >> look, everyone inside the trump campaign says mr. trump will make this decision in the end. as you know this is an especially tough campaign to crack. as someone who worked this issue in past campaigns going back a long way, because he is such a singular force within the campaign. there's a debate among the people who advise mr. trump, discussion, and david, they went through this in the obama campaign. if you pick somebody inside, trump said he wants somebody with washington experience because he has none of that. do you undermine the outsider theme, the disrupter theme, the change washington theme, if you pick newt gingrich, who has so much experience in washington, or does it make the reassuring case not only to voters that they have someone on the side to pull the levers of government but also to republican establishment figures and donors who are scared about mr. trump right now. that's one school of thought. the other is that somebody like

mike pence who has conservative credentials, comes from the rust belt which is critical to trump's electoral strategy. he was in washington, he was a bit of an outsider when he was in the conservative house of representatives, then left and went home to indiana. lot of people in the campaign thinks that's a better fit for the argument, someone who has washington experience but doesn't live here. >> david, being a vice president is often considered a thankless job. being a vice presidential candidate is also very very difficult. in this case it could be even more difficult. look at paul ryan right now, speaker of the house, who is barely endorsing donald trump but has to answer for him every day. if you are vice presidential nominee with donald trump, you have to answer for him on the trail several times a day. does this give people on the list pause? >> i think it gives a lot of people who aren't on the list pause. the people who took themselves out of the hunt earlier. look, i think it's very, very difficult.

one of the things obama was most concerned about in 2008 was getting someone who had experienced a national campaign before, because it is a maelstrom. you are under siege every day. add to that having to react to donald trump on an hourly basis and it becomes a really, really significant challenge. so you had better pick someone who can handle that. now, that would be an argument for a guy like newt gingrich who is used to being in the middle of a firestorm. he knows how to handle those situations. although he also has thrown a few logs on the fire in his time. but you know, yes, i think it's very, very difficult. it would be a tough assignment. >> veepstakes, one of the best traditions there is in politics. john king, david axelrod, thanks for joining us. just ahead for us, one delegate's battle to not do what the voters told him to do. his fight against casting his convention ballot for donald trump, even going as far as

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convention starts in days from now. there are those trying to do whatever they can to stop trump from becoming the nominee. a suit has been filed in federal court that challenges the law that compels him to vote for trump. it says that corel thinks trump is unfit and will go against his conscience. joining us is beau corell. the state law requires you to vote for the candidate who received the vote in the primaries, which is donald trump. that law existed when voters went to the polls but you say it violates your first amendment rights? >> absolutely. we're in a situation here where we have a state law that says it's winner take all, even though trump only won 35% of the vote, somehow or another he gets all the votes. and then we have state party rules that say it's proportional

and some rules that aren't adopted at the national level that could potentially apportion it a different way. so our position and mine as the plaintiff is this is not the purview of the government to compel members of a private association how to vote in that association. >> what did you do to overturn this law before this year? >> it only becomes ripe in legal parlance after a primary, after an elected delegate, you know, you have conflicting instructio instructions, pro partiportionr winner take all. i did my due diligence and looked into this. this is something that is none of government's business to do. >> so to be clear you didn't try to stop it. if the courts come back and rule against you what do you plan to do at the convention? >> well, i'm a part of the movement that's called delegates unbound and

freethedelegates.com. we're educating delegates so they can vote their conscience, especially under rule 37 and we're fighting this every method that we can tooth and nail. so i think i'm cautiously optimistic we're on well supported constitutional grounds. because of that thursday's hearing is going to be a big hearing and we're looking forward to that. >> okay, corey lewandowski, he ran trump's campaign for some time. if the lawsuit prevails, this would be a major pain in the neck for the trump campaign. >> i don't think the lawsuit has any merit. the rules were established well before the voters went to the ballot. if they wanted to change a state law, they had the opportunity to do that through their state legislature and they haven't done that. it sounds like a sore loser, i don't like to the nominee is and i'm going to retroactively change the rules. if ted cruz or jeb bush, they

weren't successful. 14 million voters voted for donald trump. he played by the rules and won. >> beau, you disagree? >> yes. what's very strange here is we have donald trump and they're joining arms with the attorney general to criminalize donald trump. it says he wants to rely on the long arm of the law to influence members of independent association. >> he wants to win at the convention, which is politics. but tara setmayor, you want donald trump to lose but do you support these movements? >> look, i'm horrified that donald trump is our nominee. he won the process but only won 41%, 42% of the primary votes. 50% of the republicans did not

support him. in virginia he only won 35% but he gets all the delegates. as much as i would like to see delegates being unbound, which they can be, technically right now they're all unbound. they can go to the convention and the convention rules committee can determine that delegates can vote their conscience. this is something that, you know, edmund burke talked about. he said the duty of a representative is above all to vote their conscience on things. and there a lot of people who are concerned and rightfully so. would i like to see someone else other than donald trump be our nominee? of course i would. i don't know how likely this effort is. i appreciate them standing on principle but i think there are enough people unfortunately who have not done that, are unwilling to do that that i don't think it's going to change anything. >> 30 seconds left. what are the trump contingency plans of dealing with unruly

delegates? >> right now reince has been very clear, that they don't look to change any of the rules. the rules have been established, they played by the rules. it's time to go forward. all these other candidate who had their chance to win and lost, this is how the game is played. >> this is how the game is played. what do i do you expect the judge to rule? >> this coming thursday, in federal court in east virginia. around 60% of delegates don't want donald trump so just get ready. >> stand by. we'll find out thursday. >> thanks so much. we'll be right back.

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that does it for us. thanks for watching. time for "cnn tonight" with don lemon. >> on the day after the fourth of july weekend, the real fireworks are on the campaign. when you're the first woman with a shot at the white house, you know one thing for sure, the men at the top are going to have a lot to say about you. less listen to james comey's blistering statement about her e-mail handling. >> there