HARTFORD – Connecticut's two U.S. senators said Tuesday they are gratified that Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton will not face criminal charges by the FBI in the private email server probe, but they expect the topic to continue resurfacing as a contentious issue on the campaign trail.

Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy strongly support Clinton for president, and they say they hope the campaign will now switch to other issues after widespread focus on the emails that has stretched out as a criminal and political issue for the past year.

"Donald Trump is not going to stop saying what he has been saying,'' Murphy told reporters at the state Capitol complex. "Donald Trump is going to send out a Tweet later today that has the words 'Crooked Hillary' in it, and he will not pay attention to the announcement that was made today.''

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, moved quickly on his Twitter account Tuesday.

"The system is rigged,'' Trump wrote. "General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very, very unfair! As usual, bad judgment.''

Trump was referring to the retired U.S. Army general who pleaded guilty to mishandling classified information that he had given to his mistress, Paula Broadwell, who was writing the official, authorized biography of him. Petraeus never served prison time on the misdemeanor charge, and Broadwell was never charged.

Murphy and Blumenthal traveled to Hartford on Tuesday for an unrelated news conference regarding funding for research to help stop the Zika virus. During that news conference, the FBI announced in Washington, D.C. that no criminal charges would be filed against Clinton.

Upon being told by a television reporter about the FBI's decision, Murphy said, "This isn't surprising. We've expected this announcement for a very long time. I'm frankly sorry it took this long to clear her name and hopefully this campaign can return to the issues that really matter to the American people.''

Murphy added, "People in this state have been really frustrated that this campaign so far has been about emails and immigrant bans instead of jobs and education and health care. My hope is this marks a turning point where we can get away from name calling and start talking about real issues.''

Blumenthal, a former U.S. Attorney for four years and former state attorney general for 20 years, said he has complete confidence in the integrity of FBI director James Comey, a former Connecticut resident who made the announcement Tuesday.

"He's a former colleague and a friend, and most important, his record demonstrates that he has both the capacity and the determination to make judgments about criminal matters with the highest degree of integrity and professionalism,'' Blumenthal said. "I trust his judgment, and I believe it will have a great deal of credibility with the American people.''

Blumenthal added, "It will be more surprising and outrageous if the campaign of Donald Trump continues to focus on this issue when it has been decided authoritatively and credibly that no criminal charges are appropriate. Even though, as Hillary Clinton herself has said, it was probably a mistake for her to have this private email server and to rely on it. My hope is that we'll turn to the real issues, which are jobs, jobs, jobs, and the American economy and how to invest in the future of America.''

Based on his knowledge of the law, Blumenthal said, "I was very, very confident that this outcome would occur because there was clearly, and almost indisputably, no criminal intent. She didn't mean to violate the criminal laws of the United States of America.''

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