Good Friday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing, sponsored by the National Retail Federation.

And I'm Anna Palmer. There are a string of stories about how Trump aides are investigating special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigators as a search for leverage.

The New York Times reports Trump's team is looking for conflicts of interest they could use to discredit the investigation,

or even build a case to fire Mueller or get some members of his team to recuse themselves.

Meanwhile, the AP's Julie Pace quotes Trump attorney Jay Sekulow as saying the lawyers will consistently evaluate the issues of conflicts and raise them in the appropriate venue.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder tweeted that

there is no basis to question the integrity of Mueller or those serving with him in the special

consul's office and no conflicts either. The Washington Post is reporting that the president has

been quizzing his lawyers about pardons to AIDS, family members, and himself. The president's

legal team, though, says pardons are not on the table. Square that circle. Meanwhile, Mark Casowitz and Mark Corallo are no longer on Trump's legal team. The Wall Street Journal reports that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible money laundering by Paul Manafort. Our colleague Annie Carney is up with a piece this morning on Steve Bannon's disappearing act. Carnie reports that Bannon is in a self-imposed exile,

taking a back seat from the inner circle as a matter of self-preservation.

But while Bannon's star appears to be dimming,

Anthony Scaramucci is back on the rise.

Dossi reports that he is under consideration for a Senior White House Communications Post.

As we pointed out this morning in Playbook, since the beginning of this administration,

Skaramucci has been floated for the following roles,

a Valerie Jarrett-like liaison role with the business community,

ambassador to the organization of economic cooperation and development in Paris,

senior vice president and chief strategy officer at the

Export Import Bank, and now Communications Director. John Bresenhan and Sung Ming Kim look at the big

hole John McCain is leaving in the Senate as he huddles with family in Arizona about treatment

options for his brain cancer. McCain is a giant on defense and foreign policy issues,

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