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 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 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 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 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."

3. 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. 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."

4. Cutaway of press

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

"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."

6. 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 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 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 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."

3. 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. 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."

4. Cutaway of press

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

"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."

6. Mueller walks away

House Republicans are pledging tough questioning of special counsel Robert Mueller when he testifies before Congress this week as Democrats plan to air evidence of wrongdoing by President Donald Trump in a potentially last-ditch bid to impeach him.

Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on House Judiciary Committee, said the American public is growing weary of the Russia investigation three months after the release of the special counsel's 448-page report and that "any thought of impeachment is waning." He said Republicans will be focused on making clear that the report represents a "final episode" in the Russia probe, which he described as flawed.

Days before back-to-back hearings Wednesday, both sides seemed to agree that Mueller's testimony could be pivotal in shifting public opinion on the question of "holding the president accountable."

"This is a president who has violated the law 6 ways from Sunday," said New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He argued that Mueller's report lays out "very substantial evidence" that Trump is guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors," the constitutional standard for impeachment.

"We have to present - or let Mueller present - those facts to the American people ... because the administration must be held accountable and no president can be above the law," Nadler said.

The House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee will question Mueller in separate hearings on the report. While the report did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to swing the election, it said Trump could not be cleared of trying to obstruct the investigation . But Mueller believed Trump couldn't be indicted in part because of a Justice Department opinion against prosecuting a sitting president.

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. 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."

House Republicans are pledging tough questioning of Special Counsel Robert Mueller when he testifies before Congress this week as Democrats plan to air evidence of wrongdoing by US President Donald Trump in a potentially last-ditch bid to impeach him.

Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on House Judiciary Committee, said the American public is growing weary of the Russia investigation three months after the release of the special counsel's 448-page report and that "any thought of impeachment is waning."

Collins said Republicans will be focused on making clear that the report represents a "final episode" in the Russia probe, which he described as flawed.

Days before back-to-back hearings Wednesday, both sides seemed to agree that Mueller's testimony could be pivotal in shifting public opinion on the question of "holding the president accountable."

"This is a president who has violated the law six ways from Sunday," said New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Nadler argued that Mueller's report lays out "very substantial evidence" that Trump is guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors," the constitutional standard for impeachment.

"We have to present – or let Mueller present – those facts to the American people...because the administration must be held accountable and no president can be above the law," Nadler said.

The House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee will question Mueller in separate hearings on the report.

While the report did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to swing the election, it said Trump could not be cleared of trying to obstruct the investigation.

But Mueller believed Trump couldn't be indicted in part because of a Justice Department opinion against prosecuting a sitting president.

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. 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 used 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."

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

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus121022

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said his committee is filing a court petition Friday in an effort to obtain secret grand jury material underlying former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

The panel is also expected to file a lawsuit next week to try to enforce a subpoena against former White House counsel Donald McGahn, a key Mueller witness, if he doesn't comply before then.

That suit is expected to challenge the White House's claim that former White House employees have "absolute immunity" from testifying before Congress.

The move comes after Mueller's testimony Wednesday to Congress saying he had not "exculpated" President Donald Trump. Democrats are trying to focus public attention on Mueller's words and on his 448-page report's contents, including several episodes in which Trump sought to influence the special counsel's investigation into Russia election interference.

Mueller concluded that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. He also concluded that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The panel has struggled to bring in witnesses like McGahn who spoke extensively to Mueller because the White House has directed them to refuse to testify. Trump has said he will fight "all of the subpoenas."

Nadler said the committee is still negotiating with McGahn for documents and testimony, and the committee will file the lawsuit "in very short order" if he does not comply.

The court battles are beginning as the House leaves for a six-week recess and Democrats are debating whether to impeach the Republican president. More than 90 House Democrats have said they favor starting the impeachment process, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to build the strongest case possible before making that decision, including by going to court to force witnesses to comply.

Nadler said the court filing will include a line saying that the materials are necessary "to determine whether the committee should recommend articles of impeachment."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 26 July 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jerrold Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman: ++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY OVERLAID++

"Before he (Robert Mueller) ever stepped into our hearing room, the director had rendered our country a great and necessary public service. He showed through his report and his indictments that the United States was attacked and remains under siege by a foreign adversary. He showed that the Trump campaign both welcomed and benefited from this attack on our country. And he showed that the president repeatedly lied to cover it up."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

POOL

Washington - 24 July 2019

2. Various Robert Mueller testifying

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 26 July 2019

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"We will continue to seek testimony from key fact witnesses.  As many of you know the committee has authorized several additional subpoenas. Our work will continue into the August recess and we will use those subpoenas, if we must. We will also continue to seek important documents from the Department of Justice and the White House. We have made some progress on this front. There appears to be compelling evidence of the President's misconduct outside of the four corners of the redacted version of the Mueller Report. And we will work to uncover that evidence as well. Finally, today we are filing an application for the grand jury material underlying the Mueller report. That information is critically important for our ability to examine witnesses including former White House counsel Don McGahn and to investigate the president's misconduct. I will not comment on reports of our ongoing negotiations with Mr. McGahn but unless he complies with our accommodation efforts in very short order we expect to file an additional suit to enforce a subpoena for his testimony and that would be next week or earlier next week."

