Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump's legal team has been told in recent weeks that special counsel Robert Mueller does not consider Trump a target in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, but he's more than a witness, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The issue came up in discussions last month as Trump and Mueller's teams were negotiating over potential testimony . One source said it was a routine discussion to have, and it was then that Trump's lawyers were told that the President cannot be a witness because he was involved in some of the matters under investigation. But he is also not a criminal target at this point.

In practical terms, Trump's attorneys believe he is unlikely to be considered a target because Justice Department guidelines do not allow for a sitting president to be charged with a crime.

One of the sources explained that Mueller's team never specified that the President was a subject. But given that he is not a witness and not a target, that is the understanding by the team.

They believe Mueller would only go after the President if there is something momentous or indisputable evidence, one of the sources said. Trump and his team continue to believe there is no "there there" when it comes to the President's actions.

Read More </s> Special counsel Robert Mueller notified President Trump's lawyers last month that the president is being investigated as part of the Russia probe, but a source familiar with the situation says they were told Trump was not a criminal target at that time.

The source declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, but did confirm the details first reported by the Washington Post.

There have been ongoing discussions between Trump's lawyers and Mueller's team about the president sitting for an interview as part of the investigation. Trump has said he wants to speak with Mueller. Asked on March 22 whether he still wanted to testify before special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump said "Yes. I would like to."

John Dowd, the lawyer who had been leading Trump's legal team until he resigned late last month, reportedly was at odds with the president and others on the legal team about whether it was a good idea for Trump to sit for an interview with Mueller. Dowd was against it.

Asked about the Post story, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said: "We do not discuss real or alleged conversations between our legal team and the Office of Special Counsel." Ty Cobb, the lawyer in the White House handling the Mueller probe, declined to comment.

The Washington Post story also says Mueller told Trump's lawyers he is preparing a report about the president's actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, and that he needed to interview Trump to complete that phase of his investigation. NPR has not confirmed this part of the story. The Washington Post report adds:



The president has privately expressed relief at the description of his legal status, which has increased his determination to agree to a special counsel interview, the people said. He has repeatedly told allies that he is not a target of the probe and believes an interview will help him put the matter behind him, friends said. However, legal experts said Mueller's description of Trump as a subject of a grand jury probe does not mean he is in the clear. Under Justice Department guidelines, a subject of an investigation is a person whose conduct falls within the scope of a grand jury's investigation. A target is a person for which there is substantial evidence linking him or her to a crime.



There also remains a raging legal question about whether a sitting president can be indicted for a crime. As NPR's Carrie Johnson reported last year, it is a debate as old as the country itself:



Most constitutional lawyers agree a president can be investigated. But the consensus breaks down when it comes to what happens next. "The president cannot be indicted, prosecuted and tried while serving in office," Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz told Fox News last month. Dershowitz pointed out the Justice Department has twice concluded that indicting a sitting president would undermine the executive branch and its duties under the Constitution. "The only mechanism the Constitution provides is he could be impeached and once impeached and removed from office he could then be charged with a criminal trial," Dershowitz said. </s> Special counsel Robert Mueller has informed Donald Trump's lawyers that the president is not currently considered a criminal target in the Russia investigation.

A source said Mr Trump is considered a subject of Mueller's probe, not a target.

A subject is typically someone whose conduct is of interest to investigators but there is not enough evidence to bring charges. The designation could change at any time.

The development was first reported by The Washington Post.

The source said Mr Mueller told Mr Trump's lawyers about his designation as prosecutors and the president's legal team negotiate the terms of an interview with him. </s> Special counsel Robert Mueller has told President Donald Trump's lawyers that the President is not currently being considered a criminal target of the Russia probe, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the discussions.

The special counsel's team is compiling a report on Trump's actions as President and any potential obstruction of justice -- which Mueller has also told Trump's lawyers, two people with knowledge of the conversations told the Post.

The report notes that Mueller continues to seek an interview with Trump himself. CNN reported Friday that attorneys for both sides sat down for an in-person meeting on topics that investigators could ask the President about, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

CNN reported in January that Mueller's team had given the President's lawyers general topics for an interview, such as Trump's request that then-FBI director James Comey drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, his reaction to Comey's May 2017 testimony on Capitol Hill and Trump's contact with intelligence officials about the Russia investigation.

Mueller's team is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and has been looking into any potential ties between Russia and Trump campaign associates. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion. </s> Special counsel Robert Mueller's team of prosecutors has informed President Donald Trump's attorneys that the president is not currently considered a criminal target in the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the conversation.The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the president is considered a subject of Mueller's probe - not a target. A subject is typically someone whose conduct is of interest to investigators but prosecutors are not certain they've gathered enough evidence to bring charges.The designation could change at any time, though. The development was first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post.Trump's designation as a subject came up as prosecutors and the president's legal team negotiate the terms of an interview with him. The president has said he wants to speak with Mueller's team, but his lawyers have not publicly committed to allowing him to be questioned.On Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to say whether the president remains willing to be questioned. In response to a question about the president being a subject, not a target, of the investigation, Sanders reiterated the president's claim that his campaign didn't collude with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign."We know what we did and what we didn't do, so none of this comes as much of a surprise," Sanders said. She referred further questions to Trump's attorneys.Trump attorney Jay Sekulow declined to confirm or discuss the conversations with Mueller, saying: "We do not discuss real or alleged conversations between our legal team and the Office of Special Counsel." White House lawyer Ty Cobb declined to comment.The Justice Department typically treats people involved in investigations as witnesses, subjects or targets. Mueller's determination that Trump is a subject suggests he's more pivotal to the investigation than a mere witness, a designation for someone who has observed events of interest to agents and prosecutors."The government will say you're a subject trending to witness or you're a subject trending toward target," said Sharon McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan.Although targets tend to be people the government is gathering evidence against with the goal of prosecuting, subjects have a much looser, broader definition."A subject means we're still looking at you," McCarthy said. "You're a person of interest in this investigation."Still, the import of the designation wasn't immediately clear. It is not known, for instance, if Mueller's office has concluded that, at the moment, there is insufficient evidence to consider Trump a target. It is also possible that prosecutors agree they are bound by a Justice Department legal opinion that contends that a sitting president cannot be indicted.A grand jury is the way indictments are issued. Yet the White House witnesses with the most direct information about Trump's actions in the White House have spoken privately with Mueller's team instead of being summoned before the grand jury, a possible indication that their statements are being used for the purposes of assembling a report rather than pursuing criminal charges.Mueller's team has signaled that they're interested in discussing several key episodes in the early parts of the Trump administration as they probe possible obstruction of justice.Prosecutors have told the legal team they want to question Trump about the firings of former FBI Director James Comey and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.Investigators want to discuss conversations Trump had with Comey in which the former FBI director has said the president encouraged him to end an active investigation into Flynn. They're also interested in the events leading up to Flynn's February 2017 firing.Investigators have said they want to hear from the president to understand his intent and thinking during those events. </s> WASHINGTON — As negotiations over his potential testimony hit a sensitive point, President Trump complained Wednesday that the Russia investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is interfering with presidential duties.

"There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap)," Trump tweeted before citing a litany of economic and foreign policy challenges on his plate.

"What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!" Trump said.

For a second straight day, Trump protested the Russia investigation amid negotiations by attorneys over whether he will comply with Mueller's request to provide testimony — talks that are shadowed by the prospect of an unprecedented subpoena of a sitting president.

John Dowd, one of the president's attorneys, confirmed that Mueller raised the prospect of a grand jury subpoena at a meeting in early March if the president refused to provide testimony.

Dowd and other Trump aides have argued that a prosecutor does not have the legal authority to subpoena a sitting president, and suggested they would challenge such a move in court.

That sets up the prospect of a long legal battle that would run parallel to the sprawling Mueller probe.

More: Donald Trump: Release of Robert Mueller questions is 'disgraceful'

More: Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani talks to Robert Mueller about presidential testimony

Presidential advisers have been divided for months on whether Trump should speak to Mueller and his team. Some say he should not, citing reams of documents the Trump team has provided to the special counsel that answer their questions, or fearing that prosecutors may spring a "perjury trap" on Trump.

In his latest tweet, Trump referred to the obstruction of justice investigation as "a setup & trap."

