Clinton blames FBI for defeat

Hillary Clinton on Saturday blamed FBI director James Comey for her loss in the US presidential race, claiming that re-opening the probe into her email use broke the momentum towards victory.

Meanwhile, president-elect Donald Trump was expected yesterday to spell out his priorities as America's head of state in the first prime-time interview since his election.

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Millions of Americans are set to tune in as the billionaire, who has appeared to strike a conciliatory tone as his Manhattan residence was picketed by throngs of protesters for four straight days, lays out his intentions.

Clinton told fundraisers and donors in a conference call that Comey's two letters to Congress on the probe had tilted crucial states towards Republican Donald Trump, US media including Quartz and CNN reported.

"There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful," Democrat Clinton told her national finance committee, a person on the call told online magazine Quartz.

"But our analysis is that Jim Comey's letter raising doubts that were groundless (and) baseless -- and proven to be -- stopped our momentum."

On October 28 -- less than two weeks before Election Day -- Comey dropped a bombshell by informing Congress the FBI was looking once more into Clinton's controversial email practices as secretary of state after new messages were uncovered.

His second letter, on November 6, just three days before the election, stated that the FBI's review of the new emails had uncovered no wrongdoing, and that the bureau had not changed its July recommendation not to charge Clinton.

While the first letter reopened old wounds and reminded voters of the controversy, the second letter, according to Clinton, had the perverse effect of energizing rival Donald Trump's base, Quartz reported.

The letters came just as Clinton was building momentum following strong performances at all three presidential debates, and after the release of a damaging recording of Trump boasting about groping women.

"After the third debate we felt so good about where we were," Clinton said, according to Quartz's source, who chose to remain anonymous. The campaign analysis "showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back."

But she said the FBI's last-minute role was too much to "overcome," a donor on the call told CNN.

In New York, Trump Tower has been a hive of activity as the real estate mogul huddles with his transition team to shape his cabinet -- appointments expected to play a crucial role in setting the tone of an administration led by a 70-year-old political novice.

Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has told reporters the appointment of a White House chief of staff is "imminent" and that Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is a candidate for the key post.

The announcement came as a crowd of more than 10,000 people marched toward Trump Tower in Manhattan Saturday, while another 10,000 turned out in downtown Los Angeles and thousands more marched peacefully in Chicago.

As the commotion plays out in the streets, an ABC News/Washington Post poll out yesterday shows that 74 percent of Americans accept Trump's election as legitimate, although that number varies greatly among different groups, reaching 99 percent among Trump's supporters and falling to 58 percent among Clinton's.

US media reported that Trump's lawyers are seeking to postpone a fraud trial over the defunct Trump University slated for late November, stating that preparations for the case would divert the president-elect from his duties.

Trump faces a colossal task in hammering out cabinet picks and filling hundreds of other top government jobs ahead of his January 20 inauguration.

Since his election on the back of an incendiary populist and anti-immigrant campaign, Trump and his advisers have appeared to back away from some of his more sweeping positions.

Trump's U-turn on Obamacare -- he now says he may simply amend a law he branded a "disaster" on the stump -- was prompted by his White House meeting with the outgoing president earlier this week.

Trump told CBS and The Wall Street Journal he may maintain some of the program's more popular elements, such as a ban on insurance companies denying coverage because of so-called pre-existing health conditions.

Asked by the paper whether he would, as threatened, name a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, Trump deflected, saying his priorities were "health care, jobs, border control, tax reform."

Not long ago Trump was leading crowds in chants of "Lock her up!"

Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich also cast doubt on whether Trump would make Mexico fund his proposed border wall -- another rallying cry.

Despite his more measured tone, the Republican has yet to respond to mounting calls to reassure Americans who fear a xenophobic crackdown under his authority.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors hate groups, tracked more than 200 incidents of election-related harassment in the three days following the vote, with many more allegations emerging on social media.

More than 47,000 people have signed an SPLC petition urging Trump to clearly distance himself from hate groups.

Tens of thousands of people said on Facebook they will attend a "Women's March on Washington" scheduled for January 21, the day after Trump's inauguration.

Since Trump's victory, demonstrators in several cities have decried the Republican's campaign promises to restrict immigration and register Muslims, as well as allegations that the former reality-TV star sexually abused women.

Dozens of protesters have been arrested and a handful of police injured.

The demonstrations since the election have been impromptu affairs, quickly organized, with weekend protests expected to swell in size.

Trump initially denounced the protests, saying they were "incited" by media, but later praised the demonstrators' "passion for our great country."

"We will all come together and be proud!" he said on Twitter.

Many voters were shocked by the outcome, after polls predicted a Clinton victory.

Some 60.3 million people voted for Trump, fewer than the 60.8 million who chose Clinton. But Trump's strong showing in swing states including Michigan meant he triumphed in the Electoral College which ultimately picks the president.