Conservatives urge Trump to grant pardons in Russia probe
As special counsel Robert Mueller builds his case, relatives of former national security adviser Michael Flynn are among those pressing the president to use his unique legal power and 'put these defendants out of their misery.'
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN
02/19/2018 07:16 AM EST
After months of criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, President Donald Trump’s supporters are issuing increasingly bold calls for presidential pardons to limit the investigation’s impact.
“I think he should be pardoning anybody who’s been indicted and make it clear that anybody else who gets indicted would be pardoned immediately,†said Frederick Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and senior vice president at the conservative Center for Security Policy.
The pleas for mercy mainly extend to the four former Trump aides who have already been swept up in the Russia probe: former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. But they don’t stop there.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/19/trump-russia-pardons-mueller-flynn-417094