Tony Podesta, founder of the now-shuttered Podesta Group and brother to former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, has been offered immunity by special counsel Robert Mueller to testify against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, according to a report.
Fox News' Tucker Carlson announced on his show Thursday evening that two separate sources confirmed the offer.
"In other words, for a near identical crime, Bill and Hillary's friend could escape and emerge completely unscathed while Paul Manafort may rot in jail. Only one of them made the mistake of chairing Donald Trump's presidential campaign," Carlson said.00:25 / 00:30
The special counsel's office declined to comment.
Mueller is offering immunity to five potential witnesses in the upcoming trial of Manafort. Mueller's team is asking for "use immunity," which is a limited type of immunity, according to court documents filed Tuesday with the Eastern District of Virginia. The five people have not been charged or identified publicly with the case, prosecutors for Mueller’s team said, and they asked that the five motions remained sealed "unless and until the named individuals testify in the upcoming trial" set for July 25.
Podesta resigned from his lobbying company in October in response to an investigation of the firm by Mueller. The firm was closed by the end of 2017.
At the time of Podesta's resignation, a Podesta Group spokesman said the firm was "cooperating fully with the special counsel's office and has taken every possible step to provide documentation that confirms timely compliance. In all of our client engagements, the Podesta Group conducts due diligence and consults with appropriate legal experts to ensure compliance with disclosure regulations at all times — and we did so in this case."
Manafort and Podesta's firms worked together in a public relations campaign for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine nonprofit, which was believed to be backed by the pro-Russian and oligarch-funded Ukrainian political group Party of Regions. Sources who spoke with NBC News in October said the Podesta Group became of significant interest because it may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. FARA states Americans who lobby for foreign governments, leaders, or political parties must disclose their activities with the Justice Department.
Manafort faces charges of bank and tax fraud in the Eastern District of Virginia stemming from his work for a Ukrainian political figure, and the trial is slated to begin next Wednesday. Manafort is currently jailed at the Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia, which is a few blocks away from the federal courthouse he will be tried in next week. He was sent behind bars by a federal judge in Washington, where he also faces charges related to his work in Ukraine stemming from Mueller’s investigation.
Manafort has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details about charges Manafort faces to show that the counsel office declined to comment.
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