Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said Sunday that the plea deal made by Paul Manafort is a “very bad day for the Trump administration.”
The former Trump campaign chairman pleaded guilty on Friday to two federal charges, while reaching a deal to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort was also convicted last month in Virginia on bank and tax fraud charges brought against him by Mueller.
Friday was a “very bad day for the Trump administration,” Dershowitz told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”
Dershowitz said that Manafort should have made a deal earlier to avoid what consequences will come from having to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation.
“Manafort, if he was going to make a deal, should’ve made it before he was convicted. He would’ve gotten a better deal,” Dershowitz said.
He added: “And President Trump, if he was going to pardon, he should’ve pardoned before Manafort agreed to cooperate. So there’s not going to be any pardon now, and Manafort has a deal. His sentence will reflect how much cooperation he gives.”
On Friday, Dershowitz said the guilty plea was a “big win” for Mueller’s probe.
“Potentially, [Manafort’s guilty plea] opens up lots of doors that probably haven’t been opened before,” Dershowitz said on MSNBC.
The White House has sought to distance itself from Manafort, as did Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
On Sunday, Giuliani claimed the deal is not about Manafort’s time with the Trump campaign, to which Dershowitz said he disagreed — but understood why the president’s lawyer would say that.
According to sources close to Manafort defense: “The coooeration agree does not involve the Trump campaign….There was no collusion with Russia.” Another road travelled by Mueller. Same conclusion: no evidence of collusion President did nothing wrong.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) September 15, 2018
“[Trump] doesn’t know what Manafort is saying and he can’t count on Manafort saying only things that the special counsel already knows, and when you don’t know what a cooperator is saying, then it’s a bad day for you because you’re vulnerable and exposed,” Dershowitz explained.
