Trump will not pursue charges against Clinton, aide says

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Conway: No plan to pursue charges against Clinton

Peter Doocy reports from New York

President-elect Donald Trump will not pursue charges against Hillary Clinton relating to the Clinton foundation or the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server, former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Conway said that while Clinton “has to face the fact that a majority of Americans don’t find her to be honest and trustworthy,” it would be a good thing if Trump can “help her heal.”

"I think when the President-elect, who's also the head of your party…tells you before he's even inaugurated  he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content,” she said.

The move is a significant break from Trump’s campaign rhetoric, which included a warning that if he were president he’d get his attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her behavior. In the second presidential debate he quipped to Clinton that if he was president: “you’d be in jail.”

Cries of “lock her up” were a common feature at Trump’s campaign rallies.

Conway also indicated that there were a number of things Trump was looking at as president-elect that may differ from his campaign rhetoric.

“Look, I think he's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the President of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign aren’t among them," she added.

Trump's decision not to pursue charges against Clinton would not prevent congressional Republicans from opening investigations and referring them to the Justice Department for charges.

Trump expanded on his decision at a meeting with reporters at the New York Times Tuesday afternoon, telling them "I think it would be very very divisive for the country" to prosecute the Clintons, although he hadn't taken it off the table entirely.