Donald Trump warns US faces 'constitutional crisis' if Hillary Clinton wins election

  • Video report by ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore

America faces a "constitutional crisis" if Hillary Clinton is elected president, Donald Trump warned today.

The Republican nominee told a rally in Michigan Clinton is likely to be under FBI investigation for a "very long time" over an ongoing email scandal.

Trump predicted the FBI's probe - where Clinton is alleged to have breached national security by accessing classified information using a private email server - would likely last years and end in a criminal trial.

And with just eight days to go until the presidential election, Trump maintained that Clinton had lied to authorities and deleted incriminating evidence in a scandal akin to Watergate.

He went on to describe the latest batch of emails being pored over by the FBI - roughly 650,000 - as the "motherlode".

On Monday, FBI investigators obtained a warrant to examine the new emails potentially linked to Clinton.

And Trump praised FBI Director James Comey for his u-turn in re-opening the investigation, which authorities had previously closed, saying it had taken "guts".

He said he now hoped the authorities had "gotten wise" to the Clintons and were not being sidetracked by people attempting to "protect" them.

Trump described the latest trove of emails at the centre of the investigation as evidence Clinton had broken the law "over and over again".

"This is the biggest scandal since Watergate. Hillary wants to blame everyone else for her mounting legal troubles, but she has brought all of this on herself", he told the crowd.

"Hillary is the one who set up an illegal private email server - in a closet to shield her criminal activities".

Trump said it took 'guts' for the FBI's James Comey to re-open the investigation Credit: Reuters

But at her own rally in Ohio, Clinton insisted "there is no case here".

She said she was sure the FBI would reach the same conclusion having previously examined her emails and end the investigation.

But Trump predicted a lengthy and protracted criminal probe into Clinton - eventually resulting in a trial - adding that the contents of the fresh emails would be "absolutely devastating" for his opponent.

And he again accused Clinton of repeatedly lying under oath and deleting evidence to cover her tracks.

He warned the crowd that world leaders such as Vladimir Putin would sit laughing if Clinton was installed into the White House.

"She's unfit and unqualified to be the president of the United States and her election would mire our government and our country in a constitutional crisis that we can not afford", Trump said.

Only eight days now remain until the main polls open in the election.