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Sources: Trump to Get First Intel Briefing Tomorrow; Trump: Clinton Lacks 'Stamina' to Fight ISIS; Sources: Roger Ailes Helping Trump Prepare for Debates; FBI Sends Secret Clinton Report to Congress. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 16, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:11] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Jake. Happening now, Trump intel. CNN has learned that Donald Trump will receive his first classified intelligence briefing tomorrow, gaining access to top- secret national security information for the first time. Will details of the threats facing the U.S. impact his campaign?

Curing what Ailes him. Sources tell CNN former FOX chairman Roger Ailes, forced out in a sexual harassment scandal, is now helping Donald Trump prepare for the presidential debates. Can Ailes tame Trump's wild style for his upcoming face-off with Hillary Clinton?

Taking notes. The FBI sends Congress details from his interview with Hillary Clinton about the private e-mail server she used as secretary of state and explains why the feds chose not to charge Clinton with a crime. The Clinton campaign said it wants the notes made public, but could that hurt her campaign?

And deadly deluge. The death toll climbing as Louisiana reels from historic flooding by almost two feet of rain. More than 20,000 people have been rescued; more than 40,000 homes are damaged. Will the crisis spread?

Wolf Blitzer is off. I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Donald Trump is just hours away from learning top-secret details of the threats facing the country he hopes to lead. Sources are telling CNN that the Republican presidential nominee will receive his first classified intelligence national security briefing tomorrow, information Hillary Clinton will also receive. This is a decades-old tradition, designed to ease the transition from candidate to commander in chief.

CNN has also learned that former FOX News chief Roger Ailes is now helping Trump prepare for his upcoming debates against Hillary Clinton. Ailes was forced to resign last month after allegations of sexual harassment emerged. The Trump campaign is denying that Ailes is advising Trump on the debates, saying that the men are just long- time friends.

And the House Oversight Committee now has notes from the FBI's interview with Hillary Clinton about her private e-mail server. The agency handed them over today, along with a report explaining why it chose not to recommend that Clinton face charges.

The Clinton campaign says it wants those notes made public.

We're covering all of that and more this hour with our guests, including Republican Congressman and Trump supporter, Sean Duffy. We have our correspondents and our expert analysts also standing by.

And I do want to begin now with CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll. He is in West Bend, Wisconsin.

Jason, Trump is holding a rally there tonight?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is, and this is located right in Washington County, Brianna. It's a conservative section of the state, and this is one of the places where Donald Trump really has to make an effort to win back voters if he has any hope of beating Hillary Clinton here. He intends to do that by taking the stage tonight and showing that he is the law-enforcement candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Donald Trump, back in Wisconsin for the second time this month, renewing one of his campaign themes.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am the law and order candidate.

CARROLL: Today, touring a memorial with veterans and members of law enforcement in Milwaukee, a city still recovering from rioting, which erupted after a police-involved shooting this past weekend. His campaign is betting he will make up ground in the Badger State, and there's a lot to make up. A poll just last week shows Trump trailing Hillary Clinton by 15 points: Clinton at 52 percent, Trump at 37.

Tonight, CNN has learned Trump will received his first classified intelligence briefing Wednesday in New York. It will cover major threats and concerns facing the United States. Trump delivering his major speech on national security Monday.

And it was not without controversy, proposing what he called "extreme vetting."

TRUMP: In addition to screening out all members of the sympathizers, the terrorism groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principals or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American.

CARROLL: The Clinton camp responding with a new web ad today, along with a tweet: "Donald Trump says he'll create a new test for immigrants, a test he failed."

TRUMP: Those that do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred will not be admitted.

CARROLL: And fact checkers again taking issue with Trump's repeated claim he was against the Iraq War before the U.S. invasion. TRUMP: I was an opponent of the Iraq war from the beginning. A major

deference between me and my opponent. Though I was a private citizen whose personal opinion in such matters were really not sought, I nonetheless publicly expressed my private doubts about the invasion. I was against it, believe me.

CARROLL: But in a 2002 radio interview, Trump said this.

