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Clinton, Trump Campaigns Crisscrossing Country; Clinton Campaign Demands More Information from FBI Director;; New Details on Huma Abedin E-mails; Trump Criticizes Obamacare. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 30, 2016 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Both campaigns crisscrossing the country this week visiting at least seven states. Look at the map. The Clinton camp releasing their schedule through next Saturday. The Trump campaign so far only listing events through Tuesday. So this as nearly 19 million people have already cast their ballots with almost 10 million of those coming from battleground states.

Without mentioning, the latest e-mail controversy by name, Clinton told the crowd in Florida that she wasn't concerned over any last- minute distractions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My mom taught me never ever quit. And what does that mean? Well, that means ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You rise up.

CLINTON: You got it. You got it. And it also means, when you're knocked down, what matters is whether you get up again. I have been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life. I'm not stopping now. We are just getting warmed up, right? And we won't be distracted no matter what our opponents throw at us, we're not going to be knocked off course. We know how much this election matters and we know how many people are counting on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. I want to bring in our Phil Mattingly in Wilton Manors, Florida. They're outside of Fort Lauderdale where the Clinton event took place last hour. So, Phil, you know, what was the tone there in crowd?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exuberant, you know, on one level. She's in a place where there's a lot of support. The LGBT community is obviously very prominent and they're very prominent supporters of Hillary Clinton. That's exactly why she was here. But I think it's worth noting, Fred, while all of these is going on around her, while here camping is obviously dealing with the Director Comey level - letter, what you saw from Hillary Clinton was essentially her layout, her strategy from here on out, let's focus on the issues, focus on where her campaign was planning to go before this all happened. And when it comes to Florida, that means focusing on the early vote. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: This is amazing. More than 20 million people have already voted in this election. Most of those votes in the last few days, 3 million of those votes from right here in Florida. Now, you only see numbers like that when people are standing up for what they really believe in. So if all of you vote, if your friends, your family, your coworkers vote, if everyone you talk to between now and election day vote, we are going to make some really big history on November the 8th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And, Fred, that's really the strategy in a nutshell. If they get their supporters to vote, if they get their coalition to vote in this state and another battleground states, they feel like they are in a good position. If you look at the early in white is so important. It could be as many as six in 10 Florida voters will cast their ballots before November 8th. That's why you've heard the Clinton campaign talk about it repeatedly. That's why they've been looking at those absentee ballots and early in-person voting as well.

But also worth noting, Fred, as all of this is going on around the campaign with the FBI letter as they try and deal with that, here at least, you're getting a lot of sense from supporters that this is almost hardening their support for Hillary Clinton. I was talking to one person who said they're for the canvassers who are coming out and two and three times what they were expecting because they feel like they need to support her because she's under attack. That's what the Clinton campaign has been saying as well. It looks like at least here in Wilton Manors, there is some evidence of that going forward. Her supporters actually rallying to her and not a lot of concern about dropping off when it comes to where her supporters will be in the wake of the FBI over the course of last 72 hours, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil, thank you so much. Donald Trump focusing his attention on the Nevada there where polls have him locked in a dead heat with Hillary Clinton. He just wrapped up his rally in Las Vegas. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is there and joining me now. And so, Donald Trump did seize on the FBI investigation but what else?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He did, Fred, and I can say it seems that Donald Trump is campaigning with a new spring in his step, as you said, capitalizing on the news of FBI is investigating more e-mails potentially related to Hillary Clinton's private e-mail scandal. And this is something that he has just been relentless in hammering Hillary Clinton about on the campaign trail. And today, really no exception. He almost joked to this crowd. He said, "I never thought we would be thanking Anthony Weiner at this point, nine days out." Here's more of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Her criminal action was willful, deliberate, intentional and purposeful. Hillary set up an illegal server for the obvious purpose of shielding her criminal conducts from public disclosure and exposure. She set up this illegal server knowing full well that her actions put our national security at risk and put the safety and security of your children at risk.

