Ahead of the summit talks with US President Joe Biden, Russian President&nbsp;Vladimir Putin told a US television channel that he was open to a prisoner swap with the US which is likely to come up for discussion when the two leaders meet at Geneva.

The Russian president clarified his government's stand on the alleged cyberattack,&nbsp;saying that it was "unfounded accusations" without "evidence or proof".

Putin described the cyberattack accusations as &nbsp;"farcical".

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="http://13.235.153.162/videos/putin-says-russia-ready-to-handover-cybercriminals-to-us-391435/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Where is the proof? It's becoming farcical," Putin said, adding,"We have been accused of all kinds of things, election interference, cyberattacks and so on and so forth, and not once, not one time, did they bother to produce any kind of evidence or proof."

US-Russia relations have been going downhill in recent years, with Washington accusing the regime of cyberattacks.

The US has imposed sanctions on Russia, but Putin's regime has withstood the pressure from Western governments over the spying issue.

Russia had earlier said it was ready to hand over cybercriminals to the United States if the Biden administration agreed to do the same, a move hailed by Biden as a sign of "progress."

Biden had earlier described Putin as a killer as he declared recently, "Autocrats have enormous power," adding that Russia has been behaving "contrary to international norms".

Meanwhile, Ukraine&nbsp;leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Biden should have met him before Putin as he seeks US support to put down alleged separatists backed by Russia even as the Pentagon had announced a new $150 million package of military assistance for Kiev.

Ahead of the summit talks with US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a US television channel that he was open to a prisoner swap with the US which is likely to come up for discussion when the two leaders meet at Geneva.

Ahead of the summit talks with US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a US television channel that he was open to a prisoner swap with the US which is likely to come up for discussion when the two leaders meet at Geneva. The Russian president clarified his government's stand on the alleged cyberattack, saying that it was "unfounded accusations" without "evidence or proof". Putin described the cyberattack accusations as "farcical". Watch: "Where is the proof? It's becoming farcical," Putin said, adding,"We have been accused of all kinds of things, election interference, cyberattacks and so on and so forth, and not once, not one time, did they bother to produce any kind of evidence or proof." US-Russia relations have been going downhill in recent years, with Washington accusing the regime of cyberattacks. The US has imposed sanctions on Russia, but Putin's regime has withstood the pressure from Western governments over the spying issue. Russia had earlier said it was ready to hand over cybercriminals to the United States if the Biden administration agreed to do the same, a move hailed by Biden as a sign of "progress." Biden had earlier described Putin as a killer as he declared recently, "Autocrats have enormous power," adding that Russia has been behaving "contrary to international norms". Meanwhile, Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Biden should have met him before Putin as he seeks US support to put down alleged separatists backed by Russia even as the Pentagon had announced a new $150 million package of military assistance for Kiev.

'It's becoming farcical': Putin denies Russia's role in election interference, cyberattacks

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-report-shows-evidence-trump-committed-crimes-house-judiciary-chairman-237500">Robert Mueller</a> said Wednesday he did not exonerate Donald Trump in his two-year Russian meddling investigation but also told lawmakers he will not say if the president committed a crime, as he launched into a marathon day of congressional testimony.

Three months after releasing the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/what-is-mueller-report-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it-211667">final report on his probe into the 2016 election</a>, much of the American public remains unclear about the former special counsel's findings on whether Trump criminally obstructed justice and whether his campaign colluded with Russians.

With Trump declaring he was "exonerated" in the probe and Democrats saying the report supplied ample evidence for impeachment, the notoriously taciturn Mueller answered questions for the first time in front of two separate, Democrat-run committees in the House of Representatives.

Mueller -- who made a few public remarks at a press conference on May but did not take questions and has resisted testifying -- reiterated that he would "stay within the text" of his report, and was visibly uncomfortable once the question period began.

"Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. That was our decision then and it remains our decision today," Mueller said in his opening remarks.

But when asked at the start of the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee if his report completely cleared the president of wrongdoing, Mueller said "no."

"The president was not exculpated for the acts he allegedly committed," Mueller said, adding that it was "true" that Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office.

As the questioning volleyed back and forth from Democratic to Republican committee members, the tension mounted and ebbed. Mueller offered many one-word answers and repeatedly referred lawmakers back to the report.