Other aides said it is quite possible that Trump and Mueller will agree to some sort of testimony, perhaps written answers to questions posed by the special counsel.

Trump's renewed complaints about the Mueller investigation come after release of a list of more than four dozen questions the special counsel would like to ask the president.

The questions cover the full range of the probe, from whether Trump knew about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to whether he sought to obstruct justice by firing then-FBI Director James Comey and ponder changes in the Justice Department.

While pondering whether to testify, Trump is setting up an unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an effort to get him to give up nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Trump aides are negotiating with China about proposed tariffs that threaten to detonate a trader war between the world's two biggest economies.

As also cited in Trump's tweet, the administration is negotiating changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. </s> WASHINGTON – Special Counsel Robert Mueller III informed President Donald Trump’s attorneys last month that he is continuing to investigate the president but does not consider him a criminal target at this point, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

In private negotiations in early March about a possible presidential interview, Mueller described Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors view someone as a subject when that person has engaged in conduct that is under investigation but there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges.

The special counsel also told Trump’s lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president’s actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations.

Mueller reiterated the need to interview Trump – both to understand whether he had any corrupt intent to thwart the Russia investigation and to complete this portion of his probe, the people said.

Mueller’s description of the president’s status has sparked friction within Trump’s inner circle as his advisers have debated his legal standing. The president and some of his allies seized on the special counsel’s words as an assurance that Trump’s risk of criminal jeopardy is low. Other advisers, however, noted that subjects of investigations can easily become indicted targets – and expressed concern that the special prosecutor was baiting Trump into an interview that could put the president in greater legal peril.

John Dowd, Trump’s top attorney dealing with the Mueller probe, resigned last month amid disputes about strategy and frustration that the president ignored his advice to refuse the special counsel’s request for an interview, according to a Trump friend.

Trump’s chief counsel, Jay Sekulow, and Dowd declined to comment for this report. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred questions to White House attorney Ty Cobb.

“Thank you, but I don’t discuss communications with the president or with the Office of Special Counsel,” Cobb said Tuesday.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel’s office, declined to comment.

The wide-ranging special counsel investigation, which began as an examination of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, has expanded into other areas, including whether Trump sought to obstruct the Russian probe.

Mueller’s investigators have indicated to the president’s legal team that they are considering writing reports on their findings in stages – with the first report focused on the obstruction issue, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

Under special counsel regulations, Mueller is required to report his conclusions confidentially to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has the authority to decide whether to release the information publicly.

“They’ve said they want to write a report on this – to answer the public’s questions – and they need the president’s interview as the last step,” one person familiar with the discussions said of Mueller’s team.

Trump’s attorneys expect the president would also face questions about what he knew about any contacts by his associates with Russians officials and emissaries in 2016, several White House advisers said. The president’s allies believe a second report detailing the special counsel’s findings on Russia’s interference would be issued later.

The president has privately expressed relief at the description of his legal status, which has increased his determination to agree to a special counsel interview, the people said. He has repeatedly told allies that he is not a target of the probe and believes an interview will help him put the matter behind him, friends said.

However, legal experts said Mueller’s description of Trump as a subject of a grand jury probe does not mean he is in the clear.

Under Justice Department guidelines, a subject of an investigation is a person whose conduct falls within the scope of a grand jury’s investigation. A target is a person for which there is substantial evidence linking him or her to a crime.

A subject could become a target with his or her own testimony, legal experts warn.

“If I were the president, I would be very reluctant to think I’m off the hook,” said Keith Whittington, a professor of politics at Princeton University and impeachment expert.

“My sense of it is the president – given that information – ought to have pretty fair warning anything he’s saying in the deposition would be legally consequential. Depending on what he says, it could wind up changing how the special counsel is thinking about him.”

Still, several legal scholars and impeachment experts believe Mueller may conclude he does not have the authority to charge a sitting president with a crime under an opinion written by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 1973 and reaffirmed in 2000.

If Mueller finds Trump engaged in criminal conduct, he could detail it in a report, experts argue, and let Congress to decide whether to launch impeachment proceedings based on Mueller’s findings.