[15:05:11] SERFATY: Now Trump campaign officials feel this is an opening that they've been given in this final nine days and they'll continue to hammer this issue. Also, something we've heard today, Fred, from Donald Trump going after Obamacare premiums, raising -- potentially going up next week. That's something that he has been bringing up on the campaign trail and will continue to stay on the offensive on according to Trump campaign officials. They are looking at some battleground state polls that have been tightening going there way recently and they think that midweek, they might see a tick-up in the polls. They certainly have that anticipation and that hope, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen Serfaty in Las Vegas, thank you so much.

So as the Clinton campaign continues to demand more information from the FBI about their review of the e-mails, they're also acknowledging that this scandal would have never happened had Clinton not used her private e-mail server. CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with Clinton Campaign Chairman, John Podesta this morning on "State Of The Union".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you accept the fundamental premise that the reason we're here is because Hillary Clinton and her inner circle, not including you, made a horrible decision to set up her private e- mail server and everything that has happened since then is her fault?

JOHN PODESTA, CHAIRMAN, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Well, look, I think she's apologized for setting up a private e-mail server, said it was a mistake. She said she wouldn't do it over again.

I think, you know, she -- it's very clear that this has been an issue through the course of this campaign. I think she obviously would like to take that decision back, but she's learned from it. And I think what's important about this campaign at this stage, with nine days to go, is who's fit to be president, who has the experience, and the question of whether Donald Trump is too dangerous, too temperamentally unfit to be President of the United States. So that's what we're going to close on.

TAPPER: John, what is ...

PODESTA: And we're going to talk -- she's going to talk about ...

TAPPER: I always ...

PODESTA: ... the future she wants to build in building an economy that's going to work for everyone, not just people at the top. And, you know, we're not going to be distracted by this.

TAPPER: I always hear the Clinton team -- I always hear the Clinton team say that she's learned from it. What has she learned?

PODESTA: Well, look, I think that she -- you know, she said many times, she wouldn't do it over again. I think it was -- you know, I think she didn't give it that much thought when she did it in the first place. And it's the kind of a decision that I think needed more thought, more review, and she didn't do it. And I think she regrets that. I think it's regrettable and -- but you learn and you move on. Again, I think, in contrast to her opponent who never seems to learn from his mistakes and keeps repeating them and double down -- doubling down on them.

TAPPER: One of the things that's interesting and one of the things that Democrats in Washington D.C. are debating is whether or not Hillary Clinton ahs actually learned from this experience when it comes to people in her circle who enable bad decisions by the Clintons and I'm not necessarily including you in that group. But people inside her circle such as you and Neera Tanden and Robby Mook, people who are more of, I would say, kind of a new guard, even if you have a longstanding relationship with the Clintons, were stunned when word of the private e-mail server was first reported by "The New York Times" in March of 2015, according to those stolen e-mails published by WikiLeaks. And I know you say that this is the Russians and they're trying to influence the election. But regardless of that ...

PODESTA: It's not me that says it. It's a lot of people who say it, including the government, so.

TAPPER: OK.

TAPPER: Intelligence -- intelligence professionals say that. Be that as it may, you wrote to Robby Mook on March 3 of 2015, "Did you have any idea of the depth of this story?" Neera Tanden, a Clinton ally who is now co-chairing your transition, wrote, "Why didn't they get this stuff out like 18 months ago? So crazy." You responded, "Unbelievable." Neera Tanden wrote, "I guess I know the answer. They wanted to get away with it." On July 25 of last year, Neera Tanden wrote, "Do we actually know who told Hillary she could use a private e-mail and has that person been drawn and quartered?"

You're acting like the server was just a simple mistake, but these e- mails suggest that you and Robby Mook and Neera Tanden knew this was going to be a big problem.

