head to bloombergpolitics.com right now for an update on how hillary clinton and donald trump are doing in the late staearly . for mark and me, sayonara. >> "hardball with chris matthews" is next. the reckoning. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. well, this morning, actually, this monday evening, president barack obama, first lady michelle obama, president clinton, hillary clinton, and chelsea clinton will appear. monday evening's election eve rally is part of a professional get-out-the-vote effort in a state, with pennsylvania, where hillary clinton is protected by an electoral firewall. donald trump and his republicans would need to breach that wall or lose the presidential

election on tuesday. that's been my call for weeks. i'm sticking with it. protecting that firewall, block by block, street by street, is the last great political machine in this country. the democratic city committee of philadelphia today i sat inside the room, as u.s. congressman bob britton, the chairman or boss of the philadelphia democratic machine, held their final meeting before election. it's the meet they share in accepting their mission and get the street money to get out and meet it. when they get back to their wars, they distribute their money to dozens of committee people. the committee people hire the workers for election day and the workers begin knocking on every door in the city in the morning and again in the afternoon, on election day, until that person damned well gets out to the polling place. the stakes are high. philadelphia, one of 67 counties in the state reliably brings in a giant enough vote to swamp the rest of pennsylvania. in the last presidential election, for example, 85% of philadelphia went for president obama, creating a city-wide plurality of almost half a million votes. that's net half a million. democratic congressman bob brady

told me he's confident his efforts would ensure philadelphia and pennsylvania gets his friend, hillary clinton, elected president on tuesday. explain why republicans, who are professional people like yourself, seem to always think they can carry pennsylvania? every year they target it, it seems, and every year, they get beaten. what's that about? >> it's called propaganda. they're never going to beat us, they're not going to beat us, and they can't beat us by any amount. they're not going to beat us. and we turn out 480,000 majority to be able to carry the rest. always and always will. and we'll do that again on tuesday. >> what you have as a ground game. old school. resources on the street. you've got committee people in every voting division. you cover the whole city, 67-plus wards. they don't have anything like that. >> we cover every polling place, every division. we have committee people in the 1683 divisions that we have. we're probably without question

the last democratic party organization in the country. >> that's a big machine. this is the kd of political organizing i see on television. this is street level, political machine, grinding out the votes, ward by ward, division by division, block by block. it's the ground game that hillary clinton's got, remember this on tuesday night, and donald trump doesn't. in a close race, as this may well be on tuesday night, it's the street campaign backed by street money that turns out the vote. joining me, hallie jackson, joy reid, and jonathan tamari. i wanted to cover the part of the cain you don't normally see, inside the building there. all those ward leaders, african-american, white guys, men and women, they've been there forever. they know their business, they get the street money, they go up to the committee people and they bring in the vote. they start knocking on doors. one people told me 6:30 in the morning, they go back at 11:00

in the morning, 4:30 in the afternoon, and damned well make sure their vote turns out. how does trump beat that in pennsylvania? >> by getting out of philadelphia. that's the entire strategy. when you look at what's happening in the rest of the state, that's a place where trump was ahead maybe 11 points statewide, in certain parts of the state, but overall, it was clinton who had the advantage. when you look at what is happening in the counties like bucks county. we talk about it all this time on this show. it was 4,000 votes separating the winner and loser back in 2012. and that is a microcosm of the election. that is the place where hillary clinton is blowing donald trump out of the water, with suburban white women. >> you're right, four counties, the one you're from, bucks, the other, delaware, montgomery, and chester, all went between 54% and 60%, barack obama. and they're largely white counties. they're suburban. and the fact is, they were that big. imagine how they were going to be with women voters. so in addition to the almost half a million votes that the city machine cooks up or brings

in, you've got another huge percentage of the state. i want to go to joy on this. this -- people don't underestimate. you look at the map of this country, it's all red, except it's blue most of the times, because of the areas where people live, big cities, they dominate presidential elections. and in philadelphia, that one county, out of 67 counties in pennsylvania, dominates the state, because that's where so many people live. >> yeah, absolutely, chris. i went into a deep dive worm hole on pennsylvania today, reading one of the hold bibles of the state. and you're absolutely right. you have this big behemoth that is philadelphia, and the philadelphia suburbs, where philadelphia is such a large non-white population, and larger than average college-educated white population. compare that to the rest of the state, but they're just numerically not as large. and so the challenge for republicans, every single cycle, when they say they can win pennsylvania, because it's demographically similar, let's say, to ohio. so demographically, yeah,