[17:05:24] HOWARD STERN, TALK RADIO HOST: Are you for invading Iraq?

TRUMP (via phone): I guess so. So, you know, I wish it was -- I wish the first time it was done correctly.

CARROLL: The Trump campaign has been in need of some serious life support, and Wisconsin, a state he lost in the primary to Senator Ted Cruz, is crucial.

And with the first presidential debate just five weeks away, sources tell CNN ousted FOX News chairman Roger Ailes is now helping Trump prepare for the upcoming presidential debates. Ailes resigned last month after allegations surfaced he sexually harassed female employees. The Trump campaign released a statement pushing back on the initial "New York Times" report, saying, "This is not accurate. He is not advising Mr. Trump or helping with debate prep. They are longtime friends, but he has no formal or informal role in the campaign."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Brianna, it should be noted that Governor Scott Walker, who you remember was not present the last time Trump held a rally here in Wisconsin August 5, is expected to be here tonight. So perhaps that's just some sort of a sign that some fences have been mended in some ways. Many folks here on the ground, Brianna, saying that Trump is going to need a lot more of that if he hopes to overtake Clinton here come November -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Jason Carroll in West Bend, Wisconsin, thank you.

And let's get more now on the Trump campaign with CNN political reporter Sara Murray. And Sara, you have Donald Trump returning to this law and order theme that we heard a lot about from him at the Republican convention. What are you hearing from inside the Trump campaign?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT; Well, a senior Trump campaign aide says they want to continue hammering home this message tonight when they are in the suburbs of Milwaukee. They feel like it's Donald Trump's opportunity to essentially go into the belly of the beast and talk about what he feels like are the root causes of these protests, of the violence that we've seen during them.

And Donald Trump wants to make it clear tonight he's going to use prepared remarks to do so, that he stands on the side of the police. And we're expecting him to hit Hillary Clinton, sort of saying that she is against the police in all of this, that she has not been there on the side of law enforcement as all of this has been unfolding.

When they look at the American electorate right now, they feel like they have a upper hand on this issue. They feel like voters are looking at unrest, and they're coming away with a general feeling of insecurity.

And Donald Trump thinks that's something he can capitalize on. He thinks he can just paint Hillary Clinton as a third term of Barack Obama and say, "If you don't feel safe now, why would you vote for her?"

KEILAR: He also said yesterday that Hillary Clinton lacked the mental and physical stamina to fight ISIS. Is that a line of attack that you think we're going to continue to hear from Donald Trump?

MURRAY: Well, this got a little bit of attention yesterday, because of course, Donald Trump is at 70 years old; Hillary Clinton is 68. This is one of the moments he went after not just, you know, her judgment, but also her physical -- whether she's physically fit to be commander in chief.

But this aide does tell me that Donald Trump will come out once again tonight and will question her stamina. They feel like she has not been as forceful in her leadership role, campaign trail, talking about the security issues as she needs to be. They feel like she's kind of taken a lackadaisical approach to how she deals with it.

So it will be interesting to see tonight, Brianna, whether he continues to hit her mostly on the judgment side, or whether Trump really digs in on this notion that Hillary Clinton is not physically fit to be president.

KEILAR: Does he stay focused? A lot of Republicans want for him to do that. Sara Murray covering this. Thank you so much.

Let's get more on this with Republican Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin. He is a supporter of Donald Trump. And Congressman, you heard that. Donald Trump is going to be receiving his first classified intel briefing tomorrow. How do you think this is going to inform his world view, his policies?

REP. SEAN DUFFY (R), WISCONSIN: Well, I think, as a member of Congress, before you get there, you realize you didn't have the best information. So when he starts to get security briefings, I think you get a little better picture of all the problems that we face in the world. And, instead of having him walk away from some of his law and order rhetoric, I think it's going to make him tougher on the law and order rhetoric, because I think once he gets that briefing, I think it's going to confirm the fact that the world is ablaze.

The Clinton-Obama foreign policy strategy has been a disaster, and we need strong leadership to address it.

KEILAR: Do you think we'll hear more nuance, more details from him following this?

DUFFY: Well, I think what he has to do is he has to be more scripted and more on-page instead of off-page.

And you know, I think the American people are frustrated with the lack of leadership that's come from this administration and from Hillary Clinton, especially when they see their own people getting shot and hacked and attacked from these radicals. And not just here in the U.S., but they see that happening in Europe. And they want a leader who's going to stand up, call it for what it is, and address it.

So though you might understand the nuances behind clothed doors, I think the conversation you're having with the American people, in the eyes of Donald Trump, is you know, let's bring this to the forefront, because Hillary Clinton has not been as strong on this issue. It's a real weakness for her, especially after the Orlando shooter's father came out to support her candidacy. So I think -- I he can play this and play it well.

KEILAR: We have learned that Roger Ailes, who was ousted from FOX News in the midst of a number of sexual harassment allegations, that he is now helping Donald Trump prepare for the upcoming debates. He is someone who has experience doing this. It certainly is something that he did before this scandal. They met together this weekend at one of Mr. Trump's golf courses. Considering those allegations, especially as Donald Trump struggles in the polls with women, including Republican women, do you think that this is a good idea?

DUFFY: First off, I don't know the accuracy of the reporting. Donald Trump has denied it.

KEILAR: But we know. But we know that he is.

DUFFY: OK, then you're -- you're saying something that I don't know. I haven't confirmed that, and Mr. Trump hasn't either. He's a smart guy, but I don't think Mr. Ailes is helping, if that's happening Donald Trump prepare for debates, is going to be hurtful and especially after Hillary Clinton went after Bill Clinton's victims of sexual assault.

If you want to play the woman card and the victim card, I think Donald Trump will play that every single day of the week against Hillary Clinton, and he'll win because she does not come to this conversation with clean hands, especially after attacking the women, including Monica Lewinsky, that were victims of Bill Clinton's sexual aggression.

KEILAR: Look, I don't dispute some of the characterizations that we have seen from Hillary Clinton, certainly not that was uncovered in documents. But this Ailes scandal, I mean, this is fresh. This is brand-new, and Donald Trump is really -- he is struggling -- Hillary Clinton is not -- to make inroads with women.

DUFFY: So you make a good point. But I don't think an advisor has the same kind of weight as the candidate herself, with regard to how she's treated victims of sexual assault from Bill Clinton.

I'll say with women, it's beyond this issue. Women care about security. They care about the economy, but they also care about rhetoric and tone. And, you know, I think Mr. Trump has had a very aggressive tone on the stump. And if he tones that down a little bit and makes women feel more comfortable with them, that's going to be the secret sauce for success, as opposed to, you know, Mr. Ailes, giving him some advice. Because again, if this plays out in the media, that Hillary, you know, wants to make victims of assault an issue, Donald Trump will win that fight with Hillary Clinton, because she has a horrible record protecting women who have been abused by other men, especially her husband.

KEILAR: I want to turn to your state, Wisconsin, because Donald Trump is going there. He'll be campaigning there tonight. Milwaukee, of course, has faced riots just this weekend over the recent officer- involved shooting. The police say that this was an armed man; it was a black man.

This is the most racially segregated major city between black and white residents. That's what some analysis shows. What is Donald Trump doing? What is he putting out there that would improve race relations?

DUFFY: That's one of the problems we have. This is a huge issue beyond the president himself in the communities, whether you're in Baltimore or you're in Iraq. You have communities that have been disenfranchised. You have issues with education. You have issues of opportunity. You have issues within the family structure. It's broken down, and frankly, the cities that have these protests have been run by liberal Democrats for a very long time. Here in Milwaukee since 1908, over 100 years. They've been run by Democrats.

And so I think what we have to do is get to the basics of our social fabric, is how do you get a good education to every kid in America? And if your schools are failing, let's go to charter schools that might give your kid an opportunity.

