Trump Camp Threatens To Sue Sen. Harry Reid For Calling Him A “Sexual Predator”

Kellyanne Conway Says Senate Minority Leader “Should Be Very Careful About Characterizing Somebody In A Legal Sense”

UPDATE: Sen. Reid’s deputy chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, issued the following statement responding to Conway’s threat: 

“It only took five days for President-elect Trump to try to silence his critics with the threat of legal action. This should shock and concern all Americans.

“Trump has always used threats and intimidation to silence his critics. Now he wants to silence a discussion of the acts of hate and threats of violence being committed in his name across the country. Silencing this discussion normalizes hate and intimidates the victims.

“The facts are stark and shocking. Since Trump was elected, acts of hate against Muslims, Jews, women and people of color have spiked dramatically. The KKK is planning a parade to celebrate Trump’s victory because the KKK sees Trump as their champion. Today, a headline in one newspaper reads, ‘Popular neo-Nazi site urges readers to troll liberals into suicide,’ while another reads, ‘Post-election spate of hate crimes worse than 9-11.’

“But instead of rising to the responsibility of his office, Trump is hiding behind his Twitter account and sending his staff on TV to threaten his critics.

“If this is going to be a time of healing, Trump must take action immediately to stop the acts of hate and threats of violence that are being committed in his name across the country. Trump owes the nation leadership, not petty attempts to silence his critics.”

ORIGINAL POST: 

Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser for Donald Trump who served as his campaign manager, appeared to threaten legal action Sunday against Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid for calling the president-elect a “sexual predator.” 

On Friday, Reid issued a statement that read in part, “If this is going to be a time of healing, we must first put the responsibility for healing where it belongs: at the feet of Donald Trump, a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate.”

On Sunday, Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Conway to respond to Reid’s statement. 

“I find Harry Reid’s public comments and insults about Donald Trump and other Republicans to be beyond the pale,” Conway said, according to a transcript posted online. “And he should be very careful about characterizing somebody in a legal sense. He thinks — he thinks he’s just being some kind of political pundit there, but I would say be very careful about the way you characterize it.” 

After Wallace interrupted and asked whether Conway was suggesting that Trump might sue Reid, she tried to walk back her statement. 

“No, I’m not suggesting that at all,” Conway said. “I’m suggesting — I’m calling for responsibility and maturity and decency for somebody who has held one of the highest positions in our government, in a country of more than 300 million people.”

Conway then proceeded to blame Reid for anti-Trump protests that have broken out across the nation since Tuesday’s election. 

“A lot of these protesters are not there peacefully, are not there because they just want to express themselves and make a point or make the difference. They are there for nefarious conditions, they’re booing us, spitting on us. They’re causing all kinds of havoc,” Conway said. “You know, he has to stop. He has a responsibility. Harry Reid has a platform to do good here and he ought — he ought to rise to the occasion and do that.”