The anger behind Donald Trump&#39;s firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said.

Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server.

When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump&rsquo;s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said.

&quot;It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties,&quot; one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous.

Comey, who testified for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it made him feel &quot;mildly nauseous&quot; that his decision to make public his reopening of a probe into Clinton&#39;s handling of classified information might have affected the outcome of the November 8 presidential election. But he said he had no regrets and would make the same decision again.

Trump&#39;s sudden firing of Comey shocked Washington and plunged Trump deeper into a controversy over his campaign&#39;s alleged ties with Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency.

Democrats accused the Republican president of firing Comey to try to undermine the FBI&#39;s probe into Russia&#39;s alleged efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of the Trump campaign, and demanded an independent investigation. Some of Trump&#39;s fellow Republicans called his dismissal of Comey troubling.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday Comey was fired because of his handling of the Clinton email probe.

Before he axed Comey, Trump had publicly expressed frustration with the FBI and congressional probes into the Russia matter. Moscow has denied meddling in the election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia.

A former Trump adviser said Trump was also angry because Comey had never offered a public exoneration of Trump in the FBI probe into contacts between the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Sergei Kislyak, and Trump campaign advisers last year.

According to this former adviser, Comey&#39;s Senate testimony on the Clinton emails likely reinforced in Trump&#39;s mind that &quot;Comey was against him.&quot;

&quot;He regretted what he did to Hillary but not what he did to Trump,&quot; the former Trump adviser said of Comey.

Clinton has said that the Comey decision to announce the renewed inquiry days before the election was a likely factor in her loss to Trump.

Aides said Trump moved quickly after receiving a recommendation on Monday to terminate Comey from Rosenstein, who began reviewing the situation at the FBI shortly after taking office two weeks ago.

Trump&#39;s move was so sudden that his White House staff, accustomed to his impromptu style, was caught off guard. Stunned aides scrambled to put together a plan to explain what happened.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer ended up briefing reporters about the move in the dark on Tuesday night near a patch of bushes steps away from the West Wing.

Comey, who was in Los Angeles meeting with FBI employees on Tuesday and returned later to Washington, has made no public comment on his firing.

Fig Leaf

Many questions remained about what caused Trump to move so quickly.

Two former senior Justice Department officials said it made little sense to fire Comey while the Justice Department Inspector General was still doing a review of the FBI&rsquo;s handling of the Clinton email investigation.

&ldquo;I take Rod (Rosenstein) at his word that be believed everything in that memo but he must know that it&rsquo;s going to be used as a fig leaf to fire Comey,&rdquo; one former official said.

US&nbsp;Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters it was her &ldquo;understanding&rdquo; Comey had been seeking more resources for his investigation into the tangled Russia controversy.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had pondered dumping Comey as soon as he took office on January 20, but decided to stick with him.

Trump shrugged off the political firestorm he created with Comey&#39;s dismissal as he met with former US&nbsp;Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Asked by reporters why he fired Comey, Trump said, &quot;He wasn&#39;t doing a good job, very simply. He wasn&#39;t doing a good job.&quot;

(Reuters)

Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server

The anger behind Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said. Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump’s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said. "It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties," one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous. Comey, who testified for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it made him feel "mildly nauseous" that his decision to make public his reopening of a probe into Clinton's handling of classified information might have affected the outcome of the November 8 presidential election. But he said he had no regrets and would make the same decision again. Trump's sudden firing of Comey shocked Washington and plunged Trump deeper into a controversy over his campaign's alleged ties with Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency. Democrats accused the Republican president of firing Comey to try to undermine the FBI's probe into Russia's alleged efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of the Trump campaign, and demanded an independent investigation. Some of Trump's fellow Republicans called his dismissal of Comey troubling. The Trump administration said on Tuesday Comey was fired because of his handling of the Clinton email probe. Before he axed Comey, Trump had publicly expressed frustration with the FBI and congressional probes into the Russia matter. Moscow has denied meddling in the election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia. A former Trump adviser said Trump was also angry because Comey had never offered a public exoneration of Trump in the FBI probe into contacts between the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Sergei Kislyak, and Trump campaign advisers last year. According to this former adviser, Comey's Senate testimony on the Clinton emails likely reinforced in Trump's mind that "Comey was against him." "He regretted what he did to Hillary but not what he did to Trump," the former Trump adviser said of Comey. Clinton has said that the Comey decision to announce the renewed inquiry days before the election was a likely factor in her loss to Trump. Aides said Trump moved quickly after receiving a recommendation on Monday to terminate Comey from Rosenstein, who began reviewing the situation at the FBI shortly after taking office two weeks ago. Trump's move was so sudden that his White House staff, accustomed to his impromptu style, was caught off guard. Stunned aides scrambled to put together a plan to explain what happened. White House spokesman Sean Spicer ended up briefing reporters about the move in the dark on Tuesday night near a patch of bushes steps away from the West Wing. Comey, who was in Los Angeles meeting with FBI employees on Tuesday and returned later to Washington, has made no public comment on his firing. Fig Leaf Many questions remained about what caused Trump to move so quickly. Two former senior Justice Department officials said it made little sense to fire Comey while the Justice Department Inspector General was still doing a review of the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. “I take Rod (Rosenstein) at his word that be believed everything in that memo but he must know that it’s going to be used as a fig leaf to fire Comey,” one former official said. US Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters it was her “understanding” Comey had been seeking more resources for his investigation into the tangled Russia controversy. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had pondered dumping Comey as soon as he took office on January 20, but decided to stick with him. Trump shrugged off the political firestorm he created with Comey's dismissal as he met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Asked by reporters why he fired Comey, Trump said, "He wasn't doing a good job, very simply. He wasn't doing a good job." (Reuters)

Comey's refusal to preview details of Senate testimony on Clinton probe made Trump furious

US President Barack Obama criticised FBI director James Comey over Hillary Clinton&#39;s email probe in an interview on Wednesday.

Speaking for the first time since Comey&#39;s Friday announcement that the FBI was reopening the&nbsp;probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while still in office after the&nbsp;discovery of some new emails, Obama insisted that investigations should not be based on &quot;innuendo&quot; or &quot;incomplete information&quot;.

&quot;I&#39;ve made a very deliberate effort to make sure that I don&#39;t look like I&#39;m meddling,&quot; Obama said, reported news agency AFP, before making his veiled criticism of Comey&#39;s handling of the affair without mentioning him by name. &quot;I do think that there is a norm that when there are investigations we don&#39;t operate on innuendo, we don&#39;t operate on incomplete information, we don&#39;t operate on leaks.&quot;

Comey has come under fire from Democrats after he announced a reopening of the probe into Clinton just days before the November 8 presidential election.

Comey&#39;s announcement was a departure from Justice Department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations or to take actions close to elections that could influence the outcome, AFP said.

&quot;We operate based on concrete decisions that are made,&quot; Obama said.

&quot;When this was investigated thoroughly the last time, the conclusion of the FBI, the conclusion of the Justice Department, the conclusion of repeated congressional investigations was that she had made some mistakes but that there wasn&#39;t anything there that was prosecutable,&quot; he said.

The FBI&#39;s investigation into Clinton&#39;s email use found no wrongdoing in July and Comey had recommended against bringing charges against Clinton.

Clinton&#39;s rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat&#39;s use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency.

On Sunday, the US Senate&#39;s top Democrat blasted the FBI chief for the probe&#39;s reopening, an action he says &quot;may have broken the law&quot;.

&quot;As soon as you came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible,&quot; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

&quot;Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law,&quot; Reid said, alleging that Comey had violated the Hatch Act, which bars the FBI from influencing elections.

Clinton said Comey&#39;s decision so close to the election was &quot;deeply troubling&quot; and demanded an explanation for the reopening of a probe he had said declared in July.

According to US media, the probe was renewed after agents seized a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, Clinton&#39;s close aide Huma Abedin&#39;s husband.

Comey is under pressure from both Trump and Clinton to end speculation before the elections.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll put the Democratic presidential candidate just one point ahead of her Republican challenger Donald Trump at 46-45 percent in a four-way race, AFP reported.

