politics." i'm john king. thanks for sharing your time today. beautiful day here in the washington capital. eight days to election day and a campaign turned upside-down.

framing the stakes, our monday afternoon conversation, one is donald trump's campaign good fluff to make the most of the fbi's october e-mail surprise? >> but i have a feeling they've just found a lot of them. don't you think? have a feeling. huma -- they just found a lot of them. we never thought we were going to say thank you to anthony weiner. >> oh, i never thought i'd say his name again, actually. question two, will the fbi announcement take the steam out of hillary clinton's aggressive early voting push? >> so you know how we're going to stop him? by showing up with the biggest turnout in american history. we need every to turn out and vote.

>> and question three, and it's a big one here in washington. caution or keystone cops? the fbi found these new e-mails weeks ago. why did we learn this just friday and why did the fbi get a warrant to search them just yesterday? >> i was surprised that the director, who has told our committee on several occasions that his number one concern is his reputation that he would issue a letter that, number one, was so vague, and that basically gave donald trump a softball to hit over the fence. >> a lot to talk about. with us to share reporting and insights, cnn's emeka henderson. mary katherine henderson and manu raju. one full week of campaigning left, stale growing list of questions about friday's stunning fbi decision to reopened clinton e-mail

investigation. this one will get our constant scrutiny this hour and throughout the week. is there evidence this dramatic change in the campaign debate is changing the state of play in the key battleground states? now, let's be clear. it's going to take a few days to get a trustworthy sense of the impact. the news broke just friday. weekend polling not the most reliable, but this late october surprise adds a big wave of unpredictability to the final week of an already volatile campaign cycle. hard to top this assessment from clinton's running mate tim kaine. >> really? oh my gosh. get the pepto bismol, folks. >> oh, my gosh. get the poept oh biz mol, folks. sometimes politicians get it dead right and that was about dead right. a lot we don't know and go through this start here with the big headlines. in terms of reporting in the battleground states, what are we hearing? the trump campaign is puffy chested. we're going to win everywhere now. the clinton campaign, baked in. not changing anything. i suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle depending which

state we go to. manu, start with you. reporting through the weekend on what people think the biggest impact will be? >> i don't think we quite know the full impact yet. of course, millions of people have already voted. obviously it won't affect them. i think that what it does do is give republicans an issue to run on, particularly those down tick republicans with not much to talk about. saying this is why you need a republican congress to investigate potential wrongdoing of the president. the bigger problem for clinton is that it changes the narrative completely. this was a campaign that had essentially turned into a referendum on donald trump and whether or not he had the temperament to become president. now it's being the -- focus is back on her and her problems and that could have an impact on a lot of voters still deciding whether or not they trust her, whether or not they can vote for her kwum electicome election da. the real problem. larger impact, we won't know until we see polling. >> evidence that the trump campaign has what it takes to

take advantage of this opening? whether a turnout operation, a messaging operation? smart enough data and polling to figure out which states can flip? pick one. don't bounce all over the place? >> certain things were already set. right? the map already tough for trump. the get out the vote effort on her side is very calculated, scientific and his side unconventional and maybe not so much. those things were already set. this changes the narrative giving him a chance, and what is probably most helpful it helps the come home factor for a lot of republicans saying this is the last straw for this person. i can't give her a shot at this. >> right. you saw mike pence making that case last week, come on home. down in i believe north carolina to republicans. what you've seen the clinton campaign do is try to shore up what they're coalition has been so far. right? i mean, they pretty immediately turned this into a referendum on james comey. i thought it was pretty smart of them initially to essentially say, listen, show us all your

cards. it gave people, democrats, who were like, my goodness. get the pepto-bismol, more like, get the vodka. gave them something to say. switch it to comey. make this about politics, and so in that way i think a lot of -- looking at the front pages today in some battleground states. a lot of the focus is on james comey rather than hillary clinton. >> i think really the biggest impact of this is not on democrats. i think democrats are very motivated, they're going to see this as political. they're behind her. and the clinton campaign saying that, beyond that, i think other people saying as well. i think the more important impact may be republicans who were considering voting for her. people sort of who were sort of soft leaners one way or the other. those are the people who might say i can't quite do it. or more positito the point, if vote would vote for trump but so disgusted weren't going to vote at all and don't like trump at

