NEW YORK: Hillary Clinton has said that  in reopening a probe into her controversial email practices,  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey  had eroded the momentum her campaign had gained in the weeks  leading up to the November 8 election, US media said on  Sunday.
Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had been  ahead in all major polls leading up to last Tuesday’s vote,  which ushered in a surprise victory for Donald Trump and  the Republicans.
She has kept a low profile since her defeat after  delivering her concession speech on Wednesday morning.
Clinton told top donors in a conference call that “there  are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful,† according to a person on the call, according to the Media  reports.
“But  our analysis is that Jim Comey’s letter raising doubts that were
groundless [and] baseless – and proven to be – stopped our momentum.â€
On October 28, Comey jolted the presidential race when he  told Congress that the FBI was once again examining Clinton’s  use of a private server while secretary of state after new  emails were discovered in another investigation into former  congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of close  Clinton aide Huma Abedin, a US-born Muslim-American.
On November 6, two days before the vote, Comey sent another  letter to Congress stating that a review of Weiner’s emails had  revealed no wrongdoing, and that the FBI was sticking with its  July recommendation not to charge Clinton. In July, Comey had  said that while the FBI would not charge Clinton her email  practices were “extremely careless.â€
Trump had made a major issue of Clinton’s email practices  during the campaign, famously threatening to throw her in  prison during one of the presidential debates.
While the first Comey letter reopened voter concerns  over the email issue, Clinton said the second letter clearing  her of wrongdoing allowed Trump to reinforce his message  that the system was rigged.
The FBI director’s letters to Congress days before the  election led to accusations that the bureau was politicized  and interfering in the election, an accusation President Barack  Obama said he believed was not true.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters across the United States  continued to rally against Trump on Saturday, accusing the
president-elect of bigotry and racism.
The largest rallies were in New York, Los Angeles and  Chicago, where protesters chanted “Not my president!†In  New York, thousands marched to Trump Tower, the  president-elect’s skyscraper home where the transition  team is headquartered.
The protests have further polarized the nation as Trump  supporters, some of whom said they would not accept a Clinton  win before the election, are now accusing those on the streets  of not respecting the outcome of the vote.