Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trump on Twitter after the former president was indicted on seven counts in connection to the federal investigation into his handling of classified information.
The former senator, secretary of state, first lady, and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee tweeted on Friday that she was “Bringing this back in light of recent news: Get a limited-edition But Her Emails hat and support @onwardtogether groups working to strengthen our democracy”.
Onward Together is a political action organization founded by Ms Clinton in May 2017 to fundraise for progressive groups.
Ms Clinton has repeatedly promoted her “But Her Emails” merchandise on several instances as Mr Trump’s legal woes has steadily expanded.
Following the FBI raid on the 45th president’s Florida residence in August last year, she tweeted: “Every ‘But her emails’ hat or shirt sold helps [Onward Together] partners defend democracy, build a progressive bench, and fight for our values. Just saying!”
The “But Her Emails” slogan is a reference to the scrutiny she faced over the use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state.
The FBI investigated her email use during the 2016 campaign and ultimately didn’t take any legal action, but Ms Clinton has said that she believes that the probes and the news cycles focusing on the investigations played a part in her losing the 2016 election despite winning the popular vote by around three million ballots.
Ms Clinton also promoted her merchandise in February last year following reports that Mr Trump tried to flush documents down White House toilets while in office.
Speaking about Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server in 2016, Mr Trump said: “This was not just extreme carelessness with classified material, which is still totally disqualifying. This is calculated, deliberate, premeditated misconduct, followed by a cover-up that included false statements and lies to Congress, the media and the American people.”
Mr Trump also used the news of his indictment to fundraise.
“This is nothing but a disgusting act of Election Interference by the ruling party to ELIMINATE its opposition and amass total control over our country,” Mr Trump wrote in a message to supporters announcing the indictment on Thursday night.
“The Deep State thought they had destroyed our campaign when a Soros-backed prosecutor indicted and even ARRESTED me earlier this year,” Mr Trump added in reference to his arraignment in the New York hush-money case involving adult actor Stormy Daniels.
“But then, we SHOCKED them as our campaign grew even stronger... We broke fundraising records. 3 independent polls showed us beating Joe Biden by 7 POINTS. In fact, polls show I’m the ONLY Republican who can beat Crooked Joe,” he added. “So, after a state prosecutor failed to break us, the Deep State sharpened their attacks and unleashed a FEDERAL prosecutor to TRY and take us down.”
“But let me be as clear as possible: No matter how viciously they attack me, I will NEVER, EVER SURRENDER our country to the radical Left and I will NEVER end this presidential campaign that puts YOU first,” he said.
This marks the second time Mr Trump has faced indictment in less than three months. The former president saw a stunning fundraising windfall after the first back in March.
Within just 24 hours of the Manhattan indictment, Mr Trump’s campaign raked in more than $4m. That number swelled to more than $15m in just two weeks.
The new charges stem from his alleged illegal retention of national security information.
It was Mr Trump himself who initially shared the news that he had been indicted again. He did so in several posts on his social media platform Truth Social the day after it was reported that federal prosecutors had planned to ask a grand jury to indict Mr Trump.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Mr Trump wrote.
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election,” he claimed, calling himself “an innocent man”.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” he added.
The seven-count indictment reportedly includes one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of making false statements, and at least one count of unlawful retention of national defence information.
Trump attorney James Trusty appeared on CNN on Thursday saying that one count in the indictment concerns a violation of Section 1512 of the US criminal code, which refers to witness tampering.
The charges against Mr Trump come a few days after his legal team met with Justice Department officials as they failed to convince the authorities not to indict their client.
The investigation began last year when the National Archives and Records Administration found more than 100 documents marked classified while going through 15 boxes taken from Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida residence.