all, couldn't bring themselves to do it and now say, well, you know -- >> it's been an interesting conversation and will be throughout it the week. interesting things, gary johnson, libertarian candidate took advantage to say i don't you don't like trump. here's a reason not to vote clinton. vote for the third-party candidate. listen to his running mate. bill weld a former prosecutor. i covered back in the day, u.s. attorney in massachusetts saying what james comey the fbi director was not only way out of line against agency protocols, he says it was unfair to hillary clinton. >> they're totally off the reservation and they're, be honest, playing hit and run. right? there's no way that -- >> what does that mean? >> it means that -- there's no way for mrs. clinton to know what the evidentiary basis is on which they made this update to their investigation and said themselves they don't know it making it all the more unreasonable to have waded into these waters in the first place. >> i think it's disgraceful. ten days to go. i think it's disgrazeful.

>> it is odd to see the libertarian party's number two on the ticket essentially coming to hillary clinton's defense in the middle of all of this. >> he did something similar last week before this even came out. all but said, i don't want trump. don't vote -- if you need to, vote for hillary clinton. so i mean, i'm not sure he's like -- >> first of all it is almost, like, no one wants any of us to vote for them. but the other thing is on the times of this, we have to keep in mind the reason for timing of this partly, largely, because though didn't give all of the e-mails over to the fbi and the doj they were supposed to give. that's why they found them late. this is a problem of her own making and it comes at a late time. >> no question the reason we're having this conversation at all is because hillary clinton ignored advice of the president of the united states and set up a private e-mail service. no question about that. huma abedin telling friends she had no idea these e-mails were in her estranged husband's computer. more going through the investigation. a lot of the conversation is to manu's point, an election clinton was trying to frame as a

referendum on donald trump. now her character and conduct questions are back in the news. the clinton campaign up with a new ad in battleground states trying to put the focus back on donald trump. their version of really going nuclear. >> this was me in 1964, the fear of nuclear war we had as children i never thought our children would ever have to deal with that again, and to see that coming forward in this election is really scary. >> trump asked three times. >> three times, why can't we use nuclear weapons? >> i want to be unpredictable. >> bomb the [ bleep ] out of them. >> it is, it's an interesting strategy, very provocative ad and know in these conversations, in the free media now, the conversation is not about donald trump as much. more about her and this investigation. they're trying to break through in the paid media with a lot of pea questioning, will that be successful in this campaign? >> that's been the core of their argument just for months now. it's been, i mean, gone after trump on many, many factors, but i would say what they opened with seems to be what they're closing with. do you want this guy's finger on

the nuclear button? that he doesn't have the temperament to be president. that is what it comes down. the heart of -- >> you may have question be about me but this guy's crazy. >> world peace is at stake. >> think ar the democrat graphics that will work on possibly lp possibly. older voters, in states like pennsylvania, ohio. voters who might remember that ad in 1964 and casting many of their first ballots in that election, and also women as well. and those are the group of voters who care more about stability, care more about issues like that. i think it's an effective ad, and older voters particularly watch more tv. >> the argument of not bad but everything's a reboot these days. so derivative. next, bear in the woods. >> one other quick point before we take the first break here. democrats trying to make this partisan. it you're a democrat thinking of backing away you can't. we're in a fight. under attack. harry reid, senate democratic leader going as far as saying he believes james comey broke the

law. a federal law called the hatch act. not supposed to get involved in federal aftertivety. republicans view him as a hack. final act, retiring after the campaign. does he believe that or trying to generate partisan reflex? >> partisan reflex. the whole democratic strategy. focus exclusively on james comey. reid and other leaders praising james comey just a few months ago for not recommending to bring charges against hillary clinton. >> so long ago. >> the challenge going after comey and painting him as a partisan actor, even though if the comments are question about al this point. >> that was so july. so back then. sit tight. for donald trump, giant new opening and a huge old challenge. finding a state or two to erase the blue.

