In an interview with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar on Thursday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell fretted that the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal would continue to damage the Democratic front-runner unless it was suddenly shut down: “...now that the FBI is involved and now that these e-mails will trickle out between now and January....unless they close this down quickly and completely exonerate everyone, this is a shadow hanging over her campaign.”
Mitchell lamented that Clinton “can't get her policy prescriptions out” and added: “When she gave a big speech on Cuba and Miami, I was down there and all ready to go and then the e-mails came out and also she released her tax returns and her health report all in the same afternoon. So, they're stepping on their own message.”
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Immediately before Mitchell’s hand-wringing began, Klobuchar implored:
I hope we don't miss some of the long-term issues here....I hope that we can get beyond some of these disputes, get them answered, and then go on to the real issues debated in this country, which is the economy, which is how people can get ahead, which is some of these issues that are getting lost in kind of the – what the Carly Fiorina calls the bright shiny objects of the day.
On Tuesday, Mitchell similarly wondered when the e-mail scandal would end so she could focus on cheerleading for Clinton’s liberal agenda: “Are we ever going to get out of this cycle? Is she ever going to get out of this cycle?”
Here is an excerpt of Mitchell’s September 3 exchange with Klobuchar:
12:09 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: And turning back to the latest developments in the Clinton e-mail controversy, Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar joins me now. The author of The Senator Next Door: A Memoir From the Heartland. Congratulations on the book and you're obviously a Hillary Clinton supporter, have been for a while. Senator, thank you very much.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR [D-MN]: Well, thank you, Andrea.
MITCHELL: Well, I want to ask you about the fact that Bryan Pagliano, this former staffer at both the campaign of '08 and then in the State Department until his job was taken over, in terms of the private server, by a professional organization and a company in Colorado. But he said through his attorney that he is not going to testify to the Benghazi Committee, that he's going to take the Fifth. And I've checked with the attorney and that is the case. We've read the letter. So how does that affect her? Even though that's his legal right, let's just stipulate that. This doesn't look good for the campaign.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I think the campaign has already said that they are disappointed in this decision, but as you noted, Andrea, it is his legal right. I think what is most significant is that her top aide, Cheryl Mills is testifying today. You have the fact that the Secretary herself has agreed to a public hearing in front of the House of Representatives to answer all these questions. And she has already released over 55,000 e-mails or pages of e-mail. And to me, that she is coming forward and being willing to talk about this.
But I hope we don't miss some of the long-term issues here. I – just yesterday she put out a very important plan on prescription drug abuse about the fact that we have four out of five heroin users today in this country, got their start on prescription drugs and no one is talking about it.
So while I think this has to be taken seriously, she has said that both on the Democratic and Republican side, I hope that we can get beyond some of these disputes, get them answered, and then go on to the real issues debated in this country, which is the economy, which is how people can get ahead, which is some of these issues that are getting lost in kind of the – what the Carly Fiorina calls the bright shiny objects of the day.
MITCHELL: Senator, isn't that a part of the problem that a lot of your fellow Democrats tell me they're very nervous about? That, for whatever reason, now that the FBI is involved and now that these e-mails will trickle out between now and January, by court order, so this is going to happen once a month and be poured over by everyone, that the FBI, unless they close this down quickly and completely exonerate everyone, this is a shadow hanging over her campaign. She can't get her policy prescriptions out.
When she gave a big speech on Cuba and Miami, I was down there and all ready to go and then the e-mails came out and also she released her tax returns and her health report all in the same afternoon. So, they're stepping on their own message.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, this is happening. There's nothing you can do. It is happening. The FBI is looking at it. That's – they have been complying and working with them on it. It's going to, as you said, be an issue.
But I do think that we cannot overlook some of the major issues between the parties here. We have a candidate on one side, as Senator Graham was talking about, who is talking about deporting kids that were born in this country. And that would be Donald Trump. We have major differences on the economy and how we have to move forward. You just brought up Cuba. We have major differences on that.
And I think this is an issue that must be taken seriously. Their campaign is taking it seriously. But the Minnesotans that I know, when I'm at the state fair, as I've been the last few days, they want to talk about the economy, they want to talk about how they're going to send their kids to college and the escalating cost of college. I promise, Andrea, those are the issues they've raised to me and that does not mean that at the same time you can't answer these questions and take it seriously.
(...)
