White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to distance President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller's indictments on Monday, saying "most" alleged activities took place before the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election revealed its first targets Monday, with a former campaign adviser to President Trump admitting he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. Separately, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a former Manafort business associate were indicted on felony charges of conspiracy against the United States and other counts.

The guilty plea by former adviser George Papadopoulos marked the first criminal count that cites interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the campaign. The developments ushered Mueller's sprawling investigation into a new phase with felony charges and possible prison sentences for key members of the Trump team.

Washington - 30 October 2017

1. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders walks to podium

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"First, the president said, last week - I believe it was last week - and I've said several times before, there's no intention or plan to make any changes in regards to the special counsel. But look, today's announcement has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the president's campaign or campaign activity. The real collusion scandal, as we've said several times before, has everything to do with the Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS and Russia. There's clear evidence of the Clinton campaign colluding with Russian intelligence to spread disinformation and smear the president to influence the election. We've been saying from day one there's been no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion and nothing in the indictment today changes that at all."

3. Cutaway of briefing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, speaking about former adviser George Papadopoulos:

"It has nothing to do with the activities of the campaign. It has to do with his failure to tell the truth. That doesn't have anything to do with the campaign or the campaign's activities."

5. Cutaway of briefing

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

"Again there are no activities or official capacity in which the Trump campaign was engaged in any of these activities. Most of them took place well before the campaign ever even existed."

7. Cutaway of briefing

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on Papadopoulos' role within the campaign:

"It was extremely limited. It was a volunteer position. And again, no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign in that regard."

9. Cutaway of briefing

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about Papadopoulos' outreach to have campaign officials and Russians meet:

"The outreach that was repeatedly denied and pushed away and said we're not going to take any action on that?

UPSOUND (English) Reporter, off-screen: "Can you explain what happened with his outreach?"

SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

"He reached out and nothing happened beyond that, which I think shows 1 - his level of importance in the campaign and 2 - shows what little role he had within coordinating anything officially for the campaign."

11. Cutaway of briefing

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, talking about Trump meeting at which George Papadopoulos was allegedly present:

"I'm not sure that the president recalls specific details of the meeting. Again, it was a brief meeting that took place quite some time ago. It was the one time that group ever met and beyond that, I really don't have anything to add."

13. Cutaway of briefing

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Look, this individual was the member of a volunteer advisory council that met one time over the course of a year and he was part of a list that was read out in the Washington Post - I'd hardly call that some sort of regular adviser or, as you want to, you know, push, that he's like a senior member of the staff. It's - he was not paid by the campaign. He was a volunteer on a - again - a council that met once."

15. Cutaway of briefing

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Again, he was a volunteer. I think that's something you'd need to ask him. I'm not here to speak on behalf of the thousands of people that may have volunteered on the campaign."

17. Cutaway of reporter asking about Mueller's investigation

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about whether she believes Mueller is in process of 'wrapping up his investigation':

"We still expect this to conclude soon, yes."

19. Cutaway of briefing

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about last time Trump and Paul Manafort spoke:

"As far as we can tell, we know that they haven't spoken in several months. The last known conversation was back all the way to February. And as far as anything beyond that with Paul, I'm not sure of any other contact. I know that there was some initial contact after the president was sworn in with him at meetings here at the White House, but nothing directly with the president."

21. Cutaway of briefing

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on whether she is worried this news will distract from tax reform:

"I'm not worried about it distracting because it doesn't have anything to do with us because this is something that is action that took place outside of the campaign or campaign activity."

23. Cutaway of briefing

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to distance US President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller's indictments on Monday, saying "most" alleged activities took place before the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election revealed its first targets on Monday, with a former campaign advisor to Trump admitting he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russians.

Separately, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a former Manafort business associate were indicted on felony charges of conspiracy against the United States and other counts.

The guilty plea by former advisor George Papadopoulos marked the first criminal count that cites interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the campaign.

The developments ushered Mueller's sprawling investigation into a new phase with felony charges and possible prison sentences for key members of the Trump team.

Washington DC - 30 October 2017

1. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders walks to lectern

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"First, the President (Donald Trump) said, last week - I believe it was last week - and I've said several times before, there's no intention or plan to make any changes in regards to the special counsel (into Russian involvement in the 2016 election, Bob Mueller). But look, today's announcement has nothing to do with the President, has nothing to do with the president's campaign or campaign activity. The real collusion scandal, as we've said several times before, has everything to do with the Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS and Russia. There's clear evidence of the Clinton campaign colluding with Russian intelligence to spread disinformation and smear the President to influence the election. We've been saying from day one there's been no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion, and nothing in the indictment today changes that at all."

