WASHINGTON — During the contentious presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump told crowds that if elected he would send his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, to jail over an email scandal involving confidential information.
Now that he is president-elect, some have wondered if he would follow through with that threat and if President Barack Obama would prevent it from happening by giving Clinton a preemptive pardon.
During a Wednesday press conference, White House press secretary Josh Earnest responded cryptically to a reporter’s question on the matter, leaving the door open for a pardon in the case.
[ Raw video: Possible Clinton pardon discussed at White House press briefing ]
“As you know, the president has offered clemency to a substantial number of Americans who were previously serving time in federal prisons,” he responded. “And we didn’t talk in advance about the president’s plans to offer clemency to any of those individuals.
“And that’s because we don’t talk about the president’s thinking, particularly with respect to any specific cases that may apply to pardons or commutations.”
Clinton has not been charged with a crime and the FBI has twice said it did not recommend charges to be filed.
Regardless, Trump continued to insist he would appoint a special prosecutor to go after Clinton.
Earnest said Obama was hopeful that Trump’s plan was just rhetoric.
“We’ve got a long tradition in this country of people in power not using the criminal justice system to exact political revenge,” he said.