President Donald Trump said today that former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “should be in jail,” the Washington Times reports.
Clinton should have been “taken right off the campaign” and thrown in jail back in 2016, according to Trump, and that would have happened if not for former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey.
“The Democrats hated Comey more than any human being. He actually did Hillary Clinton a big favor because she should be in jail.”
Comey’s FBI was investigating Clinton’s handling of sensitive information on a private email server during the 2016 presidential election.
In what was considered an unprecedented move, the Washington Times notes, Comey penned a letter to Congress that many – Hillary Clinton included – believe cost the Democratic Party candidate the election.
In her first post-election interview, Hillary Clinton said she would have won the election had it not been for Comey’s letter about her private email account, according to CNBC .
President Trump’s most recent comments about his political nemesis Hillary Clinton are reminiscent of the 2016 presidential race, and one of its defining moments.
During what is arguably one of the most controversial debates in the history of U.S. presidential elections, then-candidate Donald Trump delivered a threat to Clinton on live television.
“If I win,” Trump warned, as reported by the New York Times , “I’m going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation, because there’s never been so many lies, so much deception.”
Hillary Clinton hit back at Trump, arguing that it is “awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”
“Because,” candidate Trump replied, “you’d be in jail.”
Now, President Trump is suggesting that Hillary Clinton should be in jail and that the only reason she isn’t are former FBI Director James Comey’s actions.
TRUMP: “I did a great service for this country when I fired Comey. He was a bad guy with bad intentions… he actually did Hillary Clinton a big favor, because she should be in jail.” pic.twitter.com/Htub0VF4Kf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 11, 2018
On May 9, 2017, according to the Washington Post , President Trump fired James Comey, citing a recommendation from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which itself was based on a memo from Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein’s memo criticized Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation.
For President Trump, suggesting to jail Hillary Clinton is nothing new. He has called for the imprisoning of former secretary of state on multiple occasions.
Most recently, during a fiery rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, President Trump accused Hillary Clinton of colluding with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, according to NBC News .
During Trump’s slamming of Clinton, the crowd chanted: “Lock her up, lock her up!”
