http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/240138-trump-dems-will-protect-clinton-from-chargesApril 27, 2015, 07:52 am
Trump: Dems will protect Clinton from charges
By Ben Kamisar
Businessman Donald Trump slammed potential 2016 foe Hillary Clinton over her family foundation’s donation controversy and characterized the unwillingness to prosecute her as politically motivated.
“If this was a Republican sitting right there, this would absolutely be considered illegal,” Trump said on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends.”
Trump specifically mentioned Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and former Obama-administration CIA director Gen. David Petraeus as two people who were indicted for “far less.”
“But the only problem is that you have Democrats in the U.S. attorney and the attorney general, that’ all Democrats and they are not going to indict her.”
The Justice Department charged Menendez in early April for accusations of trading lavish gifts and trips for official favors, while Petraeus pleaded guilty last week to mishandling classified information by sharing documents with his then mistress.
Clinton has been facing criticism over whether donations to the Clinton Foundation influenced official actions while she served as secretary of State. A controversial new book, Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer, has compounded those allegations. Republicans have pointed to the book as proof of a “smoking gun” that links Clinton to impropriety, while Democrats have bashed it as a politically motivated hack job.
Trump said that he believes Republican presidential candidates are handling the criticism wrong by focusing on how it will affect Clinton’s standing with voters.
“This is about jail time, this isn’t about the voters.”
The real estate magnate continues to weigh a bid for president. He is traveling to New Hampshire on Monday and said he will decide by June or July.