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welcome back. this is almost always true but essentially in the final week of a campaign. don't necessarily believe it when the candidate tells he or she is surging everywhere. >> i just wanted to give you a little secret. we're tied. that's not so good. we're tied in new mexico. but we're going to win this state. you're going to be very happy. >> donald trump in -- new mexico? well, even a lot of republicans think this one's a little crazy. back in time and look at the state of new mexico, 2012 state. 10 points for president obama over mitt romney. 2008, a bigger spread. why is donald trump there? republicans are asking that question themselves, because they think he has bigger problems heading into the final

week. number one, donald trump cannot win without florida. brand new polling out today, he's in play. a dead heat, but anytime in new mexico is time not spent in florida. one challenge. even with the fbi news for donald trump. another -- donald trump can't win without north carolina. look at this brand new poll out today. six-point lead for clinton. waiting to see as the week goes on any fbi impact, but any day in new mexico is not time for trump in north carolina, but not totally nuts he would stop in a reliably blue state. why? look at plthe map. hillary clinton ahead. even if donald trump won them all, it's not enough. he has to turn something blue on this map. why he's testing new mexico. he'll be in michigan, wisconsin and in pennsylvania. cannot win even if perfect in the toss-up states without turning something blue red. why he's trying and at every stop trying to take advantage of the new fbi revelation.

>> hillary clinton is not the victim. you, the american people, are the victims of this corrupt system. in every single way. now the fbi has found -- you're not going to believe this one. this just happened -- another 650,000 e-mails. how do you get to 650 -- i think that's called the motherload. >> i also think that's called an exaggeration. we don't have evidence they found 650,000 e-mails. we also don't have evidence he's tied in new mexico as trump said at the top of that, but does need to find something blue to red, even if perfect. a lot of republicans criticize his strategy, early in this week makes sense to test a few or should he be just camped out in michigan, in pennsylvania or wisconsin? >> many republicans would like to see evidence that he have a

more honed strategy and one state they think will be the motherload, as it were, for them. whether he can stay on message with this. this is -- for trump, a pretty perfect story line, because it doesn't have all of the details of the old e-mail story he has to marshall and have at his command. he can just say the letter was dropped, reopened. speaks to a gut feeling people have about her and anthony weiner is involved. he's having more fun than the whole campaign. >> that's the problem. the fun part. you expect a candidate like this given such a gift would be a little built more serious and targeted. maybe hold a press conference, for instance, instead of continuously speaking to the same group of voters he already has. in somewhat of a joking manner, oh, thank you, anthony weiner. compared it to watergate, probably a bit of an exaggeration. at some point said hillary clinton never wish she'd heard the word e-mails. it isn't very targeted or serious, and it probably should be to be more effective. >> right. if he has one group he needs to

win this week it is college educated white women, who live in the suburbs of philadelphia, of charlotte, of raleigh-durham, of cleveland and columbus and then can worry about new mexico or somewhere else. see anything in the message that suggests he's not just throwing red meat to supporters but saying it in a way targeted to them? >> not yet. we need to see what he does over the next coming days. he cannot just talk to the people who already like him or have concerns about hillary clinton and her e-mails, because even though this brings the subject up again, it has been litigate add long time. talking about this for a year and a half. i think he does need to still give people a reason to vote for him, a reason to think he is going to bring something to the agenda and actually do the job of president. you have to do something than just not mess up your e-mails. >> the geography is this is curious why he would spend any time in new mexico. incredibly if not impossible a state to flip. other blue states have

potential. you're seeing more money going into wisconsin, for instance. which is tightening right now. not just on top of the ticket. democratic groups are putting money into help hillary clinton shore up her position and down ticket. ron johnson in that state suddenly there's belief that maybe that race is getting tighter. >> given up for dead. people thinking he's moved closer. >> critical where you choose your time. picking a state lie new mexico rather than others that may be perhaps more winnable is a curious strategy going to the point of, will he be able to take advantage of this new ammunition he's gotten? >> so we see -- i'm told priorities usa, a pro-clinton super pac planning on spending a lot of money be on the don ballot races. some will be spent but they believe keep the college educated white women, that's okay. just keep them. you won't do as well as you thought a week ago, keep them, get north carolina. game over with north carolina. obviously, pennsylvania. a question for trump? can he stay focused?

wow. twitter, facebook and twitter burying the clinton -- dishonest media. not true. stuff spread by conspiracy theorists and new mexico. not related to the fbi. donald trump talking, 650 put in his head a number this weekend. if clinton is elected what will happen to the border. >> when you're working for hillary, she wants to let people just pour in. you could have 650 million people pour in, and we do nothing about it. think of it. that's what could happen. you triple the size of our country in one week. once you lose control of your borders you have no country, folks. >> i have a great license for hyperbole in politics. i get it. but 650 million people in a week? >> newt gingrich. >> might take two weeks. >> this is newt gingrich strategy.

