Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday boasted that US President Donald Trump's tough line had forced the North Korean leader to beg to re-schedule a high-profile summit after the president abruptly called off the meeting.

After the cancellation, "Kim Jong Un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in," Giuliani told a business conference in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

In an interview later with The Associated Press, Giuliani rejected suggestions that such comments might sour the atmosphere ahead of next week's summit in Singapore, saying that the North Korean leader must understand that the United States is in a position of strength.

"It is pointing out that the president is the stronger figure," Giuliani told the AP. "And you're not going to have useful negotiations unless he accepts that."

Giuliani said Trump had no choice but to call off the meeting after the North Koreans insulted Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and threatened "nuclear annihilation" of the U.S.

"President Trump didn't take that. What he did was he called off the summit," he said.

Giuliani said Kim quickly changed his position, expressed willingness to discuss denuclearization and asked to have the meeting again.

"That's what I mean by begging for it," Giuliani said.

The summit is back on in Singapore next Tuesday.

Giuliani, Trump's lawyer in the Russian investigation, noted that he was sharing a personal opinion and was not part of the U.S. foreign policy team.

The former New York mayor is in Israel for a number of appearances, including a speech to a Tel Aviv business conference earlier in the day and an address late on Wednesday to OneFamily, a group that supports Israeli families whose loved ones have been wounded or killed in Palestinian attacks.

Giuliani is leading the defence of Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump took steps to shut down that investigation through actions, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Trump's team and allies have waged a public relations campaign against Mueller and the Justice Department to discredit the investigation and soften the impact of the special counsel's potential findings. In the latest salvo, Giuliani accused Mueller of trying to "frame" the president.

Giuliani claimed that Mueller has produced no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, and has stacked his team with partisan Democrats, including supporters of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Though Trump insists he did nothing wrong, the statements from him and his lawyers have made clear that much of their defence revolves around establishing that he was constitutionally empowered to take the actions he took.

Giuliani rejected criticism that the defence team is attacking the justice system or public institutions.

"We're trying to purify institutions," he added, accusing the media of trying to convict Trump and saying the prosecutors are "not saints" immune from attack.

Nonetheless, Giuliani said he remains in touch with Mueller, and that there have been discussions about allowing investigators to question the president. But he said his client needs assurances he won't be railroaded.

He said so far, Mueller has not produced evidence indicating wrongdoing by the president

Jerusalem - 6 June 2018

1. Set-up shot of US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

“What I’m saying is that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un had someone say terrible things about (US) Vice President (Mike) Pence. Terrible things about (National Security Advisor) John Bolton. And then had someone threaten nuclear annihilation of the United States. (US) President (Donald) Trump didn’t take that. What he did was he called off the summit and he was widely criticised for it. And Kim Jong Un changed his position. He said he was going to do denuclearisation. Again, we don’t have the conditions yet but at least that's a big shift and asked to have the meeting again. And that’s what I mean by 'begging for it'.”

3. Close of Giuliani

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

"It is pointing out that the president is the stronger figure and you're not going to have useful negotiations unless he accepts that. And my words don't matter - I'm not involved in the negotiations. But my comments as a citizen are very important."

5. Cutaway of Giuliani with associates

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

"In order to try to develop evidence against him, they have brought a number of very questionable cases. The prosecution of Mr. (Paul) Manafort for things in 2005 that had nothing to do with President Trump. I can't imagine why...whether Mr. Manafort did something wrong or not - I cant judge. But I can say it has nothing to do with President Trump. And then these Russians that were indicted, who are never going to come to the United States, who play dirty tricks like dressing up as clowns. If that is Russian collusion, I don't know maybe it is. But, the real question is there's not a single link to anybody in America. So what's that about if it isn't trying to formulate a case on the president when there is no evidence for it. A judge recently said that this investigation is more like investigating a man than a crime. Because, they don't have a crime. And that's why I say 'they're trying to frame him.' Because, if they had any sense they would realise they're trying to put together a case on an innocent man and that's what we call in America 'framing somebody'."

7. Cutaway of Giuliani taking photos with associates

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

"We're trying to purify institutions. You're just part of that whole...media that wants to turn around and convict President Trump when he's done nothing wrong. And nobody wants to recognise that that's what these people are engaged in. Well it's my job to defend a client and if I have to take on an Attorney General or an independent council, by God, I'll take them on. I'm not the first lawyer to do that. When someone is unfairly prosecuting you, you have got to point that out loudly and clearly - this is an unfair investigation. It has no basis in fact. President Trump did not talk to, meet with, or have anything to do with Russians at any time during the 2016 election. That is a totally phoney charge. And over a year-and-a-half and 20 million dollars later they don't have a single piece of proof that he did. Now, if you aren't framing him, then stop the investigation, put out your report and let the chips fall where they may."

9 . Cutaway of Giuliani taking photos with associates

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

"If they can show us some hard incriminating facts from that evidence, then we would consider advising our client to be interviewed. But, if we don't see it, then we have to conclude that we're not dealing with a fair-minded group of people."

11. Giuliani with associates

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Giuliani, US President Donald Trump's lawyer:

"Not only did (Robert) Mueller bring in heavy Democratic partisans to conduct the investigation of a Republican, he's also using the FBI agents who conducted the totally unfair, totally biased, in the other direction, investigation of Hillary Clinton. They should have used new agents, not agents that have conducted probably one of the most flawed investigations in American history."

13. Giuliani getting on a bus

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts - like firing his FBI director - that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote "collusion" that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory. The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect of the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However, Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four-page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation. We expect to hear more details of what the special counsel found in coming days and weeks."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3 . SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation. The president's been implicated in wrongdoing by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. It's not yet clear what's going to happen with that investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four-page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work and you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report. And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Mueller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, it's clear that Mueller did indicate that there's a there there. He just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other so that's given hope to Democrats that they want to see more."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr. And then it is possible that a document could be made public. But you have to imagine, and we know this for sure in this case, that this is a document that concerns grand jury information, perhaps classified information. That's a complicated process to scrub that document of any potential issues, executive privilege issues. And that's going to take some time."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say, between the president and Russia and the special counsel according to Barr was pretty unequivocal about that. And so the president, we can expect him to rightfully claim victory and based on what we know from the special counsel's findings, that perhaps seems justified on that front. However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia, Russian associates, two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponised during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

7. Still - Donald Trump Jr. (Partly covers Soundbite #6)

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"As it relates to the question of collusion, we do have a definitive answer from the special counsel and ostensibly endorsed by the attorney general that there was no collusion. We've heard that from the president for the last two years. That is the central finding and take away from this four-page summary that there was indeed no collusion, no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign on one hand and the criminal in the Kremlin on the other to get Trump elected."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public that would be, because the special counsel is regarded as the ultimate arbiter of, with subpoena power, evidence, ability to criminally prosecute, so he's regarded as the final voice. So it's not clear whether the American public will accept if Mueller says no collusion and House Democrats say otherwise."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts — like firing his FBI director — that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel  Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote collusion that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory. The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect than the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings,  Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation. We  expect to hear more details of what the special counsel found in coming days and weeks."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3 . SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation. The president's been implicated in wrongdoing by his former lawyer Michael Cohen. It's not yet clear what's going to happen with that investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work and you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report.  And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Muller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, it's clear that Mueller did indicate that there's a there there. He just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other so that's given hope to Democrats that they want to see more."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr.  And then it is possible that a document could be made public. But you have to imagine, and we know this for sure in this case, that this is a document that concerns grand jury information, perhaps classified information. That's a complicated process to scrub that document of any potential issues, executive privilege issues. And that's going to take some time."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say, between the president and Russia and the special counsel according to Barr was pretty unequivocal about that. And so the president, we can expect him to rightfully claim victory and based on what we know from the special counsel's findings, that perhaps seems justified on that front. However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia,  Russian associates two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponized during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

7. Still - Donald Trump Jr. (Partly covers Soundbite #6)

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"As it relates to the question of collusion, we do have a definitive answer from the special counsel and ostensibly endorsed by the attorney general that there was no collusion. We've heard that from the president for the last two years. That is the central finding and take away from this four page summary that there was indeed no collusion, no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign on one hand and the criminal in the Kremlin on the other to get Trump elected."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public. That would be because the special counsel is regarded as the ultimate arbiter of, with subpoena power, evidence, ability to criminally prosecute, so he's regarded as the final voice. So it's not clear whether the American public will accept if  Mueller says no collusion and House Democrats say otherwise."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed for hours last week in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. He's the highest-ranking Trump administration official and first Cabinet member known to have submitted to questioning.

The interview came as Mueller investigates whether President Donald Trump's actions in office, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey, constitute efforts to obstruct the FBI probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump's own lawyers are discussing the prospect of an interview with the president himself, and White House officials state publicly that they anticipate a resolution soon to the investigation.

The questioning of the country's chief law enforcement officer is a reflection of investigators' continued interest in whether the president took steps to improperly obstruct justice. That question has been at the heart of the investigation for months as agents and prosecutors have questioned multiple current and former White House officials.

Sessions himself is seen as a potentially important witness given his direct involvement in the May 9 firing of Comey.

The White House initially said the termination was done on the recommendation of the Justice Department and cited a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that faulted Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation as justification.

But Trump said later that he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he fired Comey, and he had decided to make the move even before the Justice Department's recommendations.

Sessions was one of Trump's earliest and most loyal allies, the first senator to endorse him during the presidential campaign.

But his decision to step aside from the Russia investigation has strained their bond, and the two men now rarely speak directly. Trump saw the recusal as weak and disloyal, believing his attorney general should be doing more to protect him

Over the past several months Mueller investigators have spoken with other key people close to the president, including White House Counsel Don McGahn, former chief of staff Reince Priebus and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Sessions' attorney, Chuck Cooper, declined to comment, as did the White House.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 5 September 2017

1. FILE Sessions speaking at Department of Justice about DACA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"Jeff Sessions is the country's chief law enforcement officer. He is the first cabinet member who has been known to be interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller. He's the highest ranking Trump administration official who we know, and what it indicates is a continued interest by Mueller and his team in questions about whether the president committed obstruction of justice while in office."

ASSOCIATED PRES

Washington - 5 September 2017

3. FILE Sessions speaking at Department of Justice about DACA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"What he actually most critically is involved in was the firing of FBI Director Jim Comey back in May, and that is one of the critical episodes of the Trump presidency that's been under investigation by Bob Mueller."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

5. FILE Various Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"And it's part of a series of questions as to whether the president took actions while in office to stymie the FBI investigation into contacts between his campaign and Russia. And you'll remember that Jeff Sessions was very important to that because he is somebody who endorsed the firing of Director Comey."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

7. FILE Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"We know that the special counsel's office has interviewed multiple current and former White House officials including the president's own son in law Jared Kushner, White House counsel Don McGahn and the former chief of staff Reince Priebus. We also know that special counsel Mueller has expressed interest in a potential interview down the road with the president."

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

9. FILE Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions arriving at the Department of Justice and shaking hands with staff

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"White House lawyer Ty Cobb has been on record as saying he anticipates the investigation will resolve soon. He's put a time frame of four to six weeks. We're not sure if that's actually going to happen. It's sort of hard to predict for anyone when these investigations will end."

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

11. FILE Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions arriving at the Department of Justice and shaking hands with staff

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed for hours last week in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. He's the highest-ranking Trump administration official and first Cabinet member known to have submitted to questioning.

The interview came as Mueller investigates whether President Donald Trump's actions in office, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey, constitute efforts to obstruct the FBI probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump's own lawyers are discussing the prospect of an interview with the president himself, and White House officials state publicly that they anticipate a resolution soon to the investigation.

The questioning of the country's chief law enforcement officer is a reflection of investigators' continued interest in whether the president took steps to improperly obstruct justice. That question has been at the heart of the investigation for months as agents and prosecutors have questioned multiple current and former White House officials.

Sessions himself is seen as a potentially important witness given his direct involvement in the May 9 firing of Comey. The White House initially said the termination was done on the recommendation of the Justice Department and cited a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that faulted Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation as justification.

But Trump said later that he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he fired Comey, and he had decided to make the move even before the Justice Department's recommendations.

Sessions was one of Trump's earliest and most loyal allies, the first senator to endorse him during the presidential campaign. They shared an ambitious law-and-order agenda that focuses on hawkish immigration policies and tough-on-crime strategies that engendered affection from many conservatives.

He has continued to push Trump's agenda on everything from gangs and the opioid crisis to religious freedom, giving the president credit every step of the way.

But his decision to step aside from the Russia investigation has strained their bond, and the two men now rarely speak directly. Trump saw the recusal as weak and disloyal, believing his attorney general should be doing more to protect him

Over the past several months Mueller investigators have spoken with other key people close to the president, including White House Counsel Don McGahn, former chief of staff Reince Priebus and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Mueller has conveyed interest in speaking with the president, and White House attorney Ty Cobb said that is "under active discussion" with Trump's individual lawyers. He said last week on a CBS News' political podcast, "The Takeout," that he expected the investigation to be wrapped up within weeks.

Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in early March after acknowledging that he had had two previously undisclosed encounters with the Russian ambassador during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He said at the time that it would be improper for him to oversee a probe into a campaign for which he was a vocal and prominent supporter.

Since then, Trump has lashed out repeatedly on Twitter at Sessions and the Justice Department.

People familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press that McGahn had contacted Sessions to urge him to retain control of the investigation. McGahn was acting at the behest of the president, according to one of those people, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly by name.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, to take over the Russia investigation one week after Comey was fired. He oversees the work of Mueller's investigators, but he told the AP in an interview last June that he, too, would recuse himself if his actions ever became relevant to the probe.

Sessions' attorney, Chuck Cooper, declined to comment, as did the White House.

Four people have so far been charged in the Mueller investigation, including former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Flynn and George Papadopoulos, a former campaign foreign policy adviser, have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Sessions' interview with the Mueller team was first reported by The New York Times.

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY VIDEO++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 5 September 2017

1. FILE Various Sessions speaking at Department of Justice about DACA

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 23 January 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"Jeff Sessions is the country's chief law enforcement officer. He is the first cabinet member who has been known to be interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller. He's the highest ranking Trump administration official who we know, and what it indicates is a continued interest by Mueller and his team in questions about whether the president committed obstruction of justice while in office."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

3. FILE Various Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"What he actually most critically is involved in was the firing of FBI Director Jim Comey back in May, and that is one of the critical episodes of the Trump presidency that's been under investigation by Bob Mueller. And it's part of a series of questions as to whether the president took actions while in office to stymie the FBI investigation into contacts between his campaign and Russia. And you'll remember that Jeff Sessions was very important to that because he is somebody who endorsed the firing of Director Comey."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

5. FILE Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"We know that the special counsel's office has interviewed multiple current and former White House officials including the president's own son in law Jared Kushner, White House counsel Don McGahn and the former chief of staff Reince Priebus. We also know that special counsel Mueller has expressed interest in a potential interview down the road with the president."

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

7. FILE Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions arriving at the Department of Justice and shaking hands with staff

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"White House lawyer Ty Cobb has been on record as saying he anticipates the investigation will resolve soon. He's put a time frame of four to six weeks. We're not sure if that's actually going to happen. It's sort of hard to predict for anyone when these investigations will end."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed for hours last week in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. He's the highest-ranking Trump administration official and first Cabinet member known to have submitted to questioning.

The interview came as Mueller investigates whether President Donald Trump's actions in office, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey, constitute efforts to obstruct the FBI probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump's own lawyers are discussing the prospect of an interview with the president himself, and White House officials state publicly that they anticipate a resolution soon to the investigation.

The questioning of the country's chief law enforcement officer is a reflection of investigators' continued interest in whether the president took steps to improperly obstruct justice. That question has been at the heart of the investigation for months as agents and prosecutors have questioned multiple current and former White House officials.

Sessions himself is seen as a potentially important witness given his direct involvement in the May 9 firing of Comey.

The White House initially said the termination was done on the recommendation of the Justice Department and cited a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that faulted Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation as justification.

But Trump said later that he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he fired Comey, and he had decided to make the move even before the Justice Department's recommendations.

Sessions was one of Trump's earliest and most loyal allies, the first senator to endorse him during the presidential campaign.

But his decision to step aside from the Russia investigation has strained their bond, and the two men now rarely speak directly. Trump saw the recusal as weak and disloyal, believing his attorney general should be doing more to protect him

Over the past several months Mueller investigators have spoken with other key people close to the president, including White House Counsel Don McGahn, former chief of staff Reince Priebus and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Sessions' attorney, Chuck Cooper, declined to comment, as did the White House.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 5 September 2017

1. FILE Sessions speaking at Department of Justice about DACA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"Jeff Sessions is the country's chief law enforcement officer. He is the first cabinet member who has been known to be interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller. He's the highest ranking Trump administration official who we know, and what it indicates is a continued interest by Mueller and his team in questions about whether the president committed obstruction of justice while in office."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 5 September 2017

3. FILE Sessions speaking at Department of Justice about DACA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"What he actually most critically is involved in was the firing of FBI Director Jim Comey back in May, and that is one of the critical episodes of the Trump presidency that's been under investigation by Bob Mueller."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

5. FILE Various Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"And it's part of a series of questions as to whether the president took actions while in office to stymie the FBI investigation into contacts between his campaign and Russia. And you'll remember that Jeff Sessions was very important to that because he is somebody who endorsed the firing of Director Comey."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

7. FILE Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"We know that the special counsel's office has interviewed multiple current and former White House officials including the president's own son in law Jared Kushner, White House counsel Don McGahn and the former chief of staff Reince Priebus. We also know that special counsel Mueller has expressed interest in a potential interview down the road with the president."

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

9. FILE Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions arriving at the Department of Justice and shaking hands with staff

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, AP Reporter:

"White House lawyer Ty Cobb has been on record as saying he anticipates the investigation will resolve soon. He's put a time frame of four to six weeks. We're not sure if that's actually going to happen. It's sort of hard to predict for anyone when these investigations will end."

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

11. FILE Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions arriving at the Department of Justice and shaking hands with staff

James Comey blasts President Donald Trump as unethical and "untethered to truth" and his leadership of the country as "transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty," according to a forthcoming book from the former FBI director.

