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 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, D.C. - 17 April 2019

+++STARTS AND ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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. Now, it's a 448 page report and portions of it are redacted. We're still kind of gathering the information right now to determine how much has been withheld. We know that the attorney general said that he withheld information about ongoing investigations, grand jury material, information that could be derogatory about uncharged people, and other information that he saw fit to withhold."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"So 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. Now again, he did not determine, didn't answer the question of whether it was criminal obstruction. 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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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 McGahn 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 into 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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"I think the level of detail in the report is one of the most important take-aways from it. 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 interviewing 500 witnesses, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, and putting together probably the most complete picture of what happened during the 2016 election involving the Trump campaign and Russia. The other thing is how much the special counsel grappled with whether or not the president had crossed over the legal line into criminal obstruction. As you see in the second volume of the report. He details these 10 episodes, and also then discusses you know what the law is and how it applies to a president ultimately deciding that they could not answer the question because there are difficult legal issues at play, and leaving that kind of open. As we know after the report was turned in weeks ago, the attorney general then stepped in and decided that the president had not obstructed justice. And today you saw him reflect that in his news conference announcing the report."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Immediately after the report was announced by the attorney general this morning, Trump and his legal team claimed victory, with Trump kind of touting his usual refrain of 'no collusion.' That there was 'no obstruction' and saying it was a 'total exoneration.' Now, as we know, the report did not exonerate him on the question of obstruction of justice. But his legal team did issue a statement saying that they see this as a victory, and that what it appears is now going to be the president's strategy is to go and try to turn the tables and attack the investigators who carried out the Russia investigation.

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Also what we will have after this report drops is that Barr will go to to the Hill to testify. Democrats are also calling for him to release the full report and say that they may go to court for that. Barr is scheduled to testify in early May. We also have seen Democrats say that they want to hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller himself, and Barr said that he wouldn't object to that during his news conference."

+++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

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 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, D.C. - 17 April 2019

+++STARTS AND ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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. Now, it's a 448 page report and portions of it are redacted. We're still kind of gathering the information right now to determine how much has been withheld. We know that the attorney general said that he withheld information about ongoing investigations, grand jury material, information that could be derogatory about uncharged people, and other information that he saw fit to withhold."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"So 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. Now again, he did not determine, didn't answer the question of whether it was criminal obstruction. 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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"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 McGahn 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 into 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."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"I think the level of detail in the report is one of the most important take-aways from it. 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 interviewing 500 witnesses, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, and putting together probably the most complete picture of what happened during the 2016 election involving the Trump campaign and Russia. The other thing is how much the special counsel grappled with whether or not the president had crossed over the legal line into criminal obstruction. As you see in the second volume of the report. He details these 10 episodes, and also then discusses you know what the law is and how it applies to a president ultimately deciding that they could not answer the question because there are difficult legal issues at play, and leaving that kind of open. As we know after the report was turned in weeks ago, the attorney general then stepped in and decided that the president had not obstructed justice. And today you saw him reflect that in his news conference announcing the report."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Immediately after the report was announced by the attorney general this morning, Trump and his legal team claimed victory, with Trump kind of touting his usual refrain of 'no collusion.' That there was 'no obstruction' and saying it was a 'total exoneration.' Now, as we know, the report did not exonerate him on the question of obstruction of justice. But his legal team did issue a statement saying that they see this as a victory, and that what it appears is now going to be the president's strategy is to go and try to turn the tables and attack the investigators who carried out the Russia investigation.

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Also what we will have after this report drops is that Barr will go to to the Hill to testify. Democrats are also calling for him to release the full report and say that they may go to court for that. Barr is scheduled to testify in early May. We also have seen Democrats say that they want to hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller himself, and Barr said that he wouldn't object to that during his news conference."

+++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

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

Special counsel Robert Mueller has informed President Donald Trump's attorneys that the president is not currently considered a criminal target in the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and demanded anonymity, said the president is considered a subject of Mueller's probe - not a target. A subject is typically someone whose conduct is of interest to investigators but prosecutors are not certain they've gathered enough evidence to bring charges.

The designation could change at any time, though. The development was first reported by The Washington Post.

