President Donald Trump's lead lawyer in the special counsel's Russia investigation resigned Thursday, shaking up the legal team just as the president intensifies his attacks on a probe he calls nothing more than a witch hunt.

Associated Press Justice Department reporter Eric Tucker said the resignation might have something to do with clashes between John Dowd and Trump in the Mueller investigation.

"Trump came out and said I'm very eager to speak under oath to Mueller, but Dowd has been much more cautious and apprehensive," Tucker said, "So obviously you have a client attorney division there."

The departure of attorney John Dowd removes the primary negotiator and legal strategist who had been molding Trump's defense. It also comes just days after the Trump legal team added a new lawyer, former U.S. attorney Joseph diGenova, who has alleged on television that FBI officials were involved in a "brazen plot" to exonerate Hillary Clinton in the email investigation and to "frame" Trump for nonexistent crimes.

Dowd confirmed his decision in an email to The Associated Press, saying, "I love the President and wish him well." Dowd said he made the decision voluntarily and he denied reports that his departure had to do with Trump ignoring his legal advice. He said he formally resigned Thursday morning.

It already was a delicate time in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as Trump's attorneys, including Dowd, have been negotiating with Mueller over the scope and terms of an interview of the president. Trump has told reporters that he was eager to speak with Mueller, but Dowd has been far more apprehensive, and the lawyers have not publicly committed to making Trump available for questioning.

Asked Thursday whether he still wants to speak with Mueller's team, Trump told reporters, "Yes, I would like to."

Dowd's exit nearly a year into Mueller's investigation threatens to undo the cooperation between prosecutors and Trump's lawyers and may herald a stark shift in strategy as the probe reaches closer into the White House and the president's inner circle.

Over the weekend, Dowd issued a statement calling for an end to special counsel's investigation. The White House and later Dowd had to clarify the statement, saying the president's legal team wasn't calling for Mueller to be fired.

But Trump has upped his public attacks on Mueller.

In a series of tweets since last week, the president has said that the probe never should have started, that it was based on "fraudulent activities," that it was a "WITCH HUNT" and that it is being led by "13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 10 May 2011

1. STILL Attorney John Dowd leaves building with his client co-founder of Galleon hedge fund group Raj Rajaratnam

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 April 2011

2. STILL Dowd and Rajaratnam entering federal court

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So John Dowd is the lead defense lawyer on Donald Trump's legal team. And we learned today that he has resigned effective immediately from that team, so he's no longer going to be representing the president."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 23 May 2007

4. STILL Various Dowd with client White House liaison Monica Goodling

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So this is really significant because we are now 10 months into Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. There have been a lot of negotiations back and forth led by John Dowd as to whether or not the president will sit down for interview with Mueller and his team. And so now it's unclear what the next step is going to be, because basically the point person and lead negotiator and point of contact for Mueller's team is no longer calling the shots."

DONALD TRUMP TWITTER FEED/@realDonaldTrump

Internet - 18 March 2018

6. SCREENGRAB of Donald Trump homepage on Twitter

7. SCREENGRAB of tweet reading (English): "Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!"

DONALD TRUMP TWITTER FEED/@realDonaldTrump

Internet - 17 March 2018

8. SCREENGRAB of tweet reading (English): "The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!"

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"Last weekend we noticed a real notable shift in the way the president and his legal team has been talking about Special Counsel Robert Mueller. So in the past there's been lots of public overtures and gestures of cooperation. They've spoken warmly about the special counsel in his work. And this time, for the first time, this weekend for the first time we saw John Dowd basically call on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to shut down the investigation. He had initially said he was speaking for the president, he later said he was not. And the White House on Sunday had to clarify that there were no plans to try to terminate the investigation."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

10. Donald Trump walks into White House Treaty Room

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So I think there's been a degree of consternation back and forth within the legal community over certain decisions and actions from Dowd and the legal team. There's been obviously a divide as to whether or not the president is gonna speak with Mueller. So you'll remember that in January, Trump came out and said I'm very eager to speak under oath to Mueller, but Dowd has been much more cautious and apprehensive, and his lawyers, Trump's lawyers have not publicly committed in any way to any sort of interview. They say those are ongoing negotiations. So obviously you have a client attorney division there."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

12. President Donald Trump walks out of Treaty Room as reporters shout questions

13. UPSOUND: Reporter:

"Mr. President, would you still like to testify to special counsel Robert Mueller, sir?"

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

"Yes, I would like to..."

15. Trump walks out of room

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"One other thing that I would note is that the Trump legal team has been looking to try to add to its ranks. So they have reached out to a very prominent Washington lawyer, a litigator by the name of Ted Olson who argued the Bush v. Gore case 2000 before the U.S. Supreme Court. And he's argued the California gay rights case, same sex marriage case. He turned them down. And so I would not be surprised if there is another attorney who they try to reach out to."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 28 September 2017

17. STILL Various Former United States Solicitor General Ted Olson at the installation ceremony for FBI director Chris Wray

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Washington, D.C. - 20 June 2013

18. STILL Olson with plaintiffs in the California Proposition 8 case

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"They did hire on Monday a former United States attorney named Joe diGenova who's going to be working on the Trump legal team. And one thing that diGenova is notable for is an interview with Fox News from January in which he basically said the FBI officials were part of a brazen plot to exonerate Hillary Clinton and frame Donald Trump for a fictional, nonexistent crime. So that gives you a flavor of where the defense legal strategy might be going."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

20. Various Trump speaking in the House Treaty Room about imposing tariffs on Chinese imports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The summit is back on in Singapore next Tuesday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jerusalem - 6 June 2018

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

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

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

3. Close of Giuliani

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

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

5. Cutaway of Giuliani with associates

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

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

7. Cutaway of Giuliani taking photos with associates

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

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

9 . Cutaway of Giuliani taking photos with associates

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

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

11. Giuliani with associates

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

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

13. Giuliani getting on a bus

President Donald Trump has provided the special counsel's office with written answers to questions about his knowledge of Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lawyers said Tuesday, marking the first time Trump has directly cooperated with the investigation.

The step is a milestone in a months-long negotiation between Trump's attorneys and special counsel Robert Mueller's team over whether and when the president would sit for an interview, representing the first time the president is known to have described to investigators his knowledge of key moments under scrutiny by prosecutors.

If Mueller finds the answers satisfactory, the responses may also help stave off a potential subpoena fight over Trump's testimony.

The compromise outcome, nearly a year in the making, offers some benefit to both sides. Trump avoids, at least for now, a potentially risky and unpredictable sit-down with prosecutors, while Mueller secures a set of on-the-record statements whose accuracy the president and his lawyers will be expected to stand by for the duration of the investigation.

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker says someone very close to the president could become ensnared in Mueller's probe.

"We expect that there are going to be more indictments," Tucker said. "There's a lot of speculation and buzz in Washington as to who might be next up. We know that there's concern within the White House about President Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr."

POOL

Washington - 20 November 2018

1. President Donald Trump greets White House visitors

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 20 November 2018

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

"Today, we have learned that President Donald Trump and his lawyers have turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller written answers to questions about Russian election interference and questions that are related to the topic of whether the campaign colluded with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

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Washington - 21 August 2013

3. STILL of Robert Mueller speaking during an interview at FBI headquarters

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Washington - 20 November 2018

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

"These are questions that relate to the time period before President Trump took office. And that's really important. They relate to the central question of collusion. And so, we can imagine and infer that Mueller wants to understand to what extent did Trump know about the Russian hacking of Democratic emails, to what extent did Trump have any knowledge that his son was going to be attending a meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer. Those are all questions that cut to the heart of the collusion question that Mueller is trying to answer."

POOL

Washington - 20 November 2018

5. Trump and his family walk outside at the White House

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Washington - 20 November 2018

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

"We expect that there are going to be more indictments. There's a lot of speculation and buzz in Washington as to who might be next up. We know that there's concern within the White House about President Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr. He, of course, attended and helped organize the Trump Tower meeting, which is very significant, because he took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton, his father's opponent. We have no indication that he's in legal jeopardy, but we do know that the White House is concerned about that."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sun City, Arizona - 1 November 2018

7. STILL of Donald Trump Jr. speaking at a campaign rally for a U.S. Senate candidate

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Washington - 20 November 2018

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

"The main question that now arises is whether special counsel Mueller would seek a subpoena of President Trump for his testimony in a criminal investigation. The Supreme Court has never weighed in on that specific question, and it is possible that Mueller will receive these answers from Trump and want additional information on the collusion question specifically and say he's not satisfied. If that were to happen, it is possible that he might seek a subpoena and try to get Justice Department approval for that."

POOL

Washington - 20 November 2018

9. Trump walks toward the Marine One helicopter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

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

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

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

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

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

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

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

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

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus092782

An attorney linked to a former Trump campaign official admitted Tuesday he lied to federal investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller.

Alex van der Zwaan, who worked at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom until he was fired last year, appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington where he formally pleaded guilty to a single charge of making false statements about his interactions with former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says Mueller is sending a clear message that he won't tolerate lying. This is the 4th person to be prosecuted for lying to investigators.

Van der Zwaan's plea comes on the heels of an extraordinary indictment from Mueller last week that charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a hidden social media effort to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election by denigrating Democrat Hillary Clinton and boosting the chances of Trump.

But the charge against the attorney, who is also the son-in-law of a Russian billionaire, does not involve election meddling or relate to the Trump campaign's operations. Instead, it stems from the special counsel's investigation into Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chair, and Gates, who is a longtime business associate of Manafort.

Gates and Manafort were indicted last year and accused of conspiring to launder millions of dollars they earned from political consulting work in Ukraine. As part of that indictment, Manafort and Gates are accused of directing a covert Washington lobbying campaign on behalf of pro-Russian Ukrainian interests before they joined the Trump campaign. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Van der Zwaan, 33, of London admitted to lying to federal authorities while they questioned him about the production of a report that Manafort and Gates are accused of secretly funding by funneling money through an offshore account.

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY VIDEO++

Washington - 20 February 2018

1. Mid, van der Zwaan exiting the courthouse and getting into a car

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

"Today we had  another guilty plea in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. This is a lawyer. His name is Alex van der Zwaan. He admitted to lying to federal investigators during an interview in November 2017. This is the 19th person that we've seen charged so far in Mueller's investigation. This is a person who lied to the FBI about his interactions with Rick Gates, who is a codefendant of Paul Manafort, who is the former campaign chairman of President Donald Trump."

3. Mid, car driving away

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

"He went into the special counsel's office back in November 2017 to be interviewed about his interactions with Rick Gates in connection with the production of a report that related to foreign lobbying work, Ukrainian lobbying work, that Rick Gates and Paul Manafort were doing. And during the course of that conversation he was asked about the last interaction he had with Rick Gates. He lied in that interview according to Mueller's investigators."

5. STILL Various van der Zwaan arriving at courthouse

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

"The plea today does not relate to the indictment from Friday about the meddling in the 2016 presidential election. And it doesn't directly connect in any way to President Trump or Candidate Trump."

7. STILL Various van der Zwaan arriving at courthouse

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

"But I would say what's really interesting now is this is the fourth person who we have seen charged with lying to investigators. So clearly Mueller is saying if you lie to us, and if we catch you in a lie making a knowing and false and willfully false statement, not just a mistake but a willfully false statement, you could wind up being prosecuted."

++EDIT ENDS IN A SOUNDBITE++

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY VIDEO++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 5 September 2017

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 23 January 2018

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 9 February 2017

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

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

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

US POOL

Washington - 9 February 2017

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 23 January 2018

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

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

Private tensions between Justice Department leaders and Robert Mueller's team broke into public view in extraordinary fashion Wednesday as Attorney General William Barr pushed back at the special counsel's "snitty" complaints over his handling of the Trump-Russia investigation report.

Testifying for the first time since releasing Mueller's report, Barr said he was surprised Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump had tried to obstruct justice, and that he had felt compelled to step in with his own judgment that the president had committed no crime.

Barr was also perturbed by a private letter Mueller sent him last month complaining that the attorney general had not properly portrayed the special counsel's finding.

Barr called the note "a bit snitty."

"I said 'Bob, what's with the letter? Just pick up the phone and call me if there is an issue,'" Barr said.

The airing of disagreements over the handling of the report followed Mueller's two-year investigation into Russian interference to help Trump in the 2016 campaign and the possibility that Trump's team conspired with the Russians.

During most of the investigation, the Justice Department and Mueller's team seemed to be unified in approach.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been anything but unified.

And their partisan divide was on full display during Wednesday's contentious Judiciary Committee hearing, which included three Democratic presidential candidates.

Some Republicans, in addition to defending Trump, focused on the president's 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton's email and campaign practices and what they argued has been a lack of investigation of them.

Democrats, for their part, moved to exploit the daylight between Barr and Mueller to attack the attorney general's credibility and accuse him of unduly spinning the special counsel's report in the president's favor.

Barr sought to minimize the rift by suggesting the special counsel's concerns were largely about process, not substance.

Barr's appearance gave him his most extensive opportunity to explain the department's actions, including his news conference held before the Mueller report's release.

Barr has also been invited to appear Thursday before the Democratic-led House Judiciary panel, but the Justice Department has said he would not testify if the committee insisted on having its lawyers question him.

Neither side broke much new ground Wednesday on the specifics of Mueller's investigation, though Barr did articulate a robust defense of Trump as he made clear his firm conviction that there was no prosecutable case against the president for obstruction of justice.

POOL

Washington DC - 1 May 2019

1. Wide, Senate Judiciary Committee

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat - New Jersey:

"We right now have a new normal in our country. We have a document that shows over 200 hundred attempts, connections between a presidential campaign and a foreign adversary sharing information that would be illegal if you did it with a super PAC. We know that. (Barr: What information was shared?)  The polling data was shared sir. It's in the report I can cite you the page. (Barr: With who?) And I guess my point here is is that your willingness to seem to brush over this and use words like the American people should be grateful. What's in this report? Nobody should be grateful."

3. Back view of hearing

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

"Sen. Kamala Harris: Attorney General Barr has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?

Umm, I wouldn't I wouldn't.

Harris: Yes or no.

Could you repeat that question?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"I will repeat it. Has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone? Yes or no please sir?"

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

"The president or anybody else.

Harris: Seems you'd remember something like that and be able to tell us.

Yeah but I'm trying to grapple with the words suggest. I mean there have been discussions of of matters out there that they have not asked me to open investigation but  ...

Harris: Perhaps they've suggested?

I don't know, I wouldn't say suggest.

Harris: Hinted? Inferred?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"Is in reaching your conclusion did you personally review all of the underlying evidence?"

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

"No. We took and  ...

Harris: Did Mr. Rosenstein?

No we accepted the statements in the report as the factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"As the Attorney General of the United States. You run the United States Department of Justice. If in any U.S. attorney's office around the country, the head of that office when being asked to make a critical decision about in this case the person who holds the highest office in the land and whether or not that person committed a crime, would you accept them recommending a charging decision to you if they had not reviewed the evidence?

Barr: Well that's a question for Bob Mueller. He's the U.S. attorney. He's the one who presents the report.

But it was you who made the charging decision, sir? You made the decision not to charge the president."

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

"In a pross (process) memo and then a declination memo.

Harris: You said it was your baby, what did you mean by that?

It was my baby to to let to decide whether or not to disclose it to the public

Harris: And whose decision was it? Who had the power to make the decision about whether or not the evidence was sufficient to make a determination of whether there had been an obstruction of justice?

Prosecution memos go up to the supervisor, in this case it was the the attorney general and the deputy attorney general who who decide on the final decision."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat - Minnesota:

"Mr. Attorney General, on April 27th President Trump stated 'Mueller, I assume for 35 million dollars he checked my taxes and he checked my financials.' Is that accurate? Did the special counsel review the president's taxes and the Trump Organization's financial statements?"

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

"I don't know.

Klobuchar: Can you find out if I ask later in a written question?

I, yes or you could ask Bob Mueller when he comes here.

Klobuchar: OK I'll do that too."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat - Connecticut:

"In fact in response to your question 'why not just pick up the phone,' this letter was an extraordinary act. A career prosecutor rebuking the attorney general of the United States, memorializing in writing. Right? I know of no other instance of that happening. Do you?"

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

"I don't consider Bob at this stage a career prosecutor. He's had a career as a prosecutor.

Blumenthal: Well, he's a very eminent prosecutor.

He was the head of the FBI for 12 years.

Blumenthal: He's a career a law enforcement professional, right? Yeah I know of no other instance of ...

But he was also political appointee and he was a political appointee with me at the Department of Justice. I don't know the letters a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat - Connecticut:

"Did you make a memorandum of your conversation? Did you make a memorandum"

Barr: I didn't.

Did anyone, either you or anyone on your staff memorialize your conversation with Robert Mueller?"

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

"Yes.

Blumenthal: Who did that?

Barr: There were notes taken of the call.

Blumenthal: May we have those notes?

Barr: No

Blumethal: Why not?"

Barr: Why should you have them."

16. Pan, Barr leaving hearing

Private tensions between Justice Department leaders and Robert Mueller's team broke into public view in extraordinary fashion Wednesday as Attorney General William Barr pushed back at the special counsel's "snitty" complaints over his handling of the Trump-Russia investigation report.

Testifying for the first time since releasing Mueller's report, Barr said he was surprised Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump had tried to obstruct justice, and that he had felt compelled to step in with his own judgment that the president had committed no crime.

Barr was also perturbed by a private letter Mueller sent him last month complaining that the attorney general had not properly portrayed the special counsel's finding.

Barr called the note "a bit snitty."

"I said 'Bob, what's with the letter? Just pick up the phone and call me if there is an issue,'" Barr said.

The airing of disagreements over the handling of the report followed Mueller's two-year investigation into Russian interference to help Trump in the 2016 campaign and the possibility that Trump's team conspired with the Russians.

During most of the investigation, the Justice Department and Mueller's team seemed to be unified in approach.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been anything but unified.

And their partisan divide was on full display during Wednesday's contentious Judiciary Committee hearing, which included three Democratic presidential candidates.

Some Republicans, in addition to defending Trump, focused on the president's 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton's email and campaign practices and what they argued has been a lack of investigation of them.

Democrats, for their part, moved to exploit the daylight between Barr and Mueller to attack the attorney general's credibility and accuse him of unduly spinning the special counsel's report in the president's favor.

Barr sought to minimize the rift by suggesting the special counsel's concerns were largely about process, not substance.

Barr's appearance gave him his most extensive opportunity to explain the department's actions, including his news conference held before the Mueller report's release.

Barr has also been invited to appear Thursday before the Democratic-led House Judiciary panel, but the Justice Department has said he would not testify if the committee insisted on having its lawyers question him.

Neither side broke much new ground Wednesday on the specifics of Mueller's investigation, though Barr did articulate a robust defense of Trump as he made clear his firm conviction that there was no prosecutable case against the president for obstruction of justice.

POOL

Washington DC - 1 May 2019

1. Wide, Senate Judiciary Committee

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat - New Jersey:

"We right now have a new normal in our country. We have a document that shows over 200 hundred attempts, connections between a presidential campaign and a foreign adversary sharing information that would be illegal if you did it with a super PAC. We know that. (Barr: What information was shared?) The polling data was shared sir. It's in the report I can cite you the page. (Barr: With who?) And I guess my point here is is that your willingness to seem to brush over this and use words like the American people should be grateful. What's in this report? Nobody should be grateful."

3. Back view of hearing

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

"Sen. Kamala Harris: Attorney General Barr has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?

Umm, I wouldn't I wouldn't.

Harris: Yes or no.

Could you repeat that question?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"I will repeat it. Has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone? Yes or no please sir?"

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

"The president or anybody else.

Harris: Seems you'd remember something like that and be able to tell us.

Yeah but I'm trying to grapple with the words suggest. I mean there have been discussions of of matters out there that they have not asked me to open investigation but ...

Harris: Perhaps they've suggested?

I don't know, I wouldn't say suggest.

Harris: Hinted? Inferred?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"Is in reaching your conclusion did you personally review all of the underlying evidence?"

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

"No. We took and ...

Harris: Did Mr. Rosenstein?

No we accepted the statements in the report as the factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat - California:

"As the Attorney General of the United States. You run the United States Department of Justice. If in any U.S. attorney's office around the country, the head of that office when being asked to make a critical decision about in this case the person who holds the highest office in the land and whether or not that person committed a crime, would you accept them recommending a charging decision to you if they had not reviewed the evidence?

Barr: Well that's a question for Bob Mueller. He's the U.S. attorney. He's the one who presents the report.

But it was you who made the charging decision, sir? You made the decision not to charge the president."

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

"In a pross (process) memo and then a declination memo.

Harris: You said it was your baby, what did you mean by that?

It was my baby to to let to decide whether or not to disclose it to the public

Harris: And whose decision was it? Who had the power to make the decision about whether or not the evidence was sufficient to make a determination of whether there had been an obstruction of justice?

Prosecution memos go up to the supervisor, in this case it was the the attorney general and the deputy attorney general who who decide on the final decision."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat - Minnesota:

"Mr. Attorney General, on April 27th President Trump stated 'Mueller, I assume for 35 million dollars he checked my taxes and he checked my financials.' Is that accurate? Did the special counsel review the president's taxes and the Trump Organization's financial statements?"

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

"I don't know.

Klobuchar: Can you find out if I ask later in a written question?

I, yes or you could ask Bob Mueller when he comes here.

Klobuchar: OK I'll do that too."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat - Connecticut:

"In fact in response to your question 'why not just pick up the phone,' this letter was an extraordinary act. A career prosecutor rebuking the attorney general of the United States, memorializing in writing. Right? I know of no other instance of that happening. Do you?"

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

"I don't consider Bob at this stage a career prosecutor. He's had a career as a prosecutor.

Blumenthal: Well, he's a very eminent prosecutor.

He was the head of the FBI for 12 years.

Blumenthal: He's a career a law enforcement professional, right? Yeah I know of no other instance of ...

But he was also political appointee and he was a political appointee with me at the Department of Justice. I don't know the letters a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat - Connecticut:

"Did you make a memorandum of your conversation? Did you make a memorandum"

Barr: I didn't.

Did anyone, either you or anyone on your staff memorialize your conversation with Robert Mueller?"

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

"Yes.

Blumenthal: Who did that?

Barr: There were notes taken of the call.

Blumenthal: May we have those notes?

Barr: No

Blumethal: Why not?"

Barr: Why should you have them."

16. Pan, Barr leaving hearing

Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged Friday with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

The indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, alleges that Russians used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to sway political opinion during the race between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.

The charges are the most direct allegation to date of illegal Russian meddling in the election.

The goal, the indictment says, was to "sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election."

Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The charges arise from Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether there was improper coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Before Friday, four people, including Trump's former national security adviser and former campaign chairman, had been charged in Mueller's investigation.

The White House had no immediate response to the indictment.

Washington DC - 16 February 2018

1. Wide, Rosenstein walking into news conference

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

"A grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned an indictment presented by the special counsel's office. The indictment charges 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United States political system including the 2016 presidential election. The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States with the stated goal of spreading distrust toward the candidates and the political system in general. According to the allegations in the indictment 12 of the individual defendants worked at various times for a company called Internet Research Agency LLC, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg. The other individual defendant Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin funded the conspiracy through companies known as Concord Management and Consulting LLC, Concord catering and many affiliates and subsidiaries.

3. Cutaway reporters

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

"Two of the defendants allegedly traveled to the United States in 2014 to collect intelligence for their American influence operations. In order to hide the Russian origins of their activities, the defendants allegedly purchased space on computer servers located here in the United States in order to set up a virtual private network. The defendants allegedly use that infrastructure to establish hundreds of accounts on social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, making it appear that those accounts were controlled by persons located in the United States."

5. Wide, Rosenstein speaking

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

"The indictment includes eight criminal counts. Count one alleges a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States by all of the defendants. The defendants allegedly conspired to defraud America by impairing the lawful functions of the Federal Election Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Department of State. Those organizations of the U.S. government are responsible for administering federal requirements for disclosure of foreign involvement in certain domestic activities. Count two charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud by Internet Research Agency and two of the individual defendants. Counts three through eight charge aggravated identity theft by Internet Research Agency and four individuals. Now there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. I want to caution you that everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. At trial prosecutors must introduce credible evidence that is sufficient to prove each defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. Special Counsel's investigation is ongoing. There will be no comments from the special counsel at this time. "

7. Cutaway

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

"This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet. The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed. The Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies and with the Congress to defend our nation against similar current and future efforts."

9. Mid, Rosenstein walking out

Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged Friday with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

The indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, alleges that Russians used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to sway political opinion during the race between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.

The charges are the most direct allegation to date of illegal Russian meddling in the election.

The goal, the indictment says, was to "sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election."

Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The charges arise from Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether there was improper coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Before Friday, four people, including Trump's former national security adviser and former campaign chairman, had been charged in Mueller's investigation.

The White House had no immediate response to the indictment.

Washington - 16 February 2018

1. Wide, Rosenstein walking into news conference

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

"A grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned an indictment presented by the special counsel's office. The indictment charges 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United States political system including the 2016 presidential election. The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States with the stated goal of spreading distrust toward the candidates and the political system in general. According to the allegations in the indictment 12 of the individual defendants worked at various times for a company called Internet Research Agency LLC, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg. The other individual defendant Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin funded the conspiracy through companies known as Concord Management and Consulting LLC. Concord catering and many affiliates and subsidiaries.

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

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

"Now there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. I want to caution you that everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. At trial prosecutors must introduce credible evidence that is sufficient to prove each defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. Special Counsel's investigation is ongoing. There will be no comments from the special counsel at this time. "

4. Cutaway

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General

"This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet. The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed. The Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies and with the Congress to defend our nation against similar current and future efforts."

Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged Friday with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

The indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, alleges that Russians used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to sway political opinion during the race between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.

The charges are the most direct allegation to date of illegal Russian meddling in the election.

The goal, the indictment says, was to "sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election."

Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The charges arise from Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether there was improper coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Before Friday, four people, including Trump's former national security adviser and former campaign chairman, had been charged in Mueller's investigation.

The White House had no immediate response to the indictment.

Washington - 16 February 2018

1. Wide, Rosenstein walking into news conference

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

"A grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned an indictment presented by the special counsel's office. The indictment charges 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United States political system including the 2016 presidential election. The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States with the stated goal of spreading distrust toward the candidates and the political system in general. According to the allegations in the indictment 12 of the individual defendants worked at various times for a company called Internet Research Agency LLC, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg. The other individual defendant Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin funded the conspiracy through companies known as Concord Management and Consulting LLC, Concord catering and many affiliates and subsidiaries.

3. Cutaway reporters

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

"Two of the defendants allegedly traveled to the United States in 2014 to collect intelligence for their American influence operations. In order to hide the Russian origins of their activities, the defendants allegedly purchased space on computer servers located here in the United States in order to set up a virtual private network. The defendants allegedly use that infrastructure to establish hundreds of accounts on social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, making it appear that those accounts were controlled by persons located in the United States."

5. Wide, Rosenstein speaking

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

"The indictment includes eight criminal counts. Count one alleges a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States by all of the defendants. The defendants allegedly conspired to defraud America by impairing the lawful functions of the Federal Election Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Department of State. Those organizations of the U.S. government are responsible for administering federal requirements for disclosure of foreign involvement in certain domestic activities. Count two charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud by Internet Research Agency and two of the individual defendants. Counts three through eight charge aggravated identity theft by Internet Research Agency and four individuals. Now there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. I want to caution you that everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. At trial prosecutors must introduce credible evidence that is sufficient to prove each defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. Special Counsel's investigation is ongoing. There will be no comments from the special counsel at this time. "

7. Cutaway

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

"This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet. The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed. The Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies and with the Congress to defend our nation against similar current and future efforts."

9. Mid, Rosenstein walking out

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is going to jail.

On Friday, Manafort was ordered into custody after a federal judge revoked his house arrest, citing newly filed obstruction of justice charges. The move by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made Manafort the first Trump campaign official to be jailed as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

"So this is a first Trump campaign aide to actually be put in jail as part of the special counsel's investigation, said Chad Day, a reporter with The Associated Press.

"Now, of course, this case doesn't deal directly with Russian election interference but still, this is the first time that we've seen someone who was close with Donald Trump during the campaign, as Paul Manafort was, and who actually led the campaign during several key months, and be sent to jail, Day said.  

Already under intense pressure to cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of securing leniency, Manafort now loses the relative freedom he enjoyed while he prepared for two criminal trials in which he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

In issuing her ruling, Jackson said she had "struggled" with the decision but she couldn't "turn a blind eye" to his conduct.

"Manafort's attorneys had argued that these were innocuous contacts, and that he actually didn't know that the people he had contacted were witnesses," Day said.

"The prosecution had countered that that's actually not a defense to witness tampering, and that it was, as they said, inconceivable that he didn't know that these people would be people that the prosecution would want to talk with," he said.

A federal grand jury indicted Manafort and a longtime associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, last week on charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Manafort, 69, and Kilimnik are accused of attempting to tamper with witnesses in the case by trying to get them to lie about the nature of their Ukrainian political work. Prosecutors say Manafort and Kilimnik tried to get the two witnesses to say that lobbying work carried out by clandestinely paid former politicians only occurred in Europe and not the U.S., a contention the two witnesses said they knew to be false.

The distinction matters because unregistered foreign lobbying in the U.S. is a crime, while lobbying solely in Europe would be outside the special counsel's jurisdiction.

Manafort also pleaded not guilty to the latest indictment on Friday. Kilimnik, who prosecutors say is living in Russia, did not appear in court. Mueller's team has said that Kilimnik has ties to Russian intelligence agencies, a claim he has previously denied.

Manafort will remain in jail while he awaits trial in both Washington and Virginia over the next few months. He faces several felony charges - including tax evasion, bank fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent - related to his Ukrainian political work, money he funneled through offshore accounts and loans he took out on property in the U.S.

Washington, DC - 15 June 2016

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"So this is a first Trump campaign aide to actually be put in jail as part of the special counsel's investigation. Now of course this case doesn't deal directly with Russian election interference but still, this is the first time that we've seen someone who was close with Donald Trump during the campaign, as Paul Manafort was, and who actually led the campaign during several key months and be sent to jail. Now of course this is while he awaits trial and so he hasn't been convicted of anything at this point. But what the judge found was that there is probable cause that he had committed these crimes citing the grand jury indictment and that she couldn't, you know, she couldn't trust that he would not violate her order going forward."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"The main thing that this does is it ratchets up the pressure on Paul Manafort to cooperate with prosecutors.  At this point, you know he's been fighting this case pretty vigorously, both here and also in a subsequent case in Virginia. And so, you know it's yet to be seen what--what impact this will have on his calculus of whether or not he should reach out to prosecutors and perhaps try to make some kind of deal. Now why that matters for the president, it's yet to be seen. You know Paul Manafort was a key part of the campaign. He also took part in a meeting--a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 with a Russian attorney who is supposed to be peddling dirt on Hillary Clinton, and he would be a witness to a lot of the aspects of the campaign that they are probing as part of the larger Russia investigation.

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Manafort's attorneys had argued that these were innocuous contacts, and that he actually didn't know that the people he had contacted were witnesses. The prosecution had countered that that's actually not a defense to witness tampering, and that it was, as they said, inconceivable that he didn't know that these people would be people that the prosecution would want to talk with. And so, what they said was that his efforts to contact them both in February after he had been charged had additional charges brought against him and then through an intermediary in April were efforts to try to influence their testimony and get them to lie about aspects of the case."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

***

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

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

Haspel said she wouldn't.

My moral compass is strong," Haspel said.

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

01:05:16

SHOWS

Lawyer becomes first sentenced in Russia probe

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 3 April 2018

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

Washington DC - 8 March 2018

2. Pan of Paul Manafort walking

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

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FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

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

Comey's New Book Bashes Trump

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 13 April 2018

++MUTE VIDEO++

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

Ex-Trump campaign chief Manafort seeks dismissal of charges

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Washington DC - 19 April 2018

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

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

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Washington - 9 May 2018

6. Various of Senate Intelligence Hearing

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

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

Trump says US tax cuts "unleashed an economic miracle"

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 29 June 2018

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

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

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is going to jail.

On Friday, Manafort was ordered into custody after a federal judge revoked his house arrest, citing newly filed obstruction of justice charges. The move by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made Manafort the first Trump campaign official to be jailed as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

"So this is a first Trump campaign aide to actually be put in jail as part of the special counsel's investigation, said Chad Day, a reporter with The Associated Press.

"Now, of course, this case doesn't deal directly with Russian election interference but still, this is the first time that we've seen someone who was close with Donald Trump during the campaign, as Paul Manafort was, and who actually led the campaign during several key months, and be sent to jail, Day said.  

Already under intense pressure to cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of securing leniency, Manafort now loses the relative freedom he enjoyed while he prepared for two criminal trials in which he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

In issuing her ruling, Jackson said she had "struggled" with the decision but she couldn't "turn a blind eye" to his conduct.

"Manafort's attorneys had argued that these were innocuous contacts, and that he actually didn't know that the people he had contacted were witnesses," Day said.

"The prosecution had countered that that's actually not a defense to witness tampering, and that it was, as they said, inconceivable that he didn't know that these people would be people that the prosecution would want to talk with," he said.

A federal grand jury indicted Manafort and a longtime associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, last week on charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Manafort, 69, and Kilimnik are accused of attempting to tamper with witnesses in the case by trying to get them to lie about the nature of their Ukrainian political work. Prosecutors say Manafort and Kilimnik tried to get the two witnesses to say that lobbying work carried out by clandestinely paid former politicians only occurred in Europe and not the U.S., a contention the two witnesses said they knew to be false.

The distinction matters because unregistered foreign lobbying in the U.S. is a crime, while lobbying solely in Europe would be outside the special counsel's jurisdiction.

Manafort also pleaded not guilty to the latest indictment on Friday. Kilimnik, who prosecutors say is living in Russia, did not appear in court. Mueller's team has said that Kilimnik has ties to Russian intelligence agencies, a claim he has previously denied.

Manafort will remain in jail while he awaits trial in both Washington and Virginia over the next few months. He faces several felony charges - including tax evasion, bank fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent - related to his Ukrainian political work, money he funneled through offshore accounts and loans he took out on property in the U.S.

Washington, DC - 15 June 2016

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"So this is a first Trump campaign aide to actually be put in jail as part of the special counsel's investigation. Now of course this case doesn't deal directly with Russian election interference but still, this is the first time that we've seen someone who was close with Donald Trump during the campaign, as Paul Manafort was, and who actually led the campaign during several key months and be sent to jail. Now of course this is while he awaits trial and so he hasn't been convicted of anything at this point. But what the judge found was that there is probable cause that he had committed these crimes citing the grand jury indictment and that she couldn't, you know, she couldn't trust that he would not violate her order going forward."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"The main thing that this does is it ratchets up the pressure on Paul Manafort to cooperate with prosecutors.  At this point, you know he's been fighting this case pretty vigorously, both here and also in a subsequent case in Virginia. And so, you know it's yet to be seen what--what impact this will have on his calculus of whether or not he should reach out to prosecutors and perhaps try to make some kind of deal. Now why that matters for the president, it's yet to be seen. You know Paul Manafort was a key part of the campaign. He also took part in a meeting--a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 with a Russian attorney who is supposed to be peddling dirt on Hillary Clinton, and he would be a witness to a lot of the aspects of the campaign that they are probing as part of the larger Russia investigation.

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press

"Manafort's attorneys had argued that these were innocuous contacts, and that he actually didn't know that the people he had contacted were witnesses. The prosecution had countered that that's actually not a defense to witness tampering, and that it was, as they said, inconceivable that he didn't know that these people would be people that the prosecution would want to talk with. And so, what they said was that his efforts to contact them both in February after he had been charged had additional charges brought against him and then through an intermediary in April were efforts to try to influence their testimony and get them to lie about aspects of the case."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

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

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

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FILE: Washington DC - 8 May 2017

3. Variosu of Comey speaking at event

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

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

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

POOL

Washington DC - 11 April 2018

6. Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 12 April 2018

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

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

POOL

FILE: Washington DC - 5 July 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nov. 8, 2016: Trump is elected president.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

***

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

00:00:00

Trump fires FBI director James Comey

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POOL

Washington,D.C. - 3 May 2017

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

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

2. Various of Comey being sworn in

00:22:22

Key moments leading up to Comey's firing

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ASSOCIATED PRESS, POOL

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FILE: Washington DC - 22 January 2017

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 9 May 2017

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

00:40:15

WH: Comey 'not fit to do the job'

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 11 May 2017

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

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

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

00:45:04

Comey Arrives on Capitol Hill For Senate Hearing

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POOL

Washington, D.C. - 8 June 2017

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

00:49:06

Comey: 'Lordy, I hope there are tapes'

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POOL

Washington DC - 8 June 2017

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

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

01:05:08

Comey: 'Fired Because of Russia Investigation'

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POOL

Washington DC - 8 June 2017

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

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

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

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

STORYLINE:

Former US President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden on April 14th, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party's biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures.

"This is a big deal for Biden because it helps him create some momentum, " says Julie Pace, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief.

The endorsement marked Obama's return to presidential politics more than three years after leaving the White House.

He didn't mention his successor, President Donald Trump, by name and instead sought to bridge the ideological divide among Democrats.

"He's eager to get out there. He is eager to start drawing the contrast with Donald Trump, Pace said. "This is basically what he's been waiting for."

Biden now has the support of all of his former Democratic primary rivals except for Elizabeth Warren.

The Massachusetts senator is expected to formally endorse Biden soon, according to a person familiar with her plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her thinking.

Two other prominent Democrats who have yet to publicly back Biden are former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the party's 2016 nominee.

Hillary Clinton has been in regular touch with Biden, including several times since Sanders dropped out of the race, according to an aide.

Obama avoided intervening in the Democratic primary, but followed the race closely from the sidelines and is eager to take a more active public role.

He's expected to headline fundraisers for Biden and public events in key swing states, if such gatherings can still be held given social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

After his endorsement was released, Obama sent a fundraising appeal to Biden supporters, asking for donations ranging from $5 to $100.

The endorsement will test whether Obama can transfer his personal popularity to Biden.

While the former president is seen favorably by a wide swath of Democratic voters, he was also a deeply polarizing figure during his two terms in office.

During his presidency, Democrats lost about 1,000 legislative seats around the country, starting with disastrous 2010 midterms that also cost the party control of the House and many statehouses.

***

ASIAN AMERICANS ACTORS ON CALLING COVID-19 'THE 'CHINESE VIRUS': MAKING THIS BLANKET STATEMENT IS BAD

President Trump has stopped calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus" but some believe the damage is already done.

"I felt like it was a very uneducated statement," said TV personality Jeannie Mai, who was born in the United States to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father. "I think you have to be very responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

"The Good Doctor" actor Will Yun Lee, who was born in the U.S. to Korean parents, said blaming a group of people is dangerous because it only encourages xenophobia and racism.

