White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said there have been no discussions regarding a pardon for President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
“That’s not something that has been up for discussion,” Sanders told reporters during the White House press briefing Wednesday.
Manafort was found guilty Tuesday on eight counts of tax and bank fraud. He was charged with a total of 18 counts, and a mistrial was declared on the remaining 10.
Manafort was hired by the Trump campaign in March 2016 and was promoted to campaign chairman the following May.
The president said on Twitter earlier Wednesday he felt “very badly” for Manafort and his family and called him a “brave man.”
He also derided the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election led by special counsel Robert Mueller, again calling it a “witch hunt.”
Manafort’s trial was the first stemming from Mueller’s probe.
The conviction Tuesday raised questions as to whether Trump would pardon Manafort, though Sanders said she was “not aware of any conversations” the president may have had with his aides on the topic.
“The Manafort case doesn’t have anything to do with the president, doesn’t have anything to do with his campaign, doesn’t have anything to do with the White House,” she said.
[Opinion: Here’s why Trump will probably pardon Paul Manafort one year from now]