Comey reveals new details about his interactions with Trump and his decision-making in handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

He casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics and tried to pressure him regarding the investigation into Russian election interference.

The book adheres closely to Comey's public testimony and written statements about his interactions with the president during the early days of the administration and his growing concerns about the president's integrity. But it also includes surprisingly personal jabs at Trump that appear likely to irritate the notoriously thin-skinned president.

The 6-foot, 8-inch tall Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a "too long" tie and "bright white half-moons" under his eyes that Comey suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says made a conscious effort to check the president's hand size, saying it was "smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so."

The book, "A Higher Loyalty," is set to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy this week.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Comey writes that he regrets his approach and some of the wording he used in his July 2016 press conference in which he announced the decision not to prosecute Clinton.

But he says he believes he did the right thing by going before the cameras and making the statement, noting that the Justice Department had done it in other high profiles cases before.

Every person on the investigative team, Comey writes, found there was no prosecutable case against Clinton and that the FBI didn't catch her in a lie.

He also reveals for the first time that the U.S. government had unverified classified information that he believes could have been used to cast doubt on Attorney General Loretta Lynch's independence in the Clinton probe.

While Comey does not outline the details of the information _ and says he didn't see indications of Lynch inappropriately influencing the investigation _ he says it worried him that the material could be used to attack the integrity of the probe and the FBI's independence.

POOL

FILE: Washington - 22 January 2017

1. Pan right from President Donald Trump to James Comey and back to Trump, UPSOUND (English): "So let's, oh and there's James (Comey)...he's become more famous than me."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"The FBI director (referring to James Comey) spares very little in terms of his attacks on the president. He calls him 'unethical' and 'untethered to truth.' He describes his leadership style as 'transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty,' a theme that runs throughout the book when he relays his encounters with the president-elect - at Trump Tower, before he took office - and then later, a few times at the White House and on the phone when Comey still was in his position. He often goes back to comparing it to a mob boss, that the president was sort of running a New York crime family in some ways."

POOL

Washington - 8 May 2017

3. Comey speaking at event, NATS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"Comey is - describes in great minutiae sort of the interaction, his first interaction with the president-elect, which was the Trump Tower meeting in January of 2017; just about two or so weeks before Trump took office. He describes in some insulting ways and I'm sure the president will take that rather personally and perhaps not well, he says that...Comey who is six foot eight says that Trump was shorter than he expected. He described that his face was sort of orange and he saw the little white half circles under his eyes, where he assumed he had goggles on in the tanning bed. He's made a point also of looking at the size of the president's hands. Of course, Donald Trump, memorably at the debate stage during the campaign said, suggested that his hands were a great size and that that, you know, meant...that reflected well in other parts of his anatomy. While James Comey said that though they were smaller than his, they seemed to be of normal proportions."

POOL

Washington - 11 April 2018

6. Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"That he wished he had sort of not buried the lead. If you recall the news conference, he sort of spent a lot of time really sort of criticizing the Secretary, only at the end to say 'but we're not finding any charges against her.' He wishes he could have done that differently."

POOL

Washington - 5 July 2016

8. Various of FBI Director James Comey entering room and giving news conference on findings into Hillary Clinton email investigation, NATS

A Dutch attorney who lied to federal agents investigating former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced April 3rd to 30 days in prison in the first punishment handed down in special counsel's Russia investigation. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

Alex van der Zwaan's sentence could set a guidepost for what other defendants charged with lying in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation may receive when their cases are resolved. Among them are a former White House national security adviser and a Trump campaign foreign policy aide.

Van der Zwaan had faced zero to six months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, and his attorneys had pushed for him to pay a fine and leave the country. But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, citing the need to deter others from lying in an investigation of international importance, said incarceration was necessary.

The criminal case against van der Zwaan is not directly related to Russian election interference, the main focus of Mueller's probe. But it has revealed new details about the government's case against Manafort as well as previously undisclosed connections between senior Trump campaign aides, including Rick Gates, and Russia. The allegations have also opened a window into the intersecting universes of international law, foreign consulting work and politics.

Van der Zwaan admitted in February to lying to federal agents about his contacts with Gates and a person prosecutors have since revealed has been assessed to have ties to Russian intelligence. Though prosecutors did not take a position on whether he should be locked up, they stressed that he had lied "repeatedly" to investigators.

Van der Zwaan's attorneys argued that he had suffered enough already, saying his life had already been destroyed by his "terrible decision" to lie to federal authorities.

The attorneys also pushed Jackson to allow van der Zwaan to return to London as soon as possible where he lives with his wife, who is pregnant with their first child.

***

James Comey blasts US President Donald Trump as unethical and "untethered to truth" and his leadership of the country as "transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty," according to a forthcoming book from the former FBI director.

Comey reveals new details about his interactions with Trump and his decision-making in handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

He casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics and tried to pressure him regarding the investigation into Russian election interference.

The book adheres closely to Comey's public testimony and written statements about his interactions with the president during the early days of the administration and his growing concerns about the president's integrity. But it also includes surprisingly personal jabs at Trump that appear likely to irritate the notoriously thin-skinned president.

The 6-foot, 8-inch tall Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a "too long" tie and "bright white half-moons" under his eyes that Comey suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says made a conscious effort to check the president's hand size, saying it was "smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so."

The book, "A Higher Loyalty," is set to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy this week.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Comey writes that he regrets his approach and some of the wording he used in his July 2016 press conference in which he announced the decision not to prosecute Clinton.

But he says he believes he did the right thing by going before the cameras and making the statement, noting that the Justice Department had done it in other high profiles cases before.

Every person on the investigative team, Comey writes, found there was no prosecutable case against Clinton and that the FBI didn't catch her in a lie.

He also reveals for the first time that the U.S. government had unverified classified information that he believes could have been used to cast doubt on Attorney General Loretta Lynch's independence in the Clinton probe.

While Comey does not outline the details of the information - and says he didn't see indications of Lynch inappropriately influencing the investigation - he says it worried him that the material could be used to attack the integrity of the probe and the FBI's independence.

***

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrived at a US federal courthouse in Washington, on April 19th as he seeks to challenge special counsel Robert Mueller's authority by arguing that Mueller overstepped his authority. Manafort is expected to ask a judge to throw out charges brought against him.

***

Gina Haspel - who's been nominated to be CIA director - says she wouldn't put in place any presidential order that she thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal.

A Senate committee is holding a hearing on Haspel's nomination, and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner asked whether she'd carry out any order from President Donald Trump that she found morally objectionable.

Haspel said she wouldn't.

My moral compass is strong," Haspel said.

"I would not allow CIA to undertake activity that I thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal. I would absolutely not permit it."

Haspel said the CIA must undertake activities consistent with American values.

***

U.S. President Donald Trump says he "unleashed an economic miracle" with his tax cuts in 2017.

Trump spoke on June 29th at a White House event marking the six-month anniversary of the $1.5 trillion tax cuts.

The cuts are taking effect in the ninth year of an economic expansion that began under former President Barack Obama.

Trump called the cuts the "biggest" in history. The overhaul ranks behind Ronald Reagan's in the early 1980s and post-World War II tax cuts.

The law provides generous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, and more modest reductions for middle- and low-income individuals and families.

Trump has been enjoying a good week, with two favorable Supreme Court rulings and Justice Anthony Kennedy's plans to retire from the Supreme Court.

01:05:16

SHOWS

Lawyer becomes first sentenced in Russia probe

4147323

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 3 April 2018

1. Alex van der Zwaan getting out of SUV and walking into court, while man with sign yells at him to lock him up

Washington DC - 8 March 2018

2. Pan of Paul Manafort walking

Former FBI Director Comey compares Trump to mob boss in new book

4148784

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

3. Pan right from US President Donald Trump to James Comey and back to Trump, UPSOUND (English): "So let's, oh and there's James (Comey), he's become more famous than me."

Comey's New Book Bashes Trump

4148951

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 13 April 2018

++MUTE VIDEO++

4. Various of James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty"

Ex-Trump campaign chief Manafort seeks dismissal of charges

4149830

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 19 April 2018

5. Various of Paul Manafort, US President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, arriving, walking into court building

CIA Nominee: I Wouldn't Follow 'Immoral' Orders

4152901

POOL

Washington - 9 May 2018

6. Various of Senate Intelligence Hearing

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gina Haspel, CIA Director Nominee: ++STARTS OFF-CAMERA++

"Senator, my moral compass is strong. I would not allow the CIA to undertake activity that I thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal. I would absolutely not permit it."

Trump says US tax cuts "unleashed an economic miracle"

4161246

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 29 June 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Thank you very much everybody. The economy is indeed doing well. (Cheers.) Six months ago we unleashed an economic miracle by signing the biggest tax cuts and reforms, I have to add the word reform, very important word. But the tax cuts is what got us there and that is what is really doing it, the biggest tax cuts in American history.

James Comey blasts President Donald Trump as unethical and "untethered to truth" and his leadership of the country as "transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty," according to a forthcoming book from the former FBI director.

Comey reveals new details about his interactions with Trump and his decision-making in handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

He casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics and tried to pressure him regarding the investigation into Russian election interference.

The book adheres closely to Comey's public testimony and written statements about his interactions with the president during the early days of the administration and his growing concerns about the president's integrity. But it also includes surprisingly personal jabs at Trump that appear likely to irritate the notoriously thin-skinned president.

