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NEW DAY SATURDAY
Clinton: "Imperative" FBI Releases Facts on Email Review; Weiner Sexting Probe Leads FBI to Review Clinton Case; Fires Erupt on Two Boeing Jets; FBI Reviewing New Emails Related to Clinton Case; Iraqi Forces Make Progress in Mosul Offensive; Trump's New DC Hotel Off to Rocky Start. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 29, 2016 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:00:44] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is incumbent upon the FBI to tell us what they're talking about.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a big one. Bigger than Watergate, in my opinion.
REPORTER: You just put your head in your hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did. We've been waiting for something like this.
TRUMP: The FBI would never have reopened this case unless it were a most egregious criminal offense.
CLINTON: The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately.
CROWD: Lock her up! Lock her up!
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton tried to politicize this investigation by attacking and falsely accusing the FBI director.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He's in a terrible spot, Anderson. Had he sat on this information, he'd be criticized.
CLINTON: It's imperative that the bureau explain this issue without any delay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Take a deep breath, because you have made it to the weekend and good for you. We're glad to have you here. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's good to be with you.
Fresh e-mail controversy bringing turmoil, potentially, to the Clinton campaign with just ten days until the election. The FBI says it's reviewing new emails related, potentially, to Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server investigation. And now, Hillary Clinton is going on the offense, calling on the FBI to release the full and complete facts of what they're looking into.
PAUL: This is a stunning development. And it's breathing new life, it seems, into Donald Trump's campaign. He's seizing on the news, calling it bigger than Watergate and adding, quote, "maybe the system will become less rigged after all."
I want to get straight to CNN's Chris Frates, who's been following this for us this morning.
Chris, good morning to you. What are you learning?
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christi. Well, we know that FBI Director James Comey says the FBI can't yet assess whether the new e-mails may be significant. He didn't know how long it would take to figure that out. And in a letter to FBI employees, Comey said while the bureau usually doesn't discuss ongoing investigations, in this case, he felt an obligation to do so.
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FRATES (voice-over): FBI Director James Comey informing lawmakers he's reviewing materials related to the Clinton e-mail investigation. Law enforcement officials tell CNN the new e-mails were not from Clinton, but were sent and received by one of her top aides, Huma Abedin. They were found on a device shared by Abedin, and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, who is the target of a separate investigation into alleged sexting with a minor.
All of this three months after the FBI director recommended closing the Clinton e-mail probe.
Comey wrote to eight congressional committee chairman, saying in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the investigation.
Director Comey continued, the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps, designed to allow investigators to review these e-mails, to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess her importance into our investigation. In July, Director Comey said, Clinton had acted carelessly, but not criminally.
JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: In looking back at our investigations into the mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts.
FRATES: And on Friday, Hillary Clinton told reporters, the FBI hasn't contacted her.
CLINTON: The director himself has said, he doesn't know whether the e-mails referenced in his letter are significant or not. I'm confident whatever they are will not change the conclusion reached in July. Therefore, it's imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay.
TRUMP: That they have discovered new e-mails --
FRATES: Donald Trump, however, pounced on the news at a rally in the battleground state of New Hampshire.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton's corruption is on a scale we have never seen before. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.
FRATES: Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, tweeted, "A great day in our campaign just got even better."
[07:05:02] House Speaker Paul Ryan, until now, locked in a public dispute with the party's nominee, accused Clinton of mishandling the nation's most important secrets, before renewing his call for the director of national intelligence to suspend all classified briefings for Secretary Clinton until this matter is fully resolved.
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FRATES: Now, both the Clinton and the Trump campaigns have called on the FBI to release the information they have, before the election. And it's a clear sign that both signs see some political advantage there. And it's one of the first times in what's been a really crazy campaign season that both sides seem to agree about anything.
Christi, Victor, back to you guys?
PAUL: All right. Chris Frates, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: That's exactly where I want to start, with these next to gentleman we have, with senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes, and CNN politics executive editor, Mark Preston.
Good morning to both of you.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Good morning.
TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: You just heard there from Chris, Tom, that both campaigns are calling for the FBI to release what they know. Clinton saying, quote, "release all the information that it is," speaking of the FBI. What's the likelihood, at all, that this is going to be released in the next ten days?
