RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English): Chad Day, Associated Press Writer:

"What we've now learned is that in March, during a meeting between special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors and President Donald Trump's lawyers, the Muellar team actually kind of floated or broached the subject of possibly subpoena--subpoenaing the president and compelling him to testify as part of the Russian probe."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Bejing - 30 January 2008

2. FILE: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller at news conference (partly coves soundbite)

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

++NIGHT SHOT++

Washington - 28 April 2018

3. US President Donald Trump walking across White House lawn (partly coves soundbite)

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Chad Day, Associated Press Writer:

"So these have been ongoing negotiations where they're trying to secure an interview with the president where they can question him about a number of different topics. And this is all part of, not only an investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign but also whether or not the President obstructed justice in any way through his firing of Jim Comey and some of the conversations that and actions that he took regarding the firing of Michael Flynn. And then also pressure that he exerted on Attorney General Jeff Sessions."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

New York - 29 April 2011

5. Various STILLS former Trump attorney John Dowd (partly covers soundbite)

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English): Chad Day, Associated Press Writer:

"So John Dowd is actually President Donald Trump's former personal attorney. He was on his legal team and leading the legal team. He was the key person in the negotiations between the president's legal team and an Muller's team. But then he resigned last month. Now what we're learning though is that a meeting that occurred in earlier in March when he was still leading this legal team, that's what this whole subpoena issue came up where there was a conversation where they were trying to negotiate the terms of the interview and Mueller's team basically said well you know we could at some point try to compel the President's testimony."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

New York - 12 January 2017

7. Rudy Giuliani talks to reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower (partly coves soundbite)

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English): Chad Day, Associated Press Writer:

"Right now we're in a little bit of a reset on President Donald Trump's legal team because recently you know Dowd left and they brought in Rudy Giuliani they also brought in two really seasoned former federal prosecutors, Marty and Jane Raskin out of Florida. And so, we're not it's not exactly clear what this kind of what kind of impact this would have on the negotiations currently. I think what why this is important is that any time something like this becomes public it really fires up the president and as we've seen over the last few days and few weeks he has really upped his attacks on the special counsel and the Justice Department at large."

9. SOUNDBITE (English): Chad Day, Associated Press Writer:

"Even if there was a subpoena issued, that doesn't necessarily mean that Trump would actually have to do, to answer any questions. What what would happen is that either they would try to go to court to get the subpoena quashed or they could go into the grand jury room and basically take the Fifth the entire time. Everybody has the Fifth Amendment protection against self incrimination and they cannot compel you to testify against yourself."

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan - 28 April 2018

10. Trump steps off Air Force One, waves (partly coves soundbite)

STORYLINE:

The special counsel leading the Russia investigation raised the prospect in March of issuing a grand jury subpoena for President Donald Trump, his former attorney said, confirming that investigators have floated the extraordinary idea of forcing a sitting president to testify under oath.

Attorney John Dowd told The Associated Press on Tuesday that special counsel Robert Mueller's team broached the subject during a meeting with Trump's legal team while they were negotiating the terms of a possible interview with the president.

AP reporter Chad Day says Trump's legal team is in the midst of a reset.

"We're not it's not exactly clear what this kind of what kind of impact this would have on the negotiations currently. I think what why this is important is that any time something like this becomes public it really fires up the president and as we've seen over the last few days and few weeks he has really upped his attacks on the special counsel and the Justice Department at large," Day said.

It was not immediately clear in what context the possibility of a subpoena was raised or how serious Mueller's prosecutors were about the move. Mueller is probing not only Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates but possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Trump lashed out against the investigation in a familiar fashion Wednesday, saying on Twitter: "There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap)."

Even if Mueller's team decided to subpoena Trump as part of the investigation, he could still fight it in court or refuse to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination.

===========================================================

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The trial of Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on tax evasion and bank fraud charges got underway at a courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday.

Two questions loom large as Manafort prepares to walk into court: will he spend what effectively could be the rest of his life in prison, or will special counsel Robert Mueller be handed a defeat in his team's first trial since his appointment more than a year ago?

Those questions will be answered by 12 jurors selected this week who will face questions from both sides and US District Judge T.S. Ellis III, as they try to weed out potential prejudice in what has become a highly publicised and politically divisive investigation.

That task comes as the president and his lawyer-spokesman, Rudy Giuliani, have intensified their attempts to undermine the Mueller investigation in the court of public opinion.

The president criticised Mueller by name over the weekend and continues to refer to the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference as a "witch hunt" and "an illegal scam".

