Trump's lashing out on Twitter and reportedly increasingly afraid the Mueller probe will indict his family
- The White House is reportedly bracing itself for a slew of indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
- President Donald Trump's administration fears that Mueller will indict some of the president's allies and family members, Politico reported on Friday.
- Mueller is reportedly preparing to issue more indictments, which could come as soon as this week.
- Trump's body language, Twitter outbursts, and policy moves are reportedly hinting at the brewing trouble.
- "It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they've been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen," one senior Republican official told Politico.
President Donald Trump's administration is growing increasingly anxious and bracing for a slew of indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign ties with Russia, according to a new Politico report.
The White House fears that Mueller will indict some of the president's allies and family members, Politico reported, citing unnamed officials working for or in contact with the White House.
Trump's latest cabinet reshuffles and Twitter rants also appeared to reflect a growing concern over the probe.
"You can see it in Trump's body language all week long. There's something troubling him," a senior Republican official who communicates with the White House told Politico.
"It's not just a couple staff screw-ups with Melania," he added, referring to the removal of deputy national-security adviser Mira Ricardel from her position following an intervention by First Lady Melania Trump.
"It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they've been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen. Folks are preparing for the worst."
The report comes as Mueller reportedly prepares to issue more indictments, which could come as soon as this week.
Trump virulently attacked Mueller's team in a series of tweets on Thursday, calling "inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess," saying that they "found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts," "are screaming and shouting at people," and called them "Angry People" who "won't even look at all of the bad acts and crimes on the other side."
The president did not provide any evidence for those statements. Trump's legal team has asked him to refrain from criticizing Mueller and the Russia investigation on Twitter, and the president laid off in the period before the November midterm elections. Thursday's tweetstorm indicated that the inquiry remained very much in his mind.
The far-right conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, an associate of longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone, also indicated this week that he expects to be indicted soon.
Mueller's office this week also asked a federal court in Washington, DC, for an extension on the sentencing of former Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates until January - a sign that Gates still has a significant amount of information for prosecutors.
On Wednesday, Trump indicated in an interview to The Daily Caller that he tapped former US attorney Matthew Whitaker to replace then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in order to rein in the Russia investigation.
One Department of Justice veteran told INSIDER the move was "self-defeating and self-incriminating."