Hillary Clinton FBI indictment 'likely', claims Fox News

The reports were later debunked

Fox News claimed that an indictment is "likely" for Hillary Clinton in the alleged "pay-for-play" scandal surrounding the Clinton Foundation.

The reports remain unverified, as Fox News has continued to call Ms Clinton's credibility into question.

Anchor Brett Baier claimed that "barring some obstruction in some way" that the FBI will pursue an indictment for the Democratic presidential nominee.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment, citing Bureau policy.

The FBI came under fire last week for the timing of director James Comey's announcement that investigators discovered a new trove of possibly pertinent emails linked to a previous investigation into Ms Clinton's use of a private server – only 11 days before the presidential election.

But agents in the New York field office wanted to keep a separate investigation into alleged corruption within the Clinton Foundation alive, according to the Wall Street Journal. The agents were reportedly in preliminary stages of examining allegations of conflicts of interest and corruption that surrounded the charitable organisation during Ms Clinton's time as Secretary of State.

Still, public integrity section investigators – who are not political appointees – did not find that the FBI have strong evidence for a case against Ms Clinton.

It remains unclear if the anonymous agents in the WSJ report are the same sources who spoke to Fox News.

The news station has been a major proponent of Donald Trump's candidacy – despite friction with anchor Megyn Kelly stemming from Mr Trump's sexist remarks directed at her. The network's top pundit, Sean Hannity, has actively supported the Republican candidate.

Former chairman Roger Ailes – ousted from the network in July following numerous allegations of sexual harassment – has worked as an advisor to Mr Trump, who himself is the focus of more than a dozen sexual misconduct claims.