Trump's designation as a subject came up as prosecutors and the president's legal team have been negotiating the terms of an interview with him. The president has said he wants to speak with Mueller's team, but his lawyers have not publicly committed to allowing him to be questioned.

Trump attorney Jay Sekulow declined to confirm or discuss the conversations with Mueller.

White House lawyer Ty Cobb also declined to comment.

Mueller's team has signaled that they're interested in discussing several key episodes in the early parts of the Trump administration as they probe possible obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors have told the legal team they want to question Trump about the firings of former FBI Director James Comey and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Investigators want to discuss conversations Trump had with Comey in which the former FBI director has said the president encouraged him to end an active investigation into Flynn. They're also interested in the events leading up to Flynn's February 2017 firing.

Investigators have said they want to hear from the president to understand his intent and thinking during those events.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 3 April 2018

1. US President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 4 April 2018

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

"So we have learned that President Donald Trump's lawyers have been told that he is considered a subject in the Russia investigation but not a target and not a witness."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 3 April 2018

3. US President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 4 April 2018

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

"So let's start with a witness. So a witness would be somebody who walks outside and sees two cars collide and had no role in that collision but sees it and investigators want to speak to him about that. A subject is somebody whose contact is of interest to the investigation but not somebody who is in jeopardy of facing imminent criminal prosecution. So they want to talk to them, they want to understand what he or she saw, knew. But they're basically not saying that they're somebody who they're interested in prosecuting the moment. A target is in the worst position to be. That is basically somebody where the Justice Department says we have reason to think that there's criminal conduct that potentially you might have been involved in and we're interested in moving forward in the case."

POOL

Washington - 27 March 2007

4x3

5. Various Robert Mueller testifying before Congress

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 4 April 2018

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

"What we don't know is whether Muller believes that the facts aren't there at the moment to support any sort of criminal prosecution or we don't know if Mueller has concluded, based on a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion, that he cannot indict a sitting president and so that's why Trump is not a target. That's a question that's undetermined at the moment."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beijing - 30 January 2008

4x3

7. Mueller at news conference

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 4 April 2018

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

"So somebody can go into a grand jury who is a subject and leave as a target. That happens infrequently. Sometimes targets are investigated for weeks and months and then ultimately told we're not going to move forward. So actually, none of this is set in stone and none of it by itself carries tremendous significance. It's not like you can hold the government to account to say, 'hey you told my client that he was just a subject how could you charge him? Subjects are charged all the time. Targets are not charge all the time. Those things happen."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 3 April 2018

9. Trump at news conference

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 4 April 2018

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

"So, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which the president who, you know, had a presidential campaign that has been under investigation for a long time now by the special counsel, that he wouldn't be a subject. And given the actions that he's taken as president, it seems logical that if there's going to be investigation, you want to sort of understand the president's role in the matters that you're investigating. So it's hard to imagine any other scenario in which he'd be a subject. That seems logical frankly."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 3 April 2018

11. Trump at news conference

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."

The Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into allegations that Russia and Donald Trump's campaign collaborated to influence the 2016 presidential election, giving Mueller sweeping powers and the authority to prosecute any crimes uncovered in the probe.

It was a concession by the Trump administration, which had resisted calls from Democrats to turn the investigation over to outside counsel. The White House counsel's office was alerted only after the order appointing Mueller was signed.

In a written statement, Trump insisted again that there were no nefarious ties between his campaign and Russia.

"A thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity," he declared. "I look forward to this matter concluding quickly."

The appointment of a special counsel increases the pressure on Trump and his associates. Mueller's broad mandate gives him not only oversight of the Russia probe, but also "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." That could well include the firing last week of FBI Director James Comey.

Mueller, a former federal prosecutor at the Justice Department, was confirmed as FBI director days before the Sept. 11 attacks that would ultimately shape his tenure. The FBI's counterterrorism mission was elevated in those years, as the U.S. intelligence agencies' structure was changed to better position America to prevent another attack of that magnitude. He was so valued that President Barack Obama asked him to stay on two years longer than his 10-year term.

POOL

Washington - 13 June 2013

1. Various of FBI Direct Mueller being sworn in, then sitting down

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 17 May 2017

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

"Today the Justice Department announced the appointment of a special counsel to oversea an FBI investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election. That special counsel is Robert Mueller, who led the FBI for 12 years. He was appointed just before the September 11 terror attacks and stayed on even beyond his ten year term because President Obama considered him so valuable."

SCREEN GRAB

Washington - 17 May 2017

3. STILL of President Donald Trump's statement

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 17 May 2017

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

"He has been very emphatic for years about the FBI's independence, its neutrality, he is highly respected as somebody who navigated the FBI through very difficult times and he was seen as somebody who really sort of led an FBI that iddn't have a major scandal for the 12 years he was on top of it."

POOL

Washington - 13 June 2013

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Mueller, FBI Director:

"I can tell you every time that we have a leak like this, and if you follow it up and you look at the intelligence afterwards there are persons who are out there who follow this very, very closely, and they are looking for ways around it. One of great vulnerabilities that terrorists understand is our communications."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 17 May 2017

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

"What it really means though is that whoever he (Trump) chooses as FBI director, Mueller is now running the show vis-a-vis the Trump-Russia campaign. So in a certain sense it minimizes the impact of that appointment when it comes to the Trump Russia campaign."

7. Various exteriors of Justice Department building

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

"Mueller just gave a statement saying he respects this responsibility and he will discharge the duty to the best of his abilities."

9. Security officers walking outside of Justice Department

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press:

"We expect some of it to be viewed sort of outside the view of the Justice Department. We now have a special counsel who even though he technically will answer to the Deputy Attorney General it is his investigation and so we're not really sure what kind of public briefings congress will really get from the Special Counsel."

11. Exterior of Justice Department

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press:

"The appointment of a special counsel follows by one day the revelation that Comey had created a memo back in February that chronicled a conversation he had in the oval office with President Trump and according to that memo in that conversation President Trump had asked if he could see his way to ending the ongoing investigation into Michael Flynn, his National Security Advisor."

SCREEN GRAB

Washington - 17 May 2017

13 STILL of Paul Ryan statement

House Republicans are interviewing James Comey behind closed doors Friday, hauling the former FBI director to Capitol Hill one final time before they cede power to Democrats in January.

Comey is appearing for the interview after unsuccessfully fighting a subpoena in court. It is the first time he has answered lawmakers' questions since an explosive June 2016 hearing in which he asserted that President Donald Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

The interview comes as GOP lawmakers are wrapping up a yearlong investigation into decisions made at the Justice Department during the 2016 presidential election. Republicans argue that department officials were biased against Trump as they started the investigation into his campaign's ties with Russia and cleared Democrat Hillary Clinton in a separate investigation into her email use.

Comey was in charge of both of those investigations.

Democrats, who will also attend the interview, have said the GOP investigation is merely a way to distract from and undermine special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Mueller took over the department's investigation when he was appointed in May 2017.

"This is a waste of time to start with," Nadler said. "The entire purpose of this investigation is to cast aspersions on the real investigation ... there is no evidence whatsoever of bias at the FBI or any of this other nonsense."

Nadler said he's just learned of President Donald Trump's decision to nominate William Barr as Attorney General, but he said he was "hopeful" that Barr would protect the Mueller investigation. He also expressed concern that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has not been confirmed by the Senate.

Washington - 7 December 2018

1. Reporter asks Rep. Nadler question UPSOUND: (English) When you become chairman (of House Judiciary Commitee) are you going to officially end this investigation?

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, (D) New York:

Yes. (Reporter: Why?) Because it's a waste of time to start with. The entire purpose of this investigation is to cast aspersions on the real investigation, which is Mueller, there is no evidence whatsoever of bias at the FBI or any of this other nonsense that they're talking about."

3. Rep. Jim Jordan walking

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

"I mean I've got lots of questions but I guess one in particular is we learned from Bruce Ohr (U.S. Department of Justice official) that Christopher Steele (former British intelligence officer) had told him he was desperate to stop President Trump from being president. I want to know when James Comey knew that. And more importantly did he know that before they went to the FISA court with Mr. Steele's work product. I think that's an important question to go, a line of questioning go down."

5. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi walks toward reporters

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, (D) Illinois:

"Well we have the right witness for the wrong questions. I think the Republicans brought him here to talk about Hillary Clinton. That's a settled issue. Instead we should be talking more about the ongoing Russia investigation, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn. I brought a copy of his (Comey's) book, I'm hoping to get a signed copy to auction off to pay for this wasteful investigation."

++SOTS SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, (D) Illinois:

"I'm hopeful that  you know Mr. Barr would be very responsible with the Mueller investigation. Certainly, Mr. Whitaker was not the right pick, even for an acting attorney general position. So let's see what Mr. Barr would say in his confirmation hearings. I think there are going to be a lot of pointed questions about how he's going to handle the Mueller investigation going forward. The bottom line is this. We have to allow our investigation to proceed unimpeded. Let the chips fall where they may. And in the meantime I'm hoping that we pass some protect Mueller legislation to make sure that his investigation is not terminated in an untimely way."

++SOTS SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++

8.  SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, (D) New York:

"I just heard about William Barr. I don't really know that much about him. I know he's attorney general years ago. But the real question now is that you know Barr will have to go before the Senate for confirmation. That will take some time. The real question now is that Whitaker is still the acting attorney general without having gone through the Senate. I believe that's unconstitutional and lots of questions about his bias and his having prejudged the outcome of the Mueller investigation have not been answered."

US President Donald Trump has responded with a direct "no, no" to a question about whether he asked former FBI Director James Comey to shelf an investigation into his former national security adviser.

Trump also was questioned on Thursday in Washington DC over revelations that he had shared secrets with the Russians. He denied this as well.

Comey associates this week revealed the existence of a memo Comey wrote after his 14 February meeting with Trump in which he says the president asked him to shut down the FBI investigation into ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

At a joint news conference with President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, Trump described the development as a distraction.

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that former FBI director Robert Mueller has been given sweeping power to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, including potential links between Moscow and Trump campaign associates.

Washington DC - 18 May 2017

1. US President Donald Trump and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos standing at podiums in East Room of the White House

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

(Reporter question off camera): "Did you at any time urge former FBI Director James Comey, in any way, shape or form, to close or to back down the investigation into Michael Flynn. And also as you look back--"

(Trump): "No. No. Next question."

(Reporter question off camera): "Next question. As you look back over the past six months or year, have you had any recollection if you've wondered if anything you have done has been something that might be worthy of criminal charges in these investigations or impeachment as some on the left are implying?"

(Trump): "I think it's totally ridiculous. Everybody thinks so. And again we have to get back to working our country properly so that we can take care of the problems that we have. We have plenty of problems."

3. Trump and Santos standing at podiums

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

"There was no collusion. And everybody, even my enemies have said there is no collusion. So we want to get back and keep on the track that we're on because the track that we're on is record setting."

5. Trump and Santos leaving

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++

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says former FBI Director James Comey's "resolute testimony" confirms President Donald Trump's "contempt for justice."

Pelosi says that instead of protecting American democracy from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president has worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of General Michael Flynn and the campaign's "possible collusion" with Russia.

Pelosi spoke after Comey appeared before a Senate panel Thursday.

Pelosi says an outside independent commission is needed to prevent foreign powers from interfering in future elections.

She says Russia hacked, leaked and in some cases altered information in a way that had an impact on the 2016 election. She says "we cannot let that happen again."

Washington - 8 June 2017

1. Wide of Pelosi walking to podium

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, (D) Minority Leader:

"What we want are the facts. And why are the Republicans in Congress standing in the way of the American people finding out the truth of what the Russians have politically, personally or financially on President Donald Trump and when we see the facts then we can make a determination of how the facts compare through the wall or contrast. So you ask what did I learn today? Well I think we saw confirmation in Director Comey's resolute testimony detailing the frightening reality of President Trump's pattern of contempt for justice. His pattern of concerted and inexcusable efforts to shut down the FBI's investigation of his cronies ties to Russia and all of that I think disgraces the office of president. The president may not realize that but maybe I have more respect for the office of president than he does. Instead of protecting our democracy from Putin, President Trump worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of Michael Flynn and his campaign's possible collusion with Russia. Nothing less than the integrity and security of our democracy is at stake. So we have an investigation within the justice department. We all have a high degree of respect for Mr. Mueller but that is within the Justice Department reporting to Trump appointees. We have high regard for the fact that Congress can conduct an investigation in the intelligence committee in the House and in the Senate but that's inside the Congress, inside a Republican Congress. What we need is an outside, independent commission. The commission would be more about how do we stop the undermining of our own democracy by a foreign power which is an adversary. Russia is our adversary."

