Donald Trump suggested that an individual under felony indictment cannot serve as president because it would create an “unprecedented constitutional crisis” and “grind government to a halt.”
According to CNN’s KFILE, Trump made the comments in 2016 about then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, days after then-FBI Director James Comey announced that the bureau was relaunching the investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server and her handling of classified documents.
“If she were to win, it would create an unprecedented Constitutional crisis that would cripple the operations of our government,” Trump said a rally in Concord, New Hampshire on Nov. 3, 2016 . “She is likely to be under investigation for many years, and also it will probably end up – in my opinion – in a criminal trial. I mean, you take a look. Who knows? But it certainly looks that way.”
Trump made similar remarks at a rally in Reno, Nevada on Nov. 5,2016.
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“We could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and ultimately a criminal trial,” he said. “It would grind government to a halt.”
Trump is in the same situation now as he’s been indicted on 37 counts relating to his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former president also faces a possible second indictment for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Despite his indictment and mounting legal problems, Trump remains the frontrunner in the GOP primary and doesn’t plan to drop out of the race, even if he’s convicted.
“I’ll never leave,” Trump told Politico last month. “Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016. That was a rough one. In theory that was not doable.”