KEILAR: Why isn't he talking about that, though? Why isn't he talking to people? I mean, right now, he's polling at 1 percent with black voters. Mitt Romney didn't do well, and he has six percent. You have a communication consultant to both Mitt Romney and John McCain saying you have to do the bare minimum, and he's not even doing that.

DUFFY: You make a really good point. I'll scream that from the rooftops. This is an issue that parents care about: their kids' education. And Hillary Clinton has sold out to the unions. And even if you have a failing school in your ZIP code, she won't allow the kids to get out of that failing school and go to a charter school.

This has been a Republican issue that I think Donald Trump has to grab on to, because it's an issue of opportunity. And if he talks about this from the stump, I agree with you: this is a winner, and he should do more of it. Because every kid, every parent -- I have eight kids -- every parent wants the best for their children, and you can't accomplish the American dream unless you have a good education. And you can't get a good education unless you have a good school.

[17:15:21] You can't have a government inside these cities, making it so untenable for businesses to stay and do business. They leave, which means there's no opportunity, no education. And then the breakdown of the family is salt in the wound.

So this is an -- this is an issue that I think Donald Trump can grab onto and again attack Hillary Clinton and the connection between the Democrat Party and these unions that aren't looking out for kids, but you're looking out for union members themselves. So point well made; I agree with you.

KEILAR: Congressman Duffy, Donald Trump supporter, stay with me. I have many more questions for you. You're saying that Donald Trump needs to be reaching out to black voters. We're going to talk about a lot more right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:29] KEILAR: We will see a new milestone in the race for the white House tomorrow. Sources tell CNN GOP Nominee Donald Trump will receive his first top-secret national security briefing, providing him with classified details of threats facing the United States.

We're back now with Trump supporter, Republican Sean Duffy of Wisconsin.

Congressman, I want to ask you about something coming out of the Wharton's School at the University of Pennsylvania. This is Donald Trump's alma mater. This is where he went for undergrad. They estimate with a new forecasting tool that Donald Trump's plan to deport undocumented workers would result in four million jobs lost by 2030.

What do you think of that?

DUFFY: Well, first, I think you have to look at immigration holistically, and first off, you have to secure the border so we know who's coming in and out of the country.

But to think that we're going to be able to arrest and deport everyone who's here unlawfully, that doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm here in Wisconsin. A lot of our cows won't get milked if you deport a lot of this labor.

So we have to be smart about how we go about making sure we follow our immigration laws, securing our border, and making sure that typically, we're getting the bad ones out, the ones who that aren't here to live the American dream and work and provide for a family but the ones who are actually sucking off of the system and those who are committing crimes. Those are the ones that we should go after to send up, and let those somehow who are here with us without documentation get a passport and stay here legally, but not citizenship.

KEILAR: So you have a real concern about how those deportations, even just locally where you are, are going to affect the economy?

DUFFY: Oh, listen, it's not possible to do that, I don't think. I mean, it would just take such an effort. Again, focus on the bad actors, the ones who aren't here, you know, living the dream. Get rid of those ones.

And I think most Americans on this issue, Brianna, they care about border security. They want to make sure we know who's coming in and who's coming out of the country. Right now the border is porous. You can be traveling with kids and guns and drugs. You can be a terrorist. You can come across the border. That's concerning people. So secure the border and then get a visa system so, if you want to come to work, you can access a visa and you can legally to get a job that isn't being filled by an American citizen. That's the way you have to do this.

But I think it's impractical to deport, when we're talking 15 million people. Not going to work.

KEILAR: You last week told Wolf Blitzer on this show that you think that Donald Trump should release his tax returns. His running mate, Governor Mike Pence, as you know, says he's going to be releasing his tax returns.

Do you think -- you said this. Other Republicans have said this to Donald Trump. Do you think that he will do this?

DUFFY: I don't know. He says he's waiting for the IRS audit to end, but I think this has as much resonance with Donald Trump, as is actually does with Hillary Clinton and her paid speeches, the money that flows into the Clinton Foundation. All of these issues are outside issues. But the main ones are how do you grow the economy? How do you get better paying jobs and how do you keep America safe and secure? I think those are going to be at the forefront.

