President Donald Trump says it's "disgraceful" that a list of questions the special counsel investigating Russian election interference wants to ask him have become public.

The New York Times late Monday published the nearly four dozen questions to Trump's lawyers. The questions range from Trump's motivations for firing FBI Director James Comey last May to contacts Trump campaign officials had with Russians.

AP Reporter Eric Tucker gives context to this latest development in the story about the Russia investigation. Tucker says the Mueller investigation is moving at a fairly rapid pace.

"There have been negotiations for months between the president's lawyers and Mueller's team about the scope and conditions and terms of any possible interview," he says.

"There has been no agreement set."

According to the newspaper, many of the questions center on the obstruction issue, including Trump's reaction to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation, a decision Trump has angrily criticized.

"One thing that's really important about this investigation is so much comes down to state of mind and intent, so that the actions themselves may not be criminal," said Tucker.

"But what special counsel Mueller is really trying to do is figure out what was in the president's head when he committed certain acts."

Trump tweeted Tuesday that it is "so disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were 'leaked' to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see...you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!"

The questions also touch on the Russian meddling and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin in any way.

Trump says the investigation is a "witch hunt" and insists his campaign did not collude with Russia.

"I think it is clear that this investigation is going to continue," Tucker said.

"It is aggressive. It is circling the White House."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 1 May 2018

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

"We're at a very critical stage of the investigation right now. There have been negotiations for months between the president's lawyers and Mueller's team about the scope and conditions and terms of any possible interview. There has been no agreement set. And so it is interesting that these questions are coming out and being provided to The New York Times at the moment that they are."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter: +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL AND PHOTOS+++

"One thing that is notable about the questions is the sheer number. We're talking dozens of questions. So it's not just a question of having just three or four queries that they want to knock out and be done with. This is pretty in-depth, and I would say that it covers such a broad gamut of campaign transition and presidential issues, and that I think is notable and striking. One thing that is not surprising is that most of the questions seems to be dedicated to the question of did the president obstruct justice when he fired Director Comey when he sought to pressure Jeff Sessions his attorney general not to recuse. So we do see a lot of focus on obstruction. But there's clearly still an interest from the president, from Mueller, excuse me, in trying to understand what the president knew about any sort of contacts anyone in his campaign was having with Russia."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 30 April 2018

3. President Trump speaking to reporters outside White House

ASSOCIATED PRESS

San Francisco - 21 April 2016

4. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller arrives for court hearing

Washington, DC - 21 August 2013

5. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller speaking at FBI headquarters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 30 April 2018

6. Various of President Trump speaking to reporters

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter: +++SOT PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL AND PHOTOS

"We are in sort of uncharted territory. But there's nothing that precludes, or is extraordinary, about a government investigator telling a potential subject, here's the evidence and information we've gleaned before we close out this investigation, we need to understand your perspective on this. And one thing that's really important about this investigation is so much comes down to state of mind and intent, so that the actions themselves may not be criminal. But what special counsel Mueller is really trying to do is figure out what was in the president's head when he committed certain acts. When he fired Jim Comey, which is an act that in theory should be 100 percent perfectly legal, did he do that with the corrupt intent, which would be to stymie the Russia investigation."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - June 2013

8. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller testifying on Capitol Hill

9. FILE: Still of Robert Mueller testifying on Capitol Hill

POOL

Michigan, 28 April 2018

10. President Donald Trump at campaign-style rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 1 May 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter: +++SOT COVERED WITH TRUMP TWEETS+++

"It did not surprise me the president's reaction because I think one thing that the president does seem to like, although he complains about, are leaks. Because when information leaks, it allows him to point the finger at the government and say look at what unfair witch hunt this is that they can't keep their mouth shut about a secret investigation."

TWITTER - @realDonald Trump

1 May 2018

12. Frame grab of Donald Trump tweet (English) "So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russia Witch Hunt were "leaked" to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see...you have a mad up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!"

TWITTER - @realDonald Trump

1 May 2018

13. Framegrab of Trump Tweet (English)

"It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt!

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 1 May 2018

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"That is the million dollar question of what would happen if he refuses. One thing that Mueller could theoretically do is seek a grand jury subpoena that would try to compel the President's testimony. That's a very incredible aggressive extraordinary move to try to subpoena and compel the testimony of a sitting president.

+++WHITE FLASH+++

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter

"I think it will really depend on how much Mueller really feels he needs the statements. It is possible he could say you know what I have a lot of information without your statements and I'm ready to move forward. Whether you speak to me or not."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler says the responsibility to look into US President Donald Trump's "crimes, lies and other wrongdoing" falls on Congress, and he has vowed to finish the work Special Counsel Robert Mueller has done.

Nadler made the comments in New York Wednesday in response to the special counsel's earlier remarks about the investigation - Mueller's first public statement since his redacted report was made public in April.

"Although Department of Justice policy prevented the special counsel from bringing criminal charges against the president, the special counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying. He is lying about the special counsel's findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the special counsel's report, and above all, lying in saying that the special counsel found no obstruction and no collusion," Nadler said.

"Unfortunately, Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the president because Department of Justice policy prevents a sitting president from being prosecuted. That policy, in my opinion, is wrong but it prevented a special counsel from pursuing justice to the fullest extent possible. Therefore, as Mueller again highlighted this morning, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongdoing of President Trump," he added.

"We will do so. Make no mistake: No one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law."

Mueller's first public statement on the Russia investigation is fuelling fresh calls on Capitol Hill to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, a step that Democratic leaders have so far resisted.

Surprising Washington with his first public statement on the Russia investigation, Mueller indicated Wednesday that it's up to Congress to decide what to do with his findings.

The special counsel said he was bound by Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, but stressed he could not exonerate Trump.

