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++

Within minutes of receiving notification that special counsel Robert Mueller had turned over his report on the Russia investigation, congressional Democrats were calling for the report to be fully released, including the underlying evidence. They have threatened subpoenas if it is not.

The demands are setting up a potential tug of war between congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump's administration that federal judges might eventually have to referee.

Six Democratic committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Friday that if Mueller has any reason to believe that Trump "has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct," then the Justice Department should not conceal it.

"The president is not above the law and the need for public faith in our democratic institutions and the rule of law must be the priority," the chairmen wrote.

Reacting to the release, Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu, who serves on the Judiciary Committee, told the Associated Press that "the American people paid for this report," adding "both American people and Congress have a right to see the full report. "

Lieu said although the special counsel report focused on Russia, the findings could also be used in a wide array of Judicary Committee investigations.

It's unclear what Mueller has found related to the president, or if any of it would be damning. In his investigation of whether President Donald Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

Lawmakers say they need the underlying evidence - including interviews, documents and material turned over to the grand jury - because the Justice Department has maintained that a president cannot be indicted, and also that derogatory information cannot be released about people who have not been charged. So if the investigation did find evidence incriminating against Trump, they may not be able to release it, under their own guidelines.

The Democrats say that it could be tantamount to a cover-up if the department did not let Congress and the public know what they found.

Washington - 22 March 2019

1. Wide, exterior view of Department of Justice

Los Angeles - 3 May 2018

2. STILL Image, Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat - California, Member of House Judiciary Committee

Torrence, California - 22 March 2019

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat - California: ++ AUDIO ONLY++

"Today is a proud day for America. Despite many attempts by Donald Trump to block this investigation Robert Mueller and his team were able to complete it. The fact that Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein kept their jobs I think is a strong testament to the vitality and strength of our institutions. This was a Republican led investigation of a Republican president and it was allowed to continue. I think that says a lot about America."

Washington - 22 March 2019

4. Wide, exterior view of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office

Torrence, California - 22 March 2019

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat - California: ++ AUDIO ONLY++

"Now in terms of distribution, the American people paid for this report. It is a matter of intense national interest and under both the separation of powers as well as just general fairness and transparency, both American people and Congress have a right to see the full report. "

Washington - 22 March 2019

6. Wide, exterior view of Department of Justice ++NIGHT SHOT++

Torrence, California - 22 March 2019

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat - California: ++ AUDIO ONLY++

"It's hard to know without knowing what's in the actual report. It's also important to understand that because the Department of Justice has taken the position that they won't indict a sitting president then the only other institution that can hold the press accountable is Congress. And we can't do that if we don't see the full report. So, that at every level when you look at it from separation of powers or the functions of both Congress and the special counsel in this case, the different functions we have to see the entire report."

Washington - 22 March 2019

8. Wide, people standing in front of White House

9. Close-up protester

Torrence, California - 22 March 2019

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat - California: ++ AUDIO ONLY++

"Special Counsel Mueller's investigation was largely centered on Russia. The House Judiciary Committee and other committees were interested in knowing did Donald Trump, his family, his associates commit any crime? Second, did they engage in any ethical misconduct, whether or not it rose to the level of a federal crime? And third how do we explain this to the American people to keep it from happening again?"

Washington - 22 March 2019

11. Wide, tourists walking in front of White House

12. Wide, White House ++NIGHT SHOT++

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

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

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

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

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

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

Washington - 21 June  2017

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

McLean, Virginia - 23 March 2019

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

5. Barr's motorcade arrives at DOJ

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

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

7. Various House Judiciary Committee offices

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

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

9. White House exterior

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

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

Washington - 21 June  2017

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

13. Various DOJ exteriors

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

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

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

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

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

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

Washington - 21 June  2017

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

McLean, Virginia - 23 March 2019

4. US Attorney General William Barr comes out of his house and gets in a vehicle out front (PARTIALLY COVERS PREVIOUS SOUNDBITE)

Washington - 23 March 2019

5. Various House Judiciary Committee offices (PARTIALLY COVERS UPCOMING SOUNDBITE)

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

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

++WHITE FLASH++

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

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

8. White House Exterior

Washington - 21 June  2017

9. STILL - Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, arrives on Capitol Hill for a closed door meeting before the Senate Judiciary Committee (PARTIALLY COVERS UPCOMING SOUNDBITE)

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

11. Various DOJ exteriors (PARTIALLY COVERS PREVIOUS SOUNDBITE)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Washington - 21 June  2017

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

McLean, Virginia - 23 March 2019

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

5. Barr's motorcade arrives at DOJ

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

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

7. Various House Judiciary Committee offices

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

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

9. White House exterior

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

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

Washington - 21 June  2017

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

Washington - 23 March 2019

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

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

13. Various DOJ exteriors

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to prepare subpoenas this week seeking special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report as the Justice Department appears likely to miss an April 2 deadline set by Democrats for the report's release.

The Judiciary panel plans to vote on subpoenas Wednesday, a day after the deadline.

The chairmen of several House committees asked for the full report last week after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary laying out the report's principal conclusions.

Barr said in a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Friday that a redacted version of the full 300 page report would be released by mid-April, if not sooner.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said the prospect of subpoenas were "ridiculous," but that he would abide by Barr's decision on the matter.

"I think it's a disgrace," Trump said.  "These are just Democrats that want to try and demean this country and it shouldn't be allowed."

The planned committee vote, announced Monday morning, would not automatically issue subpoenas but authorize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to send them.

The panel will also vote to authorize subpoenas related to a number of President Donald Trump's former top advisers, including strategist Steve Bannon, Communications Director Hope Hicks, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Counsel Donald McGahn and counsel Ann Donaldson. Donaldson served as McGahn's chief of staff before both left the administration.

The five were probably key witnesses in Mueller's probe of possible obstruction of justice.