PODESTA: Well, look, it's easy with 20/20 hindsight. I think if someone had taken the steps and looked at it, if, you know, one would have definitely made a different decision. But it happened. I think it was -- at the beginning, it was just done for convenience. But at the end of the day, it was a major problem, I think. As I told you, I think she's learned from it. I've worked with her closely in this campaign. She takes hard advice. She -- you know, she respects people who will get up in her face. And I think that the reason I have kind of survived through the whole campaign is because that's the kind of person I am.

TAPPER: You certainly are. Has anyone in the government provided you with the status report, John, on the investigation into your hacked and stolen e-mails?

[15:10:06] PODESTA: No. I talked to the, you know, the FBI at the beginning of this and my attorney has been in touch with them. It's part of the investigation of the Russian hacks. And -- but the scope of it, who knew what when, the fact that the Trump campaign seems to have been in contact with Julian Assange and the Wiki -- and from WikiLeaks quite early, at least as early as August, I don't know what their investigation is finding.

TAPPER: You're -- the Trump campaign, you're referring to Roger -- are you referring to Roger Stone saying that he ...

PODESTA: I'm talking to Roger Stone, Trump confidant. Let me correct myself.

TAPPER: OK. OK.

PODESTA: A Trump confidant, Roger Stone, who, you know, bragged about being in touch with Julian Assange and talked about the fact that they were going to come after me was -- he did that back in August.

So, what the government has learned about the interactions between Assange and the Russians, it seems clear that the Russians were the ones who did the initial hack. How they got to WikiLeaks, what the relationship was with Roger Stone, I don't know. I assume that the government is looking at that, but I don't know anything more. Maybe Jim Comey, if he thinks it's important, will come out and let us know in the next nine days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, John Podesta this morning. So we'll talk with our panel about this right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. You just heard the Hillary Campaign Chairman, John Podesta, respond to the FBI investigation. Now let's talk more about this with our panel, Historian and Professor at Princeton University, Julian Zelizer, and David Swerdlick, who is a CNN Political Commentator, also with "Washington Post". Food to see you.

All right. So David, let me begin with you. Podesta paints this as nuance not nefarious. He said he thinks Huma Abedin truly did believe that she had handed over everything. So even in your newspaper today, today it's reported that Abedin didn't use her estranged husband's computer that much. So how is it believed that her e-mails related to Clinton's server possibly may be in that device?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think what we know now is what FBI Director Comey said. He did issue this sort of vague letter on Friday which does have the Clinton camp up in arms and you can certainly sympathize with Hillary Clinton and her surrogates saying that this was vague and, you know, overblew what was potentially a non-issue and there's no smoking gun so far in this phase of the investigation. But at the same time, Fredricka, you know, FBI Director Comey did say that he was going to update Congress on any new developments in the investigation and this might be a very small development but it's a development nonetheless.

WHITFIELD: So, Julian, you know, previously the Clinton campaign largely, you know, avoided talking about the e-mail scandal in rallies and, you know, in press conferences today, Clinton didn't address it directly when she was in Florida but the camp did release this explainer video. So, is it enough?

JULIAN ZELIZER, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR: Well, she's going to have to be out there talking about what is going on. I think the Clinton team is clearly focusing both her and Podesta in that interview on raising questions about Comey and about the entire process. But you can't let that consume everything she does. I think it's important that Hillary Clinton also keeps talking about her message, her agenda and, frankly, her attacks on Donald Trump. Otherwise, if she's just talking about the e-mail story, it will be the e-mail story that is all anyone hears about.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so, you know, David, you know, you're alluding to this. It was a promise that Comey made that he wanted to, you know, keep everyone abreast. He didn't want to be in the middle of this mess but through his transparency, he is. So, could he or should he have anticipated that this would result just a few days before Election Day?