(With inputs from AFP)

Obama spoke for the first time since FBI chief Comey reopened investigation into Clinton's email use while she was in office

US President Barack Obama criticised FBI director James Comey over Hillary Clinton's email probe in an interview on Wednesday. Speaking for the first time since Comey's Friday announcement that the FBI was reopening the probe into Clinton's use of a private email server while still in office after the discovery of some new emails, Obama insisted that investigations should not be based on "innuendo" or "incomplete information". "I've made a very deliberate effort to make sure that I don't look like I'm meddling," Obama said, reported news agency AFP, before making his veiled criticism of Comey's handling of the affair without mentioning him by name. "I do think that there is a norm that when there are investigations we don't operate on innuendo, we don't operate on incomplete information, we don't operate on leaks." Comey has come under fire from Democrats after he announced a reopening of the probe into Clinton just days before the November 8 presidential election. Comey's announcement was a departure from Justice Department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations or to take actions close to elections that could influence the outcome, AFP said. "We operate based on concrete decisions that are made," Obama said. "When this was investigated thoroughly the last time, the conclusion of the FBI, the conclusion of the Justice Department, the conclusion of repeated congressional investigations was that she had made some mistakes but that there wasn't anything there that was prosecutable," he said. The FBI's investigation into Clinton's email use found no wrongdoing in July and Comey had recommended against bringing charges against Clinton. Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat's use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency. On Sunday, the US Senate's top Democrat blasted the FBI chief for the probe's reopening, an action he says "may have broken the law". "As soon as you came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement. "Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law," Reid said, alleging that Comey had violated the Hatch Act, which bars the FBI from influencing elections. Clinton said Comey's decision so close to the election was "deeply troubling" and demanded an explanation for the reopening of a probe he had said declared in July. According to US media, the probe was renewed after agents seized a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, Clinton's close aide Huma Abedin's husband. Comey is under pressure from both Trump and Clinton to end speculation before the elections. An ABC News/Washington Post poll put the Democratic presidential candidate just one point ahead of her Republican challenger Donald Trump at 46-45 percent in a four-way race, AFP reported. (With inputs from AFP)

Clinton email probe: FBI should not operate on 'innuendo', says Obama

News network CNN accepted interim Democratic Committee chairman Donna Brazile&#39;s resignation after leaked emails showed that she offered Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton&#39;s campaign information about presidential debate questions.

A hacked email published by WikiLeaks earlier in October suggested that she may have tipped off Clinton&#39;s advisers about a March CNN town-hall debate question about the death penalty, Reuters said.

The news network announced the political commentator&#39;s departure after a subsequent leaked email showed Brazile said she had access to &quot;questions in advance&quot; and offered to &quot;send a few more&quot;. CNN reported that Bazile offered her resignation on October 14.

CNN said in a statement that it was &quot;completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor.&quot;

Brazile had denied accusations that she passed on information about debate questions saying that &quot;as a longtime political activist&quot; she had shared her thoughts &quot;with each and every campaign, and any suggestions that indicate otherwise are simply untrue,&quot; CNN reported.

&ldquo;CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate,&rdquo; said CNN spokeswoman Lauren Pratapas in an email to The New York Post.

The Clinton campaign refused to comment &quot;on the authenticity of any individual emails that have been hacked by the Russian government&quot;.

Brazile&#39;s contract with CNN was suspended after she was appointed interim chairman in July. She posted several tweets after the news broke.

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN">@CNN</a>. Honored to be a Democratic Strategist and commentator on the network. Godspeed to all my former colleagues.
&mdash; Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) <a href="https://twitter.com/donnabrazile/status/793119360646643713">October 31, 2016</a></blockquote>

FBI director James Comey announced on Friday that the agency was reopening the probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state after the discovery of new emails.