But I do think, Brianna, transparency is a good thing, whether it's with regard to Hillary Clinton's e-mails or Donald Trump's taxes. Let's let everybody see who these candidates are so the American people can make a decision based on all the facts. We don't want to find out in March of next year information that we wish we would have known on the day we went to the ballot box in November. That's not what we want to have happen for the American people.

KEILAR: All right. Congressman Sean Duffy, we always appreciate you being on. Thank you so much.

DUFFY: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: You bet.

And coming up, he was forced to resign after allegations of sexual harassment. Well, now former FOX News chief, Roger Ailes, is said to be helping Donald Trump prep for the presidential debates. Could Ailes hurt Trump's appeal to women voters?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:28:45] KEILAR: We are following important new developments in the presidential race. CNN has learned that Donald Trump will receive his first classified intelligence briefing tomorrow. Sources also tell CNN former FOX News chief Roger Ailes is helping Donald Trump prepare for his upcoming debates with Hillary Clinton. It's a story first reported by "The New York Times."

And with us in THE SITUATION ROOM, we have CNN political analyst and Real Clear Politics national political reporter Rebecca Berg. We have CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger and CNN Politics senior digital correspondent Chris Moody.

So Gloria, you have Roger Ailes helping Donald Trump. Important to note that the campaign says he's not doing this formally or informally. But we have sources. "The New York Times," who first reported this, has multiple sources saying this is going on, getting him prepped for the debate.

What is the campaign doing here, just denying that this is happening when we know it is happening?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, they understand that there's a downside to having this sort of publicly known, because of what occurred with Roger Ailes and charges of sexual harassment at FOX New. And they understand they have a problem with women voters.

Putting that aside, this debate has got to be a game changer for Donald Trump. He has to be aggressive; he has to do well. And Roger Ailes has a track record when it comes to comes. You know, he helped push 41. He helped Ronald Reagan, you know, at one point. And he is somebody who helped Richard Nixon.

[17:30:09] So he is somebody who understands Hillary Clinton's weaknesses. And he, I believe, could be very valuable to Donald Trump, and Donald Trump knows it, right? So they understand the bad PR there. I get that. But this is so important to Trump you really can't overstate that.

KEILAR: So from a purely political point of view, Chris, this makes sense?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS CHIEF DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: He's making the determination that this news kind of will pass and he can get the help that he needs at that debate.

Look at these poll numbers in these crucial battleground states. He's got to have a big moment to turn things around. And you know how things work in politics. You can do that in so many ways at some point, and so he's going to needs all the help he can get.

KEILAR: So but -- he's struggling with women. So that's part of the calculationhere is, "OK, I may be struggling with women." And we're not just talking independent or Democratic women. We're talking Republican women who normally would go for the Republican candidate. Right?

REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's a profound problem for Donald Trump at this point, and it could be a decisive problem for him. I mean, it certainly doesn't help that he is now publicly conferring with Roger Ailes, who left FOX News under a sexual harassment cloud. That might not help him among women. But really, the problem that women have with Donald Trump right now --

and this is bearing out in polling and focus groups in the battleground states -- is with his temperament and his rhetoric. These are two key factors for them, and that's why you hear Hillary Clinton identifying these two problems with Donald Trump, saying he doesn't have the temperament to be president, and then playing some of his, I guess, greatest hits of controversial remarks in her advertisements. Because this is where it's really hurting him among women.

They think that he is petty is one word that was used in a recent focus group by a woman in Columbus, Ohio. That he is insecure, immature. These are the sorts of things that women are saying about Donald Trump.

And the problem for him is that he's not doing at this stage to assuage their concerns.

BORGER: But Ailes helped soften Richard Nixon, OK? If he can soften Richard Nixon, he can try and do that with Donald Trump.

BERG: But does Donald Trump take advice from other people, which is the big question.

BORGER: That's a question, but -- but the stakes could not be higher here. And he's going to have to take some advice from somebody. It might as well be somebody he likes and has had a long friendship with.