Washington - 2 April 2019

1. Wide, US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Oval Office  

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

"Reporter: There is going to be a vote in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow whether or not to authorize subpoenas to demand an unredacted version of the Mueller report and all of the background materials.  If they do vote out the authority for subpoenas will the White House fight that?

Well, I think it's ridiculous. We went through two years of the Mueller investigation. We have, I mean, not only that you read the wording that was proven ... who could go through that and get wording where it was no collusion, no nothing. So there's no collusion. The attorney general now and the deputy attorney general ruled no obstruction. They said no obstruction and so there's no collusion, there's no obstruction and now we're going to start this process all over again? I think it's a disgrace. These are just Democrats that want to try and demean this country and it shouldn't be allowed. And I'll totally live by what the attorney general ... I have great respect for the attorney general. I'll live by what he said but I will tell you this, nothing you give them, whether it's shifty Schiff (House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff) or (House Judiciary Chairman) Jerry Nadler, who I've known he's been fighting me for half of my life in Manhattan and I was very successful, thank you. But Nadler's been fighting me for years and years in Manhattan. Not successfully I will tell you anything we give them will never be enough."

3. Pan from reporters to Trump

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

"This has been a very, very bad thing for our country. The question was asked before about Russia, about Germany, about all of the different things that you and I discussed so often. There's been a very bad thing for the United States. It's been a total waste of time. But what has it been a waste of time is some very bad people started something that should have never been started. And I hope that's going to continue forward, because people did things that were very, very bad for our country and very, very illegal. And you could even say treasonous. OK, thank you very much everybody. "

5. Wide, Oval Office meeting

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to prepare subpoenas this week seeking special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report as the Justice Department appears likely to miss an April 2 deadline set by Democrats for the report's release.

The Judiciary panel plans to vote on subpoenas Wednesday, a day after the deadline.

The chairmen of several House committees asked for the full report last week after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary laying out the report's principal conclusions.

Barr said in a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Friday that a redacted version of the full 300 page report would be released by mid-April, if not sooner.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said the prospect of subpoenas were "ridiculous," but that he would abide by Barr's decision on the matter.

"I think it's a disgrace," Trump said.  "These are just Democrats that want to try and demean this country and it shouldn't be allowed."

The planned committee vote, announced Monday morning, would not automatically issue subpoenas but authorize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to send them.

The panel will also vote to authorize subpoenas related to a number of President Donald Trump's former top advisers, including strategist Steve Bannon, Communications Director Hope Hicks, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Counsel Donald McGahn and counsel Ann Donaldson. Donaldson served as McGahn's chief of staff before both left the administration.

The five were probably key witnesses in Mueller's probe of possible obstruction of justice.

Washington - 2 April 2019

1. Wide, US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Oval Office

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

"Reporter: There is going to be a vote in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow whether or not to authorize subpoenas to demand an unredacted version of the Mueller report and all of the background materials. If they do vote out the authority for subpoenas will the White House fight that?

Well, I think it's ridiculous. We went through two years of the Mueller investigation. We have, I mean, not only that you read the wording that was proven ... who could go through that and get wording where it was no collusion, no nothing. So there's no collusion. The attorney general now and the deputy attorney general ruled no obstruction. They said no obstruction and so there's no collusion, there's no obstruction and now we're going to start this process all over again? I think it's a disgrace. These are just Democrats that want to try and demean this country and it shouldn't be allowed. And I'll totally live by what the attorney general ... I have great respect for the attorney general. I'll live by what he said but I will tell you this, nothing you give them, whether it's shifty Schiff (House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff) or (House Judiciary Chairman) Jerry Nadler, who I've known he's been fighting me for half of my life in Manhattan and I was very successful, thank you. But Nadler's been fighting me for years and years in Manhattan. Not successfully I will tell you anything we give them will never be enough."

3. Pan from reporters to Trump

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

"This has been a very, very bad thing for our country. The question was asked before about Russia, about Germany, about all of the different things that you and I discussed so often. There's been a very bad thing for the United States. It's been a total waste of time. But what has it been a waste of time is some very bad people started something that should have never been started. And I hope that's going to continue forward, because people did things that were very, very bad for our country and very, very illegal. And you could even say treasonous. OK, thank you very much everybody. "

5. Wide, Oval Office meeting

The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says his panel will "unpack the other side of the story" of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into President Donald Trump and his campaign.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spent the weekend with Trump in Florida, said his committee will investigate the actions of the Justice Department in the Russia investigation, including the FBI's use of a dossier compiled by British spy Christopher Steele.

Graham spoke Monday after Attorney General William Barr reported to Congress on Mueller's findings. Barr said Mueller found no evidence that Trump or his associates conspired with Russia. Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Graham said he will be speaking with Barr at noon and wants him to testify before his committee.

Washington, DC - 25 March 2019

1. Wide shot of Lindsey Graham walking into the Senate press gallery

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"The Mueller report is complete. I have a phone call with Attorney General Barr at noon about what's next. What's next, I hope, will be that he will come to the committee, release as much as possible of the Mueller report."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"It's clear to be from the 4-page summary by Attorney General Barr that the Russians did in fact hack into the DNC, the Podesta emails. It was the Russians. There wasn't some 300 pound guy sitting on a bed somewhere. And the conclusion was firm, without equivocation, that no one on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians when it came to the 2016 election."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"So I hope soon to have as much of the report released as possible and what happens next? What happens next is that I have been talking since 2017, the end of 2017, about the other side of the story and nobody much appeared, appears to care, but I hope you will find some interest now. That the FISA warrant issued against Carter Page, based on a dossier prepared by Christopher Steel,e is at a minimum disturbing. Whether or not it's a legal I don't yet know. So I'm going to get answers to this."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"(Reporter question: Is it your belief that the Russians were trying to ...?)

