>> does it mean we have short attention spans? i don't know. >> michael jackson has died. >> south carolina governor mark sanford. >> i think we have all become accustomed now that there's always a big story on the heels of the one before it. october surprise. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. we begin with the breaking news some are calling an october surprise. the fbi is now reviewing new recently uncovered e-mails related to hillary clinton's private e-mail server. in a letter sent to the senate judiciary committee, fbi director james comey said in connection with an unrelated case, the fbi has learned of the existence of e-mails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. i greed with the fbi should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emaims to

determine and assess their importance to our investigation. hillary clinton addressed the issue at a press conference with reporters in des moines. >> i have now seen director comey's letter to congress. we are 11 days out from perhaps the most important national election of our lifetimes. voting is already under way in our country. so the american people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately. the director himself has said he doesn't know whether the e-mails referenced in his letter are significant or not. i'm confident whatever they are will not change the conclusion reached in july. >> senior law enforcement official told nbc news that the comey letter was sent to the hill out of an abundance of caution and to be extra thorough. the official said the e-mails were discovered on another device.

multiple federal officials also told nbc news that director comey found the new e-mails as part of the ongoing investigation into former congressman anthony weiner, the estranged husband of clinton's closest aide, houma abuma abedi. the "new york times" reported they were discovered when the fbi seized devices from abedin and wiener. the fbi investigated inappropriate text messages and pictures wiener sent to a 15-year-old girl in north carolina. i spoke to mike pence on the campaign trail in pennsylvania. >> what do you make of the fact this came from the anthony weiner investigation and somehow had to do with e-mail going to and from perhaps the clinton people, hillary clinton perhaps herself, and her very close aide, huma abedin, which was apparently the same e-mail address used by her husband, anthony weiner? what do you make of the fact that was the source of the new e-mails? >> well, if that bears out, and that is in fact the case, i

think it also speaks about the forthrightness and integrity of the department of justice and the director of the fbi. in an unrelated investigation, they came across new pertinent information related to hillary clinton's operation of a private server. and the potential that she further compromised classified information in this country, i think the fact they're drawing that from another investigation is another reason to commend them. but look, we recognize this is as dramatic a choice in an election as i have ever witnessed in my lifetime. literally, we have in hillary clinton someone who is not only got a career of this pay-to pay politics and all of the noise and smoke around her years as secretary of state and the clinton foundation, but as i said here in the suburbs of philadelphia today, when it comes to national security, when it comes to our military, our place in the world, when it comes to reviving our economy,

our supreme court, the choice could not be more dramatic. the american people deserve all of the information about all of these candidates, and that's why we're encouraging the fbi to come forward, and my understanding is john podesta made the same request today, come forth with this information so that the american people can make their decision with all the facts. >> well, to not proper handle classified information, is that a disqualifying factor for a candidate for president? if it comes out that she mishandled information intentionally that was classified? is that a disqualifier? >> well, it certainly is a disqualifier for me. but every voter in this country will make that decision. it really is remarkable, as i said in our vice presidential debate, if either my son or tim kaine's son, both of whom are serving our country as marines, mishandled classified information, the way hillary clinton did, they would be at least court-martialed. we see one case after another, general cartwright and others

who face, appropriately face severe consequences for mishandling classified information. and the fact that we have evidence of this, the private server that came out because of disclosures by the "new york times," and now these e-mails have come forward. i think at the end of the day, every voter will make their own decision, but for me, for my house, i truly do believe that her record as well as the fact that she obviously mishandled classified information had a private server that well compromised the security of the united states of america certainly disqualifies her to serve in the highest office in the land. >> let's just run thou these. first, john podesta in the note you mentioned, the chairman of the clinton campaign, said they're not reopening the campaign. you said they're reinitiating the campaign. what's the difference? >> this is not really a time to parse words. >> is reopen a good word or not. >> when the director of the fbi, chris, says they found new

pertinent information concerning the investigation into hillary clinton's use of a private server, that means that they are moving forward and reopening the investigation that he had previously announced was closed. i think that's pretty obvious to most americans. the facts here are what's most important. not the semantics. and you know, the one thing john podesta and i can agree on is the american people have a right to know. >> i guess that's my question. i'm not clear on you. do you believe that you should -- they're saying in the podesta letter, he's saying in his statement, the campaign for clinton believes more information should be released by the fbi than they have released. do you believe that or reproduce the letter sent to the committee chairs on capitol hill? do you want further information on what's going on at the fbi in terms of this investigation? more information? >> absolutely. i assume that the mechanism of our judicial cysystem is under y