Instead, he said, "the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system."

And he made clear that the process won't include him, announcing the special counsel's office is closing — and that his testimony to Congress, should he be forced to deliver it, will not go beyond what his report already says.

New York - 29 May 2019

1. Wide of Rep. Jerrold Nadler making his way to podium  ++SHOT CONTINUES INTO NEXT++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerrold Nadler, (D) New York:

"Good afternoon. First, I want to thank Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his service to our nation over the past two years. Mr. Mueller and his team of prosecutors and investigators worked tirelessly to follow the facts and pursue justice to the furthest extent allowed. Although Department of Justice policy prevented the special counsel from bringing criminal charges against the president, the special counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying. He is lying about the special counsel's findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the special counsel's report, and above all, lying in saying that the special counsel found no obstruction and no collusion. In a statement this morning, special counsel Mueller reaffirmed his report: It found substantial evidence that Russia attacked our political system, that the Trump campaign benefited from Russian interference, that Trump and those around him repeatedly welcomed Russia's support, and that throughout the subsequent investigation, Trump sought to obstruct Mueller time and time again. Special Counsel Mueller today repeated three central points, which are critical for the American people. One, the special counsel did not exonerate the president of the United States of obstruction of justice. Two, obstruction of justice of which Special Counsel Muller found substantial evidence, is a serious crime that strikes at the core of our justice system. Three, the constitution points to Congress to take action to hold the president accountable for his misconduct. Unfortunately, Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the president because Department of Justice policy prevents a sitting president from being prosecuted. That policy, in my opinion, is wrong but it prevented special counsel from pursuing justice to the fullest extent possible. Therefore, as Mueller again highlighted this morning, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongdoing of President Trump. We will do so. Make no mistake: No one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law."

++EDIT ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

Former special counsel Robert Mueller has clarified that he did not consider bringing criminal charges against President Donald Trump as part of his Russia investigation.

Mueller in his congressional testimony Wednesday morning seemed to agree that he did not charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of Justice Department guidance saying a sitting president can't be indicted.

Democrats seized on that answer, but when testimony resumed in the afternoon before the House Intelligence Committee, Mueller clarified. He said "that is not the correct way to say it."

Mueller said his team "did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime."

Mueller had made clear in his report that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His 448-page report also said investigators didn't find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The former special counsel also underscored before the second House panel Wednesday that his investigation into interference in the 2016 election was "not a witch hunt."

Trump has repeatedly referred to the Russia investigation as a witch hunt, including Wednesday morning when he tweeted the hearings were part of the "Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history."

Mueller insisted that Russian interference was not a hoax, telling lawmakers "the indictments we returned against the Russians were substantial."

Asked what he hoped the American public gleaned from his report, Mueller said he hoped to send a message "to those who come after us."

Mueller said he wanted the report to be "a signal, a flag ... don't let this problem continue to linger as it has over so many years."

Mueller also condemned Trump's repeated praise of WikiLeaks, which released Democratic emails stolen by Russia, saying "problematic is an understatement."

He declared Russian election interference one of the greatest challenges to democracy that he had encountered in his career.

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - STRICTLY NO ARCHIVE RESALE/AUTHORIZED RE-USE BY AP'S BROADCAST AND DIGITAL OUTPUT ONLY

Washington, DC - 24 July 2019

1. Wide shot of Robert Mueller testifying before House intelligence committee

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I want to add one correction to my testimony this morning. Want to go back to one thing that was said this morning by Mr. Lieu, who said and I quote, 'you didn't charge the president because of the OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion. That is not the correct way to say it. As we say in the report and as I said at the opening, we did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. And with that Mr. Chairman, I'm ready to answer questions."

3. Side shot of Mueller at witness table

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"Apart from the Russians wanting to help Trump win, several individuals associated with the Trump campaign we're also trying to make money during the campaign and transition, is that correct?

(Mueller) That is true.

When your investigation looked into these matters, numerous Trump associates lied to your team, the grand jury and to Congress?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"A number of persons that we interviewed in our investigation, it turns out did lie."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"And when Donald Trump called your investigation a witch hunt, that was also false, was it not?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I'd like to think so, yes.

(Schiff) Well your investigation is not a witch hunt, is it?

It is not a witch hunt."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"When the president said the Russian interference was a hoax that was false wasn't it?

(Mueller) True.

When he said it publicly, it was false?

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"He did say publicly it was false, yes.

(Schiff) And when he told it to Putin, that was false too, wasn't it?

That I'm not familiar with."

10. Wide shot of hearing room

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California:  (++note: Shot remains on wide of hearing room during Speier's questioning)

"Would you agree that it was not a hoax that the Russians were engaged in trying to impact our election?"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"Absolutely. It was not a hoax. The indictments we returned against the Russians, two different ones, were substantial in their scope, using that scope word again. And I think one of the, we have underplayed to a certain extent, that aspect of our investigation that has and would have long term damage to the United States that we need to move quickly to address."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California:  (++note: Shot remains on wide of hearing room during Speier's questioning)

"Tell the American people what you would like them to glean from this report."

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"Well we spent substantial time assuring the integrity of the report, understanding that it would be our living message to those who come after us. But it also is a signal, a flag to those of us who have some responsibility in this area to exercise those responsibilities swiftly and don't let this problem continue to linger as it has over so many years."

14. Wide shot of hearing room

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois:

"This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable. It tells you the inner heart, you gotta read it. Donald Trump, October 12th 2016. This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove, Donald Trump, October 31, 2016. Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks, Donald Trump, November 4th, 2016. Do any of those quotes disturb you, Mr. Director?"

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I'm not sure I would say...

(Quigley) How do you react to them?

