For the virtual entirety of the Robert Mueller-led special counsel probe, a running subplot in the media coverage involved speculation about whether President Donald Trump would issue presidential pardons for former associates of his who were targeted by Mueller’s prosecutors.
Now that Mueller’s investigation has concluded, questions about pardons and commutations of prison sentences have been raised once again, but Trump has yet to issue a definitive answer one way or another as he claimed to have not really considered it just yet.
Deliberations yet to come
The Hill reported that the president was asked by a reporter on Monday in the Oval Office whether he planned to issue pardons for any of those who had pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes during the Mueller probe.
Trump simply replied, “Haven’t thought about it.”
Just the day before, in the wake of the release of a summary of Mueller’s findings that exonerated him of alleged collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice, Trump lamented how “so many people have been so badly hurt” in the process of being swept up in Mueller’s investigation.
No talks held
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was also asked about potential presidential pardons on Monday, and replied similarly that she was unaware of any discussions in that regard at that point.
“There’s no discussion of that taking place at this point,” Sanders said, and when asked again, repeated, “No discussion that I’m aware of on any pardons at this point.”
Sanders’ remarks were in response to questions pertaining specifically to the possibility of pardons for Paul Manafort and Roger Stone.
Potential beneficiaries
Despite the constant rumble in the media throughout the investigation about the issuance of presidential pardons, it had been made clear by Trump’s legal team that he was repeatedly advised not to make any such grants, or even hint at such action, until after the investigation had concluded, primarily to avoid claims that his acts of clemency impeded or obstructed the investigative process.
Were Trump to eventually issue any pardons related to the Mueller investigation, the most likely candidates to receive them would be former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who was charged with lying to the FBI, as well as longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, who was also charged with making false statements, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Though less likely to receive a pardon, but perhaps in line for a commutation of his lengthy prison sentence, is former 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort, who is facing numerous years behind bars for unrelated convictions on a variety of financial crimes that occurred prior to his involvement with Trump.
There are other individuals who were caught up in Mueller’s probe who could stand to benefit from presidential clemency, but at least as of yet, it is unclear who, if anybody, will receive an executive extension of grace.
1,359 Responses
Right here is the perfect web site for anyone who wishes to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject that has been discussed for ages. Excellent stuff, just great!
I have read so many articles on the topic of the blogger lovers except this article is in fact a nice paragraph, keep it up.|
Aw, this was an extremely nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to generate a top notch article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and never seem to get anything done.
Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your web site, how could i subscribe for a blog web site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear idea|
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your website. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Superb work!
Hey there, You’ve performed an incredible job. I’ll definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this website.|
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this website regularly, this web site is really nice and the users are in fact sharing fastidious thoughts.|
Hello! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!|
Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a totally different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!|
I know this website offers quality based articles and extra information, is there any other web site which gives such data in quality?|
I have read so many posts regarding the blogger lovers however this article is actually a fastidious post, keep it up.|
Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thanks for your time!|
I noticed one of your pages have a 404 error.
Hello my friend! I wish to say that this article is amazing, nice written and include approximately all vital infos. Iíd like to see more posts like this.
Hurrah, that’s what I was seeking for, what a data! existing here at this weblog, thanks admin of this website.|
I noticed one of your pages have a 404 error.
Great news once again!
I love reading your site.
I love reading your site.
Saved as a favorite, I love your web site!
I noticed one of your pages have a 404 error.
I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thank you, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?
Great news once again!
Great news once again!
This is a great blog.
You are so interesting! I do not think I’ve truly read anything like that before. So nice to discover another person with some original thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that’s needed on the web, someone with a little originality!|
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back down the road. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great posts, have a nice evening!|
Amazin!
Amazin!
Great news once again!
I love reading your site.
Great news once again!
Nice replies in return of this issue with firm arguments and telling everything on the topic of that.|
Hi there this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!|
Thanks so much regarding giving me personally an update on this matter on your web page.
Please understand that if a fresh post becomes available
or if any variations occur on the current submission, I
would be interested in reading more and learning how to make good usage of those approaches
you discuss. Thanks for your efforts and consideration of other men and women by making this website available.
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the highest quality blogs on the net. I most certainly will highly recommend this site!
Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.|
This is a topic that is near to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Hello, you used to write great, but the last several posts have been kinda boring¡K I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
I have seen a great deal of useful factors on your internet site about pc’s. However, I have got the impression that laptops are still more or less not powerful more than enough to be a sensible choice if you generally do tasks that require lots of power, such as video modifying. But for net surfing, statement processing, and majority of other common computer functions they are just great, provided you do not mind small screen size. Thank you for sharing your thinking.