“The president’s personal risk is primarily on the impeachment front,” Whittington said. “Even if there are not things that lead to indictment, there may be matters that warrant an impeachment investigation and proceedings.”

Some of Trump’s advisers have warned White House aides that they fear Mueller could issue a blistering report about the president’s actions.

Several of Trump’s public actions have called into question whether he sought to blunt or block the criminal probe, a line of inquiry that prosecutors began pursuing last year. He has repeatedly called the investigation a “witch hunt” that has unfairly sullied his administration and hampered his ability to accomplish his policy agenda. He fired FBI Director James Comey in May after Comey told Congress that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Trump was furious that Comey did not state that he was not personally under investigation, The Washington Post previously reported.

The president also asked top intelligence officials to issue public statements denying the existence of any evidence of coordination between his campaign and the Russian government.

Mueller’s team has told Trump’s attorneys over recent months that they are seeking to learn more about the firings of Comey and national security adviser Michael Flynn last year and the president’s efforts to get Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign.

Nevertheless, Trump has repeatedly expressed an eagerness to sit down for a voluntary interview to answer Mueller’s questions – a move Dowd believed would be a mistake, according to a longtime Trump friend.

Dowd told the president the case against him was weak, but warned Trump he could create criminal jeopardy for himself if he agreed to an interview and misspoke under oath, the friend said. Dowd repeatedly pointed to the Trump campaign advisers who have pleaded guilty to making false statements in the Mueller probe – including Flynn, adviser George Papadopoulos and former campaign official Rick Gates.

“Mueller hasn’t hesitated to [charge] people for lying on some pretty tangential stuff,” said Solomon Wisenberg, a former deputy independent counsel in the probe of President Bill Clinton.

However, Sekulow and Cobb gave the president the opposite advice as Dowd: that it would be politically difficult for Trump to refuse to answer questions after insisting for months there was no collusion or crime, according to three people familiar with their advice.

Wisenberg, who interviewed Clinton about allegations that he obstructed justice, said Trump has handled himself well in previous depositions but should be cautious.

“I think he would do much better than people think,” Wisenberg said. “But there are plenty of instances where a guy walks into a grand jury a subject. He gets out and is told: ‘Guess what, you’re a target now.’ “

Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Julie Tate contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia and President Donald Trump (all times local):

The Justice Department says it will provide Congress with a second version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report that has fewer redactions in the coming two weeks.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said in a letter to lawmakers Thursday that the Justice Department will make the report available to House and Senate leaders, as well as the top Republicans and Democrats on the judiciary and intelligence committees. Each lawmaker can also have a staff member present.

Boyd says the report will be provided in a secure reading room at the Justice Department next week and in a secure room in the Capitol the week of April 29.

The unredacted material will include classified information and material involving private citizens who were not charged. It won't include secret grand jury information.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report has finally been released to the public, and it spells out how President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and choke off the investigation of possible obstruction of justice.

Trump is claiming vindication, but Mueller said the president was thwarted only by the refusal of some of those around him to follow his orders.

Mueller laid out multiple episodes in which Trump directed others to influence or curtail the Russia investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017.

The report says those efforts "were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he'll be issuing a subpoena for the full special counsel report and the underlying materials.

New York Rep. Jerry Nadler says the report "outlines disturbing evidence" that President Donald Trump engaged in misconduct.

A redacted version of Robert Mueller's report was released on Thursday.

Nadler says the attorney general's decision to withhold the full report from lawmakers is "regrettable, but no longer surprising."

He says it's now up to Congress to hold the president accountable for his actions in the Russian probe.

The chairman has asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.

Congress' two top Democrats say the special counsel's report "appears to undercut" Attorney General William Barr's assertion that it lacked sufficient evidence to conclude that President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say there's a big difference between Barr's description of Robert Mueller's report and what the 448-page document actually reveals. Their joint statement suggests that Democrats are prepared to press the obstruction issue even as the presidential election season approaches.

Barr described the report to journalists before the Justice Department released it. His remarks were largely positive toward Trump, saying Mueller found no cooperation between the Trump campaign and Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Pelosi and Schumer say the "differences are stark" between Barr's account of the report's findings and the report itself.

Attorney General William Barr says a version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report with fewer redactions will be made available to a small group of lawmakers.

