Bill Maher accused both President Trump and Hillary Clinton of committing obstruction of justice in a wide-ranging interview aired Monday evening.
The left-leaning comedian and host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” berated each of the former White House rivals during an appearance on CNN.
Discussing the 2016 U.S. presidential election with CNN host Chris Cuomo, Mr. Maher called Mrs. Clinton, the former Democratic nominee, a “terrible candidate.”
“And she committed obstruction of justice,” Mr. Maher said. “Now, Trump did, I think, in much worse fashion. But, you know, smashing up your phones and your hard drives.”
Mrs. Clinton faced scrutiny during the 2016 race for having used a private email server while secretary of state, and the FBI revealed late in the contest that a former assistant recalled “two instances where he destroyed Clinton’s old mobile devices by breaking them in half or hitting them with a hammer.”
Mr. Trump, who was investigated for obstruction of justice by special counsel Robert Mueller, has previously accused Mrs. Clinton of committing obstruction over her data destruction practices.
The FBI ultimately completed its investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email server without bringing criminal charges against her, and Mr. Mueller recently wrapped up the special counsel’s probe without determining whether Mr. Trump committed a crime.
Mr. Maher did not cite any particular conduct on the president’s part while accusing him of obstruction of justice, but elsewhere during the interview the comedian called Mr. Trump a “mental patient” who effectively committed treason by siding at times with the autocratic leaders of Russia and North Korea.
“I certainly caucus with the Democrats, and as long as Donald Trump is president I am down-the-line Democrat,” said Mr. Maher, who acknowledged donating $1 million to former President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. “I go after them because they need going after. They need some tough love and I’m not going to stop. But yes, their stuff is raggedy too.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.