What Republicans say/believe and what the facts are were never in the same place at the same time. Yesterday afternoon was no different.
The device ‘surfaced” in a probe of the Anthony Weiner texting scandal. Huma Abedin and Weiner’s devices were seized. There were further emails to review. That’s about what we know. But that won’t stop Republicans from overreacting and it won’t stop Republicans from claiming to credulous reporters that this changes everything. It doesn’t.
There is every reason to cry foul. To be fair, the irresponsible email reporting this for a few hours yesterday afternoon is symptomatic of the irresponsible reporting throughout this election.
Aaron Blake/WaPo:
To be clear, the Clinton campaign has decided to fight this politically — not to play it off as some small thing and wait for more information. It is serving notice that Republicans won't be the only ones applying political pressure to the FBI as it decides what to do over the next two weeks.
Podesta's first comments really drive that home. There is a reason the statement begins by pointing to the fact that this matter had been concluded before Republicans sought to keep re-raising it. Podesta saying that Republicans are "browbeating" career (i.e. non-political) officials to "revisit their conclusion" suggests strongly that he's accused the FBI of reacting to that pressure — even if he doesn't directly say that.
Expect more of this combative tone in the days ahead.
NBC News:
"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation," Comey wrote. "I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation."
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News Friday that the Comey letter was sent to the Hill "out of an abundance of caution" and to be extra-thorough.
The official said the emails were discovered "on another device."…
Federal practice is not to comment on ongoing investigations, or discuss details of concluded investigations. Comey previously explained his departure from that practice in his earlier congressional testimony, given the special nature of this case and congressional oversight inquiries.
Still, some congressional Democrats told NBC News Friday that they are frustrated that Comey issued the letter reopening this issue without providing much in the way of specifics.
Meanwhile, don’t underestimate the ability of Republicans to overplay their hand.
And meanwhile,
In non-sexual peccadillo news, Seth Masket/FiveThirtyEight on the early vote:
In other words, knowing how a party is doing in early voting doesn’t tell you much about how it will do once all the votes are counted.
Indeed, if you were relying on early votes to forecast what was going to happen on Election Day in 2012, you’d get wildly misleading results. Democrats maintained substantial leads among early voters in North Carolina, Louisiana and West Virginia, and were trailing by a relatively narrow margin in Oklahoma, but still lost those states when all the votes were counted. Republicans won early voters in Pennsylvania and Colorado but lost the final tallies there. Maryland was a safely Democratic state in 2012, but the 75 percent of the early vote that went the Democrats’ way was a far cry from the 63 percent of the total vote they won once voting was finished.
Nate Cohn/Upshot/NY Times:
What the Early Vote in North Carolina Means: A Daily Tracker
Dr Michael Bitzer/ Old North State Politics blog with more of 2012-2016 comparisons:
NC Absentee Ballots Move Ahead of 2012's Same Day Totals
With the expansion of both early voting locations and hours yesterday, North Carolina's absentee ballots (including both mail-in and in-person methods) has moved ahead of the same day totals from four years ago.
Note here that the big uptick in voting is from unaffiliated voters. it is difficult to read tea leaves and say what that means.
Jon Ralston/KTNV:
Breakdowns are in for Clark and key legislative races, so the deep dive, which shows despite overnight improvements, the GOP remains in danger of losing....everything -- watch what happens today, a holiday here, and over the weekend:
Bottom line: The midweek slowdown for the Dem machine continues, and the GOP made a little progress. In this case, progress generally means not losing by as much.
LA Times:
Trump has made a lot of women mad. Clinton hopes to turn that into a surge of votes for Democrats
The swirl of gender issues in this campaign and the tone taken as election day nears echo the 1992 campaign. The success of female candidates that year was powered in large part by women mobilized by court decisions threatening abortion rights and the emotional fallout from the 1991 accusations of harassment leveled by law professor Anita Hill against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
Thomas secured his seat on the court after a national uproar, but the sentiments unleashed as senators interrogated Hill on television helped propel a record number of women into U.S. Senate seats one year later. Strong support from women also helped Clinton’s husband, Bill Clinton, win his first term as president.
Clinton and her campaign are trying to funnel similar outrage over Trump’s words and alleged deeds into votes for her and female Senate candidates. So far, however, the benefit seems limited to Clinton herself, with few signs as yet of a top-to-bottom ballot wave.
Brian Beutler/New Republic:
Republicans Are Inventing Clinton Scandals to Save Their Shattered Party
This is about political self-preservation, not governmental oversight.
Tim Murphy/Mother Jones:
Barack Obama's Sweet Revenge Tour
Republicans created a toxic political climate that made his presidency hell. Now it's payback time.
Huffington Post:
Donald Trump’s Supporters More Likely To Pray Than Riot If He Loses
There is no talk of blood in the streets in small-town Ohio