Well, it's, problematic is an understatement in terms of whether to displays in terms of giving some, I don't know, hope or some boost for what is and should be illegal activity."

17. Wide side shot of hearing

Former special counsel Robert Mueller has clarified that he did not consider bringing criminal charges against President Donald Trump as part of his Russia investigation.

Mueller in his congressional testimony Wednesday morning seemed to agree that he did not charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of Justice Department guidance saying a sitting president can't be indicted.

Democrats seized on that answer, but when testimony resumed in the afternoon before the House Intelligence Committee, Mueller clarified. He said "that is not the correct way to say it."

Mueller said his team "did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime."

Mueller had made clear in his report that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His 448-page report also said investigators didn't find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The former special counsel also underscored before the second House panel Wednesday that his investigation into interference in the 2016 election was "not a witch hunt."

Trump has repeatedly referred to the Russia investigation as a witch hunt, including Wednesday morning when he tweeted the hearings were part of the "Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history."

Mueller insisted that Russian interference was not a hoax, telling lawmakers "the indictments we returned against the Russians were substantial."

Asked what he hoped the American public gleaned from his report, Mueller said he hoped to send a message "to those who come after us."

Mueller said he wanted the report to be "a signal, a flag ... don't let this problem continue to linger as it has over so many years."

Mueller also condemned Trump's repeated praise of WikiLeaks, which released Democratic emails stolen by Russia, saying "problematic is an understatement."

He declared Russian election interference one of the greatest challenges to democracy that he had encountered in his career.

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - STRICTLY NO ARCHIVE RESALE/AUTHORIZED RE-USE BY AP'S BROADCAST AND DIGITAL OUTPUT ONLY

Washington, DC - 24 July 2019

1. Wide shot of Robert Mueller testifying before House intelligence committee

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I want to add one correction to my testimony this morning. Want to go back to one thing that was said this morning by Mr. Lieu, who said and I quote, 'you didn't charge the president because of the OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion. That is not the correct way to say it. As we say in the report and as I said at the opening, we did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. And with that Mr. Chairman, I'm ready to answer questions."

3. Side shot of Mueller at witness table

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"Apart from the Russians wanting to help Trump win, several individuals associated with the Trump campaign we're also trying to make money during the campaign and transition, is that correct?

(Mueller) That is true.

When your investigation looked into these matters, numerous Trump associates lied to your team, the grand jury and to Congress?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"A number of persons that we interviewed in our investigation, it turns out did lie."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"And when Donald Trump called your investigation a witch hunt, that was also false, was it not?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I'd like to think so, yes.

(Schiff) Well your investigation is not a witch hunt, is it?

It is not a witch hunt."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California:

"When the president said the Russian interference was a hoax that was false wasn't it?

(Mueller) True.

When he said it publicly, it was false?

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"He did say publicly it was false, yes.

(Schiff) And when he told it to Putin, that was false too, wasn't it?

That I'm not familiar with."

10. Wide shot of hearing room

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California:  (++note: Shot remains on wide of hearing room during Speier's questioning)

"Would you agree that it was not a hoax that the Russians were engaged in trying to impact our election?"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"Absolutely. It was not a hoax. The indictments we returned against the Russians, two different ones, were substantial in their scope, using that scope word again. And I think one of the, we have underplayed to a certain extent, that aspect of our investigation that has and would have long term damage to the United States that we need to move quickly to address."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California:  (++note: Shot remains on wide of hearing room during Speier's questioning)

"Tell the American people what you would like them to glean from this report."

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"Well we spent substantial time assuring the integrity of the report, understanding that it would be our living message to those who come after us. But it also is a signal, a flag to those of us who have some responsibility in this area to exercise those responsibilities swiftly and don't let this problem continue to linger as it has over so many years."

14. Wide shot of hearing room

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois:

"This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable. It tells you the inner heart, you gotta read it. Donald Trump, October 12th 2016. This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove, Donald Trump, October 31, 2016. Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks, Donald Trump, November 4th, 2016. Do any of those quotes disturb you, Mr. Director?"

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Former special counsel:

"I'm not sure I would say...

(Quigley) How do you react to them?

Well, it's, problematic is an understatement in terms of whether to displays in terms of giving some, I don't know, hope or some boost for what is and should be illegal activity."

17. Wide side shot of hearing

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler says the responsibility to look into US President Donald Trump's "crimes, lies and other wrongdoing" falls on Congress, and he has vowed to finish the work Special Counsel Robert Mueller has done.

Nadler made the comments in New York Wednesday in response to the special counsel's earlier remarks about the investigation - Mueller's first public statement since his redacted report was made public in April.

"Although Department of Justice policy prevented the special counsel from bringing criminal charges against the president, the special counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying. He is lying about the special counsel's findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the special counsel's report, and above all, lying in saying that the special counsel found no obstruction and no collusion," Nadler said.

"Unfortunately, Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the president because Department of Justice policy prevents a sitting president from being prosecuted. That policy, in my opinion, is wrong but it prevented a special counsel from pursuing justice to the fullest extent possible. Therefore, as Mueller again highlighted this morning, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongdoing of President Trump," he added.

"We will do so. Make no mistake: No one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law."

Mueller's first public statement on the Russia investigation is fuelling fresh calls on Capitol Hill to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, a step that Democratic leaders have so far resisted.

Surprising Washington with his first public statement on the Russia investigation, Mueller indicated Wednesday that it's up to Congress to decide what to do with his findings.

The special counsel said he was bound by Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, but stressed he could not exonerate Trump.

Instead, he said, "the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system."

And he made clear that the process won't include him, announcing the special counsel's office is closing — and that his testimony to Congress, should he be forced to deliver it, will not go beyond what his report already says.