BERG: True, and perhaps these bad poll numbers will convince Donald Trump to...

KEILAR: We will see those. He does talk a lot about poll numbers.

I want to ask you about this sort of phenomena that we are seeing. OK, you have a growing number of politicians who are saying, "I don't agree with Donald Trump. Even -- I may not support Donald Trump, but I'm going to vote for Donald Trump."

You have Senator Marco Rubio, who says he stands by calling Trump a con artist in the primaries. Still going to vote for him. New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, who's facing a tough reelection battle, says she's not going to endorse Trump, but she's going to vote for him in November.

It's so bizarre. You just don't see this happen, and I wonder how do you think voters square these two ideas?

MOODY: For a lot of voters, we can see that they are uncomfortable with these candidates on both sides. The favorability numbers have hardly ever been lower, at least in a modern context.

But I think they expect more from their elected lawmakers, their political leaders to maybe have a profile in courage here, to show some honesty. I mean, when -- we always have contentious primaries, right? Where people criticize each other and then they come together. But when was the last time they said the other candidate was a con artist, not fit to hold the nuclear codes, unfit for office. By the way, all that said, I'm voting for him."

So I think people can see through politicians here, and they're really struggling, as we've seen in these three...

KEILAR: Is it -- what are they trying to do, though, Gloria? Is it that they're trying to say, "Hey, look, I'm a little uncomfortable, too. But I'm trying to vote for him," and they're trying to give voters maybe permission to do that?

BORGER: In some cases, they're trying to get through a Republican primary, honestly. In Marco Rubio's case, you know, he's got a challenger. John McCain has got a primary. But watching -- once they get through the primaries, it wouldn't surprise me if you see more Republicans saying, "You know what? I can't really -- I can't really do it."

But to watch them twist themselves into pretzels like they are doing, including not only -- not only, you know, the candidates you were talking about, but look at the House speaker, for example, doing it himself, trying to kind of walk this -- this fine line, say, "Look, I disagree with him on this. I think he was racist on Judge Curiel, but I'm going to vote for him. He's" -- it's -- it's -- voters get mixed signals. I think they get it, but I think at a certain point, they might get -- they might get tired of it.

[17:35:00] KEILAR: I want to ask you about something that we were thinking about today as a show team, which is that early voting begins in some states in six weeks. We think about the elections November 8. It's really -- the election starts, starts to ramp up, right, in six weeks.

You have the Trump campaign, it's raised $80 million in July. So far he's not running any TV $ ads. That's odd. He lacks the ground troops. He's relying on the RNC for that. Is he running out of time?

BERG: Absolutely. You've hit on a perfect point, Brianna, that I don't think enough people are making, actually, at this stage. You will have optional early voting -- so not even absentee voting -- start at the beginning of October in Ohio, a key battleground state that Donald Trump pretty much has to win. And there are a few other examples of voting starting late September, early October.

Donald Trump and his campaign have been framing the state of the race like they have all the time in the world to start advertising, to get their ground game together, but the fact of the matter is they don't.

And so even if Donald Trump in one of these debates has a game- changing moment, he doesn't have the organization in place to amplify that success. And so to be able to steer the ship in a different direction, he's not captaining a speedboat at this point. It's basically a warship, and so it takes time to turn. And without these pieces in place, he is absolutely running out of time.

KEILAR: OK, you guys. Stay with me, because we have more ahead to talk about, Rebecca, Gloria, and Chris. We'll be back in just a moment, talking about Hillary Clinton, some of the issues she continues to face in her e-mail controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:16] KEILAR: While Hillary Clinton campaigned in Philadelphia this afternoon, the FBI sent Congress notes and other information about its investigation of Clinton's use of a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state.

