By Elizabeth Zwirz, Alex Pappas | Fox News
Special
Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted to Attorney
General Bill Barr his long-awaited report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016
presidential raceand possible collusion with Trump associates -- marking
the end of the politically explosive probe and the beginning of a new battle
over its contents and implications.
Mueller is "not recommending any further indictments,"
a senior DOJ official told Fox News.
The report was delivered Friday afternoon to the Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s office and it was delivered to Barr’s office
within minutes, a senior DOJ official told Fox News. The White House was
notified that the DOJ had received the report around 4:45 p.m., before
lawmakers on Capitol Hill were informed. Neither the White House or
Congress have seen the actual report.
Both Barr and Rosenstein have seen the report, according
to a senior DOJ official.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted
following the report's submission.
"The next steps are up to Attorney General Barr, and
we look forward to the process taking its course," she said. "The
White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel’s
report."
Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, both of whom are
counselors to Trump, also released a joint statement.
“We’re pleased that the Office of Special Counsel has
delivered its report to the attorney general pursuant to the regulations,"
the statement said. "Attorney General Barr will determine the
appropriate next steps.”
Following word that Mueller was not recommending more
indictments, Giuliani told Fox News that they were "confident" the
investigation would show there was no collusion.
“This marks the end of the investigation. We await a
disclosure of the facts. We are confident that there is no finding of collusion
by the President and this underscores what the President has been saying from
the beginning - that he did nothing wrong.”
Several lawmakers, including Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., received a letter about the report's
submisision. Graham is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein is the ranking member.
“Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his
investigation of the Russian interference in the 2016 election and related
matters," the letter said.
Barr also said that he “may be in a position to advise
you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.”
“Separately, I intend to consult with Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other
information from the report can be released to Congress and the public
consistent with law, including the Special Counsel regulations, and the
Department’s long-standing practices and policies," it continued.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., released a joint statement, urging
that the report's contents be made public.
“Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his
report to the Attorney General, it is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full
report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to
Congress," the statement said. "Attorney General Barr must not give
President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special
Counsel Mueller's findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed
to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are
made public."
“The Special Counsel’s investigation focused on questions
that go to the integrity of our democracy itself: whether foreign powers
corruptly interfered in our elections, and whether unlawful means were used to
hinder that investigation," the statement continued. "The American
people have a right to the truth. The watchword is transparency.”
It’s not clear how much, if any, of the report will be
made public or provided to Congress. None of Mueller’s findings were
immediately released.
The president has repeatedly decried Mueller’s probe as a
“witch hunt,” emphatically denying he or his campaign colluded with Russia to
undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton’s chances in the 2016 race. The president
has alleged a slew of internal “conflicts of interest” from Mueller’s team and
has previously said his legal team is drafting a “major counter report” in
response to its findings.
Mueller’s investigation, which was initially ordered to
look into the 2016 election in May of 2017, has gone on for almost two years.
It has expanded to probe financial crimes of Trump associates before the
election, conversations Trump’s national security adviser had with the Russians
during the transition and whether Trump obstructed justice with his comments
and actions related to the probe.
Mueller, the former director of the FBI under Presidents
George W. Bush and Barack Obama, was appointed special counsel by Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May of 2017. In his order, Rosenstein
directed Mueller to investigate any links or coordination between the Russian
government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign, as well any
other matters that arose from the investigation.
“If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and
appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes
arising from the investigation of these matters,” Rosenstein wrote to Mueller.
Since then, Mueller’s team has indicted, convicted, or
won guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies as part of an investigation
that has also probed issues unrelated to the 2016 campaign.
Twenty six Russian nationals and three Russian companies
have been charged with interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
But none of the Trump associates connected to Trump have
been charged with crimes related to collusion, though Mueller’s team charged
former Trump associate Roger Stone in January with lying about his
communications with WikiLeaks, which published hacked Democratic emails during
the election.
Other convictions include: former national security
adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who both
pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017.
Former campaign adviser Rick Gates in 2018 pleaded guilty
and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted and later pleaded
guilty in a separate financial crimes case dating back before the 2016
election.
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to
making false statements in a case brought by Mueller in November.
Alex van der Zwaan, a London-based lawyer, pleaded guilty
to making false statements this year, and Richard Pinedo, a California man,
pleaded guilty to identity fraud in 2018.
Mueller has also looked at actions taken by Trump after
he was sworn in as president, like his firing of FBI director James Comey and his
ousting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Sessions, once one of President Trump’s most loyal and
trusted advisers infuriated Trump over his recusal from the Russia
investigation. In March 2017, Sessions announced his plans to recuse himself
after reports surfaced detailing undisclosed conversations with Russian
ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign.
At the time of his recusal, Sessions said he met with the
“relevant senior career department officials” to discuss the issue.
“Having concluded those meetings today, I have decided to
recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related
in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States,” Sessions said.
Rosenstein, Sessions’ number two at the Justice
Department, then took control of the investigation and decided to appoint
Mueller to take over the probe.
Rosenstein said at the time, “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.”
Mueller said in a statement, upon his appointment: “I
accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.’’
Rosenstein later ceded oversight to then-acting Attorney
General Matthew Whitaker when he took over for Sessions. But the report was
submitted to Barr, who was confirmed in February by the Senate as attorney
general.
This is a developing story. Please check back
for updates.
Fox News' Jake Gibson and John Roberts
contributed to this report.
