Trump attorney says they ‘remain confident’ despite intensifying Mueller probe: report

President Trump’s legal team is maintaining confidence despite the appearance that special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into Russian election interference is drawing closer to Trump’s inner circle.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made. We remain confident with regard to the outcome,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Friday.

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The Journal reported that Trump allies are getting nervous and urging his legal team to be more aggressive in response to building actions by Mueller’s investigative team.

The investigation shows no signs of ending, despite predictions by Trump allies that it would be over by 2018.

Instead, in the last few weeks, Mueller brought charges against multiple people close to Trump. At the end of October it was revealed that former campaign aide George Papadopoulos had been charged with lying to investigators about his contact with a Russian woman who offered to help him connect Trump to Russian government officials.

Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Richard Gates were also charged last month with money laundering and tax fraud.

And at the beginning of December, Mueller brought charges against Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, for lying to the FBI.

Flynn and Papadopoulos have both pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

In response to such developments, Sekulow or another member of Trump’s legal team typically provide a canned response downplaying concerns.

“The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller,” Sekulow will often say.

Trump has maintained his campaign did not collude with Moscow, and frequently suggests the investigation into how much influence Russia had over the 2016 election is a Democratic ploy or a “witch hunt.”

Mueller, who was appointed to lead the investigation in May, has wide-ranging power to investigate allegations around Russian meddling.