Melanie Eversley

USA TODAY

Lawyers for President Trump are looking for ways to trip up an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's influence on the presidential election, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The president's authority to grant pardons is among strategies the lawyers are discussing, the Post reported. The president has asked his advisers about pardoning aides, family members and himself, the news organization reported.

The Post based its report on people familiar with the developments.

The report comes as the president's approval ratings continue to drop and as the scandal into the role Russia played in the race for the White House widens.

One adviser did caution that the president's questioning was out of curiosity and not fear about the investigation, Post reported.

"This is not in the context of, 'I can't wait to pardon myself,' " the adviser was quoted as saying.

As the probe pushes forward, the president's lawyers are exploring potential conflicts of interest for Mueller, the Post reported.

A conflict of interest can be cited as a reason to remove a special counsel, according to the Post.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a statement Thursday night saying it was "disturbing" that Trump is exploring the possibility of pardons.

"Russia's interference in the 2016 elections was an attack on our democracy," Warner said. "The possibility that the president is considering pardons at this early stage in these ongoing investigations is extremely disturbing. Pardoning any individuals who may have been involved would be crossing a fundamental line."

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