Trump reportedly asked witnesses about their interviews with Mueller

Donald Trump. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been notified that in recent months, President Trump asked two witnesses about their discussions with investigators, three people familiar with the conversations told The New York Times.

Trump asked former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in December how his interview went and whether the special counsel's team had been "nice," two people told the Times; he also told an aide in January that White House Counsel Don McGahn needed to issue a statement refuting a Times article that said Trump asked McGahn to fire Mueller. McGahn never released a statement, and he had to remind Trump that he had been asked to let Mueller go, the Times reports.

Both incidents went against advice from Trump's lawyers, who told him to avoid doing anything in public or private that could be construed as the president interfering with the special counsel's investigation. These conversations may have been viewed by witnesses and lawyers as potential problems, leading them to telling Mueller, but legal experts told the Times it's unlikely the discussions will be considered witness tampering.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.