Why there's no point in Trump pardoning Paul Manafort

Paul Manafort.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Paul Manafort's chances of a presidential pardon likely flew out the window Friday when he agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Not that a pardon would've mattered anyway, journalist Marcy Wheeler suggests.

Even after being convicted of financial crimes last month, Manafort "refused to ... make up stories in order to get a 'deal,'" President Trump tweeted at the time. The president was even considering pardoning his former campaign chair, though Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he suggested Trump should wait until Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation had ended.

But on Friday, Manafort reached a plea deal with prosecutors — including a 17-page cooperation agreement with Mueller's investigation. And even if Manafort was still in Trump's good graces, a pardon would still probably be useless, Wheeler points out on her site Empty Wheel:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more

Wheeler also surmised that, after the plea deal news broke, it was obvious that Manafort would cooperate because no reporters immediately confirmed he wouldn't. Keeping the cooperation secret for nearly two hours was apparently part of Mueller's strategy, as it would "prevent a last-minute pardon from Trump undercutting" the deal, Wheeler writes.

As part of the plea deal, Manafort also pleaded guilty to two federal conspiracy charges ahead of what was supposed to be his second trial regarding his political work with Ukraine. Read more of Wheeler's analysis at Empty Wheel.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.