Mueller investigation could last another YEAR say insiders as special counsel's team asks for more and more evidence

White House lawyers plan to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller this week
White House lawyer Ty Cobb has predicted the Russia probe could wrap up in January
He previously predicted it might end by Thanksgiving
The investigation could last another year, the Washington Post reported
President Trump said Sunday 'No, I'm not' planning to fire Mueller
Congressional Republicans have accused the FBI of bias and gone after Mueller
Trump said it was 'sad' that Mueller gained access to transition team emails

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:34 GMT, 19 December 2017 | Updated: 20:44 GMT, 19 December 2017

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Special counsel Robert Mueller's probe – which has kept White House officials on edge as Mueller called in witnesses and obtained thousands of internal documents – could run through 2018, according to insider accounts.

Lawyers for President Trump are expected to meet later this week with investigators on Mueller's team, who have interviewed White House, transition, and former campaign officials as part of the sprawling Russia investigation.

White House lawyer Ty Cobb has predicted the investigation is wrapping up. But guilty pleas by former campaign advisor George Papadopoulos and former White House national security advisor Mike Flynn raise the possibility of an extended probe that continues to advance.

White House lawyers, who have been fielding Mueller's document requests for months, plan to ask investigators if they need any more information to wrap up the probe, a person familiar with the team's intentions told The Washington Post.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators are expected to meet with White House lawyers this week

They plan to ask: 'You've had all these witnesses, all these records. Is there anything else you need from the White House?'

The inquiry or even the public airing of the meeting is likely an effort to try to hurry along the probe and raise pressure for its conclusion.

Cobb has repeatedly urged full cooperation with the inquiry, in hopes to clear it away as soon as possible.

But people with knowledge of the inquiry told the Post it could last another year – which would have President Trump fending off questions about his associates' contacts with Russia for half of his term.

Asked Sunday whether he was considering firing Mueller, Trump responded, ''No, I'm not.'

But he also said it was 'pretty sad' the Mueller's office was able to obtain emails his transition team sent on government-owned email accounts during the transition. A transition lawyer released a letter complaining about it. Mueller's investigators got the emails from the government's General Services Agency.

Former campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI

Several ongoing cases appear certain to keep the special counsel's office engaged. Former campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a professor with Kremlin contacts and is cooperating with prosecutors.

The prosecution of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort on money laundering and other charges continues.

Asked Sunday whether he was considering firing Mueller, President Trump responded, 'No, I'm not'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has come under fire by Republicans after private text messages between some of his top agents were revealed.

Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe was expected to get grilled about it Tuesday in closed testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.

House Republican Judiciary members blasted 'bias' among Mueller's investigators last week during an oversight hearing with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, in an attack that could indicate an effort to pave the way for Mueller's eventual firing.