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FBI Announces Possible Reopening of Investigation into Hillary Clinton's Email Server; Airplanes Catch Fire in Chicago and Florida; Polling Shows Close Presidential Race in Arizona; Joe Biden Comments on FBI Director's Letter to Congress Regarding Clinton Email Investigation; Group Attempts to Halt Construction of Dakota Access Pipeline. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 29, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:09] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning and welcome to Saturday. We're always grateful to have you on board with us here. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I've Victor Blackwell. Welcome to the CNN Newsroom. We're starting right now.

We begin with a really busy day on the campaign trail. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton both hitting swing states as we hit the final stretch in the race for the White House.

PAUL: Today Donald Trump is heading west, kicking off the day in Colorado, a state that went Democratic twice for President Obama. Trump will then head to Ruby Red, Arizona, where he now appears to be in a fierce battleground fight there.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of battlegrounds, Hillary Clinton is going all in on Florida today, holding two events in the sunshine state. But this morning there are some storm clouds brewing over Clinton's campaign as a fresh e-mail controversy emerges from the FBI. Now all this, again, with just 10 days to go until the election.

PAUL: I want to begin with the FBI saying that it has reviewed or is reviewing new e-mails related to Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server. But Hillary Clinton is demanding more answers this morning. CNN's Chris Frates is following this for us. Chris, what are we hearing from her camp this morning?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hearing from her camp they want to release these e-mails. And Christi, I'll tell you, FBI Director Comey says that the FBI can't yet say whether all these newly recovered e-mails may be significant and he doesn't know how long it will take to find out. In fact in a letter to FBI employees yesterday, Comey said that while the bureau usually doesn't discuss these kinds of ongoing investigations, in this case he felt an obligation to do so.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FRATES: 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 sent and received from one of her top aides, Huma Abedin. There 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 recommended closing the Clinton e-mail probe.

Comey wrote to members of Congress, "In connection with an unrelated case the FBI has learned of the existence of e-mails 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 their importance to 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.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They have discovered new e- mails.

(APPLAUSE)

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: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: Both the Clinton and Trump campaigns have called on the FBI to release all the information they have before Election Day. It's a pretty clear day both signs see some political advantage there, although neither, the FBI is expected to put anything out. But this is kind of one of the first times in this very crazy campaign season, Christi, that the Trump and Clinton people seem to agree about anything.

PAUL: Very good point there. Chris Frates, we appreciate it, thank you, sir.

And Hillary Clinton, by the way, her campaign chairman, John Podesta, none too happy over this sudden surprise, saying in a statement, quote, "In the months since the FBI completed its investigation, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been baselessly second- guessing the FBI, and in both public and private browbeating the career officials there to revisit the conclusion in a desperate attempt to harm Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign."

[10:05:01] He goes on to say, quote, "Already we've seen characterizations that the FBI is reopening an investigation, but Comey's words do not match that characterization."

On the other side of the aisle here, Donald Trump is apparently feeling good this morning. He tweeted a short time ago, "I'm in Colorado, big day planned, but nothing can be as big as yesterday," unquote.

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in Ohio Democratic Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. You'll remember she stepped in as interim chair of the DNC during the convention back in July. Congresswoman, good morning.

REP. MARCIA FUDGE, (D) OHIO: Good morning, good morning. Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: And thank you for being with us this morning. There's been, as we just illustrated, a shift, maybe a flip-flop in perspective based on party on Director Comey. Democrats back in July were very complimentary when he announced and explained why no charges would be filed against the former secretary. Now Democrats, we heard from John Podesta there, are going after Director Comey. What's your view on James Comey's decision to send this letter now? And do you believe he relented to pressure from Republicans?

FUDGE: Well, let me first say I don't think that all Democrats applauded Director Comey at the time. I felt that it was inappropriate that he handled it the way he did even from the very beginning. Having been a prosecutor and worked in a prosecutor's office for a long period of time, I know that is not how an investigatory agency works. And so I was concerned from the beginning.

And we would not be having this conversation today if the timing of this letter was not questionable. We all know and believe and trust, it is my, clearly, opinion that he in fact did try to weigh in on an election that is very, very close at a time that is inappropriate for his office. And I think that it brings into question how he is conducting his office, what his agenda is, and why now.