>> at the mope, we're laughing. he has a chance in opening what people thought, that the race was over, maybe a chance to turn the race, bend the steel in this way. can't say things like that. >> you always have to deal with what donald trump is actually capable of. he's capable of maybe bringing home some republicans and waiting for hillary's own misdeeds to come to the other side. hopefully this story will do that. college educated women, gosh. she's really bad. not sure i want to go there. stay home or go third party. >> it's eight days. right? if he started this eight weeks ago, maybe. but, you know, a lot of this stuff, hate to use this, off-used phrase, baked into the cake, but that is probably what's happening, and him kind of zigzagging across messages in states, i don't think it's a concentrated way to flip things. >> we're watch that and find out as donald trump moves around in the next few days as we move on here. even before the fbi october surprise, hillary clinton had an urgent worry. lesson from early voting and her final week map, including a stop

in ohio. look here. just landed in cleveland moments ago. talk about that, next. you pay your car insurance

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welcome back. for hillary clinton this was to be a week to stretch the map and look for a mandate. by stretch the map i mean this -- secretary clinton planning to go to arizona wednesday. but keeping that trip despite the big fbi news because they don't want to look like they're panicking. after that, more crisis management, more of a fire drill. why go there at all? a chance to change a state to blue reliably red a long time. will go there and campaign. the rest of the week, though, look for a focus here, down here and in north carolina. why? hillary clinton wants to protect the blues, and block donald trump. one issue for her going forward. watch this data getting later in the week here. early days of early voting, a bit of a problem for democrats. for the most part, heapart happn bathground states. african-americans, early voting down in north carolina from

2012. down a bit in georgia from 2012. down a bit in florida, 2008, only year we can make a comparison to. down a bit there. now reasons for this. democrats say they hope to make that up this week. let's see. getting to the end of the week, are these numbers improved or does hillary clinton van intensity turnout problem with african-americans? a big question trying to do this. yes, still wants to go out and try to change arizona. one of the toss-ups state. yes, hopes to win nevada but this is the focus. win florida. win north carolina. try to win ohio. why you'll see not only secretary clinton, the president, the vice president, first lady, focus here and in the other blue states. block donald trump. priority one. hillary clinton said, yes, tested right now, but that's okay. >> everyone, everyone is knocked down in life. and as my mother taught me and showed me what matters is whether you get back up.

and those of us who are people of faith know that gettingcalled to do. >> you see secretary clinton there, whether you like or don't like her politics you have to tip your hat to her resilience. doesn't quit or give up. she's in an african-american church in north carolina. overall, democrats reasonly happy but you see pockets of problems. cuyahoga county in ohio, worried. other states, worried about african-americans few e dates and fewer places in north carolina to early vote. reasons why numbers don't match up yet, but the big test will be as this news settled in over the weekend, a lot of souls to the polls events in the churches, what do the numbers look at the end of or middle of this week will tell us a lot. >> and not a coincidence we had

congressional black caucus, hispanic caucus doing calls over the weekend to send out the same message that the central campaign was making about calling on comey to give us more information about this probe. very aggressive with their surrogates in minority communities. it's been a question all along in this race whether she could replicate president obama's performance with african-american voters. there's evidence, we looked at this earlier, just a month or two ago, that support for her, not the same level of enthusiasm. talk to leaders in the community, they say the same. >> one of the leaders of the community trying to help her happens to be the president of the united states who lives and works in that building behind us for 80 more days. next hour a white house briefing. first white house briefing on camera since this news broke. fascinating to see what the white house press secretary speaking for the president says about what he thinks about james comey's decision. we'll get that in the next half hour or so and the president hits the road. distractions at the end.

