Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Thursday that the president has been thinking of pardoning his convicted felon former campaign manager for weeks.
Read the biggest developments from Michael Cohen's testimony.
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According to The Washington Post, the bumbling TV lawyer said Trump sought advice about the potential of a Manafort pardon “weeks ago.”
The report noted that Trump was furious that federal prosecutors were trying to “beat up” Manafort. Of course, the term “beat up” translates to “hold him accountable” for anyone who cares about the rule of law.
More from The Post:
The subject of pardoning Manafort came up as Trump’s former campaign chairman faced multiple charges of bank fraud and tax evasion in an Alexandria court and the president was expressing his anger at how federal prosecutors had “beat up†and mistreated Manafort, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said in an interview.
Trump’s lawyers counseled the president against the idea of pardoning anyone linked to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, according to Giuliani, saying Trump should at least wait until special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his probe. Giuliani said the president agreed and did not push the issue further.
A Manafort pardon is in the works
While the president’s babysitters convinced him to hold off on a pardon for the time being – likely afraid it would only add more evidence to Mueller’s obstruction of justice case – it’s clearly in the works.
That’s because, unlike Michael Cohen, Manafort doesn’t appear to have flipped on Trump. The president even admitted as much in a tweet this week, praising Manafort and assailing Cohen.
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice†took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break†– make up stories in order to get a “deal.†Such respect for a brave man!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
In other words, Trump values criminals who sit on information that would incriminate others – him in particular – and not criminals who come clean about the extent of their illegal activities.
The United States is being run by a man who doesn’t even believe in the laws he swore an oath to protect. He only believes in blind loyalty to himself.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
