President Trump on Thursday said he would consider granting pardons for individuals implicated in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“I’ve looked at a lot of different people. They’ve been treated extremely unfairly, and I think I probably would, yes,” Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
The president did not offer specific names, but multiple Trump associates pleaded guilty or were convicted as part of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The president’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and former campaign aide George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Papadopoulos served 14 days in prison, while the Department of Justice moved to drop the charge against Flynn in a case that remains in flux.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is serving out a prison term after he was convicted on charges of tax fraud and bank fraud.
Trump commuted the sentence of associate Roger Stone earlier this month before he was due to report to prison, but he did not grant a full pardon.
The president spoke at length on Hannity’s show about the fallout of Mueller’s investigation amid speculation about when U.S. Attorney John Durham’s findings on the origins of that probe will be released. Attorney General William Barr previously said to expect developments in the probe this summer.
The president repeated his oft-levied allegations that former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden spied on his campaign. He has previously accused Obama of treason, an allegation that is unsupported.
“A lot of things have been learned and what happened is a disgrace,” Trump said when asked if Obama and Biden should have to answer for their roles in the origins of Mueller’s investigation. “Again, should never ever happen.”