Elaine Kamarck, of the Brookings Institution says "we're pretty much at the end of this process" as she discussed the next steps in the special prosecutors Russia probe.

Kamarack, Senior fellow in the Governance Studies program as well as the Director of the Center for Effective Public Management , said on Tuesday that "The only thing that really seems to remain is whether or not the president himself is guilty of some crimes and do those crimes constitute in the minds of the members of Congress, high crimes and misdemeanors."

In a related story The Associated Press reports that President Donald Trump has been calling the Russia probe a witch hunt for two years.

But now, Trump and his allies are starting to see it as something potentially very different: a political opportunity.

Trump has grown increasingly confident that special counsel Robert Mueller's report will produce no clear evidence of a conspiracy between Russia and his election campaign.

A change is also underway among congressional Democrats, who had believed the report would offer damning evidence

Kamarack says "We're at a point where this is about to move unless there's some you know smoking gun. This is this investigation is about to move from the legal to the political and there the Democrats are going to have to decide do we move forward with impeachment."

Washington - 19 March 2019

1.Wide shot of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro walking out of White House into Rose Garden

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"It's not often that a president is subject to a special counsel and that means often that the findings of a special counsel could lead to something very dramatic like impeachment. Or it could just turn out to be a bunch of nothing. And so everybody was interested in this. Everybody was excited about it. The president himself was furious about it. But this is a big deal. We don't generally have investigations like this of sitting presidents."

3. Side shot of Trump speaking

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"The only thing that really seems to remain is whether or not the president himself is guilty of some crimes and do those crimes constitute in the minds of the members of Congress, high crimes and misdemeanors, which is the constitutional issue for impeachment, and so we're sort of down to the end game here. I mean it looks like there was a rapid string of indictments, trials, etc. It's possible that one or more of the president's children or in-laws could get indicted but it's, we're pretty much at the end of this process."

5. Trump speaking

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"The issue, though, is did the House and Senate, did the intelligence committees when they were controlled by Republicans ignore important pieces of evidence? The Democrats think they did. And so the Democrats will have to start their own investigation. They may find nothing as well."

Washington - 25 February 2019

7. STILL - The Capitol is seen in Washington as Congress returns to work following a week-long recess. A top House Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has threatened to call special counsel Robert Mueller to Capitol Hill, subpoena documents and sue the Trump administration if the full report on Mueller's Russia investigation is not made public.

Washington - 06 March 2019

8. STILL - House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, of California, left, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., return to hear Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, testify before a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill

Washington - 19 March 2019

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"We're at a point where this is about to move unless there's some you know smoking gun. This is this investigation is about to move from the legal to the political and there, the Democrats are going to have to decide do we move forward with impeachment? Now, Nancy Pelosi has said, wisely I think, that probably not that. There's just not unless there's some blockbuster finding in the Muller report or someplace else. Probably not because bet we're almost at 2020. Let, it's cleaner, easier for democracy to let the voters decide."

Washington - 06 March 2019

10. STILL - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., with Ranking Member Doug Collins

Washington - 19 March 2019

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"This investigation has taken place simultaneously with a very chaotic presidency and with a separate investigation into Donald Trump's business empire. Now it may not be impeachable to be a corrupt businessman. All you have to do is look at the Deutsche Bank story in today's (New York) Times and you can see that that's that's going to be a big story. But maybe it's not impeachable but it sure isn't desirable."

12. STILL - President Donald Trump walks along the Colonnade of the White House, towards the Rose Garden with visiting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

Elaine Kamarck, of the Brookings Institution says "we're pretty much at the end of this process" as she discussed the next steps in the special prosecutors Russia probe.

Kamarack, Senior fellow in the Governance Studies program as well as the Director of the Center for Effective Public Management , said on Tuesday that "The only thing that really seems to remain is whether or not the president himself is guilty of some crimes and do those crimes constitute in the minds of the members of Congress, high crimes and misdemeanors."

In a related story The Associated Press reports that President Donald Trump has been calling the Russia probe a witch hunt for two years.

But now, Trump and his allies are starting to see it as something potentially very different: a political opportunity.

