As recently as Monday, Donald Trump was in excellent spirits as far as Robert Mueller’s probe into his campaign’s alleged Russian ties was concerned. Multiple sources told CNN that the president was “so convinced of his impending exoneration that he is telling associates Mueller will soon write a letter clearing him that [he] can brandish to Washington and the world.” Despite evidence to the contrary, both Trump and his legal team have maintained this rosy outlook. But when White House lawyers come face to face with the special counsel this week, their ruse could fall apart at a critical moment, leaving Trump scrambling for a foothold.

Sources familiar with the Mueller investigation said that far from promising a quick conclusion, Mueller’s team will likely reveal that its investigation could continue through late 2018, given the cooperation of Mike Flynn and George Papadopoulos, who both pleaded guilty to minor charges and have expressed their willingness to supply information to the F.B.I. “I think it’s possible [that during the meeting] Mueller’s team could give them an idea of how much longer they anticipate their investigation will last,” Peter Zeidenberg, a former deputy special counsel, told The Washington Post. “I would be shocked if they have a timeline anything similar to what we’ve heard coming from the White House.”

So far, White House lawyers have done their best to insulate Trump from reality, in part to prevent him from blowing up his own defense. Ty Cobb has taken the lead, telling reporters in August, “I’d be embarrassed if this is still haunting the White House by Thanksgiving and worse if it’s still haunting him by year end.” In November, Trump echoed with his own sentiments, reportedly telling his golfing buddies, “This investigation’s going to be over with pretty soon.” “It could wrap up soon,” Cobb repeated to the Post in December shortly after Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. But the attitude in the West Wing belies the president’s and Cobb’s breezy reassurances. “Of course they are worried,” a Republican operative told the Post in November. “Anybody that ever had the words ‘Russia’ come out of their lips or in an e-mail, they’re going to get talked to. These things are thorough and deep.”

It’s unclear what will happen when Trump, who one source told the Post is “living in his own little world,” is forced to confront reality. But at a time when his allies have escalated their campaign against Mueller to dangerous new heights, using anti-Trump texts sent between two former members of Mueller’s team as a pretext, the president could feel emboldened to move against the special counsel. Even if Trump is eventually cleared, the idea that the probe will continue past January is sure to inflame him, if only due to his repeated insistence that it will conclude posthaste. But with the anti-Mueller narrative taking hold among even mainstream Republicans, an infuriated Trump may be willing to entertain the unthinkable and fire the special counsel; the Post reports that he’s in close contact with parties who publicly bash Mueller—politicians, Fox News hosts, and other public figures—and, as one White House adviser told the outlet, “has enjoyed the attacks.”