Robert Mueller’s prosecutors thought that Paul Manafort would testify against Donald Trump. They had already nailed him for tax fraud, violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and perjury. They found that Manafort’s aide de camp was a Russian asset and that Manafort passed along secret campaign data to the Kremlin. Surely, Manafort would cooperate, and testify about Trump's alleged crimes in the 2016 election. Trump began to allude to a pardon for Manafort. The Mueller report is clear about Trump’s treatment of Manafort. It describes how his statements about a pardon shaped Manafort’s plan.