Trump has grown increasingly confident that special counsel Robert Mueller's report will produce no clear evidence of a conspiracy between Russia and his election campaign.

A change is also underway among congressional Democrats, who had believed the report would offer damning evidence

Kamarack says "We're at a point where this is about to move unless there's some you know smoking gun. This is this investigation is about to move from the legal to the political and there the Democrats are going to have to decide do we move forward with impeachment."

Washington - 19 March 2019

1.Wide shot of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro walking out of White House into Rose Garden

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"It's not often that a president is subject to a special counsel and that means often that the findings of a special counsel could lead to something very dramatic like impeachment. Or it could just turn out to be a bunch of nothing. And so everybody was interested in this. Everybody was excited about it. The president himself was furious about it. But this is a big deal. We don't generally have investigations like this of sitting presidents."

3. Side shot of Trump speaking

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"The only thing that really seems to remain is whether or not the president himself is guilty of some crimes and do those crimes constitute in the minds of the members of Congress, high crimes and misdemeanors, which is the constitutional issue for impeachment, and so we're sort of down to the end game here. I mean it looks like there was a rapid string of indictments, trials, etc. It's possible that one or more of the president's children or in-laws could get indicted but it's, we're pretty much at the end of this process."

5. Trump speaking

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"The issue, though, is did the House and Senate, did the intelligence committees when they were controlled by Republicans ignore important pieces of evidence? The Democrats think they did. And so the Democrats will have to start their own investigation. They may find nothing as well."

Washington - 25 February 2019

7. STILL - The Capitol is seen in Washington as Congress returns to work following a week-long recess. A top House Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has threatened to call special counsel Robert Mueller to Capitol Hill, subpoena documents and sue the Trump administration if the full report on Mueller's Russia investigation is not made public.

Washington - 06 March 2019

8. STILL - House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, of California, left, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., return to hear Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, testify before a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill

Washington - 19 March 2019

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"We're at a point where this is about to move unless there's some you know smoking gun. This is this investigation is about to move from the legal to the political and there, the Democrats are going to have to decide do we move forward with impeachment? Now, Nancy Pelosi has said, wisely I think, that probably not that. There's just not unless there's some blockbuster finding in the Muller report or someplace else. Probably not because bet we're almost at 2020. Let, it's cleaner, easier for democracy to let the voters decide."

Washington - 06 March 2019

10. STILL - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., with Ranking Member Doug Collins

Washington - 19 March 2019

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow Brookings Institution:

"This investigation has taken place simultaneously with a very chaotic presidency and with a separate investigation into Donald Trump's business empire. Now it may not be impeachable to be a corrupt businessman. All you have to do is look at the Deutsche Bank story in today's (New York) Times and you can see that that's that's going to be a big story. But maybe it's not impeachable but it sure isn't desirable."

12. STILL - President Donald Trump walks along the Colonnade of the White House, towards the Rose Garden with visiting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Washington, DC - 26 July 2019

1. Wide, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler walks into briefing room, along with members of committee

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

"Before he (Robert Mueller) ever stepped into our hearing room, the director had rendered our country a great and necessary public service. He showed through his report and his indictments that the United States was attacked and remains under siege by a foreign adversary. He showed that the Trump campaign both welcomed and benefited from this attack on our country. And he showed that the president repeatedly lied to cover it up. And if that were not enough. Director Mueller's testimony removed all doubt. He told us that Donald Trump obstructed justice and abused his office by tampering with witnesses, attempting to block the investigation and attempting to fire the special counsel. He told us that Donald Trump lied to the public about the Trump Tower meeting in New York. Lied to the public about his plans for Trump Tower in Moscow and lied in his written responses to the special counsel. He told us in a remarkable exchange with Mr. (Ted) Lieu that but for the Department of Justice policy from prohibiting, prohibiting from doing so, he would have indicted President Trump."

