Clinton`s email: FBI chief may have broken the law

Senior members of the Democratic Party have said FBI director James Comey might have broken the law after he called for a probe into emails potentially tied to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just days before the US election.

Comey set off a political firestorm late last week after announcing that the FBI would  investigate newly discovered emails  related to Clinton.
The emails, belonging to Clinton's closest aide, Huma Abedin, came to light during an investigation of her estranged husband, disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner.

The FBI found the emails on computers it seized during an investigation into lewd messages Weiner is accused of sending to an underaged girl.

Nevada Democrat Harry Reid  wrote a stinging letter to Comey on Sunday suggesting he may have broken the Hatch Act by informing Congress of the new emails. The Hatch Act prohibits FBI staff from using their position to influence an election.

"Your actions in recent months have demonstrated a disturbing double standard... with what appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another," Reid said, adding that through Comey's "partisan actions, you may have broken the law."