FUENTES: I think the likelihood is very slim, that that would happen. Now, again, this has been an extraordinary case from the beginning, but I don't see that happening. I don't know that they'll have the results that they want soon enough to be able to do something like that. And they're not used to providing incremental information about an ongoing investigation. So, I just don't see that happening.
BLACKWELL: So, the Trump campaign, mark, sees this as a boon for them. Now, the FBI doesn't know if these e-mails are relevant, if they contain classified information, but, you know, this e-mail saga has been going on for a year and a half now.
For the voters who are using this as a criterion to decide for which candidate they're going to vote, have they not already made up their mind?
PRESTON: Well, most of them have. Look, a couple things. One is, where this helps Donald Trump is it helps him with his Republican base, which hasn't all coalesced behind him. Now, we have seen in the past week or so, that they are coming home. Republicans who were on the fence with Donald Trump are starting to gravitate towards him.
But, when something like this happens, as well, you're going to see that accelerated. So, Donald Trump, which has already been feuding, as Chris had pointed out, in his piece with the Republican Party, with Republican leaders, and certainly had some concern from Republican voters, is certainly going to be able to attract his base and make it stronger.
At the same time, you're going to have these independent voters, who are on the fence about both candidates. They weren't sure about Hillary Clinton, because they don't think that she's honest and trustworthy, and they certainly don't think the same thing about Donald Trump, because they might think that, perhaps, that he isn't prepared to be the commander in chief.
So, that's where it could help. You could see some of these independent voters who are on the fence, specifically in states like Pennsylvania, Victor, who could now vote for Donald Trump. Or quite frankly, not vote for Hillary Clinton.
BLACKWELL: Mark, let me stay with you. Can Trump stay on-message here? We've seen in several instances in this general election campaign, there have been these opportunities for him to stay on a singular track against Hillary Clinton, but that he gets distracted by Alicia Machado, distracted by something else. Does he have the message discipline and what's the reporting from his team that maybe he will be able to hold on for ten days to this?
PRESTON: Well, that's a great question, because you're absolutely right, Donald Trump has been his worst enemy when there's been good news. He's been able to overshadow it with his own bad news, right?
So, talking to people who are close to the campaign, they want him, to stay on message, of course. They're hoping he only addresses this in a couple of times in rallies and doesn't turn it into a 15-minute shtick.
Now, I will tell you talking to $ Republicans on Capitol Hill yesterday, they don't think he can stay on message. They're praying he can stay on message, Victor. But if he can keep quiet on this, to the extent of allowing Hillary Clinton to take up all the spotlight on this, that's going to benefit him politically.
BLACKWELL: Hey, Tom, back to you, CNN legal analyst Paul Callan says it's time for the FBI director, James Comey, to resign. Here's part of the opinion piece he wrote for CNN.com.
He writes, "In truth, investigations open and close routinely and secretly when new evidence comes to light. Each new scrap in a pile of useful or useless evidence is not announced in real time, like a scandal in a scripted reality TV show. Perhaps it's time for the embattled FBI director who seems to have forgotten how to conduct a proper investigation to resign."
Callan also writing there, it's like throwing a Molotov cocktail into this race, in an attempt to be open. What do you make of that, that call for Director Comey to resign?
FUENTES: Well, I disagree with that. I think the determination would come in the weeks and months ahead if he's no longer effective, as far as, if he loses the confidence of the rank and file FBI and isn't effective, then that's another reason to discuss it. But as far as what's happened in this case, the FBI was put in a really difficult situation, really by the Clinton people.
[07:10:06] This information was supposed to all be turned over. We were told it was all turned over, all government documents, three plus years ago. And it's been like, for the bureau, conducting a scavenger hunt or an Easter egg hunt, trying to find every little piece that's been hidden here or hidden there. And now, we find, you know, there's investigation on the shared computer of Huma Abedin and her estranged husband, Weiner.
So, that's what's caused this to be delayed. This all should have been over and done. And we've seen by the WikiLeaks e-mails that have come out that even inside Clinton campaign people questioned each other, why wasn't this handle 18 months ago or two years ago? Why is this all coming out now? And what's with her judgment of -- so they obstructed this so long that, yes, it's coming out right now, days before the election is happening. And that's been, I think, the fault of not turning these documents over years ago.
