joining me is katy tur, meg mealing and jonathan karl and -- megan murphy, jonathan karl and john heilemann. i am pleased to have all of them on this program. i begin with john heilemann. hid hillary clinton add -- did hillary clinton advance her cause and do what she needed to do at this convention and how will it benefiter? >> i think the big answer is yes. by common consensus among people who are interested in image and that is what conventions largely are in addition to unifying the party, their a television production, there was a well-crafted convection. we talk about how one big speech is what people remember, usually the nominee's. this convention is received more holistically. they put together four nights, strong speakers from michelle obama, hillary clinton, joe biden, barack obama. all of those people are huge, political talents. but the convention advanced an argument in toto and it was an argument about the d. j. party and hillary clinton are the optimistic, patriotic party, and that the republican party under donald trump is the pes pessimic party. the sum total argument that

. >> here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: it seems for now, at least, there's a new donald trump. relentlessly on message, focussed squarely on taking down hillary clinton. >> her actions are criminal. they're purposeful and totally calculated. she knew what she was doing. >> reporter: for the candidate who promised to outlow teleprompters, they're present, and trump is also trying to soften his own image. >> are you going anything to reach out to them? >> reporter: actually, the overt appeal to african americans and hispanic voters is new. trump is making a controversial pitch implying virtually all minorities live in crime ridden and impoverished neighborhoods. >> to the african american voter, great people. to the hispanic voter, i'll be able to make sure that when you walk down the street in your inner city or wherever you are, you're not going to be shot. your child isn't going to be shot. >> reporter: it's not trump's only change. during the primaries he outlined the hardest of hard lines on immigration. promising to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants. >> we're go

abc's jonathan karl with what he's now saying. >> reporter: it seems, for now at least, trump. relentlessly on message, focused squarely on taking down hillary clinton. >> her actions are criminal. they are purposeful and they're totally calculated. she knew what she was doing. >> reporter: for the candidate who once promised to outlaw teleprompters, they are now ever-present. and as he aims at hillary clinton, trump is also trying to soften his image. >> i think we're doing really great with minority voters. >> are you doing anything specifically to reach out to appeal to african-americans and hispanic voters is new. trump is making a controversial pitch, implying all virtually minorities live in crime-ridden and improvished neighborhoods. >> to the african-american voter -- great people -- to the hispanic voter, i'll be able to make sure that when you walk down the street in your inner city or whatever you are, ye not going to be shot. your child isn't going to be shot. >> reporter: it's not trump's only change. during the primaries, he outlined the hardest of hard lines on i

jonathan karl, abc news, akron, ohio. >>> now@democrats and another batch of hillary clinton's old e-mails may be released to the public. an additional 15,000 e-mails we the state department is reviewing them for classified information. they could be made public in mid october, a few weeks before the election. the conservative group that sued to have the e-mails released says they show top donors of the clinton foundation were given special access to clinton. the clinton campaign says that claim is false. donald trump is now calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the foundation. >>> president obama travels to louisiana to tour the flooded baton rouge. the president faced criticism for not cutting short his vacation. the white house says the president didn't want to interfere with the ongoing recovery efforts. in washington state, firefighters are battling at least seven fast moving wildfires. >>> the flames have scorched thousands of areas in the spokane areas. thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. the fire started sunday quickly spread fuelled by winds and record brea

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: in iowa today, donald trump turned the tables on hillary clinton, saying she's the one who lacks the temperament to be president. >> she's really pretty close to unhinged, and you've seen it. and she's like an unbalanced person. >> reporter: but trump is now under fire from former cia director mike morrell, who not only "unqualified," but that he "may well post a threat to our national security." morell, who has worked at the cia under democratic and republican presidents and ran the agency under president obama, goes so far as to suggest that trump is being manipulated by russian president vladimir putin, writing, "mr. putin played upon mr. trump's vulnerabilities by complimenting him." putin has referred to trump as a "talented and very colorful person." morell says trump "responded >> i think putin's been a very strong leader for russia. he said trump is a genius and trump is gonna win and trump is leading the party. i will get along, i think, with putin. i said he was a strong leader, which he is. >> reporter: "in the intelligence business," mor

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: today donald trump declared himself proud for putting immigration front and center. "such a big problem for our country," he tweeted, "i will solve." but aside from that wall, it's less clear than ever how he'd do this was trump in february. >> we have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. they will go out. >> reporter: but earlier this week he declared he was, quote, "softening" on that. maybe not everybody would be deported. >> there certainly could be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people. >> reporter: then last night -- >> you used the word softening, even last night on hannity, you talked about -- >> i don't think it's a softening, i think it's -- >> but 11 million people are no longer going to be being hardening, actually. >> but 11 million who have not committed a crime, there's going to be a path to legalization, is that right? >> you know it's a process. you can't take 11 at one time and just say, boom, you're gone. >> reporter: so, does trump want to deport undocumented immigrants, or not? >> we'