Alexandria, Virginia - 31 July 2018

1. Vehicle believed to be carrying Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort leaving detention centre

2. Vehicle believed to be carrying Paul Manafort arriving at Albert V. Bryan US Courthouse

3. Closer shot of car entering garage of federal court building

4. Various of protestors outside court room

5. Wide of Albert V. Bryan US Courthouse

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who now represents President Donald Trump as his attorney, slammed the credibility and character of adult film actress Stormy Daniels during an interview in Tel Aviv.

"I'm sorry I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman, or a woman of substance," Giuliani said.

"So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross-examine you," he said.

Daniels has said she had sex with a married Trump in 2006, and she is fighting to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 election,

Wednesday, Daniels filed a lawsuit and said her former lawyer, Keith Davidson, was a "puppet" for President Donald Trump and worked with the president's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to get her to appear on Fox News and falsely deny the sexual tryst with Trump.  

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles against Davidson and Cohen, alleges that after a tabloid story emerged in January about Daniels' relationship with Trump, the two lawyers planned for her to appear on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News and falsely deny the tryst.

"I don't trust, I don't believe Stormy Daniels," Guiliani said.  He also said the first lady believes the president in his denials that he ever had an affair with Daniels.

"She believes in her husband. She knows it's not true. I don't even think there's a slight suspicion that it's true," Giuliani said.

The former New York mayor is leading the defense of Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump took steps to shut down that investigation through actions, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Giuliani, a strong supporter of Israel, is in Israel for a number of appearances.

Tel Aviv, Israel - 6 June 2108 (

+++AUDIO AS INCOMING+++

+++WHITE FLASH BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Guiliani, Attorney for President Trump:

''Stormy, the porn star. You know every porn person can't be a star. I never heard of her before. Now I don't really look at porn. Please get that down. I don't look at porn. But, I would say that that's about the same credibility as a lawyer who basically got thrown out of the case. I don't trust, I don't believe Stormy Daniels. I don't believe it. I don't know, sue me Stormy, I don't believe you.''

+++WHITE FLASH+++

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, Attorney for President Trump

(Presenter): ''If you don't believe her, how come money was paid to keep her silent?'' (Giuliani): ''Because I've done that for clients.''(Presenter): ''The money was repaid by the President.''(Giuliani): ''You settle cases to protect people's reputation whether it's true or not. Because if she said it, as she has, people will believe it whether it's true or not.

+++WHITE FLASH+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, Attorney for President Trump

I respect all human beings, I even respect criminals. But I'm sorry I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman, or a woman of substance, or a woman who has great respect for herself as a woman and as a person, and isn't going to sell her body for sexual exploitation. So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross-examine you.''

+++WHITE FLASH+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor:

(Presenter:) ''Can you tell me, we've seen Melania here in Israel and we've been very impressed by her gracious manner and her you know such elegance (inaudible). Can you tell me how does she feel these days with all the Stormy Daniels affairs going on in the background?'' (Giuliani): ''I can't speak for Melania.'' (Presenter): ''But you're a personal friend?'' (Giuliani): ''I am. She believes in her husband. She knows it's not true. I don't even think there's a slight suspicion that it's true, excuse me, when you look at Stormy Daniels. I know Donald Trump. Look at his three wives, right? Beautiful women, classy women, women of great substance, Stormy Daniels? Pfft.''

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

The trial of Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on tax evasion and bank fraud charges got underway at a courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday.

Two questions loom large as Manafort prepares to walk into court: will he spend what effectively could be the rest of his life in prison, or will special counsel Robert Mueller be handed a defeat in his team's first trial since his appointment more than a year ago?

Those questions will be answered by 12 jurors selected this week who will face questions from both sides and US District Judge T.S. Ellis III, as they try to weed out potential prejudice in what has become a highly publicised and politically divisive investigation.

That task comes as the president and his lawyer-spokesman, Rudy Giuliani, have intensified their attempts to undermine the Mueller investigation in the court of public opinion.

The president criticised Mueller by name over the weekend and continues to refer to the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference as a "witch hunt" and "an illegal scam".

Alexandria, Virginia - 31 July 2018

1. Vehicle believed to be carrying Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort leaving detention centre

2. Vehicle believed to be carrying Paul Manafort arriving at Albert V. Bryan US Courthouse

3. Closer shot of car entering garage of federal court building

4. Mid of protestors outside court room

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Protester, no name given:

"I can't wait to see all these people get what they deserve... justice. I think they should all be thrown in prison, including... I mean, Manafort's the first one and then I'll be here for all the other ones."