3. Wide, news conference

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

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

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat - Pennsylvania:

"The court filings today are the next step and we'll continue down that road to see whether we have the strong case that is needed to put to the American people."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Eric Swalwell, Democrat - California:

"Well if you shut up expecting a Broadway show sure you may have been disappointed but if you listened to what he said he said that the Russians attacked us they had a preference for Donald Trump. The Trump campaign welcomed it and planned around it and when the police investigated it they took great lengths to cover it up including the president and the president is the only person in America who would be shielded from being held accountable because of what they did. That is pretty cut and dry. And what you've seen is not members who have called for impeachment saying take me off of that call in light of what Mr. Mueller have said. Six members since have come forward and have said add me to that call for impeachment."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Madeleine Dean, Democrat - Pennsylvania:

"And what I believe we really should be focused on is not the performance of Mr. Mueller but the performance or behaviors of this president, obstructing justice. That's the performance you need to be examining. The performance of the Trump administration welcoming, wallowing in interference by Russia. The performance of Russia interfering with our elections in massive and sweeping ways that will continue. And a Senate yesterday that did nothing, in fact blocked attempts, to take care of or protect our elections."

8. Wide

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Veronica Escobar, Democrat - Texas:

"We're crossing a threshold. Absolutely. When you think about the, the, the mode that we were operating under before it really was an oversight function. We're now crossing a threshold with the filing of this, of this, with this filing and we are now officially entering into an examination of whether or not to recommend the articles of impeachment. So it's we have crossed a threshold. I just wanted to make that real clear."

10. Pan as members walk away

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 26 July 2019

1. Wide, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler walks into briefing room, along with members of committee

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

"Before he (Robert Mueller) ever stepped into our hearing room, the director had rendered our country a great and necessary public service. He showed through his report and his indictments that the United States was attacked and remains under siege by a foreign adversary. He showed that the Trump campaign both welcomed and benefited from this attack on our country. And he showed that the president repeatedly lied to cover it up. And if that were not enough. Director Mueller's testimony removed all doubt. He told us that Donald Trump obstructed justice and abused his office by tampering with witnesses, attempting to block the investigation and attempting to fire the special counsel. He told us that Donald Trump lied to the public about the Trump Tower meeting in New York. Lied to the public about his plans for Trump Tower in Moscow and lied in his written responses to the special counsel. He told us in a remarkable exchange with Mr. (Ted) Lieu that but for the Department of Justice policy from prohibiting, prohibiting from doing so, he would have indicted President Trump."

3. Wide, news conference

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

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

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat - Pennsylvania:

"The court filings today are the next step and we'll continue down that road to see whether we have the strong case that is needed to put to the American people."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Eric Swalwell, Democrat - California:

"Well if you shut up expecting a Broadway show sure you may have been disappointed but if you listened to what he said he said that the Russians attacked us they had a preference for Donald Trump. The Trump campaign welcomed it and planned around it and when the police investigated it they took great lengths to cover it up including the president and the president is the only person in America who would be shielded from being held accountable because of what they did. That is pretty cut and dry. And what you've seen is not members who have called for impeachment saying take me off of that call in light of what Mr. Mueller have said. Six members since have come forward and have said add me to that call for impeachment."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Madeleine Dean, Democrat - Pennsylvania:

"And what I believe we really should be focused on is not the performance of Mr. Mueller but the performance or behaviors of this president, obstructing justice. That's the performance you need to be examining. The performance of the Trump administration welcoming, wallowing in interference by Russia. The performance of Russia interfering with our elections in massive and sweeping ways that will continue. And a Senate yesterday that did nothing, in fact blocked attempts, to take care of or protect our elections."

8. Wide

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Veronica Escobar, Democrat - Texas:

"We're crossing a threshold. Absolutely. When you think about the, the, the mode that we were operating under before it really was an oversight function. We're now crossing a threshold with the filing of this, of this, with this filing and we are now officially entering into an examination of whether or not to recommend the articles of impeachment. So it's we have crossed a threshold. I just wanted to make that real clear."

10. Pan as members walk away

Republican congressional members say their meeting with former Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, backs up their belief that partisan bias has affected investigations at the Justice Department.