Trump insisted this week he would not watch the nationally-televised testimony but half an hour before it was to start, he let loose with an angry Twitter tirade, complaining among other things about the fact Mueller will testify with a top aide sitting next to him.

"This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it. The Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history, by far!" Trump wrote in one of a half dozen tweets.

The cryptic legalese used in Mueller's report allowed the president and his allies to claim the investigation was a politically charged witch hunt that found nothing of substance.

"NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!" Trump tweeted again on Tuesday.

Democrats nevertheless hoped Mueller would make clear to the public why he did not bring charges despite damning evidence outlined in the 448-page report -- and potentially offer explanations of Trump's conduct that would damage him in the run-up to the 2020 election.

"Every American deserves to know the crimes and corruption exposed in the Mueller Report," said Democratic Representative Ted Lieu.

- Collusion, obstruction alleged -

Mueller's report documents extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians, including attempts to cooperate or collude, neither of which is a specific crime.

Mueller ruled in the end that there was not enough evidence to recommend charges of criminal conspiracy, the main legal charge he could make use of.

The veteran prosecutor and former FBI director also laid out in detail 10 instances when Trump allegedly tried to obstruct the investigation.

But he said he was prevented from recommending charges against Trump because Justice Department rules prohibited him from lodging criminal charges against a sitting president. He reiterated that position in Wednesday's testimony.

That left it to Congress to determine whether Trump committed a crime, and a minority of Democrats are pressing for the House to impeach the president.

- Justice Department rules -

Mueller, veteran of some 88 trips to Capitol Hill over a long career in government, is notorious for saying as little as possible.

But he also made clear he thinks the American public does not fully understand the extent and consequences of Russia's campaign to meddle in the election, which the president has repeatedly refused to acknowledge.

Trump's Justice Department meanwhile weighed in late Monday with a statement demanding that Mueller stick only to what he wrote in his report, in hopes of containing any fallout from his testimony.&nbsp;

"It's incredibly arrogant of the department to try to instruct him on what to say," Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on CNN Tuesday.

"It's part of the ongoing coverup by the administration to keep information away from the American people."

Robert Mueller said Wednesday he did not exonerate Donald Trump in his two-year Russian meddling investigation but also told lawmakers he will not say if the president committed a crime, as he launched into a marathon day of congressional testimony.

Robert Mueller said Wednesday he did not exonerate Donald Trump in his two-year Russian meddling investigation but also told lawmakers he will not say if the president committed a crime, as he launched into a marathon day of congressional testimony. Three months after releasing the final report on his probe into the 2016 election, much of the American public remains unclear about the former special counsel's findings on whether Trump criminally obstructed justice and whether his campaign colluded with Russians. With Trump declaring he was "exonerated" in the probe and Democrats saying the report supplied ample evidence for impeachment, the notoriously taciturn Mueller answered questions for the first time in front of two separate, Democrat-run committees in the House of Representatives. Mueller -- who made a few public remarks at a press conference on May but did not take questions and has resisted testifying -- reiterated that he would "stay within the text" of his report, and was visibly uncomfortable once the question period began. "Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. That was our decision then and it remains our decision today," Mueller said in his opening remarks. But when asked at the start of the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee if his report completely cleared the president of wrongdoing, Mueller said "no." "The president was not exculpated for the acts he allegedly committed," Mueller said, adding that it was "true" that Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office. As the questioning volleyed back and forth from Democratic to Republican committee members, the tension mounted and ebbed. Mueller offered many one-word answers and repeatedly referred lawmakers back to the report. Trump insisted this week he would not watch the nationally-televised testimony but half an hour before it was to start, he let loose with an angry Twitter tirade, complaining among other things about the fact Mueller will testify with a top aide sitting next to him. "This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it. The Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history, by far!" Trump wrote in one of a half dozen tweets. The cryptic legalese used in Mueller's report allowed the president and his allies to claim the investigation was a politically charged witch hunt that found nothing of substance. "NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!" Trump tweeted again on Tuesday. Democrats nevertheless hoped Mueller would make clear to the public why he did not bring charges despite damning evidence outlined in the 448-page report -- and potentially offer explanations of Trump's conduct that would damage him in the run-up to the 2020 election. "Every American deserves to know the crimes and corruption exposed in the Mueller Report," said Democratic Representative Ted Lieu. - Collusion, obstruction alleged - Mueller's report documents extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians, including attempts to cooperate or collude, neither of which is a specific crime. Mueller ruled in the end that there was not enough evidence to recommend charges of criminal conspiracy, the main legal charge he could make use of. The veteran prosecutor and former FBI director also laid out in detail 10 instances when Trump allegedly tried to obstruct the investigation. But he said he was prevented from recommending charges against Trump because Justice Department rules prohibited him from lodging criminal charges against a sitting president. He reiterated that position in Wednesday's testimony. That left it to Congress to determine whether Trump committed a crime, and a minority of Democrats are pressing for the House to impeach the president. - Justice Department rules - Mueller, veteran of some 88 trips to Capitol Hill over a long career in government, is notorious for saying as little as possible. But he also made clear he thinks the American public does not fully understand the extent and consequences of Russia's campaign to meddle in the election, which the president has repeatedly refused to acknowledge. Trump's Justice Department meanwhile weighed in late Monday with a statement demanding that Mueller stick only to what he wrote in his report, in hopes of containing any fallout from his testimony. "It's incredibly arrogant of the department to try to instruct him on what to say," Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on CNN Tuesday. "It's part of the ongoing coverup by the administration to keep information away from the American people."

Russia report did not exonerate Trump: Mueller

Top congressional Democrats left the door open on Sunday to the impeachment of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/mueller-report-is-it-a-clean-chit-for-donald-trump-211973">US&nbsp;President Donald Trump</a> but said they would first need to complete <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-lawyers-reviewed-mueller-report-for-10-hours-before-it-was-made-public-211967">their own investigations </a>into whether he obstructed justice in Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s Russia probe.

Party leaders have cautioned against impeachment just 18 months before the November 2020 presidential election, although prominent liberals have demanded the start of proceedings to remove Trump from office since the release of a redacted version of Mueller`s report on Thursday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-never-agreed-to-testify-on-mueller-report-says-trump-211835">I never agreed to testify on Mueller report, says Trump</a>

US&nbsp;House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, whose panel would spearhead any impeachment proceedings, said Democrats would press ahead with investigations of Trump in Congress and "see where the facts lead us."

"Obstruction of justice, if proven, would be impeachable," Nadler said on NBC`s "Meet the Press."

The redacted version of Mueller`s long-awaited report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the product of a 22-month investigation, outlined multiple instances where Trump tried to thwart the probe. While it stopped short of concluding Trump had committed a crime, it did not exonerate him.

Mueller also noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law, and Democrats said it would be a matter of discussion in the coming weeks. 
"That`s going to be a very consequential decision and one I`m going to reserve judgment on until we have a chance to fully deliberate on it," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on "Fox News Sunday."

Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, planned a conference call for Monday afternoon to discuss their next steps in response to the Mueller report. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote lawmakers last week to notify them of the call "to discuss this grave matter."

Nadler on Friday issued a subpoena to the Justice Department to hand over the full, unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence by May 1. The Justice Department called the request "premature and unnecessary."&nbsp;

Before drawing any conclusions, Nadler said Democrats want to hear from Mueller and Attorney General William Barr, who is scheduled to testify in early May. Nadler also said he would call former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify.

Republicans have stood by Trump and an impeachment effort was unlikely to succeed in the Republican-led Senate.

Trump, who denounces the investigation as a witch hunt, claimed vindication from Mueller`s report. He has called for an investigation of how the FBI began the probe, and has tried to blame Democrats.&nbsp;

"How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats?" he wrote on Twitter.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren became the first major contender for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination to call for the start of impeachment proceedings, saying on Friday that "the severity of this misconduct" demanded it.&nbsp;

Julian Castro, former housing secretary under President Barack Obama and another 2020 contender, joined Warren.

Democratic House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, however, said, "I`m not there yet."

He told CBS` "Face the Nation" that Congress needed to look at Trump`s finances and gauge Mueller`s intentions with his report. Even if Senate Republicans blocked any eventual Democratic impeachment effort, Cummings said, "I think history would smile upon us for standing up for the Constitution."

Representative Tim Ryan, another Democratic presidential contender, said the party should wait until multiple ongoing investigations of Trump in Congress have had a chance to uncover more evidence.