6. Various of signs, protesters

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Protester, no name given:

"Here with the buddies, protesting. Protesting this, well, really rallying our side to say that we're going to get justice."

8. Close of protester drumming

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Rogers, Protester:

"Well, I mean, it's just absolutely ridiculous that this stuff has been going on for years and years and that they're just so brazen with their criminal behavior. The stuff that he's being tried for today isn't even all of what is believed that he did. And it's just about our democracy, it's really serious. I'm somebody who takes voter registration and getting out to vote very seriously and the fact that, the idea that we're not deciding our own elections, we're not deciding our own fate is completely unacceptable."

10. Mid of protester

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Hastings, Protester:

"I got up at 6 a.m. to come here, because I think that it's about time that people were held accountable for their actions and for the consequences of what they've done before. We've seen a lot of that in the past year and a half with people brazenly disregarding the rule of law and the right thing to do and as it says out here, justice delayed is justice denied and I'm really looking forward to actually seeing that come through. We've seen a lot with the special counsel being accused of being a witch hunt, being politically motivated, yet here are actual concrete charges that you don't just have to take somebody's word for it on TV, you can actually see the research, see the indictments, see what they're actually bringing their charges for. So I'm looking forward to seeing that - to seeing justice prevail, seeing the investigation go through, as it should. And seeing people held accountable, including Paul Manafort for what he's done."

12. Close of sign

13. Wide of Albert V. Bryan US Courthouse

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

The report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and that Cohen regularly briefed Trump on the Moscow project. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.

The House intelligence committee chairman Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff said he will do what is necessary to confirm the report.

The story also says, citing the sources, that Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project in order to obscure Trump's involvement.

The BuzzFeed story says that Mueller's investigators learned about Trump's directive "through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents." The report says that Cohen then acknowledged Trump's instructions when he was interviewed by the Mueller team.

Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis didn't weigh in one way or the other whether this story was true but Lanny Davis simply said that "Michael Cohen is is someone who is full of regret for his longtime employment with President Trump. He worked for him for about a decade," according to AP White House reporter Jonathan Lemire.

Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, scoffed at the report, saying in a statement to the Associated Press "that if this story was true I have the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you and suggested that it was not the case. This had never occurred."

On Twitter Friday morning, Trump charged that Michael Cohen is "Lying to reduce his jail time!" even though he's already been sentenced. On Fox News Channel, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that taking the story seriously was "absolutely ludicrous," but repeatedly refused to deny the central allegation that Trump directed Cohen to lie.

Cohen already pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating the Trump Tower project in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the heat of his presidential campaign. The charge was brought by Mueller and was the result of his cooperation with that probe.

He was then sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal his boss' alleged sexual affairs, telling a judge that he agreed time and again to cover up Trump's "dirty deeds" out of "blind loyalty."

Cohen is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee Feb. 7, where he will likely be questioned about the report.

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY VIDEO++

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY A WHITE FLASH++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 18 January 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"Late Thursday night BuzzFeed News broke a story that reports, according to some of their sources, that President Trump instructed his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to lie on his behalf. To lie to Congress about the president's involvement with a real estate deal in Russia. Now it should be pointed out very carefully, The Associated Press has not confirmed this reporting yet. No other mainstream news outlet has as well. But lawmakers are responding. And It is certainly a major story today, Friday."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: New York - 12 December 2018

2. Michael Cohen exiting court after being sentenced to prison

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington - 29 November 2018

3. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 18 January 2019

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"The new story suggests that the Donald Trump's involvement with the project did not end in 2015 or early 2016 as he initially had said but instead continued that the president and his family members including his adult children Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Junior who also worked at Trump Organization were getting updates throughout 2016. And that after the election, when Donald Trump was then president-elect he instructed Michael Cohen to lie about this to try to minimize Donald Trump's own involvement with the project. The BuzzFeed story goes on to say that as Michael Cohen was preparing to testify before Congress he again talked to the White House and Donald Trump who said to lie about that project."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

5. President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal, Ivanka and Paul Manfort off to the side

POOL

ARCHIVE: Fletcher, North Carolina - 21 October 2016

6. Donald Trump walks into campaign rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: New York - 12 December 2018

7. Cohen exiting court after being sentenced to three years in prison

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 18 January 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"If this is true then this means the president urged a witness to lie under oath before Congress, which would appear to be a pretty clear example of obstruction of justice which of course is a significant not potentially criminal charge but perhaps impeachable offense."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Washington - 29 November 2018

9. President Trump walks away from talking to press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 18 January 2019

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"Democratic lawmakers are seizing upon this. Adam Schiff who's the new chair of the House Intelligence Committee and others say that the House, the Congress will investigate these charges and if they feel that if true, I believe just phrase were, this would be the most serious offense yet. He suggests that these are the some of the most serious allegation the president currently faces and it is something that will stir up talk of impeachment."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:

"So, it should be pointed out that the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who's his lawyer for the Russia investigation gave a statement to me at the Associated Press saying that if this story was true I have basically I have the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you and suggested that it was not the case. This had never occurred."