Absolutely. I think, there's things I can't tell you. They were out to get us all. Here's what I told Trump for whatever it's worth. I think the dossier, a lot of it came from the Russian intelligence service. If you just think Russia just likes Trump and hate Clinton you're missing the point of what they're trying to do. They're trying to divide all of us against each other and done a pretty good job of it. They're still at it, by the way, they're still doing this. And one of the things I want to take away from this whole endeavor is to try to find ways to fix it. Critical infrastructure before this debate was power companies, financial services. Now it's got to be the political system. Parties need to realize that they're subject to being attacked, that the vote vote tallying process needs to be hardened, that the social media outlets that we all rely upon and enrich our lives can be co-opted to spread lies to pit one American against the other. If we don't take that from this investigation that the Russians tried to do it and they're going to keep trying then we missed a real big point."

++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:  AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, DC - 25 March 2019

1. Wide shot of Lindsey Graham walking into the Senate press gallery

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"The Mueller report is complete. I have a phone call with Attorney General Barr at noon about what's next. What's next, I hope, will be that he will come to the committee, release as much as possible of the Mueller report."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"It's clear to be from the 4-page summary by Attorney General Barr that the Russians did in fact hack into the DNC, the Podesta emails. It was the Russians. There wasn't some 300 pound guy sitting on a bed somewhere. And the conclusion was firm, without equivocation, that no one on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians when it came to the 2016 election."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"So I hope soon to have as much of the report released as possible and what happens next? What happens next is that I have been talking since 2017, the end of 2017, about the other side of the story and nobody much appeared, appears to care, but I hope you will find some interest now. That the FISA warrant issued against Carter Page, based on a dossier prepared by Christopher Steel,e is at a minimum disturbing. Whether or not it's a legal I don't yet know. So I'm going to get answers to this."

++BLACK BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"(Reporter question: Is it your belief that the Russians were trying to ...?)

Absolutely. I think, there's things I can't tell you. They were out to get us all. Here's what I told Trump for whatever it's worth. I think the dossier, a lot of it came from the Russian intelligence service. If you just think Russia just likes Trump and hate Clinton you're missing the point of what they're trying to do. They're trying to divide all of us against each other and done a pretty good job of it. They're still at it, by the way, they're still doing this. And one of the things I want to take away from this whole endeavor is to try to find ways to fix it. Critical infrastructure before this debate was power companies, financial services. Now it's got to be the political system. Parties need to realize that they're subject to being attacked, that the vote vote tallying process needs to be hardened, that the social media outlets that we all rely upon and enrich our lives can be co-opted to spread lies to pit one American against the other. If we don't take that from this investigation that the Russians tried to do it and they're going to keep trying then we missed a real big point."

++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

STORYLINE:

The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says his panel will "unpack the other side of the story" of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into President Donald Trump and his campaign.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spent the weekend with Trump in Florida, said his committee will investigate the actions of the Justice Department in the Russia investigation, including the FBI's use of a dossier compiled by British spy Christopher Steele.

Graham spoke Monday after Attorney General William Barr reported to Congress on Mueller's findings. Barr said Mueller found no evidence that Trump or his associates conspired with Russia. Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Graham said he will be speaking with Barr at noon and wants him to testify before his committee.

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

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The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says his panel will "unpack the other side of the story" of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into President Donald Trump and his campaign.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spent the weekend with Trump in Florida, said his committee will investigate the actions of the Justice Department in the Russia investigation, including the FBI's use of a dossier compiled by British spy Christopher Steele.

Graham spoke Monday after Attorney General William Barr reported to Congress on Mueller's findings. Barr said Mueller found no evidence that Trump or his associates conspired with Russia. Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Graham said he will be speaking with Barr at noon and wants him to testify before his committee.

The South Carolina Senator also said it's clear from Mueller's report that Russia is "trying to divide all of us against each other."  And he said if the public doesn't take that from the probe, "we missed a real big point."

Washington, DC - 25 March 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"The Mueller report is complete. I have a phone call with Attorney General Barr at noon about what's next. What's next, I hope, will be that he will come to the committee, release as much as possible of the Mueller report."

++WHITE FLASH BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"It's clear to be from the 4-page summary by Attorney General Barr that the Russians did in fact hack into the DNC, the Podesta emails. It was the Russians. There wasn't some 300 pound guy sitting on a bed somewhere. And the conclusion was firm, without equivocation, that no one on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians when it came to the 2016 election."

++WHITE FLASH BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:

"So I hope soon to have as much of the report released as possible and what happens next? What happens next is that I have been talking since 2017, the end of 2017, about the other side of the story and nobody much appeared, appears to care, but I hope you will find some interest now that the FISA warrant issued against Carter Page, based on a dossier prepared by Christopher Steele is at a minimum disturbing. Whether or not it's illegal I don't yet know. So I'm going to get answers to this."

++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee suggested on Wednesday that former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker may have had conversations with President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen's legal troubles, saying that Whitaker "did not deny" the conversations during a private meeting on Capitol Hill.

Representative Jerrold Nadler did not get into the specifics of what Whitaker said when he met with Nadler and the top Republican on the panel, Georgia Representative Doug Collins.

Collins said he heard Whitaker's comments differently and maintained that Whitaker said he "had not talked with the president about Mr. Cohen at all." Two Republican staff members in the room backed up Collins' version. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential meeting.

There was no transcript taken at the meeting, according to the Republican aides, so it wasn't clear exactly what Whitaker said, and it may never be clear.

But the dispute could have high stakes, as Democrats have voiced concerns that Whitaker was a Trump loyalist whose appointment, they suspect, was aimed at suppressing investigations of the Republican president.

Whitaker returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after Democrats said they wanted him to clarify his open testimony before the Judiciary panel in February.

One thing that Nadler said he had questions about was whether Trump had "lashed out" at Whitaker after Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

News reports said Trump did lash out at Whitaker, but Whitaker said in the hearing that he did not.

In a letter to Whitaker asking for him to return and clarify his comments, Nadler said that the committee "has identified several individuals with direct knowledge of the phone calls you denied receiving" from the White House.

