Senate GOP pounces on FBI’s Clinton probe

Senate Republicans are racing to link their Democrat opponents to Hillary Clinton in the wake of the FBI’s decision to launch a new review into her emails. 

The letter from FBI Director James Comey is throwing a late curveball into the fight to control the upper chamber, which was already going down to the wire with about seven battleground races still up for grabs. 

{mosads}Republicans appeared eager to reverse script after being hounded by an endless stream of questions from Democrats and the media about Donald Trump.  

“Democrats have spent this entire campaign arguing that Republicans must be held accountable for every single word and action of their presidential nominee. Now it’s time for Democrats to take their medicine,” said Greg Blair, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). 

Though Republicans have questioned Clinton’s email server for months — including launching multiple congressional probes — Friday’s disclosure is giving them fresh ammunition heading into the final days of a tumultuous election. 

Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-N.C.) campaign quickly called on Democrat Deborah Ross to say if she still stands by Clinton “even as she is under investigation for the mishandling of classified information.” 

They added that Ross — who campaigned with Clinton on Thursday — should also be asked if she continues to believe the Democratic presidential nominee is trustworthy or if she compromised national security. 

That question — if Democrats still believe Clinton is trustworthy — was quickly echoed Friday across the Senate battleground states. 

In Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio (R) said Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) must “let Floridians know if he still trusts Hillary Clinton 100 percent, as he has said in the past.” 

John Burke, the rapid response director for Nevada Republicans, questioned separately why Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto — who is battling GOP Rep. Joe Heck for Nevada’s open Senate seat — is still supporting Clinton. 

“If the former attorney general is going to continue to stump for Clinton and tout her support for her own candidacy, does that mean she does not care about the possibility of criminal wrongdoing?” he asked. 

Democrats have dismissed questions about Clinton’s trustworthiness for months. Just over 1 in 3 Americans — roughly 35 percent — say is she is more honest and trustworthy than Trump, according to a CNN/ORC poll released last month.

GOP senators in two key states are also using the FBI’s decision to stir up potential email scandals in their own races. 

Ben Voelkel, a spokesman for Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) campaign, questioned whether former Sen. Russ Feingold (D) still trusted Clinton before pivoting to the GOP push to get the State Department to release Feingold’s emails before the election. 

“Don’t forget, Hillary Clinton isn’t the only one with an email scandal — Senator Feingold does too. Maybe that’s why he thinks she’s trustworthy,” he said in a note to reporters. 

Republicans believe Feingold violated the Hatch Act by plotting his Senate bid from his post in the State Department. The former Democratic senator has denied wrongdoing. 

Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-Pa.) campaign also noted that Democratic candidate Katie McGinty’s “emails scandal continues as Clinton email FBI investigation reopened.” 

Ted Kwong, a spokesman for the campaign, added “we knew McGinty was in complete lock-step with Hillary Clinton, but sharing an email scandal is ridiculous.” 

Republicans want the Pennsylvania government to release McGinty’s emails from her brief stint as Gov. Tom Wolf’s chief of staff before the election. Under a court order, they could wait until Nov. 14. 

Republicans in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania stress the dual-pronged email battle goes beyond politics. They say voters have the right to know what’s in the emails and whether Democrats violated ethics guidelines before they head to the polls. 

Friday’s fallout comes after Democrats had momentum going into the final week before Election Day, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report predicting they would pick up between five and seven seats — enough to give them the majority. 

Democrats need to pick up five Senate seats — or four if they also retain the White House — to get back the Senate majority.