The White House continues to claim that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will end his inquiry into possible collusion between Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government.
The Wall Stret Journal reported Monday:
In an interview Monday, Jay Sekulow, a member of the president’s legal team, stood by the prediction that the part of the inquiry involving Mr. Trump would end soon. Still, he avoided any mention of specific dates.
“I know we, collectively, the lawyers, are looking forward to an expeditious wrapping up of this matter,” Mr. Sekulow said.
A spokesman for Mr. Mueller’s office declined to comment.
The Journal added: “An outside legal expert [Stephen Gillers, professor of legal ethics at New York University] said Monday he was dubious that Mr. Mueller’s inquiry is barreling toward a swift conclusion.”
In August, Ty Cobb, one of the lawyers handling the White House’s approach to the Russia inquiry, said: ““I’d be embarrassed if this is still haunting the White House by Thanksgiving and worse if it’s still haunting him by year end.”
However, with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleading guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI, and the ongoing prosecution of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort on charges unrelated to the campaign itself, there is every possibility that the Special Counsel will extend his investigation for months or even years, even if he strays far afield from his original mandate to probe Russian “collusion.”
The White House points out that there is still no evidence of actual collusion with Russia. In addition, the FBI is now troubled by allegations of political bias and conflicts of interest in the probe.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.