Mueller zeroes in on what Trump did in the 18 days Sally Yates warned about Flynn's lying: report

A new report from NBC News indicates that special counsel Robert Mueller's team is zeroing in on what President Donald Trump and his administration did in the 18 days after former acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned them that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.

Multiple sources tell NBC that investigators have been grilling Trump administration officials about what happened during the 18 days it took for Trump to fire Flynn after Yates had warned them of the possibility that the national security adviser might be compromised by the Russian government.

"The questions about what happened between Jan. 26 and Flynn's firing on February 13 appear to relate to possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump," NBC reports. "Some of those interviewed by Mueller's team believe the goal is in part to determine if there was a deliberate effort by President Trump or top officials in the West Wing to cover up the information about Flynn that Sally Yates... conveyed to [White House counsel] McGahn on January 26."

Even though Yates warned the administration about Flynn's deceptions on January 26, Trump did not fire Flynn until after the Washington Post reported on February 9 that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Russian government officials during the presidential transition in December 2016.