President Donald Trump said Thursday he's considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of corruption, and pardoning lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart, who served a stint in federal prison after being convicted of charges related to a stock sale.

The president's use of pardons is raising questions about whether he is doing so to send a message to allies who could face prosecution in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

"It's undeniable that with the least number of these presidential pardons people have read political motivation into these, said AP Reporter Jill Colvin.

"For instance when he decided to pardon Scooter Libby who was a former Vice President Dick Cheney's one of his top aides. Many people saw that as really a reaction to the Mueller investigation," she said.

Trump later shared his thoughts on Blagojevich and Stewart with the reporters accompanying him on Air Force One.

Both had connections to Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" reality television show: Blagojevich was a contestant in 2010 and Stewart hosted the 2005 spinoff series, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart."

Blagojevich was convicted on numerous counts of corruption, including for trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Obama and for shaking down a children's hospital.

As governor, he had the right to name someone to fill the Senate vacancy, but he was caught on FBI wiretaps discussing ways to make money off it. He began serving a 14-year prison sentence in 2012 and is scheduled for release in 2024.

The Supreme Court has twice turned down appeals from Blagojevich, most recently in April. That appeal turned in part on the length of Blagojevich's prison term. Trump's Justice Department urged the court to reject the appeal.

Stewart was convicted in 2004 of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she unloaded stock just before the price plummeted. She served five months in prison. Her representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal prosecutor who oversaw Stewart's case in New York was James Comey, one of Trump's principal antagonists and the man he fired as FBI director last year. The prosecutor who led the case against Blagojevich in Chicago was Patrick Fitzgerald, a Comey friend who is also his lawyer. Fitzgerald was also the special counsel leading the case against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Bush administration official pardoned by Trump last month.

Hours earlier, Trump said on Twitter that he will pardon conservative commentator and Obama critic Dinesh D'Souza, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud. The White House announced later Thursday that the pardon had been granted.

Watchdog groups criticized D'Souza's pardon, saying it signaled the president's contempt for the rule of law.

POOL

Joint Base Andrews, Maryland - 31 May 2018

1. Various of President Trump departing for Texas

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 23 September 2018

2. STILL photo of Dinesh D'Souza outside federal court

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 31 May 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jill Colvin, Associated Press Reporter:

"It's undeniable that with at least number of these presidential pardons, people have read political motivation into these. For instance, when he decided to pardon Scooter Libby who was a former Vice President Dick Cheney's, one of his top aides, many people saw that as really a reaction to the Mueller investigation. The president feels right now as though he's under attack, this is a witch hunt being done by a special counsel, which is exactly how many conservatives had framed the Libby indictment as thoughit was kind of a special counsel gone awry, and so you can see these parallels and other critics especially can read in as potentially the president trying to distract from issues when he chooses."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, 18 July 2016

4. FILE: Medium of Martha Stewart posing for photos

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, 14 April 2016

5. FILE: Fashion pan of Martha Stewart, holding a dog

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 31 May 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jill Colvin, Associated Press Reporter:

"I mean this is a White House for reporters covering it often feel a sense of whiplash. Once second you're talking about and asking serious questions about that upcoming maybe summit with North Korea, and the next minute you're staking out one of the entryways because Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star, is about to arrive. So, this is a White House that is always operating on multiple channels. You've got the president's Twitter feed, you've got official statements, you've got in meetings and discussions happening behind the scenes. So there were always a lot of things going on."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago, Illinois - December 2011

+++4X3+++

7. Various of Rod Blagojevich and wife, Patty, at time of sentencing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 31 May 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jill Colvin, Associated Press Reporter:

"The president's approach to the pardon process has been very, very different from his predecessors when it comes to timing. Presidents Obama, President Clinton tended to wait until after their first two years to start the pardon process. They also tended to do it in big chunks of people. So there's a formal process here. There where the Department of Justice has somebody in place and an office in place that vets all of these different cases that come before them, brings them to the president and then the president will go through a list and decide who he wanted support and who he wanted to sentence to commute. The president has approached this in a very, very different way. It's been much more individual and in many of these cases, these are individuals who either had celebrity backin, they are individuals who have serious cases that especially conservative activists feel that there's been some sort of political motivation behind their convictions. In the case of Blagojevich, he actually appeared on the president's Apprentice TV show, so the two of them knew each other personally."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago, Illinois - 7 December 2011

+++4X3+++

9. Rod Blagojevich and wife, Patty, leaving home for sentencing

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski remained obligated to answer the committee's questions, despite a White House order that he not discuss his confidential conversations with the president.

Lewandowski is testifying at the committee's first official hearing in what the panel is calling an impeachment investigation.

