During her talk on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show with its eponymous host, Hillary Clinton proposed a hypothetical suggestion that mirrored President Donald Trump’s infamous remark during his 2016 campaign in which he called on Russia to obtain Clinton’s emails, per The Washington Post.
“Imagine, Rachel, that you had one of the Democratic nominees for 2020 on your show, and that person said, you know, the only other adversary of ours who is anywhere near as good as the Russians is China. So why should Russia have all the fun? And since Russia is clearly backing Republicans, why don’t we ask China to back us?”
“China, if you’re listening, why don’t you get Trump’s tax returns?” she asked.
“I’m sure our media would richly reward you.”
Clinton added that the election might turn into a battle between Russia and China, with one supporting Republicans and the other supporting Democrats.
“Just saying that shows how absurd the situation is we find ourselves in.”
During her 2016 bid, Clinton’s use of a personal email server while secretary of state became a major thorn in her side. And while she was cleared by the FBI of committing a crime, that didn’t stop Trump from using the move to benefit his campaign.
Trump said that his call for Russia to find Clinton’s missing emails was a joke, but Robert Mueller’s report revealed that Russia hackers indeed sought her emails within hours of his remarks.
Hillary Clinton suggests scenario in which Democrat asks China to hack IRS for Trump's tax returns https://t.co/IzYDw0XYnv pic.twitter.com/6tnLFhKpkw
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 2, 2019
In the same MSNBC interview, Clinton touched on Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the Mueller report and the Wednesday hearing that saw prominent Democrats call on Barr to resign. The New York Times reports that Clinton believes the Democrats on the committee did well exposing that Barr is working for the president, and claims that he is not doing his job with the benefit of the United States in mind.
Clinton also said that calling for Barr’s resignation “makes perfect sense,” although she said that it’s crucial to ensure that Barr isn’t using his behavior to take attention off the Mueller report.
When it comes to Trump, Clinton called for hearings but didn’t agree to immediate impeachment proceedings against the president. Instead, she believes Congress should continue its investigation into Trump, highlighting that there is still lots of material to explore and uncover. By waiting for impeachment proceedings, Clinton believes it will be better for creating a narrative and determining if the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors.