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Hillary Clinton has blamed FBI director James Comey for her shock defeat in Tuesday’s presidential elections during a conference call with campaign donors on Saturday, participants on the call have revealed.

Clinton said Comey cost her the election after he decided to send a letter informing Congress of his intention to reinstate an investigation into whether she mishandled classified information by using a private email server while serving as Secretary of State.

Comey sent a letter to Congress late last month in which he said FBI agents would be reviewing newly discovered emails that may be connected to Clinton.

They were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, the disgraced congressman and estranged husband of Clinton's close aide Huma Abedin.

Comey came under fire for reigniting the debate surrounding Clinton’s emails so close to the elections, with some Clinton campaign members suggesting that some within the FBI were attempting to influence the outcome of the strongly contested elections in favour of Donald Trump.

In a follow up letter sent just two days ahead of the election, Comey told Congress that a review of new emails has "not changed our conclusions" from earlier this year that she should not face charges.

Trump, the real-estate mogul and reality TV show star, will be the 45th president of the United States, winning the general election in a shock victory announced late on Tuesday night.

The Republican nominee's victory ranks among one of the most improbable in modern US history and comes despite a campaign rocked by controversy, and marred by a record of racist and sexist behaviour, and a lack of conventional political experience.

The stunning election results have sparked daily anti-Trump protests in several US cities, in addition to heightened fears for civil and minority rights.