Dem senator: Pardoning targets of Russia probe would be ‘crossing a fundamental line’

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Thursday warned President Trump that pardoning any of the targets of the investigation into collusion between his campaign and Russia would be “crossing a fundamental line.”

In a statement late Thursday night issued by Warner’s office, the Virginia Democrat blasted Trump over reports that Trump has spoken with his top advisers about the possibility of issuing pardons.

“Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections was an attack on our democracy. Both the Senate Intelligence Committee and Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller are currently investigating whether any coordination occurred between Russia and individuals associated with the Trump campaign,” Warner said.

{mosads}”The possibility that the President is considering pardons at this early stage in these ongoing investigations is extremely disturbing,” he added.

“Pardoning any individuals who may have been involved would be crossing a fundamental line.”

Warner’s statement linked to a Washington Post report that claimed, among other things, that Trump has asked advisers “about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe.”

According to a “close adviser” to Trump, these conversations are less about his eagerness to use the pardoning authority and more about Trump’s curiosity about how it works.

“This is not in the context of, ‘I can’t wait to pardon myself,’ ” the adviser told The Washington Post.

In an interview Sunday with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Warner said that emails revealing Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer for incriminating information on Hillary Clinton moved the investigation into Russian collusion to a “new level.”

“This is the first time that the public has seen in black and white on the email thread clear evidence that the Russians — and particularly there was a Russian government effort to try to undermine [Hillary] Clinton, help Trump,” Warner said on Sunday.

“And what was remarkable was you saw not only willingness but actually glee from the president’s son as well as involvement of the campaign manager and the president’s son-in-law to say in effect, ‘Yes, bring it on.’ “

Warner called that response “very troubling.”

“And obviously moves our whole investigation to another level,” he said.