Trump aide suggests he'll drop pledge to investigate Clinton

[WASHINGTON] Donald Trump won't follow through on his promise to appoint a special prosecutor to dig into Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state, a top aide to the president-elect suggested Tuesday.

Appearing on MSNBC, Kellyanne Conway didn't dispute the channel's report, citing an unidentified source, that Mr Trump wouldn't pursue probes into Mrs Clinton's e-mail or foundation.

When the president-elect, as head of the party, "tells you before he's even inaugurated he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone and content, to the members," Ms Conway said when asked if Mr Trump would call off Republican lawmakers.

Ms Conway, who managed Trump's White House bid, said his focus had shifted from the rhetoric of the campaign trail.

"I think he's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the president of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign aren't among them," she said.

It was a shift from the race, when crowds at Trump rallies frequently chanted "lock her up." Mr Trump himself called Mrs Clinton's conduct "illegal" and said during a debate that she would "be in jail" if he became president.

FBI director James Comey said in July that Mrs Clinton and her aides had been "extremely careless" in their handling of sensitive information on her server but that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case. The Department of Justice affirmed his conclusion.

The issue exploded again in October when Mr Comey told lawmakers in a letter that he wanted to examine newly discovered e-mails that appeared related to the case, prompting Mr Trump to tell followers the bureau was preparing to "right the horrible mistake that they made."

Just two days before the election, Mr Comey concluded in a second letter that the new messages did not alter his conclusion.

BLOOMBERG