happening now, breaking news. battleground barn storm. the presidential candidates and their top surrogates fan out across the country, trying to win over voters in critical states, likely to decide the election. tonight, donald trump and hillary clinton are both in north carolina about to hold duelling campaign rallies. who will take the state's crucial electoral votes tuesday? crunchtime. the trump and clinton campaigns are out with tough new ads, crunching the numbers as they decide where to put their resources in these the final days of the presidential race. with polls tightening across the board, what are the campaign's choices reveal? watching the vote. federal judges in north carolina and pennsylvania intervene amid concerns about voter

suppression. election scrutiny is intensifying with trump's allegations of a rigged system. will the vote go off without a hitch? and voice of terror. after months of silence, the isis leader reportedly records a message to terrorist forces under assault in iraq. he's encouraging them to stand their ground and fight. even as iraqi soldiers, backed by u.s. forces, close in on the isis stronghold. is the isis leader now on the run? >> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news tonight. the fight for north carolina is in full swing, with both donald trump and hillary clinton about to hold rallies in that critical battleground state. it's the second event there today for both of them, underscoring the major role north carolina will play on

election day, just five days from now. top surrogates were dispatched to other battleground states. president obama campaigning for clinton in florida. now we've learned he and the first lady will appear with hillary clinton, bill, and chelsea clinton on the election eve in philadelphia. donald trump had his children campaigning for him in colorado, wisconsin, and new hampshire. and in pennsylvania, his wife, melania trump, made a rare public appearance, giving her first speech since the republican convention. she said, as first lady she would work to fight cyber bullying of children on social media. there was no mention of her husband's notorious twitter attacks over the years. we're covering all angles of the breaking news with our guests, senator chris kuhns, and our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. let's begin with the trump campaign. our political reporter sara murray has the latest. donald trump is capitalizing on new developments with the

hillary clinton e-mail investigation. what are you learning? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. he spent most of the day in florida and north carolina, hammering hillary clinton about her e-mails, trying to stay on message. and even going so far as to suggest that hillary clinton is an unstable person, all as he tries to use these last few days to close the deal with undecided voters. tonight, donald trump's path to the white house is looking a little less treacherous. >> in five days, we are going to win the great state of florida, and we are going to win back the white house. >> reporter: as he barn storms florida and north carolina, the latest polls still show a narrow path for trump to hit 270. but he's in the hunt nationwide, and new surveys from colorado and new hampshire hold glimmers of hope for trump. the gop nominee using his final stretch to cast hillary clinton as a candidate shrouded in scandal.

>> here we go again with clinton. you remember the impeachment and the problems? she's likely to be under investigation for many, many years. >> reporter: and blasting president obama for hitting the trail on clinton's behalf. >> he's down here campaigning for crooked hillary. now, why isn't he back in the office, sometimes referred to as the oval office, he's campaigning every day, and i actually think considering that she's under criminal investigation, i think he's actually got a conflict. >> reporter: with the days dwindling, trump openly reminding himself to stay on message. >> we're going to be nice and cool, nice and cool. right? stay on point, donald, stay on point. no side tracks, donald. >> reporter: and he's fanning out his family for a battleground state blitz,

sending ivanca to new hampshire, donald trump, jr. to colorado and eric trump to wisconsin. even his wife, melania, delivering a speech. melania trump using the limelight to preview her focus if she becomes first lady. cyber bullying. >> children and teenagers can be fragile. they're hurt when they're made fun of, or made to feel less in looks or intelligence. our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. >> reporter: she made no mention of her husband's prolific twitter use, his preferred platform for hurling insults at the media and in the political arena. and a former trump foe turned ally, ted cruz who snubbed trump at the gop convention, now

campaigning alongside his running mate, mike pence in iowa. even though cruz couldn't bring him to say trump's name, he insisted to reporters the gop's wounds have healed. >> some of you guys are wanting to write stories suggesting divisions among republicans. i'll make a point, i'm getting ready to get on a plane that has donald trump's name painted on the side of it. on monday of this week, i voted for donald trump. >> reporter: now, it was interesting to see the surrogates all out in force today. i attended melania trump's speech, and she didn't focus a whole lot on trying to -- it seemed like she was trying to introduce herself to american voters. she talked about growing up in slovenia, but by far the biggest round of applause she got is when she talked about becoming a citizen of the united states. >> sara, thank you. now the clinton campaign. phil mattingly is in raleigh, north carolina. a very heated race there.

