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

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

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.”

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without 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

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate