WASHINGTON Special counsel Robert Mueller has joined forces with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a longtime adversary of President Donald Trump to investigate possible financial crimes by Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to Politico .

In recent weeks, Muellers and Schneidermans teams have been communicating frequently and sharing information, including evidence of possible money laundering , Politico reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The partnership, the publication noted, could give Mueller leverage to push Manafort to cooperate with his teams broader investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. A president cannot pardon someone for state crimes.

The Washington Post reported in July that Trumps lawyers were looking into Muellers potential conflicts of interests and exploring the presidents power to grant pardons to aides, family and himself as a means of undermining the Justice Departments investigation. Trump himself had inquired about his constitutional powers, according to the report.

Last month, FBI agents raided Manaforts home and seized documents and other items a move Trump described as pretty tough stuff and a a very, very strong signal. And NBC News reported last week that Mueller has issued grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony from public relations executives linked to Manafort.

Sources told Politico no decision has been made as to whether charges will be filed against Manafort. Nothing is imminent, one person reportedly said.

Manafort is a key figure in Muellers probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Manafort ran Trumps campaign for several months until he resigned in August 2016 amid reports about his work for pro-Russian forces in the Ukrainian government . He retroactively registered as a foreign agent for that work.