SWERDLICK: Yeah, I think it was foreseeable when he sent that letter to Congress that it would throw the election into a little bit of a, you know, of a scurry in these last nine days, right? In the last two weeks, Fredricka, Donald Trump has been closing on Clinton in the polls. Prior to this information coming to life, our own "Washington Post" poll out this weekend shows that it's a two-point race nationally and it's tight in several of the key swing states. What it's doing is not necessarily changing the entire dynamic of the race.

Again, we don't know what's in these e-mails, we don't know what was on this laptop or device that was recovered from Huma Abedin or from Anthony Weiner. But what we do know is that it's making it difficult for Hillary Clinton to make her closing argument in the last week of this race, which is what she was starting to settle in and do. She came out of the debates sort of the winner of those three debates, certainly debates one and three was trying just sort of lock down and narrow polling lead and now she's got to defend this and it's frustrating her aides, including John Podesta.

WHITFIELD: And, Julian, you know, the relationship between Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton, very, very tight. I mean Huma has been working for Hillary Clinton since she was an intern back in 1996. So now you've got this scandal potentially, you know, and the relationship Anthony Weiner and that investigation. So might this mean a prelude to a split between Clinton and Huma Abedin in the midst of all of this?

ZELIZER: It sure could. And even if this doesn't have a detrimental effect on the election for her, I think both with this particular situation but all of her advisers, it raises a question we've heard about Hillary Clinton, if she always surrounds herself with the best advice and surrounds herself with the best people. And so I think this is clearly going to be a case where there's serious consideration, you would imagine, to severing this relationship after this is done.

WHITFIELD: All right. So much more ahead, David, Julian. Thank you so much. Stick around. We've got a lot more to tackle.

The FBI is under pressure to give more details about its review of this e-mail involving a Clinton top aide, Huma Abedin. So coming up, you'll hear from a Republican lawmaker who has spoken to Director James Comey about the inquest. So, find out what Comey and lawmakers actually know about Huma Abedin's e-mails.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:31] WHITFIELD: All right. The pressure is on. FBI Director, James Comey, to release more details about the bureau's review of e- mails possibly linked to Hillary Clinton, definitely linked to aide, Huma Abedin. So investigators discovered the e-mails on a computer Abedin shared with her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, who was accused of having sexually explicit communication with an underage girl. The Republican Chair of the House Judiciary, Robert Goodlatte, told ABC's "This Week" that he encouraged Comey to give the American people as much information as possible about the discovered e-mails before the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: You mentioned classified information. How do you or Mr. Comey know that there's classified information involved here if you haven't seen the e-mails?

REP. BOB GOODLATTE (R), VIRGINIA: Well, we don't know. And we don't know what the basis was for Mr. Comey making the decision to further pursue the case. We don't know whether it's informant. We don't know whether they've had access to looking at some of this information. We don't know what the basis was. We do know they know something is there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Investigations Correspondent, Chris Frates, joining me live now from Washington. So Chris, tell us more about what Goodlatte had to say.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, so far, it seems that Comey is not telling lawmakers like Goodlatte much more to what he's saying publicly which, look, at this point is nothing. Here's how Chairman Goodlatte described his conversation with FBI director Comey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Did Mr. Comey tell you he would be coming forward with more information? [15:25:05] GOODLATTE: He did not. His answer was, with regard to a number of questions I asked him, that he was not going to answer those questions at this time, meaning during the conversation I had with him and Mr. Conyers. But let me just say, with regard to Mr. Comey making a mistake, I think that he is very conscious of the controversy that has existed in the FBI.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So despite the call by both Democrats and Republicans for Comey to release more information, the FBI Director really not budging here. And Fred, that's largely because he doesn't even know yet what's in those e-mails.

WHITFIELD: And so, Chris, how odd is that that Director Comey wouldn't know what's in the e-mails but would construct a letter to send to the Hill?

