Donald Trump Could Face 'Very, Very Serious' Consequences if He Ordered Clinton, Comey Prosecution, Says Former Bush AG

President Donald Trump's alleged directive to prosecute political rivals Hillary Clinton and James Comey could have "very, very serious" consequences, according to a former attorney general and White House counsel for President George W. Bush on Wednesday.

Alberto Gonzales, who served as counsel under Bush from 2001 to 2005 before he was appointed the nation's highest law enforcement officer, explained how a president indeed had the power to make such a request but that he would have advised against the "inappropriate and dangerous" action.

"As a matter of constitutional authority, the president would have the authority to make that kind of request," Gonzales told CNN, "but, you know, if the president had asked me to convey that order to the attorney general, I would have had a very candid conversation with the president as to why that would be inappropriate and dangerous, politically. The consequences could be very, very serious obviously if there may be an indication of some kind of wrongdoing."

As White House counsel, Gonzales said he would have spoken with the two highest ranking Justice Department officers, but not explicitly delivered an order from the president.

"I might have a quiet conversation with the attorney general or maybe the deputy attorney general to just simply say there are these stories out there and it's just something you ought to look at, and then leave it at that," he said. "To convey an order from the president to do an actual investigation is a very serious situation, and one that I would have also pushed back."

Gonzales stated his characterization of a "serious situation" stemmed from the country being a democracy where "you don't go after your political rivals."

Gonzales's comments followed a bombshell report about Trump telling former White House counsel Don McGahn to prosecute former Democratic presidential candidate Clinton and former FBI director James Comey earlier this year.

McGahn reportedly pushed backed on Trump's request, according to The New York Times on Tuesday, and told the president he had the power to order an investigation but not an immediate prosecution.

McGahn, who through his attorney denied having knowledge of Trump issuing the order, later had White House attorneys draft a memo to explain how such an order from Trump could result in accusations of abuse of power or even impeachment proceedings.

Along the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly claimed "crooked" Clinton should be imprisoned over her use of and destruction of a private email server during her time as secretary of state. But following the election, Trump said he did not want to investigate Clinton after such a brutal presidential race.

Comey has been the subject of insults and derision from Trump ever since the president dismissed him in May of last year. Comey's firing and the release of a memo that claimed Trump had asked him to "let go" of the investigation into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to probe Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.