(CNN) Former independent counsel Ken Starr said Sunday that "we're much closer to getting the truth than we were before" former campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to several federal crimes and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday.

Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" whether President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani's changing statements on the implications of Manafort's plea deal suggest that the President's legal team will soon go after Manafort, Starr said that Manafort's previous proximity to Trump could result in "more delicate" treatment than Giuliani's previous attacks on Mueller

"I think that the Trump White House and the lawyers are taking a page from the Clinton playbook: Attack the prosecutor," Starr said. "This is more delicate because now you have someone very close to the President, at least for a while, the campaign manager. I think you've got to be very careful.

"The real significance of what's happened is we're much closer to getting the truth than we were before this plea," Starr added. "It is so terrific for the investigation and, frankly, the American people that we're moving forward, we're getting someone who may be knowledgeable."

Starr acknowledged that Trump has the right to pardon Manafort, which the President has reportedly discussed with his legal team , but said such a move would be "unwise."

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