Special counsel Robert Mueller says President Donald Trump's efforts to influence the Russia investigation "were mostly unsuccessful," but that was because the people surrounding the president "declined to carry out orders to accede to his requests."

AP reporter Chad Day gives an initial review in this AP debrief of the two-volume report that exceeds 400 pages.

"The first volume that deals with Russian election interference and the actions of the Trump campaign is a couple of hundred pages long and goes into exhaustive detail about the information that they've gathered," he says.

"Interviewing 500 witnesses, issuing more than twenty eight hundred subpoenas, and putting together probably the most complete picture of what happened during the 2016 election involving the Trump campaign and Russia."

Mueller's report details instances by several officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, ignoring or refusing Trump's requests to interfere in the investigation.

"But some of those episodes show that Trump made several attempts to seize control of the investigation try to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed from the probe, or that his attorneys were trying to gather information about what people who were cooperating with the investigation were telling prosecutors," Day says.

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

1. STILL: Redacted report of Special Council Robert Mueller

Washington, D.C. - 18 April 2019

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGE+++

"So the headline today is that Mueller has made two big conclusions out of his report. Number one is that he did not establish that there was a criminal conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign to interfere in the 2016 election. The other is that he did not exonerate the president on the question of whether he obstructed justice, or tried to influence the Russia probe and crossed over into criminal conduct.

Washington, DC - 15 April 2010

3. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller on Capitol Hill

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

4. STILL: Redacted report of Special Council Robert Mueller

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"In particular on the question of obstruction, Mueller examined 10 different episodes in which he was looking at the president's conduct to determine whether or not it crossed over into criminal conduct. Some of those episodes show that Trump made several attempts to seize control of the investigation, try to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed from the probe, or that his attorneys were trying to gather information about what people who were cooperating with the investigation were telling prosecutors."

6. STILL: President Trump speaks at Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride at White House

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"In particular, there's one episode that's related involving his personal attorney of his who is trying to gather information from former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Now, this is going back in time a little bit, but Flynn had just cut off contact with the Trump legal team, ahead of his pleading guilty and cooperating with the government. The report says that one of Trump's attorneys then reached out and tried to remind them that the president had warm feelings for Flynn and ask him to see if there was any information that he knew that could implicate the president. Whenever Flynn's attorneys rebuffed that effort, the attorney then said that he would remind the president that that Flynn's actions showed hostility towards the president. So, what they're showing is that they're painting a picture here of a president and people around him who are trying to shape and gather information about the probe but also to in some cases you know take control of it and influence the direction of where it's going."

Washington, DC - 18 December 2018

8. FILE: Still of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn arrives at federal courthouse

9. FILE: Still of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn at federal courthouse

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL IMAGES+++

"The report also details what happened in the months right after Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in May of 2017. In particular, it shows that the president ordered his then White House counsel Don McGhan to try to have a special counsel Robert Mueller removed. Now McGahn rebuffed this effort but it shows how the president and the report quotes him saw the probe as possible end to his presidency, and something that would threaten his power. And at that point was trying to take efforts to take control of the investigation by having Mueller removed."

Washington, DC -- 15 April 2010

11. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill

National Harbor, Maryland - 22 February 2018

12. FILE: Still of White House Counsel Don McGhan speaking at conservative gathering

Washington, DC - 18 April 2019

Redacted report on Russian interference on 2016 presidential election

It was a few days before the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration and a Lebanese-American businessman was on his way to Mar-a-Lago.

George Nader, an international fixer whose long history included intrepid back-channel mediation between Israel and Arab countries - and a 15-year-old pedophilia conviction in Europe that has not been previously reported - was transiting through Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

It was hardly his first far-flung journey to see top aides of the world's most powerful leader, as Nader had met the U.S. president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and chief strategist Steve Bannon in the days before they stormed the White House.

But he encountered an altogether different scene awaiting him at the airport.

There, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators stopped Nader, people familiar with the case said. His electronics were seized and he was then allowed to go to his lawyer. Nader later agreed to cooperate with Mueller's investigation, said the people with knowledge of the case as it pertains to Nader. They weren't authorized to speak publicly on the case and demanded anonymity.

