Nikki Haley Says Donald Trump's Criminal Cases Must 'Play Out' Before She Would Consider Pardoning Him

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has stated that former President Donald Trump's criminal cases would need to "play out" before she would consider pardoning him if she is elected president.

During a CNN town hall in Henniker, N.H., Jake Tapper asked Haley if she would preemptively pardon Trump without waiting for a conviction, similar to what Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon.

Haley, who would have the power to pardon Trump only for federal offenses, responded by saying, "No. I think everything needs to play out."

"I think it's important that that happens, and I honestly think President Trump would want that to happen. If he wants to defend himself and prove that he has been treated, you know, the wrong way or whether it's political, I think he would want to fight for that," she explained. "You know, you only want to talk about a pardon after someone has been convicted, so I would assume that we'd let that play out, and I would think he would want that to play out."

Tapper then asked Haley if she would pardon Trump if he were convicted, to which she replied, "I said I would pardon him with the simple reason of, you know, when you talk about a pardon, someone's already been found guilty, but for me, the last thing we need is an 80-year-old president sitting in jail because that's just going to further divide our country."

Haley argued that the focus should not be on Trump's guilt or innocence but rather on bringing the country back together. She believes that a pardon for Trump would help heal the divisions in the country.

Trump is currently facing four separate legal cases. He is facing charges in New York for allegedly falsifying business records, federal charges over his handling of government documents, and two indictments — one federal and one state — over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

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Haley came in third during the Iowa caucuses, garnering only 19 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 51 percent.

According to Real Clear Politics, the former president holds a 51-point lead average against the rest of the candidates in the race nationally.

A recent poll conducted by the American Research Group found Haley and Trump tied at 40 percent in New Hampshire.