President Trump has insisted to aides that he will not be swept up in the special counsel investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 election.
At the same time, Trump thinks that the American public is beginning to fall in line with his claim that it was the Democrats – rather than his campaign – that conspired with Moscow during the presidential race, The Washington Post reported.
Trump believes that even if special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation ensnares those around him, he will ultimately be cleared in the matter. One senior administration official told the Post that Trump has been asking those close to him whether they think his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner or his company could be guilty of wrongdoing.
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The pace of Mueller’s investigation has escalated in recent weeks. Last month he unsealed indictments against 13 Russian nationals for their alleged roles in a plot of disrupt and influence the 2016 election.
He also filed a superseding indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, and recently secured a guilty plea from Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and longtime associate of Manafort.
Trump has long insisted, however, that Mueller’s investigation is a “witch hunt,” and that neither him nor anyone on his campaign coordinated with the Russians during the 2016 election.
Mueller has also looked at Kushner as part of the Russia investigation. The president’s son-in-law was present at meetings with Russians during the campaign and presidential transition that have been surrounded by controversy.
NBC News also reported Friday that Mueller is looking into whether Kushner’s business arrangements have influenced Trump administration policies.