Mueller and his 17-strong team prepare to call US president for Russian inquiry

ONE is famed for taking on mafia strongmen like Vincent “the Chin” Gigante and Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. Another was a jihadi hunter who spent time in the field tracking down alQaeda bombers.

And then there is the man who has already toppled one president, Richard Nixon, by prosecuting the Watergate scandal. To Donald Trump, the 17 members of Robert Mueller’s legal team will be little known. But they could hold the fate of his presidency in their hands.

This week it emerged that Mr Trump is set to be called for interview by Mr Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian election meddling. It has triggered a flurry of activity in the White House, whose legal team is exploring whether answers can be provided in writing, and a tepid response from the man himself.

“We’ll see what happens,” Mr Trump said, rowing back on a “100 per cent” promise last year to be interviewed if asked. He added it was “unlikely” to happen.

However reports suggest otherwise. Mr Mueller is expected to call for the US president to give testimony under oath within weeks, according to US media.

Two interview topics will be at the top of the list: obstruction of justice claims and the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. Mr Trump’s firing of James Donald Trump’s health is “excellent”, the president’s official doctor has said after his first formal check up since taking office. Dr Ronny Jackson said: “The President’s physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre went exceptionally well.” More details will be released on Tuesday but it is up to Mr Trump what is made public. Comey, the FBI director leading the Russian investigation, is key to the former; his advisers’ interactions with Kremlin figures the focus of the latter.

The dangers are clear. It was Bill Clinton’s misleading testimony to a federal grand jury, not simply his affair with Monica Lewinsky, which triggered impeachment proceedings.

For some of Mr Trump’s allies, the best course of action is obvious: Just say no. “If I was the president’s lawyer, I would not advise doing that [interview],” Matt Gaetz, a Republican senator from Florida, told CNN recently.

He added: “The president only risks some inadvertent misstatement becoming a new national narrative.” Or, indeed, much worse.