3. Cutaway of briefing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, speaking about former adviser George Papadopoulos:

"It has nothing to do with the activities of the campaign. It has to do with his failure to tell the truth. That doesn't have anything to do with the campaign or the campaign's activities."

5. Cutaway of briefing

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

"Again there are no activities or official capacity in which the Trump campaign was engaged in any of these activities. Most of them took place well before the campaign ever even existed."

7. Cutaway of briefing

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on Papadopoulos' role within the campaign:

"It was extremely limited. It was a volunteer position, and again, no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign in that regard."

9. Cutaway of briefing

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

(responding to question about fromer Trump campaign member George Papadopoulos' outreach to have campaign officials and Russians meet)

"The outreach that was repeatedly denied and pushed away and said we're not going to take any action on that?

(Question, off-screen: "Can you explain what happened with his outreach?")

"He reached out and nothing happened beyond that, which I think shows, one: his level of importance in the campaign, and two: shows what little role he had within coordinating anything officially for the campaign."

11. Cutaway of briefing

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

(responding to question on Trump meeting at which George Papadopoulos was allegedly present)

"I'm not sure that the President recalls specific details of the meeting. Again, it was a brief meeting that took place quite some time ago. It was the one time that group ever met, and beyond that I really don't have anything to add."

13. Cutaway of briefing

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Look, this individual was the member of a volunteer advisory council that met one time over the course of a year, and he was part of a list that was read out in the Washington Post - I'd hardly call that some sort of regular advisor or, as you want to push, that he's like a senior member of the staff. He was not paid by the campaign. He was a volunteer on a - again - a council that met once."

15. Cutaway of briefing

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Again, he was a volunteer. I think that's something you'd need to ask him. I'm not here to speak on behalf of the thousands of people that may have volunteered on the campaign."

17. Cutaway of reporter asking about Mueller's investigation

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

(responding to question about whether she believes Mueller is in process of 'wrapping up his investigation')

"We still expect this to conclude soon, yes."

19. Cutaway of briefing

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

(responding to question about last time Trump and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort spoke)

"As far as we can tell, we know that they haven't spoken in several months. The last known conversation was back all the way to February, and as far as anything beyond that with Paul, I'm not sure of any other contact. I know that there was some initial contact after the President was sworn in with him at meetings here at the White House, but nothing directly with the President."

21. Cutaway of briefing

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on whether she is worried this news will distract from tax reform:

"I'm not worried about it distracting because it doesn't have anything to do with us, because this is something that is action that took place outside of the campaign or campaign activity."

23. Cutaway of briefing

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to distance President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller's indictments on Monday, saying "most" alleged activities took place before the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election revealed its first targets Monday, with a former campaign adviser to President Trump admitting he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. Separately, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a former Manafort business associate were indicted on felony charges of conspiracy against the United States and other counts.

The guilty plea by former adviser George Papadopoulos marked the first criminal count that cites interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the campaign. The developments ushered Mueller's sprawling investigation into a new phase with felony charges and possible prison sentences for key members of the Trump team.

Washington - 30 October 2017

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"First, the president said, last week - I believe it was last week - and I've said several times before, there's no intention or plan to make any changes in regards to the special counsel. But look, today's announcement has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the president's campaign or campaign activity. The real collusion scandal, as we've said several times before, has everything to do with the Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS and Russia. There's clear evidence of the Clinton campaign colluding with Russian intelligence to spread disinformation and smear the president to influence the election. We've been saying from day one there's been no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion and nothing in the indictment today changes that at all."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, speaking about former adviser George Papadopoulos:

"It has nothing to do with the activities of the campaign. It has to do with his failure to tell the truth."

3. AP reporter asking question

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Again there are no activities or official capacity in which the Trump campaign was engaged in any of these activities. Most of them took place well before the campaign ever even existed."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on Papadopoulos' role within the campaign:

"It was extremely limited. It was a volunteer position. And again, no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign in that regard."

6. Reporter asking question

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about Papadopoulos' outreach to have campaign officials and Russians meet:

"The outreach that was repeatedly denied and pushed away and said we're not going to take any action on that?

UPSOUND (English) Reporter, off-screen: "Can you explain what happened with his outreach?"

SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

"He reached out and nothing happened beyond that, which I think shows 1 - his level of importance in the campaign and 2 - shows what little role he had within coordinating anything officially for the campaign."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:

"Look, this individual was the member of a volunteer advisory council that met one time over the course of a year and he was part of a list that was read out in the Washington Post - I'd hardly call that some sort of regular adviser or, as you want to, you know, push, that he's like a senior member of the staff. It's - he was not paid by the campaign. He was a volunteer on a - again - a council that met once."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about whether she believes Mueller is in process of 'wrapping up his investigation':

"We still expect this to conclude soon, yes."