that's where we're getting all the indications from the polls. >> reporter: yeah, no question about it. very tight polls and there's a good reason. the surrogates and the principals are crisscrossing the state for recognition that north carolina's 15 electoral votes could make or break this campaign. >> it is great to be here. >> reporter: it's the 53,000 square mile road block to donald trump's white house dreams. >> thank you, north carolina. wow! >> reporter: hillary clinton and her top surrogates flooding north carolina. a state that could clinch the race on november 8th. but it's far from a sure thing. a purple state that went with the democrats in 2008, and back to the republicans in 2012. it remains exceedingly close. the latest cnn poll of polls in the tarheel state puts clinton ahead by just four points. >> this morning in florida, donald stood on a stage and said, and i quote, i'm honored

to have the greatest temperament that anyone's ever had. now, he knows we can see and hear him, right? >> reporter: for chlinton and hr campaign, it's a moment to focus on the clearest path to victory and shift the race back into a referendum on trump. >> at another rally yesterday, actually he said out loud to himself, stay on point, donald. stay on point. his campaign probably put that in the teleprompters. >> reporter: a message magnified by the campaign's latest tv ad, which features what advisers maintain has been one of their most effective weapons, trump in his own words. >> i would look her right in that fat, ugly face. >> reporter: this all coming as clinton maintains a four-point lead nationally in the latest cnn poll of polls. an advantage, but one that's been unquestionably shrinking. something underscoring the

clinton campaign's increasingly targeted efforts to turn the obama coalition into the clinton coalition. to help make it happen, president obama making his case for clinton today in florida. >> she doesn't whine or complain or suggest everything is rigged when things respect going her way. she just works harder. she just comes back better. >> reporter: that as tim kaine reaches out to latino voters in arizona. his speech entirely in spanish. [ speaking spanish ] >> reporter: and clinton reaching out directly to black voters, going after trump in a series of radio interviews. >> he doesn't know people who have run businesses, who are professionals, who are in the heart of the community. he doesn't know and appreciate the strength of the black church and black educators. >> reporter: joining clinton on the trail tonight in north carolina, bernie sanders, and musician pharrell williams. a clear play for two crucial

elements for a clinton victory, millennials and the african-american vote. and wolf, when it comes to north carolina, it's the african-american vote that's been raising jitters among state democrats. in the early vote, the numbers are clearly down from 2012. but state democrats make this point, first off, president obama is not on the ticket. that makes a difference. but second off, those numbers have started to change. more than 7,000 voters, black voters yesterday than in the same point in 2012. they believe changes in the voting laws are starting to make gains now. when you look across the state and across the different coalitions, starting to feel more comfortable where they are, trying to hammer that home tonight. that rally behind me is expected to start in two hours. >> thank you very much, phil mattingly, in raleigh, north carolina. last hour, we talked about all of this with the republican congressman jason chaffetz who says he's now going to vote for donald trump. let's get the other side, with

senator chris kuhns. >> decades of lies and scandal have caught up with hillary clinton. hillary clinton is under fbi investigation again, after her e-mails were found on pervert anthony weiner's laptop. think about that. america's most sensitive secrets, unlawfully sent, received, and exposed by hillary clinton, her staff, and anthony weiner. hillary clinton cannot lead a nation, while crippled by a criminal investigation. hillary clinton, up fit to serve. >> i'm donald trump and i approve of this message. >> senator, a very tough ad indeed. so what's your reaction? >> my reaction, wolf, that's the sort of aggressive, tough ad

