Washington (CNN) The White House is quietly readying its strategy to mitigate the political fallout once special counsel Robert Mueller wraps up and House Democrats have investigations in full swing, sources tell CNN.

While much of the West Wing is focused on the current battle surrounding the government shutdown, the White House counsel's office and allied groups outside the White House have begun laying the groundwork for a political and public relations response to Mueller.

One possible model to emulate: the 1998 response of the Clinton White House to the Ken Starr report. They crafted their responses working with a mix of communications, political and legal professionals.

The Trump team plans to follow suit. The administration hasn't set up a formal war room yet but there are plans to beef up the White House press team to field inquiries related to Mueller and any House Oversight Committee probes, including adding legal expertise. When the White House sets up the war room to respond to any revelations that are made public, the setup is expected to include lawyers from the counsel's office, communications staffers and an overall point person -- similar to the way former White House Counsel Donald McGahn steered Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation.

Up until this point, the White House has referred Russia-related matters to outside counsel, such as Rudy Giuliani, who has been acting as a spokesperson for President Donald Trump on the topic. Giuliani intends to respond to Mueller's eventual report with a report from the legal team, but it is unclear how else he will be involved once Mueller wraps up his probe. A White House official said the press team has also been in close contact with the White House counsel's office over the last couple of months in preparation for what's to come.