they're about the same. about the same size african-american vote. but the way that philadelphia is concentrated. those philadelphia suburbs are so full of white college-educ e college-educated voters, those are just the kind of voters that are trending towards the democratic party. and pennsylvania, just interestingly enough, against ohio, it has a slightly higher college-educated white population. a slightly higher median income. it's even an older population. but it's just built just enough in the democrats' favor that if you can turn out those suburban white voters and those african-american voters in philadelphia, that's the state. >> let me go to jonathan on this. let me explain street money, what it is. my grandfather used to get it, like $35 every election, whatever, when he was a committeeman in north philly. what you do is you get -- the board leaders get a chunk of money, then they take it to the committee people, two in each voting division. they use it to pay for people's lunches, use it to give some money to the workers. it's very professional. and this is the way it's been going on for years. you go out and vote, because people and pound on that door until you get out there and

vote. it's very professional and it's been going on since at least the early' 50s. >> it's a very old-school political machine, strong labor unions that are very tied into the democratic party there. and as joy and hillary were talking about, you've got philadelphia. it is, in any swing state, it's the largest city that's in -- >> how do republicans compete with that when they don't have anything like that? >> that's why republicans are able to win in off-year elections, when folks in philadelphia and a lot of the democratic voters don't show up in the same level of force that they do in the kind of presidential years. but what we've seen in presidential years since 1992, philadelphia and those counties have pushed pennsylvania -- zm hallie jackson, i want to ask you -- and joy as well. i thought it was a pretty funny line, but i think he meant it, i said to bob brady, the chairman of the committee up there, of the machine, i said, why do republicans keep having this lust for pennsylvania? it's the craziest thing. we're going to get pennsylvania! you seem to be enjoying this. joy, why do they always say,

we're going to get pennsylvania this year and they never, never, ever -- it's like lucy and the football or charlie brown. it never happens, at the big pumpkin. it doesn't happen. their propaganda, they convince themselves they can do it. >> every four years republicans swear the state they're going to flip is philadelphia. they said it in '04, said it in '08, said it in '12. i think pennsylvania is so enticing to them, it feels like a stay like ohio, that they should be able to flip it. but metrics and data don't win campaigns. campaig campaigns win campaigns. democrats have a heck of a machine out there. you have an entrenched political machinery that the democrats just have and republicans don't. and even if republicans did, that same kind of machinery doesn't work as well in rural counties. that's a bigger lift. they'd need a much bigger staff to try to pull people out of those rural counties than democrats can do it in a concentrated state. >> and you talk about concentrated, concentrated votes, too.

the democrats, there's 59 voting divisions, a single vote for mitt romney last time. that's not cheating, that's a fact. these are poor african-american voters, many of them poor people. they are democrats to their roots. and all you've got to do is get the vote and they're going to vote democrat. this is big news nationally, just came in tonight. abc news tracking poll out tonight shows a rebound for clinton. she's now up four points over trump, 47-43. that's a swing over the last five days of five points. this week began with us reporting that trump was up by one vote over hillary in that same poll. now she's up by four. a five-vote swing. new polls today from ppp show clinton with an edge over trump in three crucial battleground states. up by two in nevada. five points in new hampshire, and up by seven in wisconsin. trump is closing, slightly, in michigan, where clinton now leads by four points. hallie, your sense about this race. el us where you think it's going to come out tuesday night.

where are we going to be scratching our heads, saying, this is a tough one. >> you just put up a poll of michigan, chris. that is where the trump campaign believes they have a very good shot, or at least the best shot of scaling that blue wall that we talk about. of those rust belty kind of states like michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, i think pennsylvania, wisconsin, real uphill battles, wisconsin in particular, when you look at where the polling is. but that poll you just showed out of michigan, that is something that i believe is giving the trump campaign reason to be hopeful about that state. you saw hillary clinton there today. you talk about a place like pennsylvania. one of our colleagues here, joe scarborough, calls it fool's gold for republicans. that's kind of what it is. it's also, potentially for republicans, if trump does well there, remember, why every year? as joy pointed out, we saw it in '04, '08, we saw it in '12, with republicans thinking they could flip p.a. or take p.a. but republicans this year felt like they have a very unique candidate. donald trump is not mitt romney. donald trump is somebody who is speaking to that working class voter, so that white man that's out in sort of the middle of the

state, between pittsburgh and philly. and so there was that -- that was driving a lot of the reason for optimism on pennsylvania. and the other bellwether, looking ahead to tuesday night when the polls start to close on the east coast, what happens nah new hampshire? that is another state where the polls are tightening in a real way -- >> but so what? to be blunt. so what about new hampshire if it's not close. sure -- >> you're right. i shouldn't cut you off. it is a bellwether. >> it's an indication of where this thing is going. i had one republican operative say to me yesterday, they said, if she wins new hampshire, i'm turning off the tv. >> it was clear from congressman brady's meeting today of the ward leaders that the prospect of a trump presidency was enough to motivate his fellow ward leaderses. this is really big city rah-rah. let's watch. >> i got to rile you guys up. you're already riled up. you know what we've got to do. you know this guy's got circuits missing somewhere and he's picking on a lady. and you can't bully the city of

