We’re seeing yesterday and today that Donald Trump and his advisors are signaling that he doesn’t plan to seek the prosecution of Hillary Clinton. “I don’t want to hurt them,” he told 60 Minutes earlier this month.

The personal desires of the President, his mercy, is irrelevant to this kind of decision. Either there is something to investigate or there’s not – and a lengthy investigation that came up with nothing to prosecute suggests there isn’t anything. This isn’t the Colosseum where everyone waits on the Emperor’s thumbs up or down. America is not a place where those who lose elections live freely at the sufferance of the victors. This is certainly better than Trump trying to jail Clinton as he promised, but only so much. What if Hillary Clinton becomes an outspoken critic of President Trump? Does he reconsider? None of this is normal. This is how strongmen talk.