(With inputs from Reuters)

WikiLeaks?published hacked emails that showed Brazile may have tipped off Clinton's campaign about a March CNN town-hall debate question

News network CNN accepted interim Democratic Committee chairman Donna Brazile's resignation after leaked emails showed that she offered Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign information about presidential debate questions. A hacked email published by WikiLeaks earlier in October suggested that she may have tipped off Clinton's advisers about a March CNN town-hall debate question about the death penalty, Reuters said. The news network announced the political commentator's departure after a subsequent leaked email showed Brazile said she had access to "questions in advance" and offered to "send a few more". CNN reported that Bazile offered her resignation on October 14. CNN said in a statement that it was "completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor." Brazile had denied accusations that she passed on information about debate questions saying that "as a longtime political activist" she had shared her thoughts "with each and every campaign, and any suggestions that indicate otherwise are simply untrue," CNN reported. “CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate,” said CNN spokeswoman Lauren Pratapas in an email to The New York Post. The Clinton campaign refused to comment "on the authenticity of any individual emails that have been hacked by the Russian government". Brazile's contract with CNN was suspended after she was appointed interim chairman in July. She posted several tweets after the news broke. Thank you @CNN. Honored to be a Democratic Strategist and commentator on the network. Godspeed to all my former colleagues. — Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) October 31, 2016 FBI director James Comey announced on Friday that the agency was reopening the probe into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state after the discovery of new emails. (With inputs from Reuters)

CNN accepts Brazile's resignation amid renewed WikiLeaks controversy

White House frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Friday challenged the FBI to defend its renewed probe into emails sent to her private account, declaring herself confident it would find no wrongdoing.

&nbsp;

The Democratic candidate, who is seeking to be elected America&#39;s first female president on November 8, launched a blistering fightback after the Federal Bureau of Investigation revived its probe, citing new evidence.

&nbsp;

&quot;We are 11 days out from, perhaps, the most important national election of our lifetime,&quot; &nbsp;Clinton told reporters, complaining that the FBI announcement posed more questions than answers.

&nbsp;

&quot;The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately,&quot; she said. &quot;We don&#39;t know the facts, which is why we are calling on the FBI to release all the information that it has.&quot;

&nbsp;

But her defiant words came after Republican rival Donald Trump had seized on the news, declaring Clinton unfit for office as a jubilant crowd of supporters in New Hampshire chanted: &quot;Lock her up!&quot;

&nbsp;

Concern that the renewed probe would damage Clinton&#39;s seemingly unstoppable momentum rocked the markets, with US stocks, the Dollar and oil prices tumbling lower on the prospect of a close vote.

&nbsp;

FBI Director James Comey dropped his bombshell in a letter to congressional committees investigating allegations that Clinton had put US secrets at risk during her time at the state department.

&nbsp;

Classified information&nbsp; 
In July, Comey told lawmakers the FBI had not found any criminal wrongdoing in Clinton&#39;s unusual decision to use a private server instead of a government email account while serving as secretary of state.

&nbsp;

But on Friday he wrote to congressional leaders to reveal that &quot;in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.&quot;

&nbsp;

The FBI will thus take &quot;appropriate investigative steps&quot; to decide whether the new batch of mails contains classified information &quot;as well as to assess their importance to the investigation,&quot; Comey wrote.

&nbsp;

Clinton&#39;s campaign was outraged&nbsp;and quick to imply that Comey&#39;s intervention could be politically-tinged because, in Clinton&#39;s words, the letter was only sent to &quot;Republican members of the House.&quot;

&nbsp;

&quot;We have not been contacted by anyone,&quot; she complained. &quot;The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately.&quot;

&nbsp;

Clinton noted that Comey had said he himself does not know whether the emails are significant or not.

&nbsp;

&quot;I&#39;m confident, whatever they are, they will not change the conclusion reached in July,&quot; she added.

&nbsp;

According to the New York Times, the newly discovered mails emerged after agents seized electronic devices used by Clinton&#39;s closest aide, Huma Abedin, and her husband, Anthony Weiner.

&nbsp;

Weiner, a former congressman who resigned in 2011 after he was exposed for sending explicit online messages, is under investigation over allegations he sent sexual messages to a 15-year-old girl.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

According to NBC News, the newly discovered emails were sent by Abedin to Clinton from a laptop used by Weiner, who also saw a bid to become mayor of New York founder over similar claims in 2013. &#39;Criminal scheme&#39;&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Trump, trailing in polls both nationally and in the swing states he must win to secure the White House, seized triumphantly on the news.

&quot;We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office,&quot; the 70-year-old billionaire told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire.

&quot;I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made,&quot; he added.

(AFP)

The Democratic presidential nominee called for disclosure of all facts by the FBI

White House frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Friday challenged the FBI to defend its renewed probe into emails sent to her private account, declaring herself confident it would find no wrongdoing. The Democratic candidate, who is seeking to be elected America's first female president on November 8, launched a blistering fightback after the Federal Bureau of Investigation revived its probe, citing new evidence. "We are 11 days out from, perhaps, the most important national election of our lifetime," Clinton told reporters, complaining that the FBI announcement posed more questions than answers. "The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," she said. "We don't know the facts, which is why we are calling on the FBI to release all the information that it has." But her defiant words came after Republican rival Donald Trump had seized on the news, declaring Clinton unfit for office as a jubilant crowd of supporters in New Hampshire chanted: "Lock her up!" Concern that the renewed probe would damage Clinton's seemingly unstoppable momentum rocked the markets, with US stocks, the Dollar and oil prices tumbling lower on the prospect of a close vote. FBI Director James Comey dropped his bombshell in a letter to congressional committees investigating allegations that Clinton had put US secrets at risk during her time at the state department. Classified information In July, Comey told lawmakers the FBI had not found any criminal wrongdoing in Clinton's unusual decision to use a private server instead of a government email account while serving as secretary of state. But on Friday he wrote to congressional leaders to reveal that "in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation." The FBI will thus take "appropriate investigative steps" to decide whether the new batch of mails contains classified information "as well as to assess their importance to the investigation," Comey wrote. Clinton's campaign was outraged and quick to imply that Comey's intervention could be politically-tinged because, in Clinton's words, the letter was only sent to "Republican members of the House." "We have not been contacted by anyone," she complained. "The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately." Clinton noted that Comey had said he himself does not know whether the emails are significant or not. "I'm confident, whatever they are, they will not change the conclusion reached in July," she added. According to the New York Times, the newly discovered mails emerged after agents seized electronic devices used by Clinton's closest aide, Huma Abedin, and her husband, Anthony Weiner. Weiner, a former congressman who resigned in 2011 after he was exposed for sending explicit online messages, is under investigation over allegations he sent sexual messages to a 15-year-old girl. According to NBC News, the newly discovered emails were sent by Abedin to Clinton from a laptop used by Weiner, who also saw a bid to become mayor of New York founder over similar claims in 2013. 'Criminal scheme' Meanwhile, Trump, trailing in polls both nationally and in the swing states he must win to secure the White House, seized triumphantly on the news. "We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office," the 70-year-old billionaire told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. "I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made," he added. (AFP)

Clinton email probe: Hillary hits back at FBI, confident it would find no wrongdoing

Th Federal Bureau of Investigation reopened the probe into US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while secretary of state after discovering new emails &quot;that appear to be pertinent&quot;.

With just 11 days to go until the November 8 presidential elections, FBI director James Comey said would take &quot;appropriate investigative steps&quot; to decide whether a new batch of mails contained classified information &quot;as well as to assess their importance to the investigation&quot;, news agency AFP reported.

Clinton&#39;s rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat&#39;s use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency.

&quot;We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office,&quot; Trump told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, reported AFP.

Clinton&#39;s vice-presidential running mate Tim Kaine told reporters,&quot;I&#39;ve got to read more. I&#39;ve got to read a little more.&quot;

Comey intimated the decision to reopen the probe to the congressional committee investigating allegations against Clinton in a letter. FBI&#39;s earlier investigations into Clinton&#39;s decision to use a private email server instead of a government email while in office revealed no wrongdoing.

However, Comey said that &quot;in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,&quot; AFP reported.

There was no immediate reaction from the Clinton campaign.

(With inputs from AFP)

Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare the Democratic candidate unfit for office

Th Federal Bureau of Investigation reopened the probe into US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state after discovering new emails "that appear to be pertinent". With just 11 days to go until the November 8 presidential elections, FBI director James Comey said would take "appropriate investigative steps" to decide whether a new batch of mails contained classified information "as well as to assess their importance to the investigation", news agency AFP reported. Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat's use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency. "We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office," Trump told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, reported AFP. Clinton's vice-presidential running mate Tim Kaine told reporters,"I've got to read more. I've got to read a little more." Comey intimated the decision to reopen the probe to the congressional committee investigating allegations against Clinton in a letter. FBI's earlier investigations into Clinton's decision to use a private email server instead of a government email while in office revealed no wrongdoing. However, Comey said that "in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation," AFP reported. There was no immediate reaction from the Clinton campaign. (With inputs from AFP)

Clinton email probe: FBI reopens case after discovering new emails

A judge ordered the State Department on Monday to review and determine the potential release of 14,900 documents, most of which are believed to be emails to or from Hillary Clinton, that turned up in an FBI investigation of her use of a private email server as secretary of state. 
 
The documents are part of a cache that the FBI turned over to the State Department at the end of its probe into Clinton&#39;s use of the server. 
 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation found Clinton was &quot;extremely careless&quot; with sensitive information by using the private server but recommended against bringing charges against Clinton. She has been dogged by questions about the issue throughout her run for the White House. 
 
The State Department could make public the first batch of emails in October, weeks before the Democratic nominee faces Republican rival Donald Trump in the November 8 election. State Department employees are due to craft a timeline for the release at a meeting on September 23. 
 
The revelation of more emails after 55,000 pages of emails were turned over by Clinton last year could provide continued fodder for opponents who have seized on the email issue to charge she is untrustworthy. 
 
The announcement by US district court judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing a group of lawsuits seeking to make Clinton&#39;s emails public, came the same day a conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, made public a batch of Clinton&#39;s emails obtained through a lawsuit. 
 
Judicial Watch says that the emails show donors to the Clinton family&#39;s charitable foundation seeking the access to her during the period she was secretary of state from 2009-2013. 
 
The 14,900 documents referred to by Boasberg are believed to include emails that were not included among the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton previously turned over to the State Department after her use of a private email server and private email account became public last year. 
 
The new documents are believed to consist chiefly of emails to or from Clinton, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, and may include a mix of personal and work emails. Some of the emails were found on the servers of people she or her staff were communicating with. 
 
Clinton, who is currently leading Trump in opinion polls ahead of the election, has said she did not compromise classified information and used a private server for convenience, and later apologized, saying &quot;I take responsibility.&quot; 
 
&#39;Trying to pin it on me&#39; 
 
Meanwhile, former secretary of state Colin Powell over the weekend dismissed reports that Clinton told federal investigators that it was at his suggestion that she used a personal email account, according to a media report. 
 
Powell, who served as the nation&#39;s top diplomat from 2001-2005 under Republican president George W Bush, told People magazine that while he did send Clinton a memo about his own email practices, Clinton had already chosen to use personal email rather than a government account while she had the job. 
 
&quot;Her people have been trying to pin it on me. The truth is, she was using (the private email server) for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did,&quot; Powell told People on Saturday. 
 
Last week, The New York Times reported that Clinton told federal investigators that Powell had suggested she use personal email for unclassified email when the two spoke over dinner. The conversation occurred &quot;in the early months&quot; of Clinton&#39;s tenure at the State Department, the Times said, citing a forthcoming book by journalist Joe Conason that first reported the dinner exchange. 
 
Representatives for Powell, in a separate statement to NBC news, said he had no recollection of the conversation with Clinton but did write to her. 
 
&quot;He did write former secretary Clinton an email memo describing his use of his personal AOL email account for unclassified messages and how it vastly improved communications within the State Department,&quot; his office told NBC on Friday. 
 
The email exchange occurred in 2009, according to the Times. 
 
