WARREN, MICHIGAN (REUTERS) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hammered his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Monday (Oct 31) as a threat to the country, saying that electing her while the FBI was investigating material possibly related to her e-mail set-up could throw the country into crisis.
"The investigation will last for years," Mr Trump told a rally in Warren, Michigan. "Nothing will get done and our country will continue to suffer."
Mr Trump, a wealthy New York businessman, said electing Mrs Clinton on Nov 8 would leave the country "in a constitutional crisis that we cannot afford". He added: "Hillary's corruption is a threat to democracy."
Little is publicly known yet about the e-mails being investigated, other than that they were found during an unrelated probe into the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide.
FBI director James Comey told members of Congress on Friday the agency was probing more e-mails that might relate to Mrs Clinton's use of a private e-mail server, but added "we don't know the significance of this newly discovered collection of e-mails".
Mr Trump has seized on the news to press his longstanding charge that Mrs Clinton lacks integrity, hoping he can make an improbable late comeback and win the White House.
Opinion polls have shown Mrs Clinton's lead over Mr Trump was narrowing slightly since early last week. It is not yet known if the e-mail controversy will hurt her support. Millions of Americans have already cast their ballot in early voting.
Mrs Clinton held a five percentage point lead over her Republican rival, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday, down only slightly since the FBI said last week it was reviewing new e-mails in its investigation of the former secretary of state.
Some 44 per cent of likely voters said they would support Mrs Clinton, while 39 per cent said they would support Mr Trump, according to the Oct 26-30 survey. Mrs Clinton had held a six-point advantage over Mr Trump in the five-day tracking poll last Thursday.
