LEGAL/PARDONS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Amid a series of high-profile pardons and commutations by President Trump in recent months, his personal lawyers cautioned against even considering clemency for former aides under investigation by the special counsel until the inquiry was over, one of the lawyers, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said on Thursday [8-23-18]. Mr. Trump agreed with their advice, Mr. Giuliani said. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is investigating possible pardon offers to former aides, and Mr. Trump’s current lawyers were privately concerned that debating clemency could open him to accusations of trying to interfere with the investigation, according to two people briefed on the matter. Mr. Giuliani said that he discussed the issue with Mr. Trump in June shortly after he commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, 63, who was serving a life sentence in prison for a nonviolent drug conviction. Her campaign for commutation drew the backing of the reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who met with the president to advocate on Ms. Johnson’s behalf.”
–Michael S. Schmidt, “Trump’s Lawyers Urged Him to Postpone Even Considering Pardons in Russia Inquiry,” The New York Times online, August 23, 2018