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Hillary Clinton at signing for earlier book in San Diego. Photo by Chris Stone

Hillary Clinton’s book tour for “What Happened” hit a high-water mark Monday when the election loser said she saw a path to winning — by challenging the results.

NPR’s Terry Gross asked Clinton: “Would you completely rule out questioning the legitimacy of this election if we learn that the Russian interference in the election is even deeper than we know now?”

Clinton replied: “No. I would not. I would say.”

Gross cut in: “You’re not going to rule it out.”

Clinton said: “No, I wouldn’t rule it out.”

But when asked the means to challenge it, Clinton said: “Basically I don’t believe there are. There are scholars, academics, who have arguments that it would be, but I don’t think they’re on strong ground. But people are making those arguments.

“I just don’t think we have a mechanism. You know, the Kenya election was just overturned and really what’s interesting about that — and I hope somebody writes about it, Terry — the Kenyan election was also a project of Cambridge Analytica, the data company owned by the Mercer family that was instrumental in the Brexit vote.”

CNN’s Chris Cillizza remarked: “This a big deal. The 2016 Democratic nominee, who won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, is expressly leaving open the possibility that she would pursue legal action to invalidate the last presidential election.”

He said he’s paid close attention to Clinton since November, “and I have never heard her broach the possibility of a formal challenge of the results.”

“Knowing what we know of Clinton,” Cillizza said, “it seems unlikely to me that she simply spoke off the cuff here, that this was just an unconsidered remark. She doesn’t really do that sort of thing.”

Early reaction:

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