Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted this week of eight felonies, could be re-tried on the 10 the jury could not decide on, and has another felony trial starting next month.
Unlike a long and growing list of Trump associates, Manafort has not flipped on Trump. And the president is very grateful – and is finding ways, and other members of his team are too, to telegraph to Manafort to hold tight, and expect a pardon.
In fact, “President Trump asked his lawyers several weeks ago for their advice on the possibility of pardoning his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his lawyer said Thursday,” according to a report in The Washington Post Thursday afternoon.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has confirmed the report.
“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.”
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond agrees, tweeting, President Trump, “via his attorney, is essentially telegraphing that he’ll likely pardon Manafort after the Mueller investigation has wrapped. Meaning Manafort just has to stick it out, not offer damaging information about Trump & he’ll be home free.”
That’s not what Sarah Huckabee Sanders said when asked if Trump would pardon Manafort. She told reporters just 24 hours ago that Trump “hadn’t been thinking about that at all.” That statement now seems false.
Unsurprisingly, President Trump has clearly been signaling a pardon for Manafort. Just yesterday he posted this tweet:
And this tweet: