Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday he’ll be watching for two reactions from President Donald Trump after reported charges are brought in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bharara, who is a legal commentator for the outlet, said the nation already knows the president “has strong reactions to public events — even events that have been caused by his own actions.”
“I would look for a couple of things,” he said. “One, whether or not Donald Trump has some reaction and talks in a way that could be used against him in the future, because Bob Mueller would do that.
“And the second thing I would look at is to see if the president of the United States is sending some kind of message to the potential defendant or other witnesses… is he sending a message of intimidation some way, through himself or his cohorts, suggesting that people should not be talking and people should keep their mouths shut… and… whether or not he sends a message of reassurance.”
Bharara said there’s been “much speculation about whether or not Donald Trump would hesitate to use his pardon power to get out of legal jeopardy and trouble any allies of his” are in, noting he did so with former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
“And that's something I would watch very, very closely here,” he said.
Bharara served as a U.S. attorney in New York’s Southern District but was one of the 46 U.S. attorneys the president fired after taking office.
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