12 MICHAEL WOLFF SIEGE 12 He remained irritated by efforts to persuade him to play the game in Many in the Trump circle agreed with their boss: they believed tha the usual Washington way—mounting a disciplined legal defense, negoti- whatever idiotic moves had been made by idiotic Trump hands, the Rus: ating, trying to cut his losses—rather than his way. This was disconcerting sia investigation was too abstruse and nickel-and-dime to ultimately stick to many of the people closest to him, but it alarmed them more to see that At the same time, many, and perhaps all, were privately convinced tha as Trump's indignation and sense of personal insult rose, so did his belief a deep dive—or, for that matter, even a cursory inspection—of Trump in his own innocence. financial past would yield a trove of overt offenses, and likely a pattern o career corruption. “ee It was hardly surprising, then, that ever since the beginning of th By the end of February, in addition to the Mueller grand jury indictments special counsel's investigation, Trump had tried to draw a line in the san: of a group of Russian nationals for illegal activities involved with efforts between Mueller and Trump family finances, openly threatening Muelle by the Russian government to influence the U.S. election, Mueller had if he went there. Trumps operating assumption remained that the speciz reached several levels into the Trump circle. Among those who were counsel was afraid of him, conscious of where and how his toleranc indicted or who had pled guilty to felonies were his former campaign man- might’end. Trump was confident that the Mueller team could be made t ager Paul Manafort, his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, understand its limits, by either wink-wink or unsubtle threat. the eager-beaver junior adviser George Papadopoulos, and Manafort's “They know they can’t get me,’ he told one member of his circl business partner and campaign official Rick Gates. This series of legal of after-dinner