look where he'll be. columbus, ohio, chapel hill, north carolina, circle back to fayette ville. you don't need to be a rocket scientist. look where the president is going, electoral chess under way. the president is in a box here. electoral box. not loyal to any one president. a president, going to throw jim comey under the bus? >> doubtful. this is his hire, and i guess he's been on the job three, four years. got remaining years on his tenure. they have a real delicate balance here. on friday he was at a rally, obviously didn't say anything about it. you imagine they are crafting what they're going to say at this point. i do think in terms of the african-american vote it is not going to be the same. rig right? this go-round as in 2008 or 2012. what you've seen, clinton has a much broader coalition. talking about college educated white women and white men, doing

well among older voters as well. it if they are relying on african-american voters to turn out in those same ways, or even latinos or even young voters, he likely aren't going to win this. why they have such a broad outreach to republicans even. >> watch for the president to try to reframe this, this debate essentially. away from james comey, and talk about this being a choice between hillary clinton and donald trump. problems with donald trump, try to skirt going after james comey, because it does put him in a political box. he wants to make it, say, look, these things are distractions. let's focus on what the real choices of voters are. >> and also motivated, the president is motivated downplay this because in some e-mails via wikileaks and the fbi investigation we find he was e-mailing her at this server and knew it was not a dot gov address. i'm sure he's like, this is not a real story.

>> how the administration responds to comey, less the president, more as his boss, loretta lynch. a lot of reporting senior justice department officials told comey don't do this. it goes against department protocols and long-standing practices. and yet he did. she is actually his boss. however, as we know, a little compromised in this. >> because of bill clinton. >> because of bill clinton who saw the need to go and have a chat about his grandchildren on her plane. >> you saw eric holder come out. right? writing that op-ed for the "washington post" saying, listen, comey's a good man but made a mistake on this one. >> clinton tried. today in ohio, introduced by a former air force man who used to serve as a mintonman missile launcher. going to make the argument we showed in the ad top of the show. can't trust donald trump with nuclear weapons trying to turn it back to him and not just whether he's fit to be commander in chief. a fabulous story over the weekend. he says he's a big philanthropist but doesn't really give mup money. sitting on the diocese

throughout the event even though didn't give a dime to the charity. hillary clinton trying to say over the weekend who does that? >> and then unannounced, and uninvited, guess who barges in? donald trump. he wasn't a donor at all. he had never given a single dollar to help build the school. he just wanted people to think he had. now, really, who does that? what kind of person does that? really. i mean -- who pretends to help kids with hiv and-aids in order to make themselves look good? >> we will see if she's successful in at least with her audiences with the swing voters, democratic voters she needs she can make that case. the story you write about today a lot of people focusing on, huma abedin, clinton aide, right arm, pick your term, as close to hillary clinton as you can get. important politically, personally. essentially a member of the family and political team. not traveling again with

secretary clinton again. her e-mails, a laptop shared with husband past husband and creep anthony weiner. you write, ms. abedin finds herself as a central character in a late-breaking drama. democrats said sunday, no doubt mrs. clinton would bring misabedin to the white house. others said, future depends on this investigation. unknown still probably to many americans. more and more getting known. one of these people so close to hillary clinton essentially, i was going to say alter ego, but one and the same? >> often referred to as a surrogate daughter. if she had a second daughter, huma. her longest serving aide, came in 1996 as an intern. never had a job outside of the world of hillary clinton. of the clintons in general. wases with her in the senate at the state department. very, very close to her. graduated started as a personal bodywoman who was getting her throat lozengers and graduated to a seen yore role in this

campaign. vice chairmanwoman of the campaign. her choice in spouses appears to have been a a bit questionable, shall we say. terrible is another word for it and finally did throw him over this summer when it was reported he had been sending these sexually -- charged e-mails with, with, in fact, a 15-year-old it appears, prompted this whole investigation. i'm sure she feels terrible about this, that she caused this kind of problems indirectly for someone she is obvious he so close. we asked the question in a story today and don't have an answer, what happens if hillary wins and this cloud is still there? >> again, looking for donald trump not talking about 650 million people coming across the border, talk if you elect her, the clintons. the drama continues. always drama. sit tight. nor go here. the fbi directeder irnd fire. republicans hated him in july and suddenly love him now. democrats on the other hand suddenly see jim comey as a rogue, even a partisan.

