June 15, 2018

Trump’s Lawyer Says the President May Be Mulling Pardons in the Russia Investigation

Rudy Giuliani’s remarks came just after Paul Manafort was put in jail to await trial.

Chris Kleponis/CNP/ZUMA

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, says Robert Mueller’s special investigation may be “cleaned up” with presidential pardons, the New York Daily News reported Friday. The remark came just hours after a federal judge ordered Paul Manafort to await trial from jail after Mueller accused Manafort of witness tampering, the latest charge brought as investigators examine his lobbying efforts in Ukraine on behalf of a pro-Russian politician.

“When the whole thing is over, things might get cleaned up with some presidential pardons,” Giuliani told the Daily News. 

“I don’t understand the justification for putting him in jail,” Giuliani added. “You put a guy in jail if he’s trying to kill witnesses, not just talking to witnesses.”

DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it.

In this election year unlike any other—against a backdrop of a pandemic, an economic crisis, racial reckoning, and so much daily bluster—Mother Jones' journalism is driven by one simple question: Will America move closer to, or further from, justice and equity in the years to come?

If you're able to, please join us in this mission with a donation today. Our reporting right now is focused on voting rights and election security, corruption, disinformation, racial and gender equity, and the climate crisis. We can’t do it without the support of readers like you, and we need to give it everything we've got between now and November. Thank you.

DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it.

In this election year unlike any other—against a backdrop of a pandemic, an economic crisis, racial reckoning, and so much daily bluster—Mother Jones' journalism is driven by one simple question: Will America move closer to, or further from, justice and equity in the years to come?

If you're able to, please join us in this mission with a donation today. Our reporting right now is focused on voting rights and election security, corruption, disinformation, racial and gender equity, and the climate crisis. We can’t do it without the support of readers like you, and we need to give it everything we've got between now and November. Thank you.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate