Trump: I don’t want to talk about pardons now

President Trump said Wednesday that he did not want to talk about pardons, when pressed by Fox News’s Sean Hannity.

“I don’t want to talk about pardons now but I can say it’s so sad on so many levels,” he said when pressed by Hannity over whether he was considering a pardon for former national security adviser Michael Flynn or former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. 

“Many many people were hurt, incredibly hurt, by this whole scam,” he said, referencing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.{mosads}

Trump’s comments came days after Mueller submitted the conclusions of his 22-month investigation to the Justice Department. 

In a four-page memo presented to Congress on Sunday, Attorney General William Barr said Mueller’s probe did not find sufficient evidence to conclude the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russia. Mueller’s report, he said, did not exonerate Trump.

During his investigation, Mueller brought criminal charges against a total of 34 people, including six former Trump associates and advisers.

Five people close to the president pleaded guilty, including Flynn, Papadopoulos, Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former personal attorney Michael Cohen.