If President Trump wanted to jail Clinton, this is how he could do it

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

"Lock her up!" was a favorite chant at Donald Trump rallies throughout the general election, and now that only a few short months separate him from the White House, he actually has the power to try to do so. Trump even publicly vowed to hire a special prosecutor to go after Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server and claimed that she would "be in jail" if he is elected.

A president can't just throw someone in jail, though. Here's what would need to happen:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.