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Trump, in an
interview with the New York Times, took a more compassionate
tone toward the Democratic presidential nominee than during his
campaign, when he talked about a possible criminal investigation
of the opponent he dubbed "Crooked Hillary" if he won the White
House.
Chants of "Lock her up" echoed throughout his campaign rallies,
with Trump supporters angrily alleging corruption related to her
use of a private email server while secretary of state and to
foreign contributions received by the Clinton Foundation
charity.
"She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different
ways, and I am not looking to hurt them at all. The campaign was
vicious," Trump told the Times, adding that launching an
investigation was "not something I feel very strongly about."
Conservatives who had reveled in the possibility of a Clinton
prosecution were not pleased.
Breitbart News, the outlet once led by Trump's chief strategist,
Steve Bannon, published a story on Tuesday under the headline,
"Broken Promise: Trump 'Doesn't Wish to Pursue' Clinton email
charges."
Writer and commentator Ann Coulter also balked at the news,
tweeting: "Whoa! I thought we elected (Trump) president. Did we
make him the FBI, & (U.S. Department of Justice)? His job is to
pick those guys, not do their jobs."
She added no president should block "investigators from doing
their jobs."
Radio personality Rush Limbaugh asked the 2 million people who
like his Facebook page for reaction and received more than 2,000
responses, many of which were livid.
"Donald J. Trump, I am hearing that you will not be pursuing
Hillary email scandal and pay-to-play. If that is the case, you
just proved to me and America that laws are for the poor people.
That Lady Justice is not blind. That you are no different than
the swamp you want to drain. If true, you have just spit in my
face and so many others," Facebook user Donald Marks wrote.
Some Republicans have backed the shift, including former New
York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close Trump adviser, who told
reporters on Tuesday that while he would have supported an
investigation, Trump had to make a "tough choice."
"There is a tradition in American politics that after you win an
election, you sort of put things behind you," Giuliani told ABC
News.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Peter
Cooney)
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