to gain access to that additi additional pertinent information it's referred to, but it's what in the documents, what do they show that is pertinent to the investigation of hillary clinton's use of a private server during her term as secretary of state. those documents may well be e-mail documents that should be made public. and they need to be made public in the next 11 days. the american people -- there's voting going on right now, not here in pennsylvania, but in states all over the country, early voting is already under way. there's hundreds of thousands of people in state after state that have already cast their vote. but the american people deserve to know. they have a right to know what this new information is and the substance of that should be in the public domain before this election is over. >> last question. if all we get is the statement we got from the director of the fbi today, that they're relooking into this investigation as to how hillary clinton handled her classified information, how should that affect the voter? you have a chance right now to say so on national television. how should this information we

got today affect how people vote regarding this presidential election? >> i think millions of americans are deeply troubled by the pay-to-pay politics and benefits the favored view that's in evidence of what's already out about hillary clinton's years as secretary of state, the operation of a clinton foundati foundation. you found out the "washington post" story this week about clinton incorporates where donors to the foundation were also encouraged to hire and provide personal income to former president clinton. the american people are tired of this kind of politics that benefits the favored few. it's exactly the kind of politics that's going to end the day that donald trump becomes president of the united states of america. but i think the fact, chris, that now that the democratic party, the democrat nominee for president of the united states, is under investigation by the fbi should be relevant to every american. they need to think about that, reflect on that, because i truly

do believe in donald trump we have the opportunity for a fresh start in america, back to a stronger, more prosperous america and put all of this fast and loose ethics of the clintons behind us once and for all. >> those people out in the crowds yelling, i know you don't agree with their language, when they yell lock her up, are they going to feel justified today. those people that yell that every time there's a trump rally? >> i think the emotion you see at trump rallies around the country is -- is a frustration of the american people that when it comes to the clintons, they seem to operate by a different set of rules and held to a different set of standards. today, with this action by the director of the fbi, i think millions of americans can be encouraged that our justice department is once again come across additional pertinent information about hillary clinton's use of a private server and by restarting the investigation, they have reaffirmed no one is against the

law. >> thank you, mike pence. >> thank you. up next, the "hardball" roundtable will be here with much more on the political impact of today's announcement from the fbi. what will it mean for the election, now just days away. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. sounds ][ m] ♪ just n't wait to t on the road again ♪ [ front sist sounds ] [ muc stop] girl laughs ] ♪ on the road aga like a of gypsies we gdown tighway ♪ [ beet horn honks ] no matteich passat you choose, u get more standard features, for ss than yoexpected. hurry in and lease for just19 a month.

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is on a scale we have never seen before. we must not let her take her criminal scheme into the oval office. >> welcome back to "hardball." today's bombshell couldn't come at a better time for donald trump. the five most recent national polls had secretary clinton ahead of trump, anywhere from 3 points to 14 points. today's news may shift the enthusiasm toward his campaign and give him the lifeline he so desperately needs. i'm joined by annie linsky, "washington post" columnist

eugene robinson, who's an msnbc political analyst, and heidi. let's start here. political impact statement, please. if all we get is this, all we get is that little statement from the fbi director? >> if that's it, and i don't think it will be it, i think there will be more. comey is going to have to talk. i think this ultimately blows over and the election is still advantage clinton. >> no loss in points? >> maybe if she loses a little bit because of voter suppression, maybe there are some of those republicans that were maybe going to vote for her and they decide to stay home instead, and that goes advantage to trump ultimately, but yeah. it's bad, but i don't know that it's game changing. >> so the news suppresses as well as republicans. i never heard it used like that, i didn't know we were suppressing the vote. gene? >> i think it gives trump a closing argument. he didn't really have one, so now he has one. he has something to focus on. i assume this will be the closing argument because he

wasn't doing too well with the flailing he was doing the last couple weeks. so it may give his campaign a focus. and you know, on the margins, i think it probably helps him with perhaps with some republicans, perhaps a little more enthusiasm among the trump followers who thought that it was probably lost anyhow and might have been tempted to stay home. maybe they'll come out. i struggle to see how it makes a major change in the basic situation of the race. but we'll see. comey may well have to come out and say something. >> i think you raised a key question, chris, and that is how trump handles it. because i do think annie is right that at some point comey, the pressure on him is going to be overwhelming. and while he can't give us a lot of information, we have already seen from the leaks that they can start to take things off the table. so if trump is out there saying, you know, where are the handcuffs? put her in jail, and then some of this stuff comes out like,

oop, actually, these are all duplicate e-mails or something. >> or we haven't read them yet. >> comes out. >> that seems incredible. pence handled it rather soberly. >> i thought that was the right way to handle it because i think he knows, and there's even some sources saying that people who have started to already look at this think this is not a game changer. again, this is all unsourced. that you really run the risk of overplaying your hand and at the last minute. >> what else did they have? >> donald trump, if he did not overplay in any situation, th d ed would be the news. >> if you talk to a lot of people, betting odds from the very beginning, the way that hillary clinton and possibly the only way it could have been brought down is on e-mails. when that disappeared, this race really started to -- >> you have an indictment, really, that she should be indicted with seemingly game changing, and the idea that that

could change and there would be an indictment in the next 11 days is preposterous, i think. >> redskins score on defense. anyway, local concern of this part of the country. anyway, this thing about trump and his inability to do something sort of reasonably. i saw it again today. i mean, the "lock her up" thing is so unfair unless you're a hillary hater every morning and day -- morning is probably the right time. >> if you're kellyanne conway, you want to find donald trump and lock him in a room somewhere and get him not to say anything because time and time again in this cycle, you have had bad news for hillary clinton and then donald trump somehow finds a way to make it worse. >> you know, there's two more women who came out today and we're not talking about them. >> have you watched this? it's probably the same with all the major cable networks and broadcast networks. the picture of anthony weiner is back on television, all over the place, smelling up this thing.