BLACKWELL: Let me put it to you this way. If the director decided not to inform members of Congress, and he said in his letter based on his previous testimony he told them he would update them if things changed, and from his perspective they had, would then that not have been an opportunity for some to say that the director was not as forthcoming as he should have been?

FUDGE: Well, no, because if that's the case, then update us on everything you're looking at that may affect Congress. Update us on everything that may be concerned with this election. Update us on everything you're looking at. Are you investigating Donald Trump? Are you investigating the Russian leaks? Are you investigating Putin? Tell us about it all. Don't just have it one-sided. If there is something that we believe is in the best interests of this country that we need to know, tell us all of it. Not just part of it, and that part which relates only to Secretary Clinton.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of tell us all of it, using your words there as the impetus for my next question, our CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI, says that this essentially comes down to the Clintons and in this case maybe Huma Abedin not being as forthcoming that they should have been that there has been a constant drip, drip over the last year and a half, that all of this should have been turned over to the FBI. Your response to that is what?

FUDGE: Well, it's opinion that the FBI probably had these documents in the beginning. There is nothing in the letter or anything that has been said to say that they have not reviewed them prior or that they have not had it. I think that you are making an assumption that this is new information. I can't make that assumption.

BLACKWELL: Director Comey does say in this letter the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, but he says that they appear to be pertinent to the investigation.

Let me put up the numbers from the latest FOX News poll where it shows the numbers as it relates to honest and trustworthy -- honesty and trustworthy. We've got the numbers up there, 30 percent, which is a record low of likely voters believe that Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy. There may be no smoking gun here, as you just said, but what's your concern that this could reiterate and reinforce the belief that Hillary Clinton is not honest, is not trustworthy so close to the election?

FUDGE: Well, I think that what needs to happen is people like you and other people in the media need to demand as well that we get a full accounting, that there be complete transparency, because I think it's important for people to know when there is nothing wrong to say it, not just to bring the accusatory language to the media, but to also say, look, we've looked at this. She did nothing wrong. And I've never heard anyone in the media say that. And I think it is important to not just the American people but to the world that they know we have a candidate who has not broken the law, who has not violated any rules, and who is upstanding, who is qualified, and who is prepared to be the president of the United States.

BLACKWELL: We certainly check people on this show if they say that Hillary Clinton has committed a crime because we, as you know, have had people come on those show and makes those types of accusations.

[10:10:05] But let me ask you, you worked in a prosecutor's office, you were a prosecutor. What is the likelihood at all that you expect that you're going to see any of what the Clinton campaign is asking for in the next 10 days?

FUDGE: Well, I don't see it likely. I think this has been unusual from the beginning. Any time an agency like the FBI not only comes out and starts to editorialize and give their opinion about a case, not just deal with the facts and the findings of law, and then to release your notes, to release your work papers is something almost unheard of. And then to come out at a time like this and throw out red meat with nothing to back it up, I think it's just awful. I think it is horrible that we have a director who would allow this kind of thing to happen knowing where we stand in the United States today as it relates to this election. If he in fact says that he cannot give us an answer prior to the election, then why bring it up before the election?

BLACKWELL: All right, Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

FUDGE: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

PAUL: And with just 10 days to go until the election, we're taking a look at how big an impact this FBI review really could have at the polls. Stay close.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton tried to politicize this investigation by attacking and falsely accusing the FBI director.

CLINTON: It's imperative that the Bureau explain this issue without any delay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All righty, I know you're counting it down, 10 days out to Election Day, and a bombshell in the Clinton camp courtesy of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner. The FBI saying it's reviewing new e-mails related to Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server. A law enforcement official telling CNN that the e-mails were sent or received by Clinton's long-time aide Huma Abedin, Anthony wiener's estranged wife. He is now being investigated for allegedly sexting an underage girl.

[10:15:05] Jack Kingston, senior adviser for the Trump campaign and former Congressman from Georgia is with us now as well as Randi Weingarten, a Hillary Clinton supporter and president of the American Federation of Teachers. Thank you both for being here.

JACK KINGSTON, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Thank you.

RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: Thank you.