The White House sent Nadler a letter late Monday saying that Lewandowski was not allowed to discuss his conversations with President Donald Trump beyond what is already public in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Nadler said in a letter back to the White House on Tuesday that Nadler must answer questions because the committee has subpoenaed him.

Mueller's investigators detailed two episodes in which Trump asked Lewandowski to direct then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to limit Mueller's investigation.

The Republican members of the committee accused the chairman that the hearing wasn't really about finding out information.

"My majority made a promise, we'll impeach him, we'll investigating," said ranking member Rep. Doug Collins.

"For most of them it happened in November 2016 because they couldn't believe the Donald Trump won. And they still can't get over it today."

POOL

Washington DC - 17 September 2019

1. Various of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski arriving and sitting at House Judiciary Committee hearing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"Mr. Lewandowski is here and has vital information about presidential obstruction of justice. But the White House wants to limit our and your ability to hear it all. Mr. Lewandowski doubts he was called alone one on one into the Oval Office on June and June 19th 2017 and again on July 19th 2017 and the president is something I find startling. He dictated a speech to Mr Lewandowski. A speech not for Mr Lewandowski but for Attorney General Sessions to deliver, then Attorney General Sessions."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:"As the Mueller Report found limiting the investigation to future elections would have cut off the investigation of any past conduct and struck at the heart of the Special Counsel's mandate. It would have ended the investigation of the president's conduct. The evidence found by the special counsel meant all the elements of obstruction of justice. Mr Lewandowski was nervous about this demand from his former boss, as he should have been. It raised serious questions about criminal conduct and he was recused, forbidden from doing anything regarding the Mueller investigation. He was certainly not allowed to curtail it. So Mr. Lewandowski tried to serendipitously meet with the A.G. When that failed he tried to pass the buck to Mr. Dearborn. Mr. Lewandowski gave Mr. Dearborn the script that had been dictated by the president, all while telling the president that he would follow through when the president's orders"

5. Cutaway

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"So that is what we want to learn, try to learn more about today. As we learned with Special Counsel Muller. Witness testimony is critical to any investigation. But the White House does not want us or the American people to hear this story in full. Late yesterday, the White House sent this a letter claiming that Mr. Lewandowski doubts his conversations with the president quote are protected from disclosure by executive branch confidentiality interests, close quote. They say he may testify about presidential communications that are already disclosed in the Mueller Report. But no more."

7. Cutaway

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"They make that claim despite the fact that Mr. Lewandowski was at all times a private political operative, apparently was not offering advice of any kind, the usual prerequisite for executive privilege and was enlisted for apparent wrongdoing. No court has ever said that the president is entitled to confidentiality, under these circumstances. Indeed the Department of Justice has said executive privilege should not be invoked to conceal evidence of wrongdoing on the part of executive officers."

9. Cutaway

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"The White House is advancing a new and dangerous theory: the crony privilege. It makes absolute immunity look good by comparison. Where are the limits? This is a cover up plain and simple. If it were to prevail, especially while the Judiciary Committee is considering whether to recommend Articles of Impeachment it would upend the separation of powers as envisioned by our founders. And today's cover up is part of a pattern of the White House blocking Congress."

11. Cutaway

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"Well Mr. Lewandowski you are here under subpoena. That means you are required to answer our questions, all our questions completely and truthfully Our investigation also extends beyond the four corners of the Mueller report. We are looking at corruption and abuse of power more broadly. So we will inquire about other subjects as well. We will not be daunted by the cover up. We intend to secure accountability for any wrongdoing, because no one is above the law not even the President of the United States."

13. Cutaway of Lewandowski

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"But here is the problem, 17 of the members of the Judiciary Committee have said that they think the president ought to be impeached, so why are we still investigating it? 17, you get some more, the problem is you don't have the votes. You don't have the numbers, even if you do, if you get it out of this committee you don't have it on the floor. That's your problem. So the thing that we're going to do is we're gonna drag this committee through oversight hearings talking about things have been talked about ad nauseam and nauseam and nauseam, we're going to talk about it, we put filters up we won't say what it really is it really is not. While all the things we're going to try to imply that this president shouldn't be president."

15. Cutaway

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"I understand it's tough making a promise and not keeping it. I understand all of us in this room can relate to a time when we can't make a promise and we couldn't keep it. My majority made a promise, we'll impeach him, we'll investigate him. For most of them it happened in November 2016 because they couldn't believe the Donald Trump won. And they still can't get over it today."

17. Cutaway

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"So what do we do, we have public hearings, lots of flashbulbs, embarrassing the president, not gathering facts, not investigating, not doing oversight. This is certainly not being fair. But we like to issue subpoenas, we are setting a world record at that, 40 times faster than a previous chairman. But we don't want any answers because we're not willing to engage in dialogue to get information from folks."

19. Cutaway

President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general says he doesn't believe special counsel Robert Mueller (MUHL'-ur) "would be involved in a witch hunt."

