The Russian spy who had been living undercover in New Jersey before her ring was broken up by the FBI in 2010 had been trying to gain access to Bill and Hillary Clinton, a report on previously sealed federal documents says.

Lydia Guryev, who went by the alias Cynthia Murphy while living with her husband and children in Montclair, took an accounting job with a high-profile Democratic Party donor in an effort to gain access to the Clintons and gather information about the State Department, according to the report by The Hill. At the time, Hillary was serving as secretary of state.

The Hill reports neither the unearthed FBI documents nor sources close to the investigation indicated any illegal activity by the Americans being targeted. But, they did indicate Guryev had transmitted messages back to Russia indicating that she had gained access to a major Democrat.

A retired FBI executive told The Hill the agency was concerned that Guryev was getting too close to posing a security threat for Clinton, prompting the agency to arrest Guryev and the entire ten-member Russian spy cell it had been investigating.

The arrests in 2010 sent shock waves through the suburban New Jersey community where the Guryev lived, appearing to be a normal American family.

The house, which remained empty after the Murphy were arrested and deported, was renovated this summer in an effort to put it back on the market.

A Clinton spokesman reportedly called the focus on the new spy information a partisan attempt to distract people from the Russian controversies of the Donald Trump administration.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.