On Monday's New Day on CNN, as a panel of regular CNN political analysts fretted that FBI Director James Comey has hurt Hillary Clinton's "momentum" and boosted Donald Trump with the recent resumption of activity in the Clinton email investigation, CNN political analyst David Gregory repeated his recent claim that Trump is speaking like a "tyrant" in calling for his opponent to be jailed and in questioning whether there might be "rigging" in the election. The CNN analyst also lamented the "damage" that has been done to Clinton, proclaiming that "it was so unfortunate that Comey allowed himself to be inserted into the political process."
Gregory -- the former host of NBC's Meet the Press -- also repeated a previous incorrect claim that he has made that Comey had found Clinton did not "commit a crime" in the mishandling of her State Department email. Gregory: "You have Mike Pence ... pronouncing during a rally last night, that she committed a crime, after the FBI said, 'Uh, no she didn't, and we looked at this.' So this is a team of Trump and Pence that has said, 'I will jail our opponent, we may not accept the election results, and we don't accept the rule of law.' This from a group who says they love America. I mean, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you should be really concerned about an FBI director impacting the election either way."
At 5:06 a.m. ET, co-host Alisyn Camerota wondered about the effect Comey was having, with Gregory responding:
Well, look, I mean, I think the legacy of this is going to be debated for a long time, and there's no question that this letter nine days ago stopped Clinton's momentum in a huge way because it was -- up till that time, this was really a debate in this election about his fitness, Donald Trump's fitness for office. It completely switched, became much more about her, her bad judgment, email server. That stopped that momentum.
He added:
She came out of that, and it's been trending her way, and I think this will only help, but a lot of the damage has been done, in terms of putting the focus on this, and just another sign of, you know, why it was so unfortunate that Comey allowed himself to be inserted into the political process-
After CNN regulars Chris Cuomo, Ron Brownstein, and Jackie Kucinich added their concerns, Gregory continued:
This really is a question about the rule of law, as a political argument. You know, the good thing is, if you don't like Hillary Clinton, and you think that she exercised bad judgment, that she's unethical, that she did a bad thing, you can vote against her. That's why we have elections. But as to whether she committed a crime, we have institutions that examine this and reach a conclusion. That's what the FBI did.
He then added:
You have Mike Pence -- a former congressman, a governor -- running for the vice presidency, pronouncing during a rally last night, that she committed a crime, after the FBI said, "Uh, no she didn't, and we looked at this." So this is a team of Trump and Pence that has said, "I will jail our opponent, we may not accept the election results, and we don't accept the rule of law." This from a group who says they love America. I mean, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you should be really concerned about an FBI director impacting the election either way.
Shortly after 6:09 a.m. ET, Gregory repeated his charge from a few weeks ago that Trump is talking like a "tyrant." Gregory:
This is the guy who said, "I'm going to jail my opponent, I may not accept the election result," and now his vice president saying "Oh, no, she committed a crime by mishandling classified data," in contradiction to what Comey said. And he's saying -- Trump is saying this is all rigged again. Again, this is not someone who sounds like he loves America and loves American institutions. It can remind people what they found unhinged about him.
On Thursday, October 20, the day after the last presidential debate, Gregory had similarly fretted:
This was a presidential candidate, a head of the Republican party, suggesting Putin has outsmarted all our American leadership, suggested that he and other, you know, dictators around the world, meaning he, Trump, must sit around and laugh at how stupid America's leaders are, and then saying he won't accept the results.
And, by the way, suggested that she should be in imprisoned if he wins the election. I mean, this is the talk of a tyrant. He referred to President Obama as "Obama's regime." When you spend so much time mentally and psychologically marinating in authoritarianism, that's how you talk. That is dangerous.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portions of the Monday, November 7, New Day on CNN:
5:06 a.m. ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: The Comey effect. It changes every week. What today has the Comey effect of the last nine days been?DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I mean, I think the legacy of this is going to be debated for a long time, and there's no question that this letter nine days ago stopped Clinton's momentum in a huge way because it was -- up till that time, this was really a debate in this election about his fitness, Donald Trump's fitness for office.