that frankly will turn off a lot of voters. you see that we've got the closing arguments being made during the last five days all across the country in battleground states. president obama made a terrific closing case in florida how voters need to focus on protecting the environment, social justice, equal rights are all on the ballot, even if he's not on the ballot this time. i think what we've seen and the way this entire campaign has unfolded is that secretary clinton was prepared to debate, prepared to campaign, and is prepared to govern. and i frankly think we've seen donald trump didn't really take seriously the idea that he needed to prepare to debate with disastrous results for him. and in terms of the ground game here in the last couple of days, he hasn't built the ground game that will deliver for him. so he's taking some wide swings the last couple of days at the same time secretary clinton is showing her deep preparation and real experience is going to bring her across the finish line. >> but in all fairness, she's

got some scathing attack ads against donald trump. recalling all sorts of incidents, some of those attack ads are very tough, just like the attack ad we just saw. both candidates are launching into this anger that's going on right now in these final days. i think that's fair, right? >> that's right, wolf. but here's a critical difference between the attack ads, at least that i've seen here, just outside of philadelphia. the most effective attack ads on donald trump actually use donald trump. they are quotes by him, things he has actually said, insulting women, insulting minorities and immigrants. it's striking to me that his wife was here in philadelphia today, trying to shore up his support among republican women and talking about the importance of fighting cyber bullying when some of the very incidents that are in those tough ads from hillary clinton are incidents of cyber bullying, of tweets and personal attacks by donald trump

himself. >> if there were classified e-mails found on anthony weiner's computer, as the fbi is now investigating, that would be a major setback for hillary clinton right now, that all of a sudden her classified e-mails that originated on her private server wound up on anthony weiner's computer. how concerned are you about that, senator? >> wolf, i'm not concerned about that, because i frankly don't expect to see that result. i think that we are just five days away from a national election, and what matters is that voters ought to take a hard look at these two candidates and think about which of them is really prepared to govern and to serve as our president and lead the country. i do think that the average american has heard a great deal about both of the challenges that are being highlighted in their attack ads, and i hope that they will cast votes from a perspective of optimism, about what each -- what secretary clinton as a candidate will

bring to the table as our next president, rather than this sort of fear and dislike and division that donald trump tries to bring to the closing days of this campaign. >> you're on the judiciary committee. do you have confidence in the fbi investigation and the role being played by the fbi director james comey right now? >> well, wolf, frankly i'm troubled by reports that the fbi director correctly followed long standing doj procedure and fbi policy and did not publicly comment on some investigations earlier this summer. investigations into donald trump's former campaign manager or into donald trump's campaign or into russian hacking, because he was concerned that those comments might influence the election. why he didn't continue that policy, why he sent this recent letter frankly is beyond me, and it's my hope that the fbi and its current director will return to their previous practice of avoiding comments when there are no underlying facts that have

been uncovered yet. if you parse secretary comey's letter, it's clear he didn't know what these e-mails were, what they were even relevant. so i do question why this particular release was timed this way. but i frankly hope that in the country as a whole, folks will make their best decision and come out to vote. vote with some optimism that secretary clinton really is the better qualified and better prepared candidate to lead our country. >> he also didn't comment when they were looking into the clinton foundation, apparently they were looking into various aspects of that, as well. but each if he didn't have full knowledge of what they discovered on anthony weiner's computer, his agents apparently did have some significant information. they briefed him on it, and at that point, he decided to live up to a commitment he made to the united states congress that if there were new information coming forward, and if it were significant, he would go and at

least inform them there's a new development. what was wrong with that? >> well, wolf, i understand that in an ongoing investigation, it is typically the case that the fbi director does not make comments that will be publicly released and affect the election. it was entirely predictable that in this case, to send a letter to eight different republican chairman of committees in the house and senate, that that would be released. >> that letter was also sent to the ranking democrats on all those committees, as well. not just the chairmen. >> that's right. but i'm simply observing that the timing and the direction of the letter was such that it was foreseeable that this was going to end up being an issue in the campaign, even though the fbi director, at the time, had really no knowledge of what was in these e-mails, whether they were relevant, whether they were personal. and i think that this -- as our

interview reveals, it has ended up being more of an issue in the last few days of the campaign than i think is justified. i frankly think the fbi director should have stuck to long standing policy and declined to release this information in a way that could affect the outcome of the election. >> i need you to stay with us, senator. we have more to discuss. there's new information coming into "the situation room." we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. op a job if something doesn't seem right, so everyone comes home safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better.

