I think it's got to be that really bad stuff IS going to be made public...maybe even video...and the Obama administration had to get out front before the whole world, including low information voters, saw that they had been lying through their teeth.
Not so fast.
Fact: We know 0bama lied about the server. However, what if one of Huma Abedin's emails from Hillary!® says something like: "Barack is going to handle the FBI thing."
That is a substantially different kind of involvement.