'Full-circle corruption': Morning Joe panel speculates how Trump will get bailed out

Donald Trump is reportedly considering convicted felon Paul Manafort for a role in his 2024 campaign, despite his fraud convictions and questionable foreign entanglements.

The former president has discussed a fundraising role for Manafort, whom he pardoned in his final weeks in office along with Roger Stone and Jared Kushner's father, and former White House director of communications Jen Palmieri told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" the timing of his return was highly suspicious.

"When I heard that [Rep.] Dan Goldman (D-NY) was coming on the show to talk about the impeachment hearing I was, like, impeaching who?" Palmieri said. "I thought they had put the Biden thing behind them when it was revealed that a Russian agent was their main source. I really – even these people, I thought that they had moved on."

"But one thing we haven't talked about and wanted to ask Dan Goldman about, it'll probably come up at the hearing," Palmieri added, "is the reemergence of Paul Manafort at a time, you know, Trump said he might, that Paul Manafort might come back to run the Republican convention or have a role. Someone who just came out of jail recently, somebody who has close ties to Russia at a time where Donald Trump has to get half a billion dollars by Monday, that all of a sudden this guy is back on the scene."

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The former president has been unable to find an insurer to cover his $464 million bond due next week in order to appeal his half-billion dollar fraud judgment, which has sparked concerns that a foreign lender might come to the presumed Republican presidential nominee's aid, although political analyst Claire McCaskill had another idea.

"This is just another example of hypocrisy, especially when it comes to Jared Kushner and his $2 billion payment from Saudi Arabia, who by the way, won't even lend his father-in-law a billion of it so he can appeal his case," McCaskill said.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed and wondered why the former White House adviser wouldn't step in to help.

"Why won't he do that?" Brzezinski said. "Why won't Jared help his father-in-law? Is there a rift? He made $2 billion. It's not like he can't just fork over the Saudi money to help Trump pay off his judgment. I mean, my God, that would be just perfect, wouldn't it? Full-circle corruption."

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