In a letter to Congress on Thursday, Barr says the second version of the report would be given to the "Gang of Eight," the top-ranking House and Senate lawmakers from both parties who can view sensitive classified information. The chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees will also receive it.

Barr said all redactions would be removed from that version of the report except those relating to grand-jury information.

The attorney general said, "I do not believe that I have discretion to disclose grand-jury information to Congress. Nevertheless, this accommodation will allow you to review the bulk of the redacted material for yourselves."

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer is suggesting the president was ensnared in some kind of "counterintelligence frame-up."

Rudy Giuliani is responding to the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Giuliani is suggesting, without evidence, that the idea of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia began earlier than was outlined in Mueller's report.

He's says it, "Sounds like a counterintelligence trap to me."

Giuliani also says that, throughout the investigation, Trump was trying to avoid the "perjury trap" that he claims others fell into.

Giuliani says he and other members of the president's legal team read the full report in a secure room at the Justice Department earlier this week. He insists it doesn't contain a "single surprise."

He spoke Thursday on Fox News Channel after the report's public release.

Special counsel Robert Mueller says President Donald Trump's efforts to influence the Russia investigation "were mostly unsuccessful," but that was because the people surrounding the president "declined to carry out orders to accede to his requests."

Mueller's report details instances by several officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, ignoring or refusing Trump's requests to interfere in the investigation.

The Justice Department released a redacted version of Mueller's report on Thursday.

President Donald Trump's lawyer is defending him after the special counsel's report said Trump tried to seize control of the Russia investigation.

Rudy Giuliani, speaking to Fox News, said Trump "did not have a guilty motive."

A redacted version of Robert Mueller's report was released Thursday. The incidents scrutinized by Mueller's team include Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, the president's directive to subordinates to have Mueller fired and efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate.

Giuliani did not dispute the facts of those incidents, but said Trump was an innocent man reacting normally in the face of what he said was a heavily biased investigation. The former New York City mayor said the efforts were "an attempt not to get framed."

Three House Republican leaders say the special counsel's report on President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian interference in that election have vindicated the president.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says the report by Robert Mueller shows it's time to move on from Democrats' effort to "vilify a political opponent." The California lawmaker says the report lacks "imaginary evidence" incriminating Trump that Democrats have sought.

No. 2 House GOP leader Steve Scalise says Trump didn't cooperate with Russians or obstruct investigators. The Louisianan says Democrats should apologize for "this smear campaign."

The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee is Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, and he says Democrats' claims that Trump obstructed the probe were unfounded.

Top Senate Republicans were more cautious, praising the investigation but saying they looked forward to learning the report's details.

The spokesman for Vladimir Putin says it's not yet clear if the Russian president will be informed in detail of the special counsel's report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Dmitry Peskov spoke to state news agency Tass shortly after the report was released in Washington on Thursday.

He said, "First we will have to leaf through it and understand if there is something deserving analysis."

The Mueller report appears to be most heavily redacted in its first section, which covers Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and examines contacts between Russian representatives and the Trump campaign. The report concludes there was no criminal culpability by Trump aides.

Several pages in that first section are almost entirely blacked out. The report's second section, examining possible obstruction by President Donald Trump, appears more lightly redacted.

The Justice Department's careful excisions begin as early as the fourth page of the report.

Barr said he was withholding grand jury and classified information as well as portions relating to ongoing investigation and the privacy or reputation of uncharged "peripheral" people.

In referencing an oligarch who headed up a team of Russian tech experts who used U.S. social media to exploit American political controversies, Justice officials blacked out details about the man's ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Special counsel Robert Mueller found that contacts between Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Trump campaign officials in April 2016 and at the 2016 GOP convention were "brief, public, and non-substantive."

Mueller's assessment came as part of his investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller's report adds that his office "did not establish" that efforts to alter the GOP platform's language on Ukraine at the convention were done at the behest of Trump or Russia.

Additionally, Mueller did not establish that a conversation between Kislyak and then-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions in September 2016 included "any more than a passing mention of the presidential campaign." Sessions later served as Trump's attorney general.

