Three weeks from the Democratic National Convention as most Americans are jamming airports, firing up the grill or looking forward to Fourth of July fireworks, Hillary Clinton was at FBI headquarters -- for a full three and a half hours -- answering questions about her use of a private email server for official business as secretary of state.

Though not unexpected, that news broke in the context of a fresh political storm. In a stunning act of bravado, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, met privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch aboard her plane Monday while both were on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Clinton's long-awaited questioning by the FBI Saturday signaled that the agency is wrapping up its probe into whether she or her staff did anything illegal by setting up a private email server while running American foreign policy. Sources tell CNN the expectation is Clinton will not face charges.

But when paired with Bill Clinton's apparent misstep -- meeting with Lynch at a time when his wife is under investigation -- the two events once again fuel the narrative that the Clintons operate under different rules than the rest of the political world. The stakes of the next several weeks before Democrats officially make Clinton their nominee are much higher now.

Republicans pounce

And Republicans, who have spent weeks grappling with the drama kicked up by their own presumptive nominee Donald Trump, are ready to pounce.

Trump on Sunday said there's no innocent explanation for the airport tarmac meeting between Bill Clinton and Lynch.

"Only a fool would believe that the meeting between Bill Clinton and the U.S.A.G. was not arranged or that Crooked Hillary did not know."

Only a fool would believe that the meeting between Bill Clinton and the U.S.A.G. was not arranged or that Crooked Hillary did not know. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2016

He quickly added, "Crooked Hillary Clinton knew that her husband wanted to meet with the U.S.A.G. to work out a deal. The system is totally rigged & corrupt!" Trump tweeted.

Crooked Hillary Clinton knew that her husband wanted to meet with the U.S.A.G. to work out a deal. The system is totally rigged & corrupt! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2016

That followed his call Saturday for criminal charges against Clinton.

"It is impossible for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton," Trump tweeted Saturday. "What she did was wrong! What Bill did was stupid!"

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus also blasted the Clintons in a statement issued around the same time.

"The American people need to have confidence that the Obama Justice Department is conducting a fair and impartial investigation, but when the attorney general meets secretly with Bill Clinton just days before Hillary's interrogation is conducted discreetly over a holiday weekend, it raises serious concerns about special treatment," Priebus said.

Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Hillary Clinton answers questions from reporters March 10, 2015 at the United Nations in New York. Clinton admitted that she made a mistake in choosing, for convenience, not to use an official email account when she was secretary of state. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years The Democratic 2016 candidate is pictured here speaking to the press about a new initiative between the Clinton Foundation, the U.N. Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York City on December 15, 2014. The Clinton Foundation confirmed on May 21, 2015, that it received as much as $26.4 million in previously unreported payments from foreign governments and corporations for paid speeches by the Clintons. It's the latest in a string of admissions from the foundation that it didn't always abide by a 2008 ethics agreement to disclose its funding sources publicly. According to foundation officials, the income -- at least $12 million and as much as more than twice that -- was not disclosed publicly because it was considered and tallied for tax purposes as revenue, rather than donations. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers questioned the former secretary of state about the security failures during the September 11, 2012 attacks against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years The Clintons at a celebration of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act of 2000 at the White House on January 4, 2001. Weeks later, on his final day in office, Bill Clinton would pardon an unusually large number of people including fugitive Marc Rich, a move that was dubbed "Pardongate." Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years On February 12, 1999, the United States Senate voted on two articles of impeachment and acquitted former President Clinton. He was impeached by the House for perjury and obstruction of justice, related to statements he gave regarding his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Former President Clinton stands to the side as he waits to be introduced at an event at the White House on October 8, 1998. Later that afternoon, the Republican House majority adopted a motion to launch an impeachment inquiry into Clinton's presidency. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Former President Clinton listens to Hillary during an education event at the White House on January 26, 1998. During the event, Clinton made a statement about his alleged affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The President vehemently denied the allegations, saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky, I never told anybody to lie, not a single time." Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years On February 25, 1997, the Clinton administration released the names of 800-plus people who stayed overnight in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. Bill Clinton defended the practice of inviting friends and supporters to stay overnight. The White House also released several hundred pages of documents, such as this one. with his handwritten notes from Clinton enthusiastically supporting the idea. President Bill Clinton's guests in the Lincoln Bedroom gave a total of at least $5.4 million to the Democratic National Committee during 1995 and 1996, according to a study for CNN by the Campaign Study Group. Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years The Clintons opened the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta on July 20, 1996. A few months earlier, Hillary Clinton made a trip to Bosnia as first lady, and said she landed in the war-torn country under sniper fire. Years later, she was criticized by the Obama campaign for exaggerating her account of that trip. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years Hillary Clinton arrives to testify before a federal grand jury in connection with the failed Whitewater land deal in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1996. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years This image of White House intern Monica Lewinsky standing beside President Bill Clinton at a White House function on November 17, 1995 was used as evidence in Kenneth Starr's investigation into allegations of an inappropriate relationship between the intern and Clinton. Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years The women involved in the sex scandals: Paula Jones, left, who in 1994 accused former President Clinton of sexual harassment; Monica Lewinsky, center, the former White House intern with whom former President Clinton admitted to having an "inappropriate relationship" and Gennifer Flowers, right, who claimed in 1992 to be then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton's lover. Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: Clinton scandals through the years President Bill Clinton speaks to a group of business leaders from the East Room of the White House on February 11, 1993. Months later, seven White House staffers were fired in a Clinton scandal dubbed "travelgate." Two years later, a Republican-led House committee approved a report concluding that the Clintons condoned the firing of staffers on the urging of Hollywood producer and big-time Clinton donor, Harry Thomason.