philadelphia. nobody can bully the city of philadelphia. >> there's a great feeling in that room, jonathan. it's obvious a diverse crowd, african-american, white guys, different ethnic groups. they all get along, they all know each other. this is an old, encrusted machine. but the ladies. i love the way bob brady talks. he's messing with the ladies. >> yes, that is bob brady, right? he's a union leader, he's -- >> carpenter. >> right, carpenter's union leader. >> he's real. >> even when he's down here, he's a congressman, but that's kind of how he is all the time. >> i'll tell you guys, hallie and joy, you're younger than me and you're watching this and so is jonathan, the old political touch is something to watch. joy, you know what i mean? >> yes. >> the ability to connect with everybody of every background, fence mend, if somebody gets a little offended, immediately make friends with them again. it's a joy to watch the old politics. whatever you think of political machines and i know republicans hate them, because they don't have one! thank, hallie jackson.

thank you, joy reid. and thank you, jonathan with the philadelphia enquirer. join me for a special two-hour edition of "hardball" starting at 6:00 eastern, hillary clinton, bill clinton, the president, the first lady and chelsea clinton are holding their. the big five are coming to the city of the big five. we're talking basketball. coming up, days after fbi director james comey sent word that the bureau was investigating new e-mails, trump supporter rudy giuliani promised a couple surprises would change the race. when we return, i'll ask the mayor about how'd he know it was coming. plus, there's a verdict in the bridgegate trial. two of chris christie top aides are found guilty of felony charges. and now the governor just canceled his campaign events in new hampshire for trump. and with four days to go, you can tell a lot about the clinton and trump campaigns, both of them. think about the race based on where the candidates are going. wherever they go, they know they have to win. we'll get back with that, with the roundtable tonight. finally, my election diary on where the race is headed, as we enter the final weekend of

campaigning. we're getting close to the stuff. the reality of who's going to win. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. simulation initiated. ♪ [beeping] take on any galaxy with a car that could stop for you. simulation complete. the new nissan rogue. rogue one: a star wars story. in theaters december 16th.

president obama's about to take the stage at a rally in the all-important state of north carolina. he's in charlotte tonight. and earlier today, msnbc's reverend al sharpton caught up with the president after his rally in fayetteville to talk to him about the need to keep politics out of the fbi. well, here we go. >> historically, both under democratic and republican administrations, our goal has been and should be that our investigators and our prosecutors are independent of politics. that they're not politicized. that they're not used as a weapon to advantage either side in partisan arguments. and i want to make sure that we continue with that tradition and with that norm. >> you can watch the reverend sharpton, of course, in his interview with president obama tonight at 8:00 eastern on all

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you're going to hear about in the next few days. >> what do you mean? >> i'm talking about a pretty big surprise. >> i heard you say that this morning. what do you mean? >> you'll see. we've got a couple things up our sleeve that should turn this around. >> back to "hardball." that was former new york mayor, rudy giuliani, one of donald trump's top surrogates, teasing something big happening. two days later, james comey announced to congress that the bureau of fbi was investigating new e-mails. was the tease coincidental? he was asked about that today. >> before this broke, you were on with martha and said, look out, something's coming down. what did you know? and a lot of other networks are pointing out as if you were part

of it? >> i'm not part of it at all. all i heard former fbi agents saying there's a revolution going on within the fbi and it's at a boiling point. >> so you had a general idea that something was coming? >> i had expected this for the last -- to tell the truth, i thought it was going to be three or four weeks ago. i had nothing to do with it. did i hear about it? darned right, i heard about it. i can't even repeat the language i heard from the former fbi. >> this afternoon, maxine waters said that giuliani should be investigated for this. >> the leaks that have gone out, the division that appears to be in the fbi is unprecedented. nobody expected that you would have false information coming out from the fbi. and giuliani needs to be investigated also, because he has a role in this. >> well, two other members of congress, elijah cummings and john conyers of detroit also called for an investigation into leaks by the fbi. late today, mayor giuliani said

he never received any information about the ongoing fbi investigation from employees, live employees, current ones, in the fbi. joining me right now is mayor giuliani. mayor, thank you so much for coming on. i'm trying to figure out the timeline here. according to james comey, the fbi director, he didn't get this information about these e-mails in anthony weiner's laptop until thursday. you were talking on wednesday with , the day before, about this thing coming. you got a 24-hour jump on comey, according to what you're saying. how'd that happen? >> i was not talking about these things coming. what i was talking about, chris, was the advertising we're doing this weekend. we have been debating -- >> you were teasing with that anchor woman that you had an advertising plan? you sounded like you had something really good ready to come. >> no, no, no. chris, do you want to hear my answer? >> i want to hear, yeah. >> what we were talking about was, i've been working on a speech and i've been working on a presentation, where he was

going to buy a lot of time at the very end to lay out his me think. we had about four different ways we were going to do and that's what i was talking about. i had no idea that jims comey was going to do what he was going to do the day that he did it, nor did i ever think he was going to do it. what i did know about, which is quite true, for about four months, is that the fbi was very, very upset about the way jim comey had handled the case. but i heard that from former fbi agents, not from current fbi agents. i i haven't spoken to a current fbi agent, i don't think, in the last nine months. >> so then you're innocent of knowing any inside information on the possible prosecution -- >> on comey, no. >> no. no, you have no inside information, as of this moment, from the fbi? >> correct. all my information comes from -- >> so you don't know anything more about the case than you are thinking about as a private citizen right now. you don't have any inside information about the possible guilt of hillary clinton? >> right. >> so what you say about hillary being guilty, is just a former

prosecutor, yourself, talking about it. >> i said that a year ago. >> you have no advantage -- here's the question, hillary clinton, when she became secretary of state, this is public information, chose to have a private server. i don't know anything about this stuff, but she chose to have her own, obviously, she wanted to keep it private. by your argument, i believe, that was a felony? >> i would say the fact that -- >> doing that at that time, in other words, she committed a felony the moment she became secretary of state? >> no, not the moment that -- no, not the moment that she did it. but when it became apparent that these things were all on private servers, she wasn't using the state department server -- >> but she chose to do that the first day. >> let me -- let me finish, chris! she was exposing this information to hacking. she was exposing this information to anyone who could take it from her. i would be shocked if the chinese, the iranians, the russians and i don't know, some little jerky kid, didn't have -- >> well, they can hack the state department, too. they can hack the state department, too. >> yeah, but the state department has more control -- >> you're saying it was a felony

to make that choice? >> -- and then when you make the choice between what's public and what's private, it's a state department making the choice, not your lackeys. not your people. >> you're the lawyer, mayor, i'm going to ask you one more time, because i don't get that. if it's a felony to have a private server and she made that decision the day she was -- basically, when she realized she was going to accept the appointment as secretary of state, what was her motive? what was her criminal intent there? you're suggesting a crime here, and i can't figure out when it occurred. >> the crime is very, very simple. i think the 33,000 e-mails that she destroyed shows the connection -- >> oh, that's a crime? >> -- between the clinton foundation and hillary clinton. she knew from the beginning they were going to sell out the state department -- >> what inside information do you have on that? >> i'm telling you -- you my inference from everything i read, "clinton cash," "the new york times," "the washington post," "the wall street journal" -- >> yeah, but she -- >> i'm telling you my -- >> okay, you also know the law. you know what i know, mayor. the law says that the state department officials get to

decide what is -- >> jim comey -- >> -- and what is not. >> -- laid out a pr prima fasci case that i could take to the grand jury. this is what i didn't know until recently. that the grand jury blocked this investigation. that is a -- if that were you or me, that case would go before a grand jury. and the justice department is corrupt. obama's justice department -- >> that's just a charge. that's just a charge. >> -- this investigation. and the fact that they have podesta's lawyer involved in this investigation -- >> okay. >> -- the guy that podesta said kept him out of jail is an outrage. >> but these kind of charges -- okay these charges have become what we do in this country. it sounds like a third world country. this word "corrupt," is thrown around all the time now. everybody's corrupt on the other side. you're just doing that. >> the justice department corrupted this investigation. >> how did they?

because she recused herself. >> when they asked for a grand jury in february on the clinton foundation, they should have given them a grand jury. and we would have this thing cleaned up by now. the reason we're going through this right now is because hillary clinton and her lackeys in the justice department, people who work for her, people who defended podesta, someone podesta said kept him out of jail, is involved in this investigation. give me a break! that would have never have happened in a justice department that i know. >> okay. let me ask you about your common sense. you are a former prosecutor. you have a certain instinct for how to handle these cases. it's your judgment, okay. you're also a partisan politician, like everybody else on this show. i understand that. >> right. >> look at chris christie. his two top people, one works right across the room from him, like a hundred feet from him. she's running this scheme. she just got convicted of several felonies and spend a lot of time in serious prison, along with peroni. they were carrying out a political scheme to punish somebody, a mayor, who wouldn't go along with a plan to endorse the governor for re-election.

okay. do you honestly believe that chris christie didn't know what was going on a hundred feet from him? >> as far as i know, chris -- >> they say he knew. they say he knew. under oath. >> farce i know, chris christie is not under fbi investigation. hillary clinton is under fbi investigation, because there are 650,000 e-mails on the private server -- >> but mayor, you are out free booting, saying, who would have go to jail -- >> no, you are. you're changing the subject. >> i'm asking you. >> what's the difference whether chris christie didn't know -- >> so christie walks, but hillary clinton goes to jail? >> -- exposing top-secret information to her enemies. it doesn't make it right that she was doing that, because you may think that chris christie did something wrong. >> i'm asking you, do you think chris christie did something wrong? i want you to be as vigorous -- >> you're pivoting from the issue -- >> of course i am! i'm trying to find equal treatment. >> chris christie is not running for president and he's not under

investigation for the fbi. >> he did! the reason he's not running is because of what happened at the bridge. >> he ran and he lost. and he is not under fbi investigation. hillary clinton is. and we haven't even talked about the clinton foundation. >> okay, i want to ask you one question -- >> -- a multi-million dollar fraud and racketeering case. >> are you willing to give chris christie a clean bill of health? >> i am willing to say that chris is my friend, i trust him, he tells me he didn't know. i believe it. if you prove to me he did know, i have to change my mind. if you tell me that the two people who are on trial trying to get off said what they said, i don't know how much weight i would give that. on the other hand, if you want me to explain how the heck bill clinton got a $1.5 million speaking fee and hillary went and got a break for ubs and got them off the hook for 50,000 identities and bill got a $1.5 -- >> i know, but i want to point out -- okay, mayor. >> having come from new york like you came from philadelphia,

i know what that is. that's a bribe. >> okay, let me just tell you this. you're doing a lot of this because of intuition and partisanship and it's not from inside information. >> i'm doing it -- >> you can't have it both ways. you can't say you haven't talked to the fbi but you know what the fbi are doing. >> prima fascia. i have talked to former fbi agents. i wouldn't put a current fbi agent in that position. >> but not anybody who's worked on this case? >> okay, so in other words, you are as unaware of this case as anybody else who's read the newspapers, thank you. >> when jim comey said this, totally shocked. thank you. >> thank you. >> rudy giuliani, always welcome. >> i'm joined by the washington bureau chief, david corn, for the rebuttal. your thoughts here. let's go through the points here. he says he doesn't have any information from inside the fbi. it's from former members. and i've heard this story from everybody. the former fbi guys are really mad because they department get hillary. go. >> what you have is people inside the fbi seem to be

leaking either directly to -- >> do you know that? >> i said, seem to be leaking to -- >> evidence? >> well, i trust it when, you know, fox news says we've spoken to fbi -- >> the fbi is your source? fox news? >> no, this is what -- we see "the wall street journal" and others saying the fbi is ticked off. we hear him saying they're mad because -- >> you know -- >> well, a grand jury investigation shouldn't sometimes go forward. just because it doesn't go forward, i understand why agents should be upset. that doesn't mean it's being blocked. he said time and time again that hillary clinton is under investigation. she is not under investigation in terms of the e-mails. >> i know, by the way -- >> he just keeps saying this stuff. >> some people don't like something -- a lot of people don't like the o.j. case. you're not going to have another one. you just have to live with it. >> i saw rudy at the last debate, he looked at me, his face full of anger, and he said, you know what, she should be in jail now. now, without even a trial, she

should be in jail. >> i think he's on vigilante justice. anyway, thank you, because that's what he thinks! >> that's all it is. that's what it's worth. >> that's what he thinks. up next, the verdict in the bridgegate trial. jersey governor chris christie's two aides are found guilty of all charges. now christie's heading to trail for trump? that's ahead. this is "hardball," the place for politics. raveled, what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. so when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. i'm everything. i'm from all nations. i would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark? because i'm everything. and i marked other. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. g new cars. you're smart. you already knew that. but it's also great for finding the perfect used car. you'll see what a fair price is, and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer.

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prosecutor, i welcome the opportunity to hold hillary rodham clinton accountable for her performance and her character. [ chanting: lock her up ] >> welcome back to "hardball." that was governor chris christie this past july, leading the case against hillary clinton during the republican convention. well, today, a new jersey jury found two of his, christie's, former aides, bridget kelly and bill baroni guilty of creating a traffic jam near the george washington bridge in a scheme to punish the mayor of ft. lee for not supporting christie's re-election. they were found guilty of 12 felony counts of fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. >> our view was quite clear, that this was way more than a dirty trick. this was an assault on the port authority's resources, it was an assault on the civil rights of the people of ft. lee. it was done knowingly, willfully, intentionally, and voluntarily with david wildstein in concert with bill baroni and bridget kelly.

>> boal kelly and baroni testified in court that christie was aware of the lane closings before hand. christie has denied that. in a statement today, no believable evidence was presented to contradict that fact. anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue. i will set the record straight in the coming days regarding the lies that were told by the media and in the courtroom. well, for more, aisle joined by msnbc political correspondent, steve kornacki. you've been all over this. you were great on this. i'm trying to figure this out. if you're a juror and you voted to convict, and these are serious charges with serious sentences coming for miss kelly and mr. baroni, do you believe the governor was behind this? >> this is the thing, and this is why a day before this happened, there was a ruling made by the judge about the instructions to the jury. and the judge basically said to a question that the jury asked, you did not have to believe that bridget kelly and bill baroni were aware this was a payback scheme as they were carrying out. they didn't have to know all of the details of the nature of

this. you just have to know that they were understood, they understood this was not on the up-and-up, what they were doing. the judge when they made the determination, said, you just found them guilty. set the bar so low, that the jury -- the strategy of the defense was that they hoped in the jurors' room, the jurors looked at this and say, why isn't christie the one on trial. why are we getting the underlings? >> let me ask you a logic question. why would they do this if it wasn't for the political purposes of their boss? they're not getting five cents out of this. not any personal gain. nothing out of this. bridget kelly is a worker bee, working, what, 100 feet from the governor's office, right? literally, rate? across the room. she's doing this for the boss. the boss knows she's doing it for the boss. what's missing here? she's the agent! she's the agent. is she an agent or not? >> this is why it was so tough for the defense, especially bridget kelly's defense in this case. because they couldn't say. they sort of had to wink at the jury. they couldn't say, yes, bridget understood the essence of what was happening here. she knew there was some kind of

payback scheme. because you had all of these e-mails, ultimately, that's what this came back to. >> so the conundrum was, she couldn't deny guilt and also assign guilt to the governor. >> what they were trying to say is, sure, she knew -- >> in denying guilt on herself, she couldn't apply the guilt to the governor. >> that's right. >> what a conundrum. >> they were hoping the jury would piece that together -- >> i don't know if you know much about the law in this case, they're going to appeal, right? they always say they appeal. what about the governor? is he vulnerable here, to a subsequent indictment? >> no. i think the determination was made a year and a half ago by the federal prosecutors that they were not going to go after chris christie on this, they were not going to indict chris christie on this. i thought what was interesting was, when this trial ended today, when the verdict was reached and the press got a c b crack at paul fishman, all the questions were, why didn't you go after chris christie? you had all of this -- >> who's paul fishman? >> the u.s. attorney who brought the case. his star witness who made the case on the stand, david wildstein, said during this shutdown, i talked to chris

christie -- >> during it? >> during it, 9/11, three days in, three days to go, i talked to him, he understood -- >> here's the key thing for governor christie. if he knew this thing was going to happen beforehand, and the damned knew what i it was going to happen, why didn't he blow the whistle and say, don't do it. >> the suspicion about christie is this, i don't know if it was beforehand or two days into it, he got it. he understood who david wildstein was. he understood, if there's suddenly a traffic jam, this democratic mayor who didn't endorse him, he got it and he thought, i'm never going to have any piece of paper that connects me to this, i'm not going to have any reporting and i can always deny. >> when he sarcastically said to the reporters, yeah, i'm the guy who put the cones out on the highway, he knew that he knew. >> that's some of the testimony that came out. that he had phone confessions -- >> he knew at the time, he sarcastically answering those reporters, he knew he had something to do with putting those cones o out there. >> and people had told him, bridget kelly and david wildstein, something was happening here. those conversations had been taking place. >> you know what i think he was

saying, i didn't do it, they did it. >> plausible didn't. >> i didn't do it, they did it. thank you, steve kornacki. it's one of the dangers of working for a politician. get orders up-front. don't do something, you know, whacky and across the line -- >> it's bridget's e-mail, "time for some traffic problems." >> she's got the problems. although i root for her. i hate to see someone like her with all those kids going to prison. geez. clinton and trump fight it out in those key battleground states. that's coming up. and where they're headed. just look at their travel plans for this weekend. you've got to figure out all about where they think they've got to win. anyway, you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. dawn helps open... something even bigger. go to facebook.com, dawn saves wildlife. [baby talk] [child giggling] child: look, ma. no hands.