we could focus on bigger issues, like our passive aggressive environment. we're not passive aggressive. hey, hey, hey, there are no bad suggestions here... no matter how lame they are. well said, ann. i've always admired how you just say what's in your head, without thinking. very brave. good point ted. you're living proof that looks aren't everything. thank you. welcome. so, fedex helped simplify our e-commerce business and this is not a passive aggressive environment. i just wanted to say, you guys are doing a great job. what's that supposed to mean? fedex. helping small business simplify e-commerce. what? is he gone?? finally, i thought he'd never leave... tv character: why are you texting my man at 2 a.m.? no... if you want someone to leave you alone, you pretend like you're sleeping. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. tv character: taking selfies in the kitchen does not make you a model.

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following washington closely, you may not know the name comey. for years views add the consummate pro, straight shooter, just the facts type of guy, pedigree and bipartisan trust. in july republican turned on him declaring case closed in the clinton e-mail investigation. >> described gross negligence and then recommended no charge. how you define gross negligence on one land and a lawyer and then you don't recommend it, while there are other folks that have been charged and are being charged for fire las conduct. >> i'm mystified. there seems to be a double standard. if the average joe had gone through that, probably have handcuffs on them. if you're name a clinton, a different set of standards. hillary clinton, just letting her go. >> director comey's presentation

shredded the claims that secretary clinton made. we have seen nothing but stonewalling and dishonesty from secretary clinton on this issue. that means there are a lot more questions that need to be answered. >> so that was the republicans then, back in july. now, it's the democrats. >> it's just extremely puzzling. why would you break these two protocols? why would you release information that is so incomplete, when you haven't even seen the material yourself, 11 days before an election? why would you talk about an ongoing investigation? >> escalating criticism node a "washington post" essay, former attorney general eric holder calls comey a man of integrity and honor, but says, good men make mistakes. in this instance, a serious error with potentially serious implications. holder making the case, one, comey shouldn't have said what he said in july. just case closed, not discussed personal views, not discussed evidence in the case and now eric holder saying he's made

another mistake violating, look at the justice department handbook, it says, close to an election, keep your mouth shut. don't do anything. jim comey's sas case is i told congress the case was closed. i have new eford are avidence a tell them the truth. >> sensitive to the idea what happens if he -- something comes out later, and they say, you knew about this before the election, didn't say anything. so that's, i think, the pressure he was feeling. also as my colleague has in the paper today, in the "wall street journal," a long story about the disputes inside the justice department with fbi agents and the headquarters folks over all sorts of investigations about the clinton foundation, and about hillary clinton and the deep divides he was sort of, that was all percolating underneath all this. >> he set the precedent in july announcing to the world why she did not deserve to be prosecuted criminally and laying out a

laundry list of criticism against hillary clinton. this put him in that box that he reached a decision on thursday, whether or not to go forward, and eventually announcing on friday. by being so cryptic in that letter it's led to all sorts of sbep interpretations exactly what he meant and giving donald trump given thousands and thousands of e-mails potentially could implicate her. if comey had not come forward in july that would presumably wouldn't have to come forward now. >> he does face a problem, if people find out after the election he had this information and didn't say anything about it, and further, i do think people are making fools of themselves, elevated him to sainthood three months ago and now are like what a hack. it is so transparently partisan, and the man is trying to do his job and three months ago you said that's what he was doing. >> he's damned in he does, damned if he doesn't. clear policy in place you shouldn't go this. every rule has exceptions. his case, because i said publicly it was closed i have an

obligation. some say, if she wins an the election in a perverse way this will help her, that james comey has done this. republicans can't say, uh-huh. cover-up that does sound per of course. >> i thiperverse. >> you have a bipartisan echo chamber of people criticized comey. joe walsh said, get his muss kit, speaking melt f ing metaph criticized james comey. former department of justice officials come out and criticize him. it seems to be like setting the scene for, if hillary clinton is elected, this is sort of what it's going to be like. these, and chaffetz talked about a constant stream of investigations into her past. >> they attacked ken starr during impeachment. the bill clinton white house at war with louis freeh at the time. for a candidate that inweres inherit jim comey as fbi director? >> don't skip past the substance

what the clinton people said. hard to respond, thousands of e-mails, we don't know. there's no substance to it. we don't really know what -- what exactly to respond to. >> the reason there might be thousands of e-mails with no content, they didn't give the e-mails or devices. >> irony. the difficult box comey left lk hillary clinton in. hillary clinton is a beacon of transparency. >> for sure. >> of careful what you wish for. >> i mentioned, told the clinton pac priorities usa would start, key battle staits talking about donald trump and his problem with women. see if that works. up next, a sneak peek into reporters notebooks. including hillary clinton's problem in the sunshine state. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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head across the "inside politics" table. get out the big police news around the corner. >> probably no group of battleground goers are more interested in the clintons' goings-on than haitians. scrutiny about the clinton foundation investment of time into haiti after that earthquake, whether or not they showed favoritism to american contractors over haitian contractors and what you see is donald trump trying to make in-roads into the haitian-american community there, anywhere about 150,000 voters there. and in a state like florida. which was decided by 75,000 votes in 2012, all of these voters are going to matter around the edges. you see hillary clinton trying to have haitian-american stars go in and talk to the voters there, run ads. but it definitely is a race for voters to get them engaged and

energized. >> 537 votes in the a campaign not long ago, too. laura? >> we talked about north carolina. surprisingly, an important state this year. in 2012, president barack obama held his convention, never came back. for the entire rest of the campaign. this time, hillary clinton has been there constantly, as you said, president obama will be there twice this week. donald trump will be there this week. it's become for a state reliably republican fon yer years and recently becoming available to gems is incredibly important. why? a blocker state. essentially, if hillary is able to win this state, then donald trump's already very narrow path to victory becomes almost impossible, because essentially it takes electoral votes mitt romney had off his column into the democrats. look for election night, how are things going? early east coast state keep in mind, north carolina. >> rock 'em sock 'em robots. mary katharine?

>> a tight knit race in a largely divided country. in a race between the things baked into these unappetizing cakes we're dealing with and werther people will stay home, split ballots, take a pass on the ballot. struck by two stories in that context. one, biden throwing shade at hillary clinton by saying i thought i could have beat her. of course, he does. not helpful right now, and number two, trump starting a bit of a fight with evan mcmullin. third-party candidate saying i never heard of the guy, give mcmullin saying you never heard of me because i was fighting isis while you were heading beauty pageants. reminding folks, over here. people you might have preferred. >> congratulations on the marine corps marathon. in the chair after, 22.62 pretty good. >> and indiana trying to win back the senate. former senate trying to win back the old seat and hit with a lot

of damaging stories about his time after office are and in office. a story out today about, to, his 20 2009 private meetings in his office with fund-raisers and own chief donor talking about issues and raising some of those ethical concerns republicans are jumping in on. happy birthday to my wife, also. >> happy birthday. >> born of experience, see the gray hairs. beware what both campaigns tell you in this final week. wait until wednesday or thursday whether this is a president's game changer. use a pencil not a pen if asked to make bold predictions today. it might not hold up tomorrow. the story is driving partisan intensity up on both sides. perhaps suggesting we could get higher voter turnout. one veteran republican called the ay nounsment a giant red bull for trump supporters.

that smart republican went on to say he sees no change in the fundamental arc of the race. he, too, smart man bp best to wait a day or two before we know for sure. that's it for "inside politics." see you back here same time tomorrow. big week ahead. stay with cnn. after a quick break, "wolf." you pay your car insurance

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xfinity, the future of awesome. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. up first, the trump campaign on the attack. and the clinton campaign fighting back over those newly discovered e-mails reviewed now by the fbi. all of this is playing out less than eight days and counting before the presidential election here in the united states. look at this. live pictures coming in from grand rapids, michigan, right now. we're waiting for the start of a donald trump rally there. the trump campaign has pounced on the discovery of more e-mails possibly related to the, to clinton's use of