PAUL: Absolutely. So let me start with you, if I could please, Randi. A CNN/ORC poll that was taken recently, October 20th to the 23rd, asked people if Clinton's handling of e-mail while she was secretary of state was important. And 64 percent of the people polled indicated that it was important, an important indicator of her character. With that said and with what is coming out now, how do you anticipate this could affect people as they go to the polls?

WEINGARTEN: Well, I think that's why you're seeing a lot of people wondering why this was released at this moment in time. I mean, today, for example, "Newsweek" and "The Los Angeles" is no e-mails to and from Hillary Clinton in this batch. So what you see is an innuendo, a lot of assumptions. And, frankly, I'm glad that Hillary Clinton yesterday said to the director that just release everything, be transparent, release everything. And I think that was very important for her to do.

The bottom line is that this violates longstanding policy. The FBI director doesn't get involved in elections. And by doing this right now, it is involving himself in an election. We don't know what's in the emails.

PAUL: We don't, you're absolutely right. And Jack, I wanted to ask you about that, because she's right. What we know about this is that these e-mails were sent or received by her top aide, Huma Abedin, not Hillary Clinton. Because of that, how do you me the argument that Hillary Clinton necessarily may be guilty of something?

KINGSTON: Well, I wouldn't say she's guilty. I want to agree with Randi right off the bat, put all the information out now. Absolutely let's find out what this is all about.

But what he does say in his opening paragraph of his letter to Congress is that there is information out there that does appear to have impact on the secretary's investigation about her e-mails. So I've heard a lot, not from Randi and not on this show, but I've heard others say, well, this may not have anything to do with Hillary Clinton and the previous investigation, but his first paragraph says it does.

The second thing I want to make a big point about is the FBI has done this before. In the case of Ted Stevens, the Alaskan senior senator, a Republican who was later exonerated, but the FBI started an investigation of him 100 days before his reelection in 2008, and they did the same thing with Pennsylvania Congressman Kirk Weldon who was also exonerated later. They did a very, very high profile of his office. So unfortunately the FBI has done this before.

But, you know, I want to say this. This should not be about politics. This should be about justice. It should be about the FBI and not Hillary Clinton and not Donald Trump. Let's get to the bottom of I because it is a chapter that Americans are scratching their head about.

PAUL: Let me -- I want to ask Randi a question here. We had former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes on earlier as we're talking about how all of these e-mails came out, and he said, and I'm quoting him here, "It's been like a scavenger hunt," as he referred to the Hillary Clinton camp releasing the e-mails. And a lot of people wondering where -- he being one of them, where have these e-mails been and why weren't they turned over in the first place, in the first go-around here? Is that going to be a problem for her, Randi?

WEINGARTEN: So the bottom line here is the director of the FBI closed the investigation, arrived at his findings in July. Where I disagree with Jack is that even in the cases that he cited, which were before longstanding policy that says don't get involved in elections, they were 100 days out. The FBI closed the investigation in July. Here you have an employee of the secretary, and in an investigation of her estranged husband there is now a letter that says, you know, there may be e-mails. And in the drip, drip in the last 24 hours, we don't know whether there is -- the FBI doesn't know anything about the e-mails, they haven't looked at it. Jack doesn't know what's in there. We don't -- I don't know what's in there.

PAUL: Nobody knows, yes.

WEINGARTEN: In fact just in the last few minutes, you know, "The L.A. Times" said they're not even from or to Hillary Clinton. So what's happened is there's an innuendo here that disserves the American people regardless of who you're for.

[10:20:03] PAUL: Justo be clear, the actual verbiage from Director Comey is that the e-mails appear pertinent to the investigation. We just don't know what that means. I've got 10 seconds. Jack, go ahead.

KINGSTON: Let me say this. Director Comey said he would not reopen this investigation unless there was significant information. This information appears to be significant, and that's why he's reopened it.

WEINGARTEN: But Jack --

KINGSTON: I say let's get the information out there. I think it would be good for America.

PAUL: I'm so sorry that we've run out of time. I wish we could continue this conversation. We will, of course, Jack Kingston, Randi Weingarten, thank you both for being with us.

WEINGARTEN: Thank you.

KINGSTON: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: All right, we're going to show you this video because it could have been absolutely devastating. That's how one official describes an American Airlines flight. It's one of two frightening plane incidents under investigation this morning. Nick Valencia is following both of them.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. For us that fly all the time, this is one of those nightmare scenarios. I'm Nick Valencia in Atlanta. Coming up after the break we'll tell you what caused two separate planes in two different states to catch fire. You're watching the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It's 24 minutes past the hour. Federal investigators are looking into two incidents from yesterday where jets caught fire on the runway. One of them was an American Airlines flight. Take a look here. Can you imagine? Look at all of that fire and smoke coming out of that plane, and there were 170 people on board.

[10:25:05] BLACKWELL: Now, the second incident involved a FedEx cargo plane with just the captain and co-pilot there on board. You can see the reaction, hear the reaction there. CNN's Nick Valencia following both stories this morning.

VALENCIA: Good morning, Victor. It had to be absolutely terrifying for those 161 passengers and nine crew members on that Chicago flight. Fortunately in the situation in Ft. Lauderdale, the co-pilot and the pilot, they survived. But just watching that video is absolutely terrifying. The good news in all of this, though, just minor injuries. No one was seriously injured.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 383 stopping on the runway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, roger, fire.

VALENCIA: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see any smoke or fire?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, fire off the right wing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

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 flames blew up from that window. That's all I can tell you. I got out of there as fast as I can too, and we're all moving towards the exits.

VALENCIA: And 20 people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation.

CHIEF TIMOTHY SAMPEY, CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT: This could have been absolutely devastating if it happened later, if it happened farther. I mean, there's 1,000 variables, but, again, they brought the aircraft to halt. The tower did a great job communicating with the pilot, the fire that they could see. And they got everybody off that plane.

MIKE JACHLES, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, PIO: It was like a fireball, a running fuel fire down the runway leading to the jet.

VALENCIA: The scare in Chicago came on the same afternoon a separate plane got 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're fine. I'm glad they're OK. That's all that matters. I'm glad they're fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Glad everyone is fine. Nightmare scenarios there in Ft. Lauderdale and in Chicago. Quick update on the investigation, the NTSB is looking at both those incidents to try to figure out exactly the cause of the engine failure and what caused that terrible video, just flames and fire. Very impressive.

PAUL: Hey, Nick, thank you so much.

Oh, it is getting dicey in the race for the crucial battleground state of Arizona.

BLACKWELL: It is indeed. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fighting for votes in that state. It is neck in neck. The party chairs, the Dems, the GOP both here to weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:30:55] CLINTON: It is incumbent upon the FBI to tell us what they're talking about.

TRUMP: This is bigger than Watergate in my opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Yes, believe it or not, they agree on at least one thing. Welcome, everybody, we're so grateful to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Less than two weeks left until Election Day. Hillary Clinton's campaign for president facing what could be, could be here a setback. And it's thanks to an investigation into Anthony Weiner and his alleged sexually explicit text messages.

PAUL: FBI Director James Comey announced a stunning revelation that the bureau is reviewing a new batch of e-mails related to Clinton's personal server. Sources say the newly discovered emails only surfaced as authorities looked into Weiner's alleged sexts with a teenager. Weiner is the estranged husband, remember, of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and the FBI says, quote, "a considerable number of e-mails were sent or received by Abedin on a device shared by her and her husband, Anthony Weiner." Comey is not explaining much else beyond that about this email discovery, only saying the e-mails could be pertinent to the investigation into Clinton. Clinton criticized Director Comey for announcing this decision just days before the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I have now seen Director Comey's letter to Congress. We are 11 days out from perhaps the most important national election of our lifetimes. Voting is already under way in our country. So the American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And Donald Trump seized on the issue as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 of4jc 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.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now it's too soon to know if this latest e-mail flap will hurt Hillary Clinton at the polls, but Donald Trump isn't taking any chances. He's expected to go after Clinton on e-mails during a rally tonight in Phoenix. According to our CNN poll of poll Clinton leads in a four-way race. She sits at 47 percent while Trump is at 42 percent, that's nationwide.

