The White House is worried about the possibility of Democrats retaking control of the House, according to reporters who cover the administration -- but they're not prepared for what could happen.
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that President Donald Trump's aides fear the likely investigations that would come from a Democratic majority, and his associates worry they would become targets.
"Certainly Don McGahn, the White House counsel's imminent departure, which was announced this week with some dispute over whether he's resigning or whether the president is firing him, and whether or not he had anything to do with the president not firing Bob Mueller, is emblematic what's going on in the White House," Lemire said.
"They have struggled from the beginning to recruit top-flight talent into the building, and we've seen a steady stream of departures with very few big names replacing them," he added.
The president's legal team has struggled to protect him from the legal storm gathering around him, but Lemire said help could be on the way.
" Rudy Giuliani is far more of a public spokesman, a TV personality, than he is a lawyer," Lemire said. "Certainly in the building, Emmet Flood is someone who people around the president have respect for, they think is a top-flight lawyer but there is very little with him, and there is a lot coming."
Special counsel Robert Mueller will eventually release a report on his investigation into Russian election interference, but Democrats could also launch a series of investigations into the president, his business dealings and his administration.
"If the Democrats flip the House this fall, which, of course, a lot of people, including Trump allies, expect and fear, not only will you have impeachment talk but according to our reporting, there are a lot of people in the White House are terrified even if Democrats stay away from impeachment," Lemire said.
"They're going to control the committees, and it's going to be investigation after investigation after investigation, where they're going to haul people up from the Trump world to testify about not just Russia, but about corruption, about emoluments, about just the day-to-day workings of this government that basically anybody who's ever said the name 'Donald J. Trump' will have to take an oath in front of Congress," he continued.
"There are a lot of people that are very anxious," Lemire added. "They're ill-prepared for what's coming."
