The White House on Wednesday refused to say whether President Barack Obama would consider pardoning Hillary Clinton for her email scandal, but appeared to issue a warning to President-elect Donald Trump, saying powerful people should not exploit the criminal justice system for “political revenge.”
As the Republican nominee, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Clinton could be thrown in jail during his presidency for mishandling classified materials through the private email server she used as secretary of state. Now that Trump is president-elect, Obama faces the delicate question of whether to issue a pardon to protect his preferred successor.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest, however, refused to directly address whether Obama was weighing such a move.
“As you know the president has offered clemency to a substantial number of Americans who were previously serving time in federal prisons,” Earnest told reporters during the daily briefing. “And we didn’t talk in advance about the president’s plans to offer clemency to any of those individuals and that is because we don’t talk about the president’s thinking, particularly with respect to any specific cases that may apply to pardons or commutations.”
He added, “We have a long tradition in this country of people in power not using the criminal justice system to enact political revenge. In fact we go a long way to insulate the criminal justice system from partisan politics.”
Earnest, however, did offer praise for Trump’s magnanimous tone during his victory speech last night and said he hoped that might be indicative of what Americans see going forward.
“I would direct you to the remarks the president made in the Rose Garden about the tone president-elect Trump displayed in his remarks last night,” Earnest said. “And that tone was consistent with the long-standing traditions of our democracy and the president expressed hope that kind of tone would continue.”
Obama said he was “heartened” by Trump’s speech last night and his brief conversation with the president-elect, who Obama invited to the White House on Thursday.
“We’re not Republicans first,” Obama said Wednesday afternoon in the Rose Garden. “We are Americans first. We’re patriots first. We all want what’s best for this country. That’s what I heard in Mr. Trump’s remarks last night. That’s what I heard when I spoke to him. Directly. And I was heartened by that.”
(Source: Politico)
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8 Responses
Oh really?!! And what about the irs targeting tea party groups????
He can’t pardon her for something she didn’t do! He said she did nothing wrong! So did Comey! So what can he pardon her for??
Ahhha! She did do something wrong – so based on what premise can he legally pardon her? Because he likes her? Because she was his preferred choice for successor?
If he does NOT pardon her, and she gets indicted, she could bury him, his whole administration, and a good part of the State Department with her testimony.
Knowing how loyal she is and how she values her own skin far more than any other one, sing she will.
If “powerful people should not exploit the criminal justice system for “political revenge” neither should such a powerful person exploit his pardon privilege to protect those powerful people like the Clintons who in the past used their power for political revenge. I hope that selling the American government to foreign interests (pay for play) and endangering our security (exposure of secure documents, Uranium sale, Benghazi) will not go unpunished. I look forward for the Executive branch NOT interfering with process of justice for a change.
So, where is your pardon for Jonathan Pollard, Mr Obama? Long overdue!! He didnt endanger the U.S.A like Hillary did!
Obama might be able to pardon her political scandals, on the Classified Emails and using her own server, but there’s no way he can pardon her for the murder of dozens of people, children being burned alive, for her spirit cooking parties and drinking their blood – oy, the Tumah, for the massive child trafficking and pedophilia ring operation, etc.
ford pardoned nixon before he was formally charged with any crimes. so obama can do the same
what about Rushbuskin