Special counsel Robert Mueller says President Donald Trump's efforts to influence the Russia investigation "were mostly unsuccessful," but that was because the people surrounding the president "declined to carry out orders to accede to his requests."

AP reporter Chad Day gives an initial review in this AP debrief of the two-volume report that exceeds 400 pages.

"The first volume that deals with Russian election interference and the actions of the Trump campaign is a couple of hundred pages long and goes into exhaustive detail about the information that they've gathered," he says.

"Interviewing 500 witnesses, issuing more than twenty eight hundred subpoenas, and putting together probably the most complete picture of what happened during the 2016 election involving the Trump campaign and Russia."

Mueller's report details instances by several officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, ignoring or refusing Trump's requests to interfere in the investigation.

"But some of those episodes show that Trump made several attempts to seize control of the investigation try to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed from the probe, or that his attorneys were trying to gather information about what people who were cooperating with the investigation were telling prosecutors," Day says.

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

1. STILL: Redacted report of Special Council Robert Mueller

Washington, D.C. - 18 April 2019

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGE+++

"So the headline today is that Mueller has made two big conclusions out of his report. Number one is that he did not establish that there was a criminal conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign to interfere in the 2016 election. The other is that he did not exonerate the president on the question of whether he obstructed justice, or tried to influence the Russia probe and crossed over into criminal conduct.

Washington, DC - 15 April 2010

3. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller on Capitol Hill

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

4. STILL: Redacted report of Special Council Robert Mueller

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"In particular on the question of obstruction, Mueller examined 10 different episodes in which he was looking at the president's conduct to determine whether or not it crossed over into criminal conduct. Some of those episodes show that Trump made several attempts to seize control of the investigation, try to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed from the probe, or that his attorneys were trying to gather information about what people who were cooperating with the investigation were telling prosecutors."

6. STILL: President Trump speaks at Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride at White House

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"In particular, there's one episode that's related involving his personal attorney of his who is trying to gather information from former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Now, this is going back in time a little bit, but Flynn had just cut off contact with the Trump legal team, ahead of his pleading guilty and cooperating with the government. The report says that one of Trump's attorneys then reached out and tried to remind them that the president had warm feelings for Flynn and ask him to see if there was any information that he knew that could implicate the president. Whenever Flynn's attorneys rebuffed that effort, the attorney then said that he would remind the president that that Flynn's actions showed hostility towards the president. So, what they're showing is that they're painting a picture here of a president and people around him who are trying to shape and gather information about the probe but also to in some cases you know take control of it and influence the direction of where it's going."

Washington, DC - 18 December 2018

8. FILE: Still of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn arrives at federal courthouse

9. FILE: Still of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn at federal courthouse

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"The report also details what happened in the months right after Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in May of 2017. In particular, it shows that the president ordered his then White House counsel Don McGhan to try to have a special counsel Robert Mueller removed. Now McGahn rebuffed this effort but it shows how the president and the report quotes him saw the probe as possible end to his presidency, and something that would threaten his power. And at that point was trying to take efforts to take control of the investigation by having Mueller removed."

Washington, DC -- 15 April 2010

11. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill

National Harbor, Maryland - 22 February 2018

12. FILE: Still of White House Counsel Don McGhan speaking at conservative gathering

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

Redacted report on Russian interference on 2016 presidential election

The judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s criminal case appointed a retired jurist on Wednesday to evaluate whether the former Trump administration national security adviser should be held in criminal contempt.

The judge’s order is the second signal in as many days registering his resistance to swiftly accepting the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss all charges against Flynn.

In his order, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed former federal judge John Gleeson as an amicus curiae - or friend-of-the-court - and asked him to explore whether Sullivan should hold Flynn in “criminal contempt for perjury.”

Flynn pleaded guilty, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, to lying to the FBI about conversations with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period.

As part of the plea, he had to admit in court, under oath, that he lied to the FBI and violated federal law. It is a crime to lie under oath in court.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec declined to comment on Sullivan's order.

In January, Flynn filed court papers to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him.

The Justice Department filed a motion last week to dismiss the case, saying that the FBI had insufficient basis to question Flynn in the first place and that statements he made during the interview were not material to the broader counterintelligence investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Also Wednesday, two Republican critics of the Russia investigation, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, disclosed a list of names of Obama administration officials who they say may have received Flynn’s identity from intelligence reports in 2016 and 2017. Among the names is Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, who was vice president when the Russia probe began.

Names of Americans are routinely hidden, or minimized, in intelligence reports that describe routine, legal surveillance of foreign targets. U.S. officials must make a specific request if they want to know the person’s identity, or “unmask” them.

Biden and the other officials had full authority to seek the name of the unidentified American in the reports - it turned out to be Flynn - and did so through proper channels, according to Trump administration documents. Nevertheless, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, called the actions of high-ranking Obama adminstration officials, including Biden, "disturbing."

Trump hyped the disclosure of the list with Biden’s name as a “massive thing.” But the Biden campaign dismissed the revelation, with spokesman Andrew Bates saying it simply indicates “the breadth and depth of concern across the American government” at the time about Flynn’s conversations with foreign representatives. None of the officials could have known beforehand that the unidentified person in the reports was Flynn, Bates said.

POOL

Washington - 13 May 2020

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"Yesterday, I sent a letter to director of National Intelligence Rick Grenell concerning declassification of which Obama administration officials asked to unmask General Flynn. Today, I received the shocking answer that Vice President Biden and more than a dozen Obama administration officials requested and received the power to unmask General Flynn during his phone call with the Russian ambassador. The fact that vise President Biden and all of the president's inner circle, President Obama's inner circle, individually requested to unmask General Flynn is very troubling."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"In addition to Vice President Biden, James Clapper, James Comey, John Brennan, Samantha Powers and the president's chief of staff all individually ask to unmask General Flynn and to listen to his phone conversation. Intriguingly, a dozen more. Administration officials all chose to unmask General Flynn. Why is this important? Unmasking involves revealing the identity of an American's private phone conversation without a constitutional warrant to eavesdrop on that conversation. What makes this even more troubling is that this American was a high ranking advisor to an incoming president of the opposite party."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"If Vice President Biden and the president's inner circle of advisers were all listening to a senior Trump administration advisers private phone conversation, this would amount to a serious abuse of power."

The judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s criminal case appointed a retired jurist on Wednesday to evaluate whether the former Trump administration national security adviser should be held in criminal contempt.

The judge’s order is the second signal in as many days registering his resistance to swiftly accepting the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss all charges against Flynn.

In his order, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed former federal judge John Gleeson as an amicus curiae - or friend-of-the-court - and asked him to explore whether Sullivan should hold Flynn in “criminal contempt for perjury.”

Flynn pleaded guilty, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, to lying to the FBI about conversations with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period.

As part of the plea, he had to admit in court, under oath, that he lied to the FBI and violated federal law. It is a crime to lie under oath in court.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec declined to comment on Sullivan's order.

In January, Flynn filed court papers to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him.

The Justice Department filed a motion last week to dismiss the case, saying that the FBI had insufficient basis to question Flynn in the first place and that statements he made during the interview were not material to the broader counterintelligence investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Also Wednesday, two Republican critics of the Russia investigation, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, disclosed a list of names of Obama administration officials who they say may have received Flynn’s identity from intelligence reports in 2016 and 2017. Among the names is Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, who was vice president when the Russia probe began.

Names of Americans are routinely hidden, or minimized, in intelligence reports that describe routine, legal surveillance of foreign targets. U.S. officials must make a specific request if they want to know the person’s identity, or “unmask” them.

Biden and the other officials had full authority to seek the name of the unidentified American in the reports - it turned out to be Flynn - and did so through proper channels, according to Trump administration documents. Nevertheless, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, called the actions of high-ranking Obama adminstration officials, including Biden, "disturbing."

Trump hyped the disclosure of the list with Biden’s name as a “massive thing.” But the Biden campaign dismissed the revelation, with spokesman Andrew Bates saying it simply indicates “the breadth and depth of concern across the American government” at the time about Flynn’s conversations with foreign representatives. None of the officials could have known beforehand that the unidentified person in the reports was Flynn, Bates said.

POOL

Washington - 13 May 2020

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"Yesterday, I sent a letter to director of National Intelligence Rick Grenell concerning declassification of which Obama administration officials asked to unmask General (Michael) Flynn. Today, I received the shocking answer that Vice President Biden and more than a dozen Obama administration officials requested and received the power to unmask General Flynn during his phone call with the Russian ambassador. The fact that Vice President Biden and all of the president's inner circle, President (Barack) Obama's inner circle, individually requested to unmask General Flynn is very troubling."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"In addition to Vice President Biden, James Clapper, James Comey, John Brennan, Samantha Powers and the president's chief of staff all individually ask to unmask General Flynn and to listen to his phone conversation. Intriguingly, a dozen more administration officials all chose to unmask General Flynn. Why is this important? Unmasking involves revealing the identity of an American's private phone conversation without a constitutional warrant to eavesdrop on that conversation. What makes this even more troubling is that this American was a high ranking advisor to an incoming president of the opposite party."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Rand Paul, (R) Kentucky:

"If Vice President Biden and the president's inner circle of advisers were all listening to a senior Trump administration adviser's private phone conversation, this would amount to a serious abuse of power."

Former FBI Director James Comey is steering clear of giving his opinion about whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice when he asked him to back off investigating ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Asked if the request rises to obstruction of justice, Comey told the Senate intelligence committee that he didn't know and that it would be special counsel Robert Mueller's job to sort that out.

Earlier in his testimony, Comey said he doesn't think it would be fair for him to say whether the conversation he had with the president was an effort to obstruct the FBI probe into Russian activities during the election.

Comey told the committee that at the time, he did not escalate his concerns about the conversation out of fear that it would harm the investigation.

"I think no action was the most important thing I could do," he said.

Comey also contradicted Trump's assertion that Comey requested a meeting with him to discuss his job.

Asked about the interaction by Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, Comey said that he received a call from the president that day, adding that he had to cancel dinner plans with his wife.

"That's one of the all-time great excuses for breaking a dinner date," King said.

Comey also says he asked a friend to leak the contents of his memo about meetings with President Donald Trump.

Comey earlier he felt that releasing the details of his private conversations with the president might prompt the appointment of a special counsel in the case.

When asked to clarify, he told the committee that he believes it was his right as a private citizen to do so.

POOL

Washington - June 8, 2017

1. Wide of hearing room

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Joe Manchin, (D) West Virginia AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

MANCHIN: "Do you believe this will rise to the obstruction of Justice?"

COMEY: "I don't know. That's Bob Mueller's job to sort that out."

3. Wide of hearing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Martin Heinrich, (D) New Mexico AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

HEINRICH: "There are reports that the incoming Trump administration either during the transition and or after the inauguration attempted to set up a sort of backdoor communication channel with the Russian government using their infrastructure, their devices, their facilities. What would be the risks? Particularly for a transition, somebody not actually in the office of the president yet to setting up unauthorized channels with a hostile foreign government -- especially if they were to evade our own American intelligence services?"

COMEY: "Well, I'm not going to comment on whether that happened in an open setting, but the primary risk is obvious. You spare the Russians the cost and effort of having to break into our communications channels by using theirs. And so, you make it a whole lot easier to capture all of your conversations and then to use those to the benefit of Russia against the United States."

5. Wide of hearing

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Roy Blunt, (R) Missouri AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

BLUNT: "If the president hadn't terminated your service, would you still be the director of the FBI today?"

COMEY: "Yes, sir."

BLUNT: "So, you took as a direction from the president something that you thought was serious and troublesome, but continued to show up for work the next day?"

COMEY: "Yes, sir."

BLUNT: "And six weeks later, we're still telling, we're telling the president on March 30th that he was not personally the target of any investigation?"

COMEY: "Correct. On March the 30th and I think again on April 11th as well I told him we're not investigating him, personally, that was true."

BLUNT: "Well, the point to me that concern to me is there that all these things going on you now, in retrospect, or at least you now to this committee... you had serious concerns about what the president, had you believed, directed you to do, had taken no action -- hadn't even reported up the chain of command -- assuming you believe that there is an up the chain of command -- that these things had happened. Do you have a sense of that looking back that that was a mistake?"

COMEY: "No. In fact, I think that no action was the most important thing I could do to make sure there was no interference with the investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Angus King, (I) Maine AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

KING: "In his interview with Lester Holt on NBC, the president said 'I had dinner with him. He wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on.' Is this an accurate statement?"

COMEY: "No, sir."

KING: "Did you in any way initiate that dinner?"

COMEY: "No. He called me at my desk at lunch time and asked me was I free for dinner that night, had called himself and said 'can you come over for dinner tonight?' And I said 'yes, sir.' He said 'Will six work?' I think he said six first. And then he said 'I was going to invite your whole family, but we'll do that next time. I want you to come over. Is that a good time?' I said 'sir, whatever works for you.' And then he said 'how about 6:30?' And I said 'whatever works for you, sir' and then I hung up. And I had to call my wife and break a date with her, I was supposed to take her out to dinner that night."

KING: "That's one of the all-time great excuses for breaking a dinner date."

COMEY: "In retrospect, I love spending time with my wife, I wish I'd been there that night."

++BLACK FRAMES++

8. SOUNDBTE (English) Sen. Roy Blunt, (R) Missouri AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

BLUNT: "What kind of information did you give to a friend?"

COMEY: "That the Flynn conversation... That the president asked me to let the Flynn -- I'm forgetting my exact own words, but the conversation in the Oval Office."

BLUNT: "So, you didn't consider your memo or your sense of that conversation to be a government document, you considered it to be somehow your own personal document that you could share with the media as you wanted to?"

COMEY: "Correct. I understood this to be my recollection that was recorded --of my conversation with the president, as a private citizen I felt free to share that I thought it very important to get it out."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Former FBI Director James Comey is steering clear of giving his opinion about whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice when he asked him to back off investigating ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Asked if the request rises to obstruction of justice, Comey told the Senate intelligence committee that he didn't know and that it would be special counsel Robert Mueller's job to sort that out.

Earlier in his testimony, Comey said he doesn't think it would be fair for him to say whether the conversation he had with the president was an effort to obstruct the FBI probe into Russian activities during the election.

Comey told the committee that at the time, he did not escalate his concerns about the conversation out of fear that it would harm the investigation.

"I think no action was the most important thing I could do," he said.

Comey also contradicted President Trump's assertion that Comey requested a meeting with him to discuss his job.

Asked about the interaction by Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, Comey said that he received a call from the president that day, adding that he had to cancel dinner plans with his wife.

"That's one of the all-time great excuses for breaking a dinner date," King said.

Comey also says he asked a friend to leak the contents of his memo about meetings with President Donald Trump.

Comey earlier he felt that releasing the details of his private conversations with the president might prompt the appointment of a special counsel in the case.

When asked to clarify, he told the committee that he believes it was his right as a private citizen to do so.

POOL

Washington - June 8, 2017

1. Wide of hearing room

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Joe Manchin, (D) West Virginia AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

MANCHIN: "Do you believe this will rise to the obstruction of Justice?"

COMEY: "I don't know. That's Bob Mueller's job to sort that out."

3. Wide of hearing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Martin Heinrich, (D) New Mexico AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

HEINRICH: "There are reports that the incoming Trump administration either during the transition or after the inauguration attempted to set up a sort of backdoor communication channel with the Russian government using their infrastructure, their devices, their facilities. What would be the risks? Particularly for a transition, somebody not actually in the office of the president yet to setting up unauthorized channels with a hostile foreign government -- especially if they were to evade our own American intelligence services?"

COMEY: "Well, I'm not going to comment on whether that happened in an open setting, but the primary risk is obvious. You spare the Russians the cost and effort of having to break into our communications channels by using theirs. And so, you make it a whole lot easier to capture all of your conversation and then to use those to the benefit of Russia against the United States."

5. Wide of hearing

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Roy Blunt, (R) Missouri AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

BLUNT: "If the president hadn't terminated your service, would you still be the director of the FBI today?"

COMEY: "Yes, sir."

BLUNT: "So, you took as a direction from the president something that you thought was serious and troublesome, but continued to show up for work the next day?"

COMEY: "Yes, sir."

BLUNT: "And six weeks later, we're still telling, we're telling the president on March 30th that he was not personally the target of any investigation?"

COMEY: "Correct. On March the 30th and I think again on April 11th as well I told him we're not investigating him, personally, that was true."

BLUNT: "Well, the point to me that concern to me is there that all these things going on you now, in retrospect, or at least you now to this committee... you had serious concerns about what the president, you believed, directed you to do, had taken no action -- hadn't even reported up the chain of command -- assuming you believe that there is a chain of command -- that these things had happened. Do you have a sense of that looking back that that was a mistake?"

COMEY: "No. In fact, I think that no action was the most important thing I could do to make sure there was no interference with the investigation."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Angus King, (I) Maine AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

KING: "In his interview with Lester Holt on NBC, the president said 'I had dinner with him. He wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on.' Is this an accurate statement?"

COMEY: "No, sir."

KING: "Did you in any way initiate that dinner?"

COMEY: "No. He called me at my desk at lunch time and asked me was I free for dinner that night, had called himself and said 'can you come over for dinner tonight?' And I said 'yes, sir.' He said 'Will six work?' I think he said six first. And then he said 'I was going to invite your whole family, but we'll do that next time. I want you to come over. Is that a good time?' I said 'sir, whatever works for you.' And then he said 'how about 6:30?' And I said whatever works for you, sir and then I hung up. And I had to call my wife and break a date with her, I was supposed to take her out to dinner that night."

KING: "That's one of the all-time great excuses for breaking a dinner date."

COMEY: "In retrospect, I love spending time with my wife, I wish I'd been there that night."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

8. SOUNDBTE (English) Sen. Roy Blunt, (R) Missouri AND James Comey, Former FBI Director

BLUNT: "What kind of information did you give to a friend?"

COMEY: "That the Flynn conversation... That the president asked me to let the Flynn -- I'm forgetting my exact own words, but the conversation in the Oval Office."

BLUNT: "So, you didn't consider your memo or your sense of that conversation to be a government document, you considered it to be your own personal document that you could share with the media as you wanted to?"

COMEY: "Correct. I understood this to be my recollection that was recorded -- as a private citizen I felt free to share that I felt it was important to get it out."