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a fierce fight tonight for north carolina. the battleground state that could decide tuesday's election. both donald trump and hillary clinton are holding rallies there tonight that are about to get under way. and trump is continuing to hammer hillary clinton on the fbi's announcement it's now reviewing the case of her private e-mail server. we're back with democratic senator chris coons of delaware. senator, i spoke to chairman jason chaffetz in the last hour. he says he's promising two years of investigations. he had enough material for two years of investigations into hillary clinton and her e-mail server and other issues if she wins the presidency.

what do you say to that? >> wolf, i frankly say that gravely concerns me that republicans are not preparing to govern in a way that will solve america's problems. the idea that two years of investigations of this e-mail issue strikes me as a distraction from the challenges that face us and we should come together to deal with our economy, grow decent middle class jobs through manufacturing and infrastructure, to confront the threat of isis and the challenges that we face in security overseas. secretary clinton has faced so many investigations that at the end of the day, ultimately prove to be without foundation. i'll give one example. i serve on the foreign relations committee. the tragic incidents of benghazi were the subjects of 12 or 13 hearings, mostly in the house, but in the house and the senate. although it's clear there were some mistakes made in terms of the response within the state

department, none of them proved any connection between secretary clinton and the tragic events in benghazi in a way that produced substantive outcomes. yet, it was a huge distraction for the congress. so to hear from congressman chaffetz that he's already preparing for investigations in the next congress suggests to me while secretary clinton is serious about governing and solving our problems, many republican leaders are just not. >> if hillary clinton wins the presidency, what impact could these investigations in the house and the senate potentially have on her presidency and her ability to govern? >> well, they could be a real distraction. they could be a source of ongoing partisan difference. if that becomes the only thing that gets coverage in the news and that the average american knows about what we're doing in washington, wolf, i'll suggest that the approval rating in congress will continue to go down. what i hear from folks here in delaware all the time is they want us to work across the aisle. they want us to solve the real problems facing our country.

our recovery is steadily picking up. the private sector is creating more jobs. we've got opportunities, both here at home and around the would if we would come together to make our country stronger and make our country a better leader in the world. if we just go at each other with partisan division, from the very moment the next president is inaugurated, i'm not optimistic we'll do what we're asked to do by the american people. >> senator cons, thank you for joining us. just ahead, melania makes her first speech since the republican convention. did her speech win over any new voters? plus, a message believed to be from the isis lead tore his terrorist forces. is it a sign he's afraid he's losing control? just look at those two. happy. in love. and saving so much money on their car insurance by switching to geico...

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donald trump and hillary clinton are both about to hold campaign rallies in north carolina and they're both out with some tough new ads tonight, just five days before the election. we've got our political payable with us. dana, trump's out with a new ad,

highlighting this renewed fbi inquiry of the e-mails. watch this ad. >> decades of lies, cover-ups, and scandal have finally caught up with hillary clinton. hillary clinton is under fbi investigation again, after her anthony weiner's laptop.rvert - think about that. america's most sensitive secrets, unlawfully sent, received, and exposed by hillary clinton, her staff, and anthony weiner. hillary cannot lead a nation while crippled by a criminal investigation. hillary clinton, unfit to serve. >> i'm donald trump, and i approve this message. >> dana, what do you think of that ad? >> there's a lot to unpack. some true or some we don't know. we don't know exactly what was on that laptop. we don't know how sensitive, if at all. we don't know the nature of the e-mails that were found. that's part of the problem is that there's this gray area,

this unknown area. we do know that anthony weiner is a pervert. we know that, and that's not an accident that's brought up, because it's a not so subtle way of implicating the clintons in anthony weiner's issues, and sort of letting the american people know this is the kind of maybe drama that's going to come back into your living room if you elect the clintons. fair or unfair, that's what the message is. >> you looked at that message, you've been reporting on all of this. were all of those accusations the trump campaign made accurate? >> well, they're not accurate at this point. at some point, the fbi will tell us whether there is any classified information on this laptop. at this point, we don't have those facts. that's part of the problem with making these charges. but i don't think that's the point here. he's making a political ad, and it's not really about truth, it's about making accusations. >> there may be some classified