Barr made the comment Tuesday at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Trump has repeatedly decried the special counsel's investigation as a "witch hunt" and has suggested he is being targeted by the Justice Department.

Mueller is investigating potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

Barr also says it would be an "abuse of power" for Trump to intervene in an investigation he "has a stake in."

William Barr said Tuesday at his confirmation hearing he believes such an action would be a breach of the president's constitutional duties and could violate federal law depending upon the circumstances.

Barr was responding to questions from California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (FYN'-styn), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, in light of a memo he wrote criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller's obstruction-of-justice investigation.

Barr has said the memo was intended to be narrowly focused on one of Mueller's reported interpretations of obstruction. Barr also says his memo was based solely on public reporting and not any confidential information.

POOL

Washington - 15 January 2018

1. Wide of hearing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina:

"Are you familiar with the January 11th New York Times article about FBI open inquiry into whether Trump was secretly working on behalf of Russians."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee (off camera):

"Yes Mr. Chairman."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina:

"Would you promise me and this committee to look into this and tell us whether or not, in the appropriate way, a counterintelligence investigation was opened up by somebody at the FBI slash Department of Justice against President Trump."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Yes, Mr. Chairman. I think there were a number of investigations as I understand it going on in the department."

6.  SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"You ever heard of such a thing in all the time you've been associated with the Department of Justice."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I have never heard of that."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina:

"Are there rules about how you can do counterintelligence investigations?"

9. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I believe there are Mr. Chairman."

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"So if you want to open up one against the president. are there any checks and balances?"

11. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Not outside the FBI."

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"OK well we need to look at that."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina:

"Mueller. You say you've known Mueller a long time. Would you say you have a close relationship with Mr. Mueller?"

14. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I would say we were good friends."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"Would you say that you understand him to be a fair minded person?."

16. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Absolutely."

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"Do you trust him to be fair to the president and the country as a whole?"

18. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Yes."

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina (off camera):

"When his report comes to you, will you share with us as much as possible?"

20. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Consistent with the regulations and the law, yes."

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina:

"Do you believe Mr. Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt against anybody?"

22. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I don't I don't believe Mr. Mueller would would be involved in a witch hunt."

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

"Will you commit to no interference with the scope of the special counsel's investigation?"

24. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I will--the scope of the special counsel's investigation is set by his charter and by the regulations and I will ensure that those are maintained."

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California (off camera):

"Will you commit to providing Mr. Muller with the resources, funds and time needed to complete his investigation?"

26. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Yes."

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California (off camera):

"Will you commit to ensuring that Special Counsel Mueller is not terminated without good cause, consistent with department regulations?"

28. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Absolutely."

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California (off camera):

"If special counsel Mueller makes any request, for instance, about the scope of his investigation or resources for his investigation will you commit to notifying Congress if you deny that request?"

30. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"I think the regulations require notification of Congress if there's a disagreement."

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

"Will you commit to making any report Mueller produces at the conclusion of his investigation available to Congress and to the public?"

32. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"As I said in my statement I am going to make as much information available as I can, consistent with the rules and regulations that are part of the special counsel regulations."

33. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California (off camera):

"Will you commit to making any report on the obstruction of justice public?"

34. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"That's the same answer."

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

"Your 2018 memo, in it, you stated and I quote 'the framers plan contemplates that the president's law enforcement powers extend to all matters including those in which he had a personal stake' end quote. Please explain what you base this conclusion on."

36. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General Nominee:

"Here's the Department of Justice right here and within the Department of Justice, enforcement decisions are being made. The president's over here. And I think of it as there are two categories of potential communications. One would be on a case that the president wants to communicate about that he has no personal interest in no political interest in. Let's say the president is concerned about Chinese stealing trade secrets and say I want you to go after this company that's being, you know, that may be stealing trade secrets. That's perfectly appropriate for him to do, to communicate that, but whether it's bona fide or not, as I said in my statement, the Department of Justice's obligation and the attorney general's obligation is not to take any action unless we reach, we, the Department of Justice and the attorney general, reach their own, independent conclusion that it is justified under the law. And, regardless of the instruction and that's my quote that everyone is saying you know siccing you know it's OK for the president to direct things. All I said was it's not per se improper for the president to call on the department for doing something, especially if he has no personal or political interest in it. The other category of cases and let's pick a you know an easy bad example would be if a member of the president's family or a business associate or something was under investigation and he tries to intervene. He--he's the chief law enforcement officer and you could say well he has the power. But that would be a breach of his obligation under the Constitution to faithfully execute the laws. So in my opinion if he attempts, if a president attempts to intervene in a matter that he has a stake in to try to protect himself that should first be looked at as a breach of his constitutional duties whether it also violates a statute depending on what statute comes into play and what all the facts are."

