President Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet after it was announced today that his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been talking to special counsel Robert Mueller.
Why?
The plea deal special counsel Robert Mueller granted to Paul Manafort on Friday appears built to be pardon-proof, Politico reports.
That doesn’t mean President Trump won’t try to legally absolve Manafort anyway, but Friday‘s events mean Trump’s ability to contain the legal damage from his former campaign chairman is now severely limited.
Some attorneys also believe the deal Mueller gave Manafort — accepting a guilty plea to just two of seven charges he was facing — signals that the former Trump campaign chief didn’t just agree to answer prosecutors’ questions but produced answers Mueller’s team found useful to some aspect of a case it is actively pursuing.
Even if Trump might have hoped to stop Manafort from singing, Friday’s plea suggests he has already reached the first chorus.
“It certainly seems like Manafort had to give up something to prosecutors,” Fordham law professor Jed Shugerman said. “One way or another, Manafort has given information significant enough to get a deal that would benefit him.”