Rudy Giuliani’s pardon-teasing is straight out of the articles of impeachment against Nixon – By Kathryn Krawczyk (theweek.com) / June 15 2018
President Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort is in jail, though if Rudy Giuliani has his way, that may not be for long.
Giuliani, serving as Trump’s personal lawyer, implied that Manafort could earn a presidential pardon, presumably in exchange for his loyalty, in an interview with the New York Daily News on Friday. Manafort faces several charges in the Russia investigation, and he was ordered to jail Friday, his bail revoked for witness tampering, The Washington Post reports. But “when the whole thing is over,” Manafort may get a pardon, Giuliani told the Daily News.
Turns out, that’s shockingly similar to a reason former President Richard Nixon was nearly impeached. On Twitter, former President Barack Obama’s adviser Dan Pfeiffer thought Giuliani’s implication rang a bell, and Time correspondent Philip Elliott agreed. It’s just like a line in the articles of impeachment almost levied on Nixon in 1974:
Nixon's Articles of Impeachment: "Endeavouring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favoured treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony." https://t.co/hTmxoNcsEe
— Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) June 15, 2018
One might argue, after all, that a presidential pardon would amount to “rewarding” Manafort for good behavior. The proof is in the articles.