"Let the process play itself out," he said on CNN`s "State of the Union."

While Trump`s team had indicated it would release a rebuttal to Mueller`s report, Rudy Giuliani, said that was not imminent.

"We planned to do it if we needed to. So far, we don`t think we need to," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Top congressional Democrats left the door open on Sunday to the impeachment of US President Donald Trump but said they would first need to complete their own investigations into whether he obstructed justice in Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s Russia probe.

Top congressional Democrats left the door open on Sunday to the impeachment of US President Donald Trump but said they would first need to complete their own investigations into whether he obstructed justice in Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s Russia probe. Party leaders have cautioned against impeachment just 18 months before the November 2020 presidential election, although prominent liberals have demanded the start of proceedings to remove Trump from office since the release of a redacted version of Mueller`s report on Thursday. Also read: I never agreed to testify on Mueller report, says Trump US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, whose panel would spearhead any impeachment proceedings, said Democrats would press ahead with investigations of Trump in Congress and "see where the facts lead us." "Obstruction of justice, if proven, would be impeachable," Nadler said on NBC`s "Meet the Press." The redacted version of Mueller`s long-awaited report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the product of a 22-month investigation, outlined multiple instances where Trump tried to thwart the probe. While it stopped short of concluding Trump had committed a crime, it did not exonerate him. Mueller also noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law, and Democrats said it would be a matter of discussion in the coming weeks. "That`s going to be a very consequential decision and one I`m going to reserve judgment on until we have a chance to fully deliberate on it," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on "Fox News Sunday." Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, planned a conference call for Monday afternoon to discuss their next steps in response to the Mueller report. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote lawmakers last week to notify them of the call "to discuss this grave matter." Nadler on Friday issued a subpoena to the Justice Department to hand over the full, unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence by May 1. The Justice Department called the request "premature and unnecessary." Before drawing any conclusions, Nadler said Democrats want to hear from Mueller and Attorney General William Barr, who is scheduled to testify in early May. Nadler also said he would call former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify. Republicans have stood by Trump and an impeachment effort was unlikely to succeed in the Republican-led Senate. Trump, who denounces the investigation as a witch hunt, claimed vindication from Mueller`s report. He has called for an investigation of how the FBI began the probe, and has tried to blame Democrats. "How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats?" he wrote on Twitter. US Senator Elizabeth Warren became the first major contender for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination to call for the start of impeachment proceedings, saying on Friday that "the severity of this misconduct" demanded it. Julian Castro, former housing secretary under President Barack Obama and another 2020 contender, joined Warren. Democratic House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, however, said, "I`m not there yet." He told CBS` "Face the Nation" that Congress needed to look at Trump`s finances and gauge Mueller`s intentions with his report. Even if Senate Republicans blocked any eventual Democratic impeachment effort, Cummings said, "I think history would smile upon us for standing up for the Constitution." Representative Tim Ryan, another Democratic presidential contender, said the party should wait until multiple ongoing investigations of Trump in Congress have had a chance to uncover more evidence. "Let the process play itself out," he said on CNN`s "State of the Union." While Trump`s team had indicated it would release a rebuttal to Mueller`s report, Rudy Giuliani, said that was not imminent. "We planned to do it if we needed to. So far, we don`t think we need to," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Top Democrats leave open option of Trump impeachment after Mueller report

What is the Mueller report?

The US justice department on Thursday released a redacted version of the long-awaited report on Russian involvement in 2016 US presidential election and the contacts between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-report-inconclusive-on-trumps-obstruction-of-justice-charge-211626">President Donald Trump</a>'s campaign and Moscow.

The report officially titled 'Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election'&nbsp;runs nearly in 400 pages. However, some pages of the 400-page report were blacked out by Attorney General Bill Barr to protect ongoing investigations and for other reasons.

With the release of the report, US Attorney General William P Barr informed that Mueller report found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Attorney General, however, said Russians did try to interfere in the US presidential elections. Barr while releasing the report also clarified that the president did not obstruct justice and that the White House freely cooperated in the report.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/timeline-big-moments-in-mueller-investigation-of-russian-meddling-in-2016-us-election-211303">Timeline: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US election</a>

While Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Mueller said in his report that he found "numerous links" and that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia's effort to tilt the ballot in Trump's favour.

Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn't amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump's orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed.&nbsp;

The report also stated that US President Donald <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-sought-to-have-special-counsel-removed-mueller-report-211617">Trump sought to have special counsel Robert Mueller removed </a>nearly two years ago from the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

It said that on June 17, 2017, Trump called White House counsel Don McGahn at home "and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed."

Before its release, the redacted version of the report was reviewed by President Donald Trump's lawyers.

The White House made no changes on the final report and did not assert executive privilege to protect internal White House information, US Attorney General William P Barr added.

(With inputs from agencies)

The US justice department on Thursday released a redacted version of the long-awaited report on Russian involvement in 2016 US presidential election and the contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

The US justice department on Thursday released a redacted version of the long-awaited report on Russian involvement in 2016 US presidential election and the contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow. The report officially titled 'Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election' runs nearly in 400 pages. However, some pages of the 400-page report were blacked out by Attorney General Bill Barr to protect ongoing investigations and for other reasons. With the release of the report, US Attorney General William P Barr informed that Mueller report found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia. The Attorney General, however, said Russians did try to interfere in the US presidential elections. Barr while releasing the report also clarified that the president did not obstruct justice and that the White House freely cooperated in the report. Timeline: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US election While Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. Mueller said in his report that he found "numerous links" and that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia's effort to tilt the ballot in Trump's favour. Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn't amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump's orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed. The report also stated that US President Donald Trump sought to have special counsel Robert Mueller removed nearly two years ago from the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. It said that on June 17, 2017, Trump called White House counsel Don McGahn at home "and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed." Before its release, the redacted version of the report was reviewed by President Donald Trump's lawyers. The White House made no changes on the final report and did not assert executive privilege to protect internal White House information, US Attorney General William P Barr added. (With inputs from agencies)

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-muellers-decision-on-obstruction-helped-save-us-president-donald-trump-211649">How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump</a>

The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-lands-1-billion-from-softbank-toyota-for-self-driving-unit-211646">Uber lands $1 billion from SoftBank, Toyota for self-driving unit</a>

Uber's autonomous vehicle unit has raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp, giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions on the eve of its public stock offering.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-in-major-cabinet-reshuffle-portfolios-of-several-ministers-changed-211652">In major cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of several ministers changed in Pakistan</a>

Announcing his first major cabinet reshuffle after taking office, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday brought in five new aides and changed the portfolios of four ministers, including that of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has now been assigned Science and Technology ministry.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-unflattering-detail-mueller-report-reveals-trump-actions-to-impede-inquiry-211647">In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry</a>

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how&nbsp;President Donald Trump&nbsp;tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-finds-no-conspiracy-but-extensive-trump-russia-contacts-211659">Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts</a>

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between&nbsp;Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress.

How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress. Uber lands $1 billion from SoftBank, Toyota for self-driving unit Uber's autonomous vehicle unit has raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp, giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions on the eve of its public stock offering. In major cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of several ministers changed in Pakistan Announcing his first major cabinet reshuffle after taking office, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday brought in five new aides and changed the portfolios of four ministers, including that of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has now been assigned Science and Technology ministry. In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice. Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election.

News brief: Big stories of the day

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-unflattering-detail-mueller-report-reveals-trump-actions-to-impede-inquiry-211647">Donald Trump</a>`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-tried-to-interfere-with-us-presidential-polls-trump-did-not-cooperate-says-attorney-general-william-barr-while-releasing-full-report-211580">Mueller said in his report </a>released on Thursday that he found "numerous links" and that the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-muellers-decision-on-obstruction-helped-save-us-president-donald-trump-211649">Trump campaign</a> "expected it would benefit" from Russia`s effort to tilt the ballot in Trump`s favour.

Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn`t amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump`s orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed.&nbsp;

Trump and his allies, who derided the Mueller probe as a political "witch hunt", portrayed the report as vindication. "No collusion. No obstruction. For all the haters and the radical left Democrats, game over," Trump tweeted on Thursday.&nbsp;

"The bottom line is the president is exonerated and the campaign is exonerated of collusion," said Michael Caputo, a former adviser to Trump`s campaign.

Some legal experts and political strategists were more circumspect, saying the report confirmed the Russian government was attempting to help Trump with the election.&nbsp;

"I think that`s a pretty extraordinary finding of historical significance, whether or not there`s a crime," said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who is now a San Francisco-based lawyer.

