National Public Radio interviewed Daniel Feller, UT professor of history, about how common it is when politicians push for investigation of their opponents—particularly when their opponents have lost.
The story examined the call of the White House and some Republicans for an investigation into Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump’s contender for the presidency.
Calls for law enforcement probes of a defeated candidate may be unprecedented.
“I can’t really think of any previous experience to compare it to,” Feller, a presidential historian, told NPR.
As a specialist in Andrew Jackson’s presidency, he knows a lot about partisan conflicts in American politics. It’s rare to see candidates re-fighting an election, he said, but this is particularly odd because “it’s the winners who want to re-fight it.”