AP Photo Trump accuses Clinton of politicizing FBI investigation

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — Donald Trump said Hillary Clinton attempted to "politicize" the FBI’s decision to revisit its investigation into her use of a private email server at a rally here on Friday night.

"Clinton tried to politicize this investigation by attacking and falsely accusing the FBI of only sending the letter to Republicans," said Trump at his third and final rally of the day.


Trump was referring to a press conference Clinton held earlier on Friday in response to the news that the FBI had discovered emails “pertinent” to its closed investigation of Clinton’s use of a private server for handling government business. At the press conference, Clinton described FBI Director James Comey’s letter informing lawmakers of the discovery as being “sent to Republican members of the House.” Comey addressed the letter to Republican committee chairs and cc’d Democratic ranking members.

In recent weeks, Trump has railed against the FBI and the Justice Department as puppets of the Clintons over Comey’s decision to not issue any indictments related to the private email server. In response to that decision, Trump tweeted in July, “The system is rigged. General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment.”

Trump reassessed on Friday evening. “I’ve been saying it for a long time but you know what happened today starting with the FBI – maybe the system will become a little less rigged,” he said at the outdoor rally, which concluded with a fireworks show.