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Clinton Scandals: Let The Investigations Continue

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Clinton Scandals: Donald Trump now says he won't pursue Hillary 
Clinton on criminal charges for her email and Clinton Foundation 
scandals — despite pledging during the campaign to name a 
special prosecutor to investigate her possible crimes and, if 
she were found guilty, to "lock up" the Democratic nominee.

It's a smart move by the president-elect. In a sharply divided 
America, a personal vendetta is no way to start a presidency.

During the second presidential debate in October, Trump was 
blunt about what he intended to do: "If I win, I am going to 
instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look 
into your situation because there has never been so many lies, 
so much deception."

Now, he's having second thoughts. Just a week ago, he hinted on 
"60 Minutes" that he wouldn't pursue an investigation: "I don't 
want to hurt them. They're good people," he said of the Clintons.

He virtually repeated that Tuesday to the New York Times, 
saying, "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't. She 
went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways."

He also said a possible prosecution would be "very, very 
divisive for the country."

Very statesmanlike and generous, though the media won't treat it 
that way. Besides Trump, as Hillary Clinton's opponent in the 
last election, would be unwise to spearhead an investigation of 
her. It's inappropriate for an elected official to pursue 
charges against a vanquished political foe who is now a private 
citizen, especially for what could be construed as political 
reasons.

Doing so would set a nasty precedent of victors in presidential 
elections charging their political foes with crimes — which is 
Banana Republic kind of stuff, not worthy of a great republic 
such as our own, which has prided itself on over 200 years of 
mostly smooth presidential transitions.

But that said, that doesn't mean we think Hillary and Bill 
Clinton should go scot-free if crimes are found to have been 
committed. We have written extensively about the possible 
criminality in both Hillary's email server scandal and the 
Clinton Foundation's own scandal. There is ample evidence of 
criminal wrongdoing in both.

Yet, while we agree Trump shouldn't himself do it, there are 
already investigations ongoing — and they definitely should not 
be halted.

The FBI and several U.S. Attorneys are looking into the 
possibility that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 
the Clinton Foundation engaged in a kind of pay-for-play 
arrangement, in which those who gave money to the foundation got 
access and favors from Hillary's State Department. If true, 
that's called graft, and it's a felony.

So, yes, it would be unseemly and frankly foolish for Trump to 
enter office and immediately focus on a criminal investigation 
when there's far more important stuff on his agenda, ranging 
from tax and regulatory reform to the repeal of ObamaCare and 
closing our porous borders. He'll have his hands full.

As we noted, there's already an ongoing investigation into the 
Clintons. It began under President Obama, not Trump, and it 
should not be shut down. Just because you run for president 
doesn't give you a get-out-of -jail free card. Meanwhile, 
Congress has also pledged to look into the allegations against 
the Clintons, which at minimum warrant a far deeper 
investigation, even if no criminal charges are forthcoming. 
Those who sell access to the federal government, no matter who 
they are, do not deserve clemency.

As of now, however, neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton has been 
charged with a crime. They deserve, as all citizens do, the 
presumption of innocence. Still, the investigations already 
underway should be allowed to take their course — and when 
they're completed, let the chips fall where they may.

http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/clinton-scandals-
let-the-investigations-continue/
    

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Clinton Scandals: Let The Investigations Continue "Nancy Pelosi Is Also Guilty" <investigate.pelosi@cnn.com> - 2017-05-29 23:39 +0200

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