Trump denies offering pardons for wall-related crimes as other news organizations confirm his remarks

Trump in the Cabinet Room
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump denied Wednesday that has offered pardons to aides who break the law rushing to build his "matte black" border wall, calling a Tuesday night Washington Post report "another totally Fake story" that "was made up by The Washington Post only in order to demean and disparage." On Wednesday, The New York Times and CNN both confirmed the Post's reporting.

A White House official hadn't denied Trump's pardon offers to the Post, saying only that Trump was joking, and a senior administration official told the Times the same thing, insisting that when Trump offers pardons or asks aides to break the law, "he winks when he does it."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.