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welcome back to hardball. donald trump and hillary clinton continue to fight it out, duke it out today in the battleground states. trump started the day off in new hampshire, where he admonished clinton -- there's a nice word -- for her e-mail scandal. >> how can hillary manage this

country when she can't even manage her e-mails. did you ever see -- hey, folks, let's forget all of this stuff. what a mess. what a mess. she'll under investigation for years. she'll be with trials. our country, we have to get back to work, right? [ chanting: lock her up ] hillary is engaged in a massive criminal enterprise and cover-up. she created an illegal e-mail server to shield her criminal activity. if she were to win, it would create an unprecedeed constitutional crisis. >> well, hillary clinton started the day at a rally in heinz field out in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where she went after trump's character. here we go. >> imagine it's donald trump, standing in front of the capitol. and we already know a lot about him. someone who demeans women, mocks people with disabilities, insults african-americans and

latinos, and demonizes immigrants and muslims and pits people against each other. instead of pulling us together, and think about what it would mean to entrust the nuclear codes to someone, with a very thin skin, who lashes out at anyone who challenges him. imagine how easily it could be that donald trump would feel insulted and start a real war, not just a twitter war. >> well, both candidates, of course, are pushing hard in the final push. clinton's in pennsylvania, michigan, and ohio today. pennsylvania, florida, and new hampshire this weekend. her final stop will be a big nighttime rally in philadelphia, as i said, on monday evening. we'll be there. also, bill clinton, the former president will be there. the obamas, husband and wife, with will be there. trump will be in new hampshire, ohio as well today, north carolina, ohio, florida, nevada,

wisconsin, colorado, iowa, new hampshire between now and monday. let's bring in the "hardball" roundtable. cornell belcher is a pollster and covers politics for "the washington post." and matt schlapp is president of the american conservative union. right across the room here, what can you read from the geography of these guys as they two campaign feverishly in the next several days? >> i'm surprised by it, because we saw this head fake also in 2012, when i was tonight obama campai campaign. i'm surprised by how many times republicans go down the rabbit hole in pennsylvania? i really do. i think outside of pittsburgh and philadelphia, they see alabama, and they think, this state should be ours. right now, if i were in the trump campaign, i would be spending a lot more time in ohio and north carolina, than i would be falling for the rabbit hole -- >> that's what we did today. you see the big city numbers, they're awesome. >> right, and you see clinton spending a lot of time in pennsylvania and michigan. and i think it's not only about turning out african-american voters. i think it has a lot to do with the fact that these are game-day states. where people don't do early

voting there. and 95% of people in pennsylvania voted on election day. >> before you jump to the conclusion about minorities in philadelphia, there are a lot of minorities in philadelphia, about a 50/50 situation, but there are a lot of wlhite liberal, a lot of white labor people. it's a city of democrats. >> she's campaigning with jay-z. it's a pretty obvious ploy, you know? >> i was with the war leaderses today, they get along really well and they're all democrats. how do you match this? if trump were to win, and it's possible, he would have to win. he's got to win north carolina. and he's got to win either pennsylvania or one of the other rust belt states, michigan and wisconsin. >> that's right. it's not sufficient, right? the idea that you keep going to north carolina and florida, this is a key thing in a presidential race, which is, you have been to these states over a dozen times. you've been to all the big markets. sometimes you reach a point where you're not getting that much utility out of yet one more visit to a media market. and i like the idea of punching out two of nevada or hitting in michigan. he's got to make something else happen, anyway. so to avoid those states would be a mistake. so i like what i see on our

schedule. >> can he win virginia? >> you know, virginia -- >> i'm just wondering. >> i spend a lot of time in virginia. virginia is definitely closing. and you know, i think he's got a shot there. but she's leading in most of these polls, in many of these states. >> explain the conservative -- we hear a lot of liberal opinion. i want to hear a conservative opinion. why would the pro-life position, basically, dealing with abortion by criminal act or whatever you do with it, and second amendment rights, why would that win in a general election? >> why does it win in a general election? >> they seem to think, the people on the trump side, seem to think that's their winning thing. explain. >> i think both campaigns are trying to appeal to their base and grow their base if their coalitions and trump's trying to do the same. >> 50% of the american people come out for pro-life position and pro-gun position. are there that many? >> actually, the pro-life position is actually getting stronger. it's strange with millennials and actually young women, it's much stronger than it's ever been. this issue is changing, and on second amendments, just a key

issue in many states. and the reason why virginia, why it's a little tougher for them, we all know why. virginia is kind of a government state now. a lot of people in virginia earn their wagers by either be a consultant to the government or working for the government. let's face it. trump is running against washington. >> it's easier to be pro-life in a situation where you have a pro-choice loss. >> i have to rejoin here. >> people are changing their mind on this. >> you know what i it's not going to work, be hard for y'all to win virginia. and i'm not being partisan about this. >> because you're losing -- >> you just said y'all. >> well, i'm not republican. why republicans keep -- are having a hard time in virginia, you're losing the middle moderate swath of voters in virginia. if you look at virginia right now, we won moderates nationally by about 55% and while losing independents. and when you look at terry mcauliffe in virginia and look at where she's -- you know, how democrats win in virginia, it's because we dominate among moderate -- those moderate --

