Trump Says Manafort Pardon ‘Not Off The Table’
Nov 28, 2018, 2:19 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:16 pm
FILE - In this May 23, 2018, file photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves the Federal District Court after a hearing, in Washington. Special counsel Robert Mueller is accusing Manafort of lying to federal investigators in the Russia probe in breach of his plea agreement. Prosecutors say in a new court filing that after Manafort agreed to truthfully cooperate with the investigation, he “committed federal crimes” by lying about “a variety of subject matters.” (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s never discussed pardoning his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, but says it’s “not off the table.”
In an interview with the New York Post on Wednesday, Trump asked rhetorically: “Why would I take it off the table?”
Prosecutors have accused Manafort of repeatedly lying to them and violating his agreement to tell all in return for a lighter sentence.
There also are new questions about what Manafort knows and what prosecutors say he might be attempting to conceal as they probe Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates in the campaign.
Meanwhile, Manafort’s lawyers have been briefing Trump’s attorneys on what their client has told investigators. The arrangement could give Trump ammunition in his fight against special counsel Robert Mueller.
