Special counsel Robert Mueller, breaking a two-year silence on his investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.

Mueller says that he was bound by long-standing Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office.

In his first public comments in the probe, Mueller said on Wednesday "it would be unfair" to potentially accuse someone of a crime when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself.

Mueller's comments echoed the findings in his public report.

Mueller's report revealed that US President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president.

Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt."

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special Counsel:

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special Counsel:

"Two years ago the acting attorney general asked me to serve as special counsel and he created the special counsel's office.  The appointment order directed the office to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This included investigating any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Now I have not spoken publicly during our investigation. I'm speaking out today because our investigation is complete. The attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the special counsel's office and as well, I'm resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life. I'll make a few remarks about the results of our work, but beyond these few remarks it is important that the office's written work speak for itself. Let me begin where the appointment order begins and that is interference in the 2016 presidential election. As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers, who were part of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system. The indictment alleges that they use sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate. And at the same time, as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election. These indictments contain allegations and we are not commenting on the guilt or the innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The indictments allege and the other activities in our report describe efforts to interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and understood and that is among the reasons why the Department of Justice established our office. That is also a reason we investigated efforts to obstruct the investigation.  The matters we investigated were of paramount importance. It was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from every person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government's effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable. Let me say a word about the report. The report has two parts, addressing the two main issues we were asked to investigate. The first volume of the report details numerous efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election. This volume includes a discussion of the Trump campaign's response to this activity as well as our conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy. And in the second volume, the report describes the results and analysis of our obstruction of justice investigation involving the president. The order appointing me Special Counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could obstruct the investigation. We conducted that investigation and we kept the office of the acting attorney general apprised of the progress of our work and as set forth in the report, after that investigation, if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so. We did not however make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime. The introduction to the volume 2 of our report explains that decision. It explains that under long standing department policy a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is prohibited. The special counsel's office is part of the Department of Justice and by regulation it was bound by that department policy.  Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider."

++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 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++

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller said charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.

Speaking at the US Justice Department Wednesday, Mueller said he was bound by longstanding Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office as well as "principles of fairness."

"It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime" when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself, Mueller said in his first public comments about the probe.

Mueller did not rule out testifying before Congress but he served notice that he does not intend to go beyond what has already been revealed in his report.

Saying "the work speaks for itself," Mueller said the report is his "testimony" and that he "would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress."

Mueller ended his nearly ten-minute remarks saying there were "multiple, systematic efforts" to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that "deserves the attention of every American."

He detailed that meddling in an indictment last year, charging 12 Russian military intelligence officers with hacking Democratic email accounts.

Mueller's probe found there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded or conspired with Russia. But a report released at the end of the investigation detailed many contacts between Russia and the campaign.

Trump has repeatedly called the entire investigation " a witchhunt."

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. Robert Mueller walks into Justice Department briefing room

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"The opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing. And beyond department policy, we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair to potentially, it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge. So that was Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we operated. And from them, we concluded that we would--would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime. That is the office's, that is the office's final position and we will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the president."

3. Cutaway of Mueller speaking

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"Now I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you in this manner. I am making that decision myself. No one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for the decisions we made. We chose those words carefully and the work speaks for itself. And the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress. In addition, access to our underlying--underlying work product is being decided in a process that does that does not involve our office. So beyond what I've said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress."

5. Cutaway of Mueller speaking

6. Cutaway of press

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"Now before I step away, I want to thank the attorneys the FBI agents and I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American. Thank you, thank you for being here today."

8. Mueller walks away

Special counsel Robert Mueller says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.

Speaking at the Justice Department Wednesday, Mueller said he was bound by long-standing Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office as well as "principles of fairness."

"It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime" when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself, Mueller said in his first public comments about the probe.

Mueller did not rule out testifying before Congress but he served notice that he does not intend to go beyond what has already been revealed in his report.

Saying "the work speaks for itself," Mueller said the report is his "testimony" and that he "would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress."

Mueller ended his nearly ten-minute remarks saying there were "multiple, systematic efforts" to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that "deserves the attention of every American."

He detailed that meddling in an indictment last year, charging 12 Russian military intelligence officers with hacking Democratic email accounts.