"Making this blanket statement is bad. People take it the way they're going to take it. And unfortunately a lot of people have taken it to associate it to anybody who looks like me or is Asian-American or whatever Asian ethnicity you are. It becomes like the word 'chink,' right? It's a very harsh word."

Trump isn't the only person who has referred to COVID-19 in this way.

Earlier in April, TV host Bill Maher defended the notion of calling coronavirus the "Chinese Virus" on his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," saying it's logical because that's where it originated.

"Tigertail" and "The Farewell" actor Tzi Ma, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to the U.S. as a child, responded to Maher's statement saying, "For the moment it could be funny. For the moment it could give you some gratification or satisfaction by saying it. However you have to remember that there are ramifications."

Nico Santos of the NBC comedy "Superstore" was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. as a teen. He said this blame mentality rears its head whenever there is fear a community.

"We saw the same sort of thing happen when when the AIDS crisis was happening. People directed that sort of like fear and hate towards the LGBTQ community. When 9/11 happened, there was a lot of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment. Even people who actually weren't Muslim or who weren't of Middle Eastern descent, who said, if you just look like you work, if you're basically you looked like you were brown or maybe came from that part of the world, you all of sudden, you know, bore the brunt of that of that hate."

***

The Justice Department on May 7th said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Russia investigation.

The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In court documents being filed May 7th, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." The documents were obtained by The Associated Press.

The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."

The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week.

The decision was quickly embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn "exonerated," and energized supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre. But it may also add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus.

The Justice Department's action comes amid an internal review into the handling of the case and an aggressive effort by Flynn's lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was entrapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trump's inauguration.

***

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's onetime presidential campaign chairman who was convicted as part of the special counsel's Russia investigation, has been released from federal prison to serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Manafort, 71, was released May 13th from FCI Loretto, a low-security prison in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney Todd Blanche. Manafort had been serving more than seven years in prison following his conviction.

His lawyers had asked the Bureau of Prisons to release him to home confinement, arguing that he was at high risk for coronavirus because of his age and preexisting medical conditions.

Manafort was hospitalized in December after suffering from a heart-related condition, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press at the time. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Manafort was among the first people to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which examined possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election campaign.

He was prosecuted in two federal courts, convicted by a jury in federal court in Virginia in 2018 and later pleaded guilty in Washington.

He was sentenced last March and was immediately hit with state charges in New York that could put him outside the president's power to pardon. New York prosecutors have accused him of giving false information on a mortgage loan application.

***

US President Donald Trump's long-time personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was released from federal prison on May 21st to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Cohen had been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Cohen was released on furlough as part of an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons. Cohen, 53, began serving his sentence last May and originally was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.

Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates, arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.

Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hot spots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.

The Bureau of Prisons placed Cohen on furlough as it continues to process a move to home confinement, another person familiar with the matter said.

The agency has the authority to release inmates on furlough for up to 30 days and has been doing so to make sure suitable inmates, who are expected to transition to home confinement, can be moved out of correctional facilities sooner, that person said.

***

Joe Biden blistered President Donald Trump on June 2nd for directing authorities to drive back peaceful protesters outside the White House "in order to stage a photo op."

The former vice president said the commander in chief was "more interested in power than in principle."

Biden was delivering a speech in Philadelphia, addressing the civil unrest across America in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Biden is also working to elevate his voice in the national debate after more than two months of the campaign for the White House being frozen amid the outbreak of the coronarvius.

He's also looking to provide a stark contrast to Trump who has struck a forceful tone against protests.

***

It's official. After an almost year-long, often tumultuous battle, former Vice President Joe Biden has crossed the finish line, formally clinching the Democratic nomination.

The milestone sets him up for a bruising battle against President Donald Trump that will play out amid the backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest, a daunting trifecta of challenges Biden hopes to use to his advantage.

"They're some of the sternest challenges our nation has ever faced," Biden said June 5th at an event in Delaware. "They need a president who cares about them, who cares about helping them heal now."

Biden became the presumptive nominee almost two months ago when his last opponent in the primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the race.

But he only pulled together the nearly 2-thousand delegates needed to seal the nomination after the latest round of contests this week.

The former vice president's path to the prize wasn't always so clear. While he consistently led the largest primary field in history in the national polls, his campaign looked to be in trouble after a string of losses in the early contests.

He rebounded with a resounding win in South Carolina. From there, he dominated Super Tuesday, launching what turned out to be an insurmountable comeback.

While Biden no longer has to battle Democratic rivals, he has a host of other issues to tackle, from winning over skeptics in his party's left wing to running a campaign essentially out of his Delaware home.

Though Biden has started to venture out more this week, the coronavirus pandemic has largely confined him to his Wilmington, Delaware, home for much of the past three months.

University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato says while that approach may irk his rival, Donald Trump, and challenge political norms, it could be just the right move during this unprecedented campaign year.

"The best strategy for Joe Biden may be a low-key strategy, which fits in pretty well. Do the events that you want to do, organize them from the basement and let Donald Trump deal with the problems. It's actually tougher this year to be the incumbent than it is to be the challenger," Sabato says.

"Most people know that Joe Biden was a two term vice president under Barack Obama and that he opposes, as Obama does, almost everything that Donald Trump has been doing or trying to do. That is enough of a contrast for most voters," Sabato adds.

With his place in the 2020 presidential race now set, all eyes are turning to what could be the most important decision of Biden's five-decade political career: choosing a running mate, something he says he hopes to do by August 1st.

***

The Trump administration is suing former national security adviser John Bolton to block the publication of a book that the White House says contains classified information.

The suit follows warnings from President Donald Trump that Bolton could face a "criminal problem" if he doesn't halt plans to publish the book.

The administration has also said the former adviser did not complete a pre-publication review to ensure that the manuscript did not contain classified material.

Bolton's attorney, Chuck Cooper, has said Bolton worked for months with classification specialists to avoid releasing classified material. He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

Trump said June 16th Bolton could face a “criminal problem” if he doesn’t halt plans to publish the book.

He said Attorney General William Barr will decide if Bolton will be charged.

***

President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing book by former adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House was working furiously to block release of the book, whose China revelations carry echoes of Trump’s efforts to solicit political help from Ukraine that led to his impeachment.

Bolton, Trump's national security adviser for a 17-month period, called Trump's attempt to shift the June 2019 conversation to the US election a stunning move, and wrote that it was among innumerable conversations that “formed a pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency”.

Deeply critical of the president and much of his senior team, Bolton wrote that because staff had served him so poorly, Trump “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.” He added that while he was at the White House, Trump typically had only two intelligence briefings a week “and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”

The 577-page book paints an unvarnished portrait of Trump and his administration, lending the most vivid, first-person account yet of how Trump conducts himself in office. Several other former officials have written books, but they have been almost entirely flattering of the president. Other former officials have indicated they were saving their accounts of their time working for Trump until after he left office in order to speak more candidly. The Associated Press obtained a copy of Bolton's book in advance of its release next week.

As for the meeting with the Chinese president in Osaka, Japan, Bolton wrote that Trump told Xi that Democrats were hostile to China.

“He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win,” Bolton said. “He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome.”

The book, titled “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” which is set to be released Tuesday by Simon & Schuster, has been the subject of a lengthy battle between Bolton and the White House.

Trump signed legislation June 17th that seeks to punish China for a crackdown on ethnic minorities, even as the Bolton book said the American leader expressed support for the brutal campaign in a private conversation with his Chinese counterpart.

The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Trump signed it with no ceremony, issuing a statement in which he said a sanctions provision intruded on executive authority and he would regard it as non-binding.

***

A top White House aide who handles President Donald Trump's trade policy toward China described John Bolton's controversial new book as "revenge porn," and said Bolton took no interest in China policy, despite his position as Trump's national security adviser.

"It's 'Big Lie' Bolton. It's 'Book Deal' Bolton." He's doing it for the money," said Peter Navarro, Trump's director of trade and manufacturing policy.

