Hillary Clinton campaigns with NBA star LeBron James in Cleveland

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton returned on Sunday to Cleveland to ask her supporters there to vote early, joined at the rally by the city's idol -- National Basketball Association and Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James.

Clinton took the stage shortly after FBI Director James Comey told Congress in a letter that he had found no reason to indict her after reviewing new e-mails found on the computer of one of her closest aides, Xinhua news agency reported.

In July, Comey had concluded that Clinton should not be charged in the scandal that had erupted over her use of a private e-mail server while she was Secretary of State from 2009-2013 and the case had been closed.

However, newly-found e-mails on the laptop belonging to former Congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, had led Comey in late October to release a vaguely worded letter saying that he intended to review the e-mails on the computer to determine whether they were relevant to the prior investigation.

Over the past nine days, the FBI has reviewed the e-mails and concluded that they did not change Comey's earlier decision in the matter.

Clinton did not refer to Comey's decision in Cleveland and focused on asking supporters to vote early in Ohio, contrasting her "optimistic" and "hopeful" vision with the negativity of her Republican rival, Donald Trump, who has claimed that the election will be "rigged" in the former Secretary of State's favour.

The former First Lady had been in Cleveland last Friday, campaigning along with other famous supporters -- singer Beyonce and her husband, rapper Jay Z.

Voter surveys continue to give Trump a slight lead in Ohio, a state that -- with its 18 electoral votes -- could be decisive for one candidate or the other in Tuesday's election.

--IANS

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