Hillary Clinton refuses to rule out contesting 2016 election result
Former secretary of state suggests she may challenge if ‘Russia’s interference in the election is even deeper than we know now’

Hillary Clinton has said she wouldn’t rule out contesting the result of the 2016 US Presidential election if Russian collusion is proven by special counsel Bob Mueller.
In what Salon describes as “her most incendiary comments since the election,” Clinton admitted that she would not rule out questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s victory if the investigation into election meddling reveals that Russia’s “interference in the election is even deeper than we know now.”
“No, I wouldn’t rule it out,” Clinton responded when pressed by interviewer Terry Gross on NPR.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The former secretary of state went on to compare the American election to the recent presidential election in Kenya, the results of which were overturned due to irregularities. Clinton noted that the data analysis firm that worked for Kenyan incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta is connected to Trump allies including former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
“You know, the Kenya election was just overturned and really what’s interesting about that (is) the Kenyan election was also a project of Cambridge Analytica, the data company owned by the Mercer family that was instrumental in the Brexit vote.”
While Clinton’s words are a “big deal” says CNN’s Chris Cillizza, the “harder-to-answer questions are a) how she would go about challenging the election and b) what the prospects for such a challenge actually working might be”.
Later on in the interview, Clinton herself said there have been “scholars and academics who argue challenging the results would be possible” but “I just don’t think we have a mechanism”.
Citing work done by Julia Azari, an associate politics professor at Marquette University, Cillizza agrees with Clinton’s assessment saying in order for the election to be challenged: “The question isn’t even whether Mueller is able to prove collusion. It’s whether that collusion can be proven to have directly affected actual votes.”
“And from what we know from every intelligence agency - at least to date - is that there is no evidence that any votes were changed as a result of Russian interference in the election.”
Glen Caplin, a spokesman for Clinton, said after the interview aired that the Democrat “has said repeatedly the results of the election are over but we have to learn what happened.”
“I would hope anyone in America concerned about the integrity of our democracy would feel the same way if we got there. But we’re not,” Caplin said.
“Right now Bob Mueller and several congressional committees are investigating to what extent the Russians impacted our election and who exactly helped them do so.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ningaloo: Australia's other great reef
The Week Recommends Get up close and personal with whale sharks in an incredible underwater experience
By The Week UK Published
-
Codeword: March 16, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: March 16, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is Donald Trump a Russian agent?
The Explainer 'We have to consider the possibility that President Trump is a Russian asset' former Tory minister Graham Stuart tweeted last week. Do we?
By The Week UK Published
-
Trump's military makeover: fewer rules, more violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have begun dramatically rewriting the guidelines for armed forces' operations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How feasible is a Ukraine ceasefire?
Today's Big Question Kyiv has condemned Putin's 'manipulative' response to proposed agreement
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Is America heading toward competitive authoritarianism?
Today's Big Question Some experts argue that the country's current democratic system is fading
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Detention centers have, for decades, been an abuse of administrative power'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published