President Donald Trump is so adamant about possibly pardoning Paul Manafort that he's mulling hiring a new White House counsel since the current one is strongly opposed to the idea, according to a report Monday.
Two people familiar with the matter told Vanity Fair that Trump has been feuding with Don McGahn over drafting a pardon for Manafort, the president's former campaign chairman who was convicted on a laundry list of fraud charges last week.
McGahn _ who recently made headlines amid revelations he's been cooperating extensively with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators _ is strongly against the idea of pardoning Manafort, according to the sources. Consequently, Trump has reportedly been telling officials he may bring in a new lawyer to carry out the task.
"He really at this point does not care," one of the sources said. "He would rather fight the battle."
Rudy Giuliani, Trump's top attorney in the Russia investigation, declined to confirm or deny whether the president is contemplating hiring a new White House lawyer.
"Don't know," Giuliani told the New York Daily News when asked of the prospect.
Neither McGahn, 50, nor his attorney returned a request for comment.