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: CORRECTED SPELLING OF FIRST NAME OF JERROLD NADLER++

New York - 29 May 2019

1. Wide of Rep. Jerrold Nadler making his way to podium ++SHOT CONTINUES INTO NEXT++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jerrold Nadler, New York Representative (Democrat):

"Good afternoon. First, I want to thank Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his service to our nation over the past two years. Mr. Mueller and his team of prosecutors and investigators worked tirelessly to follow the facts and pursue justice to the furthest extent allowed. Although Department of Justice policy prevented the special counsel from bringing criminal charges against the president, the special counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying. He is lying about the special counsel's findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the special counsel's report, and above all, lying in saying that the special counsel found no obstruction and no collusion. In a statement this morning, special counsel Mueller reaffirmed his report: It found substantial evidence that Russia attacked our political system, that the Trump campaign benefited from Russian interference, that Trump and those around him repeatedly welcomed Russia's support, and that throughout the subsequent investigation, Trump sought to obstruct Mueller time and time again. Special Counsel Mueller today repeated three central points, which are critical for the American people. One, the special counsel did not exonerate the president of the United States of obstruction of justice. Two, obstruction of justice of which Special Counsel Muller found substantial evidence, is a serious crime that strikes at the core of our justice system. Three, the constitution points to Congress to take action to hold the president accountable for his misconduct. Unfortunately, Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the president because Department of Justice policy prevents a sitting president from being prosecuted. That policy, in my opinion, is wrong but it prevented special counsel from pursuing justice to the fullest extent possible. Therefore, as Mueller again highlighted this morning, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongdoing of President Trump. We will do so. Make no mistake: No one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law."

++EDIT ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

Special counsel Robert Mueller, breaking a two-year silence on his investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.

Mueller says that he was bound by long-standing Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office.

In his first public comments in the probe, Mueller said on Wednesday "it would be unfair" to potentially accuse someone of a crime when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself.

Mueller's comments echoed the findings in his public report.

Mueller's report revealed that US President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president.

Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt."

POOL

Washington, DC - 29 May 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special Counsel:

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Special Counsel:

"Two years ago the acting attorney general asked me to serve as special counsel and he created the special counsel's office.  The appointment order directed the office to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This included investigating any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Now I have not spoken publicly during our investigation. I'm speaking out today because our investigation is complete. The attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the special counsel's office and as well, I'm resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life. I'll make a few remarks about the results of our work, but beyond these few remarks it is important that the office's written work speak for itself. Let me begin where the appointment order begins and that is interference in the 2016 presidential election. As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers, who were part of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system. The indictment alleges that they use sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate. And at the same time, as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election. These indictments contain allegations and we are not commenting on the guilt or the innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The indictments allege and the other activities in our report describe efforts to interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and understood and that is among the reasons why the Department of Justice established our office. That is also a reason we investigated efforts to obstruct the investigation.  The matters we investigated were of paramount importance. It was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from every person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government's effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable. Let me say a word about the report. The report has two parts, addressing the two main issues we were asked to investigate. The first volume of the report details numerous efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election. This volume includes a discussion of the Trump campaign's response to this activity as well as our conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy. And in the second volume, the report describes the results and analysis of our obstruction of justice investigation involving the president. The order appointing me Special Counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could obstruct the investigation. We conducted that investigation and we kept the office of the acting attorney general apprised of the progress of our work and as set forth in the report, after that investigation, if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so. We did not however make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime. The introduction to the volume 2 of our report explains that decision. It explains that under long standing department policy a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is prohibited. The special counsel's office is part of the Department of Justice and by regulation it was bound by that department policy.  Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

US President Donald Trump claimed on October 8th 2018 that "the Democrats colluded with Russia".

Trump was speaking in Washington after returning from his meeting with Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

He claimed that the Obama administration did nothing when it found out about possible Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections.

Trump also commented on Jamal Khashoggi, a missing Saudi journalist, saying: "I do not like it".

When asked about superstar Taylor Swift's support for Democratic candidates in Tennessee, Trump said he liked her music "about 25 percent less now".

***

President Donald Trump says he has answered written questions from special counsel Robert Mueller but hasn't yet submitted them.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on November 16th that he answered the questions "very easily" this week but added that "you have to always be careful."

The president did not say when he would turn over the answers to Mueller as part of the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Trump had huddled with lawyer at the White House this week but made clear: "my lawyers don't write answers, I write answers."

Mueller had signaled a willingness to accept written answers on matters of collusion. The White House has said it would not answer Mueller's questions on possible obstruction of justice.

The president spoke to reporters shortly after a district judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, though a lawsuit over the credentials' revocation is continuing.

Trump said "people have to behave" while in the White House and he said his staff will be "writing up rules and regulations" to guide press for future events.

The president insists he wants "total freedom of the press," but journalists "have to act with respect."

Trump didn't say what the new rules and regulations will entail.

***

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate deal in Russia.

Cohen made a surprise appearance on November 29th in a New York courtroom.

He admitted to making false statements in 2017 to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and his campaign work for Trump.

One of the prosecutors working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller was present in the courtroom.

Cohen's lawyer told the judge the plea deal involved cooperation with Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election.

***

A federal judge has agreed to delay former national security adviser Michael Flynn's sentencing so he can continue cooperating with the Russia probe.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on December 18th set a status conference for March 2019.

Attorneys for Flynn asked the judge to postpone the sentencing. The stunning request came after Sullivan warned Flynn that if he were sentenced as scheduled Tuesday, he might not get all the credit for his cooperation with investigators that he is entitled to.

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts. Prosecutors had recommended no prison time, citing his cooperation. But the judge's rebuke raised the prospect that Flynn could get a harsher sentence.

00:55:18

00:00:00

Trump says Democrats colluded with Russia

4176320

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 8 October 2018

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

" Everybody understands there was no collusion with Russia. It was all made up by the Democrats. They're the ones that colluded with Russia.

00:08:16

Trump: I answered Mueller's questions very easily

4182647

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 16 November 2018

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

" I was asked a series of questions, I've answered them very easily, very easily. I'm sure they're tripped up because you know, they like to catch people, gee, you know was the weather sunny or was it rainy? He said, 'it may have been a good day. It was rainy.' Therefore he told a lie, he perjured himself. OK, so you have to always be careful when you answer questions with people that probably have bad intentions. But no it's, the questions were very routinely answered by me, by me.

00:42.04

Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress

4184494

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

3. Michael Cohen walks out of courthouse with lawyer

00:49:23

Flynn sentencing delayed, he's still cooperating

4187405

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 18 December 2018

4. Michael Flynn leaves courthouse, enters SUV8

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is affirming that a president can be charged with crimes after leaving office.

He says Justice Department guidelines prevented him from considering charges against President Donald Trump while he is in office.

Because of the longtime Justice Department guidance that a sitting president cannot be indicted, Mueller says "one of the tools a prosecutor would use is not there."

Mueller has said his investigators could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His report said they did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller is testifying Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee about his Russia investigation.

President Donald Trump's sons and advisers are weighing in on Mueller's congressional testimony with quips on Twitter targeting Democrats.

Donald Trump Jr. is calling the hearing a "disaster" for Democrats. He says Mueller claims he can't understand the Republicans' questions, but totally gets the ones from Democrats.

Eric Trump says GOP Rep. Jim Jordan's comments at the hearing were "spot on." Jordan says Democrats should be investigating what he says are "false accusations" that started the Russia probe.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the hearing shows the Russia probe was run by Democrats wanting to destroy Trump.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted three words: "drop the mic."

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - STRICTLY NO ARCHIVE RESALE/AUTHORIZED RE-USE BY AP'S BROADCAST AND DIGITAL OUTPUT ONLY

Washington DC - 24 July 2019

1. Various of former special counsel Robert Mueller walking back into hearing after break

2. Cutaway of hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"So what I have to ask you and what I think people are working around in this hearing is. Let me lay a little foundation for the ethical rules require that a prosecutor have a reasonable probability of conviction to bring a charge is that correct?"

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"Sounds generally accurate."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"Was there sufficient evidence to convict President Trump or anyone else with obstruction of justice?"

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"We did not make that calculation.

(Buck off camera: How could you not have made the calculation regularly?)

Well OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion, OLC opinion, Office Legal Counsel indicates that we cannot indict a sitting president. So one of the tools that a prosecutor would use is not there."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"The decision on the Russian interference you couldn't have indicted the president on that. And you made the decision on that but when it came to obstruction you threw a bunch of stuff up against the wall to see what would stick."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"I would not agree, I would not agree to that characterization at all. What we did is provide to the attorney general in the form of a confidential memorandum our understanding of the case. Those cases that were brought, those cases were declined. And the one case where the president cannot be charged with a crime."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"You believe that he committed... you could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office."

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"Yes.

(Buck off camera: Ethically under the ethical standards?)

Well I'm I'm not certain, I haven't looked at the ethical standards but oh well OLC Opinion says that the prosecutor why he cannot bring a charge against a sitting president. Nonetheless he can continue the investigation, to see if there are any other persons who might be drawn into the conspiracy."

11. Cutaway

TWITTER/@DonaldTrumpJr

Internet - 24 July 2019

12. Tweet from Donald Trump Jr. reading (English):

"Funny, Muelller can't understand the Republicans but he can totally understand the Democrats questions. This is a disaster for dems."

TWITTER/@EricTrump

Internet - 24 July 2019

13. Tweet from Eric Trump reading (English):

"@Jim_Jordan is terrific. Spot on..."

TWITTER/@KellyannePolls

Internet - 24 July 2019

14. Tweet from Kellyann Conway reading (English):

"Drop the Mic."

TWITTER/@SarahHuckabee

Internet - 24 July 2019

15. Tweet from Sarah Huckabee Sanders reading (English):

"What's been clear to all but the liberal media is this was a partisan investigation run by Democrats out to destroy

@realDonaldTrump  with Mueller as the figurehead. Thank you House Democrats for calling today's hearing and exposing the truth for all Americans to see."

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is affirming that a president can be charged with crimes after leaving office.

He says Justice Department guidelines prevented him from considering charges against President Donald Trump while he is in office.

Because of the longtime Justice Department guidance that a sitting president cannot be indicted, Mueller says "one of the tools a prosecutor would use is not there."

Mueller has said his investigators could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His report said they did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller is testifying Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee about his Russia investigation.

President Donald Trump's sons and advisers are weighing in on Mueller's congressional testimony with quips on Twitter targeting Democrats.

Donald Trump Jr. is calling the hearing a "disaster" for Democrats. He says Mueller claims he can't understand the Republicans' questions, but totally gets the ones from Democrats.

Eric Trump says GOP Rep. Jim Jordan's comments at the hearing were "spot on." Jordan says Democrats should be investigating what he says are "false accusations" that started the Russia probe.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the hearing shows the Russia probe was run by Democrats wanting to destroy Trump.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted three words: "drop the mic."

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - STRICTLY NO ARCHIVE RESALE/AUTHORIZED RE-USE BY AP'S BROADCAST AND DIGITAL OUTPUT ONLY

Washington DC - 24 July 2019

1. Various of former special counsel Robert Mueller walking back into hearing after break

2. Cutaway of hearing

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"So what I have to ask you and what I think people are working around in this hearing is. Let me lay a little foundation for the ethical rules require that a prosecutor have a reasonable probability of conviction to bring a charge is that correct?"