Let's bring in CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. And the thing about this information, Suzanne, is it's a classified secret, but you have Hillary Clinton's campaign saying they want it all out in the public.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. You know how it goes here in Washington, Brianna. The constant trickling out of this information leaked by those who are privy to it means that there is really no context to it, so it can be spun in any way possible, information potentially cherry-picked to do maximum damage to Clinton. And this is at a time when she's doing so well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Hillary Clinton's e-mail controversy once again back in the spotlight today, the FBI sending its classified investigative report into Clinton's private e-mail server, including notes of their three-hour interview with Clinton to members of Congress, explaining why she wasn't charged in the investigation.

Lawmakers were only allowed to review the material in a secure room and are forbidden from publicly discussing their contents. Clinton's top aides crying foul, one aide telling CNN, "We would prefer the entire document to be released publicly, versus piecemeal by people with motive."

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hello, Philadelphia!

MALVEAUX: Clinton's focus was elsewhere, in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania today for a second day in a row here in West Philadelphia, eager to pump up voter registration and a record turnout. She is courting a critical voting bloc, African-Americans.

CLINTON: Don't be complacent, my friends. Because even though we're doing fine right now, I'm not taking anybody, anywhere, for granted.

MALVEAUX: Monday Clinton was in Scranton with Vice President Joe Biden, trying to appeal who white working class voters who have not fully embraced her.

CLINTON: I always remember I am the granddaughter of a factory worker and the daughter of a small business owner, and I am so proud of it.

MALVEAUX: Her team is confident Pennsylvania is winnable. Her current lead in recent polls is so commanding Clinton's super PAC, Priorities USA, is pulling its own TV ads from the state in early September, along with two other key states, Colorado and Virginia. The strategy: to spend the money elsewhere where resources are more needed.

A new "Washington Post" poll shows growing momentum for Clinton now out of Virginia, a stunning 14-point lead over Donald Trump. This in a state that...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, Virginia!

MALVEAUX: ... only eight years ago then-Senator Obama flipped from red to blue for the first time since 1964.

The Clinton camp is already thinking beyond November. Clinton named her transition team for pivoting into the White House. Its chief, Ken Salazar, the first secretary of interior under President Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: In an effort to keep these FBI notes from doing potential damage to Clinton, her campaign released an even sharper statement tonight, Brianna, saying, "This is an extraordinarily rare step that was sought solely by Republicans for the purposes of further second- guessing the career professionals at the FBI. We believe that if these materials are going to be shared outside of the Justice Department, they should be released widely so that the public can see them for themselves, rather than allow Republicans to mischaracterize them through selective, partisan leaks."

And tomorrow the Clinton campaign, she is actually going to the key state of Ohio, keeping her eye on turning the vote out there, Brianna.

KEILAR: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much for that report.

Let's bring back now our political experts to talk about this. The concern in the Clinton campaign, Gloria, is that this information will then be leaked by Republicans, and we would be extremely surprised if it wasn't. I think that's sort of -- this is how things work.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Even though they're classified.

KEILAR: Even though it's classified which begs the question, if they're upset with her, criticizing her for a mishandling of classified information how do they make their point by then mishandling classified information?

BORGER: You know, that's a really good question. And you know, they have to go somewhere and read this, they can take out documents, but they are going to be reading it. And one way or another, as you know, it sort of gets into the ether, we will -- you know, we will see.

This is not great for Hillary Clinton because every day we spend talking about e-mails is not good for her.

KEILAR: And is that what they're deciding then? That that --

BORGER: Right. I mean, look, I think just by making the request, right? Just by putting it out there, making the case that maybe this -- you know, maybe Comey didn't do the right thing, maybe she should have been prosecuted, maybe this should be re-litigated and the Clinton campaign is clearly pushing back against this, but then it becomes a topic of conversation again. It's another way to get it into that -- into the main stream, which is what the Clinton campaign really doesn't want. And they're trying to say here, look, OK, don't selectively leak this. Just -- if you're going to do this, declassify it, put it all out there, we'll be fine with it.

KEILAR: I would be fine with that. I know that's --

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: I would love to read that.

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: OK. Take a listen to what Governor Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said. She's running for Senate against the Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte. She was asked by our own Manu Raju a very important question about Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think she is honest and trustworthy?

