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<\/a>Mr Comey has come under fire from Democrats over the move<\/p><\/div>\n
The Democratic leader in the US Senate says the head of the FBI may have broken the law by revealing the bureau was investigating emails possibly linked to Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n
Harry Reid accused FBI director James Comey of violating an act which bars officials from influencing an election.<\/p>\n
News of the FBI inquiry comes less than two weeks before the US election.<\/p>\n
The bureau has meanwhile obtained a warrant to search a cache of emails belonging to a top Clinton aide.<\/p>\n
Emails from Huma Abedin are believed to have been found on the laptop of her estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner.<\/p>\n
There are reportedly 650,000 emails to search through on the laptop, making it unlikely investigators can give a verdict on them before election day.<\/p>\n
Mr Reid also accused Mr Comey of withholding “explosive information about close ties between [Republican candidate] Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government”.<\/p>\n
“The public has a right to know about this information. I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public,” Mr Reid said.<\/p>\n
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- Clinton FBI probe: What we know<\/a><\/li>\n
- Could FBI inquiry swing the election?<\/a><\/li>\n
- How damaging is this for Clinton?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Can Trump pull off a Brexit-style upset?<\/a><\/li>\n
- FBI’s Comey: Man in the firing line<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The FBI believes the emails might be “pertinent” to its previous inquiry into Mrs Clinton’s use of a private server when she was secretary of state in the Obama administration.<\/p>\n
The case was closed in July without any charges being brought against Mrs Clinton.<\/p>\n
Mr Weiner is subject to a separate investigation on suspicion of sending sexually explicit messages to an underage girl.<\/p>\n
‘Partisan actions’<\/h2>\n
In a letter,<\/a> Mr Reid accused Mr Comey of practising double standards with the intention of helping one political party over another.<\/p>\n
He said Mr Comey may have violated the Hatch Act, which bars officials from using their position to influence an election.<\/p>\n
“Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law,” he said.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nRichard Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007, revealed on Sunday he had filed a complaint against the FBI with the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act violations.<\/p>\n
- Could FBI inquiry swing the election?<\/a><\/li>\n