BLACKWELL: Yes. All right. Tom, mark, thank you so much. And, Tom, you're generous when you say, a little piece at a time. These messages, though, are being discovered thousands at a time. We'll have the discussion throughout the morning. Thank you, both.
FUENTES: Thank you.
PAUL: Now, the news the FBI is reviewing came at a time both candidates held rallies. They were literally just blocks away from each other.
BLACKWELL: Next, hear from both Clinton and Trump supporters about how this could impact the election.
PAUL: Also, terrifying moments onboard two Boeing aircraft yesterday. Look at this video! This is just one piece of video we have to share with you. And where the investigations stand today on these.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: We've got ten days before the election, and this could be a bombshell, courtesy of disgraced former congressman, Anthony Weiner, the FBI says it's reviewing new e-mails related to Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server investigation.
[07:15:03] A law enforcement official tells CNN the e-mails were sent or received by Clinton's longtime aide, Huma Abedin.
PAUL: Now, that's where the former congressman enters the picture here. Anthony Weiner is Huma Abedin's estranged husband, as you know. And the FBI says the e-mails were uncovered while he was being investigated for allegedly sexting an underage girl.
CNN's Michael Smerconish spoke with Vice President Biden about this. Take a listen.
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JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know where these e-mails came from.
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: Apparently, Anthony Weiner.
BIDEN: Oh, well, oh, God. Anthony Weiner, I should not comment on Anthony Weiner. I'm not a big fan. And I wasn't before he got in trouble, so I shouldn't comment on Anthony Weiner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: That was a very raw reaction.
BLACKWELL: Yes, it was.
PAUL: Very raw reaction there. Michael Smerconish is going to join us live on the next hour of NEW DAY with more on that interview with Vice President Biden.
BLACKWELL: So the news that the FBI would be looking into these e- mails came as both candidates were on the campaign trail yesterday. As expected, the reaction by the crowds at each rally was quite different.
CNN national correspondent, Miguel Marquez, spoke to voters on both sides.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Hillary Clinton rally, news the e-mail investigation is being revived, for some, expected, but still a shock.
(on camera): You just put your head in your hands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did. We've been waiting for something like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly, expecting like something like this was going to pop up.
MARQUEZ: Some found the timing of the announcement the worst part.
TERRY SCHMIDT, IOWA VOTER: I thought the timing was really terrible for Hillary. This is the worst thing that could probably happen, when there's only 10 days left of the election.
MARQUEZ: Six short blocks away, just across the river, a Donald Trump rally, and the reaction, decidedly different.
CROWD: Lock her up! Lock her up!
MARQUEZ: Trump supporters emboldened by news the FBI is looking at new information.
CINDY HOFFMAN, IOWA VOTER: Finally! Yes. It needs to be taken care of. She got away with it the first time.
MARQUEZ: Many hoping undecideds will finally see the light.
Deenna Larson drove eight ours from Langford, South Dakota, three kids in tow.
(on camera): Do you think it will turn the tide in the election?
DEENNA LARSON, SOUTH DAKOTA VOTER: If they can get the word out there. I mean, if these independents and Democrats would hear this now, maybe they'd finally wake up and realize that she is a crook!
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Eric Rende, who's already voted for Trump, says he knows he's not perfect but --
ERIC RENDE, VOTED ABSENTEE: Yes, he ha faults. Yes, he's not right about everything, but like, why do we have to be lied to?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: All right. We're going to obviously continue that conversation throughout the morning.
Also, I want to show you just this incredible video of two frightening fires in one day on two different Boeing jets. Can you imagine being on this flight? Because people were on that flight, just moments before what you're looking at there. We'll tell you what happened and where the investigation stands today.
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[07:21:26] PAUL: Well, federal investigators are looking into two frightening incidents involving Boeing jets that caught fire on the runway in one day. One of them was an American Airlines flight in Chicago.
Look at this video. There were 170 people onboard right before -- and I'm sorry -- there was the plane. A hundred seventy people onboard that right before this happened. Now, the other was a FedEx cargo plane and just the pilot and co-pilot
there. This was in Ft. Lauderdale.