Many of the contacts in the report were already known. They included former national security adviser Michael Flynn`s conversations in late 2016 with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador at the time, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort`s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a political consultant who the FBI has determined has ties to Russian intelligence.

But the report contained fresh details on the range of official and unofficial dealings Trump campaign advisers and supporters had with Russians before and after the 2016 election.&nbsp;

For example, the report says that Manafort, shortly after he joined the campaign in the spring of 2016, directed his deputy to share internal polling data with Kilimnik with the understanding it would be passed on to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch known to have close ties to the Kremlin.

Lawyers for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kilimnik did not reply to an email seeking comment.

A Washington-based attorney for Deripsaka said he could not comment. In a statement to Reuters in January, representatives for Deripaska said he has never had any communication with Kilimnik.

The report also says that Manafort told Kilimnik in August 2017 about the campaign`s efforts to win the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Trump ended up winning three of those states in the November election.

Mueller`s investigation did not find a connection between Manafort`s sharing of polling data and Russia`s meddling in the US election or that he otherwise coordinated with Russia.

Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official, said he was nonetheless bothered by the interactions between Manafort and Kilimnik, especially their talking about battleground states.&nbsp;

"As a longtime counterintelligence investigator it makes the hair stand on the back of my neck," Montoya said.

The report detailed a meeting in December 2016 between Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Sergei Gorkov, the head of a Russian state-owned bank under US&nbsp;sanctions. Gorkov gave Kushner a painting and a bag of soil from the town in Belarus where Kushner`s family is from, the report says.

Mueller`s team said it could not resolve a conflict in the accounts of Kushner, who said the meeting was diplomatic in nature, and Gorkov, who said it was business related.

Kushner has said neither sanctions nor his business activities were discussed at the meeting. Kushner`s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on Mueller`s report.

The report also provided new details about a meeting that campaign advisers Donald Trump Jr., the president`s oldest son, Kushner and Manafort held with a Russian lawyer at New York`s Trump Tower in June 2016. The meeting was set up after the advisers were promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, Trump`s Democratic challenger for president.

Mueller`s team considered whether the advisers violated laws barring election contributions from foreigners. But, the report says, they ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to show they "wilfully" broke the law and they might have had problems proving the information offered on Clinton was really valuable.

When news of the Trump Tower meeting broke in July 2017, Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was set up to discuss adoption policy, not politics, before later admitting he had been expecting intelligence on Clinton.&nbsp;

Such interactions have broadly been referred to by Democratic congressional investigators as examples of possible "collusion". But because collusion is not a legal term, Mueller`s team examined the Trump Tower meeting and other contacts through the lens of federal conspiracy law.

Mueller said his investigation was unable to establish that such contacts with Russians met the bar of criminality which required that the contacts "amounted to an agreement to commit any substantive violation" of US laws, including those governing campaign finance and foreign agent registration.

Therefore, Mueller said his office "did not charge any individual associated with the Trump Campaign with conspiracy to commit a federal offence arising from Russia contacts."