The 6-foot, 8-inch tall Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a "too long" tie and "bright white half-moons" under his eyes that Comey suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says made a conscious effort to check the president's hand size, saying it was "smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so."

The book, "A Higher Loyalty," is set to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy this week.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Comey writes that he regrets his approach and some of the wording he used in his July 2016 press conference in which he announced the decision not to prosecute Clinton.

But he says he believes he did the right thing by going before the cameras and making the statement, noting that the Justice Department had done it in other high profiles cases before.

Every person on the investigative team, Comey writes, found there was no prosecutable case against Clinton and that the FBI didn't catch her in a lie.

He also reveals for the first time that the U.S. government had unverified classified information that he believes could have been used to cast doubt on Attorney General Loretta Lynch's independence in the Clinton probe.

While Comey does not outline the details of the information _ and says he didn't see indications of Lynch inappropriately influencing the investigation _ he says it worried him that the material could be used to attack the integrity of the probe and the FBI's independence.

POOL

FILE: Washington - 22 January 2017

1. Pan right from President Donald Trump to James Comey and back to Trump, UPSOUND (English): "So let's, oh and there's James (Comey)...he's become more famous than me."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"The FBI director (referring to James Comey) spares very little in terms of his attacks on the president. He calls him 'unethical' and 'untethered to truth.' He describes his leadership style as 'transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty,' a theme that runs throughout the book when he relays his encounters with the president-elect - at Trump Tower, before he took office - and then later, a few times at the White House and on the phone when Comey still was in his position. He often goes back to comparing it to a mob boss, that the president was sort of running a New York crime family in some ways."

POOL

Washington - 8 May 2017

3. Comey speaking at event, NATS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"Comey is - describes in great minutiae sort of the interaction, his first interaction with the president-elect, which was the Trump Tower meeting in January of 2017; just about two or so weeks before Trump took office. He describes in some insulting ways and I'm sure the president will take that rather personally and perhaps not well, he says that...Comey who is six foot eight says that Trump was shorter than he expected. He described that his face was sort of orange and he saw the little white half circles under his eyes, where he assumed he had goggles on in the tanning bed. He's made a point also of looking at the size of the president's hands. Of course, Donald Trump, memorably at the debate stage during the campaign said, suggested that his hands were a great size and that that, you know, meant...that reflected well in other parts of his anatomy. While James Comey said that though they were smaller than his, they seemed to be of normal proportions."

POOL

Washington - 11 April 2018

6. Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"That he wished he had sort of not buried the lead. If you recall the news conference, he sort of spent a lot of time really sort of criticizing the Secretary, only at the end to say 'but we're not finding any charges against her.' He wishes he could have done that differently."

POOL

Washington - 5 July 2016

8. Various of FBI Director James Comey entering room and giving news conference on findings into Hillary Clinton email investigation, NATS

James Comey blasts US President Donald Trump as unethical and "untethered to truth" and his leadership of the country as "transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty," according to a forthcoming book from the former FBI director.

Comey reveals new details about his interactions with Trump and his decision-making in handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

He casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics and tried to pressure him regarding the investigation into Russian election interference.

The book adheres closely to Comey's public testimony and written statements about his interactions with the president during the early days of the administration and his growing concerns about the president's integrity. But it also includes surprisingly personal jabs at Trump that appear likely to irritate the notoriously thin-skinned president.

The 6-foot, 8-inch tall Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a "too long" tie and "bright white half-moons" under his eyes that Comey suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says made a conscious effort to check the president's hand size, saying it was "smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so."

The book, "A Higher Loyalty," is set to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy this week.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Comey writes that he regrets his approach and some of the wording he used in his July 2016 press conference in which he announced the decision not to prosecute Clinton.

But he says he believes he did the right thing by going before the cameras and making the statement, noting that the Justice Department had done it in other high profiles cases before.

Every person on the investigative team, Comey writes, found there was no prosecutable case against Clinton and that the FBI didn't catch her in a lie.

He also reveals for the first time that the U.S. government had unverified classified information that he believes could have been used to cast doubt on Attorney General Loretta Lynch's independence in the Clinton probe.

While Comey does not outline the details of the information - and says he didn't see indications of Lynch inappropriately influencing the investigation - he says it worried him that the material could be used to attack the integrity of the probe and the FBI's independence.

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

1. Pan right from US President Donald Trump to James Comey and back to Trump, UPSOUND (English): "So let's, oh and there's James (Comey), he's become more famous than me."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"The FBI director (referring to James Comey) spares very little in terms of his attacks on the president. He calls him 'unethical' and 'untethered to truth.' He describes his leadership style as 'transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty,' a theme that runs throughout the book when he relays his encounters with the president-elect - at Trump Tower, before he took office - and then later, a few times at the White House and on the phone when Comey still was in his position. He often goes back to comparing him to a mob boss, that the president was sort of running a New York crime family in some ways."

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 8 May 2017

3. Variosu of Comey speaking at event

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"Comey is - describes in great minutiae sort of the interaction, his first interaction with the president-elect, which was the Trump Tower meeting in January of 2017; just about two or so weeks before Trump took office. He describes in some insulting ways and I'm sure the president will take that rather personally and perhaps not well, he says that...Comey who is six foot eight says that Trump was shorter than he expected. He described that his face was sort of orange and he saw the little white half circles under his eyes, where he assumed he had goggles on in the tanning bed. He's made a point also of looking at the size of the president's hands. Of course, Donald Trump, memorably at the debate stage during the campaign said, suggested that his hands were a great size and that that, you know, meant...that reflected well in other parts of his anatomy. While James Comey said that though they were smaller than his, they seemed to be of normal proportions."

POOL

Washington DC - 11 April 2018

6. Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"That he wished he had sort of not buried the lead. If you recall the news conference, he sort of spent a lot of time really sort of criticizing the Secretary, only at the end to say 'but we're not finding any charges against her.' He wishes he could have done that differently."

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 5 July 2016

8. Various of FBI Director James Comey entering room and giving news conference on findings into Hillary Clinton email investigation

On May 3rd 2017 US President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, ousting the nation's top law enforcement official in the midst of an investigation into whether Trump's campaign had ties to Russia's election meddling.

In a letter to Comey, Trump said the firing was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in the FBI.

Comey has come under intense scrutiny in recent months for his role in an investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's email practices, including a pair of letters he sent to Congress on the matter in the closing days of last year's election.

Trump made no mention of Comey's role in the Clinton investigation.

But the president did assert that Comey informed him "on three separate occasions that I am not under investigation."

***

President Donald Trump abruptly fired James Comey as director of the FBI in the midst of the law enforcement agency's investigation into whether Trump's presidential campaign was connected to Russian meddling in the election.

In a letter to Comey, Trump said the dismissal was necessary to restore the public's trust and confidence.

Often lauded for his independence, Comey had come under intense scrutiny in recent months for his role in the agency's investigation into the email practices of Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, including a pair of letters he sent to Congress on the matter in the final days of last November's election.

A look at key moments in Comey's tenure and the lead-up to Trump's decision to fire him.

July 5, 2016: Holds news conference to announce that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, over her email practices as secretary of state, but criticizes Clinton and her staff for being "extremely careless" in their handling of classified material.

July 5, 2016: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump calls the FBI's decision not to bring criminal charges against Clinton the greatest example yet that the system is "rigged."

July 7, 2016: Comey vigorously defends the decision not to prosecute Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Under an onslaught of Republican criticism, Comey says that to charge Clinton would have been unwarranted and mere "celebrity hunting."

Oct. 28, 2016: Days before the election, Comey informs Congress by letter that he was reopening the investigation into Clinton's email practices based on new evidence, citing the discovery of emails on a laptop used by a top Clinton aide. Justice Department officials warned Comey against sending the letter, saying that doing so would be inconsistent with department policy meant to avoid the appearance of prosecutorial interference or meddling in elections.

Oct. 28, 2016: Trump reacts to FBI's decision to investigate new messages related to Clinton's emails, telling a campaign rally that he has "great respect for the FBI for righting this wrong."

Nov. 6, 2016: Comey tells Congress in a follow-up letter that a review of newly discovered Clinton emails has "not changed our conclusions" that she should not face criminal charges.

Nov. 6: Trump criticizes Comey's second letter to Congress, saying Clinton was being protected by a "rigged system" and pronouncing her "guilty," despite the FBI's conclusion that criminal charges were unwarranted.

Nov. 8, 2016: Trump is elected president.

Nov. 12, 2016: During a telephone call with top campaign donors, Clinton blames Comey for her defeat by Trump. Clinton said her campaign was on track to win the election until Comey sent the letter to Congress on Oct. 28.

Nov. 13, 2016: In a CBS "60 Minutes" broadcast after the election, Trump said he hadn't decided whether to keep Comey.

Jan. 6, 2017: Comey is among a group of four top US intelligence officials who briefed then-President-elect Donald Trump on their conclusions that Russia meddled in the presidential election on his behalf. Trump told The Associated Press by telephone after the meeting that he "learned a lot" but declined to say whether he accepted their conclusion about Russia.