CNN's Nick Valencia is with us now with more.
And just to think that these happened on the same day --
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BLACKWELL: -- and there were no fatalities.
VALENCIA: Absolutely terrifying, right? When you look at that video, you -- it's unbelievable that everyone survived. Two separate planes, happening yesterday afternoon, I should say, two separate planes catching on fire. One in Illinois, one in Florida, but fortunately, everyone survived.
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AMERICAN 383: American 383 Heavy, stopping on the runway.
TOWER CONTROLLER: Roger, roger. Fire.
VALENCIA (voice-over): It could have been absolutely devastating. A plane bound for Miami goes up in flames Friday, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Just before takeoff.
AMERICAN 383: Do you see any smoke or fire?
TOWER CONTROLLER: Yes, fire off the right wing.
AMERICAN 383: OK, send out the trucks.
VALENCIA: The smoke billows hundreds of feet in the air after the plane's right side engine fails. The blast spewing debris across the tarmac. More than 160 passengers and crew members on the American Airlines flight rushed down emergency slides to escape the flames.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a big ball of red window. That's all I can tell you. I was -- I got out of there as fast as I can, too. And we're all moving towards the exits.
VALENCIA: Twenty people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could have been absolutely devastating if it happed later. If it happened farther -- I mean, there's a thousand variables, but, again, they brought the aircraft to halt. The tower did a great job communicating with the pilot, fire they could see, and they got everybody off the plane.
MIKE JACHLES, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIA PIO: It was like a fireball, a running fuel fire down the runway leading to the jets.
VALENCIA: The scare in Chicago came on the same afternoon, a separate plane caught fire at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. That incident involved a FedEx cargo plane.
Cell phone video shows a large piece of debris flying in the air through large flames near the rear of the aircraft. The plane's landing gear collapsed on arrival in Florida. No one was hurt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad they fine. I'm glad they're okay. That's all that matters. I'm glad they're fine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: That cell phone video from inside the Chicago plane showed just how hectic it was as passengers were evacuated from that plane. Many didn't even realize how bad it was underneath the engine, just how much flames there were underneath the engines. Both of those planes will be left on the respective runways and NTSB is going to continue the investigation later today.
PAUL: That is so shocking to me, that they're leaving that plane in Chicago on the runway, because that's such a busy airport.
VALENCIA: Yes, people going into and out of the airport for the World Series, too.
BLACKWELL: Priority here is to find out what happened.
PAUL: Absolutely.
BLACKWELL: Nick, thank you so much.
PAUL: Thank you, Nick.
BLACKWELL: So the Clinton campaign is in the middle of what could be a political nightmare, at least a PR nightmare. And it all started with a sexting investigation into disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner. How that sex scandal surrounding Weiner turned up a new batch of e-mails related to Hillary Clinton's private server investigation.
PAUL: Also, we're following another strategic victory in the mission to rid the Iraqi city of Mosul of ISIS militants. We are live for you in Iraq. Stay close.
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[07:27:06] PAUL: Mortgage rates inched up this week. Here's your look.
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PAUL: Welcome back. I'm so glad to have your company on this Saturday morning. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to start the day with you.
A blow to the Clinton campaign, just ten days before the election, FBI Director James Comey announced this revelation that the bureau is now reviewing a new batch of e-mails related to Clinton's personal server, potentially. But Comey is not explaining much about the discovery, only saying these e-mails could be pertinent to the investigation.
PAUL: Now, Hillary Clinton responded to the announcement saying it is, quote, "imperative" that the bureau explain this issue in question, with whatever it is, without any delay.
Donald Trump seizing on the issue as well.
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TRUMP: Hillary Clinton's corruption is on a scale we have never seen before. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.
I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made.
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[07:30:04] BLACKWELL: Well, the Trump campaign, as we saw there, seizing on these new details, while the Clinton campaign is criticizing the FBI for how it handled the letter notifying congressional leaders. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He's in a terrible spot, Anderson. Had he sat on this information, he'd be criticized.
