House Intel Dem pounds the president for acting like a mafia boss: What's the difference between Trump and Putin?

On Wednesday, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that President Donald Trump's hint to pardon Paul Manafort is putting the reputation of the Oval Office at risk.

Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairmen, was found guilty of tax fraud on Tuesday

On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted that he felt sorry for Manafort and called him "brave." This tweet led many to believe a pardon might be the president's next move.

"Of course the president can pardon. The president has a Constitutional right to pardon. However, a pardon can be part of the obstruction of justice, which is a crime," Himes said. "So, if the president pardons someone for the purpose of stopping an investigation or interfering with an investigation, that can be a crime."

Himes suggested that if President Trump pardons people than his administration would be no different from the mafia.

"If the president were to pardon convicted or admitted felons, all of whom are his guys [then] what's the difference between the oval office and the mafia?" he said. "How are Americans to think differently about the president then they would about some sort of kleptocratic mafia boss or Vladimir Putin?"

Watch the clip below via CNN.