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At a time when she must sharpen her arguments against Trump as unfit for the Oval Office, Americans were once again reminded of Clinton's greatest political liability: questions about character and honesty that swirled around her and her husband during two terms in the White House in the 1990s and have endured to this day.

The events of the last week also reminded voters of the Clintons' apparent Achilles heel -- a tendency to steer into self-inflicted political squalls that blow up just at the moment they seem to be heading into clear political waters.

The timing seemed especially unfortunate for the Clinton campaign given that the presumptive Democratic nominee seemed to be gaining her footing after a long and bruising primary battle with Bernie Sanders. In recent weeks, Clinton has reveled in the unforced errors of Trump's campaign while expanding her lead over the real estate magnate in national polls.

Clinton's campaign offered few details about her visit to FBI headquarters Saturday, but hastened to note that the meeting about her "email arrangements" was voluntary.

Still, it thrust her potentially precarious legal position back into the news at a time when Trump has been building his case against her on character -- calling her "Crooked Hillary" and claiming that she should be thrown in jail because of her use of a private server.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump stirred his own controversy by tweeting "Crooked Hillary -- makes History" with an image of her face surrounded by money and a six-pointed star that for some evoked the Star of David imprinted with the words "most corrupt candidate ever." After a burst of outrage on Twitter , the tweet was deleted and replaced with a similar missive where message "most corrupt candidate ever" appeared in a red circle, rather than a six-pointed star.

Historically low approval

On a day when the most of the political world was checked out, Clinton's FBI visit and Trump's Twitter blunder were a reminder that the 2016 election pairs up two candidates with historically low personal approval ratings, who sometimes seem as likely to hamper their own campaigns as damage their rival.

The potential political damage of the FBI probe of Clinton -- and the extent to which Trump may use it against her -- will depend to a great extent on how quickly the FBI wraps up its investigation into email practices and what its findings are. Sources familiar with the investigation have previously told CNN the Justice Department's aim was to wrap up before the Republican and Democratic conventions this month.

While many Democrats hope that's the case, the week's events brought a renewed focus on Bill Clinton, and the question of whether he ultimately becomes a liability to her campaign.

The former President has been a far more disciplined and scripted campaigner for his wife this cycle than he was in 2008. Notably, he has studiously avoided responding to Trump's provocations about his impeachment, his past conduct with women and his marriage. Apart from a few run-ins with Sanders supporters and hecklers, the 42nd President has avoided the red-faced rages and political meddling that were a distraction for his wife's previous presidential campaign.

He had largely repaired his relationship with the Obama administration after their tough combat on the campaign trail eight years ago -- and won the admiration and gratitude of President Barack Obama for his role as "explainer-in-chief" during the 2012 re-election campaign. But he put the administration in a very difficult spot this week by popping on to Lynch's plane to talk, she said, mostly about golf and grandchildren.

Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 28, 2016. The former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state was the first woman to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. Hide Caption 1 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Before marrying Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here she attends Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her commencement speech at Wellesley's graduation ceremony in 1969 attracted national attention. After graduating, she attended Yale Law School. Hide Caption 2 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Rodham was a lawyer on the House Judiciary Committee, whose work led to impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in 1974. Hide Caption 3 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight In 1975, Rodham married Bill Clinton, whom she met at Yale Law School. He became the governor of Arkansas in 1978. In 1980, the couple had a daughter, Chelsea. Hide Caption 4 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Arkansas' first lady, now using the name Hillary Rodham Clinton, wears her inaugural ball gown in 1985. Hide Caption 5 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The Clintons celebrate Bill's inauguration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1991. He was governor from 1983 to 1992, when he was elected President. Hide Caption 6 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Bill Clinton comforts his wife on the set of "60 Minutes" after a stage light broke loose from the ceiling and knocked her down in January 1992. Hide Caption 7 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight In June 1992, Clinton uses a sewing machine designed to eliminate back and wrist strain. She had just given a speech at a convention of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. Hide Caption 8 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight During the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton jokes with her husband's running mate, Al Gore, and Gore's wife, Tipper, aboard a campaign bus. Hide Caption 9 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton accompanies her husband as he takes the oath of office in January 1993. Hide Caption 10 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The Clintons share a laugh on Capitol Hill in 1993. Hide Caption 11 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton unveils the renovated Blue Room of the White House in 1995. Hide Caption 12 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton waves to the media in January 1996 as she arrives for an appearance before a grand jury in Washington. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. The Clintons' business investment was investigated, but ultimately they were cleared of any wrongdoing. Hide Caption 13 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The Clintons hug as Bill is sworn in for a second term as President. Hide Caption 14 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The first lady holds up a Grammy Award, which she won for her audiobook "It Takes a Village" in 1997. Hide Caption 15 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The Clintons dance on a beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 1998. Later that month, Bill Clinton was accused of having a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Hide Caption 16 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton looks on as her husband discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 26, 1998. Clinton declared, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." In August of that year, Clinton testified before a grand jury and admitted to having "inappropriate intimate contact" with Lewinsky, but he said it did not constitute sexual relations because they had not had intercourse. He was impeached in December on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Hide Caption 17 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The first family walks with their dog, Buddy, as they leave the White House for a vacation in August 1998. Hide Caption 18 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight President Clinton makes a statement at the White House in December 1998, thanking members of Congress who voted against his impeachment. The Senate trial ended with an acquittal in February 1999. Hide Caption 19 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton announces in February 2000 that she will seek the U.S. Senate seat in New York. She was elected later that year. Hide Caption 20 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton makes her first appearance on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Hide Caption 21 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Sen. Clinton comforts Maren Sarkarat, a woman who lost her husband in the September 11 terrorist attacks, during a ground-zero memorial in October 2001. Hide Caption 22 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton holds up her book "Living History" before a signing in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in 2003. Hide Caption 23 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton and another presidential hopeful, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, applaud at the start of a Democratic debate in 2007. Hide Caption 24 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a rally in Unity, New Hampshire, in June 2008. She had recently ended her presidential campaign and endorsed Obama. Hide Caption 25 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Obama is flanked by Clinton and Vice President-elect Joe Biden at a news conference in Chicago in December 2008. He had designated Clinton to be his secretary of state. Hide Caption 26 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton, as secretary of state, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a meeting just outside Moscow in March 2010. Hide Caption 27 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight The Clintons pose on the day of Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in July 2010. Hide Caption 28 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight In this photo provided by the White House, Obama, Clinton, Biden and other members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in May 2011. Hide Caption 29 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton checks her Blackberry inside a military plane after leaving Malta in October 2011. In 2015, The New York Times reported that Clinton exclusively used a personal email account during her time as secretary of state. The account, fed through its own server, raises security and preservation concerns. Clinton later said she used a private domain out of "convenience," but admits in retrospect "it would have been better" to use multiple emails. Hide Caption 30 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton arrives for a group photo before a forum with the Gulf Cooperation Council in March 2012. The forum was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hide Caption 31 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Obama and Clinton bow during the transfer-of-remains ceremony marking the return of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who were killed in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012. Hide Caption 32 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton ducks after a woman threw a shoe at her while she was delivering remarks at a recycling trade conference in Las Vegas in 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton, now running for President again, performs with Jimmy Fallon during a "Tonight Show" skit in September 2015. Hide Caption 34 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton testifies about the Benghazi attack during a House committee meeting in October 2015. "I would imagine I have thought more about what happened than all of you put together," she said during the 11-hour hearing. "I have lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been wracking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done." Months earlier, Clinton had acknowledged a "systemic breakdown" as cited by an Accountability Review Board, and she said that her department was taking additional steps to increase security at U.S. diplomatic facilities. Hide Caption 35 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders shares a lighthearted moment with Clinton during a Democratic presidential debate in October 2015. It came after Sanders gave his take on the Clinton email scandal. "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails," Sanders said. "Enough of the emails. Let's talk about the real issues facing the United States of America." Hide Caption 36 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton is reflected in a teleprompter during a campaign rally in Alexandria, Virginia, in October 2015. Hide Caption 37 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton walks on her stage with her family after winning the New York primary in April. Hide Caption 38 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight After Clinton became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, this photo was posted to her official Twitter account. "To every little girl who dreams big: Yes, you can be anything you want -- even president," Clinton said. "Tonight is for you." Hide Caption 39 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Obama hugs Clinton after he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The president said Clinton was ready to be commander in chief. "For four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline," he said, referring to her stint as his secretary of state. Hide Caption 40 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton arrives at a 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York on September 11. Clinton, who was diagnosed with pneumonia two days before, left early after feeling ill. A video appeared to show her stumble as Secret Service agents helped her into a van. Hide Caption 41 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight Clinton addresses a campaign rally in Cleveland on November 6, two days before Election Day. She went on to lose Ohio -- and the election -- to her Republican opponent, Donald Trump. Hide Caption 42 of 43 Photos: Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight After conceding the presidency to Trump in a phone call earlier, Clinton addresses supporters and campaign workers in New York on Wednesday, November 9. Her defeat marked a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised to make her the first woman elected US president. Hide Caption 43 of 43