information on anthony weiner's computer, but we don't know that. >> the fbi still has to check that out. that's part of what they're doing right now. >> the unfit to serve is an important tag line, because that's what she's been saying about donald trump for the last year and a half, particularly the last six months, unfit to serve, doesn't have the temperament to be commander in chief, can't trust him with his finger on the button. suddenly, he's turning it around, saying wait a minute, she's going to be under investigation again, very, very premature. she's going to be under investigation, and therefore, she cannot serve as commander in chief for president of the united states, so they're just flipping it right back. >> that's also his biggest vulnerability in the polls is his temperament and whether he is fit to serve. to your point, that's working for hillary clinton. that's something she's re-emphasizing. >> we did see melania trump, her first speech today that she's delivered since the republican

convention in july. was she effective? >> well, i think that remains to be seen. it was a short speech, some people think maybe she missed an opportunity, because she didn't really get into a lot of details about her husband's personal life or what he's like away from the camera. it was mostly a resuscitation of why donald trump would be a good commander in chief, how the country is headed in the wrong direction. so perhaps one good thing about political spouses when they give speeches, they can show that softer side of their spouse. she didn't really quite do that. i'm not sure if that was necessarily her objective, at least from the view of the trump campaign. they wanted to put her out there, because they do believe she's an effective surrogate, but she's not been out there because of the way she stumbled in the republican convention and her speech. but whether it moves voters, particularly women voters, suburban voters in the philadelphia suburbs, which they're targeting there specifically, that's still

questionable. >> david, she did say if she were to become first lady of the united states, she would fight online bullying, and she made an impassioned appeal to make sure that kids aren't bullied online, stuff like that. a lot of democrats and donald trump critics immediately jumped on that saying look at your own husband, look at the online bullying he's done over the years on twitter. >> yeah, that's a worthwhile cause, it's important. and generally speaking, minus that stumble at the convention, she's been an effective surrogate. she gave that good interview with anderson cooper. >> and her performance today was very good. >> she's been an asset to the campaign overall. but yes, it is a bit rich when she's married to someone who is arguably like the most famous twitter curmudgeon, donald trump, that this is going to be her signature issue. >> mrs. trump, meet mrs. trump. >> gloria, all of a sudden north carolina has become this must-win state for both candidates. they're spending an enormous amount of money and time there.

tell our viewers why. >> it's kind of become a microcosm of the whole country, sort of just stuck into one state. you have a quarter of the voters who are african-american. you have an evangelical conservative population. you have an urban, more progressive, multicultural population. you have a rural, more conservative population. and so this state is sort of ground zero for both of these campaigns to get out their voters. and what the democrats are seeing is a little dispiriting for them. although in some polls, they're ahead. but the turnout of black voters, and again, it is an unfair comparison to compare it to 2012 when you had an african-american at the head of the ticket. but the black vote was 28%, and now it's 22.7%. >> and barack obama lost. >> exactly.

and obama lost. >> if there is a flip of six to ten points in the african-american vote in north carolina, she could lose the state. and this is what is worrisome. >> north carolina also central to the fight for the senate majority. richard burr in a poll today, the republican senator done to a little known democrat, causing major concern among republicans that they could lose this seat. so that's why you're seeing so much emphasis on the state. >> one republican source said to me who is tracking north carolina very closely, said to me that one thing they're looking at is that they seem to be getting 90% of republicans. so they're hopeful that republicans are going to come home to donald trump in the end, and that will pull burr across the finish line and trump across the finish line. again, that's coming. >> there's a new hillary clinton campaign ad that's very tough on donald trump that's out right now in the final days of this

campaign. i'm going to play a little clip for you. listen to this. >> putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing. wouldn't you rather in a certain sense have japan have nuclear weapons? saudi arabia, absolutely. >> talk of maybe using nuclear weapons. nobody wants to hear that. >> why do we make them if i would bomb the [ bleep ] out of them. i love war, in a certain way. >> is that ad designed to win over undecided, persuadable voters or to generate, to really turn out that democratic base and have a lot of people show up and vote? >> that's a play that they've run before, using donald trump's words against him. but this seems to be rally her voters, to remind them to get out, but also to remind trump voters who they're voting for, and maybe cause them to stay home. we've seen a lot of that with some of these other ads that were tough against trump that

