Former President Trump suggested Tuesday that it was “very possible” Democrats could face prosecution down the road following his own historic conviction in the New York criminal hush money trial.
Trump, in an interview with Newsmax, floated the idea that his prosecution could open the door to political opponents being targeted, echoing comments he has made ever since he was charged with dozens of criminal counts across multiple jurisdictions.
“Does that mean the next president does it to them? That’s really the question,” Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for November, said in the interview, highlighted by Mediaite.
“And wouldn’t it be really bad like, as an example, Hillary with the hammering of her cellphones and all of the things she did, but wouldn’t it be terrible to throw the president’s wife and the former secretary of state — you think of it, the former secretary of state, but the president, the president’s wife, into jail?” he continued. “Wouldn’t that be a terrible thing? But they want to do it. So, you know, it’s like it’s, it’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to. And it’s very possible that it’s gonna have to happen to them.”
Trump last week was found guilty on 34 felony counts in his New York criminal trial over falsifying business records related to a hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign. He has said he plans to appeal the decision.
Trump, following the verdict, claimed his legal problems have been orchestrated by President Biden “and his people,” though there is no evidence the White House played a role in the case that was brought by the state of New York. Attorney General Merrick Garland called such rhetoric “dangerous” in remarks Tuesday.
The former president, who is also facing criminal charges in Washington, D.C., Georgia, and Florida, has previously suggested his own prosecution could open the door to future presidents targeting their opponents.
Trump himself has said if elected he would appoint “a real special ‘prosecutor’ to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the USA, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family, & all others involved with the destruction of our elections, borders, & country itself!”
He has also tried to downplay the idea that he’s out for revenge if he wins a second term, saying in recent months that “success” would be his ultimate retribution.