The Clinton campaign has blasted FBI Director James Comey for “blatant double standards” over the new inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s email use.
The comments came after US media reports that Mr Comey had urged against publicly accusing Russia of interfering in the US election, including alleged email hacking.
Mr Comey’s concern about releasing the information was due to the proximity to the election, reports say.
The FBI declined to comment to the BBC.
The statement that Mr Comey reportedly declined to sign off on was released by the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on 7 October.
“The US intelligence community is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organisations… these thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process,” it said.
Mr Comey agreed with the statement but was against making it public before the election, according to US media.
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