BRIAN FALLON, HILLARY CLINTON'S PRESS SECRETARY: And she learned about it the same time that everyone else did. But I guess if the director of the FBI was going to be sending a letter to eight different Republican chairman on Capitol Hill, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that it would leak out almost instantly. But if you look actuality at what --
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me interrupt for a moment. Let me also point out, he also sent that same letter to the ranking Democrat members of those relevant committees as well, not just the chairman. But go ahead.
FALLON: Right. I highly suspect it came out by virtue of the Republican chairman, but I don't know that for a fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring in Eugene Scott, CNN politics reporter.
Eugene, good morning to you.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: So, it took the Clinton campaign a little time to formulate a response to this. There was a Wi-Fi hiccup on the plane, in the first rally, they didn't mention it so much, but now we're hearing what each campaign has to say about this review of these e- mails.
SCOTT: We are. And we have seen that the Clinton campaign has been very direct and forceful, asking for more information to be revealed, so as not to provide an opportunity for more rumors and narratives that benefit Donald Trump, to go public and just remain rampant.
BLACKWELL: We also know that the Trump campaign is calling for that transparency, as well, for the FBI to release what they have. But, of course, they expect there to be a different outcome, as those details are revealed.
SCOTT: Absolutely. And we saw Donald Trump yesterday, repeat his talking point, that Hillary Clinton is a criminal and it's important to realize that the e-mails that we're talking about were not received or sent by Hillary Clinton and nothing has been proven at this point. This is a completely separate, unrelated investigation, that congressional leaders were notified of.
BLACKWELL: What about the element of, if Donald Trump can stay on message, if he can carry this narrative through Election Day, because we've seen in the past, where, you know, he came out in Gettysburg to deliver his closing argument and spent 15 minutes talking about the women accused him of sexual assault. He -- the news of the rise of premiums of Obamacare, he came out and kind of exposed his lack of knowledge, as it relates to who is actually using Obamacare.
Is his team, are his supporters confident that he can stay on message for ten days?
SCOTT: Well, the question becomes, what is the message? These, again, aren't e-mails from Hillary Clinton or to anyone, specifically. There are so many questions that remain unknown. I mean, the message, I guess, at best, would be that there's this cloud of suspicion, but that's not anything new. And that's nothing that has kept some voters from supporting her, who have already voted for her as early voters.
BLACKWELL: Yes, you make a good point there. That there could be a significant gap between what this looks like and what this actually is.
Eugene Scott for us there in Washington -- thanks so much.
SCOTT: Thank you.
PAUL: So what exactly does this October surprise mean to the Clinton campaign just ten days out?
Maria Cardona with us now, CNN political commentator, Democratic strategist, and Hillary Clinton supporter, and Oliver McGee, a Trump adviser and Republican strategist, and author "Jumping the Aisle: How I Became a Black Republican in the Age of Obama."
Thank you both for being with us. It's good to have you here.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Christi.
PAUL: Sure.
Maria, I do want to start with you. After the final debate, CNN asked debate watchers, if the way that Hillary Clinton handled her e-mails were an indicator of her character and her ability to be president, and 64 percent of those respondents said "yes."
So, what do you think she needs to do in light of this new information to try to help herself here?
CARDONA: Well, I think she did what she needed to do yesterday, which was to call upon the FBI to release all of the information. Let's just realize how astounding this announcement was 11 days before a national election, where presumably, there is an unwritten rule at the FBI and frankly law enforcement agencies, and I used to work at DOJ, so I know this, that not -- this kind of announcement is never done, at least, you know, 60 days before an election, so as not to sway the election, one way or the other.
And the additional thing here is that Comey's own statement says, they don't even really know what's in these e-mails, Christi. There could be nothing here. They could all be duplicates. There could be no classified information in this. They did not come from Hillary Clinton's server. They were not sent by Hillary Clinton. She was dragged into this by the misdeeds of a sexual pervert while she's running in the election of all of our lives against a multi-time accused and self-described sexual predator.
So, I think at the end of the day, the American voters will be smart about this and understand that she's running against somebody who's temperamentally unfit, wholly unqualified, and uniquely unprepared to be commander in chief.
[07:35:10] PAUL: Yes, there are a lot of questions, as to why this came out the way it did, certainly.
And, Mr. McGee, I'm wondering if the tables were turned, if information like this came out about Donald Trump, would it be fair game?
