President Donald Trump in a Tweet suggested that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was unfair in his investigation by sharing a question that “so many people are asking.”
So many people are asking why isn't the A.G. or Special Council looking at the many Hillary Clinton or Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017
Mueller isn’t investigating Hillary Clinton’s emails is because his mandate is to investigate Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and any crimes he uncovers in that process. As broad as that mandate can be, it cannot be stretched to cover Hillary Clinton’s actions in an office she left in 2013.
Still, the fact that she hasn’t been prosecuted is an injustice. Others, including a general who served the country with distinction, faced felony convictions for less egregious mishandling of national security secrets that Secretary Clinton. I can understand why “so many people” are upset about this and will be happy to provide them an answer.
Hillary Clinton isn’t being prosecuted because the president wasn’t interested in doing it. The New York Times reported on November 22nd:
Mr. Trump, who branded his rival “Crooked Hillary” and said she would go to jail if he were president, said in an interview with reporters and editors at The New York Times that he was no longer interested in pursuing Mrs. Clinton, in part because he wanted to heal the wounds of a divisive campaign.
Saturday’s tweet represents the latest in a series in which the President complains about an issue within the Executive Branch that he has the power to address. Either he misunderstands the power of his office, or he serves up these tweets to be passed on by less savvy political followers.
As America’s chief executive, the President has broad discretionary powers. No one disputes that he was well within his rights to choose not to prosecute Secretary Clinton. However, having made that decision, he has to own it.
The President either needs to appoint a special prosecutor to look into Secretary Clinton’s wrongdoing or stop using her as a defense to suggest he’s unfairly persecuted. Right now, the President has refused to have someone investigated and is complaining about the lack of an investigation.