“What justification is there for a pardon? “
Because he wouldn’t have been prosecuted if he didn’t have a relationship with Trump. It’s called lawfare and this is a coup.
IBTZ
True. But Manafort was a crook before the campaign, he was a crook after the campaign, he would have been a crook if he never had anything to do with the campaign. Getting involved in the campaign may have brought him in to Mueller's sights but that does not change the fact that he committed tax fraud and bank fraud.