In his book, Bolton claims that President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects,

He also accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House has been working furiously to block the book, asking a federal court for an emergency temporary restraining order June 17th against its release.

Navarro said Trump has used tariffs to stand up to China in retaliatation to such Chinese actions as intellectual property theft, militarizing the South China Sea and cracking down on Hong Kong.

"I think there's a consensus now in this government that China is the single greatest strategic and existential threat to this country."

"It's not Russia. It's certainly not Venezuela. It's not Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan issues," Navarro said. "It's China."

"He took no interest in that whatsoever," he said.

***

Supporters of President Donald Trump faced off with anti-racism protesters on June 20th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the President held a campaign rally.

Black Lives Matter activists flooded the city's downtown streets, and some got into arguments with Trump supporters who were shouting “all lives matter”.

Later in the evening, a group of armed men began following the protesters.

There were no reports of trouble.

02:29:18

00:00:00

Barak Obama gives Biden a boost with endorsement

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE - Washington - 23 March 2010

1. Biden introducing Obama at healthcare law signing

++CONTAINS AUDIO OF EXPLETIVE++ Biden heard saying to Obama: "This is a big f------ deal"

ARCHIVE: Washington - 7 January 2015

2. President Obama speaks in the Oval Office with Vice President Joe Biden

POOL

4:3 FROM SOURCE

ARCHIVE: Chicago - 4 November 2008

3. Various, then President-elect Obama on stage after victory speech with then-Vice President elect Joe Biden

00:13:03

Asian American actors on calling COVID-19 the 'Chinese Virus': 'Having this blanket statement is bad'

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Archive: Washington, DC, 18 March 2020

4. UPSOUND (English) Reporter question:

"Why do you keep calling it the Chinese virus? There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese Americans in this country - why do you keep using this?"

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

"Because it comes from China. It's not racist at all, no.

Los Angeles, 6 April 2020

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeannie Mai, TV Personality - on Trump calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus":

"It was a very uneducated statement. I think you have to be responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

00:38:19

Justice Dept. drops Michael Flynn's criminal case

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Washington, DC - 18 December 2018

7. Michael Flynn leaves courthouse as competing demonstrators chant "lock him up" and "U.S.A."

00:45:16

Manafort released from prison due to virus concerns

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 23 May 2017

8. Former campaign chairman for US President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort leaves courthouse

ARCHIVE: New York - June 27, 2019

9. Paul Manafort in handcuffs walks in hallway of a Manhattan courthouse escorted by court officers

00:54:18

Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to be released from prison

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ARCHIVE: Washington - 28 February 2019

10. Various of Cohen testifying in Congress

01:05:10

Trump attorney Michael Cohen out of prison

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New York - 21 May 2020

11. Michael Cohen exits vehicle and walks into residence

01:11:19

Biden: Trump more set on 'power than principle'

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Philadelphia - 2 June 2020

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Biden (D) Presidential candidate::

"We can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle, or just in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. For that's what the presidency is, the duty to care, to care for all of us, not just those who vote for us, but all of us."

01:37:22

Biden clinches Democratic presidential nomination

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

13. Joe Biden walks into rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

14. Biden on stage at California rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

01:46:15

US Justice Dept. sues Bolton to block book release

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 30 September 2019

15. Mid shot of John Bolton walking up to podium

ARCHIVE: Seoul, South Korea - 24 July 2019

16. John Bolton arriving to meet South Korean officials

POOL

Washington, DC - 4 June 2020

17. Mid shot of William Barr at Justice Department news conference

01:59:20

Bolton book: Trump asked China for reelection help

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Washington - 17 June 2020

18. Bolton's book, "The Room Where it Happened"

02:04:03

White House aide calls Bolton book 'revenge porn'

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Washington, DC - 18 June 2020

19. Peter Navarro walking to microphone

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy :

"Look, I knew John Bolton pretty well after he got in here and my take on him. It's big lie Bolton. It's book deal Bolton. He's doing it for the money. That's pretty clear. And my view is it's the Washington swamp's equivalent of revenge porn.

02:19:23

Pro and anti-Trump protests near Tulsa rally

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tulsa, Oklahoma - 20 June 2020

21. Trump supporters holding banners reading (English) ''Make America Great Again!''

22. Armed men following the protest

On March 5th 2018 the British media reported that the Zizi restaurant in Salisbury had been closed as a precaution in connection with an incident in which 66-year-old former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was left critically ill by exposure to an unknown substance.

The media is quoting Wiltshire Police.

Skripal, 66, who was convicted in Russia on charges of spying for Britain and sentenced in 2006 to 13 years in prison.

He was freed in 2010 as part of a US-Russian spy swap.

The discovery of the two people led to a dramatic decontamination effort.

Crews in billowing yellow moon suits worked into the night spraying down the street, and the Salisbury hospital's emergency room was closed.

***

There was a heavy police presence on March 6th near a shopping mall in a town in southern England where a former Russian spy was found after ,it is said, he suffered exposure to an "unknown substance".

The Kremlin said Russia has not been approached to help in an investigation over how and why the former spy was found critically ill on a bench near Maltings Shopping Centre in Salisbury.

A woman was also found unconscious on March 4th in Salisbury, about 90 miles (145 kilometres) west of London.

Dimitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, said March 6th that there has been no request for help but that "Moscow is always ready to cooperate."

***

On March 7th ambulances and emergency vehicles rushed to central Salisbury in England amid jitters following the collapse of a former Russian spy and his daughter there.

An eyewitness says emergency services escorted two women on March 7th from a building near a restaurant that had been cordoned off by police searching for clues as to what prompted Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia to fall ill on March 4th.

Police and ambulance services declined to comment and it was not immediately clear if the incident had anything to do with the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile British counter-terror police cordoned off a new site in the case of the former Russian spy and his daughter.

London's Metropolitan Police secured Solstice Park, a business park in Amesbury near Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument and world heritage site.

Amesbury is about nine miles (14 kilometres) from Salisbury, where Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found collapsed on a bench on March 4th.

Lloyd Ridley, who works nearby as a mechanic, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that some 40 firemen stood outside as the area was cordoned off, adding there were four people "dressed up in hazmats going inside and retrieving stuff in these boxes and putting them outside in the cornered area."

British counterterrorism specialists have taken control of the case from local police trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to the pair.

The matter has not been declared a terrorist incident.

Police are also asking members of the public to come forward if they had visited a Salisbury pizza restaurant or pub where the couple were last seen on March 4th.

***

Britain's armed forces arrived in Salisbury on March 9th to help police investigate the nerve-agent poisoning of a former spy.

Counterterrorism detectives asked for military help to remove vehicles and objects from a number of scenes related to March 4th's attack.

In a statement on the deployment, the defence secretary said the armed forces had the "right people with the right skills" to assist in the investigation.

More than 100 personnel from the Royal Marines, the RAF and chemical teams are said to have been sent to Salisbury.

***

A large-scale investigation continued on March 11th in Salisbury as forensics experts wearing protective gear searched for clues after a Russian ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent.

Authorities said earlier that small traces of contamination have been found in a restaurant and a pub in the English city of Salisbury.

Hospital officials in Salisbury also said there is no evidence of a wider risk beyond the three people hospitalized since the March 4th attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Ex-spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia reportedly ate at a Zizzi restaurant before falling critically ill.

A British police detective is also hospitalized in serious condition.

Among the sites they are searching are the Zizzi restaurant, which is closed to the public, and the gravesites where Skripal's wife and son are buried.

Skripal's house has also been extensively searched for clues and traces of the nerve agent.

Authorities haven't revealed how or where the Skripals were exposed to the nerve agent. It's not known if it happened in a restaurant, a pub, Skripal's house or elsewhere.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on March 10th it is still "too early" to determine who is to blame for the attack.

Senior government officials have vowed to respond robustly if the Russian government is found to be responsible.

