Federal investigators have keyed in on false or misleading public statements made by President Donald Trump and his team to determine whether there was an attempt to influence witnesses or obstruct justice, reports CNN.
The report comes one day after The Washington Post said the White House legal team hired 17 lawyers in recent weeks to help prevent certain discussions Trump had with top advisers from being obtained by House Democrats or revealed to special counsel Robert Mueller. The White House plan is to assert Trump's executive privilege on both fronts.
Mueller is said to be wrapping up his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, but the report could remain private if the White House cites executive privilege.
Democrats have already pledged to subpoena a copy of Mueller's full report should that happen.
CNN said, while Mueller will likely not bring charges against Trump, he could publish in his report examples of how the president used public statements to obstruct the investigation, including when he crafted the misleading Air Force One statement in the summer of 2017.
Mueller's team is also focusing on Trump's attempt to have former White House counsel Don McGahn refute stories he threatened to quit over the president's pressure to fire Mueller.