Is Mueller finally closing in on Trump? Here's what you need to watch for this week

Several threads in the ongoing investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia will come together this week, and could offer a glimpse at the probe's conclusion.

Paul Manafort will be sentenced on additional convictions, Roger Stone will learn his trial date and status reports are due for Michael Flynn and Rick Gates, which will show whether special counsel Robert Mueller has any further need for their cooperation -- and it's also possible that Attorney General William Barr may announce the probe has ended, reported Politico.

The timing of these developments is largely coincidental, but their convergence signals that some of the most high-profile storylines in the investigation are close to wrapping up.

“It’s one of those moments when a number of the threads are finally starting to merge together, which is to be expected because we do appear to be near the end,” said Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department spokesman.

By the end of the week, much more will be known about the status of the Mueller investigation -- and possibly even show whether more indictments are coming.

There's even speculation that Barr could announce that Mueller has completed his assignment and will soon file a summary of his findings, according to Politico.

Manafort received a surprisingly light four-year sentence last week from Judge T.S. Ellis III on fraud convictions, but Judge Amy Berman Jackson isn't expected to go easy on the former Trump campaign chairman when she sentences him on money laundering, foreign lobbying and witness tampering charges.

“I think she’s going to whack it to him,” said Alan Dershowitz, the retired Harvard constitutional law professor turned Trump apologist. “The last thing I’d want is to be sentenced by her.”

Stone, the longtime Trump associate and Republican political operative, could be jailed after his scheduled hearing Thursday for violating his gag order in his obstruction of justice case.

Status reports are due this week for Flynn, the former national security adviser, and Gates, a longtime Manafort associate, that could show whether Mueller still needs their cooperation.