White House press secretary Josh Earnest did not rule out the possibility of President Barack Obama pardoning Hillary Clinton before he leaves office in January on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump during the campaign pledged to jail Hillary Clinton if he was elected over the federal investigations that are underway. Some legal experts have said President Obama could close off that opportunity if he pardons Hillary Clinton. Is that something that the president is considering doing?,” a reporter asked Earnest at the daily White House press briefing. Trump during the presidential campaign said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary’s use of a private e-mail server.
“As you know, the president has offered clemency to a substantial amount of Americans who were previously serving time in federal prisons and we didn’t talk in advance about the president’s plans to offer clemency to any of these individuals,” Earnest replied. He added, “That’s because we don’t talk about the president’s thinking, particularly with respect to any specific cases that may apply to pardons or commutations.”
Obama has granted 944 commutations and 70 pardons.
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