FBI director James Comey has told Congress the bureau is reopening its inquiry into Hillary Clinton's emails.
Mr Comey said investigators would determine whether the emails contain classified information.
The FBI has already found the Democratic candidate had sensitive information on a private email server.
Mr Comey had previously called Mrs Clinton's handling of classified material during her time as secretary of state "extremely careless", but cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing.
The FBI chief said in his letter to Congress he "cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work".
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How big is this? Anthony Zurcher, News V, Washington
It could be nothing. It could be everything. And it almost certainly won't be resolved before Americans head to the polls in just under two weeks.
The letter from Mr Comey to Congress is frustratingly vague. There's no information on what the "unrelated case" is that led to a re-opening of its investigation into Mrs Clinton's server, for instance, or how many emails are in question. That will only fuel the rampant speculation already breaking out, with leaks from "government sources" in the coming days sure to fan the flames.
Mrs Clinton's critics will go on the attack, using the latest news to support their claims that the former secretary of state engaged in malfeasance. Her supporters will spend the next few days in a defensive crouch, trying to assess how bad the damage could be
What's certain, however, is that whether this turns out to be a big deal or not, it places the spotlight on all the wrong places for the Clinton campaign. It all but guarantees that even if she wins White House, the early days of her presidency will be dogged by this long-running political imbroglio.
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