WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump told his top White House lawyer in spring 2018 that he wanted to prosecute former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and ex-FBI Director James Comey, US media reported.

Trump informed White House counsel Donald McGahn that he wanted the Department of Justice to initiate prosecutions against Clinton and Comey, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the conversation.

However, McGahn refused Trump’s request and stated that he had no authority to order such prosecutions, the newspaper added.

McGahn then arranged for other White House lawyers to write a memorandum to Trump cautioning that if the president requested any US law enforcement bodies to launch such probes, he might risk being impeached or face other problems, according to the report.

It remains unclear which accusations Trump wanted US prosecutors to pursue, the newspaper added.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 over his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email server and email accounts for official business during her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

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The FBI concluded that she did not intend to violate US laws and recommended no criminal charges be filed against Clinton.