abc's jonathan karl on a campaign tonight insisting this is no flip-flop. >> reporter: with the election just 75 days away, donald trump is still trying to figure out his ann migratn -- the central issue of his campaign. >> i'll be making a speech on that, i would say, over the next week. laying out an exact plan, and i think people will ht clear -- trump is now ditching this vow he made to deport everybody who came into the united states illegally. >> what do you do with the women and children? >> they're going to go with them oh, everybody. >> you send the whole family? >> sure, it's got to be a family unit. it's going to be done humanely. >> reporter: now he's suggti that's not going to happen. >> there certainly can be a softening, because we're not looking to hurt people. >> reporter: and in town hall meeting on fox news, he even >> who wants those people thrown out? >> i do! >> the guy who wants them thrown >> reporter: limbaugh suggested trump has caved and is now supporting amnesty. trump's national spokeswoman struggled to explain the change - >> he hasn't changed his position o

>> jonathan karl for us tonight, thank you. >>> also today, hillary clinton described trump's trip as a photo op. fund ra fundraisers. cecilia vega is with the campaign in cincinnati. >> reporter: hillary clinton didn't mention donald trump's name, or even the country he was visiting. what she did say -- he is not a leader. >> it's more than a photo op. it takes consistency and reliability. and it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. that is not how it works >> reporter: she also fired off this video, using trump's own words against him, including his attack on a mexican-american judge. >> we're building a wall. he's a mexican. >> reporter: this is only clinton's fourth public appearance in two weeks. trump, clocking in more than three times that. and she's still not taking questions. do you have plans to go to instead been in the posh hamptons, where she raised more than $12 million with "a"-list celebrities like bon jovi and paul mccartney. ? but with just 69 day

abc's jonathan karl on the campaign trail. >> reporter: donald trump is now postponing a sweeping immigration speech, amid an uproar over whether he is softening the hard line anti-immigration approach that has been central to his campaign since day one. they're rapists, and some, i assume, are good people. >> reporter: trump has long promised not just a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants, but also to round up and deport all those already here. >> we have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. they will go out. they will come back, some will come back, the best. we're wounding them up in a very humane way and a very nice way. >> reporter: telling barbara walters this. >> what do you do with the women and children? >> they're going them. >> you send the whom family? >> it's going to be done humanery. >> reporter: how did he say he was going to do it? >> you're going to have a deportation force. >> reporter: but now, his new campaign manager says that may change. >> will that plan include a deportation force? >> to be determined. >> reporter: over the weekend,

abc's jonathan karl, leading us off. >> reporter: opening up a smart new line of attack, donald trump is now calling for a special prosecutor to investigate hillary clinton's dealings with clinton foundation donors while she was secretary of state. department into the same kind of pay for play operation as the arkansas government was. >> reporter: and tonight, an eye-opening new report by the associated press. when clinton was secretary of state, more than half of the meetings she had with people outside of government were with big donors to the clinton foundation. she met with 85 donors who gave a combined $156 million to the foundation. as trump attacks clinton's actions as his new campaign manager has launched a sharp personal attack in a new documentary out tonight. >> her husband's problem is that he had casual relationships with other women. hillary's problem is she has a casual relationship with the truth. >> reporter: trump, married three times himself, has often bragged about his own casual relationships with women, but now trump is fielding tough questions on whether he is s

jonathan karl tonight. jon, the fbi was under major pressure to hand this over to members of congress? >> reporter: david, these materials provide exextraordinary insight into the process the fbi went through in deciding not to indict hillary clinton. and the fbi has been under enormous pressure from republicans to explain and justify that decision. but david, even as they explain their decision not to indict, the fbi has made it very clear, they are not saying that hillary clinton did not do anything wrong. >> i can imagine the clinton camp is respo >> reporter: they sure are, david. in response, brian fallon said, this is an extraordinarily rare step that was sought solely by republicans. he wants these materials declassified and released, saying they should be released wildly so the public can see for themselves, rather than allow republicans to mischaracterize them through selective partisan leaks. david? >> jon karl live on capitol hill tonight. jon, thank you. >>> we turn next here this evening to a m

. >> let's get right to abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. watching this wi. you've been asking the white house about these payouts for talked about it before, this is manufactured outrage. >> reporter: david, i asked pointed questions back in january, but what we did not know back then is that $400 million of the money went over in cash at precisely the moment iran released four american prisoners, and if you notice, the president did not answer mary's second question, which is, can you assure the american people that that money didn't g? david, the s out a report saying iran remains the fore most state sponsor of terrorism. >> all right, jon karl and mary bruce, thank you both. >>> there are also new major developments tonight after that attack on americans in london. the knife attack turning deadly, and we're learning more about the florida wife who did not survive. we have new video coming in of police arresting the 19-year-old suspect, following that stabbing spree in the heart of the city, packed with tourists. the was her husband tonight. abc's alema >>