After Wednesday's meeting, Nadler said that "unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss the Michael Cohen case".

Nadler also said after the meeting that Whitaker was "directly involved" in conversations about whether to fire "one or more" US attorneys - he did not say which ones - and that he was "involved in conversations" about the Southern District of New York's case against Cohen and whether it might have gone too far. Nadler did not give details on those conversations.

Collins said that Whitaker suggested the conversations about district attorneys were normal personnel issues, and to characterize those comments otherwise were "an overreach and a stretch." Collins added that Whitaker said he hadn't had any conversations with officials in the Southern District of New York.

According to the Republican aides, Whitaker said that those conversations were among other Justice Department staff and that Whitaker said he thought some of the claims in the campaign finance case were "specious" from a legal standpoint.

At the February hearing, which was held while Whitaker was still acting attorney general, Democrats confronted him on his past criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's work and his refusal to recuse himself from overseeing it, attacked him over his prior business dealings, and challenged his credentials as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

Nadler said after the public testimony that his answers were "unsatisfactory, incomplete or contradicted by other evidence."

In the letter sent to the Justice Department, Nadler said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House and was inconsistent about what questions he refused to answer.

Whitaker left the Justice Department after Attorney General William Barr was confirmed on 14 February.

Washington, DC - 13 March 2019

1. Former acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker walking down hall, gives reporters thumbs up, walks away

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Representative Jerrold Nadler, (D) Chairman of House Judiciary Committee:

"We were concerned about some of the Attorney General, former Attorney General Whittaker's testimony at the hearing, and I think there were three main takeaways, that we take away, from today. One, unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president (Donald Trump) called him to discuss Michael Cohen (Trump's former personal lawyer), the Michael Cohen case and personnel decisions in the southern district. Two, while he was acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was directly involved in conversations about whether to fire one or more US attorneys. And three, while he was attorney general, acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was involved in conversations about the scope of the Southern District of New York US Attorney Berman's recusal, and whether the southern district went too far in pursuing the campaign finance case in which the president was listed as individual number one. Those are the three takeaways from today."

(Reporter: "What do you mean, he did not deny the president's involvement?"

Nadler: "Just what I said, he did not deny it, unlike in the hearing."

(Reporter: "So that means that he had conversations with the president about Michael Cohen?")

Nadler: "He would not say no."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Representative Jerrold Nadler, (D) Chairman, House Judiciary Committee (Asked about charges against Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort filed by New York state prosecutors):

"Mr. Manafort cannot be pardoned by the president if he is convicted of crimes against  the state of New York. What that means is, he lied to investigators so whether this means he'll stop doing that, I don't know."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Representative Jerrold Nadler, (D) Chairman, House Judiciary Committee (Asked if President Trump would pardon Manafort):

"Well I would certainly hope the president would not pardon people because they don't testify truthfully. The president has made very clear that if someone cooperates with law enforcement he's a rat, and if he doesn't, he's a stand-up guy. That's the position of a mobster, not a President of the United States."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. Nadler leaving

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus113691

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee suggested on Wednesday that former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker may have had conversations with President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen's legal troubles, saying that Whitaker "did not deny" the conversations during a private meeting on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., did not get into the specifics of what Whitaker said when he met with Nadler and the top Republican on the panel, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins. Collins said he heard Whitaker's comments differently and maintained that Whitaker said he "had not talked with the president about Mr. Cohen at all." Two Republican staff members in the room backed up Collins' version. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential meeting.

There was no transcript taken at the meeting, according to the Republican aides, so it wasn't clear exactly what Whitaker said, and it may never be clear. But the dispute could have high stakes, as Democrats have voiced concerns that Whitaker was a Trump loyalist whose appointment, they suspect, was aimed at suppressing investigations of the Republican president.

Whitaker returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after Democrats said they wanted him to clarify his open testimony before the Judiciary panel in February. One thing that Nadler said he had questions about was whether Trump had "lashed out" at Whitaker after Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

News reports said Trump did lash out at Whitaker, but Whitaker said in the hearing that he did not. In a letter to Whitaker asking for him to return and clarify his comments, Nadler said that the committee "has identified several individuals with direct knowledge of the phone calls you denied receiving" from the White House.

After Wednesday's meeting, Nadler said that "unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss the Michael Cohen case."

Nadler also said after the meeting that Whitaker was "directly involved" in conversations about whether to fire "one or more" U.S. attorneys - he did not say which ones - and that he was "involved in conversations" about the Southern District of New York's case against Cohen and whether it might have gone too far. Nadler did not give details on those conversations.

Collins said that Whitaker suggested the conversations about district attorneys were normal personnel issues, and to characterize those comments otherwise were "an overreach and a stretch." Collins added that Whitaker said he hadn't had any conversations with officials in the Southern District of New York.

According to the Republican aides, Whitaker said that those conversations were among other Justice Department staff and that Whitaker said he thought some of the claims in the campaign finance case were "specious" from a legal standpoint.

At the February hearing, which was held while Whitaker was still acting attorney general, Democrats confronted him on his past criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's work and his refusal to recuse himself from overseeing it, attacked him over his prior business dealings and challenged his credentials as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

Nadler said after the public testimony that his answers were "unsatisfactory, incomplete or contradicted by other evidence." In the letter sent to the Justice Department, Nadler said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House and was inconsistent about what questions he refused to answer.

Whitaker left the Justice Department after Attorney General William Barr was confirmed Feb. 14.

Washington, DC. - 13 March 2019

1. Former acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker walks down hall, gives reporters thumbs up

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

"We were concerned about some of the Attorney General, former Attorney General Whittaker's testimony at the hearing, and I think there were three main takeaways from today. One, unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss Michael Cohen, the Michael Cohen case. And personnel decisions in the southern district. Two, while he was acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was directly involved in conversations about whether to fire one or more U.S. attorneys. Three, while he was attorney general, acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was involved in conversations about the scope of the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Berman's recusal. And. Whether the southern district went too far in pursuing the campaign finance case in which the president was listed as individual number one. Those are the three takeaways from our, from today."

