server, as the Democratic presidential candidate accused him of "deeply troubling" behavior 10 days before the U.S. elections.
Speaking to
volunteers in Daytona Beach, Florida, Clinton said: "Some of you may have
heard about a letter the FBI director sent" on Friday to the U.S. Congress
informing it that the agency is again reviewing emails.
Comey had decided in
July that the FBI was not going to seek prosecution of Clinton for her handling
of classified materials on a private email server while she was secretary of
state.
"It is pretty
strange to put something like that out with such little information right
before an election," Clinton said, adding, "It's not just strange,
it's unprecedented and it's deeply troubling because voters deserve to get full
and complete facts." She urged Comey to "put it all out on the table."
In tandem with
Clinton, fellow Democrats on Saturday also worked to pressure Comey to provide
details on a controversy that dominated the presidential campaigns on Saturday,
less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 elections.
Four U.S. senators -
Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving Senate Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, Thomas
Carper and Benjamin Cardin - wrote Comey and U.S. Attorney General Loretta
Lynch asking that they provide by Monday more detailed information about
investigative steps underway.
At a press conference
in Columbus, Ohio, the Congressional Black Caucus, comprised of about 45
members of the House of Representatives, nearly all Democrats, also urged Comey
to be more forthcoming.
Sources close to the
investigation on Friday said the latest emails were discovered as part of a
separate probe into Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide
Huma Abedin.
Weiner, a former
Democratic U.S. congressman from New York, is the target of an FBI
investigation into illicit text messages he is alleged to have sent to a
15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump pounded away at the new FBI development,
devoting a large part of a campaign speech in Golden, Colorado, to attacking
Clinton and arguing that she is not to be trusted with the presidency.
Comey, however, has
not provided any details on whether the emails now under review are being seen
for the first time by the FBI or the nature of their contents.
Clinton's campaign
team tried to downplay the new review.
"There's no
evidence of wrongdoing, no charge of wrongdoing," said John Podesta, who
heads the Clinton campaign, referring to the FBI's latest announcement that it
was taking "appropriate investigative steps" after learning of emails
"that appear to be pertinent" to the earlier Clinton email probe.
In some of his
toughest language on Saturday, Podesta portrayed Comey's letter to Congress as
"light on facts, heavy on innuendo."
Clinton campaign
manager Robby Mook, trying to tamp down speculation of a voter backlash this
late in the campaign, said Americans had already "factored" what they
knew about the email investigation into how they would cast their ballots.
"We don't see
it changing the landscape" for undecided voters, Mook said.
Clinton aides also
said this latest controversy has further energized her supporters.
Clinton did a
campaign swing through Florida as she and Trump were thought to be in a tight
race in a state famous for its role in close presidential elections.
Many analysts
believe this battleground state is essential for Trump to win in order to have
any chance of being elected.
In recent weeks,
Trump has been running behind Clinton in most public opinion polls.
Singer and actor
Jennifer Lopez was scheduled to headline a free concert in Miami on Saturday
for Clinton supporters. The Clinton campaign hopes that "J.Lo," as
she is known by fans, will provide celebrity star power and help Clinton
connect with young voters who earlier this year flocked to Democratic primary
challenger Bernie Sanders.
Justice Department
officials, according to a source who asked not to be identified, were opposed
to the FBI director's letter being sent to Congress and believe his actions
conflict with a Justice Department memo outlining instructions that agencies
should not to act in ways that could influence elections.
While Lynch did not
discuss the matter directly with Comey, the source said aides were in touch
with each other.
Comey let it be
known he felt he had to send the letter as a follow-up to his congressional
testimony earlier this year regarding the FBI's probe of Clinton's emails, the
source said.
During his speech in
Golden, before flying to Arizona to campaign, Trump accused the Obama
administration's Justice Department of trying to protect Clinton from
prosecution.
“The attorney
general didn’t want anything to happen to Hillary. I wonder why. It's very sad.
Folks, we’re living in a third world country," Trump said.
(Reporting by Steve
Holland in Golden, Colorado, ans Roberta Rampton in Daytona Beach, Florida;
Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Richard Cowan;
Editing by Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama)
Reuters
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