FRATES: Well, there's a reason for that, right? And that's because the FBI doesn't have permission to search those really discovered e- mails yet. In fact, the bureau and the Justice Department are in talks with Huma Abedin's lawyers to get that approval. And the government hasn't gotten a search warrant yet either. They need a new warrant because the current authorization only covers the FBI's investigation into Abedin's estranged husband, Anthony Weiner. He's accused of sexually explicit conversations with an underage girl. So they need to get a new warrant for these newly discovered e-mails. Right now, they only have a warrant to investigate Anthony Weiner. And, you know, that's all going to take awhile here, Fred, and it's unlikely we'll have any answers to the big question here which is, what's was actually in these e-mails until after the election, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Frates, thanks so much, in Washington. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. And now we have breaking news on the FBI review into the newly discovered e-mails of Hillary Clinton's close aide, Huma Abedin. CNN is being told that the discovery of those thousands of e-mails was weeks ago. CNN's Justice Correspondent, Evan Perez, joining me now on the phone with details on this. So, Evan, this was not a discovery made this week when the letter went out but instead weeks ago.

[15:30:07] EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. Certainly, we got the impression that this will be a new discovery because the FBI made this disclosure to Members of the Congress on Friday. And in that letter Jim Comey, the FBI Director, said that he had been briefed on Thursday. What that letter doesn't say is when the FBI first learned of this and we're told by law enforcement officials that we've been talking to that they've had this in their possession now four weeks.

We've first reported -- CNN first reported back on September 22nd, now just over a month ago, that the FBI -- that the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the FBI were seeking possession of Anthony Weiner's communications as part of this sexting investigation. We're told that soon after that, they were able to get this communication. They were able to look at the e-mails and that's when the team in the FBI New York Office discovered that there might be some Huma Abedin e-mails that related to the Hillary Clinton investigation. They stopped doing their work immediately and they brought in the team that had been handling the e-mail investigation, the Clinton e-mail investigation, and they started looking at that.

So by early October, it certainly was clear that there was something here, that it was pertinent to the Clinton investigation. And so, what we are still trying to get clarification from the FBI on is why it took so long for any of this to be known. Perhaps if they had disclosed this back then, the reaction from the Clinton campaign would not be so severe because now they feel that's it's been unfairly disclosed so close to the election that it could have an affect on the election. And I think it's a motivation that certainly now is going to have to be looked at much more closely, Fred, simply because now we know the FBI was in possession of this information for weeks and only now disclosed it.

WHITFIELD: So, Evan, might it still be the case that while the FBI investigators knew about these e-mails weeks ago that perhaps they only informed Director Comey on this past Thursday as Comey has stated?

PEREZ: Well, we know that there were several officials at the FBI who had knowledge about this because there was some deliberations inside the FBI about what to do, about how to proceed. Obviously, everybody knows, inside the FBI, knows about the rules, about not disclosing information that is politically sensitive close to an election. That's a policy that's drilled into everybody there. And they all know that this is something that, you know, it's very sensitive.

And so that might have been part of the deliberation. We don't know exactly what was the hang up, what was the reason why they kept this under wraps for weeks and weeks and then disclosed it on Friday. We do know that one of the calculations, part of the calculations, for Jim Comey and FBI was the concern that this was going to leak out anyway and they were concerned that if it did, it would appear that the FBI was covering up for the Clinton campaign. They did not want that to appear that way. So that's the reason why they decided to disclose this to Members of Congress in a letter on Friday.

The question is, if they knew this so much earlier and if they thought that this was important enough to disclose to Congress, why didn't they do it earlier this month? And perhaps the damage here, the damage of the reputation of the FBI and all of the questions that Jim Comey is now getting might have been softened a little bit. It's not clear whether that might have made a difference but certainly that's the question everybody is asking right now.