Mueller's probe found there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded or conspired with Russia. But a report released at the end of the investigation detailed many contacts between Russia and the campaign.

Trump has repeatedly called the entire investigation " a witch hunt."

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. Robert Mueller walks into Justice Department briefing room

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"The opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing. And beyond department policy, we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair to potentially, it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge. So that was Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we operated. And from them, we concluded that we would--would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime. That is the office's, that is the office's final position and we will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the president."

3. Cutaway of Mueller speaking

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"Now I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you in this manner. I am making that decision myself. No one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for the decisions we made. We chose those words carefully and the work speaks for itself. And the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress. In addition, access to our underlying--underlying work product is being decided in a process that does that does not involve our office. So beyond what I've said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress."

5. Cutaway of Mueller speaking

6. Cutaway of press

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special counsel:

"Now before I step away, I want to thank the attorneys the FBI agents and I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American. Thank you, thank you for being here today."

8. Mueller walks away

Seeking a bipartisan compromise to avoid a government shutdown, President Donald Trump suggested on January 9th 2018 that an immigration deal could be reached in two phases - first by addressing young immigrants and border security with what he called a "bill of love," then by making comprehensive changes that have long eluded Congress.

Trump held a lengthy meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers seeking a solution for hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

In 2017 Trump ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shielded more than 700,000 people from deportation and gave then the right to work legally in the country. He gave Congress until March to find a fix.

The president, congressional Republicans and Democrats expressed optimism for a deal just 10 days before a government shutdown deadline. Trump expressed a willingness to be flexible in finding an agreement.

Trump told the bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers that if they reach a deal, he will sign it.

A group of journalists observed the meandering meeting for an extraordinary length of time - about 55 minutes - that involved Trump seeking input from Democrats and Republicans alike in a freewheeling exchange on the contentious issue.

The president said he would insist on construction of a border security wall as part of an agreement involving young immigrants, but he said Congress could then pursue a comprehensive immigration overhaul in the second phase.

House Republicans said they planned to soon introduce legislation to address border security and the young immigrants. Trump said, "it should be a bill of love."

***

President Donald Trump denied January 12th via Twitter that he said anything "derogatory about Haitians" during an immigration meeting at the White House on Thursday, as the country and the world continued to express outrage over his reported comments.

Trump was in a closed meeting with members of Congress to discuss immigration on January 11th when he reportedly questioned why the U.S. would accept more people from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa, rather than places like Norway.

At first the White House did not deny that the remark was made. On Friday the president tweeted that his language was "tough" but insisted he did not say anything derogatory about Haitians aside from noting it's a poor country.

Associated Press White House reporter Jonathan Lemire said no one at the White House denied "that he used these vulgar terms to describe these immigrants."

on January 12th Trump took to Twitter to say the language he used at the meeting "was tough," but insisted the words being reported "was not the language used."

He also denied saying "anything derogatory about Haitians other than" that Haiti is "a very poor and troubled country."

***

After President Trump made disparaging remarks about immigrants, some members of the Haitian communities in New York and Florida said they were offended and believed his comments were racist.

President Donald Trump on January 12th questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from "shithole countries" after senators discussed revamping rules affecting those from Africa and Haiti, according to people briefed on the conversation.

Haitians in New York and South Florida reacted negatively to the remarks.

"His comment is divisive. It's un-American. It's extremely offensive. I was reading the Daily News earlier this morning. Actually they could not have said it any better," said Gerald Cajust, referring to a crude depiction of the President on the front page of the New York Daily News.

In North Miami Beach, Florida, hosts at a Haitian-American radio studio, said although they were disappointed in Trump's comments, they believed Haitian leaders were also to blame for the country's economic situation.

Fabiola Charles, a Haitian radio personality with WSRF AM, said "we're looking at ourselves as well and saying you know what, if we took time to actually take care of our people, the president wouldn't have to say something like this about us. So, we also put the blame on us."

***

US President Donald Trump said on January 14th he is not a racist, just days after making controversial comments about Haiti and African countries.

Trump has been accused of using a vulgar word to describe African countries during an Oval Office meeting the previous week with a bipartisan group of six senators.

