With Manafort in Jail, Giuliani Demands an End to Mueller Probe
*By Alisha Haridasani*
The decision by a federal judge to send President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort to prison on Friday ratchets up friction between the President and the Justice Department, as his personal lawyer demanded an end to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sent Manafort to prison after revoking his bail because of accusations of witness tampering bought forward by prosecutors on Mueller's team.
In light of the judge's decision, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani floated the idea of wielding "presidential pardons" to clean up the aftermath of Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, his strongest rebuke yet of the special counsel.
Giuliani also called on the Justice Department to ["investigate the investigators"](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-rudy-muller-pardons-trump-manafort-20180615-story.html) and halt Mueller's probe all together.
"It may just be a bluster but it could be a surreal stand-off moving here," Ben Schreckinger, national political correspondent at Politico told Cheddar.
"We may find out as soon as tonight or perhaps on Monday whether the president may attempt to replace either Rod Rosenstein, his deputy attorney general, or even Jeff Sessions, his attorney general."
Manafort is the first Trump official to be sent to jail in connection with the Mueller probe; his trial is set for the fall. Manafort’s jail time could give Mueller more leverage in persuading Manafort to testify against Trump.
Manafort has, so far, "been very defiant," said Schreckinger. But "we're seeing prosecutors say that once you actually put someone in jail, revoke their bail, they often become much more willing to co-operate."
Trump tried to downplay his connection to Manafort, stating on Fox News that he only worked on the campaign for around 50 days, much lower than the almost 150 days Manafort actually spent with Trump's team.
"Wow, what a tough sentence for Paul Manafort, who has represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, and many other top political people and campaigns," Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1007679422865006593). "Didn't know Manafort was the head of the Mob."
Prosecutors accused Manafort of attempting to persuade two witnesses to lie to the jury about Manafort’s lobbying work for ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych.
Putting Manafort behind bars could also pressure his former colleagues to co-operate with Mueller. Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen is considering co-operating with the special counsel, according to [reports](https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/michael-cohen-cooperation-federal-investigators/index.html) on Friday, and the former national security adviser Michael Flynn has been working with Mueller since December.
Manafort, who pleaded not guilty on Friday to the obstruction of justice charges, was granted a $10 million bail last year but has been under house arrest because he was unable to come up with the money. He will be tried in September for multiple charges, including money laundering, tax evasion, and conspiracy. A separate trial in Virginia will begin on July 25.
In revoking Manafort's bail Judge Jackson noted that she had admonished Manafort earlier not to contact potential witnesses. “You have [abused the trust](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-15/manafort-sent-to-jail-after-judge-cancels-house-arrest-jig5977k) placed in you six months ago,” Jackson said.
“The government motion will be granted, and the defendant will be detained.”
A bipartisan group of 43 representatives joined forces in a letter to President Joe Biden to remind the executive branch that it must seek the approval of Congress before authorizing a war — whether or not its in Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore. 4th District) led the effort and joined Cheddar News Wrap to explain. "It's time for Congress to get back the authority, which is vested to us in the constitution, not in the executive branch," he said. "The president. once we're at war, we speak with one voice with the commander in chief. But before that, it's up to the American people and Congress whether or not we're going to become engaged in a war."
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President Joe Biden will be delivering his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and with so many issues from Ukraine to inflation, everyone will be focused on what he might say. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y. 11th District) joined Cheddar News to discuss what she thinks the president should address. "I think what he hasn't done yet is go after the gas, the oil, the minerals, the mining industries, that is incredibly important," she said. "There's still some banks there that are not sanctioned. He needs to go after all the banks, but I also think that providing the equipment that Ukraine needs to continue to protect its capital and its country are incredibly important."
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, one of its few big allies remaining appears to be China. Gordon Chang, Asian affairs expert and author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Cheddar News to discuss what might be behind China's support for Putin's current strategy. “I think China is looking at what Putin did yesterday, which is to raise his nuclear forces on a higher alert level,” Chang stated, “If they see that Putin gets away with his nuclear threats, which he's been making over the last three or four days, then I'm sure that Beijing is going to ramp up its threats as well, and it could ramp them up against any number of different countries with which it perceives it has a problem with"
Joel Rubin, president of the Washington Strategy Group and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, joins Cheddar News to discuss the Russia-Ukraine tensions and the new sanctions President Biden placed on Russia.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia have begun meeting along the Belarus border to discuss a potential end to the ongoing invasion, even as the fighting continues to drag on. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas 9th District) joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, what to expect from President Joe Biden's State of The Union Address, and the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court. "I'm still hopeful, and I hope that Mr. Putin will understand that he has united the world against him," Green said of the new round of peace talks.
Within hours of Russia's first attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden addressed the nation by stating that the White House will impose wider sanctions on Russian banks. These sanctions could result in damage to the Russian economy. Host of "Oh My World" on Youtube and Former Spokesperson for the U. S. Mission to the U. N. Hagar Chemali, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
