WASHINGTON ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump would make a ¡°terrible mistake¡± if he pardoned his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, after charges brought as a result of the federal probe into Russian election interference, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said on Sunday.

¡°I just think it would be the wrong thing to do and I think it would be a huge political mistake as well,¡± Rubio said on CNN¡¯s ¡°State of the Union.¡±

Manafort faces sentencing on his convictions in August of tax and bank fraud charges. In a court filing on Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller said Manafort lied to investigators about his interactions with a Russian tied to Russian intelligence services.

That filing detailed why Mueller¡¯s office last week retracted a plea agreement with Manafort. He pleaded guilty in September to two conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of a lighter sentence.

Trump has not ruled out a pardon for Manafort and has praised him as a good man. In contrast, he has said his former longtime ¡°fixer,¡± Michael Cohen, who has cooperated with federal prosecutors, should go to jail.

¡°I believe it¡¯d be a terrible mistake. Pardons should be used judiciously. They¡¯re used for cases with extraordinary circumstances,¡± Rubio said on ABC¡¯s ¡°This Week.¡±

Rubio told ABC that Trump granting a pardon to Manafort could have unintended consequences.

¡°I think, in fact, that if something like that were to happen, it could trigger a debate about whether the pardon powers should be amended, given these circumstances,¡± the Florida senator said.

Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump¡¯s campaign colluded with Moscow to sway the election. Russia denies interfering in the 2016 election and Trump has denied any collusion occurred.

Manafort¡¯s alleged false statements included comments about his business dealings and contacts with a former associate in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. Those statements did not appear to be central to Mueller¡¯s Russia probe, but it is unclear if prosecutors plan to accuse Manafort of additional lies.