Trump campaign manager doesn't rule out a Clinton prosecution; is an advance pardon possible?
Photo of Hillary Clinton by a katz / Shutterstock.com.
Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday refused to rule out the prosecution of Hillary Clinton for using a private server to send emails, though Conway did say the president-elect is seeking to unify the country.
Will there be a prosecution? And could President Obama pardon Clinton in advance of any prosecution? Politico and the Washington Post consider the possibilities.
During the Oct. 9 debate, Trump said he would seek a special prosecutor to look into Clinton’s situation. At Trump rallies, “Lock her up,” has been a frequent refrain.
Conway said in a TV appearance Wednesday on MSNBC that “we haven’t discussed [prosecution] in recent days, and I think that it’s all in due time,” report Reuters and MassLive.com. She made similar comments in other TV appearances.
Obama could head off a prosecution. Experts told Politico that Obama could pardon Clinton for any federal offenses she may have committed, even if she doesn’t seek a pardon. The pardon could extend not only to any offenses committed as secretary of state, but also to any statements she has since made and any conduct in connection with the Clinton Foundation.
Politico notes possible political repercussions. A pardon “would surely trigger charges of unfairness and political favoritism, while seeming to some to be an admission of guilt,” the article states.
But there is precedent for pardons in advance of charges. President Nixon was pardoned, as were Vietnam War draft dodgers. And President Clinton granted clemency to former CIA Director John Deutch in a case involving the handling of classified information stored on his home computer, Politico says.
If no pardon is granted and Trump decides to prosecute, he couldn’t just “snap his fingers and throw his political rival behind bars,” the Washington Post notes. Trump would have to order his attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor; the attorney general would have to comply; Clinton would have to be charged with an offense; a trial would have to be held; and she would have to be found guilty.