The crucial battleground state of Arizona, though, is tightening. Right now Clinton is ahead 10 points among those who have voted, but Trump's opening may have come among those who have not yet voted. Among those voters he is eight points ahead. It's one of the several states Trump has to win in order to at least stay competitive when it comes to getting enough electoral votes.

I want to bring in Alexis Tameron, the Democratic Party chair of Arizona and a Hillary Clinton supporter, and Robert Graham, the Republican Party chair of Arizona who supports Donald Trump. Good to have both of you.

ROBERT GRAHAM, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Good to be here, thanks.

ALEXIS TAMERON, ARIZONA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR: Thanks for having us.

BLACKWELL: So Alexis, first, the unfavorables according to the latest Monmouth poll, Clinton's are higher than Donald Trump's, her favorable numbers are lower than his, it's neck in neck there. How does this letter, this announcement from Director Comey complicate her effort to win Arizona?

TAMERON: I don't think it actually complicates the effort here in Arizona. It's going to come down to getting out the vote. And as we know already, more -- almost half of the people who are going to vote in Arizona have already cast their vote. So we are very confident in our ground game and we know that we're going to go out and get all the votes that we need and we're going to turn Arizona blue.

[10:35:00] BLACKWELL: Robert, let me come to you. When half the votes -- well, the number we have is little more than 40 percent have already been cast. And we saw in the numbers that Hillary Clinton leads by 10 points with those who have already cast and Trump is up just eight for those who have yet to cast those votes, is it too late for there to be an impact here of what we're hearing from Director Comey?

GRAHAM: Well, your numbers, I don't know if you have national numbers or if you're looking at Arizona numbers, because in Arizona we have with 80 percent of the returns out of Maricopa County and Pima, Donald Trump is five points up in Arizona and he's picking up some tremendous momentum. And so with the letter and the e-mails and all these things that are happening now, it just puts that much more momentum behind Republicans, and it takes the wind out of the sail for Democrats as well as those swing independent voters now lean harder to the right.

BLACKWELL: The numbers we are citing are Monmouth's numbers out that just came out this week. So those are the numbers that we have, just a couple of days ago.

But let me stay with you, Robert. We know that the "Arizona Star" is reporting -- or rather the "Arizona Republic is reporting Clinton has more than 30 offices open across the state. Donald Trump doesn't have nearly that number. He is rallying there at 3:00 in Phoenix, but how does he get that vote out without matching the ground game? Are these rallies enough?

GRAHAM: This is a great question, because we have the Democrat candidate says she has 32 offices. The Arizona Republican party has 21 offices. We've got 140 paid people on the ground making phone calls and knocking on doors. And then in addition to that, we have 12,000 volunteers just for the Trump campaign. So we're making millions of calls, knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors. So when they talk about a ground game, we actually have people in Arizona that are being paid as well as volunteers. We're not bringing people from out of state.

BLACKWELL: So speaking of bringing people in from out of state, let's talk about Michelle Obama, who was in Arizona on behalf of the candidate. We still have Alexis with us?

TAMERON: Yes, I'm still here.

BLACKWELL: They dropped you from the shot there. Who would you rather have campaigning there in the state? Would you rather have Hillary Clinton campaigning for herself, or with the crowds that we saw that Michelle Obama got, she being the closer, would you rather have her making the case?

TAMERON: We'll have any Democrat who wants to come out and help us turn Arizona blue. But I'm very excited about Hillary Clinton coming out to Arizona on Wednesday. I think it's going to be fantastic. We had Michelle Obama just last week, and I think this is again just showing how close Arizona is and that every vote matters and how important it is going to be the last 10 days to get out the vote, not only early vote but for folks who are holding on to their ballots and/or those who are going to walk them in on Election Day. So I'm glad that Hillary Clinton is coming. I'm excited. I think a lot of Arizona Democrats are. It's great to be on the map, and we're going to surprise a lot of people by turning Arizona blue come November 8th.

BLACKWELL: Robert, why is Arizona on the map? Let's get to that central question. Last time Arizona voted for a Democrat is '96. And by my count, correct me if I'm wrong, they have gone for Democrats just once in the last 16 presidential elections. Why this year is this such a challenge for Republicans?

