Rubio: Manafort pardon would be a ‘mistake’
‘No one should be above the law,’ Republican says
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday that it would be a “terrible mistake” if President Donald Trump were to pardon his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and that doing so could trigger a debate about the limits of presidential powers.
Trump said last month that he won’t take a pardon “off the table” for Manafort, who faces sentencing on felony convictions stemming from two cases.
“I think it would be a terrible mistake if he did that, I do,” Rubio said when asked on ABC’s “This Week” if a Manafort pardon would constitute obstruction of justice by the president.
“Pardons should be used judiciously. They’re used for cases with extraordinary circumstances,” said the Florida Republican.
Rubio said he had not heard White House officials say they were seriously considering such an action. But if they were contemplating a pardon, Rubio said, he would not support it and “would be critical of it.”
Manafort, 69, pleaded guilty in September to two felony conspiracy charges in a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort promised to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling as part of the plea agreement, but the special counsel voided the deal Nov. 26 after Manafort told investigators “multiple discernible lies.”
In August, a jury in Virginia found him guilty of eight felonies in a separate trial on fraud and tax evasion charges. It was also reported that Manafort fed Trump’s legal team information from his meetings with the special counsel’s office.
Rubio said he would be opposed to Trump pardoning anyone convicted on charges stemming from Mueller’s investigation. And he cautioned that if Trump used his pardon power that way, it could lead to congressional action. “Frankly, not only does it not pass the smell test, I think it undermines the reason why we have presidential pardons in the first place,” he said.
On Friday, a court filing by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York asserted that Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen violated campaign finance laws at Trump’s direction when he made hush payments to two women who said they had had sexual encounters with Trump. The president has denied the allegations.
When asked about the possibility that Trump violated campaign finance laws, Rubio told CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper that “no one should be above the law.”
“From the very beginning of all of this I have said, ‘ What we deserve is the truth.’ No one is beneath the law, meaning no one is not entitled to the protections of it, but, also, no one is above it,” Rubio said.
He cautioned that people should “reserve judgment” until all the facts are known and the evidence has been presented. But he said Trump should be held accountable if he did violate campaign finance law.
“If someone has violated the law, the application of the law should be applied to them, like it would to any other citizen in this country,” Rubio said. “And, obviously, if you’re in a position of great authority, like the presidency, that would be the case.”