At the same time The New York Times reveals just-resigned Trump lawyer John Dowd floated the possibility of pardons for Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn last summer, CBS News reports Manafort is banking on that pardon.
According to the sources, Manafort is not planning to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and will fight the charges through to trial.
It is unlikely that Manafort will escape conviction now that his co-defendant Richard Gates has agreed to work with the special counsel and the charges against him are no longer focused on rarely-prosecuted legal infractions involving the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
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But Manafort expects that the president would grant him a pardon. Legal sources close to the case -- but not representing Manafort -- believe that is a reasonable expectation.
Manafort bets on presidential pardon in special counsel case (CBS News)