An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Comey's role in the decision-making surrounding the Oct. 7 statement. 
 
 
 
 According to the former official, Comey agreed with the conclusion the intelligence community came to: "A foreign power was trying to undermine the election. He believed it to be true, but was against putting it out before the election." Comey's position, this official said, was "if it is said, it shouldn't come from the FBI, which as you'll recall it did not." 
 
 
 
 Comey took a different approach toward releasing information about the discovery of emails on a laptop that was used by former congressman Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin, the official said. 
 
 "By doing a press conference, and personally testifying and giving his opinion about the conduct, he made this about James Comey and his credibility," the official said. "You can see why he did it, from his perspective, once he had had that press conference." 
 
 
 
 The official said FBI investigators can get a "preliminary read" of the newly discovered emails within a couple of days and come to an initial conclusion about whether there is classified material in the files. "The questions is whether they will decide to share that read or not," the official said. "Normally in the FBI we would not, but we're not in normal land anymore." 
 
 
 
 Comey's decision to announce the new investigative steps has come under severe criticism from Democrats, including Hillary Clinton who addressed the issue at a rally Monday. 
 
 "I'm sure a lot of you may be asking what this new email story is about and why in the world the FBI would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of any wrongdoing with just days to go. That's a good question," Clinton said. "I am sure they will reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my emails for the last year. There is no case here." 
 
 
 
 The Donald Trump campaign, meanwhile, has praised Comey for continuing to investigate Clinton. "The right thing to do is whatever the FBI thinks," said Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on CNBC Monday morning. "It's not for us to say speed it up because of the election or slow it down because of the election." ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Pete Williams, Kasie Hunt and Corky Siemaszko 
 
 The FBI revealed Friday it was reviewing a new batch of emails that “appear to be pertinent” to its previous investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private server — and multiple federal officials told NBC News they were found as part of an on-going probe of disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner. 
 
 The emails were found on a laptop that Weiner allegedly used to send inappropriate text messages and pictures to an underage girl, the sources told NBC News. 
 
 Investigators also discovered Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, had used the same laptop to send emails to Clinton and now they are checking those messages to see if there was any classified information on them, the sources said. 
 
 Abedin, who is Clinton's closest aide, is separated from Weiner. 
 
 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks with senior aide Huma Abedin aboard her campaign plane at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., on Oct. 28, 2016, before traveling to Iowa for rallies. Andrew Harnik / AP 
 
 Clinton said the FBI has not been in touch with her and called on Director James Comey to release whatever emails they found immediately. She said she has no idea what they might be but added, "I'm confident whatever they are will not change the conclusion reached in July." 
 
 The Democratic nominee was referring to the FBI investigation of her use of a private email server while secretary of state which ended with no criminal charges against her. 
 
 "Voting is already underway, so the American people deserve to get the full facts immediately," she said during a brief press conference. 
 
 Asked if it will affect the election, which most polls show her winning, Clinton said, "I think people made up their minds a long time ago." 
 
 In his letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee announcing the discovery of the emails, Comey made no mention of Weiner, who resigned in disgrace in a sexting scandal. 
 
 "In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation," Comey wrote. "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." 
 
 A senior law enforcement official told NBC News Friday that the Comey letter was sent to the Hill "out of an abundance of caution" and to be extra-thorough. 
 
 There's no indication, the official said, that Clinton, her campaign or the State Department withheld information about the contents on Weiner's laptop. 
 
 FBI Director James Comey testifies before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 7, 2016. YURI GRIPAS / AFP - Getty Images 
 
 The politically explosive revelation came just 11 days before Election Day and a top Clinton aide told NBC News that neither the candidate nor the campaign got any advance warning that Comey's letter was coming. 
 
 "It boggles the mind why this step was taken with just 11 days to go," Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said. 
 
 Comey should "provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen," Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said in a statement. 
 
 "Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is 'reopening' an investigation but Comey's words do not match that characterization," he said. "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. It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election." 
 
 Tim Kaine, Clinton's vice presidential running mate, who was at an early voting site in Tallahassee on Friday, told reporters "gotta read a little more, gotta read a little more" before continuing on. 
 
 Related: Read the Letter 
 
 Donald Trump called the revelation "bigger than Watergate" and praised the FBI for having "the courage to right the horrible mistake they made," an apparent reference to the agency's decision earlier this year to not press criminal charges against Clinton. 
 
 "I need to open with a very critical breaking news announcement," Trump said at a campaign rally in New Hampshire. "The FBI has just sent a letter to Congress informing them that they have discovered new emails pertaining to the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's investigation." 
 
 "This was a grave miscarriage of justice," he said, "it is about to be corrected." 
 
 The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee also applauded the FBI's move. 
 
 “The FBI’s decision to reopen its investigation into Secretary Clinton reinforces what the House Judiciary Committee has been saying for months: the more we learn about Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server, the clearer it becomes that she and her associates committed wrongdoing and jeopardized national security," the Judiciary Committee said in a statement. 
 
 Related: FBI Releases Notes From Interview With Hillary Clinton Over Emails 
 
 But Comey, who is also a Republican and who took a lot of heat in July for his agency's decision to not charge Clinton with a crime, did not say in the letter that he was reexamining the FBI's previous finding, which concluded that her handling of the emails was sloppy but not criminal. 
 
 Documents related to the case were released just before the Labor Day weekend and included a summary of Clinton's July interview with the FBI about her private email server, as well as a detailed investigative summary of the case. 
 
 It is unusual for the FBI to tell Congress, as Comey did, that it is looking over newly discovered evidence in a criminal inquiry that was otherwise closed. 
 
 Federal practice is not to comment on ongoing investigations, or discuss details of concluded investigations. Comey previously explained his departure from that practice in his earlier congressional testimony, given the special nature of this case and congressional oversight inquiries. 
 
 Still, some congressional Democrats told NBC News Friday that they are frustrated that Comey issued the letter reopening this issue without providing much in the way of specifics. ||||| CLOSE FBI Direcor James Comey told lawmakers the emails appeared to be related to the previously closed probe of Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information. USA TODAY NETWORK 
 
 Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Andrew Theodorakis, Getty Images) 
 
 Federal authorities have obtained a warrant to review a tranche of newly-discovered emails that could be related to the previously-closed investigation of Hillary Clinton’ handling of classified information, an official familiar with the matter said Sunday. 
 
 The official who is not authorized to comment publicly said the process had begun to seek an expeditious review of emails linked to longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Though the volume of emails is substantial — perhaps in the thousands — authorities have not completely ruled out the possibility of completing the review by Election Day. 
 
 It is possible that many of the emails, discovered during a separate investigation of Abedin’s estranged husband former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, are duplicates of those already reviewed by the FBI, the official said. Weiner is suspected of having sexually charged communications with a 15-year-old girl. 
 
 Meanwhile, a Justice Department official said that although Attorney General Loretta Lynch objected to FBI Director James Comey’s decision to notify Congress of the new email discovery, Justice officials would be supporting the FBI action to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. 
 
 The Clinton campaign said Sunday that neither Abedin nor her lawyer had been contacted by the FBI. 
 
 The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that there may be as many as 650,000 emails on the laptop, but it is unclear how many may be relevant to the Clinton email server investigation. 
 
 FBI Director James Comey announced Friday that the bureau had uncovered emails that may be related to the FBI probe of Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Comey had announced in July that while Clinton had mishandled classified information on her private email, he would not recommend criminal charges against her. 
 
 Democrats were outraged by Comey's announcement Friday that the bureau was reviewing more emails, saying that he provided so little detail as to open the door to an array of conspiracy theories. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had urged Comey not to announce the new review, saying it violated the Justice Department's policy of not interfering in elections. 
 
 The Trump campaign has praised Comey for disclosing the latest review of emails, saying Americans deserved to know before they vote. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2eJz2vx ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201610/1159/1155968404_5189096571001_5189095094001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump: FBI's new Clinton email inquiry rights 'horrible mistake' 'It might not be as rigged as I thought, right?' 
 
 Donald Trump praised the FBI for reviewing new materials related to its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email as secretary of state, telling a raucous New Hampshire crowd that the bureau has shown “the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made.” 
 
 “I need to open with a very critical, breaking news announcement,” Trump said at the start of his New Hampshire remarks, triggering a deafening roar from the crowd as he informed them that the investigation had been reopened. “Hillary Clinton's corruption is on a scale that 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.” 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 “This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood,” he continued. “And it is everybody's hope that it is about to be corrected.” 
 
 In a stunning, late-stage development in the presidential race, FBI Director James Comey said Friday that his department had learned of new emails that “appear to be pertinent to the investigation” into Clinton’s private server. It had closed that investigation in July, concluding that Clinton had been “careless” in her handling of sensitive information but was guilty of no criminal wrongdoing. 
 
 Comey offered few specifics in his letter to House chairmen Friday, saying the FBI does not yet know if the new material in question is “significant.” 
 
 "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," Comey wrote. 
 
 After delivering the crowd-pleasing news at the top of his remarks, Trump joked that "with that being said, the rest of my speech is going to be so boring," egging the crowd on even further. 
 
 From there, he dove into his regular stump speech but punctuated it regularly with asides about the reopened investigation, much to the audience's delight. Trump told the crowd that his advisers had suggested he skip the New Hampshire rally because of the FBI news, to which he said he replied, "I don't have the courage to skip the speech in New Hampshire." 
 
 "Job-killing Obamacare is one more way the system is rigged. But with what I just announced, previously, it might not be as rigged as I thought, right? Right?" he said a few minutes into his speech. "The FBI, I think they are going to right the ship, folks. I think they are going to right the ship and they’re going to save their great reputation by doing so."
– A day after Hillary Clinton blamed him in part for her election loss, FBI chief James Comey acknowledged to Congress that she might have a point: "It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election." But Comey defended his decision to announce a new investigation into Clinton's email less than two weeks before Election Day, reports the New York Times. Keeping quiet would have been "catastrophic," he said. More coverage related to his testimony and his role in the election: Comey revealed details on how Anthony Weiner got tied up in the email investigation. It turns out that Weiner's wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin, "appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him for him to print out for her so she could deliver them to the secretary of state.” And some of those emails were classified. Comey said the FBI investigated them both but found no evidence they meant to break the law. CNN has a separate story on this aspect of the testimony. At FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver takes an exhaustive look at the election and concludes that Comey's letter probably cost Clinton the victory. It "had a fairly large and measurable impact," he writes. "It wasn’t the only thing that mattered, and it might not have been the most important. But the media is still largely in denial about how much of an effect it had." Axios has some "quick hits" from the Comey testimony. For one thing, he expects the Russians to be back in 2018 and more so in 2020. The Boston Globe has five revelations from the testimony, including that Comey said he wanted to go public about Russian interference in the election, but the Obama White House prevented it. If you just can't get enough, the Washington Post has the full transcript here. David Axelrod thinks Clinton should stop talking about the election. Comey played a role "in a narrow sense," he said on CNN, per the Hill, but he "didn't tell her not to campaign in Wisconsin." He suggests the fault lies mainly with her: "It takes a lot of work to lose to Donald Trump."