Democrats, Republicans Pressure FBI Director Comey After New Email Revelation

The FBI said new emails may be part of investigating Clinton's private server.

ByABC News
October 31, 2016, 3:18 PM

— -- Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton have quickly followed her campaign’s lead attacking FBI Director James Comey for looking into newly-discovered emails potentially connected to Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

Just over a week away from Election Day, party leaders are accusing Comey of trying to influence the election with the action, while one Democrat has even called for his resignation.

On Friday, Comey sent a letter to Congress notifying top Republicans and Democrats that the FBI had uncovered emails that "appear to be pertinent to the investigation" into Clinton through a separate probe.

Comey said it’s not clear if those emails –- uncovered through an investigation into former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s alleged lewd messages to an underage girl in North Carolina –- would contain information relevant to the Clinton probe.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, charged Comey with violating federal law prohibiting federal officials from engaging in political activities, in a message to Comey Sunday.

"Your actions in recent months have demonstrated a disturbing double standard for the treatment of sensitive information, with what appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another," he wrote.

He also called on Comey, a Republican, to reveal "explosive information" regarding Russian involvement in the U.S. election. Democrats have previously asked the FBI to investigate ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government.

The FBI has blamed Russia for a series of cyberattacks against U.S. political institutions.

Reid's office has not yet responded to ABC News' request for comment regarding purported evidence of ties between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, joined other Democrats in calling for more information from the agency on the latest email developments and any potential investigation into the Trump’s campaigns ties to Russia.

Another Democrat, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has called on Comey to resign over the episode. He said in an interview on CNN Monday that he believes Comey’s actions could cost Hillary Clinton the election.

Republicans have pressed Comey for updates, as well. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, the chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, have both asked for updates but stopped short of criticizing him for the disclosure.

"This is not the 'vast right-wing conspiracy,'" Conway said on ABC’s "This Week" Sunday. "This is not the [Republican National Committee], or the Trump campaign," Conway continued. "It's Huma Abedin's husband."

On Monday, Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general under President George W. Bush, said Comey made an "error in judgment" in releasing the letter a little more than a week before the election.

"I didn't understand the purpose of the letter," Gonzales, a Republican who is not supporting Donald Trump’s campaign, told CNN in an interview.

The FBI declined ABC News' request for comment.

ABC News' Ali Rogin contributed to this report.