WHITFIELD: And then why would not a search warrant have been applied for weeks ago upon the discovery as opposed to now we're hearing this weekend discussions of a search warrant are happening? PEREZ: That's right. Exactly. That's another question that we're asking which is if you had dealt with this back in early October when you certainly had a clear picture that this was related to the ongoing -- to the Clinton investigation, then why didn't you start taking those steps then? Again, the clock was ticking simply because you -- there is a policy at the Justice Department and the FBI that you don't take certain investigative steps within 60 days of an election. That's the general policy.

So even if they had done this in October, it would still have raised the same problems. I think the question that the Clinton campaign now certainly has, and it's a legitimate one, is perhaps if you had done this earlier, it would have given time to deal with this, of this news, at the same time for the voters to have all of this information, certainly not 10 days out or 11 days out to only learn this.

[15:35:08] Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much for your reporting. We'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

PEREZ: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Also straight ahead, the Trump campaign reacting to this new inquiry and the rising Obamacare cost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What we've got is not working and I'm very glad that Obamacare continues to form the core of his message even in light of the new FBI investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So in the final days of the campaign, Donald Trump has zeroed in on one of his primary target issues, blasting Obamacare, which he did again today at a rally in Las Vegas. Trump called for health care to be repealed and replaced. Earlier today on CNN "State of the Union", Jake Tapper questioned Trump's campaign manager on the presidential candidate's knowledge of the health care law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let me ask you a question about health care, there are real questions about whether Donald Trump understands how Obamacare works. Take a listen to what Mr. Trump had to say in Florida.

TRUMP: All of my employees are having a tremendous problem with Obamacare. You folks, this is another group, is that a correct statement? I mean, you look at what they're going through, what they're going through with their health care is horrible because of Obamacare. [15:40:01] TAPPER: Now, after he gave that statement, the general manager of Trump's property attempted to correct the record and he said 99 percent of Trump's employees are insured through the hotel, meaning they have private insurance. How can Mr. Trump be the one to replace Obamacare if he doesn't really seem to even understand how it works?

CONWAY: He does understand. His employees are the lucky ones, Jake. They actually don't have to suffer under Obamacare. But he's actually talking about the rest of the country, so many who have.

He's the right person to repeal and replace it because Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster. It reminds us all how intrusive, invasive, expensive and expansive the federal government can become in our lives under the guise of helping people. He was in Arizona yesterday and clearly told them their premiums are expected to rise in Arizona by 116 percent. Will CNN or anybody else ask Mrs. Clinton that today when she's visiting Arizona?

We see these other premiums. People are opening up their mailboxes and clicking onto their computers and getting notice that their premiums are about to explode. It is reprehensible and deplorable, to coin a phrase, that Americans are now choosing between paying the rent, feeding their families and keeping their health care.

President Obama lied 26 or 27 times by telling people, if you want to keep your doctor, you can keep your doctor. No, you can't. People see a lack of quality, a lack of access, a lack of control and an increase in price in something that is under the guise of the Affordable Care Act.

The question for Hillary Clinton is, what would you do about it? Is Obamacare 3.0 in the offing or would you go and try to mollify the Bernie Sanders supporters, who actually want to us move to a single- payer system? Either way, she should own Obamacare. She should be asked what she would do about it.

Donald Trump says he would let you compete across state lines to buy your health insurance, much the way you could buy your auto insurance and other goods and services. He would block-grant Medicaid to the states. He would immediately, through his tax plan, remove the Obamacare penalty which is hurting many people. And he, of course, would allow a more patient-centric health care system which would give us all health savings accounts, so that you own and you can control your own health care spending.

What we have got is not working and I'm very glad that Obamacare continues to form the core of his message, even in light of the new FBI investigation. We've had a great week, in large part because Mr. Trump is talking about Obamacare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring back our political panel now to discuss all of this. Back with me is CNN Political Commentator, David Swerdlick, and Historian and Professor at Princeton University, Julian Zelizer.