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, responding to question about last time Trump and Paul Manafort spoke:

"As far as we can tell, we know that they haven't spoken in several months. The last known conversation was back all the way to February. And as far as anything beyond that with Paul, I'm not sure of any other contact. I know that there was some initial contact after the president was sworn in with him at meetings here at the White House, but nothing directly with the president."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary, on whether she is worried this news will distract from tax reform:

"I'm not worried about it distracting because it doesn't have anything to do with us because this is something that is action that took place outside of the campaign or campaign activity."

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers hacked into the Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic Party, releasing tens of thousands of stolen communications, in a sweeping effort by a foreign government to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, according to a grand jury indictment announced days before President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S. presidential election before Americans went to the polls - and the first to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"Contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government," AP Reporter Eric Tucker said. "So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow... to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this."

U.S. intelligence agencies have said the meddling was aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The effort also included bogus Facebook ads and social media postings that prosecutors say were aimed at influencing public opinion and sowing discord on hot-button social issues.

The indictment lays out a sweeping effort starting in March 2016 to break into key Democratic email accounts, such as those belonging to the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Among those targeted was John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman.

The Kremlin denied anew that it tried to sway the election. "The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections," Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday.

Washington - 13 July 2018

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

"Today, the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers, who are accused of hacking into Democratic email accounts, including the email account of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential election."

2. Rod Rosenstein walks out to podium

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

"The indictment alleges a vast and coordinated effort to break into these email accounts, steal emails and then release them in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in what prosecutors say was an effort to criminally interfere in the 2016 presidential election and in American politics. These Russians are not in custody, but this is part of what the Justice Department describes as a 'name and shame' strategy, which is a way to effectively identify the people in foreign governments and foreign countries who have committed these acts, these cyber attacks and effectively announce to the world that they have been identified and the Justice Department for years has now seen this as a deterrent for future hacks."

4. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"Notably, this indictment does not allege any sort of contact between Trump campaign members or associates and these Russian intelligence officers. It doesn't say that anybody who was in touch with the Russian intelligence officers or any of their conduits were aware or knew that they were having communication with Russian intelligence officers. And so immediately, the White House and President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have seized on that fact to basically say, look, this is proof of no collusion. However, we don't know what we don't know. And there are certainly additional shoes that could drop going down the road. It's impossible to rule out any additional developments."

6. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"President Trump is supposed to meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, so this indictment comes just three days before that meeting. It also comes as the president is currently in England, where he is going to be having meetings with the royal family. So this is certainly not a development that the president wants to have to deal with as he's trying to have these foreign meetings, including with Vladimir Putin. One thing he has said is that of course he's going to bring up the Russian hacking with Putin, although he has said: 'what do you expect him (Putin) to say, do you expect him to effectively admit guilt or say that he did it?'"

8. Wide of Rosenstein speaking

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

"But it is important to note that, contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government. So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow, that that these are the people who responsible for the hack to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this - that that is belied by the allegations in this indictment."

10. Wide of Rosenstein speaking

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

"Prior to today, there have been 20 criminal charges brought in Mueller's investigation. That includes 13 Russians who were accused in a very hidden, but powerful, social media effort to influence American public opinion. It also includes four Trump campaign and White House aides, former aides, three of them have pleaded guilty and have agreed to cooperate with Mueller. So this is an ongoing investigation, but we are now talking about more than 30 people who have been charged in Mueller's investigation."

12. Rosenstein leaves after speaking

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers hacked into the Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic Party, releasing tens of thousands of stolen communications, in a sweeping effort by a foreign government to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, according to a grand jury indictment announced days before President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S. presidential election before Americans went to the polls - and the first to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"Contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government," AP Reporter Eric Tucker said. "So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow... to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this."

U.S. intelligence agencies have said the meddling was aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The effort also included bogus Facebook ads and social media postings that prosecutors say were aimed at influencing public opinion and sowing discord on hot-button social issues.

The indictment lays out a sweeping effort starting in March 2016 to break into key Democratic email accounts, such as those belonging to the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Among those targeted was John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman.

The Kremlin denied anew that it tried to sway the election. "The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections," Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday.

Washington - 13 July 2018

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

"Today, the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers, who are accused of hacking into Democratic email accounts, including the email account of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential election."

