During an interview with CBS journalist Norah O’Donnell, Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of involvement in seditious conspiracy over his attempts to overturn the outcome of the last presidential election and stay in power.
“I would not be honest if I didn’t say I think there was a seditious conspiracy against the government of the United States, and that’s a crime,” Clinton remarked, adding it was “led by Donald Trump, encouraged by Donald Trump.” She also noted how she never engaged in similar action after losing in 2016. “I was the Secretary of State. I spent many days on airplanes flying from place to place, encouraging people to have a real democracy,” Clinton added. “And one of the hallmarks of a real democracy is the peaceful transfer of power… Did I even for a nanosecond think, ‘I’m going to claim victory and try to get the Democrats to refuse to certify the election’? No.” Check out Clinton’s remarks below:
"Was I happy when I beat Donald Trump by nearly 3 million votes but lost the Electoral College? No," @HillaryClinton tells @NorahODonnell. "Did I ever for a nanosecond think, 'I'm gonna claim victory and try to get the Democrats to refuse to certify the election'? No." pic.twitter.com/PtRziziTH8
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 6, 2022
In a court dispute between the House committee investigating the Capitol riot and Trump-allied attorney John Eastman, a federal judge already concluded Trump likely — although not certainly — committed criminal activity amid his attempts to stay in power, but the judge didn’t specify seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors charged individuals associated with the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, two right-wing extremist groups, with seditious conspiracy in connection to the Capitol attack. Trials for those charged with the offense from those groups remain forthcoming, but three individuals already pleaded guilty to the charge, offering what is essentially formal confirmation of the seditious nature of what happened at the Capitol. Trump continues, of course, to stand by his previous attempts to undo the election outcome — and now, he’s pushing for a redo of the election or a declaration he was the rightful winner.
In an interview this week on The View, Clinton addressed concerning ramifications of Trump harboring hundreds of documents marked classified at his southern Florida resort known as Mar-a-Lago, where he has largely resided since leaving office.
“It shouldn’t be partisan,” Clinton said. “It should concern every American because those documents and the empty folders as they were marked suggest that there was really important secret information that is essential to our country’s defense and security. And when the report came out yesterday that the documents also included information about — we don’t know which — an ally or an adversary’s nuclear program, I cannot tell you how terrifying that is.”
Clinton also discussed some of the strict precautions for protecting federal secrets that she encountered while serving as Secretary of State in the Obama administration. For instance, she said she was presented with information while in office carried in a locked case that was locked to the wrist of the person transporting it. “So I don’t understand how these documents ended up where they are,” Clinton added. “I don’t understand how he was permitted to take them, even to the residence, let alone to a country club in Florida… People literally die to get our government information. They go to prison. They get exiled. It’s dangerous oftentimes, and the idea that this would’ve been done I hope everybody takes really seriously.”
