Mueller is reportedly asking witnesses to turn in their personal phones

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is asking witnesses to hand over their personal phones so they can look for conversations with anyone linked to President Trump via encrypted messaging programs, several people with knowledge of the matter told CNBC Wednesday.

The request was first made in April, and the witnesses have complied, CNBC reports. Investigators are looking at private conversations on WhatsApp, Signal, Dust, and Confide, and it's unclear what, if any, new details have been uncovered.

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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.