Trump lawyer John Dowd ‘suggested pardoning Mike Flynn and Paul Manafort during Mueller probe’

Donald Trump’s recently departed lawyer, John Dowd, raised the idea of pardoning two of the US president’s disgraced advisers last year, as Special Counsel Robert Mueller was building a case against them in his probe into possible Russian interference in the US presidential election, it has emerged.

Dowd, who was Trump’s lead lawyer in the special counsel investigation until he resigned last week, broached the issue in discussions with lawyers for former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort, The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the talks.

The discussions between Dowd and lawyers for Manafort and Flynn indicated Trump’s legal team was concerned about what the two former aides would reveal if they cut a deal with Mueller in exchange for leniency, according to the newspaper.

Dowd, who denied to the Times that he discussed pardons with lawyers for the president’s former advisers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said at a media briefing that White House counsel “Ty Cobb is the person that would be most directly involved in this and he’s got a statement on the record saying that there’s no discussion and there’s no consideration of those at this time at the White House.”