2. Rod Rosenstein walks out to podium

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

"The indictment alleges a vast and coordinated effort to break into these email accounts, steal emails and then release them in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in what prosecutors say was an effort to criminally interfere in the 2016 presidential election and in American politics. These Russians are not in custody, but this is part of what the Justice Department describes as a 'name and shame' strategy, which is a way to effectively identify the people in foreign governments and foreign countries who have committed these acts, these cyber attacks and effectively announce to the world that they have been identified and the Justice Department for years has now seen this as a deterrent for future hacks."

4. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"Notably, this indictment does not allege any sort of contact between Trump campaign members or associates and these Russian intelligence officers. It doesn't say that anybody who was in touch with the Russian intelligence officers or any of their conduits were aware or knew that they were having communication with Russian intelligence officers. And so immediately, the White House and President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have seized on that fact to basically say, look, this is proof of no collusion. However, we don't know what we don't know. And there are certainly additional shoes that could drop going down the road. It's impossible to rule out any additional developments."

6. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"President Trump is supposed to meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, so this indictment comes just three days before that meeting. It also comes as the president is currently in England, where he is going to be having meetings with the royal family. So this is certainly not a development that the president wants to have to deal with as he's trying to have these foreign meetings, including with Vladimir Putin. One thing he has said is that of course he's going to bring up the Russian hacking with Putin, although he has said: 'what do you expect him (Putin) to say, do you expect him to effectively admit guilt or say that he did it?'"

8. Wide of Rosenstein speaking

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

"But it is important to note that, contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government. So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow, that that these are the people who responsible for the hack to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this - that that is belied by the allegations in this indictment."

10. Wide of Rosenstein speaking

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

"Prior to today, there have been 20 criminal charges brought in Mueller's investigation. That includes 13 Russians who were accused in a very hidden, but powerful, social media effort to influence American public opinion. It also includes four Trump campaign and White House aides, former aides, three of them have pleaded guilty and have agreed to cooperate with Mueller. So this is an ongoing investigation, but we are now talking about more than 30 people who have been charged in Mueller's investigation."

12. Rosenstein leaves after speaking

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus100690

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers hacked into the Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic Party, releasing tens of thousands of stolen communications, in a sweeping effort by a foreign government to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, according to a grand jury indictment announced days before President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S. presidential election before Americans went to the polls - and the first to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"Contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government," AP Reporter Eric Tucker said. "So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow... to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this."

U.S. intelligence agencies have said the meddling was aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The effort also included bogus Facebook ads and social media postings that prosecutors say were aimed at influencing public opinion and sowing discord on hot-button social issues.

The indictment lays out a sweeping effort starting in March 2016 to break into key Democratic email accounts, such as those belonging to the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Among those targeted was John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman.

The Kremlin denied anew that it tried to sway the election. "The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections," Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday.

Washington - 13 July 2018

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED WITH IMAGES++

1. Rod Rosenstein walks out to podium

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

"Today, the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers, who are accused of hacking into Democratic email accounts, including the email account of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential election."

2. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"The indictment alleges a vast and coordinated effort to break into these email accounts, steal emails and then release them in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in what prosecutors say was an effort to criminally interfere in the 2016 presidential election and in American politics. These Russians are not in custody, but this is part of what the Justice Department describes as a 'name and shame' strategy, which is a way to effectively identify the people in foreign governments and foreign countries who have committed these acts, these cyber attacks and effectively announce to the world that they have been identified and the Justice Department for years has now seen this as a deterrent for future hacks."

4. Rod Rosenstein speaking at podium

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

"Notably, this indictment does not allege any sort of contact between Trump campaign members or associates and these Russian intelligence officers. It doesn't say that anybody who was in touch with the Russian intelligence officers or any of their conduits were aware or knew that they were having communication with Russian intelligence officers. And so immediately, the White House and President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have seized on that fact to basically say, look, this is proof of no collusion. However, we don't know what we don't know. And there are certainly additional shoes that could drop going down the road. It's impossible to rule out any additional developments."

++SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASH++

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

"President Trump is supposed to meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday so this indictment comes just three days before that meeting. It also comes as the president is currently in England, where he is going to be having meetings with the royal family. So this is certainly not a development that the president wants to have to deal with as he's trying to have these foreign meetings, including with Vladimir Putin. One thing he has said is that of course he's going to bring up the Russian hacking with Putin, although he has said: 'what do you expect him (Putin) to say, do you expect him to effectively admit guilt or say that he did it?' But it is important to note that, contrary to Putin's assertions, this indictment does allege that these 12 people actually worked for a Russian intelligence agency. So they are an arm of the Russian government. So it becomes increasingly impossible, if this is proven then in court or established by the government somehow, that that these are the people who responsible for the hack to say that the Kremlin, that the Russian government had no part in this - that that is belied by the allegations in this indictment."