The impromptu meeting was a surprising move for an ex-President who is widely considered to be one of the brightest political minds of his generation—creating the perception that he may have used his power and influence to arrange a meeting with an official who could be integral in the investigation of his wife.

Forced to defend the meeting Friday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Lynch said she "certainly wouldn't do it again, because I think it has cast a shadow over what it should not, over what it will not touch," Lynch said.

She emphasized that the meeting with Bill Clinton "does not have a bearing on how this matter will be reviewed and resolved" and said she would accept the determinations and findings of the FBI in their probe of Clinton's email use.

'Would not do it again'

An aide to Bill Clinton said in a statement Saturday that "the President's conversation with the Attorney General was unplanned and was entirely social in nature. But recognizing how others could take another view of it, he agrees with the Attorney General that he would not do it again."

In the short-term, Clinton's meeting with FBI agents and her husband's march across the tarmac at Phoenix airport to Lynch's jet hand ammunition to Trump -- who has in recent weeks struggled to overcome his own blizzard of missteps.

It won't matter to Trump that the Clinton campaign says her session at FBI head quarters was voluntary. The billionaire will conjure up visions of the former secretary of state being grilled by the Feds, to stoke suspicion of wrongdoing and to recall the depositions, investigations and the scandals that scarred the Clinton administration during the 1990s and which he has suggested voters have no desire to revisit.

"Hillary Clinton has got to go to jail," Trump told supporters in California last month, in one example of the way he has latched onto the email server drama to raise doubts about Clinton's character and legitimacy as a presidential candidate. "Folks, honestly, she's guilty as hell."

It may not be possible to assess the full impact of Bill Clinton's perceived intervention until after the FBI has delivered its verdict.

If, Clinton, as many Washington insiders expect, escapes indictment over the email issue, the former President's actions are certain to be enlisted by conservatives who have already been framing a case that the probe is a set up orchestrated by the Obama administration.

Austan Goolsbee, a former senior member of Obama's economic team, told CNN Saturday that Trump would do everything possible to exploit the new developments in the long-running Clinton email saga.

"He will say, 'Well she was interviewed by the FBI this weekend,'" he said.

Goolsbee added: "Until we get to the point that the FBI releases their report or makes a recommendation or whatever they are going to do ... I think Donald Trump is going to keep saying that to try to take the focus off the things he's said."

The email server controversy had hurt Clinton long before her session at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington on Saturday.

In a CNN/ORC poll in June, 67% of people said that she had made a mistake in setting up the system as secretary of state. The drama has clearly weighed on Clinton's support in crucial electoral battlegrounds. A Quinnipiac University poll last month found that by margins of between 8 and 14 points, voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are skeptical of Clinton's trustworthiness.

But Bakari Sellers, a CNN commentator who is also a Clinton supporter, said the interview would come as a relief for Clinton's camp -- offering the prospect that the email saga that has dragged behind her campaign was finally drawing to a close. He also argued that the fact that Clinton's lawyers had allowed her to sit with the FBI meant it was unlikely that they believed she had any genuine legal exposure.

But Sellers admitted on "CNN Newsroom" that the former president's meeting with Lynch amounted to "bad optics" that had put his wife's campaign on defense.