Trump appears to call for Huma Abedin, ex-Clinton aide, to go to jail

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump suggests Huma Abedin should go to jail for emails According to a new report, Huma Abedin forwarded sensitive government information to her own personal account.

WASHINGTON – President Trump appeared to call for imprisonment of former State Department aide Huma Abedin over her email practices as he once again blasted his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

"Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid (sic), Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols," Trump tweeted. "She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others."

Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018

Trump tweeted less than a week after the State Department released Abedin emails that had been found on the personal laptop of her estranged husband, former U.S. representative Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

More: State Department releases classified emails from Clinton aide Huma Abedin found on Anthony Weiner's computer

A few of those emails contained classified information. The FBI discovered those emails while investigating Weiner for sexting with a minor. The bureau reopened the probe into Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of State to review the tranche but did not recommend charges against either Clinton or Abedin.

Trump's tweet Tuesday appears to have been inspired by a report in The Daily Caller claiming that Abedin "forwarded sensitive State Department emails, including passwords to government systems, to her personal Yahoo email account before every single Yahoo account was hacked."

While assailing "the Deep State," Trump did not note that the Justice Department is currently run by his appointees.

He also did not specify what should be done about former FBI director James Comey, whom he fired in May; Comey later said Trump dismissed him because he refused to squelch the FBI's Russia investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Elsewhere on Twitter, critics assailed Trump's apparent call to jail someone who has not even been charged with a crime, saying it's the kind of thing dictators do.

Calling on the law enforcement apparatus of the government you lead to investigate your political rivals is for the likes of Erdogan & Duterte, not America’s President. Calling DOJ names—well, that’s for middle schoolers and AM talk radio hosts. — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 2, 2018

"Calling on the law enforcement apparatus of the government you lead to investigate your political rivals is for the likes of Erdogan & Duterte, not America’s President," tweeted Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics. "Calling DOJ names—well, that’s for middle schoolers and AM talk radio hosts."

More: FBI: Director James Comey's testimony on Clinton aide was inaccurate

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