“Trump realized he hired a crook in Manafort. He fired him.”
Maybe, but anyone can see this brutally harsh punishment is a disgusting political attack on Trump.
Trump is a stand up guy and will not allow his enemies to inflict this kind of pain on his associates, just because they were once associated with him. Regardless of Manafort’s crimes, Trump cannot let this stand - he will pardon him just as soon as he can.
However, there may be complications with the timing if they drag out the pre sentence phase.
Pardon him? Nuts. He didn’t pay taxes. He got caught.