Trump Can Save Manafort With a Pardon. The Question Is, Will He?
- President’s former campaign chief faces years in prison
- Manafort is a good man, his treatment ‘very sad,’ Trump says
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With Paul Manafort convicted as a tax and bank cheat, President Donald Trump now has a decision to make about his former campaign chairman.
Just hours after the guilty verdict, Trump on Wednesday called Manafort a “brave man” who came under “tremendous pressure” in a “12 year old tax case” and “refused to ‘break’.” Now, the president could forgive Manafort’s crimes and grant a pardon that allows him to escape all punishment. Or Trump could make a less politically risky move, like waiting and eventually commuting Manafort’s sentence, which would free him from prison but leave his conviction intact.