Jan. 22, 2017: Two days after taking office, Trump appears to single out Comey at a White House reception to thank law enforcement officers and others that helped during the inauguration. Trump called Comey over to where he was standing in the Blue Room to offer a handshake and a partial hug, then commented that Comey has "become more famous than me."

March 8, 2017: During a cyber security conference at Boston College, Comey said he planned to serve his entire 10-year term, quipping, "You're stuck with me for another 6½ years."

March 20, 2017: Comey testifies to Congress that the FBI has been investigating possible links between Trump associates and Russian officials since July, the same month he held an unusual news conference to discuss the investigation into Clinton. Comey had previously refused to acknowledge the parallel Trump investigation, and his disclosure enrages Democrats who already blamed Comey for costing Clinton the presidency.

March 20, 2017: Comey testifies at the same hearing that the FBI and Justice Department have no information to substantiate Trump's unsubstantiated claim on Twitter that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him before the election.

May 2, 2017: Clinton again lays part of the blame for losing the election on Comey's Oct. 28 letter. "If the election were on Oct. 27, I would have been your president," she tells a women's luncheon in New York.

May 3, 2017: Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey insists that he was consistent in his handling of the separate investigations into Clinton and Trump. Comey also said it made him feel "mildly nauseous" to think his actions in October might have influenced the election outcome. But he told senators: "I can't consider for a second whose political futures will be affected and in what way. We have to ask ourselves what is the right thing to do and then do it."

May 9, 2017: Comey sends Congress a letter correcting his prior sworn testimony regarding emails handled by longtime Clinton associate Huma Abedin. Comey had told Congress that Abedin had sent "hundreds and thousands" of emails to her husband's laptop, including some with classified information. The two-page, follow-up letter said that, in fact, only "a small number" of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.

May 9, 2017: Trump abruptly fires Comey. "It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump states in a letter addressed to Comey.

***

White House officials say Trump's confidence in FBI Director James Comey had been eroding for months and that he was ultimately fired because he was 'not fit to do the job'.

"Frankly, he'd been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, a sharply different explanation from the day before, when officials put the emphasis on new Justice complaints about Comey.

Days before he was fired, Comey requested more resources to pursue his investigation, U.S. officials have said, fueling concerns that Trump was trying to undermine a probe that could threaten his presidency.

The White House appeared caught off guard by the intense response to Comey's firing, given that the FBI director had become a pariah among Democrats for his role in the Clinton investigation.

***

Former FBI Director James Comey arrived on Capitol Hill June 8th for his much anticipated testimony at a the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

***

Fired FBI Director James Comey says, "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," of his conversations with President Donald Trump.

Three days after Trump fired Comey, the president tweeted that Comey should hope there are "no tapes" of their conversations.

Comey documented his conversations with Trump in memos after the encounters.

During his first public appearance since he was fired, senators asked Comey about his responses to Trump.

Comey says he chose his words carefully when responding to Trump because he was "so stunned" by the conversation.

Comey was recalling a February conversation in which, Comey says, Trump said he hoped Comey could let go the FBI's investigation into Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn's calls with the Russians.

***

Former FBI Director James Comey said at the end of his testimony to a Senate committee that he believes he was fired by President Donald Trump in an effort to affect the Russia investigation.

Comey said on June 8th that it's a "very big deal and not just because it involves me."

He said political considerations shouldn't influence the FBI's work.

Comey also said that if any American helped Russia in trying to influence the 2016 election, "that is a very big deal."

The former FBI chief said he's confident an investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller will be conducted thoroughly.

00:00:00

Trump fires FBI director James Comey

4095532

POOL

Washington,D.C. - 3 May 2017

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Senator Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa, Chairman Senate Judiciary Committee:

"A cloud of doubt hangs over the FBI's objectivity. Once you buy into the claim of collusion, then suddenly ever interaction with a Russian can be twisted to seem like confirmation of a conspiracy theory."

2. Various of Comey being sworn in

00:22:22

Key moments leading up to Comey's firing

4095630

ASSOCIATED PRESS, POOL

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

3. Various of US President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence applauding officers, first responders in Blue Room at a White House reception UPSOUND (English) President Donald Trump:

"So let's, oh and there's James (Comey), he's become more famous than me. (James Comey, director of the FBI embraces the President).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 9 May 2017

4. Letter by President Donald Trump regarding the firing of FBI Director James Comey

00:40:15

WH: Comey 'not fit to do the job'

4095896

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 11 May 2017

5. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders walks in for press briefing

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Spokeswoman:

"He fired him because he was not fit to do the job. It's that simple.

00:45:04

Comey Arrives on Capitol Hill For Senate Hearing

4100575

POOL

Washington, D.C. - 8 June 2017

7. Former FBI Director James Comey arriving in room for Senate Intelligence Hearing,

00:49:06

Comey: 'Lordy, I hope there are tapes'

4100597

POOL

Washington DC - 8 June 2017

8. SOUNDBITE (English) James Comey, Former FBI Director:

" Look, I've seen the tweet about tapes, Lordy I hope there are tapes. I remember saying I agree he is a good guy, as a way of saying, I'm not agreeing with what you just asked me to do,

01:05:08

Comey: 'Fired Because of Russia Investigation'

4100613

POOL

Washington DC - 8 June 2017

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. John Cornyn, (R) Texas:

"And let me ask you as a general proposition, if you are trying to make an investigation go away, is firing an FBI director a good way to make that happen?"

10. SOUNDBITE (English) James Comey, Former FBI Director:

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I'm actually hopelessly biased, given that I was the one fired.

Republicans accused U.S. law enforcement leaders Thursday of withholding important documents from them and demanded details about surveillance tactics during the Russia investigation in a contentious congressional hearing that capped days of mounting partisan complaints.

The hearing Thursday was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's first appearance before Congress since an internal Justice Department report that criticized the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and revealed disparaging text messages among FBI officials about President Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee suggested the department has conspired against Trump by refusing to turn over documents they believe would show improper conduct by the FBI.

They seized on the inspector general report to allege bias against the president by the FBI and to discredit an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign that is now led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"This country is being hurt by it. We are being divided," Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said of the investigation. He later added: "Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

Thursday's hearing came as the House prepared to vote on a resolution that demands the department turn over thousands of documents by July 6 on FBI investigations into Clinton's private email use and Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Those documents have already been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary and intelligence committees, which want to use the records as part of multiple investigations the FBI's decision to clear Clinton in the email investigation and to open an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Justice and FBI have already turned over more than 800,000 documents to congressional committees, but the subpoenas are asking for additional materials, including records about any surveillance of Trump campaign associates. Lawmakers have threatened to hold top Justice officials in contempt or impeach them if the documents aren't turned over.

Wray and Rosenstein said law enforcement officials have been working diligently to turn over the requested records, though Republicans made clear their dissatisfaction at the pace.

"We have caught you hiding information, Mr. Rosenstein," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Rosenstein strongly denied the accusation.

Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida demanded to know why Rosenstein had not recused from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the president had committed obstruction of justice given Rosenstein's role in laying the groundwork for the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Rosenstein wrote a memo last year criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation, a document the White House initially held up as the rationale for his firing.

"I can assure you that if it were appropriate for me to recuse, I'd be more than happy to do so," Rosenstein said.

POOL

Washington - 28 June 2018

1. Various, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray walking into House Judiciary Committee hearing

2. Mid, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte opening hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, R - South Carolina:

"Russia attacked this country, they should be the target but Russia isn't being hurt by this investigation right now. We are. This country is being hurt by we are being divided. We've seen the bias. We've seen the bias. We need to see the evidence. If you have evidence of wrongdoing by any member of the Trump campaign, present it to the damn grand jury. If you have evidence that this president acted inappropriately, present it to the American people. There there's an old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. I think right now, all of us are being denied. Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

4. Wide, side view

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"Mr. Rosenstein, why are you keeping information from Congress? (Rosenstein: I'm not keeping any information from Congress that it's appropriate ...) In a few minutes, Mr. Rosenstein, I think the House of Representatives is going to say something different."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I don't agree with you Congressman. I don't believe that's what they're going to say and if they do they'll be mistaken."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"I think in a few minutes the House of Representatives is going to go on record saying you haven't complied with requests from a separate and equal branch of government, that you haven't complied with subpoenas and you've got seven days to get your act together."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Sir, I certainly hope that your colleagues are not under that impression. That is not accurate sir."

9. Side view of hearing

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"If you're interested in the truth Mr. Jordan, the truth is we have a team of folks. They're Trump appointees and career folks and they're doing their best to produce these documents. Director Wray explained to you the process. He's got hundreds of people working around the clock trying to satisfy these requests. So, whether you vote or not is not going to affect it. You're going to get everything that's relevant that we can find to produce to you. I support this report sir. I'm not trying to hide anything from you."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ron DeSantis, R - Florida:

"You know, you talk about the Mueller investigation. It's really the Rosenstein investigation. You appointed Mueller, you're supervising Mueller, and supposedly about collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia and obstruction of justice. But you wrote the memo saying that Comey should be fired and you signed the FISA extension for Carter Page. So my question is to you seems like you should be recused from this more so than Jeff Sessions, just because you were involved in making decisions affecting both prongs of this investigation. Why haven't you done that?"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Congressman, I can assure you that were appropriate for me to recuse. I'd be more than happy to do so and let somebody else handle this. But it is my responsibility to do it."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Shelia Jackson Lee, D - California:

"I'm almost believing that I've just attended or I'm in the midst of a monster ball and we're looking for monsters wherever we can find them."

