DONALD BACKS OFF THREAT TO PROSECUTE HILLARY

WASHINGTON— US President-elect Donald Trump backed away from a threat to prosecute his political rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, saying to do so would be “very divisive for the country.”

During a meeting with The New York Times editorial staff, Trump appeared to reverse the “lock-her-up” campaign rhetoric that had called his respect for the rule of law into question.

“I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t,” Trump was quoted as saying by the paper’s staff. “She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.” After an FBI investigation into Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state, the Department of Justice recommended no charges be levelled at the Democratic candidate.

But the issue has enraged Republicans and has been cited as a factor in Clinton’s defeat to Trump during the 2016 presidential election.

During the campaign, Trump triggered consternation and widespread condemnation when he said Clinton would be in jail if he won the White House.

He now faces the consternation of supporters who took that pledge literally.

Right-wing website Breitbart accused Trump of a “broken promise,” in what may be the first visible crack in Trump’s coalition of Republicans, the disgruntled middle class and far-right extremists.

“I think it would be very, very divisive for the country,” Trump said, defending his U-turn.

“My inclination would be for whatever power I have on the matter is to say let’s go forward. This has been looked at for so long, ad nauseum.”

Throughout the long campaign and during the transition to the White House, Trump has appeared to reverse himself on a range of policies, from immigration to climate change.

Whether this is the last reversal on Clinton remains to be seen.

Detractors are likely to see Trump’s comments as yet more evidence that he does not understand or respect the division between the executive and judicial branches.