President Donald Trump on Tuesday said it was a “stupid question” for a reporter to ask if he’d consider a pardon for his personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
“Are you considering a pardon for Michael Cohen,” a reporter was heard asking during a pool spray in the Oval Office, as Trump sat next to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Stupid question,” Trump responded.
Cohen’s home, office and hotel were raided earlier this month as part of a months-long criminal probe. Trump called the raids “an attack on our country” and “a whole new level of unfairness.”
Trump has so far used his pardon power on two people: Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a close political ally, and former George W. Bush administration official Scooter Libby.
Both pardons raised questions about whether the President meant to broadcast his willingness to pardon political allies caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. On Saturday, Trump wrote that he was considering a pardon for the late boxer Jack Johnson.
"Stupid question," Trump tells a reporter during an Oval Office meeting with French President Macron. pic.twitter.com/dz6q6VBxdC
— David Taintor (@davidtaint) April 24, 2018
This post has been updated.