the republicans have any brains or money left, they're going to make him hillary's running mate like they did willy horton. they're going to find this guy and put him up there and say you want to vote for wiener, go ahead. >> whether there's any there there doesn't matter because it's going to bury a lot of headlines. >> here's donald trump back in july going after secretary clinton because her top haid was still married to anthony weiner. let's watch. >> why are they giving hillary clinton briefings? because it's going to get revealed. i mean, her number one person, huma abedin, is married to anthony weiner. who is a sleazeball and a pervert. and i'm not saying that -- i mean, that's recorded history, right? i don't like huma going home at night and telling anthony weiner all of these secrets.

okay? >> well, there was a lead. did he get the heads-up on this fbi report or what? this is a while ago. >> that's the thing about trump. so often the things he says that seem crazy end up having this ke kernel of truth to him later and that gives him the authenticity, and that's what his gut seems to be right -- >> pillow talk between hum ara now it's e-mail, the same laptop with different e-mails. they use different e-mail addresses and the same laptop. somehow the fbi is able to find out -- does anyone know how they do this? >> i have no idea. no idea. >> let me tell you, they do have the ability. hillary clinton was asked about the investigation's connection to anthony weiner. let's watch that. >> secretary clinton, there are some reports that this -- these e-mails were found on devices that belonged to your aide huma abedin and her husband anthony weiner. have you spoken to huma? was she able to give you information about that?

>> we have heard these rumors. we don't know what to believe. i'm sure there will be even more rumors. that's why it is incumbent upon the fbi to tell us what they're talking ability, jeff. because right now, your guess is as good as mine. and i don't think that's good enough. >> actually, that's not true. nbc has determined it did come from that investigation of anthony weiner, whether you like it or not, madam secretary, it's a fact. this attempt by her to blame it on the republican fbi director by saying he only sent the report out to republican -- >> not smart. not smart. when she said that, because the democrats have spent months praising james comey as kind of this very impartial arbiter and hailing him, and now in the first kind of shot across the bow to kind of even suggest that he's in -- >> the dinah washington great song, the great single, what a difference a day makes. >> it's true.

and i keep reminding myself that there are 11 more of those things left. 11 more days. so i wouldn't be surprised if there were 11 more surprises. >> thank you, your wisdom is overpowering sometimes. heidi, thank you so much. when we return, let me finish with my election diary for tonight. the campaign gets rocked by another bombshell. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. (vo) mbe it was here, when you hit 300,000 miles. orere, when yolked away thout a scratch. ll the tes it got yott got you ofhere.out there. maybe it was the day your baby came he.

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election diary friday, october 28th, 2016. well, today, the fbi director put out word that the bureau is looking into e-mails related to its previous probe of hillary clinton. nbc learned that the e-mails were gathered in a separate probe of new york's anthony weiner. here we have again one investigation that has opened the door to another. the way ken starr's probe of the death of vince foster and whitewater led to the polly

jones case and then the matter of monica lewinsky. now we have the case of the hillary e-mails being reawakened by the anthony weiner case. the hillary e-mail story will run through sunday and we'll have two effects on the presidential campaign. it will hearten republican campaigners and cause doubt among those voters who had moved to hillary as an alternative rather than a desired designation. anyway, destination. so if all we get from the fbi directser what we have gotten so far, that there is a probe brought back to life, the political power will depend on how the two candidates decide and deal with it. if trump is unusually comand nonhysteric, he will cane points, which could matter in the close states. if hillary clinton takes a small hit and moves on, she could limit the impact to that, a few lost states, but still a strong probability to win the election. maybe this story will be the one last test to political fitness. not because of what it contains because we won't know that until

afterwards, but because of how this pair of candidates handle it. keep watching. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. usin60,000 points from my chase ink cd i bought all the framework... and plants eded to give mshop... a fafa. no one will forget. see what the powerf points can do for your business. learn moret chase.com/ink see what the powerf points can do for your business. put some mwich on the tabl and give boring weeknight meals, the ght off. ♪make tonight a manwich night

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good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc's "your business," it's the real world, but not a reality show. these college grads are living together and running small businesses to help communities improve their local economies. >> plus, how one small business beat the big brands at their own game. we have all that and a lot more coming up next on "your business."