Two of the Senate's top Republicans are praising Attorney General William Barr for releasing the special counsel's report on the 2016 election. But they're stopping short of joining Barr in proclaiming that the report vindicates President Donald Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says in a written statement, "I look forward to carefully reviewing the report."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham says his panel is studying the report. The South Carolina Republican says he's eager to hear Barr's May 1 testimony to his panel.

Both lawmakers issued their statements minutes after the Justice Department released a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Barr told reporters earlier that Mueller found that Trump's campaign did not cooperate with Russians who interfered in the election and that there was insufficient evidence to say Trump obstructed investigators.

Donald Trump's legal team says the results of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation are a "total victory for the president."

The lawyers say in a statement that Mueller's report is "nothing more than an attempt to rehash old allegations." The statement came as Mueller's report was publicly released.

Mueller found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russia government to interfere in the 2016 election. He did not exonerate Trump on the question of whether he committed obstruction of justice.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team was dissatisfied with written responses from President Donald Trump, but decided against issuing a subpoena for an interview.

In Mueller's report released Thursday, prosecutors call Trump's answers "inadequate." They considered issuing a subpoena for Trump, but decided against it after weighing the likelihood of a long legal battle.

Prosecutors also said they had enough information from other sources to draw "relevant factual conclusions on intent and credibility."

Mueller's team investigated contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia and whether the president obstructed justice. The written answers did not cover obstruction of justice.

President Donald Trump says he's "having a good day" following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

And he says that no president should ever have to go through what he did again.

Speaking at an unrelated White House event, he says, "It was called no collusion, no obstruction." And add, "there never was, by the way, and there never will be."

Trump is also renewing his calls for an investigation into the origins of the inquiry, saying "We do have to get to the bottom of these things."

He says: "this should never happen to another president again, this hoax."

Trump is speaking an event honoring the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride, a multi-day bike ride for wounded veterans and service member.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation is two volumes and 448 pages long including attachments.

The report's first volume details Russian election interference and the second relates to whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report reveals how Trump repeatedly sought to seize control of the Russia probe.

The 10 episodes scrutinized by Mueller include Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, the president's directive to subordinates to have Mueller fired and efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate.

The president's lawyers have said Trump's conduct fell within his constitutional powers, but Mueller's team deemed the episodes were deserving of scrutiny to determine whether crimes were committed.

Democrats vying for their party's 2020 presidential nomination are condemning Attorney General William Barr for acting like a defender of President Donald Trump.

Barr held a news conference on special counsel Robert Mueller's report before it was released. He said it found no cooperation between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russians interfering in that election.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted that it was "a disgrace" for Barr to act like "the personal attorney and publicist" for Trump.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called Barr's news conference "a farce and an embarrassing display of propaganda" for Trump. And New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said, "The American people deserve the truth. Not spin from a Trump appointee."

California Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted that Barr's news conference was "a stunt, filled with political spin."

The Justice Department has provided Congress with a redacted version of the report. Democrats want the full report released.

Trump's responses are being released by Attorney General William Barr without redactions and comprise 12 pages.

Trump told Mueller he had no recollection of several key events in Mueller's probe, including a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between top aides and a Russian lawyer offering aid to his campaign. Trump also told Mueller he had no recollection that he was told that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to aid his campaign or hurt Hillary Clinton's 2016 effort, or that any foreign leader wanted to help his candidacy.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report says President Donald Trump reacted to his appointment by saying it was the "end of his presidency."

Mueller investigated multiple instances of Trump attempting to curtail the special counsel probe as part of determining whether the president committed obstruction of justice.

Robert Mueller's report reveals President Donald Trump's efforts to seize control of the Russia probe and force the special counsel's removal.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Attorney General William Barr is involved in a "staggering public effort" by the Trump administration to put a positive face on special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

The California Democrat is referring to Barr's morning news conference, where he said the report found no cooperation between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russian interference in that election. Pelosi is also citing Barr's statement that he gave Trump's personal attorney an early look at the report, before its public release.

Pelosi says it is "more urgent than ever" that Mueller testify before Congress. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has formally invited Mueller to testify as soon as possible.

A redacted version of Mueller's report is due to be released later Thursday morning.