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"Sounds generally accurate."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"Was there sufficient evidence to convict President Trump or anyone else with obstruction of justice?"

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"We did not make that calculation.

(Buck off camera: How could you not have made the calculation regularly?)

Well OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion, OLC opinion, Office Legal Counsel indicates that we cannot indict a sitting president. So one of the tools that a prosecutor would use is not there."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"The decision on the Russian interference you couldn't have indicted the president on that. And you made the decision on that but when it came to obstruction you threw a bunch of stuff up against the wall to see what would stick."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"I would not agree, I would not agree to that characterization at all. What we did is provide to the attorney general in the form of a confidential memorandum our understanding of the case. Those cases that were brought, those cases were declined. And the one case where the president cannot be charged with a crime."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ken Buck, (R) Colorado:

"You believe that he committed... you could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office."

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Mueller, Fmr. Speical Counsel:

"Yes.

(Buck off camera: Ethically under the ethical standards?)

Well I'm I'm not certain, I haven't looked at the ethical standards but oh well OLC Opinion says that the prosecutor why he cannot bring a charge against a sitting president. Nonetheless he can continue the investigation, to see if there are any other persons who might be drawn into the conspiracy."

11. Cutaway

TWITTER/@DonaldTrumpJr

Internet - 24 July 2019

12. Tweet from Donald Trump Jr. reading (English):

"Funny, Muelller can't understand the Republicans but he can totally understand the Democrats questions. This is a disaster for dems."

TWITTER/@EricTrump

Internet - 24 July 2019

13. Tweet from Eric Trump reading (English):

"@Jim_Jordan is terrific. Spot on..."

TWITTER/@KellyannePolls

Internet - 24 July 2019

14. Tweet from Kellyann Conway reading (English):

"Drop the Mic."

TWITTER/@SarahHuckabee

Internet - 24 July 2019

15. Tweet from Sarah Huckabee Sanders reading (English):

"What's been clear to all but the liberal media is this was a partisan investigation run by Democrats out to destroy

@realDonaldTrump  with Mueller as the figurehead. Thank you House Democrats for calling today's hearing and exposing the truth for all Americans to see."

President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted Thursday he had lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he had pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The guilty plea makes clear that prosecutors believe that Trump, who insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that he had no business dealings in Russia, was continuing to pursue the project weeks after he had clinched the Republican nomination for president and well after he or his associates have publicly acknowledged.

The negotiations about building a Trump Tower in Moscow continued as late as June 2016 - the same month Trump's oldest son met in Manhattan with a Kremlin-connected lawyer - even though Cohen told two congressional committees last year that they ended that January.

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew," explains AP reporter Chad Day.

Cohen also discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with unidentified members of the president's family, according to court papers filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team seven times.

"What this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them," Day says.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

1. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS - MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

New York - 29 November 2018

2. Sketch of Michael Cohen sitting in court

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What happened today is that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former fixer and longtime attorney, appeared in a courtroom in New York and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of a Russia, a deal that the president's company, the Trump organization, was planning to do to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

4. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina - 21 October 2016

5. Donald Trump walks into campaign rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew. He also, what we learned from the court papers is that he actually personally discussed this deal with the president, who was then a candidate at the time and also briefed his family members about it. So what we're getting from these new court documents is a much more vivid picture of how far along this deal went and who knew about the deal while they were also doing, you know carrying out the presidential campaign."

7. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters before leaving for Argentina

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 21 September 2018

8. Michael Cohen walks out of court with his lawyer

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"The president is acknowledging that this was a deal and we've known that there was a deal. Michael Cohen disclosed that this deal existed and that there were talks about this building that would go, that would be built in Russia. But the new part of this is that the president's personal involvement in it and how much he knew and when. And also, you know if we're looking at kind of going forward that Michael Cohen has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigation. One big issue now for the president is that he recently provided written statements to questions about his interactions with Russia, his campaign's interaction with Russia that could have touched on this subject. We don't know for sure but if there's any inconsistency between what Mueller says is true in these court papers based on their evidence and what the president says that could be a problem for him."

10. President Trump walks away from talking to press, waits for First Lady Melania Trump on South Lawn

11 . SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What we knew about Michael Cohen before is that he had pleaded guilty to a number of different crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush money payments that have been paid on the president's behalf to former Playboy model and also Stormy Daniels, a porn star. And so this is now kind of connecting that Cohen case which previously didn't have a Russia connection to the special counsel's investigation. And so what this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 2 July 2018

11. Michael Cohen walking down the street in New York

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"It's really hard to tell now kind of where this goes. What, what we're able to see is that this is a very active part of their investigation, that you know, it's not just about Paul Manafort and his business deals. It's not just about Michael Flynn and lies that he may have told or that he did tell during, about his interactions with Russia. That there is a very active investigation, a criminal investigation into whether or not there was contact between Trump associates and Russians during the 2016 campaign. And while this doesn't have anything directly to do with collusion or any question of that, this does show that someone who was a high placed official at the Trump organization, very close to the president, was discussing a business deal with even officials in the Kremlin during the time where the president was you know, leading a very public campaign for office."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

13. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea and toward press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 23 May 2017

14. Paul Manafort, gets out of car and walks into US District courthouse

POOL

Washington, DC - 20 January, 2017

15. Michael Flynn arrives at inauguration

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - July 2018

16. Trump Tower exteriors

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 30 May, 2018

17. Michael Cohen walks toward courthouse

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

18. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

++NIGHT SHOT++

Washington - 28 April 2018

1. US President Donald Trump walking across White House lawn

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

2. 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 Mueller 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

Beijing - 30 January 2008

3. FILE: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller at news conference

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

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

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."

