ocala, fla.<u+2014> donald trump <u+2019>s attacks on fellow republicans broadened to all of capitol hill, the justice department and the federal bureau of investigation on wednesday, as the presidential nominees adjusted to a changed political landscape in the waning weeks of the campaign. with just one more presidential debate before election day, mr. trump has few high-profile opportunities to gain broad momentum. and while his campaign plans to ratchet up its television advertising, hillary clinton <u+2019>s yearlong investment in a sophisticated ground game to drive her supporters to the polls could give her a decisive edge. mr. trump is also battling a united democratic party while he once again is struggling to rally republicans to his cause<u+2014>a hurdle his campaign seemed to have put behind it before the release friday of a videotape in which he bragged about forcing himself on women . the 2005 tape reignited a smoldering divide between the party<u+2019>s leadership and its unconventional nominee. mr. trump on wednesday condemned the washington establishment for letting mrs. clinton off without punishment for her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. <u+201c>i am so disappointed in congress, and i mean both sides,<u+201d> he said at a rally here. <u+201c>what do you do when you hand it over to the fbi and the justice department and that<u+2019>s the end of it?<u+201d> the attacks are part of his campaign<u+2019>s new strategy to drive down voter turnou t, while betting that his ardent backers will cast their ballots. but the clinton campaign scoffed at the idea that his attacks will deter her voters, many of whom stood in lines wednesday in ohio to vote early. <u+201c>they couldn<u+2019>t wait to cast their ballots,<u+201d> mrs. clinton said at a raucous rally in pueblo, colo. <u+201c>americans want to turn out in as big a number as possible to reject the dark and divisive and hateful campaign that is being run by my opponent.<u+201d> the different messages in the closing weeks of the most unpredictable campaign in modern history reflect their standings in the race. on saturday, a string of republican senators began withdrawing their support for mr. trump<u+2019>s candidacy after hearing his vulgar remarks. a wall street journal/nbc news poll released tuesday showed him 9 percentage points behind mrs. clinton, down from a 6-point deficit in september. the clinton campaign is debating whether it can broaden the battleground map. it is increasing its television ads that portray the democrat in a positive light as mr. trump weathers increasing scrutiny about his sexual exploits. for the third day in a row, mr. trump took specific aim at house speaker paul ryan (r., wis.), who said monday he wouldn<u+2019>t campaign with or defend mr. trump after the release of the videotape . the gop nominee complained that mr. ryan didn<u+2019>t congratulate him for his sunday performance in the debate against mrs. clinton. <u+201c>wouldn<u+2019>t you think that paul ryan would call and say, <u+2018>good going<u+2026>let<u+2019>s go, don, let<u+2019>s beat that crook,<u+2019><u+201d> he said. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s a whole sinister deal going on.<u+201d> many of his backers already have shown the power of their wrath. they flooded the facebook pages of gop lawmakers who have criticized the new york businessman, prompting south dakota sen. john thune and nebraska sen. deb fischer to say they will still vote for mr. trump despite having called for him to quit as the party<u+2019>s presidential nominee after the video surfaced featuring mr. trump saying he can grope and kiss women without their permission because he was <u+201c>a star.<u+201d> <u+201c>i have to take back all the good things that i have said about you!,<u+201d> one voter posted on the facebook page of mr. thune, a rare member of the senate gop leadership to disavow the nominee after the video was disclosed. <u+201c>you are nothing but a spineless jerk. just as well move to the democrat side because i will never vote for you for anything!<u+201d> mr. trump spoke to a crowd of thousands here at the southeastern livestock pavilion, the second of four rallies over three days this week in florida, the largest battleground state. he repeated and built upon his threat to name a special prosecutor to investigate mrs. clinton if he becomes president, suggesting he would also probe the fbi and justice department for failing to bring charges against her for her handling of classified material and use of a private computer for email while secretary of state. <u+201c>we have to investigate the investigation,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>it was crime at the highest level.<u+201d> faulting congress for not pressing more on the issue, he portrayed capitol hill and the political parties as a bipartisan back-scratching club that allows ethics problems to slide: <u+201c>did they make a deal where everybody protects each other in washington?<u+201d> campaigning in colorado, mrs. clinton urged voters to return their ballots by mail early. she said she would counter mr. trump<u+2019>s work to drive down turnout with outreach to voters of all stripes, and promised to work to bring the country together. <u+201c>well, i was watching my opponent just go lower and lower and lower,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>and i was reminded of what my friend and our first lady says<u+2014>`when they go low,<u+2019> and the crowd chanted back with her, <u+2018>we go high!<u+2019><u+201d> campaign officials said they are considering putting resources in some surprisingly close states. jennifer palmieri, the clinton campaign<u+2019>s communications director, took note of a poll in the normally republican state of utah that shows a tied race. she said vice presidential nominee sen. tim kaine would do media interviews in utah and arizona, another republican-leaning state that appears closer than normal this year. she said there are no plans for mrs. clinton to campaign in either state but didn<u+2019>t rule it out. in her remarks, mrs. clinton dropped a mention of both states. <u+201c>if you<u+2019>ve got friends in utah or arizona, make sure they vote, too!<u+201d> she said. the argument for democratic optimism seemed to be supported by larger and more enthusiastic crowds this week. in columbus, ohio, on monday mrs. clinton had the biggest rally of her campaign by far, with 18,500 turning out on ohio state university<u+2019>s campus. on wednesday in pueblo, more than 2,600 people turned out and cheered raucously before she said a word. <u+201c>wow,<u+201d> mrs. clinton said, appearing amazed by the reception. <u+201c>i am thrilled!<u+201d> <u+2014>reid j. epstein contributed to this article. write to janet hook at janet.hook@wsj.com and laura meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com
donald trump widens attack on washington  - wsj
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