“He said that the Repubs were behind it and it was dumb because it meant that Mrs. Clinton would be the nominee.”
If Repubs were behind this, I don’t think it would have come out now. I think clinton is behind it. Perhaps she sent it to Repubs to hide her manipulations.
This is pure Clinton.
Suspend but do not exit the race. Wait for the story to break, blame the Republicans and take the nomination in Denver.
Hillary probably sent the tape to Scotty McClellan for release. “Let’s get Scotty, he’ll do anything”
After thinking more about this, I've come to the same conclusion. He's acting as point man, giving blame to the GOP for what Clinton is going to unleash. OTOH, the rumor mill has also had the tape in the possession of the GOP. But I can't see them being so politically naive as to release it now. August would be far better.