GRAHAM: Well, I think in anything, when you look at the top of the ticket like this, this has been a dynamic -- I call it a disruptive, nontraditional type of election. And so one thing that has been very clear for Arizona for many, many years is that Arizonans vote for the candidate they want. So if it's close, they're looking at both the candidates.

You look at the presidential elections, but just two governors ago, we had a Democrat governor. We had a Democrat secretary of state. In 2014 we had a sweep. There's a tremendous amount of momentum behind Republicans in the state. That's why when I hear people talking about this being a tight race, we've 165,000 greater advantages as it relates to Republican registration and our ground game has been mobilized almost four years.

And so it's a unique situation, but there's no telling exactly what the polls are showing. The only thing I can tell you is we've heard a lot about these polling biases. And I would say that would be consistent in Arizona given the returns that we're seeing right now. It feels good for Republicans and it looks like we'll do very well. We do better on the same day walk in their votes on November 8th, we do very well with turnout there, so that's going to help the entire process.

BLACKWELL: All right, Robert Graham, Alexis Tameron, I understand there was a bit of an audio problem so we apologize for that, but thanks for being with us this morning.

GRAHAM: Our pleasure, thank you.

TAMERON: Glad to be on.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

PAUL: Vice President Joe Biden is weighing in on the Clinton e-mail bombshell and the role of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENT: Oh, God. Anthony Weiner --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:40:04] PAUL: Very raw reaction, and he's going to finish that thought in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Usually there's one, maybe two October surprises. There's another one now upending potentially the 2016 race. Vice President Joe Biden is now sitting down with CNN's Michael Smerconish to talk about it. Biden did not hold back, until it was time to talk about former congressman Anthony Weiner. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, you know that the FBI works for the administration. I'm not allowed to comment at all. I know nothing about it. I just found out today. I know that Hillary just -- I was told Hillary just had a press conference saying release the e-mails. I think the quicker they release the e-mails for the public to see them the better off. And I have confidence in Hillary.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: You're the former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. You're an attorney, Syracuse Law School, smart guy. The language of this perplexes me. He says the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work. Did he just put his thumb on the scale? Dianne Feinstein is saying he played right into Donald Trump's hands.

BIDEN: Well, I'm not going to comment. Look, that's the same language he used before.

SMERCONISH: But then why write the letter?

[10:45:00] BIDEN: Well, because -- I don't know why. I can't read his mind. But, look, I found him to be a straight guy. He's been -- he's a tough guy, he's a Republican, but he's always been straight. And I'm confident that this will turn out fine.

SMERCONISH: What worries me, Mr. Vice president, is that folks will go to the polls or have already gone to the polls and they don't know what to make of this. They're in the dark. What should happen now?

BIDEN: Well, I think it's unfortunate. I think Hillary, if she said what I'm told she said, is correct. They should release the e-mails for the whole world to see, the whole world to see. They can continue their investigation and, to the best of my knowledge, it won't prejudice the investigation. But that's sort of the stilted agency always uses. And it doesn't mean anything. And so it's unfortunate. SMERCONISH: I'd be remiss if I didn't note that if she had released

all the e-mails from the get-go, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

BIDEN: Well, that's true. But I don't know where this e-mail -- where these e-mails came from.

SMERCONISH: Apparently Anthony Weiner.

BIDEN: Well -- oh, God. Anthony Weiner -- I should not comment on Anthony Weiner. I'm not a big fan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Very raw reaction there. He had a moment, yes.

Listen, after violent clashes, hundreds of arrests, construction is back under way on a controversial pipeline. CNN correspondent Sara Sidner I live for us in North Dakota.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is still a huge protest about that Dakota Access pipeline, even after dozens of arrests. We'll have the story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:21] PAUL: Well, construction back in full swing on parts of the Dakota Access pipeline. But protesters say they're not backing down. Today Native American tribes are criticizing police who used riot gear and pepper spray during protests earlier this week. And CNN correspondent Sara Sidner is following the story live for us from Bismarck, North Dakota. Good morning, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi. You know the situation here calm this morning, but certainly folks here are not in any way planning to stop this fight over the Dakota Access pipeline. And we know that those putting the pipeline in aren't planning to stop construction and have continued to do that as far as we know.

