Paul Manafort
![](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1181429092-scaled.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1)
Former Trump campaign chairman needed to avoid being seen as a 'rat' in prison.
![Paul Manafort](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/paul-manafort-ukraine-work.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1)
The government called them "FSB pawns" for allegedly cooperating with Russian efforts to destabilize Ukraine.
![](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1230113338.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1)
This is your TPM afternoon briefing.
Word on the street (or, rather, Axios) is that President Trump is going to issue a wave of pardons today as a grand gesture of Christmas clemency to some of his closest friends and family.