White House says pardons for Flynn and Manafort not being discussed amid report Trump's lawyer 'floated idea'

Discussions said to come before special counsel Robert Mueller charged both men as part of investigation into Russian election meddling

Michael Flynn departs US District Court after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States on December 1, 2017 (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The White House has batted down a report that Donald Trump’s lawyer floated the idea of pardoning former aides Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort.

In remarks to reporters, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed Mr Trump's attorney Ty Cobb in saying “no pardons are under discussion or under consideration at the White House”. Pressed by reporters, Ms Sanders reiterated that there were no discussions occurring “at this time” or “currently”.

“I’m not aware of any conversations of that nature at all”, Ms Sanders said in response to a question about whether Mr Trump had directed attorney John Dowd to introduce the idea of pardons to attorneys for Mr Flynn or Mr Manafort.

Mr Dowd discussed the prospect of pardoning the two prominent former Trump associates with their attorneys last summer, according to the New York Times, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s team was constructing cases that would ultimately produce charges against both men.

Until recently, Mr Dowd was a member of the legal team representing the president amid Mr Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling. He told the Times that there were “no discussions” with attorneys for Mr Flynn and Mr Manafort around issuing pardons “as far as I know”.

Both Mr Flynn and Mr Manafort have been ensnared by special counsel Mr Mueller’s probe into potential coordination between the Russian government and the Trump presidential campaign.

A top campaign aide who briefly served as Mr Trump’s national security adviser, Mr Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russian surrogates.

Mr Manafort, who at one point led Mr Trump’s presidential campaign, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he concealed the proceeds from his work for foreign governments. His associate Rick Gates has pleaded guilty to fraud.

The guilty pleas from Mr Flynn and Mr Gates, combined with former George Papadopoulos admitting to having lied about interactions with Russian surrogates, mean multiple former members of Mr Trump’s orbit are cooperating with the special counsel.

The president has been adamant that there was no coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, an allegation he dismissed as a partisan attack advanced by career officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.

It would not be unprecedented for Mr Trump to pardon a political ally. Last year he spared former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio jail time after Mr Arpaio was found guilty of contempt for ignoring a court order to stop detaining people on the basis of their immigration status.