Attorney General William Barr defended his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report on Wednesday amid new revelations that Mueller expressed frustration to Barr about how the attorney general was portraying the investigation's findings.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr said he was surprised that special counsel Robert Mueller and his team did not reach a conclusion on whether or not President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

A Justice Department legal opinion says sitting presidents cannot be indicted. Barr says Mueller told him he wouldn't have recommended indicting the president even without that opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel.

Barr says Mueller told him that there may come a time when the Justice Department should consider revisiting that opinion but that this is not that case.

The Attorney General said it is the responsibility of the special counsel using a grand jury to "determine whether or not there has been criminal conduct."

"We don't conduct criminal investigations just to collect information and put it out to the public. We do so to make a decision," Barr said.

Mueller has written a letter says that Barr's summary of his Russia report created "public confusion about critical aspects of the results."

Barr testified that Mueller told him in a phone call that Barr didn't "misrepresent" Mueller's Russia report in a letter summarizing the probe's principal conclusions.

Barr said Mueller told him press reports were reading too much into Barr's letter and Mueller wanted the public to see more of his reasoning for not answering the question of whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.

POOL

Washington, DC - 1 May 2019

1. William Barr being sworn in prior to testimony

2. Cutaway of Senate Judiciary Committee members

3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"Now we first heard the special counsel's decision not to decide the obstruction issue at the March 5th meeting when he came over to the department and we were frankly surprised that that they were not going to reach a decision on obstruction. And we asked them a lot about the reasoning behind this and the basis for this. Once we heard that the special counsel was not reaching a conclusion on obstruction, the deputy and I discussed and agreed that the department had to reach a decision. We had the responsibility to assess the evidence as set forth in the report and to make the judgment. I say this because the special counsel was appointed to carry out the investigative and prosecutorial functions of the department and to do it as part of the Department of Justice. The powers he was using including the power of using a grand jury and using compulsory process exist for that purpose, the function of the Department of Justice in this arena, which is to determine whether or not there has been criminal conduct. It's a binary decision. Is there enough evidence to show a crime? And do we believe a crime has been committed? We don't conduct criminal investigations just to collect information and put it out to the public. We do so to make a decision. And here, we thought there was an additional reason which is this was a very public investigation and we had made clear that the results of the investigation were going to be made public. And the deputy and I felt that the evidence developed by the special counsel was not sufficient to establish that the president committed a crime and therefore it would be irresponsible and unfair for the department to release a report without stating the department's conclusions and thus leave it hanging as to whether the department considered there had been criminal conduct."

4. Wide shot of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"When the report came in on the 22nd and we saw it was going to take a great deal of time to get it out to the public, I made the determination that we had to put out some information about the bottom line. The body politic was in a high state of agitation, there was massive interest in learning what the bottom line results of Bob Mueller's investigation was, particularly as to collusion, former government officials were confidently predicting that the president and members of his family were going to be indicted. There were people suggesting that if it took any time to turn around the report and get it out it would mean that the president was in legal jeopardy. So I didn't feel that it was in the public interest to allow this to go on for several weeks without saying anything, and so I decided to simply state what the bottom line conclusions were, which is what the department normally does, make a binary determination - is there a crime or isn't there a crime. We prepared the letter for that purpose to state the bottom line conclusions."

6. Cutaway of committee

7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"On Thursday morning, I received, it probably was received at the Department Wednesday night or evening, but on Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob. The letter that's just been put into the record. And I called Bob and said you know, what's the issue here? Are you, and I asked him if he was suggesting that the March 24th letter was inaccurate. And he said, 'no,' but that the press reporting had been inaccurate. And that the press was reading too much into it and I asked him specifically what his concern was. And he said that his concern focused on his explanation of why he did not reach a conclusion on obstruction. And he wanted more put out on that issue. He wanted, he argued for putting out summaries of each volume, the executive summaries that had been written by his office. And if not that then other material that focused on the issue of why he didn't reach the obstruction question. But he was very clear with me that he was not suggesting that we had misrepresented his report."

8. Side shot of Barr testifying

US Attorney General William Barr defended his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report on Wednesday amid new revelations that Mueller expressed frustration to Barr about how the attorney general was portraying the investigation's findings.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr said he was surprised that special counsel Robert Mueller and his team did not reach a conclusion on whether or not President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

A Justice Department legal opinion says sitting presidents cannot be indicted. Barr says Mueller told him he wouldn't have recommended indicting the president even without that opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel.

Barr says Mueller told him that there may come a time when the Justice Department should consider revisiting that opinion but that this is not that case.

The Attorney General said it is the responsibility of the special counsel using a grand jury to "determine whether or not there has been criminal conduct."

"We don't conduct criminal investigations just to collect information and put it out to the public. We do so to make a decision," Barr said.

Mueller has written a letter says that Barr's summary of his Russia report created "public confusion about critical aspects of the results."

Barr testified that Mueller told him in a phone call that Barr didn't "misrepresent" Mueller's Russia report in a letter summarizing the probe's principal conclusions.

Barr said Mueller told him press reports were reading too much into Barr's letter and Mueller wanted the public to see more of his reasoning for not answering the question of whether US President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.

POOL

Washington, DC - 1 May 2019

1. William Barr being sworn in prior to testimony

2. Cutaway of Senate Judiciary Committee members

3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"Now we first heard the special counsel's decision not to decide the obstruction issue at the March 5th meeting when he came over to the department and we were frankly surprised that that they were not going to reach a decision on obstruction. And we asked them a lot about the reasoning behind this and the basis for this. Once we heard that the special counsel was not reaching a conclusion on obstruction, the deputy and I discussed and agreed that the department had to reach a decision. We had the responsibility to assess the evidence as set forth in the report and to make the judgment. I say this because the special counsel was appointed to carry out the investigative and prosecutorial functions of the department and to do it as part of the Department of Justice. The powers he was using including the power of using a grand jury and using compulsory process exist for that purpose, the function of the Department of Justice in this arena, which is to determine whether or not there has been criminal conduct. It's a binary decision. Is there enough evidence to show a crime? And do we believe a crime has been committed? We don't conduct criminal investigations just to collect information and put it out to the public. We do so to make a decision. And here, we thought there was an additional reason which is this was a very public investigation and we had made clear that the results of the investigation were going to be made public. And the deputy and I felt that the evidence developed by the special counsel was not sufficient to establish that the president committed a crime and therefore it would be irresponsible and unfair for the department to release a report without stating the department's conclusions and thus leave it hanging as to whether the department considered there had been criminal conduct."

4. Wide shot of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"When the report came in on the 22nd and we saw it was going to take a great deal of time to get it out to the public, I made the determination that we had to put out some information about the bottom line. The body politic was in a high state of agitation, there was massive interest in learning what the bottom line results of Bob Mueller's investigation was, particularly as to collusion, former government officials were confidently predicting that the president and members of his family were going to be indicted. There were people suggesting that if it took any time to turn around the report and get it out it would mean that the president was in legal jeopardy. So I didn't feel that it was in the public interest to allow this to go on for several weeks without saying anything, and so I decided to simply state what the bottom line conclusions were, which is what the department normally does, make a binary determination - is there a crime or isn't there a crime. We prepared the letter for that purpose to state the bottom line conclusions."

6. Cutaway of committee

7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Barr, Attorney General:

"On Thursday morning, I received, it probably was received at the Department Wednesday night or evening, but on Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob. The letter that's just been put into the record. And I called Bob and said you know, what's the issue here?  Are you, and I asked him if he was suggesting that the March 24th letter was inaccurate. And he said, 'no,' but that the press reporting had been inaccurate. And that the press was reading too much into it and I asked him specifically what his concern was. And he said that his concern focused on his explanation of why he did not reach a conclusion on obstruction. And he wanted more put out on that issue. He wanted, he argued for putting out summaries of each volume, the executive summaries that had been written by his office. And if not that then other material that focused on the issue of why he didn't reach the obstruction question. But he was very clear with me that he was not suggesting that we had misrepresented his report."

8. Side shot of Barr testifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Democrats, however, battled back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

1. Wide of House lawmakers on dais at hearing

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

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

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

4. Mid of lawmakers on dais

5. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

7. Mid of lawmakers on dais

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

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

9. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

11. Wide of lawmakers on dais

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus099334

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Democrats, however, battled back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

+++WHITE FLASHES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

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

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

2. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

4. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

+++WHITE FLASH+++

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Democrats, however, battled back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Washington, DC - 19 June 2018

1. Wide of House lawmakers on dais at hearing

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

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

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

4. Mid of lawmakers on dais

5. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

7. Mid of lawmakers on dais

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

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

9. Mid of Horowitz at witness table

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

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

11. Wide of lawmakers on dais

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler says former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski remains obligated to answer the committee's questions despite a White House order that he not discuss his confidential conversations with the president.

Lewandowski is testifying at the committee's first official hearing in what the panel is calling an impeachment investigation.

The White House sent Nadler a letter late Monday saying that Lewandowski was not allowed to discuss his conversations with President Donald Trump beyond what is already public in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Nadler said in a letter back to the White House on Tuesday that Nadler must answer questions because the committee has subpoenaed him.

Mueller's investigators detailed two episodes in which Trump asked Lewandowski to direct then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to limit Mueller's investigation.

The Republican members of the committee accused the chairman that the hearing wasn't really about finding out information.

"My majority made a promise, we'll impeach him, we'll investigating," said ranking member Rep. Doug Collins.

"For most of them it happened in November 2016 because they couldn't believe the Donald Trump won. And they still can't get over it today."

POOL

Washington DC - 17 September 2019

1. Various of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski arriving and sitting at House Judiciary Committee hearing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"Mr. Lewandowski is here and has vital information about presidential obstruction of justice. But the White House wants to limit our and your ability to hear it all. Mr. Lewandowski doubts he was called alone one on one into the Oval Office on June and June 19th 2017 and again on July 19th 2017 and the president is something I find startling. He dictated a speech to Mr Lewandowski. A speech not for Mr Lewandowski but for Attorney General Sessions to deliver, then Attorney General Sessions."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:"As the Mueller Report found limiting the investigation to future elections would have cut off the investigation of any past conduct and struck at the heart of the Special Counsel's mandate. It would have ended the investigation of the president's conduct. The evidence found by the special counsel meant all the elements of obstruction of justice. Mr Lewandowski was nervous about this demand from his former boss, as he should have been. It raised serious questions about criminal conduct and he was recused, forbidden from doing anything regarding the Mueller investigation. He was certainly not allowed to curtail it. So Mr. Lewandowski tried to serendipitously meet with the A.G. When that failed he tried to pass the buck to Mr. Dearborn. Mr. Lewandowski gave Mr. Dearborn the script that had been dictated by the president, all while telling the president that he would follow through when the president's orders"

5. Cutaway

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"So that is what we want to learn, try to learn more about today. As we learned with Special Counsel Muller. Witness testimony is critical to any investigation. But the White House does not want us or the American people to hear this story in full. Late yesterday, the White House sent this a letter claiming that Mr. Lewandowski doubts his conversations with the president quote are protected from disclosure by executive branch confidentiality interests, close quote. They say he may testify about presidential communications that are already disclosed in the Mueller Report. But no more."

7. Cutaway

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"They make that claim despite the fact that Mr. Lewandowski was at all times a private political operative, apparently was not offering advice of any kind, the usual prerequisite for executive privilege and was enlisted for apparent wrongdoing. No court has ever said that the president is entitled to confidentiality, under these circumstances. Indeed the Department of Justice has said executive privilege should not be invoked to conceal evidence of wrongdoing on the part of executive officers."

9. Cutaway

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"The White House is advancing a new and dangerous theory: the crony privilege. It makes absolute immunity look good by comparison. Where are the limits? This is a cover up plain and simple. If it were to prevail, especially while the Judiciary Committee is considering whether to recommend Articles of Impeachment it would upend the separation of powers as envisioned by our founders. And today's cover up is part of a pattern of the White House blocking Congress."

11. Cutaway

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chairman:

"Well Mr. Lewandowski you are here under subpoena. That means you are required to answer our questions, all our questions completely and truthfully Our investigation also extends beyond the four corners of the Mueller report. We are looking at corruption and abuse of power more broadly. So we will inquire about other subjects as well. We will not be daunted by the cover up. We intend to secure accountability for any wrongdoing, because no one is above the law not even the President of the United States."

13. Cutaway of Lewandowski

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"But here is the problem, 17 of the members of the Judiciary Committee have said that they think the president ought to be impeached, so why are we still investigating it? 17, you get some more, the problem is you don't have the votes. You don't have the numbers, even if you do, if you get it out of this committee you don't have it on the floor. That's your problem. So the thing that we're going to do is we're gonna drag this committee through oversight hearings talking about things have been talked about ad nauseam and nauseam and nauseam, we're going to talk about it, we put filters up we won't say what it really is it really is not. While all the things we're going to try to imply that this president shouldn't be president."

15. Cutaway

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"I understand it's tough making a promise and not keeping it. I understand all of us in this room can relate to a time when we can't make a promise and we couldn't keep it. My majority made a promise, we'll impeach him, we'll investigate him. For most of them it happened in November 2016 because they couldn't believe the Donald Trump won. And they still can't get over it today."

17. Cutaway

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia, Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee:

"So what do we do, we have public hearings, lots of flashbulbs, embarrassing the president, not gathering facts, not investigating, not doing oversight. This is certainly not being fair. But we like to issue subpoenas, we are setting a world record at that, 40 times faster than a previous chairman. But we don't want any answers because we're not willing to engage in dialogue to get information from folks."