(Reporter: "What do you mean, did not deny the President's involvement? Cannot deny the President's involvement?")

Nadler: "Just what I said, he did not deny it, unlike in the hearing."

(Reporter: "So that means he had conversations with the president about Cohen?")

Nadler: "He would not say no."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

(Asked about charges against Paul Manafort filed by New York state prosecutors)

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

"Mr. Manafort cannot be pardoned by the president if he is convicted of crimes against  the state of New York. What that means is, he lied to investigators so whether this means he'll stop doing that, I don't know."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

(Asked if President Trump would pardon Paul Manafort)

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

"Well I would certainly hope the president would not pardon people because they don't testify truthfully. The president has made very clear that if someone cooperates with law enforcement he's a rat, and if he doesn't, he's a stand-up guy. That's the position of a mobster, not a President of the United States."

President Donald Trump says he's "very surprised" that the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed his eldest son.

Trump spoke Thursday after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported the panel is calling on Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his 2017 testimony to the panel as part of its probe into Russian election interference.

Trump called his son a "very good person," adding that the "last thing he needs is Washington DC." Trump also said he had already testified for a "massive amount of time."

It's the first known subpoena of a member of Trump's immediate family and a new sign that the Senate panel is continuing with its own two-year long investigation, even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's call from the Senate floor on Tuesday to move on from the probe.

The president also said he would leave the issue of whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller should testify up to Attorney General William Barr.

Trump last week said that it was Barr's call, but later declared on Twitter that Mueller should not testify.

Washington, DC - 9 May 2019

1. Wide shot of President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room

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

"(Reporter question: Mr. President, as you saw, the Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Don Jr., that's the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee. What do you make of that?)

Well I was very surprised. I saw Richard Burr saying there was no collusion two or three weeks ago, he went outside and somebody asked him. 'No, there was no collusion, we found no collusion.' But I was very surprised to see my son, my son is a very good person, works very hard. The last thing he needs is Washington, DC. He could rather not ever be involved. I remember he said to me a long time ago when I was thinking about running, 'Dad, if I can help, let me know. It's not my expertise, it's not something I really like, but whatever I can do, you're my father, whatever I can do.' He's now testified for 20 hours or something, a massive amount of time. The Mueller report came out, that's the bible, the Mueller report came out and they said he did nothing wrong."

3. Cutaway of press

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

"My son is a good person. My son testified for hours and hours. My son was totally exonerated by Mueller, who frankly does not like Donald Trump. Me. This Donald Trump. And frankly for my son, after being exonerated, to now get a subpoena to go again and speak again after close to 20 hours of telling everybody that would listen about a nothing meeting. Yeah I'm pretty surprised.

(Reporter question: Will you fight the subpoena?)

Well we'll see what happens. I'm just very surprised. I really am."

5. Cutaway of press

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

"(Reporter question: Will you allow Robert Mueller to testify to Congress?)

.Well I'm going to leave that up to our very great attorney general and he'll make a decision on that. But I will say this, look the Mueller report came out. It was done at I guess I'm hearing numbers now close to 40 million dollars with 17 or 18 very angry Democrats who hated Donald Trump. And also everything that they could possibly have at their disposal. There was nobody that was in the history of our country more transparent than me. I said give them every document, give them every person, let the White House counsel testify. I think he testified for 30 hours, I guess they must have asked of the same question because there wasn't very much to testify about. But I said let him testify and let him, keep him as long as you want. Actually when I heard 30 hours I said that's a long time. But I let him testify. I didn't have to, I have presidential privilege, I could have stopped everything. I didn't have to give them a document. I gave them one point five million documents. I gave them White House counsel. I gave them other lawyers, anybody you want you can talk to. At the end of the testimony, no collusion and essentially no obstruction. Of course a lot of people say how can you obstruct when there was no crime? When there was no collusion, how can you possibly obstruct? But it's worse than that. It's, not only was there no crime but the crime was committed on the other side. So we're protecting against the crime committed on the other side. So after spending all of that money, all of that time, two years, they come up with a report. And Bob Mueller is no friend of mine. I had conflicts with him. We had a business dispute, we had somebody that is in love with James Comey. We like James Comey, they were very good friends, supposedly best friends, maybe not. But supposedly best friends. You look at the picture file and you see hundreds of pictures of him and Comey. And with all of that and other things, he wanted the FBI job. I don't know if anybody knows that. But as you know he was considered for the FBI job, wanted it, and the day after he didn't get it he became the special counsel, that's a conflict."

7. Wide side shot of Trump speaking

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus116752

President Donald Trump says he's "very surprised" that the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed his eldest son.

Trump spoke Thursday after the Associated Press and other news outlets reported the panel is calling on Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his 2017 testimony to the panel as part of its probe into Russian election interference.

Trump called his son a "very good person," adding that the "last thing he needs is Washington DC." Trump also said he had already testified for a "massive amount of time."

It's the first known subpoena of a member of Trump's immediate family and a new sign that the Senate panel is continuing with its own two-year long investigation, even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's call from the Senate floor on Tuesday to move on from the probe.

The president also said he would leave the issue of whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller should testify up to Attorney General William Barr.

Trump last week said that it was Barr's call, but later declared on Twitter that Mueller should not testify.

Washington, DC - 9 May 2019

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

"(Reporter question: Mr. President, as you saw, the Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Don Jr.  That's the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee. What do you make of that?)

