Oh The Irony: Trump's Allegations Against Clinton In 2016 Are The Same Ones In His Indictment

Recall 2016. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Presidency, made bombastic allegations against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democatic opponent.

Trump's vitriol, directed at Clinton's handling of classified information via a private server, was relentless. He called her "Crooked Hillary" and led notorious "lock her up" chants at his rallies. Bold claims of a federal indictment and criminal charges against Clinton now ring hollow considering how, today, Trump's the one being accused of federal crimes.

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What Happened: The 45th president was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on seven counts, including obstruction and violations of the Espionage Act.

The allegations stem from Trump's handling of classified information, including whether one of his employees intentionally destroyed private servers at his home to cover up evidence. 

Indeed, the scenario allows his opponents to wallow in schadenfreude and point out the irony of his rants against Clinton:

• Trump at a presidential debate Oct. 10, 2016: “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. There has never been anything like it, and we’re going to have a special prosecutor ... We’re going to get a special prosecutor, and we’re going to look into it, because you know what? People have been — their lives have been destroyed for doing one-fifth of what you’ve done. And it’s a disgrace. And honestly, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."
• At a campaign event Oct. 11, 2016: "We have to investigate Hillary Clinton and we have to investigate the investigation ... Hillary bleached and deleted 33,000 e-mails after congressional subpoenas. Can you imagine that? They got a subpoena from the United States Congress and then they deleted everything. If you did that in private life, you go to jail. And then destroyed her phones, some with a hammer, boom. Anybody destroy your phones before with a hammer, anybody? No? Anybody? No? And people have gone to jail for doing far less.”

Once Trump won the White House, neither he nor anyone else presented any evidence against Clinton.

Why It Matters: Trump is campaigning for the 2024 presidential election. So far, his legal troubles seem to be dividing those within the GOP.

His rivals — former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott, pharma entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — have come to his defense.

Only former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seems to be dissenting, calling Trump's legal troubles "self-inflicted wounds."

What's Next: Trump is due to appear Tuesday, June 13 at the federal courthouse in Miami.

Now Read: Trump's Niece Says Hillary Clinton Was Right About Everything

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