"These facts continue to lend themselves to the narrative that there were folks in the Obama FBI and Justice Department that prejudged Hillary Clinton's innocence, and prejudged Donald Trump's guilt or involvement with the Russian government and potential collusion," said Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe was one of a few lawmakers who attended an interview on Thursday with George Papadopoulos on Capitol Hill. Congress is currently on recess in the weeks before the November election. Republican and Democratic staffers were also in the room.

Papadopoulos, who triggered the Russia investigation, made his first appearance Thursday before congressional investigators.

Papadopoulos was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, was meeting in closed session with two GOP-led House committees. It is one of several interviews the GOP-led House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform panels are conducting as part of their investigation into partisan bias at the Justice Department.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries during the 2016 campaign. Since he was sentenced, he has been eager to talk publicly. He has spent many nights on Twitter, along with his wife, venting anger with the FBI and implying that he was set up in the investigation.

Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, has been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating back before Mueller's May 2017 appointment. He was the first person to plead guilty in Mueller's probe and the first Trump campaign adviser to be sentenced. His case was also the first to detail a member of the Trump campaign having knowledge of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election while it was ongoing.

According to a sweeping indictment, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was told by the professor, Joseph Mifsud, that Russian officials had told him they had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." According to a New York Times report last year, Papadopoulos then told the Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, who tipped off the FBI.

Democrats have said the GOP investigation is an attempt to discredit Mueller's investigation.

Washington - 25 October 2018

1. Various of George Papadopoulos entering meeting with Congressional investigators

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. John Ratcliffe, (R) Texas:

"Justice is a blindfolded lady holding a set of scales. No one's finger is supposed to be on the scales and these facts continue to lend themselves to the narrative that there were folks in the Obama FBI and Justice Department that prejudged Hillary Clinton's innocence, and prejudged Donald Trump's guilt or involvement with the Russian government and potential collusion."

++SOTS SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Mark Meadows, (R) North Carolina:

"The facts that we are finding in here are astounding that we would allow this type of investigation to be embarked upon without any real solid foundation of collusion."

5. Meadows walks away

Republican congressional members say their meeting with former Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, backs up their belief that partisan bias has affected investigations at the Justice Department.

"These facts continue to lend themselves to the narrative that there were folks in the Obama FBI and Justice Department that prejudged Hillary Clinton's innocence, and prejudged Donald Trump's guilt or involvement with the Russian government and potential collusion," said Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe was one of a few lawmakers who attended an interview on Thursday with George Papadopoulos on Capitol Hill. Congress is currently on recess in the weeks before the November election. Republican and Democratic staffers were also in the room.

Papadopoulos, who triggered the Russia investigation, made his first appearance Thursday before congressional investigators.

Papadopoulos was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, was meeting in closed session with two GOP-led House committees. It is one of several interviews the GOP-led House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform panels are conducting as part of their investigation into partisan bias at the Justice Department.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries during the 2016 campaign. Since he was sentenced, he has been eager to talk publicly. He has spent many nights on Twitter, along with his wife, venting anger with the FBI and implying that he was set up in the investigation.

Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, has been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating back before Mueller's May 2017 appointment. He was the first person to plead guilty in Mueller's probe and the first Trump campaign adviser to be sentenced. His case was also the first to detail a member of the Trump campaign having knowledge of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election while it was ongoing.

According to a sweeping indictment, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was told by the professor, Joseph Mifsud, that Russian officials had told him they had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." According to a New York Times report last year, Papadopoulos then told the Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, who tipped off the FBI.

Democrats have said the GOP investigation is an attempt to discredit Mueller's investigation.

Washington DC - 25 October 2018

1. Various of George Papadopoulos entering meeting with Congressional investigators

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. John Ratcliffe, (R) Texas:

"Justice is a blindfolded lady holding a set of scales. No one's finger is supposed to be on the scales and these facts continue to lend themselves to the narrative that there were folks in the Obama FBI and Justice Department that prejudged Hillary Clinton's innocence, and prejudged Donald Trump's guilt or involvement with the Russian government and potential collusion."

++SOTS SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Mark Meadows, (R) North Carolina:

"The facts that we are finding in here are astounding that we would allow this type of investigation to be embarked upon without any real solid foundation of collusion."

5. Meadows walks away

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, is making his first appearance before congressional investigators.