Well I was very surprised. I saw Richard Burr saying there was no collusion two or three weeks ago, he went outside and somebody asked him. 'No, there was no collusion, we found no collusion.' But I was very surprised to see my son, my son is a very good person, works very hard. The last thing he needs is Washington, DC. He could rather not ever be involved. I remember he said to me a long time ago when I was thinking about running, 'Dad, if I can help, let me know. It's not my expertise, it's not something I really like, but whatever I can do, you're my father, whatever I can do.' He's now testified for 20 hours or something, a massive amount of time. The Muelller report came out, that's the bible, the Mueller report came out and they said he did nothing wrong."

2. Cutaway of press

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

"My son is a good person. My son testified for hours and hours. My son was totally exonerated by Mueller who frankly does not like Donald Trump. Me. This Donald Trump. And frankly for my son, after being exonerated, to now get a subpoena to go again and speak again after close to 20 hours of telling everybody that would listen about a nothing meeting. Yeah I'm pretty surprised.

(Reporter question: Will you fight the subpoena?)

Well we'll see what happens. I'm just very surprised. I really am."

A legal scholar says that the the battle between the Democrat-led House and President Donald Trump over special counsel Robert Mueller's report could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Victoria Nourse, a professor at Georgetown Law University, views the Trump administration as "the most combative" since former President Richard Nixon.

Nourse, who has served both Republicans and Democrats as a legal counsel, says that the current battle between Trump and House Republicans could end up in court.

While she believes that there is legal precedent that defends Congress' ability to request documents, Trump could ultimately decide not to comply with any judicial ruling.

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse," Nurse said, referring to potential contempt proceedings against Attorney General Bill Barr and subpoenas House Democrats have threatened to issue over a number of investigations.  

"That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, 'I'm not going to pay attention to you,' in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution and that's a very extreme remedy."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. Nadler is proposing to hold Barr in contempt after the Justice Department declined to provide the committee with a full, unredacted version of special counsel Mueller's report on Trump and Russia. The committee had given Barr until 9 a.m. Monday to comply.

Republicans have sharply criticized Democrats as they have battled Trump's administration over the Mueller report, subpoenaed multiple administration witnesses and made efforts to gain access to Trump's personal and business financial records. Trump has said he will fight "all the subpoenas."

Washington - 6 May 2019

1. Various of Georgetown Law Professor Victoria Nourse speaking

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"I think this White House has been the most combative since Nixon. And the reason I say this I was a baby lawyer during the Reagan administration and I was working on Iran-Contra. Reagan had his own investigation. He worked with Congress. There was a joint House and Senate committee investigation. George W. Bush worked with Congress on various matters. I don't think that this president is following the existing precedents. The last president I know who actually pursued the claim that he would not respond, his senior officials would not respond to House subpoenas was Nixon."

3. Nourse opening door

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"This particular stance about refusing to honor subpoenas is very aggressive. Typically, these things happen every day up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. They're negotiated. Why? People don't want the American public to think that they are stonewalling, that they're not doing the business of the people."

5. Various of Nourse.

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"The weight is in favor of Congress's investigatory authority. Now, his (President Donald Trump) argument will be, 'well they don't need it anymore because we have the Mueller report,' but his judgment is not the final judgment. We know that from United States versus Nixon. The Nixon case says the president cannot decide on his own. The court is the final arbiter of whether Congress needs this information or its within its congressional constitutional authority. So, I don't see any legitimate ground for the executive to be pushing back against Mueller testimony."

Washington - 21 June 2017

7. STILL: Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol

Washington - 6 May 2019

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse. That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, I'm not going to pay attention to you in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution and that's a very extreme remedy."

9. Various of Nourse

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"It could take awhile. This is the big problem here, that going to court is a delaying tactic."

Washington - April 18, 2019

11. Various of Mueller report as released to public

Washington - 6 May 2019

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"Well, I think that this most significant consequences to Mr. Barr are really about his reputation. Many people were surprised that he would take the Attorney General position. He is a very well respected lawyer. He has been through some of these controversies before. And, you know, many people are worried that having taken positions in this administration they will no longer be able to obtain positions with other persons in their parties. They will be scorned by clients and, therefore, they will not be seen as appropriate partners in law firms. This is a far -- or he may even be disbarred. These are much more consequential I think to significant, powerful lawyers than whatever fine or jail time might be involved."

McLean, Virginia - 18 April 2019

13. Attorney General William Barr leaves his home

A legal scholar says that the the battle between the Democrat-led House and President Donald Trump over special counsel Robert Mueller's report could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Victoria Nourse, a professor at Georgetown Law University, views the Trump administration as "the most combative" since former President Richard Nixon.

Nourse, who has served both Republicans and Democrats as a legal counsel, says that the current battle between Trump and House Republicans could end up in court.

While she believes that there is legal precedent that defends Congress' ability to request documents, Trump could ultimately decide not to comply with any judicial ruling.

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse," Nurse said, referring to potential contempt proceedings against Attorney General Bill Barr and subpoenas House Democrats have threatened to issue over a number of investigations.  

"That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, 'I'm not going to pay attention to you,' in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution and that's a very extreme remedy."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. Nadler is proposing to hold Barr in contempt after the Justice Department declined to provide the committee with a full, unredacted version of special counsel Mueller's report on Trump and Russia. The committee had given Barr until 9 a.m. Monday to comply.

Republicans have sharply criticized Democrats as they have battled Trump's administration over the Mueller report, subpoenaed multiple administration witnesses and made efforts to gain access to Trump's personal and business financial records. Trump has said he will fight "all the subpoenas."

Washington - 6 May 2019

1. Various of Georgetown Law Professor Victoria Nourse speaking

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"I think this White House has been the most combative since Nixon. And the reason I say this I was a baby lawyer during the Reagan administration and I was working on Iran-Contra. Reagan had his own investigation. He worked with Congress. There was a joint House and Senate committee investigation. George W. Bush worked with Congress on various matters. I don't think that this president is following the existing precedents. The last president I know who actually pursued the claim that he would not respond, his senior officials would not respond to House subpoenas was Nixon."

3. Nourse opening door

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"This particular stance about refusing to honor subpoenas is very aggressive. Typically, these things happen every day up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. They're negotiated. Why? People don't want the American public to think that they are stonewalling, that they're not doing the business of the people."

5. Various of Nourse.

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"The weight is in favor of Congress's investigatory authority. Now, his (President Donald Trump) argument will be, 'well they don't need it anymore because we have the Mueller report,' but his judgment is not the final judgment. We know that from United States versus Nixon. The Nixon case says the president cannot decide on his own. The court is the final arbiter of whether Congress needs this information or its within its congressional constitutional authority. So, I don't see any legitimate ground for the executive to be pushing back against Mueller testimony."

Washington - 21 June 2017

7. STILL: Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol

Washington - 6 May 2019

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse. That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, I'm not going to pay attention to you in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution and that's a very extreme remedy."

9. Various of Nourse

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"It could take awhile. This is the big problem here, that going to court is a delaying tactic."

Washington - April 18, 2019

11. Various of Mueller report as released to public

Washington - 6 May 2019

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"Well, I think that this most significant consequences to Mr. Barr are really about his reputation. Many people were surprised that he would take the Attorney General position. He is a very well respected lawyer. He has been through some of these controversies before. And, you know, many people are worried that having taken positions in this administration they will no longer be able to obtain positions with other persons in their parties. They will be scorned by clients and, therefore, they will not be seen as appropriate partners in law firms. This is a far -- or he may even be disbarred. These are much more consequential I think to significant, powerful lawyers than whatever fine or jail time might be involved."

McLean, Virginia - 18 April 2019

13. Attorney General William Barr leaves his home

A legal scholar says that the the battle between the Democrat-led House and President Donald Trump over special counsel Robert Mueller's report could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Victoria Nourse, a professor at Georgetown Law University, views the Trump administration as "the most combative" since former President Richard Nixon.

Nourse, who has served both Republicans and Democrats as a legal counsel, says that the current battle between Trump and House Republicans could end up in court.

While she believes that there is legal precedent that defends Congress' ability to request documents, Trump could ultimately decide not to comply with any judicial ruling.

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse," Nurse said, referring to potential contempt proceedings against Attorney General Bill Barr and subpoenas House Democrats have threatened to issue over a number of investigations.  

"That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, 'I'm not going to pay attention to you,' in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution and that's a very extreme remedy."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. Nadler is proposing to hold Barr in contempt after the Justice Department declined to provide the committee with a full, unredacted version of special counsel Mueller's report on Trump and Russia. The committee had given Barr until 9 a.m. Monday to comply.

Republicans have sharply criticized Democrats as they have battled Trump's administration over the Mueller report, subpoenaed multiple administration witnesses and made efforts to gain access to Trump's personal and business financial records. Trump has said he will fight "all the subpoenas."

Washington - 6 May 2019

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"I think this White House has been the most combative since Nixon. ... I don't think that this president is following the existing precedents. The last president I know who actually pursued the claim that he would not respond, his senior officials would not respond to House subpoenas was Nixon."

Washington - 6 May 2019

2. STILL: President Donald Trump speaking in Rose Garden

Washington - 15 March 1973

3. STILL: President Nixon duirng a news conference

Washington - 6 May 2019

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"This particular stance about refusing to honor subpoenas is very aggressive. Typically, these things happen every day up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. They're negotiated. Why? People don't want the American public to think that they are stonewalling, that they're not doing the business of the people."

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"The weight is in favor of Congress's investigatory authority. Now, his (President Donald Trump) argument will be, 'well they don't need it anymore because we have the Mueller report,' but his judgment is not the final judgment. We know that from United States versus Nixon. The Nixon case says the president cannot decide on his own. The court is the final arbiter of whether Congress needs this information or it's within its congressional constitutional authority. So, I don't see any legitimate ground for the executive to be pushing back against Mueller testimony. Again, to do that, they'd also perhaps support it with this unitary executive theory that all members of the executive branch are under the president's authority and therefore he can order him not to testify. Mueller's response to that, I expect, would be simply to resign."

Washington - File Recent

6. Exteriors of US Capitol

Washington - April 18, 2019

7. Various of Mueller report as released to public

Washington - 1 April 1974

8. STILL: President Nixon after announcing he would turn tapes over to House investigators

Washington - 25 June 1973

9. STILL: former White House aide John Dean III being sworn in by Senate Watergate Committee Chairman Sam Ervin

Washington - 21 June 2017

10. STILL: Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol

Washington - 6 May 2019

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Victoria Nourse, Georgetown Law Professor:

"My biggest fear is that if it were to go to court and the court were to affirm Congress' authority that the president would simply refuse. That would be a true constitutional crisis because in fact you would have one branch saying to the other branch, the courts, I'm not going to pay attention to you in which case there is no way to resolve that. The only way to resolve it would be in fact impeachment under the Constitution."

Washington - File Recent

12. Exteriors of US Supreme Court

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee suggested on Wednesday that former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker may have had conversations with President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen's legal troubles, saying that Whitaker "did not deny" the conversations during a private meeting on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., did not get into the specifics of what Whitaker said when he met with Nadler and the top Republican on the panel, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins. Collins said he heard Whitaker's comments differently and maintained that Whitaker said he "had not talked with the president about Mr. Cohen at all." Two Republican staff members in the room backed up Collins' version. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential meeting.

There was no transcript taken at the meeting, according to the Republican aides, so it wasn't clear exactly what Whitaker said, and it may never be clear. But the dispute could have high stakes, as Democrats have voiced concerns that Whitaker was a Trump loyalist whose appointment, they suspect, was aimed at suppressing investigations of the Republican president.

Whitaker returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after Democrats said they wanted him to clarify his open testimony before the Judiciary panel in February. One thing that Nadler said he had questions about was whether Trump had "lashed out" at Whitaker after Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

News reports said Trump did lash out at Whitaker, but Whitaker said in the hearing that he did not. In a letter to Whitaker asking for him to return and clarify his comments, Nadler said that the committee "has identified several individuals with direct knowledge of the phone calls you denied receiving" from the White House.