People briefed on the conversation say that during the meeting the president also questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US.

The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to describe the meeting publicly.

Trump addressed the issue briefly on Sunday as he arrived for dinner at one of his Florida golf clubs with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.

Asked what he thinks about people who think he's racist, Trump said: "I am not a racist". He told reporters: "I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you."

He also praised authorities in Hawaii for taking responsibility for the blunder that caused more than a million people to fear that they were about to be struck by a nuclear missile.

***

Haitians showed their anger over vulgar comments made against their country and Africa by US President Donald Trump with a protest January 18th outside the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

Demonstrators gathered outside the gates of the embassy complex chanting slogans and waving signs denouncing Trump over his remarks and a move to end a program that gave temporary legal status to thousands of Haitians in the US.

Signs and Creole chants by the protesters criticised remarks by the president last week in which he is said to have profanely disparaged African countries and asked why the US would want more Haitians.

The protest by fewer than 100 demonstrators was peaceful and ended without incident.

Another demonstration was planned for next week.

The Haitian government said it was shocked by the remarks, which came on the eve of the anniversary of the country's devastating January 2010 earthquake.

The Trump administration has said that about 60,000 Haitians who have been allowed to stay and work in the US since the earthquake must leave the country in July 2019.

***

A former top adviser to President Donald Trump's election campaign pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false statements charges February 23rd in the special counsel's Russia investigation.

The plea by Rick Gates is a strong indication that he is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as it continues to probe the Trump campaign, Russian election interference and Gates' longtime business associate, Paul Manafort.

Gates, 45, of Richmond, Virginia, appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington for his plea agreement hearing.

A court filing shows Gates has agreed to plead to charges accusing him of conspiring against the U.S. government related to fraud and unregistered foreign lobbying as well as lying to federal authorities in a recent interview.

Gates' decision to admit to the crimes comes a day after a federal grand jury in Virginia returned a 32-count indictment against him and Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, accusing them of tax evasion and bank fraud.

The indictment in Virginia was the second round of charges against Gates and against Manafort, who has denied any wrongdoing. The two men were initially charged last October with unregistered lobbying and conspiring to launder millions of dollars they earned while working on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party.

Gates' decision marks the fifth publicly known guilty plea in the special counsel probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign.

***

America's top diplomat is one of any White House's highest-level cabinet members, often seated at the right hand of the president.

As a newcomer to Washington politics, former Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson was tasked with steering the ship of state with no foreign policy experience and needed to navigate a turbulent, frequently contradictory White House.

As he stepped into the State Department for the first time, Secretary of State Tillerson appealed for unity.

"I know this was a hotly-contested election and we do not all feel the same way about the outcome, " he said, adding "we cannot let our personal convictions overwhelm our ability to work as one team."

But as Tillerson neared the six-month mark on the job, he was forced to knock down a flurry of speculation that he was unhappy and may quit.

At the time, Washington was buzzing with rumors that he would leave due to frustration with the White House.

In his first appearance in the State Department briefing room, Tillerson reiterated that he had a good relationship with the president.

While Tillerson was redefining foreign strategy under the Trump administration's overarching police of "America First", his efforts to craft coherent policy were frequently upended by a tweeting boss.

By October 2017, Tillerson was forced in an unscheduled news conference held at the State Department to defend remarks he made in the Pentagon earlier that President Trump was, "a moron."

In response, Trump said in an interview published in Forbes magazine that if Rex Tillerson did call him a moron, the two should "compare IQ tests."

The White House later said that Trump was joking when he appeared to question his secretary of state's intelligence.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that the president "never implied that the secretary of state was not incredibly intelligent."

She says: "He made a joke, no more than that."

From the start of his tenure, Tillerson's selection raised potential conflict-of-interest issues, as Exxon's business interests around the globe, included Russia.

As an oil executive, Tillerson had argued against sanctions that the U.S. and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

***

President Donald Trump says he has "total confidence" in Mike Pompeo, his new pick for Secretary of State.

Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13th, saying he would nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him.

It's a major staff reshuffle just as Trump dives into high-stakes talks with North Korea.

