US Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates.

The comprehensive report, still confidential, marks the end of Mueller's probe but sets the stage for big public fights to come.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says the next steps are up to Attorney General William Barr, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

Barr is "going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

With no details released at this point, it's not known whether Mueller's report answers the core questions of his investigation: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

But Tucker says the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president.

Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia probe, a Justice Department official confirmed Friday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

1. Wide shot of the White House as the sun sets

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller today concluded his nearly two year long investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He delivered a confidential report to the Justice Department this afternoon and Attorney General William Barr says he will report back to Congress as soon as this weekend about a summary of the findings of that report."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"The attorney general is going to review this report and we know from Justice Department officials it's a comprehensive report. He's going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Attorney General Barr has committed to releasing information as well to the public so the information he delivers to congressional officials we expect to also be released to the public."

8. Letter from Attorney General William Barr to members of Congress

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

"The other thing that we know that's really important that I want to point out is that the special counsel is not recommending any additional indictments. There have been lots of speculation about other people who might be in trouble or scrutinized, members of the president's family, all sorts of different speculation, and apparently the special counsel says none of that is happening. He's not recommending any additional charges from his office."

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

10. Donald Trump walks off Air Force One after landing in Palm Beach

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We're not clear what's in the report so it's hard to say how this bodes for the central mandate of the Special Counsel in terms of whether he's found allegations of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. But again, it's important to note this investigation is concluding without any criminal charges along those lines. So there are no criminal charges against the president or anybody else from his campaign alleging a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government."

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We'll have to see what the actual findings are. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been reluctant to sort of talk about impeachment proceedings. She said the president's not worth it. So it strikes me that it would require something that's really damning and incriminating for the president that's in the report for Democrats to take any sort of organized impeachment action."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

14. US President Donald Trump walks on White House South Lawn to talk to press before departing to Florida

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates.

The comprehensive report, still confidential, marks the end of Mueller's probe but sets the stage for big public fights to come.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says the next steps are up to Attorney General William Barr, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

Barr is "going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

With no details released at this point, it's not known whether Mueller's report answers the core questions of his investigation: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

But Tucker says the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president.

Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia probe, a Justice Department official confirmed Friday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

1. Wide shot of the White House as the sun sets

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller today concluded his nearly two year long investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He delivered a confidential report to the Justice Department this afternoon and Attorney General William Barr says he will report back to Congress as soon as this weekend about a summary of the findings of that report."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"The attorney general is going to review this report and we know from Justice Department officials it's a comprehensive report. He's going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Attorney General Barr has committed to releasing information as well to the public so the information he delivers to congressional officials we expect to also be released to the public."

8. Letter from Attorney General William Barr to members of Congress

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

"The other thing that we know that's really important that I want to point out is that the special counsel is not recommending any additional indictments. There have been lots of speculation about other people who might be in trouble or scrutinized, members of the president's family, all sorts of different speculation, and apparently the special counsel says none of that is happening. He's not recommending any additional charges from his office."

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

10. Donald Trump walks off Air Force One after landing in Palm Beach

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We're not clear what's in the report so it's hard to say how this bodes for the central mandate of the Special Counsel in terms of whether he's found allegations of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. But again, it's important to note this investigation is concluding without any criminal charges along those lines. So there are no criminal charges against the president or anybody else from his campaign alleging a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government."

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We'll have to see what the actual findings are. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been reluctant to sort of talk about impeachment proceedings. She said the president's not worth it. So it strikes me that it would require something that's really damning and incriminating for the president that's in the report for Democrats to take any sort of organized impeachment action."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

14. President Donald Trump walks on White House South Lawn to talk to press before departing to Florida

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency, entangled Trump's family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president's closest associates.

The comprehensive report, still confidential, marks the end of Mueller's probe but sets the stage for big public fights to come.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says the next steps are up to Attorney General William Barr, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.

Barr is "going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

With no details released at this point, it's not known whether Mueller's report answers the core questions of his investigation: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?

But Tucker says the delivery of the report does mean the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president.

Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia probe, a Justice Department official confirmed Friday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

1. Wide shot of the White House as the sun sets

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller today concluded his nearly two year long investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He delivered a confidential report to the Justice Department this afternoon and Attorney General William Barr says he will report back to Congress as soon as this weekend about a summary of the findings of that report."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"The attorney general is going to review this report and we know from Justice Department officials it's a comprehensive report. He's going to review this report and will decide how much of it to make public. He says he will release something as soon as this weekend that functions as a summary of the central findings of the special counsel."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"Attorney General Barr has committed to releasing information as well to the public so the information he delivers to congressional officials we expect to also be released to the public."

8. Letter from Attorney General William Barr to members of Congress

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

"The other thing that we know that's really important that I want to point out is that the special counsel is not recommending any additional indictments. There have been lots of speculation about other people who might be in trouble or scrutinized, members of the president's family, all sorts of different speculation, and apparently the special counsel says none of that is happening. He's not recommending any additional charges from his office."

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

10. Donald Trump walks off Air Force One after landing in Palm Beach

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We're not clear what's in the report so it's hard to say how this bodes for the central mandate of the Special Counsel in terms of whether he's found allegations of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. But again, it's important to note this investigation is concluding without any criminal charges along those lines. So there are no criminal charges against the president or anybody else from his campaign alleging a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government."

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

"We'll have to see what the actual findings are. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been reluctant to sort of talk about impeachment proceedings. She said the president's not worth it. So it strikes me that it would require something that's really damning and incriminating for the president that's in the report for Democrats to take any sort of organized impeachment action."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

14. President Donald Trump walks on White House South Lawn to talk to press before departing to Florida

Former CIA Director John Brennan is scheduled to be interviewed Friday by U.S. Attorney John Durham's team as part of its inquiry into the investigators and intelligence officials behind the 2016 Russia election interference probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

Brennan led the CIA under the Obama administration as it and other intelligence agencies arrived at the conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump. Durham's interest in speaking with him underscores the extent to which he and his team are examining how the CIA reached that assessment, which Trump has long resisted.

The people who discussed the interview with The Associated Press insisted on anonymity to talk about an ongoing investigation. Brennan is appearing voluntarily for the interview, a likely indication he does not believe he has reason to be concerned about any criminal charges. He has previously said he welcomed the chance to be questioned and felt he had had nothing to hide.

A spokesman for Durham declined to comment on Friday.

Attorney General William Barr last year appointed Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, to examine the decisions that were made by government officials as they investigated ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Exhaustive reports by former special counsel Robert Mueller and the Republican-led Senate intelligence committee have detailed extensive ties between Russians and Trump associates, but Barr has challenged the idea that the FBI had sufficient basis to open its counterintelligence investigation and gave Durham a mandate that allows him to look into the actions of other agencies too.

Brennan, who has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump's, testified before Congress in 2017 that he had personally warned Russia against interfering in the election and that he was so concerned about Russia's contacts with people involved in Trump's campaign that he convened top counterintelligence officials to focus on the issue.

Mueller's investigation found that the Trump campaign embraced Russia's help and expected to benefit from it, though he did not allege a criminal conspiracy between the two.

Durham brought his first criminal charge last week against a former FBI lawyer accused of altering an email related to the secret surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The attorney, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a false statement charge.

ASSOCIATED PRESS  

ARCHIVE: Washington DC - 16 May 2018

1. Pan, Former CIA Director walking past cameras to closed door House Intelligence Committee meeting

POOL

ARCHIVE: Washington DC - 23 May 2017

2. Various of former CIA Director John Brennan arriving, taking seat

3. Various of Brennan taking oath, sitting

4. Wide of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director:

"When it became clear to me last summer that Russia was engaged in very aggressive and wide-ranging effort to interfere in one of the key pillars of our democracy, we pulled together experts from CIA, NSA and FBI in late July to focus on the issue, drawing in multiple perspectives and subject matter experts with broad expertise to assess Russian attempts to interfere in the US presidential election."

