FBI interviews Hillary Clinton

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton met with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday as part of a probe of her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state, her campaign said.

"Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was Secretary," campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement.

The interview lasted three and a half hours and was held at the FBI headquarters in Washington, a Clinton aide said. It took place four weeks before the Democratic Party convention is expected to formally nominate Clinton as its candidate for the Nov. 8 presidential election.

The FBI is investigating whether anyone in Clinton's operation broke the law as result of a personal email server kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home while she was secretary of state, an issue that has overshadowed her campaign.

Republican lawmakers have called for an independent investigation, saying they do not trust the Justice Department to handle the inquiry with impartiality. Republicans, including Clinton's presidential rival Donald Trump, intensified their criticism of the process on Thursday after Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately this week with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, at an airport.