President Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to rule out pardoning his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who was found guilty this week on eight counts of tax and bank fraud. The president, who sat for an interview Wednesday praised Manafort for going through with a trial rather than taking a plea deal that could potentially have involved him turning against Trump. "One of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so much is he went through that trial. You know, they make up stories. People make up stories," Trump said. Manafort faces an estimated seven to nine years in prison. Prosecutors have until Aug. 29 to decide what they will do about the 10 mistrial charges. Trump, after arriving in West Virginia for a rally, called the outcome a "sad thing that happened" and said the verdict had nothing to do with him and "nothing to do with Russian collusion."

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