Trump said Clinton should not run under investigation. Now he is running as a convicted prisoner

WASHINGTON – Before Donald Trump became the first former president and likely major party nominee to be convicted of a crime, he argued that a candidate who could face impeachment should not be allowed to run for president.

It was 2016, and Trump, then the Republican nominee, was trying to capitalize on a Justice Department investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. If Clinton were criminally indicted and became president, he warned, it would “trigger an unprecedented constitutional crisis” and “bring the government to a standstill.”

“People, people, people, she should not be allowed to run. OK?” Trump told a raucous crowd in Reno, Nevada, on November 5, 2016, pausing for emphasis on each word. He made similar comments at other rallies, including the day before in Concord, North Carolina.

Trump is now campaigning after losing one criminal case and having three more pending. A jury in Manhattan unanimously found Trump guilty last Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records. He disguised a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election as reimbursement of legal fees to his lawyer Michael Cohen.

But Trump has shown no signs of backing down, instead issuing defiant statements and boasting that his fundraising has skyrocketed since his conviction.

A common topic of conversation

Trump’s opposition to presidential candidates with legal problems was expressed in several campaign speeches just days before the November 2016 election. Clinton was investigated for misusing confidential emails via a private email server during her time as Secretary of State.

“If she were to win this election, it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis,” Trump said in Reno. “In that situation, it could well happen that a sitting president is impeached and ultimately put on trial. That would bring the government to a standstill.”

After pausing to listen to the boos from the crowd, Trump continued:

“We need an administration that can work for the American people from day one, and do it well. That will be impossible with Hillary Clinton, the prime suspect in a comprehensive criminal investigation. Her current scandals and controversies will continue throughout her presidency and make it virtually impossible for her to govern or lead our country.”

In his campaign speech in North Carolina, Trump said an impeached president would “cripple the functioning of our government.”

“She has no right to run, you know that. No right,” Trump said to sustained cheers from his supporters.

Why Trump is not pulling out

Trump’s current situation is more serious than Clinton’s because she has never been accused of criminal wrongdoing and Trump was not only indicted but convicted in one of his four cases.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told USA TODAY that Trump’s case is different from Clinton’s, providing some descriptions of both cases that contradict key facts.

“The difference is that this is a lawless witch hunt launched by the corrupt Joe Biden and his Justice Department against his main political opponent in an attempt to influence an election,” Cheung said, referring to the prosecution of Trump.

Two of the criminal cases against Trump were brought by locally elected district attorneys in Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia, and Trump has provided no evidence of Biden’s involvement.

The other two cases were brought by Smith as special counsel after he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland appointed Smith after Trump announced his intention to run for president to ensure that investigations into various Trump controversies were independent and free of political influence.

When asked why Trump, as president, would not “shut down the government” and create a similar constitutional crisis as Clinton, Cheung did not answer, saying only that Trump was being treated unfairly and attacking Clinton for her handling of her emails.

One done, three left

The presiding judge in this case, Juan Merchan, has set the sentencing for Donald Trump for July 11. At least until then, he will be free.

The date falls between his first debate appearance against President Joe Biden and the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to be officially named the party’s nominee.

Trump still faces criminal charges in three other cases, including two counts related to alleged illegal voter fraud in the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

In total, Trump has been charged with 88 counts, including 34 in Manhattan. That leaves 54 counts pending in the three other cases, two of which are in federal court, brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith on behalf of the Justice Department.

In the other case, in Fulton County, Georgia, Trump and 14 co-defendants – including some of his former lawyers and government employees – are accused of trying to overturn Trump’s defeat in the Peach State in 2020.

Last June, after the paperwork was filed, Trump told Politico that he would stay in the race even if convicted.

“I’m never leaving,” Trump said in an interview on board his plane. “These are criminals and degenerates who are after me.”

A conviction does not legally disqualify Trump from running for president. He is currently the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and is expected to clinch his nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.

“Lock her up!” – Trump comments on the Clinton investigation

In his 2016 campaign speeches, Trump railed against Clinton, stressing that the criminal investigation into her email handling made her unacceptable as a presidential candidate. He and his supporters made the slogan “Lock her up!” a central part of his rallies.

The week before his remarks in Reno, then-FBI Director James Comey had publicly announced that the Justice Department and FBI had reopened an investigation into the email controversy, a move some Clinton supporters said cost her the election.

At the time, Trump said: “There is virtually no doubt that FBI Director Comey and the FBI’s amazing special agents can gather more than enough evidence to impeach Hillary Clinton and her inner circle, despite their efforts to smear and discredit her.”

Trump later fired Comey and repeatedly attacked FBI agents for investigating him and his campaign, who allegedly collaborated with Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election on his behalf.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump once said impeached candidates shouldn’t run. What does he say now?