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President Donald Trump blasted special counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday, saying he's a "never Trumper" who led a biased investigation on Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn as he left for Colorado, Trump also said that he's been tough on Russia and that Moscow would have preferred Hillary Clinton as president.

The special counsel's report said Russian interference in the election helped Trump defeat Clinton.

Trump harshly criticized Mueller a day after Mueller pointedly rebutted Trump's repeated claims that he was cleared and that the two-year inquiry was merely a "witch hunt."

The president also uttered mixed messages, sending a morning tweet saying he had "nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected," then minutes later, told reporters: "Russia did not help me get elected."

Trump said Mueller, who is a Republican, was "conflicted" and should have investigated law enforcement officials who the president claims tried to undermine his presidency.

Trump also called impeachment a "dirty word" and said he couldn't imagine the courts allowing him to be impeached. "I don't think so because there's no crime," he said.

Washington - 30 May 2019

1. Mid, US President Donald Trump walking out of the residence toward reporters

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

"Well I think it was the same as the report. There wasn't much change. It was to me, the same as the report. And there's no obstruction, you see what we're saying. There's no obstruction, there's no collusion, there's no nothing. It's nothing but a witch hunt. A witch hunt by the media and the Democrats, they're partners and it keeps going. I thought it was finished when the report was released but it goes on. And to me it was the same frankly as the report and he said basically it was the same as the report. "

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

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

"I think he is a total conflicted person. I think Muller is a true never Trumper. He's somebody that dislikes Donald Trump. He's somebody that didn't get a job that he requested that he wanted very badly. And then he was appointed and despite that and despite 40 million dollars, 18 Trump haters, including people that worked for Hillary Clinton and some of the worst human beings on earth, they got nothing. It's pretty amazing."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

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

(Reporter: Do you believe that Russia helped you get elected?)

"No Russia did not help me get elected.  You know who got me elected, you know who got me elected? I got me elected.  Russia didn't help me at all. Russia, If anything I think helped the other side. What you ought to ask is this. Do you think the media helped Hillary Clinton get elected? She didn't make it. But you take a look at collusion between Hillary Clinton and the media, you take a look at collusion between Hillary Clinton and Russia. She had more to do in the campaign with Russia than I did. I had nothing to do. And by the way, that's one other thing. If you look this was all about Russia, Russia, Russia. They don't talk about Russia anymore because it turned out to be a hoax. It was all a hoax and then they say gee he fought back. Isn't that terrible. He fought back. Of course I fight back because it was a false accusation, a totally false accusation and it's a disgrace and it's a very ... it's a very sad period for this country and I think in the end I will consider what's happening now to be one of my greatest achievements, exposing this corruption."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

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

"(Reporter: Do you think they are going to impeach you?)

I don't see how.  They can because they're possibly allowed although I can't imagine the courts allowing it. I've never gone into it. I never thought that would even be possible to be using that word. To me it's a dirty word. The word impeach it's a dirty, filthy, disgusting word and it had nothing to do with me. So I don't think so because there was no crime. You know it's high crimes and not with or it's high crimes and misdemeanors. There was no high crime and there was no misdemeanor. So how do you impeach based on that?  And it came out that there was nothing to do with Russia. The whole thing is a scam. It's one of it's a giant presidential harassment and honestly. I hope it goes down as one of my greatest achievements. Because I've exposed corruption, I've exposed corruption like nobody knew existed."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

2. STILL photo of Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 19 March 2019

4. Attorney General William Barr leaving his house for work

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 19 March 2019

6. Exterior shots of the Justice Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

POOL

Palm Beach, Florida - 22 March 2019

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina, US - 21 October 2016

12. Donald Trump walks into rally during 2016 presidential campaign

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 22 March 2019

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

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

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."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP Clients Only

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

Attorney General William Barr was reviewing the special counsel's confidential report on the Russia investigation Saturday to determine what should be made public after a nearly two-year probe that cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says that Barr will provide lawmakers and the public with a summary of principal findings as soon as this weekend.

