President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested Friday that Trump could issue pardons for those caught up in the special counsel probe.
Giuliani made the comments to the New York Daily News hours after a judge revoked bail for Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort over alleged witness tampering, sending him to jail pending his trial in September.
“When the whole thing is over, things might get cleaned up with some presidential pardons,” Giuliani told the Daily News.
Manafort, who has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges including obstruction of justice, money laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy against the United States, appeared in court Friday in Washington, D.C.
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Special counsel Robert Mueller had asked a judge to revoke Manafort’s pretrial release conditions, alleging the former Trump campaign chairman attempted to contact two potential witnesses and urged them to lie to investigators about lobbying work for Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Trump later on Friday criticized what he incorrectly referred to as Manafort’s “sentence,” saying it was “very unfair.”
“What a tough sentence for Paul Manafort, who has represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other top political people and campaigns,” Trump tweeted. “Didn’t know Manafort was the head of the Mob. What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others? Very unfair!”
Giuliani also denounced the judge’s decision on Friday, telling the Daily News that he did not see any reason to put Manafort in jail.
“I don’t understand the justification for putting him in jail,” Giuliani said. “You put a guy in jail if he’s trying to kill witnesses, not just talking to witnesses.”
The question of whether Trump would pardon his associates has been a focus of the Russia investigation in recent months.
Giuliani said last month that the possibility of Trump pardoning his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen was “not on the table.”
Trump also claimed earlier this month that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself, sparking debate among legal experts and lawmakers.
Giuliani said that while Trump “probably” has the power to pardon himself, it would not be a good move, politically.
“I think the political ramifications of that would be tough,” Giuliani said earlier this month. “Pardoning other people is one thing. Pardoning yourself is another.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, introduced a bill in April intended to deter Trump from pardoning any subject of the Russia probe or a member of his own family.
In recent months, Trump has issued multiple high-profile pardons, including conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza and late boxing champion Jack Johnson, and expressed a desire to pardon more.