3. Pelosi and other representatives leaving

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says former FBI Director James Comey's "resolute testimony" confirms President Donald Trump's "contempt for justice."

Pelosi says that instead of protecting American democracy from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president has worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of General Michael Flynn and the campaign's "possible collusion" with Russia.

Pelosi spoke after Comey appeared before a Senate panel Thursday.

Pelosi says an outside independent commission is needed to prevent foreign powers from interfering in future elections.

She says Russia hacked, leaked and in some cases altered information in a way that had an impact on the 2016 election. She says "we cannot let that happen again."

Washington - 8 June 2017

1. Wide of Pelosi walking to podium

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, (D) Minority Leader:

"What we want are the facts. And why are the Republicans in Congress standing in the way of the American people finding out the truth of what the Russians have politically, personally or financially on President Donald Trump and when we see the facts then we can make a determination of how the facts compare through the wall or contrast. So you ask what did I learn today? Well I think we saw confirmation in Director Comey's resolute testimony detailing the frightening reality of President Trump's pattern of contempt for justice. His pattern of concerted and inexcusable efforts to shut down the FBI's investigation of his cronies' ties to Russia and all of that I think disgraces the office of president. The president may not realise that but maybe I have more respect for the office of president than he does. Instead of protecting our democracy from Putin, President Trump worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of Michael Flynn and his campaign's possible collusion with Russia. Nothing less than the integrity and security of our democracy is at stake. So we have an investigation within the justice department. We all have a high degree of respect for Mr. Mueller but that is within the Justice Department reporting to Trump appointees. We have high regard for the fact that Congress can conduct an investigation in the intelligence committee in the House and in the Senate but that's inside the Congress, inside a Republican Congress. What we need is an outside, independent commission. The commission would be more about how do we stop the undermining of our own democracy by a foreign power which is an adversary. Russia is our adversary."

3. Pelosi and other representatives leaving

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says former FBI Director James Comey's "resolute testimony" confirms President Donald Trump's "contempt for justice."

Pelosi says that instead of protecting American democracy from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president has worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of General Michael Flynn and the campaign's "possible collusion" with Russia.

Pelosi spoke after Comey appeared before a Senate panel Thursday.

Pelosi says an outside independent commission is needed to prevent foreign powers from interfering in future elections.

She says Russia hacked, leaked and in some cases altered information in a way that had an impact on the 2016 election. She says "we cannot let that happen again."

Washington - 8 June 2017

1. Wide of Pelosi walking to podium

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, (D) Minority Leader:

"What we want are the facts. And why are the Republicans in Congress standing in the way of the American people finding out the truth of what the Russians have politically, personally or financially on President Donald Trump and when we see the facts then we can make a determination of how the facts compare through the wall or contrast. So you ask what did I learn today? Well I think we saw confirmation in Director Comey's resolute testimony detailing the frightening reality of President Trump's pattern of contempt for justice. His pattern of concerted and inexcusable efforts to shut down the FBI's investigation of his cronies ties to Russia and all of that I think disgraces the office of president. The president may not realize that but maybe I have more respect for the office of president than he does. Instead of protecting our democracy from Putin, President Trump worked relentlessly to obstruct the investigation of Michael Flynn and his campaign's possible collusion with Russia. Nothing less than the integrity and security of our democracy is at stake. So we have an investigation within the justice department. We all have a high degree of respect for Mr. Mueller but that is within the Justice Department reporting to Trump appointees. We have high regard for the fact that Congress can conduct an investigation in the intelligence committee in the House and in the Senate but that's inside the Congress, inside a Republican Congress. What we need is an outside, independent commission. The commission would be more about how do we stop the undermining of our own democracy by a foreign power which is an adversary. Russia is our adversary."

3. Pelosi and other representatives leaving

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."