After Wednesday's meeting, Nadler said that "unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss the Michael Cohen case."

Nadler also said after the meeting that Whitaker was "directly involved" in conversations about whether to fire "one or more" U.S. attorneys - he did not say which ones - and that he was "involved in conversations" about the Southern District of New York's case against Cohen and whether it might have gone too far. Nadler did not give details on those conversations.

Collins said that Whitaker suggested the conversations about district attorneys were normal personnel issues, and to characterize those comments otherwise were "an overreach and a stretch." Collins added that Whitaker said he hadn't had any conversations with officials in the Southern District of New York.

According to the Republican aides, Whitaker said that those conversations were among other Justice Department staff and that Whitaker said he thought some of the claims in the campaign finance case were "specious" from a legal standpoint.

At the February hearing, which was held while Whitaker was still acting attorney general, Democrats confronted him on his past criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's work and his refusal to recuse himself from overseeing it, attacked him over his prior business dealings and challenged his credentials as the country's chief law enforcement officer.

Nadler said after the public testimony that his answers were "unsatisfactory, incomplete or contradicted by other evidence." In the letter sent to the Justice Department, Nadler said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House and was inconsistent about what questions he refused to answer.

Whitaker left the Justice Department after Attorney General William Barr was confirmed Feb. 14.

Washington, DC. - 13 March 2019

1. Former acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker walks down hall, gives reporters thumbs up

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

"We were concerned about some of the Attorney General, former Attorney General Whittaker's testimony at the hearing, and I think there were three main takeaways from today. One, unlike in the hearing room, Mr. Whitaker did not deny that the president called him to discuss Michael Cohen, the Michael Cohen case. And personnel decisions in the southern district. Two, while he was acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was directly involved in conversations about whether to fire one or more U.S. attorneys. Three, while he was attorney general, acting attorney general, Mr. Whitaker was involved in conversations about the scope of the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Berman's recusal. And. Whether the southern district went too far in pursuing the campaign finance case in which the president was listed as individual number one. Those are the three takeaways from our, from today."

(Reporter: "What do you mean, did not deny the President's involvement? Cannot deny the President's involvement?")

Nadler: "Just what I said, he did not deny it, unlike in the hearing."

(Reporter: "So that means he had conversations with the president about Cohen?")

Nadler: "He would not say no."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

(Asked about charges against Paul Manafort filed by New York state prosecutors)

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

"Mr. Manafort cannot be pardoned by the president if he is convicted of crimes against  the state of New York. What that means is, he lied to investigators so whether this means he'll stop doing that, I don't know."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

(Asked if President Trump would pardon Paul Manafort)

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

"Well I would certainly hope the president would not pardon people because they don't testify truthfully. The president has made very clear that if someone cooperates with law enforcement he's a rat, and if he doesn't, he's a stand-up guy. That's the position of a mobster, not a President of the United States."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff postponed a meeting to enforce a subpoena against the Justice Department after the department agreed to turn over a cache of documents related to special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

The House Judiciary Committee recently voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress after negotiations broke down with the department over similar materials.

Schiff said the department "will begin turning over to the committee twelve categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials as part of an initial rolling production."

"Our first priority is to get to the bottom of what the counter-intelligence has to show, whether there are any steps that our committee or the Congress needs to take to protect the country," he said.

Schiff also said the subpoena that was issued regarding the attorney general will remain until all the documents are received.

And he says he still expects former White House Counsel Don McGahn and Robert Mueller to testify before the committee.

Trump's former White House counsel is the most-cited witness in Mueller's Trump-Russia investigation report, recounting the president's attempts to interfere with the probe.

+++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

Washington, DC - 22 May 2019

1. Wide of Rep. Adam Schiff walking toward reporters in hallway

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic Representative (California), Chair of House Intelligence Committee:

"So, late last night the Department of Justice agreed to begin a rolling production of documents to our committee, starting with initial set of twelve categories of documents we had requested that contain intelligence and counterintelligence information that was alluded to in the report. These are part of the underlying documents that we've been seeking. So that production should begin this week. We should have the full 12 sets of documents by the end of next week. This does not obviate the need for the subpoena. We're going to keep that in force until we get all the documents that we're seeking. But that production is going to start now, and we hope that it will continue by the department."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic Representative (California), Chair of House Intelligence Committee:

"This, I should also mention, however is no substitute, in any way shape or form, for the appearance of Bob Mueller before our committee and the Judiciary Committee. It's no substitute for the appearance of Don McGahn and the other witnesses that have been subpoenaed to come into committee. But we are pleased that we are finally going to start receiving documents that we are entitled to from the Department of Justice."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic Representative (California), Chair of House Intelligence Committee:

"The entire FBI probe began as a counterintelligence investigation. We have yet to determine what that investigation found, in terms of counter-intelligence findings, or even whether it is ongoing. But those are issues that potentially could compromise our national security. So, our first priority is to get to the bottom of what the counter-intelligence has to show whether there are any steps that our committee or the Congress needs to take to protect the country. And that's the first use that we'll put it to, but this is part of our continuing investigation into Russia's interference in our affairs."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Adam Schiff, Democratic Representative (California), Chair of House Intelligence Committee:

"We have every expectation that he is going to appear before our committee as well as the Judiciary Committee. It's important that that testimony, as much as possible, be in open session. So we're going to insist on that being the case as well. (Moves to allow colleague to go behind him.) Let me let my colleague to get by. But it's also vitally important that the department not try to censor what he can say to our committee. It is one thing to have him testify in public it's another if the Justice Department to sit behind him and tell him that he cannot answer this question, or that question, or do more than just read his own report. That won't fly. There is, I think, the most important part of this would be accomplished. There were certainly certain aspects involving classified information."

6. Wide of Schiff exiting