WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation (all times local):

House Democrats will gather by phone on Saturday as they wait for the Justice Department to send them details of what special counsel Robert Mueller has found in his investigation of Russian interference.

That's according to a person familiar with the meeting. The person requested anonymity to discuss the private call.

Democrats planned the 3 p.m. conference call to discuss strategy and their next steps after they were notified Friday afternoon that Mueller had sent his completed report to Attorney General William Barr.

Barr said in a Friday letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees that he would share Mueller's "principal conclusions" with Congress as soon as Saturday.

Attorney General William Barr has arrived at the Justice Department a day after receiving special counsel Robert Mueller's final report on the Russia investigation.

Barr says he could notify Congress of Mueller's "principal findings" as soon as Saturday. Mueller on Friday concluded his probe of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Donald Trump's campaign.

The special counsel's full report is confidential, but Barr says he will be deciding soon how much of it he will release to Congress and the public.

President Donald Trump is on the golf course in Florida a day after special counsel Robert Mueller closed his 22-month-long Russia investigation with no new charges.

Mueller delivered his long-awaited report Friday to the Justice Department, which was expected to release the main findings as soon as Saturday.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that the next steps are up to the attorney general and the White House will let the process take its course. As of Friday evening, the White House had not received or been briefed on the report.

Even with the details still under wraps, the end of the probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump's orbit who had feared a final round of charges could ensnare more Trump associates, including members of the president's family.

Special counsel Robert Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency. The Justice Department was expected to release the main findings as soon as Saturday.

Even with the details still under wraps, the end Friday of the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump's orbit who had feared a final round of charges could ensnare more Trump associates, including members of the president's family.

For now, the report is accessible to only a handful of Justice Department officials while Attorney General William Barr prepared to release the "principal findings" soon. </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> President Donald Trump has started what is expected to be a busy day for special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation by launching a Twitter broadside against the prosecutor and his team.

Mr Mueller faces court deadlines in two pivotal cases on Friday, and ex-FBI Director James Comey is set to appear before politicians on Capitol Hill.

Mr Trump has made little secret of his frustration with the swirling probe into Russian election interference and potential misdeeds committed by those in his orbit and is seeking to undermine the legitimacy of Mr Mueller’s investigation.

Mr Trump tweeted: “Robert Mueller and Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest.”

Mr Mueller’s investigation has produced dozens of criminal charges and four guilty pleas from Trump associates.

Mr Trump also argues his deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, is “totally conflicted”.

Mr Rosenstein oversaw the probe until last month. </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> 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. </s> Robert Mueller is to reveal more details about his Russia investigation on Friday as he faces court deadlines in the cases of two men who worked closely with President Donald Trump.

The special counsel and federal prosecutors in New York were filing court memos detailing the cooperation of longtime Trump legal fixer Michael Cohen, who has admitted lying to Congress and orchestrating hush-money payments to protect the president. And Mueller's team will be disclosing what it says former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied about to cause his plea deal to fall apart last month.

Cohen and Manafort are among five former Trump associates whom prosecutors have accused of lying either to federal investigators or to Congress.

The court filings will close out a week in which Mueller's team for the first time provided some details of the help they've received from former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. Prosecutors, who said Flynn's assistance was "substantial" and merited no prison time, disclosed that he had cooperated not only with the Russia investigation but also with at least one other undisclosed criminal probe.

The new details about Mueller's investigation are becoming public as Trump continues to lash out at the Russia investigation and those who help prosecutors. Trump has singled out Cohen, accusing him of lying to get a reduced prison sentence. The president also praised another associate, Roger Stone, for saying he wouldn't testify against him, and Trump said a pardon for Manafort isn't off the table.

In a series of Friday morning tweets, the president attacked individual law enforcement and intelligence officials by name and accused Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — the Justice Department official who appointed him — of conflicts of interest. He also said his lawyers were preparing a "counter to the Mueller Report."

"Already 87 pages done, but obviously cannot complete until we see the final Witch Hunt Report," he said.

In the latest filings Friday, prosecutors were to weigh in on whether Cohen deserves prison time and, if so, how much. In doing so, they must provide a federal judge with at least some description of the assistance he's provided to their investigations — the Russia probe and a separate investigation led by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He said Trump had directed him before the 2016 election to arrange payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom alleged they had affairs with Trump.

Last week, Cohen made a surprise guilty plea to lying to Congress, a move that refocused attention on Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

He admitted he lied about the details of a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow, saying that talks about the project went on until June 2016 — longer than he previously said. Cohen also said he discussed the project with Trump during the presidential campaign, undercutting the then-Republican presidential candidate's statements that he didn't have any deals in Russia.

Trump has downplayed the project and stressed that he never put any money into the deal and ultimately decided not to do it.

In Manafort's case, prosecutors are expected to lay out what torpedoed the cooperation agreement he made when he pleaded guilty in September to two felony charges of conspiracy.

In late November, prosecutors said that Manafort had repeatedly lied to them but did not say about what. The allegations exposed him to the possibility of additional criminal charges and a lengthier prison sentence.

Manafort's attorneys have denied that he made false statements, and a judge is expected to hear from them before deciding whether he actually lied. Manafort, who was convicted in August in federal court in Virginia of eight financial crimes, also awaits sentencing in that case.

Also Friday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that George Papadopoulos, the first person sent to prison in the Russia investigation, was released after serving his 14-day sentence.

The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries. Those contacts during the presidential campaign prompted the FBI in July 2016 to open a counterintelligence investigation. That investigation was later taken over by Mueller.

Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. </s> Special counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report on the Russia investigation to Attorney General William Barr on Friday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham expects that he and the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, will be briefed “in the coming days” about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

The Associated Press reported that according to a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia investigation.

Attorney General William Barr is required to disclose to Congress any instance in which he or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed should not be pursued.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer say it’s “imperative” to make the full report public.

An AP-NORC poll finds most Americans have at least some confidence that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign is fair, while fewer than half think Trump broke the law.

Results based on interviews with 1,063 U.S. adults conducted March 14-18. The margin of error is ±4.1 percentage points for the full sample, higher for subgroups.

Some of the key events in the special counsel’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the people and entities charged as a result:

Sources: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, The Associated Press </s> The Justice Department is appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the growing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Trump campaign.

"In my capacity as acting Attorney General, I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility for this matter," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

"My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination," Rosenstein continued. "What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command."
American attorney Robert Mueller is set to reveal more details about the Special Counsel investigation as he faces court deadlines in the cases of two men who worked closely with Donald Trump.