might make people think twice about voting for him. >> do you agree? >> i do. at this point, it is all about getting out the vote. i think there are -- there might be a slice of soft trump voters or soft clinton voters, meaning those who could be persuaded to go to the other side. but talking to the campaigns, talking to the parties on both sides, they say it is all about the voters that have identified for the past many, many months, going back to them again and again and again, and making sure they vote. >> david, haven't most people made up their minds so far? they know so much about both of these candidates already, don't you think most americans who are going to vote have already decided? >> yeah, i think we're running out of those softer, persuadable voters across the country. i think those ads is the campaigns wanting to end on their strongest note. each campaign's strongest note is the weaknesses of the other candidate. >> again, it's about enthusiasm. to your point, it's not so much

about necessarily trying to reach people who haven't decided but to make sure people who have decided to get angry or annoyed or upset to go vote. >> and voting is happening now as we say. so they want voters to take a look at that and say oh, okay. i'm going to be with her. or, okay, i'm going to be with trump and by the way, maybe i'll just stay home because i don't like him. and i think that is what these ads do. last-minute negative advertising works. and it works very well and she's got a lot of money to use it. so she's going to use it wherever she can. and so will he. >> they didn't want to be here. the clinton campaign is trying to turn a page and have their positive ads be pushed out there. >> where are those? >> the positive ads? in part because of this e-mail scandal, and comey's letter, they've had to go back to their tried and true strategy, which is hammering donald trump. >> how worried are the clinton folks right now?

these polls in several battleground states and nationally show there's a narrowing of that gap. >> pretty worried. significantly so, and democrats here in town are worried, too. that's one reason why they're leaning on president obama for one reason to hit the campaign trail, try to energize the obama coalition, get his base out. actually, both of the obamas cutting today a series of ads targeting african-american voters in key house districts that some of which overlap with key battleground states, nevada, as well as florida. because they know that they're looking at the early voting numbers. they aren't great and the polls are nerve-racking, as well. >> let's listen to president obama. i want to play a clip. this is president obama. he held two rallies for hillary clinton today. watch this. >> if you disrespect the

constitution before you're president and threaten to shut down the press when it says something you don't like, or threaten to throw your opponent in jail in a live presidential debate without any regard for due process, if you discriminate against people of different faiths before you are president, then that is what you will do in office. except you will have more power to carry out the twisted notions that you had before you were in office. so you can't make excuses for this stuff. >> he speaks with some authority as having spent almost eight years in that oval office he's talking about. >> right, which is why he's out there saying what he's saying in that sound bite. and it is why he feels obviously so passionate about it and because of his popularity, in general, but particularly with the democratic base. that is exactly what we were

talking about before. that is saying to people who are maybe a little apathetic, maybe disgusted with both candidates, democrats who are not that thrilled about hillary clinton. you can't afford to do that, as he says, his mantra is -- >> you know, barack obama was the candidate of hope when he came into office. and you look at the speeches he's giving now are about be very afraid. be very afraid of donald trump. it's not an uplifting kind of ending -- rousing ending for him. it's -- because honestly that wouldn't work right now. what he needs to do is get people scared of a donald trump presidency, and that's exactly what he's trying to do. it's kind of an odd moment for this president who didn't come into office that way. >> do you think we're going to get any more information from the fbi director or his aides

between now and the election, five days from now, to give the voter a better appreciation how serious or not so serious this review of these e-mails found on anthony weiner's computer might be? >> i think they know they're under tremendous amount of pressure. they know the people want this, but they don't want to get this wrong or provide incomplete information that could mislead people and then three weeks later we found out that there is more to this. so that's the reason why there's this much chance that we'll hear more between now and election day. they're working overtime, they're trying to get to the bottom of this. believe me, everybody knows that everybody is watching this. but the concern is also, you know, four months from now we're back here again and they discover something else that they had known about or taken a look at. >> how much division is there within the fbi? we're hearing stories about hardliners and others. >> we've known that there's been this divide inside the bureau,