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I've heard suggestions that we should just close the investigation. I think the best thing we can do is finish it appropriately and reach a conclusion. And I certainly agree with you sir that people should not jump to conclusions without seeing the evidence. I've been the victim of fake news attacks myself so I'm sympathetic. I agree with you sir that there's been no allegation made by the Department of Justice or the special counsel other than what's reflected in those documents that are filed publicly. The charged folks. Nobody should draw any conclusions beyond those charges."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Cohen, D - Tennessee:

"Now President Trump talks about 13 Democrats running this investigation. Do you know who he's speaking about? And if there's any way that the Justice Department or President Trump knows if these people are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Bolsheviks?"

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I think you need to ask him sir. I do not know. (Cohen: you don't know if they're Democrats?) I do not. I do not know their political registration, no sir."

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"(Cohen: Director Wray do you know any of these people's political registrations?) I'm not familiar with their political registration, no."

18. Side view of hearing

Republicans accused U.S. law enforcement leaders Thursday of withholding important documents from them and demanded details about surveillance tactics during the Russia investigation in a contentious congressional hearing that capped days of mounting partisan complaints.

The hearing Thursday was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's first appearance before Congress since an internal Justice Department report that criticized the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and revealed disparaging text messages among FBI officials about President Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee suggested the department has conspired against Trump by refusing to turn over documents they believe would show improper conduct by the FBI.

They seized on the inspector general report to allege bias against the president by the FBI and to discredit an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign that is now led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"This country is being hurt by it. We are being divided," Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said of the investigation. He later added: "Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

Thursday's hearing came as the House prepared to vote on a resolution that demands the department turn over thousands of documents by July 6 on FBI investigations into Clinton's private email use and Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Those documents have already been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary and intelligence committees, which want to use the records as part of multiple investigations the FBI's decision to clear Clinton in the email investigation and to open an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Justice and FBI have already turned over more than 800,000 documents to congressional committees, but the subpoenas are asking for additional materials, including records about any surveillance of Trump campaign associates. Lawmakers have threatened to hold top Justice officials in contempt or impeach them if the documents aren't turned over.

Wray and Rosenstein said law enforcement officials have been working diligently to turn over the requested records, though Republicans made clear their dissatisfaction at the pace.

"We have caught you hiding information, Mr. Rosenstein," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Rosenstein strongly denied the accusation.

Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida demanded to know why Rosenstein had not recused from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the president had committed obstruction of justice given Rosenstein's role in laying the groundwork for the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Rosenstein wrote a memo last year criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation, a document the White House initially held up as the rationale for his firing.

"I can assure you that if it were appropriate for me to recuse, I'd be more than happy to do so," Rosenstein said.

POOL

Washington - 28 June 2018

1. Various, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray walking into House Judiciary Committee hearing

2. Mid, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte opening hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, R - South Carolina:

"Russia attacked this country, they should be the target but Russia isn't being hurt by this investigation right now. We are. This country is being hurt by we are being divided. We've seen the bias. We've seen the bias. We need to see the evidence. If you have evidence of wrongdoing by any member of the Trump campaign, present it to the damn grand jury. If you have evidence that this president acted inappropriately, present it to the American people. There there's an old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. I think right now, all of us are being denied. Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

4. Wide, side view

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"Mr. Rosenstein, why are you keeping information from Congress? (Rosenstein: I'm not keeping any information from Congress that it's appropriate ...) In a few minutes, Mr. Rosenstein, I think the House of Representatives is going to say something different."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I don't agree with you Congressman. I don't believe that's what they're going to say and if they do they'll be mistaken."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"I think in a few minutes the House of Representatives is going to go on record saying you haven't complied with requests from a separate and equal branch of government, that you haven't complied with subpoenas and you've got seven days to get your act together."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Sir, I certainly hope that your colleagues are not under that impression. That is not accurate sir."

9. Side view of hearing

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"If you're interested in the truth Mr. Jordan, the truth is we have a team of folks. They're Trump appointees and career folks and they're doing their best to produce these documents. Director Wray explained to you the process. He's got hundreds of people working around the clock trying to satisfy these requests. So, whether you vote or not is not going to affect it. You're going to get everything that's relevant that we can find to produce to you. I support this report sir. I'm not trying to hide anything from you."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ron DeSantis, R - Florida:

"You know, you talk about the Mueller investigation. It's really the Rosenstein investigation. You appointed Mueller, you're supervising Mueller, and supposedly about collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia and obstruction of justice. But you wrote the memo saying that Comey should be fired and you signed the FISA extension for Carter Page. So my question is to you seems like you should be recused from this more so than Jeff Sessions, just because you were involved in making decisions affecting both prongs of this investigation. Why haven't you done that?"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Congressman, I can assure you that were appropriate for me to recuse. I'd be more than happy to do so and let somebody else handle this. But it is my responsibility to do it."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Shelia Jackson Lee, D - California:

"I'm almost believing that I've just attended or I'm in the midst of a monster ball and we're looking for monsters wherever we can find them."

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I've heard suggestions that we should just close the investigation. I think the best thing we can do is finish it appropriately and reach a conclusion. And I certainly agree with you sir that people should not jump to conclusions without seeing the evidence. I've been the victim of fake news attacks myself so I'm sympathetic. I agree with you sir that there's been no allegation made by the Department of Justice or the special counsel other than what's reflected in those documents that are filed publicly. The charged folks. Nobody should draw any conclusions beyond those charges."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Cohen, D - Tennessee:

"Now President Trump talks about 13 Democrats running this investigation. Do you know who he's speaking about? And if there's any way that the Justice Department or President Trump knows if these people are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Bolsheviks?"

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I think you need to ask him sir. I do not know. (Cohen: you don't know if they're Democrats?) I do not. I do not know their political registration, no sir."

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"(Cohen: Director Wray do you know any of these people's political registrations?) I'm not familiar with their political registration, no."

18. Side view of hearing

Republicans accused U.S. law enforcement leaders Thursday of withholding important documents from them and demanded details about surveillance tactics during the Russia investigation in a contentious congressional hearing that capped days of mounting partisan complaints.

The hearing Thursday was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's first appearance before Congress since an internal Justice Department report that criticized the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and revealed disparaging text messages among FBI officials about President Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee suggested the department has conspired against Trump by refusing to turn over documents they believe would show improper conduct by the FBI.

They seized on the inspector general report to allege bias against the president by the FBI and to discredit an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign that is now led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"This country is being hurt by it. We are being divided," Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said of the investigation. He later added: "Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

Thursday's hearing came as the House prepared to vote on a resolution that demands the department turn over thousands of documents by July 6 on FBI investigations into Clinton's private email use and Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Those documents have already been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary and intelligence committees, which want to use the records as part of multiple investigations the FBI's decision to clear Clinton in the email investigation and to open an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Justice and FBI have already turned over more than 800,000 documents to congressional committees, but the subpoenas are asking for additional materials, including records about any surveillance of Trump campaign associates. Lawmakers have threatened to hold top Justice officials in contempt or impeach them if the documents aren't turned over.

Wray and Rosenstein said law enforcement officials have been working diligently to turn over the requested records, though Republicans made clear their dissatisfaction at the pace.

"We have caught you hiding information, Mr. Rosenstein," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Rosenstein strongly denied the accusation.

Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida demanded to know why Rosenstein had not recused from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the president had committed obstruction of justice given Rosenstein's role in laying the groundwork for the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Rosenstein wrote a memo last year criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation, a document the White House initially held up as the rationale for his firing.

"I can assure you that if it were appropriate for me to recuse, I'd be more than happy to do so," Rosenstein said.

POOL

Washington - 28 June 2018

1. Various, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray walking into House Judiciary Committee hearing

2. Mid, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte opening hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, R - South Carolina:

"Russia attacked this country, they should be the target but Russia isn't being hurt by this investigation right now. We are. This country is being hurt by we are being divided. We've seen the bias. We've seen the bias. We need to see the evidence. If you have evidence of wrongdoing by any member of the Trump campaign, present it to the damn grand jury. If you have evidence that this president acted inappropriately, present it to the American people. There there's an old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. I think right now, all of us are being denied. Whatever you got, finish it the hell up because this country is being torn apart."

4. Wide, side view

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"Mr. Rosenstein, why are you keeping information from Congress? (Rosenstein: I'm not keeping any information from Congress that it's appropriate ...) In a few minutes, Mr. Rosenstein, I think the House of Representatives is going to say something different."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I don't agree with you Congressman. I don't believe that's what they're going to say and if they do they'll be mistaken."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jim Jordan, R - Ohio:

"I think in a few minutes the House of Representatives is going to go on record saying you haven't complied with requests from a separate and equal branch of government, that you haven't complied with subpoenas and you've got seven days to get your act together."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Sir, I certainly hope that your colleagues are not under that impression. That is not accurate sir."

9. Side view of hearing

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"If you're interested in the truth Mr. Jordan, the truth is we have a team of folks. They're Trump appointees and career folks and they're doing their best to produce these documents. Director Wray explained to you the process. He's got hundreds of people working around the clock trying to satisfy these requests. So, whether you vote or not is not going to affect it. You're going to get everything that's relevant that we can find to produce to you. I support this report sir. I'm not trying to hide anything from you."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ron DeSantis, R - Florida:

"You know, you talk about the Mueller investigation. It's really the Rosenstein investigation. You appointed Mueller, you're supervising Mueller, and supposedly about collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia and obstruction of justice. But you wrote the memo saying that Comey should be fired and you signed the FISA extension for Carter Page. So my question is to you seems like you should be recused from this more so than Jeff Sessions, just because you were involved in making decisions affecting both prongs of this investigation. Why haven't you done that?"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"Congressman, I can assure you that were appropriate for me to recuse. I'd be more than happy to do so and let somebody else handle this. But it is my responsibility to do it."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Shelia Jackson Lee, D - California:

"I'm almost believing that I've just attended or I'm in the midst of a monster ball and we're looking for monsters wherever we can find them."

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I've heard suggestions that we should just close the investigation. I think the best thing we can do is finish it appropriately and reach a conclusion. And I certainly agree with you sir that people should not jump to conclusions without seeing the evidence. I've been the victim of fake news attacks myself so I'm sympathetic. I agree with you sir that there's been no allegation made by the Department of Justice or the special counsel other than what's reflected in those documents that are filed publicly. The charged folks. Nobody should draw any conclusions beyond those charges."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Cohen, D - Tennessee:

"Now President Trump talks about 13 Democrats running this investigation. Do you know who he's speaking about? And if there's any way that the Justice Department or President Trump knows if these people are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Bolsheviks?"

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"I think you need to ask him sir. I do not know. (Cohen: you don't know if they're Democrats?) I do not. I do not know their political registration, no sir."

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"(Cohen: Director Wray do you know any of these people's political registrations?) I'm not familiar with their political registration, no."

18. Side view of hearing

House Democrats and Republicans battled over the recently released Justice Department's IG report on the FBI and the 2016 election during a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday.

The report, authored by Michael Horowitz, blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had mishandled classified information on her private email server when she was secretary of state.

Republicans have become increasingly skeptical of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Trump's Republican presidential campaign.

They've been saying they're not convinced by the report's conclusion that the decision to spare Clinton from criminal charges was free from bias, or by reassurances that the problems were limited to just a handful of employees

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second," said Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation," said Republican colleague Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.

"It confirms that Mrs Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation," Goodlatte said.

Democrats, however, battled back.

"Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we opened an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?" said Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler.

"The Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this," added Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.   

Monday, Horowitz appeared with FBI Director Christoper Wray before a senate panel.

Wray said that the FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in the watchdog report.

Days earlier, President Donald Trump asserted the report exonerated him.

"There was no collusion.  There was no obstruction," the president told reporters. "And I think that the Mueller investigation has been totally discredited."

Although the report criticized former FBI Director James Comey for multiple decisions that investigators said broke from protocol. But the inspector general said it found no evidence that political bias affected the outcome of the investigation.

And the report focused only on the FBI's actions during the 2016 election, not the Mueller investigation.

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

1. Wide of House lawmakers on dais at hearing

2. Mid of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz at witness table

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, (R) South Carolina

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second. They prejudged the outcome of the Hillary Clinton investigation before the investigation ended, and these exact same FBI agents and attorneys prejudged the outcome of the Russian investigation before it even began."

4. Mid of lawmakers on dais

5. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York

"Why is it that after the Department of Justice and the FBI concluded they should not charge Secretary Clinton with a crime, rather than accepting the conclusion as we would in most criminal cases, the judiciary and oversight majorities launched an investigation into the Department of Justice and the FBI? Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we open an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?"

7. Mid of lawmakers on dais

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Bob Goodlatte, (R) Virginia

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation. It confirms that Mrs. Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation."

9. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D) Maryland:

"The Republicans point to some individual expressions of bias, and these are facts the inspector general already revealed. Instead the Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this."  

11. Wide of lawmakers on dais

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus099334

House Democrats and Republicans battled over the recently released Justice Department's IG report on the FBI and the 2016 election during a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday.

The report, authored by Michael Horowitz, blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had mishandled classified information on her private email server when she was secretary of state.

Republicans have become increasingly skeptical of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Trump's Republican presidential campaign.

They've been saying they're not convinced by the report's conclusion that the decision to spare Clinton from criminal charges was free from bias, or by reassurances that the problems were limited to just a handful of employees

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second," said Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation," said Republican colleague Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.

"It confirms that Mrs Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation," Goodlatte said.

Democrats, however, battled back.

"Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we opened an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?" said Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler.

"The Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this," added Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.   

Monday, Horowitz appeared with FBI Director Christoper Wray before a senate panel.

Wray said that the FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in the watchdog report.

Days earlier, President Donald Trump asserted the report exonerated him.

"There was no collusion.  There was no obstruction," the president told reporters. "And I think that the Mueller investigation has been totally discredited."

Although the report criticized former FBI Director James Comey for multiple decisions that investigators said broke from protocol. But the inspector general said it found no evidence that political bias affected the outcome of the investigation.

And the report focused only on the FBI's actions during the 2016 election, not the Mueller investigation.

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

+++WHITE FLASHES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, (R) South Carolina +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL+++

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second. They prejudged the outcome of the Hillary Clinton investigation before the investigation ended, and these exact same FBI agents and attorneys prejudged the outcome of the Russian investigation before it even began."

2. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL+++

"Why is it that after the Department of Justice and the FBI concluded they should not charge Secretary Clinton with a crime, rather than accepting the conclusion as we would in most criminal cases, the judiciary and oversight majorities launched an investigation into the Department of Justice and the FBI? Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we open an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?"

4. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Bob Goodlatte, (R) Virginia

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation. It confirms that Mrs. Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation."  

+++WHITE FLASH+++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D) Maryland:

"The Republicans point to some individual expressions of bias, and these are facts the inspector general already revealed. Instead the Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this."

House Democrats and Republicans battled over the recently released Justice Department's IG report on the FBI and the 2016 election during a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday.

The report, authored by Michael Horowitz, blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had mishandled classified information on her private email server when she was secretary of state.

Republicans have become increasingly skeptical of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Trump's Republican presidential campaign.

They've been saying they're not convinced by the report's conclusion that the decision to spare Clinton from criminal charges was free from bias, or by reassurances that the problems were limited to just a handful of employees

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second," said Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation," said Republican colleague Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.

"It confirms that Mrs Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation," Goodlatte said.

Democrats, however, battled back.

"Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we opened an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?" said Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler.

"The Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this," added Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.   

Monday, Horowitz appeared with FBI Director Christoper Wray before a senate panel.

Wray said that the FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in the watchdog report.

Days earlier, President Donald Trump asserted the report exonerated him.

"There was no collusion.  There was no obstruction," the president told reporters. "And I think that the Mueller investigation has been totally discredited."

Although the report criticized former FBI Director James Comey for multiple decisions that investigators said broke from protocol. But the inspector general said it found no evidence that political bias affected the outcome of the investigation.

And the report focused only on the FBI's actions during the 2016 election, not the Mueller investigation.

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

1. Wide of House lawmakers on dais at hearing

2. Mid of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz at witness table

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Trey Gowdy, (R) South Carolina

"There were FBI agents and attorneys who decided to prejudge the outcome of the Hillary Clinton case before the investigation ended. I want you let that sink in for a second. They prejudged the outcome of the Hillary Clinton investigation before the investigation ended, and these exact same FBI agents and attorneys prejudged the outcome of the Russian investigation before it even began."

4. Mid of lawmakers on dais

5. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York

"Why is it that after the Department of Justice and the FBI concluded they should not charge Secretary Clinton with a crime, rather than accepting the conclusion as we would in most criminal cases, the judiciary and oversight majorities launched an investigation into the Department of Justice and the FBI? Why is it that after you released this report, Mr. Horowitz, some of my colleagues seriously suggested that we open an investigation into your investigation, of the investigation?"

7. Mid of lawmakers on dais

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Bob Goodlatte, (R) Virginia

"The IG's report has spawned more questions and more theories about the FBI and DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation. It confirms that Mrs. Clinton did in fact receive special treatment from the Obama Justice Department and FBI during their investigation."

9. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D) Maryland:

"The Republicans point to some individual expressions of bias, and these are facts the inspector general already revealed. Instead the Republicans are now tripling down threatening to impeach Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray for somehow obstructing their efforts to get to the bottom of all of this."  

11. Wide of lawmakers on dais

The appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation comes as questions grow over President Donald Trump's firing of Mueller's successor, James Comey.

Comey was fired May 9th as the FBI was investigating whether Trump's presidential campaign associates had colluded with Russia to influence the outcome in his behalf. Mueller's broad mandate gives him oversight not only of the Russia probe, but also of "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." That could well include the firing of Comey.

Key Moments

July 5, 2016: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump calls the FBI's decision not to bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton.

Oct. 28, 2016: Days before the election, Comey informs Congress by letter that he is reopening the investigation into Clinton's email . Six days later he informs Congress in a follow-up letter that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

Nov. 8, 2016: Trump is elected president.

Jan. 22, 2017: Two days after taking office, Trump appears to single out Comey at a White House reception.

Jan. 27, 2017: At a one-on-one dinner at the White House, Trump is said to ask Comey to pledge his loyalty to the . The White House denies the account.

March 20, 2017: Comey testifies to Congress that the FBI has been investigating possible links between Trump associates and Russian officials since July.

May 9, 2017: Trump abruptly fires Comey.

May 12, 2017: Trump tweets that Comey "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

May 16, 2017: Comey associates reveal the existence of the memo Comey wrote after his Feb. 14 meeting with Trump in which he says the president asked him to shut down the FBI investigation into Flynn. The White House denies the account.

May 17, 2017: (MAY) Justice Department appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation.

June 9, 2017: Comey to give the first public account of the events leading up to his firing in testimony before Congress.

POOL

Washington - 13 June 2013

1. Then-FBI Direct Mueller being sworn in, then sitting down

POOL

Washington - 5 July 2016

2. FBI Director James Comey enters briefing room

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 1 December, 2016

3. Michael Flynn walks into Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland - 18 July 2016

4. Paul Manafort at Republican National Convention

US POOL

Sterling Heights - 6 November 2016

5. Donald Trump, Then US Republican presidential nominee:

POOL

Washington - 13 June 2013

6. Then-FBI Direct Mueller

POOL: Washington - 5 July 2016

7. FBI Director James Comey

POOL

Raleigh, North Carolina - July 5, 2016

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presumptive Nominee

"I don't know about you but I've always felt that Hillary Clinton would escape criminal charges for her dangerous and illegal behavior because I always knew, and I always see, and it's so sad, that our system is in fact rigged. It's totally rigged. It's corrupt. It's rigged. "

POOL

Lisbon, Maine - 28 October 2016

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US Republican presidential nominee:

"I have great respect for the FBI for righting this wrong, the American people fully understand her (Clinton's) corruption and we hope all, all justice will finally be served."

POOL

Washington DC - 22 January 2017

10. President Trump greets Comey at White House

POOL

Washington - 12 May 2017

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary:

"I think the President wants loyalty to this country and to the rule of law."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 20 March 2017

12. Comey sworn in before Congress

POOL

Washington - 13 June 2013

13. Then-FBI Direct Mueller

The FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in a harshly critical watchdog report on the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Director Chris Wray said Monday at a congressional hearing.

Wray said the FBI accepts the findings of the Justice Department inspector general report and has begun making changes, including about how the FBI handles especially sensitive investigations. The bureau is also reinforcing for employees the need to avoid the appearance of political bias, a key point of criticism in last week's report.

"We're going to learn from the report and be better as a result," Wray said.

The report blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had mishandled classified information on her private email server when she was secretary of state.

It said anti-Donald Trump text messages exchanged by FBI employees who worked on the investigation cast a cloud on the agency's handling of the probe and damaged its reputation. It also said that fired FBI Director James Comey repeatedly broke from protocol, including when he publicly announced his recommendation against charging Clinton and when he bucked the judgment of Justice Department bosses by alerting Congress months later that the investigation was being reopened because of newly discovered emails.

But the report found that the July 2016 decision to spare Clinton from criminal charges was not tainted by political bias or considerations.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who joined Wray at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, said there are lessons to be learned from the 500-page report, including about respecting an institution's hierarchy and norms.

POOL

Washington - 18 June 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa:

"The Justice Department faces a serious credibility problem because millions of Americans suspect that there is a double standard. They see a story of kid glove treatment for one side and bare knuckle tactics for the other."

2. Wide of hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa:

"Director Wray has quite a mess to clean up. I think he probably knows that. The department has serious accountability issues. In scandal after scandal, accountability is the exception rather than the rule."

4. Wide of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California:

"While the report is highly critical of Director Comey, it did not find that it was biased against President Trump or in favor of Secretary Clinton, as some have alleged."

6. Wide of hearing

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California:

"Throughout the Clinton investigation, Republicans in Congress demanded information from Director Comey and the Justice Department under subpoena and threat of contempt. Today, they are doing the same thing with special counsel Mueller's investigation. It was wrong then and it's wrong now."

8. Wide of Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray swearing in

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Horowitz, Department of Justice Inspector General:

"As detailed in our report, we found that the inappropriate political messages we uncovered cast a cloud over the media investigation, sowed doubt about the credibility of the FBI's handling of it and impacted the reputation of the FBI."

10. Wide of hearing

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Horowitz, Department of Justice Inspector General:

"With regard to the decision to close the investigation without prosecution, we found no evidence that the conclusions by the prosecutors were the result of improper considerations, including political bias, but rather were exercises of prosecutorial discretion by the prosecutors based on their assessment of the facts of the law and past department practice."

12. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"Although the report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations ultimately impacting the investigation under review, the report did identify errors of judgment, violations of or disregard for policy and decisions that at least in the benefit of hindsight, were certainly not the best choices."

14. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"The OIG's report makes clear that we have significant work to do. And as I said, we're going to learn from the report and be better as a result. At the same time, I want to emphasize that this report is focused on a specific set of events back in 2016 and a small number of FBI employees connected with those events. Mistakes made by those employees do not define our 37,000 men and women and the great work they do everyday. Nothing in this report impugns the integrity of our workforce as a whole or the FBI as an institution. I want to be very clear with this committee about the FBI that I've been able to see up close every day in the 10 months since my confirmation hearing before you all."

16. UPSOUND (English) Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D) Vermont:

"Do you have any reason to believe that this investigation has been discredited?"

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"Senator, as I said to you last month and as I said before, I do not believe special counsel Mueller is on a witch hunt."

18. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"What I can tell you is that I cannot imagine a situation in which I would unilaterally assume for myself, as the FBI director, a charging decision and then announce it in a news conference."

20. Wide of hearing

The FBI is determined to not repeat any of the mistakes identified in a harshly critical watchdog report on the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Director Chris Wray said Monday at a congressional hearing.

Wray said the FBI accepts the findings of the Justice Department inspector general report and has begun making changes, including about how the FBI handles especially sensitive investigations. The bureau is also reinforcing for employees the need to avoid the appearance of political bias, a key point of criticism in last week's report.

"We're going to learn from the report and be better as a result," Wray said.

The report blasted FBI actions during the 2016 investigation into whether Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, had mishandled classified information on her private email server when she was secretary of state.

It said anti-Donald Trump text messages exchanged by FBI employees who worked on the investigation cast a cloud on the agency's handling of the probe and damaged its reputation. It also said that fired FBI Director James Comey repeatedly broke from protocol, including when he publicly announced his recommendation against charging Clinton and when he bucked the judgment of Justice Department bosses by alerting Congress months later that the investigation was being reopened because of newly discovered emails.

But the report found that the July 2016 decision to spare Clinton from criminal charges was not tainted by political bias or considerations.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who joined Wray at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, said there are lessons to be learned from the 500-page report, including about respecting an institution's hierarchy and norms.

POOL

Washington - 18 June 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa:

"The Justice Department faces a serious credibility problem because millions of Americans suspect that there is a double standard. They see a story of kid glove treatment for one side and bare knuckle tactics for the other."

2. Wide of hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R) Iowa:

"Director Wray has quite a mess to clean up. I think he probably knows that. The department has serious accountability issues. In scandal after scandal, accountability is the exception rather than the rule."

4. Wide of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California:

"While the report is highly critical of Director Comey, it did not find that it was biased against President Trump or in favor of Secretary Clinton, as some have alleged."

6. Wide of hearing

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California:

"Throughout the Clinton investigation, Republicans in Congress demanded information from Director Comey and the Justice Department under subpoena and threat of contempt. Today, they are doing the same thing with special counsel Mueller's investigation. It was wrong then and it's wrong now."

8. Wide of Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray swearing in

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Horowitz, Department of Justice Inspector General:

"As detailed in our report, we found that the inappropriate political messages we uncovered cast a cloud over the media investigation, sowed doubt about the credibility of the FBI's handling of it and impacted the reputation of the FBI."

10. Wide of hearing

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Horowitz, Department of Justice Inspector General:

"With regard to the decision to close the investigation without prosecution, we found no evidence that the conclusions by the prosecutors were the result of improper considerations, including political bias, but rather were exercises of prosecutorial discretion by the prosecutors based on their assessment of the facts of the law and past department practice."

12. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"Although the report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations ultimately impacting the investigation under review, the report did identify errors of judgment, violations of or disregard for policy and decisions that at least in the benefit of hindsight, were certainly not the best choices."

14. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"The OIG's report makes clear that we have significant work to do. And as I said, we're going to learn from the report and be better as a result. At the same time, I want to emphasize that this report is focused on a specific set of events back in 2016 and a small number of FBI employees connected with those events. Mistakes made by those employees do not define our 37,000 men and women and the great work they do everyday. Nothing in this report impugns the integrity of our workforce as a whole or the FBI as an institution. I want to be very clear with this committee about the FBI that I've been able to see up close every day in the 10 months since my confirmation hearing before you all."

16. UPSOUND (English) Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D) Vermont:

"Do you have any reason to believe that this investigation has been discredited?"

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"Senator, as I said to you last month and as I said before, I do not believe special counsel Mueller is on a witch hunt."

18. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

"What I can tell you is that I cannot imagine a situation in which I would unilaterally assume for myself, as the FBI director, a charging decision and then announce it in a news conference."

20. Wide of hearing