Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he would not sic federal investigators on Hillary Clinton once he's in the White House.

'It’s just not something that I feel very strongly about,' he told the New York Times. 'I think it would be very very divisive for the country.'

Trump told the news organization's reporters and editors that he doesn't 'want to hurt' his general election opponent, who he said had 'suffered enough,' or her husband, Bill, a former U.S. president.

He didn't rule out a future prosecution, yet said, 'My inclination would be, for whatever power I have on the matter, is to say let's go forward. This has been looked at for so long, ad nauseum.'

Trump's team teased the announcement - that is sure to shock his supporters - Tuesday morning.

Kellyanne Conway, a senior official on the Republican's presidential campaign and now his transition team, told MSNBC the president-elect has a lot on his mind and 'things that sound like the campaign aren't among them.'

'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,' Conway said.

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Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he would not sic federal investigators on Hillary Clinton once he's in the White House

Clinton has rarely been seen in public since her her electoral defeat two weeks ago. This above photo is from Sunday, at a bookstore in Rhode Island

Kellyanne Conway, a senior official on the Republican's presidential campaign and now his transition team, told Morning Joe the president-elect has a lot on his mind and 'things that sound like the campaign aren't among them'

Trump told the New York Times he doesn't 'want to hurt' his general election opponent, who he said had 'suffered enough,' or her husband, Bill, a former U.S. president. He's pictured leaving the new organization's headquarters this afternoon

Trump threatened Hillary with jail time at a debate and promised to appoint a special prosecutor to look into her deleted emails.

He likewise alleged that the former secretary of state and her husband used their charity, the Clinton Foundation, for 'criminal enterprise.'

'Lock her up!' became a rallying cry for Trump supporters attending his events.

He told DailyMail.com in April that he'd 'have to' request a re-do in her email case.

'You have to take a second look,' he said. 'It would have to be very, very fair and very, very above board.'

The president-elect's inner circle had doubted publicly since the election that Trump would follow through, though, and the incoming president said himself in a 60 Minutes interview that he didn't want to 'hurt' Bill and Hillary.

'They're good people,' he said.

Trump similarly told the Times today, 'I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.'

The Clinton Foundation has been said to have done some 'good work,' he said of complaints against the non-profit that continued to accept foreign donations while Hillary worked for the White House.

Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough had reported earlier on Tuesday that the president-elect would not pursue charges against his former White House opponent for her emails or the pay-for-play schemes he accused her of on the campaign trail.

A source with 'direct knowledge' of Trump's plans shared the information, Brzezinski said on the program early Tuesday am. Trump feels Clinton has been 'through enough,' the source told the program.

Scarborough referenced Gerald Ford's pardoning of Richard Nixon at the beginning of his term for charges associated with Watergate and observed that Trump 'could say there are echos of 1974.'

'But at the same time I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of members of the Trump base that are gonna be angry that he did this,' he said.

The MSNBC host said: 'You don't want to go into a new year chasing somebody out of public life....It's just not good for the country.'

Trump told the Times later on Tuesday he expects his supporters will understand why he's giving Clinton a pass.

'I don't think they will be disappointed,' he said, according to Times reporter Maggie Haberman,

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reported on Tuesday that the president-elect will not pursue charges against his former White House opponent for her emails or the pay-for-play schemes he accused her of on the campaign trail

MORNING JOE MENDS FENCES WITH TRUMP Donald Trump and Morning Joe host Scarborough have had a roller coaster year. Trump was a regular guest on Scarborough's MSNBC show during the primaries and is said to have offered him behind-the-scenes advice. 'You guys have been supporters, and I really appreciate it,' Trump told Scarborough and his co-host Mika Brzezinski in February. 'Not necessarily supporters, but at least believers.' Then, Scarborough claimed that Chris Christie and Bernie Sanders drew higher ratings. By May, their relationship had deteriorated so much that Scarborough said he wouldn't be voting for him. Trump repeatedly attacked the show's hosts on Twitter. 'I don't watch or do @Morning_Joe anymore. Small audience, low ratings! I hear Mika has gone wild with hate. Joe is Joe. They lost their way!' he said in a June tweet. Trump alleged in August that two were dating. 'Some day, when things calm down, I'll tell the real story of@JoeNBC and his very insecure long-time girlfriend,@morningmika. Two clowns!' he said. A couple weeks later the MSNBC hosts visited Trump to bury the hatchet. Advertisement

The White House said Tuesday afternoon that a new investigation into Clinton's email account is unnecessary.

'This decision was already reached,' press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Clinton has rarely been seen in public since her electoral defeat two weeks ago.

A hiker spotted the Democrat near her home, walking her dogs, in Chappaqua, New York.

On Sunday bookseller posted a photograph of Clinton in Westerly, Rhode Island. Clinton was there with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, the woman said.

Clinton delivered a speech last Wednesday in Washington, D.C. before the Children's Defense Fund, the first organization she worked at after college.

Conway confirmed to Scarborough this morning, on air, that Trump would not add injury to insult and work to put Clinton behind bars.

Republicans on Capitol Hill said they would spend 'years' investigating her after the election.

'I think they were looking toward a Clinton administration,' Brzezinski said Tuesday.

Conway said she expects them to back down, too.

'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 told Scarborough.

Trump threatened Clinton with jail time on the campaign trail and promised to appoint a special prosecutor to look into her deleted emails. He likewise alleged Clinton and her husband Bill used their charity for 'criminal enterprise'

She indicated that Trump was changing tack because he has more pressing matters to deal with.

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

Rudy Giuliani, a vice chairman of Trump's transition, told reporters this morning as he exited Trump Tower, that he'd seen the news but had no additional information.

If Trump did reach that conclusion, he said, 'I would be supportive of it.

'I’d also be supportive of continuing the investigation. I think the president-elect had a tough choice there - you could go either way,' Giuliani said. 'If he made the choice to unite the nation, I think all those people who didn’t vote against him, maybe, could take another look at him.'

Giuliani said Tuesday, as he's said before, 'There’s a tradition in American politics that after you win an election, you sort of put things behind you.

'And if that’s the decision he reached, that’s perfectly consistent with sort of a historical pattern of things come up,' he stated today. 'You say a lot of things, even some bad things might happen, and then you can sort of put it behind you in order to unite the nation.'

President Barack Obama could pardon Clinton himself before leaving office as added protection. The White House hasn't specifically ruled that out.

Obama's spokesman said Tuesday that the current White House has gone to 'great lengths' to avoid even the appearance of Oval Office interference in Justice Department investigations.

That includes the Clinton email case, he said, encouraging the Trump administration to abide by 'precedent' set by the Obama White House.

But he also said, 'There was an investigation. The investigation was led by independent officials at the Department of Justice that included director of the FBI.