Trump allies are now threatening Hillary Clinton with prosecution over recount


On Saturday, Hillary Clinton's campaign said it will participate in a recount or audit of the Wisconsin election results being financed by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and also any recounts Stein requests and pays for in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This apparently set off the series of angry tweets from Donald Trump about Clinton's participation in Stein's "scam" and prompted his baseless assertion that "millions" of illegal voters robbed him of the popular vote. Clinton currently has a 1.7 percentage point lead over Trump, or 2.3 million more votes, giving Trump what The Washington Post's Aaron Blake calls "a historically small mandate."
On Monday, Trump adviser and confidante Roger Stone said on The Steve Malzberg Show that by participating in the recount, "Hillary, I think, increases her chances of prosecution by acting this way." He alleged, without offering any proof, that Clinton or George Soros must be secretly financing Stein's recount. Trump, during the presidential campaign, had repeatedly said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton's alleged "crimes," but has suggested since the election that he is not interested in hurting the Clintons. "It's just not something that I feel very strongly about," he told The New York Times.
If his supporters and advisers are any indication, Trump became more interested over the weekend. Here's conservative commentator Katie Pavlich, echoing Stone's barely veiled threat:
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.
And Trump transition senior adviser Kellyanne Conway was only slightly more subtle on CNN Sunday, when she responded to a question about Trump's shift on prosecuting Clinton by arguing that Trump has "been incredibly gracious and magnanimous to Secretary Clinton at a time when, for whatever reason, her folks are saying they will join in a recount to try to somehow undo the 70-plus electoral votes that he beat her by."
"It would be a major breach of the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House for the president to order the prosecution of any individual as a means of political retaliation," notes Politico's Madeline Conway.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Sweden's Soft Hooligans: the fans who brought 'good vibes' to the Euros
Under the Radar Formed to create a fun fan atmosphere, the Swedish football supporter group has been bringing the party to the championship
-
Crossword: July 18, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Codeword: July 18, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life