FBI reopens case into Clinton email
Donald Trump makes last-ditch attempt to win votes among Indian community ahead of the Diwali festival of lights
NEW YORK // The FBI announced a reopening of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server yesterday after more emails were found.
In a letter to congress, FBI director James Comey said emails had come to light “that appear to be pertinent to the investigation”. They are part of a separate inquiry “to determine whether they contain classified information.” Donald Trump was quick to seize on the revelations about Mrs Clinton’s conduct while secretary of state, which come two weeks before the presidential election.
“Perhaps, finally, justice will be served. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the oval office,” the Republican candidate told a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the crowd chanted, “Lock her up!”
“I have great respect that the FBI and the department of justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made,” said Mr Trump. “I think they’re going to right the ship, folks.”
A day earlier, Mr Trump’s team unveiled a new campaign ad in which the candidate tried his hand at speaking Hindi. After insulting Mexicans, Muslims and women, he was courting the Indian American vote with a 30-second video released in time for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights this weekend. It opens with the message “happy Diwali” and then Mr Trump says “ab ki baar Trump sarkaar”, Hindi for “this time, Trump government” — adopting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 vote-winning catchphrase as his own.
The ad borrows from footage of Mr Trump speaking at a Hindu gathering in New Jersey this month. “The Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House,” he said in the ad.
“We love the Hindus, we love India.”
The estimated four million Indian Americans are among the most educated ethnic groups and generally well off, according to the Pew research centre. Only about half are Hindu and 65 per cent are Democrat, or Democrat-leaning, the think tank said in a 2014 report.
Mr Trump trails by 5.4 points in the latest poll average compiled by tracker RealClearPolitics in a national race against Mrs Clinton and two outsiders.
According to the latest filings, released on Thursday, Mrs Clinton’s campaign and Super Pac — an expenditure committee that raises unlimited sums of money — outspent Mr Trump in the first three weeks of October by a factor of two to one on everything, including national TV ads and local outreach. At the same time, the two Super PACs associated with Mr Trump’s White House run are experiencing a lull in fund- raising, with one of the groups reserving no broadcast or cable ads between October 20 and election day on November 8, according to data from ad-tracking firm SMG Delta. A Super Pac must operate separately from political campaigns. Mrs Clinton and Priorities USA, the Super Pac that supports her, have spent US$ 360 million (Dh1.32bn) on all types of advertising since the beginning of the campaign, according to the reports. That is more than the $147m spent by Mr Trump and his two affiliated Super PACs. Mrs Clinton and her Super Pac have reserved an additional $55m in TV ads from October 20 until polling day. The Trump campaign has committed to spending $32.4m during the same period, with the Trump Super Pac known as Great America saying it would contribute another $2.35m in broadcast and cable ads.
In total, Mr Trump has raised $292m between his campaign and affiliated Super PACs, including his own contributions, whereas Mrs Clinton has hauled in $718m.