President Donald Trump’s comment that a pardon for his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is “not off the table” could be “evidence of obstruction,” according to a former FBI agent.
Trump told reporters on Wedneday that he might pardon Manafort, who has been accused of lying to the FBI after making a plea deal with prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office.
Former federal agent Asha Rangappa said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day” that Trump and Manafort could get into some “hot water” if a pardon ever came up in meetings between their legal teams, or if Trump is trying to use the promise of a pardon to push Manafort towards a certain decision.
“From a legal perspective this is problematic for him,” said Rangappa, a lawyer and senior lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. “Yes, the president has very broad pardon power, he could pardon Manafort, but dangling a pardon is something different. It’s offering to use your presidential power in order to encourage or entice or influence somebody’s behavior. That’s a separate act, and that can also be evidence of obstruction.”
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