CNN's Paul Begala: Trump University fraud case is 'Ebola' for the Republican Party

CNN Democratic strategist Paul Begala argued on Thursday that a fraud case against GOP front-runner Donald Trump's so-called "University" was far more damaging to the Republican Party than Hillary Clinton's email scandal.

Host Alisyn Camerota asked Begala during an interview on CNN's New Day if news that the Justice Department had granted immunity to a former State Department staffer who set up Clinton's private email server would impact her campaign.

"This should have been done months ago," Begala admitted. "This guy has a right to assert his Fifth Amendment [privilege]. It's not helpful, frankly, to Hillary's campaign that he did so... It's a hiccup for her campaign."

The strategist asserted, however, that the email scandal was a "huge difference from the Ebola virus" that was "plaguing" Republicans after a New York appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a fraud case against Trump University could go forward.

"As a strategist, would I rather have some guy talking about emails -- that's kind of not great," Begala said, "or the New York Attorney General suing my client for fraud? It's a pretty bad deal for Mr. Trump."

In a statement on Tuesday, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman vowed to get justice for thousands of former Trump University students who say they were bilked out of millions of dollars.

“We look forward to demonstrating in a court of law that Donald Trump and his sham for-profit college defrauded more than 5,000 consumers out of millions of dollars,” Schneiderman said.

Watch the video below from CNN's New Day, broadcast March 3, 2016.