Special counsel Robert Mueller charged Papadopoulos with lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries. He was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison. Papadopoulos will speak behind closed doors to two GOP-led House committees that are investigating partisan bias at the Justice Department.

Since he was sentenced to two weeks in prison, Papadopoulos has been eager to talk publicly. He has spent many nights on Twitter, along with his wife, venting anger with the FBI and implying that he was set up in the investigation. He has said on Twitter that he would like to talk to Congress about his "suspicious encounters" with an Australian diplomat and a professor who were links to his case. And his lawyer sent a letter to the committees this week in which he listed nine people he wants to discuss in the interview, including both of those men.

Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, has been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating back before Mueller's May 2017 appointment. He was the first to plead guilty in Mueller's probe and the first Trump campaign adviser to be sentenced. His case was also the first to detail a member of the Trump campaign having knowledge of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election while it was ongoing.

According to a sweeping indictment, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was told by the professor, Joseph Mifsud, that Russian officials had told him they had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." According to a New York Times report last year, Papadopoulos then told the Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, who tipped off the FBI.

With Congress in recess, less than a handful of members are in attendance at the meet, including Republican Rep. Mark Meadows.

I'm looking forward to him sharing what he said, what he didn't say and I think what we'll find is that this was not someone who was colluding with Russia, quite the opposite," said Rep. Meadows.

A House intelligence committee investigation wrapped up earlier this year, with Republicans saying that there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign.

Washington - 25 October 2018

1. George Papadopoulos walking through Rayburn House office building

2. Rep. Mark Meadows, (R) North Carolina:

George Papadopoulos was the reason why this whole Russia investigation was open, that was a predicate for the FBI. Hopefully, we'll learn today exactly what was said, what was not said. But, candidly, I think it's a day for George Papadopoulos to tell his story. We've heard everyone else's story. I'm looking forward to him sharing what he said, what he didn't say and I think what we'll find is that this was not someone who was colluding with Russia, quite the opposite."

3. Various of Papadopoulos

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, is making his first appearance before congressional investigators.

Special counsel Robert Mueller charged Papadopoulos with lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries. He was sentenced in September to two weeks in prison. Papadopoulos will speak behind closed doors to two GOP-led House committees that are investigating partisan bias at the Justice Department.

Since he was sentenced to two weeks in prison, Papadopoulos has been eager to talk publicly. He has spent many nights on Twitter, along with his wife, venting anger with the FBI and implying that he was set up in the investigation. He has said on Twitter that he would like to talk to Congress about his "suspicious encounters" with an Australian diplomat and a professor who were links to his case. And his lawyer sent a letter to the committees this week in which he listed nine people he wants to discuss in the interview, including both of those men.

Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, has been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating back before Mueller's May 2017 appointment. He was the first to plead guilty in Mueller's probe and the first Trump campaign adviser to be sentenced. His case was also the first to detail a member of the Trump campaign having knowledge of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election while it was ongoing.

According to a sweeping indictment, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was told by the professor, Joseph Mifsud, that Russian officials had told him they had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." According to a New York Times report last year, Papadopoulos then told the Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, who tipped off the FBI.

With Congress in recess, less than a handful of members are in attendance at the meet, including Republican Rep. Mark Meadows.

I'm looking forward to him sharing what he said, what he didn't say and I think what we'll find is that this was not someone who was colluding with Russia, quite the opposite," said Rep. Meadows.

A House intelligence committee investigation wrapped up earlier this year, with Republicans saying that there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign.

Washington - 25 October 2018

1. George Papadopoulos walking through Rayburn House office building

2. Rep. Mark Meadows, (R) North Carolina:

George Papadopoulos was the reason why this whole Russia investigation was open, that was a predicate for the FBI. Hopefully, we'll learn today exactly what was said, what was not said. But, candidly, I think it's a day for George Papadopoulos to tell his story. We've heard everyone else's story. I'm looking forward to him sharing what he said, what he didn't say and I think what we'll find is that this was not someone who was colluding with Russia, quite the opposite."

3. Various of Papadopoulos

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed Tuesday his company is "working with" special counsel Robert Mueller in the federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign - and working hard to change its own operations after the harvesting of users' private information by a Trump campaign-affiliated data-mining company.

The founder of the social media giant publicly apologised for his company's errors in failing to better protect the personal information of its millions of users, a controversy that has brought a flood of bad publicity and sent the company's  stock value plunging.

He seemed to achieve a measure of success: Facebook shares surged 4.5 percent for the day, the biggest gain in two years.

Zuckerberg told the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that he has not been personally interviewed by Mueller's team, but "I know we're working with them."

He offered no details, citing a concern about confidentiality rules of the investigation.

Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using US aliases and politicking on US soil. A number of the Russian ads were on Facebook.

During Tuesday's at-times-contentious hearing, Zuckerberg said it had been "clearly a mistake" to believe the data-mining company Cambridge Analytica had deleted user data that it had harvested in an attempt to sway elections. He said Facebook had considered the data collection "a closed case" because it thought the information had been discarded.

Facebook also didn't alert the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg said, and he assured senators the company would handle the situation differently today.

He began a two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the way Facebook handled the data-mining of its users' data. He took responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, from gathering personal information from 87 million users.

"I think he went a long ways toward giving the kind of assurance that Facebook certainly wants to come out of this kind of hearing. I don't think he was nicked too badly," said David Levine, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Separately, the company began alerting some of its users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that "one of your friends" used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called "This Is Your Digital Life." The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica.

Berkeley, California – 10 April 2018

1. David Levine, law professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law, watching Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testimony in living room at home

2. Levine sitting in chair, watching testimony

3. TV screen showing Zuckerberg testimony

4. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"Mark Zuckerberg had a tall order today. He really had a lot to get done, which is he had to assure members of the Senate that Facebook was on top of the problem, that they had apologised, that they understood the scope of the problems, and that Facebook was taking significant measures to correct those problems. Mr. Zuckerberg also needed to reassure the billions of users around the world that the safety and security of users' data is paramount in the minds of the top officials at Facebook and that they want to make sure that it's as protected as possible."

5. Levine watching Zuckerberg testimony in living room

6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"He was very good at looking sincere the way he needs to, looking contrite, making eye contact when he needed to, looking down when he needed to look a little 'I'm hearing you' that sort of thing, so he certainly looked coached. He looked sincere. He looked like he wanted to work with the senators. But he also held his position. If there were issues about will you support a certain type of legislation, where obviously Facebook doesn't really want to support it, he said 'well I agree with the general principle and certainly our team can work with your people,' but when they tried to corner him about 'will you support certain legislation' he wouldn't do it."

7. Zuckerberg and hearing on television

8. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"I think he went a long ways toward giving the kind of assurance that Facebook certainly wants to come out of this kind of hearing. I don't think he was nicked too badly. I think there were a couple questions around Cambridge Analytica where he sounded more ignorant, didn't have facts on his fingertips in the way that maybe he should have. But by and large I think at Facebook headquarters they're going to say, certainly at the end of today, there are still more hearings, but - mission accomplished."

9. Levine watching Zuckerberg testimony in living room

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed Tuesday his company is "working with" special counsel Robert Mueller in the federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign - and working hard to change its own operations after the harvesting of users' private information by a Trump campaign-affiliated data-mining company.

The founder of the social media giant publicly apologized for his company's errors in failing to better protect the personal information of its millions of users, a controversy that has brought a flood of bad publicity and sent the company's  stock value plunging. He seemed to achieve a measure of success: Facebook shares surged 4.5 percent for the day, the biggest gain in two years.

Zuckerberg told the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that he has not been personally interviewed by Mueller's team, but "I know we're working with them." He offered no details, citing a concern about confidentiality rules of the investigation.

Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using U.S. aliases and politicking on U.S. soil. A number of the Russian ads were on Facebook.

During Tuesday's at-times-contentious hearing, Zuckerberg said it had been "clearly a mistake" to believe the data-mining company Cambridge Analytica had deleted user data that it had harvested in an attempt to sway elections. He said Facebook had considered the data collection "a closed case" because it thought the information had been discarded.

Facebook also didn't alert the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg said, and he assured senators the company would handle the situation differently today.

He began a two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the way Facebook handled the data-mining of its users' data. He took responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, from gathering personal information from 87 million users.

"I think he went a long ways toward giving the kind of assurance that Facebook certainly wants to come out of this kind of hearing. I don't think he was nicked too badly," said David Levine, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Separately, the company began alerting some of its users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that "one of your friends" used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called "This Is Your Digital Life." The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica.

Berkeley, California - April 10, 2018

1. David Levine watches Mark Zuckerberg testimony in living room at home

2. Levine sitting in chair, watching testimony

3. TV screen showing Zuckerberg testimony

4. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"Mark Zuckerberg had a tall order today. He really had a lot to get done, which is he had to assure members of the Senate that Facebook was on top of the problem, that they had apologized, that they understood the scope of the problems, and that Facebook was taking significant measures to correct those problems. Mr. Zuckerberg also needed to reassure the millions of users around the world that the safety and security of users' data is paramount in the minds of the top officials at Facebook and that they want to make sure that it's as protected as possible."

5. Levine watching Zuckerberg testimony in living room

6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"He was very good at looking sincere the way he needs to, looking contrite, making eye contact when he needed to, looking down when he needed to look a little - 'I'm hearing you' that sort of thing, so he certainly looked coached. He looked sincere. He looked like he wanted to work with the senators. But he also held his position. If there were issues about will you support a certain type of legislation, where obviously Facebook doesn't really want to support it, he said 'well I agree with the general principle and certainly our team can work with your people,' but when they tried to corner him about ' will you support certain legislation' he wouldn't do it."

7. Zuckerberg on television

8. SOUNDBITE (English) David Levine, law professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law:

"I think he went a long ways toward giving the kind of assurance that Facebook certainly wants to come out of this kind of hearing. I don't think he was nicked too badly. I think there were a couple questions around Cambridge Analytica where he sounded more ignorant, didn't have facts on his fingertips in the way that maybe he should have. But by and large I think at Facebook headquarters they're going to say, certainly at the end of today there still more hearings, but - mission accomplished."

9. Levine watching Zuckerberg testimony in living room

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 Sunday.

That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Congressman Jerrold Nadler said Sunday night that Congress needs to hear from Attorney General Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence."

Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president, said Nadler but Barr is telling the American people that while the president is not exonerated, there will be no action by DOJ.

"I would hope that it would not be necessary to use subpoena power to get the attorney general to appear before the committee," Nadler told reporters at a news conference in New York.

"We also want to see the full report and if necessary we'll use subpoena power to get that too."

In a statement, two other top Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, said Barr was "not a neutral observer" and they also urged the full release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

New York - 24 March 2019

1. Pan Rep. Jerrold Nadler walks to microphones

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

"Good evening, earlier today I received a four-page letter from Attorney General Barr outlining his summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report while making a few questionable legal arguments of his own. I take from this letter, three points. First, President Trump is wrong. This report does not amount to a so-called total exoneration. Special Counsel Muller was clear that his report quote does not exonerate close quote the president. The special counsel spent 22 months uncovering evidence of obstruction and other misconduct. Attorney General Barr, who auditioned for his role with an open memorandum suggesting that the obstruction investigation was unconscionable and that a president and that it was almost impossible for any president to commit obstruction of justice since he is the head of the executive branch, made a decision about that evidence in under 48 hours. His conclusions raise more questions than they answer. Given the fact that Mueller uncovered evidence that in his own words does not exonerate the president.  It is unconscionable that President Trump would try to spin the special counsel counsel's findings as if his conduct was remotely acceptable. Second, given these questions it is imperative that the attorney general release the full report and the underlying evidence. The entire unfiltered report, as well as the evidence underlying that report, must be made available to Congress and to the American people. As much information can be as can be made public should be made public without delay. I intend to fight for that transparency. We will ask the attorney general to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. We will demand the release of the full report. The American people are entitled to a full accounting of the President's misconduct referenced by the special counsel. Third, the attorney general's comments make it clear that Congress must step in to get the truth and provide full transparency to the American people. The president has not been exonerated by the special counsel, yet the attorney general has decided not to go further or apparently to share those findings with the public. We cannot simply rely on what may be a hasty partisan interpretation of the facts. Earlier this month the House passed a resolution calling for a full and complete release of the special counsel's report by a vote of 420 to nothing. We now call on the attorney general to honor that request, to release the report and the underlying evidence and to appear before the Judiciary Committee to answer our questions without delay. "

3. Wide news conference

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

"Reporter: Would you be willing to use subpoena power if necessary?

Sure.  I would hope that it would not be necessary to use subpoena power to get the attorney general to appear before the committee. We also want to see the full report and if necessary we'll use subpoena power to get that too."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

"Now, it is as far as I know unprecedented for a special prosecutor not to make that decision one way or another one way or the other and certainly unprecedented for an attorney general to arrogate himself that decision and certainly precedent for an attorney general who campaigned for the role by saying presidents can hardly ever commit obstruction of justice. All right. Thank you very much everybody."

6. Pan Nadler walks away

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 Sunday.

That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Congressman Jerrold Nadler said Sunday night that Congress needs to hear from Attorney General Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence."

Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president, said Nadler but Barr is telling the American people that while the president is not exonerated, there will be no action by the Department of Justice.

"I would hope that it would not be necessary to use subpoena power to get the attorney general to appear before the committee," Nadler told reporters at a news conference in New York.

"We also want to see the full report and if necessary we'll use subpoena power to get that too."

In a statement, two other top Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, said Barr was "not a neutral observer" and they also urged the full release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

New York - 24 March 2019

1. Pan Rep. Jerrold Nadler walks to microphones

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

"Good evening, earlier today I received a four-page letter from Attorney General Barr outlining his summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report while making a few questionable legal arguments of his own. I take from this letter, three points. First, President Trump is wrong. This report does not amount to a so-called total exoneration. Special Counsel Muller was clear that his report quote "does not exonerate" close quote, the president. The special counsel spent 22 months uncovering evidence of obstruction and other misconduct. Attorney General Barr, who auditioned for his role with an open memorandum suggesting that the obstruction investigation was unconscionable, and that a president - and that it was almost impossible for any president to commit obstruction of justice since he is the head of the executive branch - made a decision about that evidence in under 48 hours. His conclusions raise more questions than they answer, given the fact that Mueller uncovered evidence that in his own words does not exonerate the president.  It is unconscionable that President Trump would try to spin the special counsel counsel's findings as if his conduct was remotely acceptable. Second, given these questions it is imperative that the attorney general release the full report and the underlying evidence. The entire unfiltered report, as well as the evidence underlying that report, must be made available to Congress and to the American people. As much information can be as can be made public should be made public without delay. I intend to fight for that transparency. We will ask the attorney general to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. We will demand the release of the full report. The American people are entitled to a full accounting of the President's misconduct referenced by the special counsel. Third, the attorney general's comments make it clear that Congress must step in to get the truth and provide full transparency to the American people. The president has not been exonerated by the special counsel, yet the attorney general has decided not to go further or apparently to share those findings with the public. We cannot simply rely on what may be a hasty partisan interpretation of the facts. Earlier this month the House passed a resolution calling for a full and complete release of the special counsel's report by a vote of 420 to nothing. We now call on the attorney general to honor that request, to release the report and the underlying evidence and to appear before the Judiciary Committee to answer our questions without delay. "

3. Wide news conference

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

Reporter: "Would you be willing to use subpoena power if necessary?

Sure. I would hope that it would not be necessary to use subpoena power to get the attorney general to appear before the committee. We also want to see the full report and if necessary we'll use subpoena power to get that too."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat - New York, House Judiciary Committee chairman:

"Now, it is as far as I know unprecedented for a special prosecutor not to make that decision one way or another one way or the other and certainly unprecedented for an attorney general to arrogate himself that decision and certainly precedent for an attorney general who campaigned for the role by saying presidents can hardly ever commit obstruction of justice. All right. Thank you very much everybody."

6. Pan Nadler walks away