All right. So before we dive into this Affordable Health Care argument over the rising premiums, let's revisit this breaking news through which through our Evan Perez reporting. He's learned that the FBI apparently knew of these new e-mails when it seized or received, this Anthony Weiner, a computer back in September 22nd. So, they've known of these new e-mails four weeks now contrary to Comey said he learned of it just this past Thursday, but still unclear, you know, if that was withheld from him for that period of time. So, Julian, how much bigger of a mess has this now been made?

ZELIZER: Well, it becomes a bigger mess with every hour. And the more questions that are raised about why the FBI did this in the process through which the decision was made obviously plays into the concerns that have been raised by the Clinton supporters about the entire process through which this is being conducted. But it's a reminder especially without any evidence at this point of any kind of smoking gun data that there is a danger of handling these kinds of stories so close to an election without knowing what the facts are.

WHITFIELD: And so, David, how do you see it? How much more, you know, potentially complicated does it come?

SWERDLICK: Right. Well, if Director Comey has the timeline wrong, that's a problem and he's going to be scrutinized for it. And also if in fact the FBI knew about these e-mails in or whatever is on this device in September, that should have been disclosed at least based on what we know and based on Evan Perez's reporting sooner in the process, not 11 days, which was Friday before the election.

That being said, you know, the complaints come from the side I think that is having to struggle with them in a political context. Right now, you're hearing the objections raise from the Clinton camp because this is throwing a wrench into their closing argument. Back in July when Director Comey was coming out and making what was also not really a typical FBI protocol, a statement and a speech explaining why he was not recommending criminal charges to the Justice Department against Secretary Clinton. It was Republicans complaining. And I think that goes to the fact that both sides in this are sort of, you know, pleading their own case and understandably so that Director Comey really is in a very difficult position here.

WHITFIELD: Okay, all right. Now let's shift gears to this affordable health care and rising premiums in certain jurisdictions, Donald Trump seizing on that, also saying he's going to and has committed to, you know, repealing and replacing.

[15:45:08] You heard from Kellyanne Conway being challenged there and whether Donald Trump even has a clear understanding about the Affordable Care Act. So, Julian, you know, this I guess is in step with what the GOP has been saying for a very long time, it wants to replace and repeal. How does this assist Donald Trump, Ms. Conway?

ZELIZER: Yeah, look, this has been an argument we've heard from Republicans for many years now. It actually faded in this campaign as other issues took off the airtime. But it's come back because of this news on rising premiums. Many people would argue that's just part of the story overall. We have far fewer people now who are uninsured and overall costs have slowed down. But symbolically, the news that premiums have risen on some people or will rise is very potent, especially post e-mail story. And especially as the polls tighten, I think Donald Trump now has the opportunity to use that as another rallying point for the Republicans.

WHITFIELD: David, is this advantageous?

SWERDLICK: At least in the short term, yeah. Julian is right that this election has not really been waged over the long-term, over the last year on, you know, broad-sweeping policy issues. It's been more about the character of the two candidates and them trying to knock each other down rather than to put forward a broad, comprehensive policy agenda.

And I also think that, you know, you played the clip of Kellyanne Conway talking about the dire state of Obamacare. I think she was exaggerating that a bit. That being said, you know, you cannot blame the Trump campaign for seizing on this new news about rising Obamacare premiums to try and make their closing argument in this race that, you know, they are the change candidate that people should rally to them because the Obama administration and Clinton administration haven't delivered as promise at least on this issue whether or not that's true that is a fair argument for them to make.

WHITFIELD: And at this juncture, Julian, does Donald Trump have to elaborate any further, give any detail about what kind of replacement he would envision?

ZELIZER: He does. We shouldn't forget he's still behind even though the polls have tightened and even though he's doing a lot better in national polls, she is still in the lead and she still has an advantage in the electoral college, and he comes with many liabilities as well. And I don't think voters have forgotten all of those. So he, I think, has a lot of pressure to get out there and show that he actually can handle some of these policy discussions in ways that he has not demonstrated. So, he shouldn't think that he can coast in this final week because he should also remember that he's coming from behind at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julian Zelizer and David Swerdlick, thank you so much, gentlemen. I Appreciate it. We'll be right back.

