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(Bloomberg) -- The former FBI director leading the probe into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia is taking a page from the playbook federal prosecutors have used for decades in criminal investigations, from white-collar fraud to mob racketeering:
Mueller was given a broad mandate in May by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to investigate not only Russia's interference and potential collusion with Trump's presidential campaign but also any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.
Now, the expanding investigation risks a showdown with Trump, who has warned that looking into his family's real estate deals would cross a red line.
Those who have worked with Mueller said he knows how to build a case piece-by-piece.
"Mueller is no dummy," said William Mateja, a former federal prosecutor who investigated white-collar crime and served at the Justice Department when Mueller was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "You use crimes like money laundering and tax evasion to get cooperation from people who might be in the know."
The investigation is examining Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump's involvement in a controversial New York hotel development with Russian associates and Trump's sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008.