Key impeachment witnesses on Thursday said it was clear that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was pursuing political investigations of Democrats in Ukraine.

State Department official David Holmes said he understood that Giuliani’s push to investigate “Burisma”, the Ukraine gas company where Joe Biden’s son Hunter served on the board, was code for the former vice president and his family.

Former White House adviser Fiona Hill warned that Giuliani had been making “explosive” and “incendiary” claims.

“He was clearly pushing forward issues and ideas that would, you know, probably come back to haunt us and in fact,” Hill testified. “I think that's where we are today."

The testimony by Holmes and Hill undercut the president’s argument he only wanted to root out Ukrainian corruption.

New York - 21 November 2019

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

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

"One of the witnesses is Fiona Hill, and she is a Russia expert who served for years on the National Security Council. She basically implored Republicans on the committee to stop what she said is a fictional narrative that somehow it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 presidential election. And she used the bulk of her opening statement to basically say this is a fictional conspiracy theory and the time you spend propagating that is time that you waste in preventing a repeat of the interference we saw in the 2016 election in 2020. And that was a significant alarm bell that she was attempting to sound. The other witness also delivered pretty significant testimony. His name is David Holmes. He has a counselor who is based at the US embassy in Kyiv. He described in very, very vivid and colorful detail, overhearing a conversation on July 26 between President Trump and Gordon Sondland, who is the ambassador to the European Union. And during that conversation, according to Holmes, he could overhear Trump on the other end of the line saying, 'So is he going to do the investigation?' And that is, of course, a reference to the Ukraine president, President (Volodymyr) Zelinskiy. And Sondland replied, 'He is. Yes.' And that's a really significant account."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

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

"It tells you a couple of different things. One, it tells you how deeply interested and committed the president was, even after he has the call with President Zelinskiy, one day earlier, to making sure that President Zelinskiy is indeed going to follow through on his commitment or what the president thinks is his commitment to announce corruption investigations into Vice President Joe Biden. And one of the things that was also really interesting is that, according to David Holmes, after Gordon Sondland hangs up, Holmes says, 'is it really true that the president doesn't care, used an expletive, about about Ukraine?' and Sondland says he only cares about the big stuff. And the big stuff, according to Gordon Sondland, involved an investigation into the Bidens. And so that undercuts the idea that this was only about Burisma, the Ukraine energy company, and not somehow about the Bidens."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

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

" I would think that the lingering take away probably came yesterday, and that is in the form of testimony that there was indeed a quid pro quo or at least a version of a quid pro quo. On one side, you announce investigations that the president of the United States wanted, and in return you get a coveted White House visit. At minimum, according to Gordon Sondland, who is a current member of the Trump administration, he says, 'I was aware that there was a quid pro quo' and that language, the use of that term, I think is going to be powerful and will continue to resonate going forward."

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

"No, we're not seeing any Republican cracks because what Gordon Sondland could not do is sort of undercut the Republican talking points, which is these investigations never happened. So whether or not the president won an announcement or investigations, nothing actually moved forward. And the aid, the aid that Ukraine believed it was owed and that the US was holding up until these investigations were announced, actually got released. And so if you're a Republican, you wind up sticking behind those points.

The other big things that we continue to hear time and again from Republicans is this idea that it is the Trump administration, more so than the Obama administration, that actually has been been helpful to Ukraine's interests. We've heard that a lot."

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

"So I would say it is very hard to watch these five hearings and come away with the conclusion that they are collectively some sort of dud. And I think that that is... that's a notable shift from the July appearance of Special Counsel (Robert) Mueller, which I think by the end of the day struggled to captivate the American public or propel any sort of narrative towards impeachment further. I don't think that that did what Democrats hoped it would do. I think in this scenario, for these five hearings, they got the witnesses who they wanted. I think they've got the accounts that they wanted. And I think that the witnesses delivered testimony that mirrored what they said behind closed doors and basically does support this idea that the president wanted a politically charged investigation into a political rival and had in mind a quid pro quo. And I think that that is something that multiple witnesses are describing and there are certain facts that I think are hard, after hearing from nine witnesses, that are hard to kind of undercut."