The Senate's top Democrat is mocking Attorney General William Barr's news conference on special counsel Robert Mueller's report as a "campaign press conference" for President Donald Trump.

The tweet by New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer also says it is time to release Mueller's report on his investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russian interference in the election. Schumer is Senate minority leader.

Barr told reporters at a news conference that the report found no cooperation between the campaign and Russia and no effort by Trump to thwart investigators.

The Justice Department planned to release the report later Thursday morning. Barr says portions of it will be blacked out to protect national security secrets, grand jury investigations and other sensitive information. Democrats have said they want the full report released.

Attorney General William Barr says he and deputy Rod Rosenstein disagreed with some of special counsel Robert Mueller's "legal theories" pertaining to obstruction of justice, but that didn't influence their decision that President Donald Trump didn't commit a crime.

In a press conference ahead of the report's expected release, Barr says Mueller reviewed 10 episodes as part of his investigation into whether Trump committed obstruction of justice. Barr says he and Rosenstein "felt that some of the episodes examined did not amount to obstruction as a matter of law."

The attorney general maintains that they set their feelings on the matter aside and accepted Mueller's "legal framework for purposes of our analysis" when they determined that the evidence gathered by Mueller was "not sufficient to establish" that Trump had violated the law.

A Republican Ohio congressman who's been one of President Donald Trump's staunchest defenders is hailing Attorney General William Barr's statements that the special counsel's report has concluded there is no evidence that Trump's campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election or that he tried thwarting investigators.

Rep. Jim Jordan is tweeting, "No collusion! No obstruction! Complete cooperation from the President. No executive privilege asserted."

Jordan issued his remarks shortly after Barr spoke to reporters. The report was expected to be released later Thursday morning.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is asking special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before his panel as soon as possible about his report on the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Chairman Jerrold Nadler released a three-sentence letter to Mueller requesting his appearance, minutes after Attorney General William Barr ended a news conference in which he described the special counsel's report. The New York Democrat tweeted that Congress and the public need to hear directly from Mueller to "better understand his findings."

Nadler wrote in his letter that he wants Mueller to testify by May 23 and asked for his "prompt attention" to the request.

Barr said at his news conference that he did not object to Mueller testifying.

Attorney General William Barr says he will allow Congress to view special counsel Robert Mueller's report with nothing redacted other than grand jury information.

Barr says three other categories of information also were redacted in the publicly released report, including information pertaining to ongoing prosecutions and sensitive intelligence sources and methods.

Barr says he hopes that giving Congress access to the less redacted report and his upcoming testimony on Capitol Hill "will satisfy any need Congress has for information regarding the special counsel's investigation."

Barr spoke Thursday at a news conference with reporters shortly before the report's release.

Attorney General William Barr says he has "no objection" to special counsel Robert Mueller testifying before Congress about his investigation.

Barr says: "I have no objection to Bob Mueller personally testifying."

Mueller remains a Justice Department employee, and Barr could have blocked Mueller from speaking to Congress. Democrats have discussed calling Mueller to testify but have yet to formally ask.

Attorney General William Barr says President Donald Trump did not exert executive privilege over any information included in special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

He said the White House counsel reviewed a redacted version of the report before Trump decided not to invoke executive privilege.

Barr said "no material has been redacted based on executive privilege."

Attorney General William Barr says special counsel Robert Mueller's report recounts 10 episodes involving President Donald Trump that were investigated as potential acts of criminal obstruction of justice.

Barr says Mueller did not reach a "prosecutorial judgment" and that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded the evidence was not sufficient to establish the president committed an offense.

For complete coverage of the Mueller report, go to https://www.apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations </s> WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller told President Donald Trump's attorneys last month he was continuing to investigate the president but did not consider him a criminal target in the Russia probe "at this point," the Washington Post reported on Tuesday night.

The Post said Mueller also told Trump's lawyers that he was preparing a report about the president's actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice.

"Mueller reiterated the need to interview Trump — both to understand whether he had any corrupt intent to thwart the Russia investigation and to complete this portion of his probe," the newspaper said.
Lawyers representing U.S. President Donald Trump are told by FBI special counsel Robert Mueller the President is considered to be more than a witness but is not under criminal investigation.