and there's this mystique built up about the bureau going back to the hoover days of the fbi is a specialized group of investigators. a lot of that is true, but there is something that's happen thing year in american politics. there's this toxic year of american politics and infecting everything, including some of the most prized institutions. it goes to the fbi. there's been some reports out there today that an indictment is in the offing in the clinton foundation investigation. everything we've known about this investigation that's been going on well over a year is that's not true. these allegations began with the publication of a book "clinton cash" by a conservative writer. it is true that some fbi agents have been wanting to go harder on it. justice department prosecutors and fbi headquarters basically found that the allegations didn't really merit further action and so it's still going on.

>> you were going to say something? >> you're seeing some of the political fallout of this. there's a poll in new hampshire today that said 49% of voters were less likely to vote for hillary clinton in the aftermath of these new revelations. fbi revelations that are looking into her e-mails. 51% of independents in that state were also less likely to vote for her. we will see if that translates nationally, but some cause of concern right now within the clinton camp. >> and you're talking about whether or not we'll see any real sort of definitive decision or announcement about whether or not there was in there there in the e-mails in anthony weiner's computer. the mantra of the clinton campaign is certainly that they want jim comey to come out and say what's really there. but in reality, i don't think they really want to know the answer, because what if the answer is yes, she committed a

crime? >> the principal lawyers always say don't ask a question you don't know the answer to already. >> be careful what you wish for. >> by the way, wolf, i think it is useful for the campaign to be not be seen in bed with the fbi. trump has been arguing for the last few months that the election is going to be rigged. you don't hear him saying that as much anymore. i think that is helpful for the campaign. >> you heard jason chaffetz in the last four tell me, he's the chairman of the house oversite committee. he's got two years worth of hearings ready to go against hillary clinton if she's elected or even if she's not, two years of hearings. you can imagine what that's going to cause. >> i do wonder if this undermines jason chaffetz, saying no matter what, they're going to go after her. mike mccaul in texas said she could be impeached. it just seems like they're sharpening the knives before they know what they have. and i think that might end up

backfiring on republican members of congress. and to your point about the rigged, it's almost like an afterthought now. he said today he was going through something else, and by the way, the system is rigged, remember that. >> but don't forget, after he won indiana and he was the presumptive nominee, he said i was only talking about a rigged system when i was losing. and jason chaffetz, republicans now know it's a good political message for them. they don't have anything to lose in close contests by saying i'm going to investigate hillary clinton. it's exactly what their base wants to hear, so why wouldn't they say it? there's almost no downside -- >> that's why the fight for control of congress is so important. each though the majorities are going to be narrow in both chambers and they'll have a hard time passing legislation. you control the committees, you decide what investigations to

launch. you either want accountability or you want to work with the other side. >> you cover the house for us. get ready for two years. you're going to be a busy guy. remember to stay with cnn for complete coverage of the presidential race and all-day coverage on election day, just five days from now. more breaking news coming up. we received a recorded message believed to be from the leader of isis. is he on the run and fearful of losing control of his terrorist forces? if you have medicare

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go long.

breaking news. a rare recorded message reportedly from the isis leaders reporting troops to stand their ground in mosul iraq. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working the story. >> reporter: good evening. the white house today emphasizing isis is losing territory. and one u.s. official telling me they even have indications the group is working on succession plans if its leader is killed.

tonight with iraqi forces now inside mosul, isis leader abubakar al-baghdadi is purportedly speaking out in a rare audio recording. the isis leader is imploring his followers to keep fighting. >> translator: god's enemy, from the jew, christian, ailtists, s shiites, apostates. and all of the world have dedicated their media, army and munitions to find muslims and jihadists. >> reporter: u.s. officials believe the message is a sign baghdaddy is worried he's losing ground and the support of his troo troops. >> this is the type of thing that a leader who is losing command and control and ability to keep everybody on the same page says. >> reporter: estimated 5,000 fighters in and around mosul. baghdadi said holding your