19. Cutaway

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, DC - 21 May 2019

+++CAMERA SWITCHED AT SOURCE+++

1. Wide of House Judiciary Committee before start of hearing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"More than a year ago, White House counsel Don McGahn sat for the first of several interviews with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Over the course of those interviews, he described how the president directed him to have the special counsel fired. He described how the president ordered him to lie about it. He described several other obstructive incidents outlined in the special counsel's report.  The president, in contrast, refused to be interviewed by the special counsel, or even to answer written questions about his attempts to obstruct the investigation."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York/ Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"In short the president took it upon himself to intimidate a witness who has a legal obligation to be here today. This conduct is not remotely acceptable."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"When this committee issues a subpoena even to a senior presidential adviser, the witness must show up. Our subpoenas are not optional. Mr. McGahn has a legal obligation to be here for this scheduled appearance. If he does not immediately correct his mistake, this committee will have no choice but to enforce the subpoena against him. Mr. McGahn did not appear today because the president prevented it. Just as the president has said that he would quote fight all subpoenas closed quote issued by Congress as part of his broader efforts to cover up his misconduct."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"But for the Department of Justice's policy of refusing to indict any sitting president, I believe the president would have been indicted and charged with these crimes. I am not alone in this belief. Over 900 former federal prosecutors from across the political spectrum whose job was to determine when the elements of a crime have been satisfied have stated, have agreed that the President committed crimes that would have been charged if he were not the sitting president."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"The president has declared out loud his intention to cover up this misconduct. He told Mr. McGahn to commit crimes in his behalf. He told Mr. McGahn to lie about it. After the report came out, the president claimed that Mr. McGahn lied to the special counsel about what happened. Then he directed Mr. McGahn not to come here today so that the public would not hear his testimony. And so that we could not question him. President Trump may think he can hide behind his lawyers as he launches a series of bases legal arguments designed to obstruct our work. He cannot think these legal arguments will prevail in court but he can think he can slow us down and run out the clock on the American people. Let me be clear, this committee will hear Mr. McGahn's testimony even if we have to go to court to secure it. We will not allow the president to prevent the American people from hearing from this witness. We will not allow the president to block congressional subpoenas, putting himself and his allies above the law. We will not allow the president to stop this investigation and nothing in these unjustified and unjustifiable legal attacks will stop us from pressing forward with our work on behalf of the American people. We will hold this president accountable one way or the other."

6. Wide of hearing

STORYLINE:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler rebuked President Donald Trump and former White House Counsel Don McGahn for defying a subpoena for McGahn's testimony before the committee Tuesday.

President Donald Trump directed McGahn to ignore the committee's subpoena to testify. A lawyer for McGahn said he would follow the president's directive.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said the committee will vote to hold McGahn in contempt of Congress if he did not testify.

It is one of several actions against current and former members of the administration as Trump has said he will fight "all of the subpoenas."

McGahn was a key witness in the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, DC - 21 May 2019

+++CAMERA SWITCHED AT SOURCE+++

1. Wide of House Judiciary Committee before start of hearing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"More than a year ago, White House counsel Don McGahn sat for the first of several interviews with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Over the course of those interviews, he described how the president directed him to have the special counsel fired. He described how the president ordered him to lie about it. He described several other obstructive incidents outlined in the special counsel's report.  The president, in contrast, refused to be interviewed by the special counsel, or even to answer written questions about his attempts to obstruct the investigation."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York/ Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"In short the president took it upon himself to intimidate a witness who has a legal obligation to be here today. This conduct is not remotely acceptable."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"When this committee issues a subpoena even to a senior presidential adviser, the witness must show up. Our subpoenas are not optional. Mr. McGahn has a legal obligation to be here for this scheduled appearance. If he does not immediately correct his mistake, this committee will have no choice but to enforce the subpoena against him. Mr. McGahn did not appear today because the president prevented it. Just as the president has said that he would quote fight all subpoenas closed quote issued by Congress as part of his broader efforts to cover up his misconduct."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"But for the Department of Justice's policy of refusing to indict any sitting president, I believe the president would have been indicted and charged with these crimes. I am not alone in this belief. Over 900 former federal prosecutors from across the political spectrum whose job was to determine when the elements of a crime have been satisfied have stated, have agreed that the President committed crimes that would have been charged if he were not the sitting president."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York / Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

"The president has declared out loud his intention to cover up this misconduct. He told Mr. McGahn to commit crimes in his behalf. He told Mr. McGahn to lie about it. After the report came out, the president claimed that Mr. McGahn lied to the special counsel about what happened. Then he directed Mr. McGahn not to come here today so that the public would not hear his testimony. And so that we could not question him. President Trump may think he can hide behind his lawyers as he launches a series of bases legal arguments designed to obstruct our work. He cannot think these legal arguments will prevail in court but he can think he can slow us down and run out the clock on the American people. Let me be clear, this committee will hear Mr. McGahn's testimony even if we have to go to court to secure it. We will not allow the president to prevent the American people from hearing from this witness. We will not allow the president to block congressional subpoenas, putting himself and his allies above the law. We will not allow the president to stop this investigation and nothing in these unjustified and unjustifiable legal attacks will stop us from pressing forward with our work on behalf of the American people. We will hold this president accountable one way or the other."

6. Wide of hearing

STORYLINE:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler rebuked President Donald Trump and former White House Counsel Don McGahn for defying a subpoena for McGahn's testimony before the committee Tuesday.

President Donald Trump directed McGahn to ignore the committee's subpoena to testify. A lawyer for McGahn said he would follow the president's directive.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said the committee will vote to hold McGahn in contempt of Congress if he did not testify.

It is one of several actions against current and former members of the administration as Trump has said he will fight "all of the subpoenas."

McGahn was a key witness in the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Washington - 18 June 2018

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

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

2. Wide of hearing

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

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

4. Wide of hearing

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

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

6. Wide of hearing

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

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

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

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

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

10. Wide of hearing

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

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

12. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

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

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

14. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

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

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

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

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

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

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

18. Wide of Horowitz and Wray

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

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

20. Wide of hearing