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, Michigan - 28 April 2018

9. US President Donald Trump at podium

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

10. 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

11. Trump steps off Air Force One, waves

TWITTER @RealDonaldTrump - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Internet - 2 May 2018

12. Screen grab of Trump tweet reading (English) "There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap). What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!"

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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President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted Thursday he had lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he had pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The guilty plea makes clear that prosecutors believe that Trump, who insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that he had no business dealings in Russia, was continuing to pursue the project weeks after he had clinched the Republican nomination for president and well after he or his associates have publicly acknowledged.

The negotiations about building a Trump Tower in Moscow continued as late as June 2016 - the same month Trump's oldest son met in Manhattan with a Kremlin-connected lawyer - even though Cohen told two congressional committees last year that they ended that January.

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew," explains AP reporter Chad Day.

Cohen also discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with unidentified members of the president's family, according to court papers filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team seven times.

"What this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them," Day says.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

1. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What happened today is that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former fixer and longtime attorney, appeared in a courtroom in New York and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of a Russia, a deal that the president's company, the Trump organization, was planning to do to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign."

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS - MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

New York - 29 November 2018

3. Sketch of Michael Cohen sitting in court

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew. He also, what we learned from the court papers is that he actually personally discussed this deal with the president, who was then a candidate at the time and also briefed his family members about it. So what we're getting from these new court documents is a much more vivid picture of how far along this deal went and who knew about the deal while they were also doing, you know carrying out the presidential campaign."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

5. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"The president is acknowledging that this was a deal and we've known that there was a deal. Michael Cohen disclosed that this deal existed and that there were talks about this building that would go, that would be built in Russia. But the new part of this is that the president's personal involvement in it and how much he knew and when. And also, you know if we're looking at kind of going forward that Michael Cohen has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigation. One big issue now for the president is that he recently provided written statements to questions about his interactions with Russia, his campaign's interaction with Russia that could have touched on this subject. We don't know for sure but if there's any inconsistency between what Mueller says is true in these court papers based on their evidence and what the president says that could be a problem for him."

7. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters before leaving for Argentina

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

"What we knew about Michael Cohen before is that he had pleaded guilty to a number of different crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush money payments that have been paid on the president's behalf to a former Playboy model and also Stormy Daniels, a porn star. And so this is now kind of connecting that Cohen case which previously didn't have a Russia connection to the special counsel's investigation. And so what this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

9. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea and toward press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"It's really hard to tell now kind of where this goes. What, what we're able to see is that this is a very active part of their investigation, that you know, it's not just about Paul Manafort and his business deals. It's not just about Michael Flynn and lies that he may have told or that he did tell during, about his interactions with Russia. That there is a very active investigation, a criminal investigation into whether or not there was contact between Trump associates and Russians during the 2016 campaign. And while this doesn't have anything directly to do with collusion or any question of that, this does show that someone who was a high placed official at the Trump organization, very close to the president, was discussing a business deal with even officials in the Kremlin during the time where the president was you know, leading a very public campaign for office."

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina - 21 October 2016

11. Donald Trump walks into campaign rally

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts — like firing his FBI director — that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

1. STILLS - Attorney General's letter to Congress on Mueller probe

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

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote collusion that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - Strictly no Archive Resale / Authorized re-use by AP’s broadcast and digital output internationally only but strictly no access US

West Palm Beach, Florida - 24 March 2019

3. SOUNDBITE (English) US President Donald Trump:

"It was just announced there was no collusion with Russia the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There was no collusion with Russia."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

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

And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory."

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - Strictly no Archive Resale / Authorized re-use by AP’s broadcast and digital output internationally only but strictly no access US

West Palm Beach, Florida - 24 March 2019

5. SOUNDBITE (English) US President Donald Trump:

"There was no obstruction and none whatsoever and it was a complete and total exoneration."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

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

"The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect than the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McLean, Virginia - 24 March 2019

7. Attorney General William Barr exits home

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D) Washington

"Somehow that he would summarize it? I don't want his summary. I want Bob Mueller's report."

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

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 8 October 2018

10. Various Stormy Daniels posing with book

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

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

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation.

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

"I think the main takeaway is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. John Garamendi, (D) California:

"All of the information has to be made available. Put it all out, put it on the table, let the American public see what's going on here."

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work.

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. John Garamendi, (D) California:

"And for the six committees that are doing that investigation, you want that information."

16. SOUUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"And you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 24 March 2019

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

"It is imperative that the Attorney General release the full report and the underlying evidence."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Muller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, Mueller did indicate that there's a there there, he just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 24 March 2019

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

"President Trump is wrong. This report does not amount to a so-called total exoneration. Special counsel Mueller was clear that his report - quote - does not exonerate -close quote - the president."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr.

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say."

US NETWORK POOL VIA ABC NEWS VIDEOSOURCE - Strictly no Archive Resale / Authorized re-use by AP’s broadcast and digital output internationally only but strictly no access US

West Palm Beach, Florida - 24 March 2019

22. Trump boarding plane

23. SOUNDBITE (English) US President Donald Trump:

"So it's complete exoneration. No collusion."

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia, Russian associates two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponized during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

25. Still - Donald Trump Jr.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Moscow - 22 April 2018

26. Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 25 October 2018

27. Still George Papadopoulos

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 24 March 2019

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D) Washington

"I am worried that we have not heard for sure that we're going to get the whole report. And that's what we need to see."

29. Trump walking across White House lawn

30 SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public."

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

++NIGHT SHOT++

Washington - 28 April 2018

1. US President Donald Trump walking across White House lawn

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

2. 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 Mueller 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

Beijing - 30 January 2008

3. FILE: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller at news conference

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

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

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."

POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, Michigan - 28 April 2018

9. US President Donald Trump at podium

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 2 May 2018

10. 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

11. Trump steps off Air Force One, waves

TWITTER @RealDonaldTrump - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Internet - 2 May 2018

12. Screen grab of Trump tweet reading (English) "There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap). What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!"

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.

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

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

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.

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

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts - like firing his FBI director - that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote "collusion" that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory. The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect of the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However, Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four-page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation. We expect to hear more details of what the special counsel found in coming days and weeks."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation. The president's been implicated in wrongdoing by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. It's not yet clear what's going to happen with that investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four-page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work and you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report. And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Mueller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, it's clear that Mueller did indicate that there's a there there. He just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other so that's given hope to Democrats that they want to see more."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr. And then it is possible that a document could be made public. But you have to imagine, and we know this for sure in this case, that this is a document that concerns grand jury information, perhaps classified information. That's a complicated process to scrub that document of any potential issues, executive privilege issues. And that's going to take some time."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say, between the president and Russia and the special counsel according to Barr was pretty unequivocal about that. And so the president, we can expect him to rightfully claim victory and based on what we know from the special counsel's findings, that perhaps seems justified on that front. However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia, Russian associates, two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponised during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

7. Still - Donald Trump Jr. (Partly covers Soundbite #6)

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

"As it relates to the question of collusion, we do have a definitive answer from the special counsel and ostensibly endorsed by the attorney general that there was no collusion. We've heard that from the president for the last two years. That is the central finding and take away from this four-page summary that there was indeed no collusion, no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign on one hand and the criminal in the Kremlin on the other to get Trump elected."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public that would be, because the special counsel is regarded as the ultimate arbiter of, with subpoena power, evidence, ability to criminally prosecute, so he's regarded as the final voice. So it's not clear whether the American public will accept if Mueller says no collusion and House Democrats say otherwise."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts — like firing his FBI director — that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel  Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote collusion that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory. The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect than the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings,  Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

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

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation. We  expect to hear more details of what the special counsel found in coming days and weeks."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation. The president's been implicated in wrongdoing by his former lawyer Michael Cohen. It's not yet clear what's going to happen with that investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work and you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report.  And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Muller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, it's clear that Mueller did indicate that there's a there there. He just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other so that's given hope to Democrats that they want to see more."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr.  And then it is possible that a document could be made public. But you have to imagine, and we know this for sure in this case, that this is a document that concerns grand jury information, perhaps classified information. That's a complicated process to scrub that document of any potential issues, executive privilege issues. And that's going to take some time."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say, between the president and Russia and the special counsel according to Barr was pretty unequivocal about that. And so the president, we can expect him to rightfully claim victory and based on what we know from the special counsel's findings, that perhaps seems justified on that front. However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia,  Russian associates two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponized during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

7. Still - Donald Trump Jr. (Partly covers Soundbite #6)

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

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

"As it relates to the question of collusion, we do have a definitive answer from the special counsel and ostensibly endorsed by the attorney general that there was no collusion. We've heard that from the president for the last two years. That is the central finding and take away from this four page summary that there was indeed no collusion, no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign on one hand and the criminal in the Kremlin on the other to get Trump elected."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

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

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public. That would be because the special counsel is regarded as the ultimate arbiter of, with subpoena power, evidence, ability to criminally prosecute, so he's regarded as the final voice. So it's not clear whether the American public will accept if  Mueller says no collusion and House Democrats say otherwise."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted Thursday he had lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he had pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The guilty plea makes clear that prosecutors believe that Trump, who insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that he had no business dealings in Russia, was continuing to pursue the project weeks after he had clinched the Republican nomination for president and well after he or his associates have publicly acknowledged.

The negotiations about building a Trump Tower in Moscow continued as late as June 2016 - the same month Trump's oldest son met in Manhattan with a Kremlin-connected lawyer - even though Cohen told two congressional committees last year that they ended that January.

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew," explains AP reporter Chad Day.

Cohen also discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with unidentified members of the president's family, according to court papers filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team seven times.

"What this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them," Day says.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

1. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What happened today is that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former fixer and longtime attorney, appeared in a courtroom in New York and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of a Russia, a deal that the president's company, the Trump organization, was planning to do to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign."

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS - MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

New York - 29 November 2018

3. Sketch of Michael Cohen sitting in court

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew. He also, what we learned from the court papers is that he actually personally discussed this deal with the president, who was then a candidate at the time and also briefed his family members about it. So what we're getting from these new court documents is a much more vivid picture of how far along this deal went and who knew about the deal while they were also doing, you know carrying out the presidential campaign."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

5. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

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

"The president is acknowledging that this was a deal and we've known that there was a deal. Michael Cohen disclosed that this deal existed and that there were talks about this building that would go, that would be built in Russia. But the new part of this is that the president's personal involvement in it and how much he knew and when. And also, you know if we're looking at kind of going forward that Michael Cohen has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigation. One big issue now for the president is that he recently provided written statements to questions about his interactions with Russia, his campaign's interaction with Russia that could have touched on this subject. We don't know for sure but if there's any inconsistency between what Mueller says is true in these court papers based on their evidence and what the president says that could be a problem for him."

7. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters before leaving for Argentina

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

"What we knew about Michael Cohen before is that he had pleaded guilty to a number of different crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush money payments that have been paid on the president's behalf to a former Playboy model and also Stormy Daniels, a porn star. And so this is now kind of connecting that Cohen case which previously didn't have a Russia connection to the special counsel's investigation. And so what this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

9. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea and toward press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"It's really hard to tell now kind of where this goes. What, what we're able to