These days Manafort stays at the Loretto (PA) Federal Correctional Institution, which just happens to be next door to my hometown. My dad knew a guy who was a prison chaplain there. He said going there was the worst part of his week.
Not because of the gangs or violence or menace or whatever. There isn’t any at Loretto. It’s just that it’s chock full of guys like Manafort who believe themselves to be the smartest person they’ve ever met, and they’re bored out of their minds. All they wanted to do was “debate” something, anything, and they were all bored “debating” one another. So a priest was like meat to a starving wolf pack.
Even if Trump could pardon state crimes he currently has no motive to do anything to help Manafort. He doesn’t care about who has been loyal to him in the past, he’s only concerned about who can help him now.
He’s being arraigned for state crimes, and will almost certainly be found guilty. It just hasn’t happened yet, although I take your point. Trump wouldn’t gain anything by pardoning him now.
But the other side of that is that Trump wouldn’t gain anything by pardoning him, period. He might end up pardoning one or two (or hell, ten thousand) people in his administration for shits and giggles and to own the libs, if he even cares about that by the time he leaves office, but ultimately what does it get him? A sense of having rewarded loyalty? Donald Trump doesn’t give a shit about the people who are loyal to him. And people who accept pardons can’t plead the fifth.
I think that is true, but he also uses pardons as a sign of power, to show the democrats he can, to make them angry. He could decide to pardon Manfort just to try to emasculate the Dems, to show that laws do not apply to him or anyone he deems above them. But Trump really, really hates to loose, so the power of state prosecution to put Manfort in prison after Trump pardoned him for Federal crimes would make Trump look weak in his own mind.
I think state prosecution really matters in beating Trump at his own pathology.
I think Manafort is prison in on federal charges and they’re looking at the state level now.
Why doesn’t Donnie pardon him? It could look like obstruction and be an impeachment charge? He doesn’t need the heat with the election? If he did - Manafort would lose his 5th amendment rights and have to testify- he likes him there and being quiet while dangling the possibility of a pardon after the election?
Or just that Manafort can’t do anything for him now so Trump feels - “screw that asshole - what’s he worth to me now?”