But certainly this is going to go forward and we're going to have to wait and see exactly what happens after dozens of people were arrested this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: This was the calm before 141 people ended up in handcuffs. Hundreds of people blocking a highway and a piece of land for one cause, trying to stop the North Dakota Access pipeline in its tracks.

MEKASI HORINEK, CAMP COORDINATOR: When we saw this military force coming over, it took us back to the days of the cavalry riding in and wiping out a village.

SIDNER: Protesters blocked a highway, set up camp in the pipeline's path. As things got more intense, cars and a piece of construction equipment went up in flames. LT. TOM IVERSON, NORTH DAKOTA STATE PATROL: Probably a large number

of them, maybe even the majority of them, were being peaceful. However, there's a group within that mix that are not peaceful. When you're throwing Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers, you produce a handgun and fire three rounds at law enforcement officers, nobody would just describe that situation as peaceful.

SIDNER: And police moved in using pepper spray, bean bag rounds, and ear-splitting sirens to push protesters off this particular strip of land.

This is that same encampment the protesters have been cleared out, and just across the highway they wasted no time. The Dakota Access pipeline project is in full swing.

The protesters, including members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, denounced violence, saying they are only trying to protect their way of life, their sacred sites and their water, worried about the potential of pipeline ruptures that could poison their water supply.

HORINEK: This is the only source of water for six reservations. It's not only important to the reservations but all the farms and ranches and townships and municipalities from here to the Gulf of Mexico.

SIDNER: But their attempts to stop the project have failed so far, and police say they are just following the law.

So the dispute is clearly over the pipeline. This land right here, is this considered from the opinion of law enforcement private property here in the north camp?

IVERSON: Yes. The land behind us here is private property as far as --

SIDNER: So not the tribe's property?

IVERSON: Absolutely correct. It's private property behind us as far as North Dakota law and any law says, and we're north of the reservation where we're at right now.

SIDNER: The tribe says a 19th century treaty disputes that, and they say the land was stolen from them.

HORINEK: That treaty was broken and, therefore, we feel that every land sale after that date was unlawful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: The Standing Rock Sioux have been joined by tribes from all over the country and supporters from all over the world. They say they are not protesters and don't want to be called protesters. They consider themselves water protectors and defenders of their land. Meanwhile, the pipeline, as we let you see, continues.

PAUL: Sara Sidner, we appreciate it so much, thank you. BLACKWELL: Well, a late October surprise is really nothing new in

presidential campaigns, but could this move by the FBI change the course of this election?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:58:17] PAUL: CNN is proud to announce the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2016.

BLACKWELL: And you get to help decide who that person will be, who will be the top hero of the year. CNN's Anderson Cooper is here to show you how.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Now that we've announced the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2016, I want to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN hero of the year and receive $100,000 to help them continue their work. Just go to CNNheroes.com where you can learn more about each hero, and when you're ready, click vote over here. Then choose your favorite. Now confirm your selection using either your e-mail address or Facebook account and you're all set.

And this year for the first time you can also vote through Facebook messenger and on Twitter. You can vote up to ten times a day per method every day through December 6th. Then rally your friends by sharing your vote on social media. We'll reveal the 2016 hero of the year live during 10th annual CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute, Sunday, December 11th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So meet all this year's top 10 heroes. Vote every day at CNNheroes.com to help decide who you believe should be our CNN hero of the year. All 10 will be honored at the 10th annual CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute.

BLACKWELL: But only one be named CNN hero of the year. Join Anderson Cooper and special guest, co-host Kelly Ripa live Sunday, December 11th. It's going to be really extraordinary.

PAUL: It always is. Makes you feel good.

So go make some great memories today. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us.

BLACKWELL: And it was good to spend the morning with you. Stay with us for the next hour of CNN's Newsroom. We turn it over now to Fredricka Whitfield.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello.

PAUL: Hello.

WHITFIELD: We all love the inspiration that comes with that CNN Heroes night. PAUL: It makes you feel good.

BLACKWELL: It is a warm and fuzzy night.

WHITFIELD: I know, love it. Thank you so much. We're going to have a great day. I know you all had a terrific morning. More of the same now.

All right, thanks so much. It's the 11:00 eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Newsroom starts right now.