'A blatant abuse of power': Outcry after Trump says Manafort pardon 'not off the table'

A pardon for Paul Manafort is "not off the table", US President Donald Trump said, drawing swift rebuke from critics who fear the president will use his executive power to protect friends and supporters caught up in the Russia probe.

The president's discussion of a possible pardon in an interview yesterday with the New York Post came days after special counsel Robert Mueller said Manafort had breached his plea deal by repeatedly lying to investigators. The former Trump campaign chairman denies that he lied.

Mr Trump's remarks are the latest sign of his disdain for the Russia investigation, which has dogged him for two years and ensnared members of his inner circle.

In recent weeks, the president, armed with inside information provided to his lawyers by Manafort's legal team, has sharpened his attacks, seizing on what he claims are dirty tactics employed by the special counsel and accusing investigators of pressuring witnesses to lie.

Today, Mr Trump likened the Russia probe to Senator Joe McCarthy's pursuit of communists in the 1950s.

"When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever?" he tweeted.

When asked about a pardon for Manafort, Mr Trump told the newspaper: "It was never discussed, but I wouldn't take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?"

Mr Trump only has the power to pardon for federal charges. A pardon would not shield Manafort from prosecution for state charges, though he is not currently facing any.

Yesterday, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee said that if Mr Trump pardons Manafort, it would be a "blatant and unacceptable abuse of power".

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said in a tweet that the president's pardon power is not a "personal tool" that Mr Trump can use to protect "himself and his friends".

Meanwhile, Manafort's lawyers have been briefing Mr Trump's attorneys in recent months on what their client has told investigators, an unusual arrangement for a government co-operator and one that raises the prospect that Manafort could be angling for a pardon.

Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni declined comment.

In the Post interview, Mr Trump also praised two other supporters caught up in the Russia probe – conservative author and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and long-time Trump associate Roger Stone. He said they were "very brave" for resisting Mueller's investigation.

Both men have been heavily critical of the investigation, and Corsi this week said he had rejected a plea offer from Mueller's team.

Draft plea documents show Mueller accusing Corsi of lying to investigators – an allegation he denies – about emails he exchanged with Stone regarding WikiLeaks.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia was the source of hacked material from Democratic organisations that WikiLeaks released during the 2016 presidential campaign.

That included thousands of stolen emails from the private account of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Mueller is investigating whether any Trump associates had advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans.