NBC News 'mass hunt underway' for more damaging Trump comments

NBC News is reportedly reviewing past "Celebrity Apprentice" footage in search of other potentially damaging statements Donald Trump made as host of the reality TV program.

CNN's Brian Stelter reported that the peacock network's president, Deborah Turness, emailed at least seven producers on Monday and "launched a hunt for 'Apprentice' transcripts, even down to loggers of the tape." One source reportedly described the search as a "mass hunt underway" for statements that could potentially sway undecided voters with fewer than 30 days until ballots are cast.

The news comes just one day after "Apprentice" producer Mark Burnett and the production company MGM issued a joint statement saying they could not release unaired footage from the show.

"Despite reports to the contrary, Mark Burnett does not have the ability nor the right to release footage or other material from The Apprentice. Various contractual and legal requirements also restrict MGM's ability to release such material," the statement read, according to CNN Money.

The Washington Post published footage from a 2005 exchange Trump had with Billy Bush, in which the two are heard making lewd comments about women. Bush, a host on NBC's "Today Show," was subsequently suspended from the network in light of the video.

The shocking footage also resulted in a number of high-profile Republicans withdrawing their support of Trump in a race that was already close. Polls conducted after the comments were made public now show Trump losing even more ground to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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