Trump announced the change in a tweet early on March 13th just four hours after Tillerson returned to Washington from a trip to Africa.

He stopped to take questions from reporters at the South Lawn of the White House about his decision to oust Tillerson and replace him with Pompeo.

Trump said he and Tillerson "disagreed on things" like the Iran deal.

"We were not really thinking the same," Trump said about Tillerson. "With Mike Pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. I think it's going to go very well."

***

CBS says it will air its interview with porn actress Stormy Daniels on March 25th's episode of "60 Minutes."

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with Donald Trump before he became president. She has been trying to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election so she can discuss her relationship with Trump, which she said began in 2006 and continued for about a year.

CNN anchor and "60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper recorded the interview with Clifford earlier this month.

Clifford's attorney, Michael Avenatti, told The Associated Press on March 21st that more details of the affair would come out on "60 Minutes," and said his office was checking out similar claims from six women who had come forward.

"This is about this woman wanting to be able to tell her story to the American people, tell her version of the facts" said Avenatti.

00:00:00

Trump wants immigration deal to be 'bill of love'

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 9 January 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

" This should be a bill of love, truly it should be a bill of love. And we can do that. But it also has to be a bill where we're able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. "

00:13:18

Trump Pushes Back on Vulgar Comments About Haiti

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Port au Prince, Haiti - 21 November, 2017

2. Shots of people walking, traffic in Haitian street

Johannesburg - 12 January 2018

3. Shot of people walking on the street in Johannesburg

00:23:03

Haitians In US offended by comments attributed to Trump

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - January 12, 2018

4. Wide of Haitian American advocacy group storefront

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Herold Dasque, Haitian Americans United for Progress

"It's beyond racism. Of course he's a racist. He's going to say 'no I'm not racist.' What kind of statement is that? 'I don't need Haitians.' Economically they are the one working in the garden. "

6. Interior of barber shop

00:40:21

President Trump: "I'm Not a Racist"

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POOL

West Palm Beach - 14 January 2018

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

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

"No, no, I'm not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you."

00:47:21

Protesters in Haiti condemn Trump remarks

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Port-au-Prince - 18 January 2018

8. People protesting vulgar comments on Haiti and Africa by US President Donald Trump outside US embassy

9. Sign reading (English) "The U.S. has always been racist! Trump just said it out loud"

10. People holding signs during protest, one reading (English) "Donald Trump's racism is the true face of U.S. foreign policy."

00:57:20

Ex-Trump Aide Pleads Guilty in Russia Probe

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 February 2018

11. Wide shot of Rick Gates walking into US District Court

12. STILL PHOTO of Gates walking into court

13. Rick Gates and attorney walking out of court and getting into vehicle

01:10:17

Rex Tillerson: Businessman turned Trump diplomat out at the White House

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Various - Various

Washington, D.C. - 31 July 2017

14. Various, Cabinet Room meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seated right of President Donald Trump

Washington, D.C. - 1 February 2017

15. Mid, Rex Tillerson being sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence

01:34:09

Trump: Pompeo Will be a Great Secretary of State

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ASSOCIATED PRESS, POOL

Washington - 13 March 2018

16. President Donald Trump stops to speak with reporters on White House South Lawn

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) President Donald Trump:

"I've worked with Mike Pompeo now for quite some time -- tremendous energy, tremendous intellect. We're always on the same wavelength.

18. Wide of Trump

19. SOUNDBITE: (English) President Donald Trump:

"Rex and I've been talking about this for a long time. We've got a long actually quite well but we disagreed on things. When you look at the Iran deal: I think it's terrible. I guess he thought it was OK.

02:00:11

Lawyer: Trump should take Stormy Daniels very seriously

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Various - 19/21 March 2018/FILE

FILE: Los Angeles - 11 February 2007

20. STILL: Stormy Daniels

FILE: New Orleans, Louisiana - 6 May 2009

21. STILL of Stormy Daniels

22. SOUNDBITE (English): Michael Avenatti, Attorney for Stormy Daniels

"I don't know how serious they are taking us at this point. I think they're probably taking us more seriously today than they were a couple weeks ago. I'll say that. I'll say that they should be taking us very seriously."