GOV. MAGGIE HASSAN (D), NEW HAMPSHIRE: I support Hillary Clinton for the presidency because her experience and her record demonstrate that she is qualified to hold the job.

RAJU: You think she's honest?

HASSAN: She has a critical -- critical plan, among others, for making college more affordable.

RAJU: But do you think that she's trustworthy?

HASSAN: I think that she has demonstrated a commitment always to something beyond herself, bigger than herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That, Chris Moody, is not a yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, someone has been practicing their talking points very much. And this is a case where it backfired. And Manu was asking a very direct question. It wasn't one of these, how long have you beating your wife kind of trick question at all.

KEILAR: Yes.

MOODY: Very clear question. Maybe she was just doing her best trying to stay on those talking points, but it also could speak to the unease that people have with these candidates. As we talked about earlier about the Republicans and now the Democrats. This exists and it is shown in the polling with the unfavorables on the Democratic candidate.

KEILAR: And her campaign kind of tried to fix this, but this -- you know, this doesn't really look good for even party unity with Hillary Clinton.

REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, it doesn't at all. And of course the honest and trustworthy metric has been the toughest for Hillary Clinton. Throughout the campaign and as Gloria said, every day that she's talking about these e-mails is a bad day for her because it's hurting her on this metric with people. And what makes this even tougher for Hillary Clinton is that we're not just talking about the impression she has made in the short space of this campaign, we're talking about the impression she has made over decades in public life. It's really baked in with most voters.

KEILAR: And it's a really interesting race that's happening in New Hampshire. Almost this sort of microcosm of Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton even though they're not on the ticket.

BORGER: And she's probably looking at polls that say, wait a minute, some of these independent voters don't think Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy so then maybe I have to kind of navigate that same path at all these --

BERG: I mean, most voters in New Hampshire are not registered with either parties.

BORGER: That's right.

BERG: So she's looking to appeal to those people.

BORGER: Exactly. Exactly.

KEILAR: Rebecca, Gloria, Chris, thank you guys so much.

And, you know, voters do have other choices besides Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Who knows, maybe in New Hampshire they will take advantage of that. You can learn more about the Green Party presidential and vice presidential candidates during a live CNN town hall event. We'll have that tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

And coming up, we are going to take you to Louisiana where at least 40,000 homes have been affected by historic floods. The death toll continues to rise. We'll give you the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:53:42] KEILAR: We're following breaking news in Louisiana. The death toll continues to climb amid historic flooding that has left thousands of homes uninhabitable. At least nine people at this point confirmed dead. Most of the deaths in the Baton Rouge area.

And we have CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray who is east of the city right now and officials, Jennifer, there are still in this search and rescue mode.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They very are in a search and rescue mode. You know, they're going to have to go door-to-door because the water got so high in this area. This is the water line. You can see it in the tree. About 12 feet high. A lot of homes in this neighborhood, they had 16 inches of water at least in their second story. And once the water recedes, look down on the ground. This is what is left inside their home. This disgusting mud. And so they have a lot of clean-up ahead.

We have drone footage as well that will show the scope of this devastation. And water is still inside a lot of people's homes. In fact, there are neighborhoods across south Louisiana that you still can't even get into because there is so much water, Brianna. In fact, a lot of destruction on every turn. You can see all of this debris that is littering because that water just came in as residents described it as a tidal wave. And once that water started to go down, you can see all along here, all of the fences down and all of the debris that was once inside people's homes and garages now just littering the streets.

[17:55:10] And boats flipped upside down, a lot of things you just can't even recognize. The other problem is we have about 75 percent of all of the homes and businesses in Livingston Parrish that took on water. And when you add insult to injury, think about only 1500 flood insurance policies in the city of Denham Springs.

People have a long road ahead, Brianna, and a lot of cleanup as well.

KEILAR: That is horrible. Not many policies at all.

All right, Jennifer Gray, in Louisiana for us, thank you so much for that report.

Coming up, Donald Trump is getting ready to speak at a rally in Wisconsin but it won't be his usual stump speech. We'll tell you why.

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