OLIVER MCGEE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think this election is really about -- not about change, but it's about enough. Enough taxes, enough infrastructure crashes. We had two plane crashes today. And we even had Mike Pence's crash run off the runway. And it's about enough health care problems. Now, it's about enough FBI flaps.
The American people know exactly what we need to do at this time. And they're really looking to Donald Trump for change, for enough in Washington. But particularly, Donald Trump may not be supported by all Americans, was he's at least supported by all of us in his support for us.
We the people are responsible for we, the lawmakers, who are accountable here. So, essentially, we're really looking very, very closely at how the last 11 days are taking place and we're going to make our vote decision from that.
PAUL: Sure.
MCGEE: This election is really all about SCOTUS more than POTUS, and basically we're looking at American principles and American values, and that's really what the American voters are doing.
Americans are very, very smart. They're very, very astute. They really understand what's going on, in all of the issues. And they're going to be very, very silently going to the polls and voting rationally for the candidate they want. And in this particular case, they probably will be looking towards Trump.
PAUL: Well, Mr. McGee, there is -- when we just talked about that -- one of the polls, there's another poll out there, a recent poll by Bloomberg, that shows that Donald Trump has a 62 percent unfavorability rate. So, when you look at that and look at what's happening with Hillary Clinton, certainly, Donald Trump cannot depend on people who may not support Hillary Clinton, he can't depend on them supporting him either. Is that correct? Fair to say?
MCGEE: Well, yes and no. I think people are really not necessarily looking at the personalities between the two candidates. They're really looking at principles and issues.
If you look at really look at how silent this election is, American people right now at this 11th hour is actually looking very, very closely about the issues. They're very concerned about their taxes. They're very concerned about their rising premiums in health care. They're very, very concerned about the infrastructure, the crumbling infrastructure. If we don't build that infrastructure strongly, America is going to crumble and we're going to lose its global prestige.
And they're also looking very, very closely at Comey and the FBI flap to see exactly what's involved. They're not jumping to conclusions at all. They're saying, we're waiting to see, but they're also looking at character. They're looking at what's going on in the case.
This is a big conversation at water coolers, at the kitchen table, and right now, it's where the American people are squarely paying attention to --
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: Maria, I only have a couple of minutes left, but Tom Fuentes said, it's been like a scavenger hunt, referring to try to get the information out of the Clinton campaign for this FBI investigation and saying, why did we not see these e-mails from Huma before? How do you think Hillary Clinton should answer to that?
CARDONA: Well, again, we might have completely already seen them. Well, not us, but the FBI might have already completely seen all of these e-mails, Christi. That's the problem with the announcement. We don't know what these e-mails say.
So, it is incumbent upon Comey and the FBI to offer more information about this. And, you know, frankly, the more that this is reported on, the more I believe this is much ado about absolutely nothing. And I think that the Clinton campaign and Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton supporters are confident that this is going to end up exactly where it ended up in July, which is that there is nothing here to move forward with.
And I agree with Mr. McGee, that the American people will make this decision on values and it's going to be something between a candidate who is focused on serving America's families and children and a candidate who has done nothing but enrich himself on the back of American workers.
PAUL: All right. Maria Cardona, Oliver McGee, we appreciate you both of you taking the time for us this morning. Thank you.
CARDONA: Thanks, Christi.
PAUL: Sure.
BLACKWELL: Iraqi troops making progress in the fight against ISIS and reclaiming another city today. CNN's Michael Holmes is live in Iraq.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And when we come back, I'll fill you in on the latest in the effort to rid Mosul as ISIS as increasing numbers of civilians, thousands of them are being taken into the city to add to the human shields.
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[07:43:27] PAUL: Forty-three minutes past the hour.
ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing in Baghdad this morning. Iraqi police tell CNN two people were killed, eight others were injured.
BLACKWELL: Now, this comes as Iraqi troops claim to be making progress in reclaiming Mosul, moving even closer to the city.
Just hours ago, the Iraqi army says it cleared another town of ISIS militants after an attack.
CNN's Michael Holmes is live there in Iraq.
Michael, what are you seeing?
