Trump and Clinton barnstorm swing states as attacks intensify

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each barnstormed across three battleground states as the US presidential candidates increased their attacks on each other and the intensity of their campaigning.

Four days from election day, the Republican nominee held rallies in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Ohio, concentrating on states he needs to flip from the Democratic column.

Mrs Clinton campaigned in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio, hoping to reinforce her blue wall in the state-by-state electoral college that would block Mr Trump's path to the White House.

After a week of tightening polls since FBI director James Comey revealed the renewed investigation into Mrs Clinton's personal email server, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll offered better news for the Democratic, widening her lead to three points.

She led Mr Trump by 47 per cent to 44 per cent in the poll of likely voters, compared with the Republican’s 46 per cent to 45 per cent advantage over Mrs Clinton three days earlier.

Anti-Clinton atmosphere

The FBI's role in this election drew further scrutiny on Friday with the Washington Post and the Guardian reporting on an anti-Clinton atmosphere in the bureau that had spurred leaks against her and heightened internal tensions over the handling of the investigations into Mrs Clinton.

Speaking to supporters at a rally in New Hampshire, Mr Trump escalated his attacks on Mrs Clinton around the inquiry into her use of a private email as secretary of state, alleging that she would be “under investigation for a long time, concluding with a criminal trial – our president”.

Trump supporter, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox that he had heard from former FBI agents that "there's revolution going on inside the FBI and it's now at boiling point".

Backtracking

The controversy around the status of the FBI investigations led to some backtracking.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier admitted he made "a mistake" when he reported that it was "likely" that charges would be brought in the FBI inquiry into the Clinton family's charitable foundation. He initially said he had spoken "inartfully" but offered a more fulsome apology and admission on Friday.

“This just wasn’t artful – it was a mistake and for that I’m sorry,” Baier said on air.

Mrs Clinton continued her attacks on Mr Trump on Friday, questioning his temperament and casting the choice in the election as a “make or break” moment with “everything on the line”.

"Imagine how easy it could be that Trump would feel insulted and start a real war, not just a Twitter war, at 3am," Mrs Clinton told supporters at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.