Powell and aides to his successor as secretary of state in the Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice, received some classified information via personal email accounts, Reuters has reported. Clinton&#39;s additional use of a personal computer server at her home, however, broke State Department rules, an internal watchdog found. 
 
The FBI last week turned over a number of documents to the US Congress related to its probe into the emails, but this has riled both Democrats and Republicans. 
 
Democrats have expressed concern over the potential for politically motivated leaks by Republicans to target Clinton less than three months before the election. 
 
Republican US House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz told MSNBC yesterday the documents lawmakers received &quot;are overly redacted&quot; and that they are asking for another version with more of the missing information so they can be made public as soon as possible. 
 
(Reuters)

These documents were apparently not included among the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton had previously submitted for investigation

A judge ordered the State Department on Monday to review and determine the potential release of 14,900 documents, most of which are believed to be emails to or from Hillary Clinton, that turned up in an FBI investigation of her use of a private email server as secretary of state. The documents are part of a cache that the FBI turned over to the State Department at the end of its probe into Clinton's use of the server. The Federal Bureau of Investigation found Clinton was "extremely careless" with sensitive information by using the private server but recommended against bringing charges against Clinton. She has been dogged by questions about the issue throughout her run for the White House. The State Department could make public the first batch of emails in October, weeks before the Democratic nominee faces Republican rival Donald Trump in the November 8 election. State Department employees are due to craft a timeline for the release at a meeting on September 23. The revelation of more emails after 55,000 pages of emails were turned over by Clinton last year could provide continued fodder for opponents who have seized on the email issue to charge she is untrustworthy. The announcement by US district court judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing a group of lawsuits seeking to make Clinton's emails public, came the same day a conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, made public a batch of Clinton's emails obtained through a lawsuit. Judicial Watch says that the emails show donors to the Clinton family's charitable foundation seeking the access to her during the period she was secretary of state from 2009-2013. The 14,900 documents referred to by Boasberg are believed to include emails that were not included among the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton previously turned over to the State Department after her use of a private email server and private email account became public last year. The new documents are believed to consist chiefly of emails to or from Clinton, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, and may include a mix of personal and work emails. Some of the emails were found on the servers of people she or her staff were communicating with. Clinton, who is currently leading Trump in opinion polls ahead of the election, has said she did not compromise classified information and used a private server for convenience, and later apologized, saying "I take responsibility." 'Trying to pin it on me' Meanwhile, former secretary of state Colin Powell over the weekend dismissed reports that Clinton told federal investigators that it was at his suggestion that she used a personal email account, according to a media report. Powell, who served as the nation's top diplomat from 2001-2005 under Republican president George W Bush, told People magazine that while he did send Clinton a memo about his own email practices, Clinton had already chosen to use personal email rather than a government account while she had the job. "Her people have been trying to pin it on me. The truth is, she was using (the private email server) for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did," Powell told People on Saturday. Last week, The New York Times reported that Clinton told federal investigators that Powell had suggested she use personal email for unclassified email when the two spoke over dinner. The conversation occurred "in the early months" of Clinton's tenure at the State Department, the Times said, citing a forthcoming book by journalist Joe Conason that first reported the dinner exchange. Representatives for Powell, in a separate statement to NBC news, said he had no recollection of the conversation with Clinton but did write to her. "He did write former secretary Clinton an email memo describing his use of his personal AOL email account for unclassified messages and how it vastly improved communications within the State Department," his office told NBC on Friday. The email exchange occurred in 2009, according to the Times. Powell and aides to his successor as secretary of state in the Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice, received some classified information via personal email accounts, Reuters has reported. Clinton's additional use of a personal computer server at her home, however, broke State Department rules, an internal watchdog found. The FBI last week turned over a number of documents to the US Congress related to its probe into the emails, but this has riled both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats have expressed concern over the potential for politically motivated leaks by Republicans to target Clinton less than three months before the election. Republican US House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz told MSNBC yesterday the documents lawmakers received "are overly redacted" and that they are asking for another version with more of the missing information so they can be made public as soon as possible. (Reuters)

Judge asks State Department to review new Clinton emails

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