HOLMES: Hey, Victor. Yes, the progress is still there, but there are still towns to be taken and security. You know, overnight, there was some confusion, too, about the pace of this offense, you had American officials saying on Friday that Iraqis would be pausing on some fronts to allow other units to catch up, sort of consolidate their positions on the approach to Mosul. But almost immediately, you had Iraqi commanders saying, that's not so. The U.S. comments were inaccurate.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, you've got the popular mobilization units, these Shia paramilitaries. They announced that they are entering the fray, launching operation west of Mosul to, quote, in their words, "cut ISIS' supply lines." And that's going to put thousands more fighters in one area where ISIS has been able to cross back and forth from Iraq to Syria and vice versa. Of course, Syria, where the de facto capital, Raqqah, is -- Victor.
BLACKWELL: So, Michael, what have you learned about these reports that we're seeing, that thousands of civilians are being round up. What are you hearing?
[07:45:03] HOLMES: Yes, this has been happening over the last week or so, and we're hearing it is happening in increasing numbers. You're talking about tens of thousands of civilians being forced from the outskirts of Mosul. Basically, a lot of them just being put into trucks, taken into the center of the city, and unloaded.
You're talking about women, children, the elderly. They're in poor condition, in cases. Don't have a lot of food, water, or a place to even stay. And that's, of course, adding to the 1 million to 1.5 million residents of Mosul who are still in there. It's just an unimaginable number of, you know, quote/unquote, "human shields". And what exactly ISIS is going to do with those people, if an assault begins, if and when an assault begins, just defies belief.
BLACKWELL: Hmm.
All right. Michael Holmes for us this in Irbil -- thank you so much.
PAUL: Well, several companies have parted ways with the Trump brand during this election season. So, what happens to those businesses when the race is over?
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PAUL: Forty-nine minutes past the hour right now.
Donald Trump's tough talk on the stump, his controversial campaign may be costing the billionaire big time, at least when it comes to his brand.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A high-end ribbon cutting at Donald Trump's newest hotel in Washington.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We turned to property that had been neglected for decades and which was losing huge sums of money for the federal government into a major revenue producer and job creator.
[07:50:01] This is what I want to do for our country.
TODD: But outside, a different take.
Protesters call for a boycott. The hotel has had a bumpy start. Two star chefs quit over Trump's controversial immigration statements and a vandal spray-painted "Black Lives Matter" at an entrance. Now, after 16 months of campaigning, new signs that Trump's brand is
taking a significant hit.
MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, AUTHOR, "THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP": Bookings are off. At some of his properties, he's lowering rates because they're just not getting the traffic they should get.
TODD: CNN found that a stay at Trump's new hotel in Washington costs up to $200 less than comparable luxury hotels in D.C. Some of his closest rivals were booked out, while Trump's was not. And bookings by millennials at Trump's hotels has decreased nearly 60 percent since 2015, according to the travel site, Hipmunk.
In August, foot traffic was down 16 percent from last year at Trump's hotels, casinos and golf courses, according to Foursquare, a location intelligence firm. Trump Hotels does not occupancy information, but it's not just hotels.
Some residents at Trump Place Apartments in Manhattan have started a petition to change the name.
BRIAN DUMONT, TRUMP PLACE RESIDENT: We're uncomfortable with it, because it really doesn't represent who we are at that point. That man, we have found, does not represent our values.
TODD: Analysts say Trump's businesses were slowly declining through much of the campaign and then came the crisis that would threaten any brand.
TRUMP: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.
TODD (on camera): Was that a game changer for the brand?
DAN MCGINN, BRANDING CONSULTANT: There's no question "Access Hollywood" changed the campaign and changed the brand.
For women, you know, for a large percentage of people. I'm not comfortable being associated there. I don't want to spend my money there. I don't want to look like I'm endorsing that behavior.
TODD (voice-over): There's also a campaign to boycott Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessory lines, but so far, analysts say Donald Trump's controversies haven't hurt Ivanka's business and she may counted on to resurrect her father's brand.
IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: My brand was launched far before the presidential cycle commenced and will continue long afterwards.
