Kellyanne Conway: Donald Trump Won’t Pursue Hillary Clinton Email Investigation

Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he will not pursue an investigation against Hillary Clinton, walking back one of his controversial campaign promises.

“I think when the president-elect, who’s also the head of your party now, Joe, 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,” Conway said in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “And I think Hillary Clinton still has to face the fact that a majority of Americans don’t find her to be honest or trustworthy, but if Donald Trump can help her heal, then perhaps that’s a good thing.”

During one of the presidential debates, Trump promised that, if elected, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state. “If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there has never been so many lies, so much deception,” he said at the time.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced in July that it would not prosecute Clinton or her aides over their use of the server. In the same month, FBI Director James Comey recommended that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton, after an investigation into the server revealed no evidence of criminal behavior. While campaigning, Trump accused both institutions of being biased in favor of Clinton.

But Conway said he has no plans to further pursue that charge.

“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.