Email Probe Makes Contentious US Presidential Campaign More Volatile

WASHINGTON —  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday called the timing of the FBI's announcement that it was assessing new evidence in her email case "unprecedented" and "deeply troubling."
At a campaign appearance in Daytona Beach, Florida, Clinton told her audience, "It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information, right before an election."
FBI Director James Comey said in a letter to lawmakers Friday that new emails had surfaced that were related to Clinton's case, despite an FBI tradition of avoiding controversial actions in the days leading up to an election.
In a letter to FBI employees later Friday, Comey said, "Of course we don't ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations," but he felt the need to because he had testified repeatedly about the investigation. "I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record."
He said in trying to strike that balance, and considering "we don't know the significance" of the newly found emails, "there is significant risk of being misunderstood" by releasing a letter "in the middle of an election season."

WATCH: Democrat Clinton: Timing of FBI email probe 'strange'

Speaking to a friendly audience Saturday, Clinton said, "My mother taught me to never, ever quit." Later in her speech, she added, "We can't let this election, in the last 10 days, be about the noise and the distractions. It's got to be about what kind of country we want for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren."
Donna Brazile, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee and a close Clinton ally, told The New York Times on Saturday, “This is like an 18-wheeler smacking into us, and it just becomes a huge distraction at the worst possible time.”
Earlier Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called the latest wrinkle in the Clinton case "the lowest point in the history of our country."
Trump spoke at a campaign event in the swing state of Colorado, telling supporters, "A vote for Hillary is a vote to surrender our government." He vowed that on Election Day, November 8, "we're going to change things."
Comey's announcement that authorities were again looking into Clinton's email practices sparked criticism that his agency was intervening in the U.S. presidential race.