TODD: Responding to the reporting on the lowering of rates and booking problems at Trump's new hotel in Washington, a Trump Hotel spokesperson says that hotel has been their most successful in terms of opening bookings and event marketing. The spokesperson also said the reports on sites on like Hipmunk and Foursquare on declining traffic and bookings at Trump Hotels are manipulated to appear meaningful and don't accurately reflect their performance. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Let's talk about the impact of the election on the Trump brands.
Jamie Turner, branding expert and founder of 60secondmarketer.com, is with us now.
So, I know it's hard to look back before the race is finished obviously, but if Donald Trump loses, what becomes of his brands and what he's lost thus far? Are they permanent losses for him?
JAMIE TURNER, AUTHOR, "GO MOBILE": Yes, I mean, it's big. I'm a branding expert, in my opinion, it's a very serious problem. Imagine if Oprah Winfrey, who has a personal brand and a corporate brand, had spent 15 months disparaging people, making fun of people with disabilities, talking down about women, things like that, if she had done that, imagine the impact it would have on her brand. So, I don't think there's any way to say that the Donald Trump brand isn't going to be impacted after the election when this is all done.
PAUL: Are the polls that we look at regarding political polls, are they any indication of what could come for him after this is over as well?
TURNER: You can look at them. A poll is very different from a brand, of course.
PAUL: Right.
TURNER: But the bottom line is yes, there's a correlation going on. The net-net is that he is struggling with his perception among -- think about the words you might associate with the Donald Trump brand before he ran and after. Beforehand, it would be elegance, sophistication, entrepreneurship, success.
PAUL: Luxury.
TURNER: Luxury, exactly.
PAUL: Sure.
TURNER: Think about the word you might associate with him now -- thin-skinned, mean-spirited, maybe make America great again, there's a percentage of America that will see that afterwards.
PAUL: Absolutely, absolutely.
TURNER: But I think that's a smaller percentage and it's certainly a different group than he's been trying to target before he ran for president.
PAUL: In terms of his marketing, in terms of who is at his hotels.
TURNER: Absolutely.
PAUL: Do you see a problem with him promoting his brands from the podium in these rallies?
TURNER: It's a little odd. I think his instincts are as a businessman, so he goes, he goes, hey, here's an opportunity. I've got a bunch of cameras. I'm going to go ahead and talk about my brand. So, from a business point of view, I could see --
PAUL: It's what he knows.
TURNER: It's what he knows and it's what he's good at quite frankly. But I think from a political standpoint, of course, then the story becomes for the reporters, wait, why are you doing this? And for the political people who follow him, why aren't you doing this? Aren't we in a presidential race? So, it takes him off message yet again, which is, of course, one of the big struggles he's had.
PAUL: We saw Ivanka Trump in that piece there and she -- her clothing line is facing a boycott by some. How much do you believe some of these problems may trickle down into her business?
[07:55:03] TURNER: Well, she's inextricably linked to the Donald Trump.
PAUL: Sure.
TURNER: However, she's trying to separate herself a little bit, it appears. She is making slightly fewer appearances, it seems like, and she's trying to separate herself.
Now, I do have a wife who has an Ivanka Trump thing. She said, I don't care what Donald Trump says. I love the brand. I'm going to stick with it.
But there's also a percentage of the population who's going to go, I don't want to have anything to do with Donald Trump. And those people are going to exit her brand as well.
PAUL: So, what if he wins?
TURNER: If he wins, it's a different -- man, you know --
PAUL: You haven't gone there, have you? It could happen. This race seems to be up in the air. There are a lot of people who support him. He could win. If he wins, what happens to his brand?
TURNER: I think what happens is his brand changes from a brand of elegance, sophistication into a brand of his target market which is you argue the alt-right movement, although there would be some people who disagree with that, or people are basically sort of in a different socioeconomic category than the current people that Donald Trump focuses on.
So, the net-net is, if he won the presidency and again it would be -- it would turn things so upside down, it would take a little while for it to sort itself out.
PAUL: It would be different than anything we've seen thus far.
TURNER: Totally, yes.
PAUL: All right. Jamie Turner, always appreciate your expertise. Thanks for being here.
TURNER: Thanks.
PAUL: The next hour of your NEW DAY after a quick break. Stay close.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDNETIAL CANDIDATE: It is incumbent upon the FBI to tell us what they're talking about.