ground if honor is a thousand times better than retreating in disgrace. it is the first message since late 2015. u.s. officials tell cnn there is every reason to believe the voice is in fact baghdadis. there's been no confirmed sight of him since july 2014, when wearing a flashy wristwatch he declared haze caliphate in mosul. now u.s. officials believe baghdadi is feeling the pressure after many of his inner circle have been killed in air strikes. baghdadi also lashing out atatuat turkey. telling his followers to invade it. >> that is a game changer. may be the most significant thing in this tape. the gloves are off with turkey. >> reporter: the british foreign secretary unexpectedly telling parliament that baghdadi may have been in mosul but no longer

is. >> the suggests the gentlemen has actually vacanted the scene himself. >> the u.s. military more cautious and more blunt. >> if we knew where he was, he would be killed at once. so we don't know where he is. >> going back to the the threat that was discussed about turkey. and baghdadi urging attacks there. just few days the state department withdrew family members in the istanbul because of the rising isis threat. >> a significant development. stay with us barbara. we're going to get more on the breaking news from our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto skmo w.h.o. is with me and the national security peter bergen. why do you think he released this now? >> it is because they are losing ground really. that is the view of u.s. intelligence and this is a typical tactic.

it's is very aware of its public reputation, particularly with its followers. and as it is losing tyrerritori he wants to give encouraging words to his followers. but also this is crucial and something u.s. counterterrorist officials are worried about. as as they get squeezed there they make greater efforts to attack broad. >> whdoes it have impact when a video like this comes out. bin laden back in the nineties was appearing all the time on video. >> i think it does haven effect the fact is we've seen other leaders of isis call for attacks in the west and then attacks happened. so i think it does have an effect. >> barbara what is your

information at the pentagon? is abubakar al baghdadi in raqqah t isis capital in syria right now is that the assumption? that he may have been in mosul but he's long gone. >> known is really saying for sure. and he may well be in hiding somewhere in one of these desert towns between mosul, iraq and raqqah, syria. very much they are looking for him but insist right now they don't know where he is. >> jim, what are you hearing? are they getting any closer? u.s. forces, make the iraqis, kurds others to finding this guy. >> their description is he's in deep hiding. that is what u.s. intelligence officials tell me. if they knew of course they would go after him. but let's be hobbs. when they find that information they are not going to let us know first. and they have tremendously good intelligence there. and we've seen that over the last several months where they have had good capability of tracking down other isis leaders

who are what were at that point in deep hiding. so they have a good track record. >> do you think they are going to find him and kill him? >> they killed 36 leaders of isis in the mosul area the last several months but i talked to multiple officials last week and asked the same question, do you know where this guy is. it is unlikely they say yeah we do if they really had something. but you can tell people county know. nef no idea where he is. you assume there is a succession plan in place. you have seen a lot of his leaders being killed and they also think by the way that he remains in charge. >> what kind of assessment anywhere in iraq last week did they give row about the effort to liberate mosul. >> i think the results speak for itself. most people think this will be finished by the time the next president assumes office. >> january 20th. >> it is going that well you think? >> maybe even quicker. raqqah and syria is another matter. >> they are into the urban areas

quicker than early predictions were. >> barbara what are you hearing at the pentagon. >> a lot of people are looking ahead to what is next. it's on the ropes. probably going to lose mosul and raqqah. so they lose their physical caliphate. but the fig issue is they will still have an ideological cal flat. and still perhaps thousands around the world their ideology appeals to. a lot of concern that they are going to turn into an underground insurgency, gorilla group and stage those attacks abroad. it may be getting worse before it gets better, wolf. >> worrying me, and i'm always all of us. there are more than a million civilians in mosul and of course isis forces have controlled that city for more than two years decide they are going to fight to the end. we only can imagine how innocent wonderful civilians are going to wind up dead. >> and human shields as well. is. >> right. an awful, awful situation. thank you very much.

that is it for me. thanks very much for watching ux i'm wolf blitzer "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. next, the breaking news duelling trump and clinton rallies at this hour, 30 miles apart as polls show a neck and neck race. and melania trump hits the campaign trail saying as first lady she'd take on internet bullies and will she start at home? and trump taking on other stuff. let's go "outfront." donald trump and hillary clinton only 30 miles apart in north carolina. it is a must-win state for donald trump. we're going to be taking you