Clinton's Campaign Calls for FBI Report on 'Trump Campaign and Russia' Relationship

The Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate and the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton, the party's presidential candidate, have requested that the FBI make public the results of its investigation into a possible relationship between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Reports from several U.S. media outlets indicate that the request for the report's public disclosure relates to investigations initiated by the FBI following the resignation of Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Mr. Trump. Manafort resigned at the end of August after documents emerged regarding his assistance to Viktor Yanukovych, a major Russian ally in Ukraine, and receiving $12 million from his party. Reuters reports that the FBI opened a case in recent months aimed at investigating allegations and the potential relationship between Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and individuals or institutions connected to Russia. However, a source informed the agency that no sufficient evidence was found to warrant further investigation. The FBI has not publicly commented on this matter. The New York Times also stated that the FBI conducted investigations on this issue but did not find any direct relationship between Trump and the Russian government. Fox News quoted a U.S. law enforcement official stating that Manafort and three other members of Trump's campaign were targeted in the investigations. The sources of information have not been disclosed by the media. The request from the campaign and Democratic figures for the investigations to be made public comes after the FBI, in a letter to the U.S. Congress, stated it was conducting investigations into new emails from Hillary Clinton. These investigations are also regarding Clinton's use of a personal server to send some of her emails during her time as Secretary of State, as well as the possibility of classified documents or messages among them. While the FBI previously stated that the investigation into Clinton's personal server did not lead to the determination of a crime, and no charges have been brought against the Democratic candidate, the renewed investigations have revitalized Trump's campaign. Meanwhile, polls indicate a narrowing gap between the Republican candidate and his Democratic rival. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, wrote in a letter to FBI Director James Comey that he has important information regarding the potential relationship between Trump's campaign and Russia: 'The people have the right to be informed about this information. I requested months ago in a letter that you publicly release this information.' Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, also made a similar request shortly after and asked, 'Will [James] Comey respond to the requests... and say something about the Trump-Russia investigations?' He then called for 'equal standards' to be considered. This accusation has recently been made by Democrats against the FBI Director, claiming he has adopted double standards in the electoral process in favor of Trump. Paul Manafort himself reacted to this issue, stating that these are all attempts to divert public attention from the focus created by James Comey's letter regarding Clinton's new emails. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, has repeatedly praised Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, but emphasized that he does not know him at all. The U.S. presidential election will be held on November 8, and the 45th president will begin his term in January of the following year.