Rudd said more than 250 counterterrorism officers are on the scene evaluating more than 240 pieces of evidence and interviewing about 200 witnesses.

They are backed by roughly 180 military personnel providing logistical support, including the removal of ambulances feared to possibly be contaminated by the nerve agent.

***

Russia will only cooperate with Britain on the investigation into March 4th's poisoning of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter if it receives samples of the nerve agent that is believed to have been used, Russia's foreign minister said March 13th.

Sergey Lavrov spoke in response to the British government's demand for an explanation of the use of a military-grade nerve agent produced in Russia in the attack in the English city of Salisbury.

Lavrov told reporters on March 13th Moscow's requests to see samples of the nerve agent have been turned down, which he called a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production of chemical weapons. He insisted that Russia is "not to blame" for the poisoning.

He said Moscow is willing to cooperate with the probe but suggested that London would be "better off" complying with its international obligations "before putting forward ultimatums."

British Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia's involvement is "highly likely" and delivered a March 13th deadline for a Russian response.

Officials said March 13thPrime Minister Theresa May is reviewing a range of economic and diplomatic measures in retaliation for the assault with a military-grade nerve agent.

The poisoning left 66-year-old Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia in critical condition.

***

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd chaired a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergencies committee on March 13th to discuss the response to the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter.

Rudd reiterated Prime Minister Theresa May's deadline of midnight on March 13th for Moscow to explain how the Russian-made nerve agent Novichok came to be used on British soil.

Rudd said that until that response she would not be commenting on what action the UK would be taking against Russia.

Authorities say the pair were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent and that Russia is "highly likely" to be behind it.

May is demanding an explanation.

***

British counterterrorism police on March 13th took charge of the investigation into the death in London of a Russian businessman because he was connected to a prominent Kremlin foe.

The death of Nikolai Glushkov, confirmed by his lawyer in Russia, came a week after former spy Sergei Skripal was left critically ill from nerve agent poisoning in the city of Salisbury.

Police said there was no evidence to suggest a link to the March 4th poisoning of Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Attorney Andrei Borovkov told Russian media outlets that Glushkov had died, but said he was unaware of the time and circumstances. Reports in British and Russian media said Glushkov, who was in his late 60s, was found dead at his home in southwest London.

London's Metropolitan Police force said it was investigating the unexplained death of a man found at a house in the New Malden area late March 12th. It didn't release his name, saying formal identification had yet to take place.

Police said counterterrorism detectives are leading the investigation "as a precaution because of associations that the man is believed to have had."

Glushkov was an associate of Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarch and Kremlin critic who died in London in 2013. An inquest failed to determine whether he had killed himself or died from foul play.

Glushkov told The Guardian newspaper in 2013 he didn't believe Berezovsky's death was suicide. "I'm definite Boris was killed," he said.

Glushkov was arrested in 1999 and put on trial for embezzling 7 million US dollars from Aeroflot.

In 2004, he was sentenced to three years and three months in prison, but released because of time served before and during his trial.

Russian media reported that Glushkov was granted political asylum in Britain in 2010.

***

On March 15th President Donald Trump pointed the finger at Russia in the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Great Britain, saying he had spoken with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

During a meeting with Ireland's prime minister in the Oval Office, Trump said it's something "that should never, ever happen."

March 15th, the U.S. joined the Britain, France and Germany in a joint statement blaming Moscow for the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy who was living in England.

The list of Russians now under sanction includes the 13 indicted in February by U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia-related investigation into alleged election interference.

Altogether, 19 Russians were cited. Also sanctioned were five Russian companies, including the Internet Research Agency, which is accused of orchestrating a mass online disinformation campaign to affect the presidential election result.

The Treasury Department announced the sanctions amid withering criticism of Trump and his administration for failing to use its congressionally mandated authority to punish Russia. Trump himself has been skeptical of the election accusations.

The sanctions are the first use of the new powers that Congress passed last year to punish Moscow for meddling in an election that Republican Donald Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The accusations and accompanying sanctions are some of the strongest actions to date by the administration to punish Russia for hacking and other efforts to sow discord in the American democracy.

The Trump administration is also accusing Russia on March 15th of a concerted, ongoing operation to hack and spy on the U.S. energy grid and other critical infrastructure, and separately imposed sanctions on Russian officials for alleged high-tech interference in the 2016 American presidential election.

U.S. national security officials said the FBI, the Homeland Security Department and American intelligence agencies determined that Russian intelligence and others were behind the attacks on the energy sector.

The officials said the Russians deliberately chose U.S. energy industry targets, obtaining access to computer systems and then conducting "network reconnaissance" of industrial control systems that run American factories and the electricity grid.

The U.S. government has helped energy businesses kick out the Russians from all systems currently known to have been penetrated, according to the officials.

The officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national security information, left open the possibility of discovering more breaches, and said the federal government was issuing an alert to the energy industry to raise awareness about the threat and improve preparation.

***

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on March 19th that Russia had the "capability", motive and intent" to poison a Russian ex-spy and his daughter and that the attack was "part of a pattern of behaviour by Russia across Europe".

Britain has accused Russia of using a military-grade nerve agent to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who have been in critical condition for two weeks.

Britain has announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, and Russia has responded in kind.

Asked to comment on weekend newspaper reports about the possible exhumation of Russians who died in the UK in suspicious circumstances, May said that would be a matter for the police.

She said the focus of the investigation at this stage was on the Skripals' case.

May added that officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were expected to arrive in the UK on March 19th and would discuss with police taking samples of the nerve agent in order to conduct an independent verification.

British police have contacted other Russian exiles in the last few days to discuss their safety in light of the recent attacks.

The Kremlin says Britain will eventually have to offer proof to back up its claim of Russia's involvement in the poisoning or apologise.

00:00:00

UK restaurant closed after former Russian spy exposed to unknown substance

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Salisbury - 5 March 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Various of restaurant exteriors

00:07:14

Police cordon off area where former Russian spy was taken ill

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Salisbury - 6 March 2018

2. Bench believed to be where Skripal was found unconscious, police cordon

3. Media near Maltings Shopping Centre

4. Police outside Skripal's home in Salisbury

00:21:04

Latest from scene of "poisoning"; graves of Skripal relatives

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Salisbury - 7 March 2018

5. Tent covering bench where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were taken ill

6. Gravestone of the wife of Sergei Skripal, flowers

00:28:24

Troops at hospital in Salisbury where poison victims treated

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Salisbury - 9 March 2018

7. Troops standing next to support vehicles in car park of Salisbury District Hospital

00:32:24

Military remove potentially-contaminated vehicles in Salisbury

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Salisbury - 11 March 2018

8. Police car being lifted onto truck

9. Police cars and forensic officials

10. Trucks leaving

00:44:24

Lavrov: Russia is 'not to blame' for poisoning of ex-spy

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Moscow - 13 March 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister:

"Russia is not guilty, Russia is ready to cooperate in the framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention only if the United Kingdom takes the pains to fulfill their legal obligations according to the same document."

01:01:20

UK emergencies committee meets to discuss Salisbury nerve agent case

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UK POOL

London - 13 March 2018

12. British Prime Minister Theresa May leaving Number 10 Downing Street to attend Cobra meeting (a cross-departmental crisis committee that is formed to respond to national emergencies) meeting

01:06:12

Detectives busy at house of dead Russian businessman

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

London - 13 March 2018

New Malden, London - 13 March 2018

13. Various of house belonging to Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov with police tents outside

01:14:21

Trump points to Russia in poisoning of former spy in UK

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 15 March 2018

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

" It looks like the Russians were behind it, something that should never, ever happen, and we're taking it very seriously, as I think are many others. "

01:24:24

May: The Russian state is responsible for nerve agent attack

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UK POOL

Birmingham - 19 March 2018

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Theresa May, British Prime Minister:

"I set out clearly in the House of Commons last week why it is that we believe the Russian state is culpable for the incident that took place, for the acts that took place, for the use of this nerve agent on the streets of Salisbury.