White House on edge as Mueller quietly pursues Russia probe

According to reports, Mueller is looking into Trump’s past real estate business and his tax returns, possible money laundering by campaign aides, perjury and obstruction of justice, and other possible crimes.

The investigation – as well as parallel probes by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees — have extended beyond campaign aides to Trump’s inner circle, including son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Clearly off balance, the White House has recruited its own brigade of attorneys with expertise in constitutional law, criminal defense, and cold-blooded media counter-attack.

They have accused Mueller’s team of being biased toward Trump’s election opponent Hillary Clinton, and have assailed the breadth of the investigation.

Media reports say Trump’s legal team has studied the possibility of him issuing pardons to protect those in Mueller’s crosshairs.

In a Saturday morning tweet, Trump boasted of a US president’s “complete power to pardon.”

Analysts say Team Trump is laying the groundwork for removing Mueller.

Trump’s interview with the Times “is one more widening of the window on discussions taking place within the White House about a potential firing of Robert Mueller,” Bob Bauer, the former White House counsel to president Barack Obama, said on the Lawfare website.

– ‘Witch hunt’ –

Samborn, who took part in the investigation of who exposed Valerie Plame’s identity as a covert CIA agent during the George W. Bush presidency, said such pressure is unsurprising.

His team fought off constant media stories aimed at throwing investigators off balance, most of them likely leaked by the lawyers, investigation targets, and others not under the control of Patrick Fitzgerald, the independent counsel.

“It was a very highly charged political atmosphere,” said Samborn, now a senior vice president at public relations firm Levick.

“There was a lot of criticism and commentary, and that you have to shut out or ignore…. You keep your head down.”

What helped the Plame investigation, though, was that Bush himself said he wanted to get to the bottom of the case.

By contrast, Trump has labelled Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt.”