6. Wide of hearing

7. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director: ++OVERLAID WITH SHOTS OF CONGRESS MEMBERS++

"I said, American voters would be outraged by any Russian attempt to interfere in the election. Finally, I warned Mr. (Alexander) Bortnikov (director of Russia's Federal Security Service) that if Russia pursued this course, it would destroy any near term prospect for improvement in relations between Washington and Moscow and would undermine constructive engagement, even on matters of mutual interest. As I expected, Mr. Bortnikov denied that Russia was doing anything to influence our presidential election, claiming that Moscow is a traditional target of blame by Washington for such activities."

8. Mid of Congress members

9. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director:

"When I repeated my warning, he again denied the charge, but said that he would inform President Putin of my comments. I believe I was the first US official to brace the Russians on this matter."

10. Wide of hearing

Former CIA Director John Brennan is scheduled to be interviewed Friday by U.S. Attorney John Durham's team as part of its inquiry into the investigators and intelligence officials behind the 2016 Russia election interference probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

Brennan led the CIA under the Obama administration as it and other intelligence agencies arrived at the conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump. Durham's interest in speaking with him underscores the extent to which he and his team are examining how the CIA reached that assessment, which Trump has long resisted.

The people who discussed the interview with The Associated Press insisted on anonymity to talk about an ongoing investigation. Brennan is appearing voluntarily for the interview, a likely indication he does not believe he has reason to be concerned about any criminal charges. He has previously said he welcomed the chance to be questioned and felt he had had nothing to hide.

A spokesman for Durham declined to comment on Friday.

Attorney General William Barr last year appointed Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, to examine the decisions that were made by government officials as they investigated ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Exhaustive reports by former special counsel Robert Mueller and the Republican-led Senate intelligence committee have detailed extensive ties between Russians and Trump associates, but Barr has challenged the idea that the FBI had sufficient basis to open its counterintelligence investigation and gave Durham a mandate that allows him to look into the actions of other agencies too.

Brennan, who has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump's, testified before Congress in 2017 that he had personally warned Russia against interfering in the election and that he was so concerned about Russia's contacts with people involved in Trump's campaign that he convened top counterintelligence officials to focus on the issue.

Mueller's investigation found that the Trump campaign embraced Russia's help and expected to benefit from it, though he did not allege a criminal conspiracy between the two.

Durham brought his first criminal charge last week against a former FBI lawyer accused of altering an email related to the secret surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The attorney, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a false statement charge.

ASSOCIATED PRESS  

ARCHIVE: Washington DC - 16 May 2018

1. Pan, Former CIA Director walking past cameras to closed door House Intelligence Committee meeting

POOL

ARCHIVE: Washington DC - 23 May 2017

2. Various of former CIA Director John Brennan arriving, taking seat

3. Various of Brennan taking oath, sitting

4. Wide of hearing

5. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director:

"When it became clear to me last summer that Russia was engaged in very aggressive and wide-ranging effort to interfere in one of the key pillars of our democracy, we pulled together experts from CIA, NSA and FBI in late July to focus on the issue, drawing in multiple perspectives and subject matter experts with broad expertise to assess Russian attempts to interfere in the US presidential election."

6. Wide of hearing

7. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director: ++OVERLAID WITH SHOTS OF CONGRESS MEMBERS++

"I said, American voters would be outraged by any Russian attempt to interfere in the election. Finally, I warned Mr. (Alexander) Bortnikov (director of Russia's Federal Security Service) that if Russia pursued this course, it would destroy any near term prospect for improvement in relations between Washington and Moscow and would undermine constructive engagement, even on matters of mutual interest. As I expected, Mr. Bortnikov denied that Russia was doing anything to influence our presidential election, claiming that Moscow is a traditional target of blame by Washington for such activities."

8. Mid of Congress members

9. SOUNDBITE (English) John Brennan, Former CIA Director:

"When I repeated my warning, he again denied the charge, but said that he would inform President Putin of my comments. I believe I was the first US official to brace the Russians on this matter."

10. Wide of hearing