>> cowho wins the house race ou there? >> comstock. >> that's the republican answer. i'm asking a democrat. >> "the washington post" endorsed her. >> we'll talk about that. the roundtable is sticking with us and up next, these three will tell me something i don't know. ♪ ♪ well, if you want to sing out, sing out ♪ ♪ and if you want to be free, be free ♪ ♪ 'cause there's a million things to be ♪ ♪ you know that there are ♪ and if you want to be me, be me ♪ ♪ and if you want to be you, be you ♪ ♪ 'cause there's a million things to do ♪ ♪ you know that there are ♪

well, donald trump and hillary clinton are on the campaign trail tonight.

trump's about to take the stage at a rally in hershey, pennsylvania, where they make the kand bars. while clinton is in cleveland featuring rapper jay-z. clinton is set to speak at the top of the hour, 8:00 eastern. on prescriptions. we found lower co-pays... ...and a free wellness visit. new plan...same doctor. i'm happy. it's medicare open enrollment. have you compared plans yet? it's easy at medicare.gov. or you can call 1-800-medicare. medicare open enrollment. you'll never know unless you go. i did it. you can too. ♪ [music] jess: hey look, it's those guys. shawn: look at those pearly whites, man.

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stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. finally the hardball roundtable. big time to make predictions. this is a big night. so cornell. >> something you don't know is one, my book's a really good read. >> punch it. >> but also -- >> i didn't know that. >> we'll come back for an interview with you after the election. if you look at florida right now, they have banked more african-american and hispanic voters in florida than they had in all of 2012. this idea of an enthusiasm gap, it makes florida really hard for donald trump to win. donald trump will not win florida. >> so the ku klux klan for the first time in many years is very active in getting out the vote. >> how many actual members are

there of this group? please? >> i have no idea. my colleague sam stein reported today that they've flooded small towns in south georgia with flyers in their yards. >> it takes 20 people. i think the ku klux klan and the communist party keep each other going. >> i think checking in with my sources in new hampshire, i think trump will carry new hampshire. the most educated state in the country -- >> how about the center -- >> -- win as well. >> i agree with that. >> 50% of the early returns to be in -- >> i like that prediction. >> i'll take a gentleman's wager on that. >> you told me something i don't know. >> taking five minutes, make your bets. i have a bet coming up. i think i'm going to win. i think trump is going to win more than ten states. i hope the guy's listening to that one, anyway. when we return, my election diary as we head into this last -- i hate it's over. isn't it? it's going to be over tuesday

night. this dream of an election, this joy for america, it's been awful. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. if you're approaching 65... now's the time to get your ducks in a row. [quack!] medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like any standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay.

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election diary friday, november 4th, 2016. today i got the experience of sitting inside a meeting of the democratic sitting committee of philadelphia. sitting there i could feel the reality of big city politics in the midst of the last big city

political machine, let's call it that, in the country. philadelphia has covered each city block with wards, every ward is broken into voting divisions, each has two members of the philadelphia committee they're called committee people and they're the people that tend to the neighborhoods concerns that people get the vote out on election day know who voted and who didn't. they keep score the same way the ward leaders keep score, the same way the chairman knows which ward is doing the best job can be relied on to do the best job. how do you score a ward leader? simple how many vote ds they get out. this is the firewall, this is the reality of big city of philadelphia this is the watch on election night. if the pll machine let's call it that in philadelphia can produce a 450 vote plurality it can deliver pennsylvania to hillary clinton the rest of the state out there they call the tee can go whole hog for donald trump. what matters? what will again break the republican heart will be the year round work of the last great political machine in the

country the democratic city committee of philadelphia. and that's "hardball." it's the real thing. thanks for watching us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." >> if somebody is not voting right now who is watching your program, you are voting for donald trump. >> four days out, a president obama exclusive. >> imagine if i had been running had said one tenth of the things that donald trump has said. people would have immediately said that person's not qualified to be president. >> tonight the president in his own words on the fbi. >> our goal has been and should be that our investigators and our prosecutors, that they're not used as a weapon. >> on voter turnout and on the fear of a trump presidency. >> i would feel deeply