FBI Has Search Warrant for New Clinton-Related Emails

Election Day is just over a week away and there appears to be little chance that Hillary Clinton's latest email mess will be resolved before then: Law enforcement sources tell the Washington Post that the FBI has now obtained a search warrant for a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, but determining whether it contains classified information could take weeks. Insiders say that of 650,000 emails recovered in the Wiener sexting investigation, thousands are believed to be correspondence between Clinton and Abedin, who says she doesn't know how the emails ended up on Weiner's computer. In other developments:

• Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says FBI Director James Comey may have violated a federal law that bans officials from using their position to try to sway elections, reports the Wall Street JournaI. "I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act," he wrote in a letter to Comey on Sunday. "Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law."

• ABC News reports that close to 100 former federal prosecutors and Department of Justice officials have written an open letter to Comey criticizing his handling of the case. "We cannot recall a prior instance where a senior Justice Department official—Republican or Democrat—has, on the eve of a major election, issued a public statement where the mere disclosure of information may impact the election's outcome, yet the official acknowledges the information to be examined may not be significant or new," they wrote.
• Politico reports on how the Clinton campaign is scrambling to deal with the fallout from Comey's "October surprise." The campaign is trying to project an air of confidence, though aides privately admit to being a lot more nervous than they were a week ago.
• In a development that could spell further trouble for Clinton, WikiLeaks announced Sunday night that it's moving to Phase 3 of its election coverage this week, the Hill reports.

• The New York Times reports that in brighter news for the Clinton campaign, its candidate has a lead over Donald Trump in early voting in several swing states, which may limit damage from the email issue. At least 21 million people have already cast their ballots, including nearly a quarter of voters in Florida and Nevada.
• In his Last Week Tonight show Sunday, John Oliver said the latest Clinton emails had arrived in a "disgusting" fashion, with Anthony Weiner "forcing the nation to re-litigate the entire email controversy," Deadline reports. "So to recap, the grinding hell of this election has thrown in yet another twist with the election potentially hanging in the balance, all thanks to the fact Anthony Weiner allegedly sexted with a 15-year-old girl," Oliver said.
• FiveThirtyEight looks at the poll numbers and concludes that while it's still early, there's no sign yet that the FBI's announcement has produced much of a shift toward Trump. There had already been something of a shift toward Trump before the announcement, however, and if the trend continues, he may be able to pull off a surprise win if he performs better than forecast in either the Midwest or the Northeast.

(More Hillary Clinton stories.)