It completely switched, became much more about her, her bad judgment, email server. That stopped that momentum. She came out of that, and it's been trending her way, and I think this will only help, but a lot of the damage has been done, in terms of putting the focus on this, and just another sign of, you know, why it was so unfortunate that Comey allowed himself to be inserted into the political process-
CHRIS CUOMO: From the beginning.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, from the beginning.
GREGORY: -from the beginning. (inaudible)
BROWNSTEIN: The fact that they were able to review this so quickly, using the advanced software that they had, kind of makes the initial decision to go forward before you had reviewed the email even more indefensible. I mean, it is possible-
CUOMO: No source I have at the agency, by the way, even entertained the idea of whether or not this was hard to call. But just so you, you know, because -- just to David's point -- the letters from Comey showed Clinton at her most vulnerable. The response to this is showing Trump at his most vulnerable. These claims, baseless.idea that he would say to the American people, you can't do this. He can't know what he's talking about because we can't find anybody who will say anything but that. They say, now, finding intent, finding all these different chains of things, that takes a lot of human capital. But just culling the emails was a no-brainer.
BROWNSTEIN: No, that's right, and, therefore, like the decision to go forward before doing it seems even more, as I said, indefensible. And, as David said, the bell cannot be un-rung. First of all, tens of millions of people voted during the period when this was kind of hanging out there, and, secondly, it really did change the dynamic of the race, which is, at the point that it happened, Donald Trump was trailing, the lead was getting bigger, Republicans were at risk of a kind of death spiral.The death spiral is, as the polls get bigger, more of your partisans get discouraged and the polls get bigger, and more of your partisans get discouraged. This stopped all of that from happening. It is a fundamentally different race, and, really, you know, Mr. Comey is facing, I think, is going to be enormous questions after the election, regardless of which candidate wins.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: And not only the presidential race, down ballot because you had a lot of Senate candidates that really got the wind in their sails after when Trump was sort of spiraling. But then, this Comey thing came out, and then they had something else to talk about. They could talk about Hillary Clinton. They didn't have to defend Donald Trump anymore. So you saw a lot of these Senate candidates who were worried now have a little bit more spring in their step. And, as you said, every day is election day. These people who have already voted who may have been on the fence, that damage is done.
(...)
GREGORY: This really is a question about the rule of law, as a political argument. You know, the good thing is, if you don't like Hillary Clinton, and you think that she exercised bad judgment, that she's unethical, that she did a bad thing, you can vote against her. That's why we have elections. But as to whether she committed a crime, we have institutions that examine this and reach a conclusion.That's what the FBI did. You have Mike Pence -- a former congressman, a governor -- running for the vice presidency, pronouncing during a rally last night, that she committed a crime, after the FBI said, "Uh, no she didn't, and we looked at this." So this is a team of Trump and Pence that has said, "I will jail our opponent, we may not accept the election results, and we don't accept the rule of law." This from a group who says they love America. I mean, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you should be really concerned about an FBI director impacting the election either way.
(...)
6:09 a.m. ET
GREGORY: One of the things you saw prior to nine days ago, that Comey letter coming out, this campaign was all about Trump's fitness for office, his greatest vulnerability, that most Americans don't think he's qualified or temperamentally fit to be President. It then turned, became all about her. In the last eight hours, we're seeing Trump frankly talking like a tyrant again, right?I mean, this is the guy who said, "I'm going to jail my opponent, I may not accept the election result," and now his vice president saying "Oh, no, she committed a crime by mishandling classified data," in contradiction to what Comey said. And he's saying -- Trump is saying this is all rigged again. Again, this is not someone who sounds like he loves America and loves American institutions. It can remind people what they found unhinged about him.
