Trump's 'long and winding coverup' of the Russia scandal is complete with his latest round of pardons: op-ed

Writing in the Washington Post this Thursday, columnist Paul Waldman says that with President Trump's latest round of pardons, his coverup of the "Russia scandal" is now complete.

The pardons Waldman is specifically referring to are those of Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, making the "long and winding coverup of the Russia scandal" complete.

"All those meetings between Russian officials and Trump campaign officials, the way Stone kept Trump apprised of the progress of WikiLeaks' plans to release Democratic emails that the Russians stole, Manafort's coordination with a Russian intelligence operative — it all added up to a shocking betrayal of the United States," Waldman writes.

As Waldman points out, Trump has signaled throughout his presidency that those who were sufficiently loyal to him could expect pardons.

"A few Republicans will now pretend to be appalled by this latest round of pardons," Waldman writes. "But it's a show. They knew this was coming, and many helped Trump downplay the Russia scandal all along."

Read the full op-ed over at The Washington Post.