Donald Trump is trying to take full advantage of Friday's bombshell announcement that the FBI is probing new emails tied to Hillary Clinton. It comes as Clinton and her allies are trying to dismiss the FBI Director but it seems that some of her surrogates aren't sharing the same message. Josh Robin explains.
Trump is thanking disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner and the FBI's James Comey, for resuscitating his candidacy.
"It took a lot of guts," Trump said of Comey Monday. "I really disagreed with him, I was not his fan. But I'll tell you what , what he did, he brought back his reputation."
It's a sharp reversal. When Comey cleared Clinton, Trump didn't have a kind word for him.
Comey isn't saying much more than Friday's letter, agents are trying to hurry another investigation that began when a separate inquiry uncovered more emails.
The emails are from Huma Abedin, estranged wife of Weiner, who the FBI is investigating for allegedly sending sexual messages to a teen — Abedin is a top Clinton aide.
Stumping in Ohio, Clinton continues to question the FBI's timing; with her campaign releasing a letter from former Democratic and Republican State Attorneys General that called the move a serious mistake.
"I'm sure a lot of you may be asking what this new email story is about and why in the world the FBI would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of any wrongdoing with just days to go," Clinton said. "That's a good question."
But the Obama administration is not following Clinton into confronting Comey.
"The President doesn't believe that director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. "The President doesn't believe that he's secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party. He's in a tough spot."
Clinton believes she wins when the focus is on Trump. Therefore, in a sense, she is going nuclear, remaking the famous daisy ad from 1964 warning then-Republican nominee Barry Goldwater was dangerously unstable.
It's too soon to say whether this affects the election. Polls take a while to record the impact of something like this, but already about 22 million people have voted — that's about 17 percent of the number voting overall four years ago.