SWERDLICK: Thanks. Thank you.

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[15:51:35] WHITFIELD: The Justice Department and FBI officials are trying to secure approval for a full search of e-mails from a computer shared by Hillary Clinton's close aide, Huma Abedin, and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner. The e-mails were discovered during an investigation of Weiner, and the former congressman, who has now been accused of sexting an underage girl. That was the central focus of this investigation now uncovering these e-mails.

Our Brynn Gingras joins me from New York with more. Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we know that Anthony Weiner started in Congress in 1999, and then two years later, Hillary Clinton would become a part of the senate. They became even more entwined when Weiner started dating Huma Abedin, a woman Clinton once described as her second daughter. And the connection has caused political headaches before but maybe never at a more crucial time than right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYNN: A usually overexposed Anthony Weiner remaining quite private as an investigation into his sexting is having a ripple effect on the presidential race. Weiner has made no comment and has not been seen leaving his Manhattan home this weekend as questions remain what e- mails were discovered that launched the Justice Department to reopen the case into Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server.

Weiner, a former Democratic Congressman, once stood in harmony with Clinton, both serving on Capitol Hill at the same time. Weiner was a charismatic, political rising star who had his eye on Clinton's quiet closest confidante, Huma Abedin. Wiener courted Abedin and eventually opposites attracted. The two married in 2010. Bill Clinton officiated the ceremony.

However, marital bliss soon faced a bombshell.

ANTHONY WEINER, FORMER CONGRESSMAN: I'm announcing my resignation from Congress.

GINGRAS: Weiner surrendered his political post after he inadvertently tweeted a picture of his crotch. The scandal broke as the couple were expecting a child. Abedin gave her husband a second chance and Weiner asked New Yorkers for the same as he ran for mayor in 2013. But that bid soon imploded when more lewd online conversations with women surfaced.

The final straw for Abedin came this year when the FBI opened an investigation into allegations that Weiner sexted with an underage girl.

Abedin announced in August she was separating from Weiner after six years of marriage. Now, her estranged husband's choice is felt again, this one jolting the election less than two weeks before voters head to the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And we do know Weiner is cooperating with authorities in regards to the sexting investigation he's facing. But again, no comment so far from Abedin or Weiner in regards to these recent developments. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you so much, in New York. I appreciate it. All right. Coming up, we'll hear from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters what they think about this growing FBI investigation.

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[15:58:17] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Nine days left and both candidates have faced controversies in these closing days, and voters are reacting to the latest developments now, including the decision by FBI Director James Comey to review more e-mails potentially linked to Clinton's server.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it is about time. I don't know how sincere his investigation is. I hope that it is. But it is about time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Comey finally found his conscience and his integrity, and thank you, James Comey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crooked Hillary has been proven to be crooked once again. And I'm proud of the FBI for stepping forward and saying, "Hey, there's nobody in this country that is above the law. We're all the same."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like everybody is focusing on all of her untrustworthiness and not questioning Donald Trump, you know, not questioning all of the things against him. But now I'm starting to sound like Kellyanne Conway, so I'm not -- I'll keep it on Hillary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just makes it more imperative that we come out and support her because there are people just screaming against her all the time, "Oh, she's unreliable. You can't believe what she says." She's -- you know, they've spent millions of dollars and hundreds of hours investigating, she and Bill Clinton, for what, 20 years? They found nothing so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

Hello again, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. So, nine days before Election Day and both campaigns are running on overdrive. The campaigns courting voters in battleground states today. Hillary Clinton speaking to voters in Wilton Manors, Florida, just north of Fort Lauderdale.

[16:00:03] Donald Trump holding a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he again slammed Clinton's use of her private server. Nevada is a crucial state for both candidates. A new poll there.