Mueller, whose team has spent the last 10 months investigating possible Trump-related wrongdoing connected to Russia, is interested in high-level get-togethers Nader participated in after the presidential election, according to three people familiar with the case.

The first took place in Trump Tower in New York in December 2016 and brought together Nader, Kushner, Bannon - whom Trump fired last August - and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates. The second occurred a month later in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles and involved Nader, bin Zayed, former Blackwater boss Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian banker close to President Vladimir Putin.

For Nader, it was the latest brush with the law in an eventful, globe-trotting career.

Many of Nader's former contacts and onetime friends have noted in recent weeks how they lost touch with him in the early 2000s.

On Wednesday, an official in the Czech Republic told The Associated Press that Nader is a convicted pedophile and served time in a Prague prison around that time.

Nader was convicted by Prague's Municipal Court of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in May 2003, said Marketa Puci, the court spokeswoman. She said the crimes occurred between 1999 and 2002.

Nader's legal problems in Prague appear unrelated to his role in Mueller's probe in the United States. But they contribute to the portrait of a man who has led a shadowy existence as a go-between across numerous Middle East capitals and who gave testimony to Mueller's Washington grand jury earlier this month.

Nader had worked in recent times as an adviser to bin Zayed, one of the most powerful men in the Middle East, according to people who know Nader. The questioning of Nader in the Mueller probe suggests possible interest in UAE relations with Trump's transition team or his administration.

Puci, the court spokeswoman, said Nader was convicted of "moral corruption of minors, sexual abuse and impairing morals," after abusing underage boys.

In one case, Nader requested oral sex from a 14-year-old in a room at the Hilton Hotel in Prague, Puci said. After the boy refused, Nader masturbated in front of the boy and paid him 2,000 koruna - worth about $100 today, she said.

The verdict cites other examples of Nader providing money, jewelry, cellphones, clothes and accommodation for sexual services. The AP was able to see a copy of the verdict, which gives Nader's birthdate as May 15, 1959. Nader was separately accused in Washington, D.C., of child pornography infractions in 1985, but those charges were later dropped. A criminal docket sheet obtained by the AP shows the same birthdate for Nader.

Two people with knowledge of the case say it involved the same Nader now cooperating with Mueller.

Puci said it wasn't clear how much of the one-year sentence Nader served in the Czech Republic. He was ordered expelled following his time served.

Kathy Ruemmler, who previously served as White House counsel to President Barack Obama, is among the lawyers representing Nader. She declined to answer questions about her client.

But Sandeep Savla, another lawyer for Nader, said: "This is nothing more than an orchestrated, disgusting scheme by those who are trying to intimidate Mr. Nader into silence. It won't work. Mr. Nader will continue to answer truthfully questions put to him by the special counsel."

Nader's connections with Trump confidants include Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser who co-hosted a Tuesday night event attended by the president in Beverly Hills, California.

Earlier this month, several media organizations, including the AP, obtained emails belonging to Broidy, a California-based venture capitalist and the Republican National Committee's deputy finance chairman. They show Broidy emailing Nader with a summary of Broidy's talks with Kushner and Trump in the White House in October 2017, touching on matters including the UAE's bitter dispute with fellow Persian Gulf country Qatar.

Broidy accused Qatar of hacking his emails. The Qataris denied the charge.

"Your government's actions against U.S. citizens will jeopardize your nation's relationship with the United States," Broidy wrote in a public letter to Qatar's U.S. ambassador.

In response, the Qatari government called Broidy's "baseless accusations" a "diversionary tactic."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Prague - 14 March 2018

1. Portion of court verdict and sentence with George Nader's name on it and stating he is a citizen of the United States

2. Various, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson, Marketa Puci, holding court verdict and sentence

3. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"I'm holding a verdict by which an American citizen, George Nader, together with Czech offenders was in 2003 convicted, for crimes that I will now read to you. The court sentenced him to one year in prison and to an indefinite deportation."

4. Shot of first page of court verdict and sentence reading, "judgment on behalf of the Republic"

5. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"According to the then valid law, Mr. Nader was convicted of moral corruption of minors, sexual abuse and impairing morals."

6. Shot of first page of court verdict and sentence reading, "judgment on behalf of the Republic"

7. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Marketa Puci, Prague Municipal Court Spokesperson:

"At that time was (the victim) was 14-years-old. He (Nader) requested oral sex and after the boy refused, he with the boy's consent, pulled out his private parts and masturbated in front of him and for that mister Nader paid the boy 2000 Koruna. And there have been 10 similar cases like this."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 15 May 2017

8. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with President Donald Trump in Oval Office

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 13 June 2013

8. Various, then-FBI Director Robert Mueller being sworn in

9. STILL Image Mueller in committee hearing

POOL

New York - 17 August 2016

10. Various views, then candidate Donald Trump meeting with advisers in Trump Tower, including Stephen Bannon and Paul Manafort

POOL

New York - 15 December 2016

11. Wide, Trump Tower lobby

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 11 November 2016

12. STILL Image, Stephen Bannon leaving Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 9 December 2016

13. STILL Images, Steve Bannon speaking on cellphone outside Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 14 November 2016

14. Mid, Jared Kushner arrives in lobby of Trump Tower

POOL

New York - 6 December 2016

15. US President-elect Donald Trump walks out of elevator at Trump Tower

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald J. Trump, President-elect: ++SHOT CONTINUES FROM PREVIOUS++

"Good morning, how are you? Everything fine? We have got some great people coming in today. You'll see them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dulles, Virginia - 6 October 2014

17. Wide, zoom Dulles airport

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."

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus099197

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

+++SOTS PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL PHOTOS+++

1. Still of Paul Manafort entering federal courthouse

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL PHOTO+++

"So we're here at the federal courthouse in Washington where a federal judge just issued an order that jailed Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Now the reason for this was that last week a federal grand jury here in Washington returned an indictment against him that accused him of obstruction of justice, particularly witness tampering. And so today the judge ruled that she could not find or craft any kind of order that would ensure that he would not continue to commit crimes while he was remaining out on house arrest. And so during this hearing today she took a brief recess considered it and came out and said that he in fact has to go to jail."

3. Still of Paul Manafort entering federal courthouse

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL PHOTOS+++

"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."

5. Still of Paul Manafort being scanned by security inside courthouse

6. Still of Paul Manafort at security checkpoint inside courthouse

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chad Day, Associated Press +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH STILL PHOTO+++

"This is the 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."

Cleveland, Ohio - 17 July 2018

8. Still of Paul Manafort speaking to reporters at Republican National Convention

9. Still of Paul Manafort speaking to reporters at Republican National Convention

+++WHITE FLASH+++

10. 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."

Washington, DC - 14 February 2018

11. Still of Paul Manafort walking out of federal courthouse

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."

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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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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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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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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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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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

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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

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington ahead of his sentencing hearing.

Flynn is to be sentenced at 11 a.m. on Tuesday for lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

He'll be the first White House official punished in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller's office are not seeking any prison time for Flynn, citing extensive cooperation that has included 19 meetings with investigators.

The sentencing decision will be up to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.

Washington - 18 December 2018

1. Michael Flynn walks through crowd and into courthouse

2. Protesters outside courthouse

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus095037

A Dutch attorney who lied to federal agents investigating former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Tuesday 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.

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

2. Van de Zwaan being checked by security

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter: (Partially covered)

"Alexander Van der Swaan, a 33 year old Dutch attorney, was sentenced to 30 days in prison by a federal judge here. This is the first prison time or sentence that's been handed down in the special counsel's Russia probe or the investigation into Russian election interference and whether or not there was any possible collusion with Trump associates. It was unclear coming into this hearing whether he would actually go to prison for any kind of significant amount of time. During the hearing, the Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that she had considered imposing a fine, but didn't think that that would be enough to be able to deter other people, to send the right message about that they can't lie to the FBI or lie to the special counsel's office. So in this case, you know he had pushed for a fine and she did impose a twenty thousand dollar fine, but she also said you're going to need to serve 30 days in prison."

4. STILL photo of van der Zwaan walking into court

5. STILL of van der Zwaal leaving court

Washington DC - 3 April 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"Right, so you know this is kind of the first case that we've seen come to this point ,the sentencing phase and there are a number of other defendants who have pleaded to similar charges which is lying to the FBI making false statements. And so this kind of  operates as kind of a guidepost that what we can expect, kind of going forward."

FILE

Alexandria, Virginia - 8 March 2018

7. Pan of Paul Manafort walking

Washington DC - 3 April 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"Right, so this is actually a very small part of the investigation that's going on, that's being carried out by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Right now there's a trial that's set for next fall for Paul Manafort, which is where this Dutch attorney's case stems from. But there's also a whole host of other things that are going on with the investigation and namely among them is they're trying to secure an interview with the president over whether or not and ask him questions over whether or not he obstructed justice. And so you know this is one small part of what is a very large investigation. And as we learned in a court filing last night, there's a lot more that we just don't know that they're investigating until the special counsel is ready to tell us."

9. Various of Van der Zwaan leaving court and getting in SUV, then drives away

The prosecution has rested its bank fraud and tax evasion case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Prosecutors finished presenting their evidence Monday after weeks of sometimes dramatic testimony from two dozen witnesses.

Longtime Manafort deputy Rick Gates said he teamed up with his former boss to commit crimes intended to protect Manafort's finances.

Gates was also forced to admit embezzling a fortune from Manafort and having an extramarital affair.

The government says Manafort hid at least $16 million in income from the IRS between 2010 and 2014 by disguising income he earned advising politicians in Ukraine as loans and hiding it in foreign banks.

Defense lawyers say Gates is a liar trying to avoid jail time under his plea deal.

Manafort's lawyers have not yet said whether they will call any witnesses or present other evidence in the case.

They will have to disclose that information Tuesday as the case reaches its final stages.

The trial is the first to emerge from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, but it does not relate to any allegations of Russian election interference or possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

Neither Manafort nor Gates have been charged in connection with their Trump campaign work.

The judge in Manafort's trial closed the courtroom from the public near the end of the day, while he heard argument on a sealed motion filed by the former Trump campaign chairman.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III says the proceedings and the motion will be kept secret until after Manafort's case concludes.

The hearing comes after the judge delayed Manafort's trial for hours last Friday without explanation.

The judge left the courtroom that day, walking toward the jury room.

He later admonished jurors repeatedly to not discuss the case.

Alexandria, Virginia - 13 August 2018

1. Wide of courthouse

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"The prosecution for Paul Manafort's financial fraud trial rested its case today. And this comes after they presented two weeks worth of evidence where they delved into the minutia of his finances as they tried to prove that he concealed offshore bank accounts, millions of dollars in these offshore bank accounts, from the IRS, and then later defrauded several banks whenever he was trying to get millions of dollars more in property loans."

++SEPARATED BY BLACK++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"So now this turns the case towards the defense. It's their opportunity now to present any evidence, if they will. Today we did not get any indication from defense attorneys about whether they will call witnesses or present any evidence. If they don't, then we will move pretty quickly towards instructing the jury on the nature of the charges and then moving to closing arguments."

++SEPARATED BY BLACK++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"Manafort faces the potential of having to spend the rest of his life in prison with these charges. And this is the first of two trials that he faces this year. And so, looking ahead, we'll see tomorrow to see whether the defense is going to try to make its case. So far, they've signaled that they plan to make this case about Rick Gates, who was Manafort's long-time protégé and someone that they have attempted to paint as a liar, an embezzler and also someone who had an extramarital affair and so can't be trusted. The prosecution has attempted to look at his testimony as that of a co-conspirator and someone who told jurors in his own words that he committed several crimes with Manafort over several years."

++SEPARATED BY BLACK++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, AP Reporter:

"The lawyers are still inside here at the federal courthouse because they are taking part in a sealed hearing, about a sealed motion that we don't really know all that much about at this point. This comes after last week where there was an unexpected delay in the trial for several hours about another issue that the judge has not explained. Whenever he addressed the court and said that he was going to close the proceedings he said that this will all come out at the conclusion of the case. But at this point, we are going to just have to wait and see."

6. Cutaway of courthouse