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The FBI has re-opened its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails with just days to go until the US election.

In a letter to members of Congress, the agency's director James Comey revealed new messages have been found that are "pertinent to the investigation".

In July, FBI officials had recommended that no charges should be brought over the controversy which centres around Ms Clinton's use of a private email server to exchange messages with staff and other officials.

Her use of a private email server led many to think she was hiding secret information and putting the nation’s security at risk however she did not face a trial over the allegations.

(Image: REUTERS)

Officials say the emails were discovered after the FBI seized devices belonging to Clinton campaign aide Huma Abedin and her husband Anthony Weiner.

He is being investigated after allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.

The White House has said it first learned of the decision to re-open the probe in the media – but that President Obama's view of Ms Clinton has not changed as a candidate.

Her campaign chief John Podesta said the announcement's timing was “extraordinary” less than two weeks before the election.

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He continued: “FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee.

"Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is ‘reopening’ an investigation but Comey’s words do not match that characterization.

"Director Comey’s letter refers to emails that have come to light in an unrelated case, but we have no idea what those emails are and the Director himself notes they may not even be significant.”

Her rival Donald Trump was quick to react to the announcement saying the decision not to lay charges over the emails was a "grave miscarriage of justice" and added: "Perhaps justice will finally be done."

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He said: "Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.

"I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made.

"This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood and it is everybody’s hope that it is about to be corrected.”

(Image: @BraddJaffy)

Addressing cheering crowds at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, he then joked about whether he should continue his speech at all.

He said: "With that being said, the rest of my speech is going to be so boring. Should I even make the speech?"

During the speech he also said the email controversy was "bigger than Watergate" – the 1970s political scandal over a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that led to the resignation of then-president Richard Nixon.

In his letter to Congress, Mr Comey wrote: "In previous congressional testimony, I referred to the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton's personal email server.

(Image: Yuri Gripasyuri/AFP/Getty Images)

"Due to recent developments, I am writing to supplement my previous testimony.

"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.

"I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation."

But the new revelations have sparked anger among some members of the Democratic Party who claim Mr Comey has not given enough specifics despite making such a significant announcement just 10 days before Americans head to the polls.

Ms Clinton has repeatedly clashed with Donald Trump over the issue, with the Democratic candidate admitting during the first presidential debate that she had made a mistake by using the system during her time as US secretary of state.

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She landed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a campaign stop just minutes after the FBI announcement but has so far not made any comment.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said the letter raises "serious questions" and called for Ms Clinton to be removed from the presidential race.

He added: "The FBI's decision to reopen their criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's secret email server just eleven days before the election shows how serious this discovery must be.

"This stunning development raises serious questions about what records may not have been turned over and why, and whether they show intent to violate the law.

"What's indisputable is that Hillary Clinton jeopardized classified information on thousands of occasions in her reckless attempt to hide pay-to-play corruption at her State Department.

"This alone should be disqualifying for anyone seeking the presidency, a job that is supposed to begin each morning with a top secret intelligence briefing."

Bookmakers Betfair have also increased Trump's odds of winning the US election from 17% to 23%.

While campaigning in Pennsylvania, his vice presidential candidate Mike Pence urged the FBI to "immediately release all the emails" so they can be seen by the American people before election day.