Current and former White House aides are fretful and reportedly "shitting bricks" in the wake of former national security adviser Michael Flynn's agreement to assist special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.
People who were or are part of Trump's administration are steeped in feelings of "paranoia," according to a Politico report published Monday, worrying others might also be working for Mueller and could be making secret recordings in an effort to cooperate with the special counsel's probe.
Many within and outside the White House have hired lawyers to represent them, and one attorney suggested the mood within the president's home could be far tenser than the administration might have the public believe.
"They're probably shitting bricks," one senior aide's attorney told Politico. "How can you not?"
Other lawyers representing current and former Trump aides also reportedly contacted their clients to make sure they did not discuss the Trump-Russia investigation with anyone but them.
Another source told Politico that tensions are running high in the White House.
"Everyone is paranoid," a person close to the White House said. "Everyone thinks they're being recorded."
Indeed, Flynn's announced flipping Friday and that of former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos this summer—which was not made public until October—may have cracked open the investigation for Mueller and led to fears about who could be the next to fall, if anyone.
Under Flynn's deal, he agreed to work for the special counsel's team in "covert law enforcement activities," which would add to fears that others were talking to or working with Mueller, even if they were close to Trump.
A former lieutenant general, Flynn was close to Trump from the beginning of his campaign and gained notoriety for leading "lock her up" chants in reference to Democrat Hillary Clinton and her private email server scandal.
Flynn agreed to cooperate and plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians during the presidential transition, including his talks with the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time of a United Nations vote on Israeli settlements in December.
Papadopoulos also admitted to lying to the FBI and stated he had indeed been in contact with people linked to the Kremlin during the campaign.
Trump and many others associated with the campaign have long said there was no collusion with Russia to defeat Clinton in last year's election.
The president panned the FBI, whose investigation Mueller technically took over after Trump fired James Comey as the bureau's director in May. He stated on Saturday that its reputation is "in tatters."
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