The Attorney General  Barr will not be providing Congress with special counsel Robert Mueller's findings on Saturday.

That's according to a senior Justice Department official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the review process.

Mueller has concluded his investigation of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

Barr is reviewing Mueller's confidential report and has said he expects to provide Congress with the "principal conclusions" this weekend.

Washington - 21 June  2017

1. STILL -Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs the Capitol after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election and possible connection to the Trump campaign

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"Mueller's mandate was to investigate links between the Trump campaign and Russia and whether there was any coordination between those two entities. Trump associates and members of the Russian government or Russians in general and then to investigate any crimes that arise out of that in the course of that investigation."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

McLean, Virginia - 23 March 2019

3. US Attorney General William Barr comes out of his house and gets in a vehicle out front

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"So Barr has told congressional leaders that he has received the report from the special counsel that he will review it and that he will provide lawmakers and the public with a summary of principal findings as soon as this weekend. He is currently at the Justice Department reviewing the report he received from Mueller."

5. Barr's motorcade arrives at DOJ

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

"At some point. House Democrats who have the leadership in that chamber will decide what to do if anything with the findings. We've heard indications from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she's not interested at the moment in discussing impeachment. And we will have to see how damaging or incriminating if at all the findings are to the president and whether that will affect that calculus."

7. Various House Judiciary Committee offices

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

"Right now the big push that we're hearing from House Democrats is that they want the entire Mueller Report. They want to see everything that Mueller gathered and collected before they decide anything. And so instead of impeachment talk what we're hearing right now is discussion of possibly subpoenaing for the report or subpoenaing Mueller to get that."

9. White House exterior

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

"There is no question that White House aides and Trump confidants are taking a degree of satisfaction at least at this moment that there are no further indictments that have been delivered or that are expected from the special counsel. And so to the extent that, that that has occurred that's a degree of relief for them. But I think everybody still waiting to see exactly what the report indicates about the Trump campaign and in the Trump administration. And so it's a little bit of a holding pattern. But the president who has spent the last basically two years attempting to undermine or sow doubt in the credibility an investigation has been noticeably quiet over the last 24 hours with no tweets about it and no public statements about it."

Washington - 21 June  2017

11. STILL - Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, arrives on Capitol Hill for a closed door meeting before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"The special counsel has indicated that he has not recommended any additional charges or indictments. And so that would mean that he is effectively closed up shop and that no one else will be indicted by Robert Mueller. However, it's important to note that there are all sorts of other investigations going on that originated as referrals from the special counsel that he began investigating and recognized fell without outside of his mandate. And so he referred those back to the Justice Department which then sent them to individual offices of the Justice Department including in New York City and in Virginia."

13. Various DOJ exteriors

Attorney General William Barr was reviewing the special counsel's confidential report on the Russia investigation Saturday to determine what should be made public after a nearly two-year probe that cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency.

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker says that Barr will provide lawmakers and the public with a summary of principal findings as soon as this weekend.

The Attorney General  Barr will not be providing Congress with special counsel Robert Mueller's findings on Saturday.

That's according to a senior Justice Department official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the review process.

Mueller has concluded his investigation of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

Barr is reviewing Mueller's confidential report and has said he expects to provide Congress with the "principal conclusions" this weekend.

Washington - 21 June  2017

1. STILL -Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs the Capitol after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election and possible connection to the Trump campaign

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"Mueller's mandate was to investigate links between the Trump campaign and Russia and whether there was any coordination between those two entities. Trump associates and members of the Russian government or Russians in general and then to investigate any crimes that arise out of that in the course of that investigation."

McLean, Virginia - 23 March 2019

3. US Attorney General William Barr comes out of his house and gets in a vehicle out front

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"So Barr has told congressional leaders that he has received the report from the special counsel that he will review it and that he will provide lawmakers and the public with a summary of principal findings as soon as this weekend. He is currently at the Justice Department reviewing the report he received from Mueller."

5. Barr's motorcade arrives at DOJ

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

"At some point. House Democrats who have the leadership in that chamber will decide what to do if anything with the findings. We've heard indications from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she's not interested at the moment in discussing impeachment. And we will have to see how damaging or incriminating if at all the findings are to the president and whether that will affect that calculus."

7. Various House Judiciary Committee offices

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

"Right now the big push that we're hearing from House Democrats is that they want the entire Mueller Report. They want to see everything that Mueller gathered and collected before they decide anything. And so instead of impeachment talk what we're hearing right now is discussion of possibly subpoenaing for the report or subpoenaing Mueller to get that."

9. White House exterior

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

"There is no question that White House aides and Trump confidants are taking a degree of satisfaction at least at this moment that there are no further indictments that have been delivered or that are expected from the special counsel. And so to the extent that, that that has occurred that's a degree of relief for them. But I think everybody still waiting to see exactly what the report indicates about the Trump campaign and in the Trump administration. And so it's a little bit of a holding pattern. But the president who has spent the last basically two years attempting to undermine or sow doubt in the credibility an investigation has been noticeably quiet over the last 24 hours with no tweets about it and no public statements about it."

Washington - 21 June  2017

11. STILL - Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, arrives on Capitol Hill for a closed door meeting before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

"The special counsel has indicated that he has not recommended any additional charges or indictments. And so that would mean that he is effectively closed up shop and that no one else will be indicted by Robert Mueller. However, it's important to note that there are all sorts of other investigations going on that originated as referrals from the special counsel that he began investigating and recognized fell without outside of his mandate. And so he referred those back to the Justice Department which then sent them to individual offices of the Justice Department including in New York City and in Virginia."

13. Various DOJ exteriors

Democrats launched a sweeping new probe of President Donald Trump on Monday, an aggressive investigation that threatens to shadow the president through the 2020 election season with inquiries into his White House, campaign and family businesses.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House committee that would be in charge of impeachment says the panel is requesting documents Monday from more than 60 people from Trump's administration, family and business as part of a rapidly expanding Russia investigation. The panel sent document requests to 81 people linked to the president and his associates.

Maryland Democrat, Jamie Raskin, who is a member of the committee said, "There is a lot of criminality which has already been attested to by one witness, Michael Cohen. But we want to hear from lots more witnesses and we want to get a lot more documentary evidence."  

The broad investigation could be setting the stage for an impeachment effort, although Democratic leaders have pledged to investigate all avenues and review special counsel Robert Mueller's report before trying any drastic action.

"If it leads to impeachment because there is evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors that actually undermine the fabric of our constitutional democracy, then so be it. Then that's something, we'll have to do," said Raskin.

President Donald Trump said he'll cooperate with the House Judiciary Committee's sweeping investigation into his White House, campaign and businesses, but when a reporter asked him Monday if he was going to cooperate with the investigation led by Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Trump replied: "I cooperate all the time with everybody. You know, the beautiful thing, no collusion. It's all a hoax."

Raskin said the response of "no collusion" is a "red herring."  

"What we're looking for is public corruption and crimes against the republic," said Raskin.

++GRAPHICS COVER VIDEO++

Washington - 4 March 2019

1. Graphic of names of people sent letters by House Judiciary Commitee

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D) Maryland:

"The House Judiciary Committee has sent out document requests to 81 different individuals who have information relevant to our investigation into abuse of power, obstruction of justice and other potential crimes at the White House.

Washington - 27 February 2019

3. Various of Michael Cohen at House Oversight hearing

Washington - 4 March 2019

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D) Maryland:

"There is a lot of criminality which has already been attested to by one witness, Michael Cohen. But we want to hear from lots more witnesses and we want to get a lot more documentary evidence. Michael Cohen provided a lot of documentary evidence ... But we think that there's a lot more documentary evidence out there of the potential corruption and lawlessness in the administration."

Washington - 28 February 2019

5. Michael Cohen walks through U.S. Capitol

Washington - 4 March 2019

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

"(Reporter: Mr. President, are you going to cooperate with Mr. Nadler (Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee)?

"I cooperate all the time with everybody. And you know the beautiful thing, no collusion, it's all a hoax."

Washington - 4 March 2019

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D) Maryland: (Responding to Trump and Republican's defense that there is no collusion"

"If there's no collusion, they've got nothing to worry about. But in any event, collusion is not even a legal term. That's kind of a red herring of their own creation. What we're looking for is public corruption and crimes against the republic.

Washington - 26 June 2018.

8. Nadler and Raskin at hearing

Washington - 4 March 2019

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D) Maryland:

"None of us is beginning with the idea that this is about impeaching the president. If the president is not impeached, we still need to know all of this and we need to act effectively to end the corruption and the lawlessness. But if it leads to impeachment because there is evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors that actually undermine the fabric of our constitutional democracy, then so be it. Then that's something, we'll have to do. But I've had the thought from the beginning that impeachment should not be a fetish with anybody nor should it be a taboo."

Washington - 8 February 2019

10. Rep. Doug Collins (right) at a hearing with Rep. Jerrold Nadler

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Congress will take the facts provided by special counsel Robert Mueller's report and continue with its own investigations, saying "nothing is off the table."

Pelosi spoke in California after Mueller indicated Wednesday that it's up to Congress to decide what to do next with his findings. The special counsel stressed in his first public statement on the Russia investigation that he didn't exonerate Trump, as the president claims. Mueller said he was guided by Justice Department policy against bringing charges against a sitting president.

Speaking at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Pelosi said she wants congressional committees to investigate whether Trump obstructed Mueller's investigation. She said, "Where they will lead us, we shall see" and added, "Nothing is off the table."

Mueller said Wednesday that charging President Donald Trump with a crime was "not an option" because of federal rules, but he used his first public remarks on the Russia investigation to emphasize that he did not exonerate the president.

The special counsel's remarks stood as a pointed rebuttal to Trump's repeated claims that he was cleared and that the two-year inquiry was merely a "witch hunt." They also marked a counter to criticism, including by Attorney General William Barr, that Mueller should have reached a determination on whether the president illegally tried to obstruct the probe by taking actions such as firing his FBI director.

Mueller made clear that his team never considered indicting Trump because the Justice Department prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president.

Mueller did not use the word 'impeachment," but said it was the job of Congress — not the criminal justice system — to hold the president accountable for any wrongdoing.

The special counsel's statement largely echoed the central points of his 448-page report, which was released last month with some redactions. But his remarks, just under 10 minutes long and delivered from a Justice Department podium, were extraordinary given that he had never before discussed or characterized his findings and had stayed mute during two years of feverish public speculation.

San Francisco, California - 29 May 2019

1. Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks onto stage, shakes hands with Gloria Duffy at Commonwealth Club of California event

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"Yes I think it would be useful for him to testify before Congress. First of all let me thank him for his patriotism, to him and to his team of lawyers and analysts and the rest who provided some important documentation of a laying out of the facts of what happened and very clearly stating that Russia made an assault on our elections. And that's just plain wrong. That's an attack on America. He also was clear in saying that if he thought the president could be cleared, he would have cleared him, but he didn't. And that is very clear. So he has given us an array of facts which we will take to the Congress and to the courts as we go forward as we investigate and litigate."

3. Wide of Pelosi and Duffy on stage

4. SOUNDBITE (English)  Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"The report- it has been misrepresented grossly by the attorney general. And while I have the utmost respect for special counsel Mueller and the work that he and his team did, I have total disrespect for the attorney general of the United States for his speaking untruths under oath before the Congress of the United States. And in addition to that misrepresenting in his spoon fed by his own choosing of words what the Mueller report was about. It did a disservice to truth and he did a disservice to the country."

5. Commonwealth Club sign on stage

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"I said that we are on a path that we would hope that if it is justified to bring impeachment that it would be clear to the Senate as well. The decision has to go down this path will be to be determined by the facts and where they take us."

7. Image of Pelosi above stage

8. SOUNDBITE (English)  Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"You don't bring an indictment or you don't bring an impeachment unless you have all of the facts the strongest possible case so that the president is held accountable one way or another in the court of public opinion or in the court of law or in the Congress of the United States."

9. Pelosi and Duffy stand up to audience applause as event ends

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Congress will take the facts provided by special counsel Robert Mueller's report and continue with its own investigations, saying "nothing is off the table."

Pelosi spoke in California after Mueller indicated Wednesday that it's up to Congress to decide what to do next with his findings. The special counsel stressed in his first public statement on the Russia investigation that he didn't exonerate Trump, as the president claims. Mueller said he was guided by Justice Department policy against bringing charges against a sitting president.

Speaking at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Pelosi said she wants congressional committees to investigate whether Trump obstructed Mueller's investigation. She said, "Where they will lead us, we shall see" and added, "Nothing is off the table."

Mueller said Wednesday that charging President Donald Trump with a crime was "not an option" because of federal rules, but he used his first public remarks on the Russia investigation to emphasize that he did not exonerate the president.

The special counsel's remarks stood as a pointed rebuttal to Trump's repeated claims that he was cleared and that the two-year inquiry was merely a "witch hunt." They also marked a counter to criticism, including by Attorney General William Barr, that Mueller should have reached a determination on whether the president illegally tried to obstruct the probe by taking actions such as firing his FBI director.

Mueller made clear that his team never considered indicting Trump because the Justice Department prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president.

Mueller did not use the word 'impeachment," but said it was the job of Congress — not the criminal justice system — to hold the president accountable for any wrongdoing.

The special counsel's statement largely echoed the central points of his 448-page report, which was released last month with some redactions. But his remarks, just under 10 minutes long and delivered from a Justice Department podium, were extraordinary given that he had never before discussed or characterized his findings and had stayed mute during two years of feverish public speculation.

San Francisco, California - 29 May 2019

1. Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks onto stage, shakes hands with Gloria Duffy at Commonwealth Club of California event

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"Yes I think it would be useful for him (Robert Mueller) to testify before Congress. First of all let me thank him for his patriotism, to him and to his team of lawyers and analysts and the rest who provided some important documentation of a laying out of the facts of what happened and very clearly stating that Russia made an assault on our elections. And that's just plain wrong. That's an attack on America. He also was clear in saying that if he thought the president could be cleared, he would have cleared him, but he didn't. And that is very clear. So he has given us an array of facts which we will take to the Congress and to the courts as we go forward as we investigate and litigate."

3. Wide of Pelosi and Duffy on stage

4. SOUNDBITE (English)  Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"The report- it has been misrepresented grossly by the attorney general. And while I have the utmost respect for special counsel Mueller and the work that he and his team did, I have total disrespect for the attorney general of the United States for his speaking untruths under oath before the Congress of the United States. And in addition to that misrepresenting in his spoon fed by his own choosing of words what the Mueller report was about. It did a disservice to truth and he did a disservice to the country."

5. Commonwealth Club sign on stage

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"I said that we are on a path that we would hope that if it is justified to bring impeachment that it would be clear to the Senate as well. The decision has to go down this path will be to be determined by the facts and where they take us."

7. Image of Pelosi above stage

8. SOUNDBITE (English)  Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"You don't bring an indictment or you don't bring an impeachment unless you have all of the facts the strongest possible case so that the president is held accountable one way or another in the court of public opinion or in the court of law or in the Congress of the United States."

9. Pelosi and Duffy stand up to audience applause as event ends