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. Mueller said in his report released on Thursday that he found "numerous links" and that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia`s effort to tilt the ballot in Trump`s favour. Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn`t amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump`s orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed. Trump and his allies, who derided the Mueller probe as a political "witch hunt", portrayed the report as vindication. "No collusion. No obstruction. For all the haters and the radical left Democrats, game over," Trump tweeted on Thursday. "The bottom line is the president is exonerated and the campaign is exonerated of collusion," said Michael Caputo, a former adviser to Trump`s campaign. Some legal experts and political strategists were more circumspect, saying the report confirmed the Russian government was attempting to help Trump with the election. "I think that`s a pretty extraordinary finding of historical significance, whether or not there`s a crime," said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who is now a San Francisco-based lawyer. Many of the contacts in the report were already known. They included former national security adviser Michael Flynn`s conversations in late 2016 with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador at the time, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort`s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a political consultant who the FBI has determined has ties to Russian intelligence. But the report contained fresh details on the range of official and unofficial dealings Trump campaign advisers and supporters had with Russians before and after the 2016 election. For example, the report says that Manafort, shortly after he joined the campaign in the spring of 2016, directed his deputy to share internal polling data with Kilimnik with the understanding it would be passed on to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch known to have close ties to the Kremlin. Lawyers for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kilimnik did not reply to an email seeking comment. A Washington-based attorney for Deripsaka said he could not comment. In a statement to Reuters in January, representatives for Deripaska said he has never had any communication with Kilimnik. The report also says that Manafort told Kilimnik in August 2017 about the campaign`s efforts to win the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Trump ended up winning three of those states in the November election. Mueller`s investigation did not find a connection between Manafort`s sharing of polling data and Russia`s meddling in the US election or that he otherwise coordinated with Russia. Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official, said he was nonetheless bothered by the interactions between Manafort and Kilimnik, especially their talking about battleground states. "As a longtime counterintelligence investigator it makes the hair stand on the back of my neck," Montoya said. The report detailed a meeting in December 2016 between Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Sergei Gorkov, the head of a Russian state-owned bank under US sanctions. Gorkov gave Kushner a painting and a bag of soil from the town in Belarus where Kushner`s family is from, the report says. Mueller`s team said it could not resolve a conflict in the accounts of Kushner, who said the meeting was diplomatic in nature, and Gorkov, who said it was business related. Kushner has said neither sanctions nor his business activities were discussed at the meeting. Kushner`s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on Mueller`s report. The report also provided new details about a meeting that campaign advisers Donald Trump Jr., the president`s oldest son, Kushner and Manafort held with a Russian lawyer at New York`s Trump Tower in June 2016. The meeting was set up after the advisers were promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, Trump`s Democratic challenger for president. Mueller`s team considered whether the advisers violated laws barring election contributions from foreigners. But, the report says, they ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to show they "wilfully" broke the law and they might have had problems proving the information offered on Clinton was really valuable. When news of the Trump Tower meeting broke in July 2017, Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was set up to discuss adoption policy, not politics, before later admitting he had been expecting intelligence on Clinton. Such interactions have broadly been referred to by Democratic congressional investigators as examples of possible "collusion". But because collusion is not a legal term, Mueller`s team examined the Trump Tower meeting and other contacts through the lens of federal conspiracy law. Mueller said his investigation was unable to establish that such contacts with Russians met the bar of criminality which required that the contacts "amounted to an agreement to commit any substantive violation" of US laws, including those governing campaign finance and foreign agent registration. Therefore, Mueller said his office "did not charge any individual associated with the Trump Campaign with conspiracy to commit a federal offence arising from Russia contacts."

Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-report-inconclusive-on-trumps-obstruction-of-justice-charge-211626">President Donald Trump</a> tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/redacted-mueller-report-released-by-us-justice-department-211618">release of the 448-page report on Thursday </a>after a 22-month investigation marked a milestone in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/end-of-my-presidency-trump-reacts-to-special-counsel-appointment-211620">Trump's tumultuous presidency</a> and inflamed partisan passions ahead of his 2020 re-election bid.

Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations, but there was no immediate indication they would try to remove him from office through impeachment.

Mueller built an extensive case indicating the Republican president had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though he did not exonerate the president. Mueller noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law.

"The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President's corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law," the report stated.

Mueller also unearthed "numerous links" between the Russian government and Trump's campaign and said the president's team "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts," referring to hacked Democratic emails.

But Mueller, a former FBI director, concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump's campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood, saying at a White House event with wounded US&nbsp;troops he was "having a good day" following the report's release, adding, "It's called no collusion, no obstruction." Trump, whose legal team called the report "a total victory," has long described Mueller's inquiry as a "witch hunt."

Trump headed to his resort in Florida for the weekend, and on landing on Thursday night told a crowd of well wishers at the airport: "Game over folks, now it's back to work."

The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller's ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel.

"The President's efforts to influence the investigation 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 report stated.

The report said that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that the Justice Department was appointing a special counsel to look into allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair and said, "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked."

Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed "10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense." Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller's report that Trump had not actually committed a crime.

Trump was wary of FBI scrutiny of his campaign and him personally, the report said. "The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns," the report stated.

Any impeachment effort would start in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but Trump's removal would require the support of the Republican-led Senate - an unlikely outcome. Many Democrats steered clear of impeachment talk on Thursday, although a prominent liberal congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, embraced the idea.

"Many know I take no pleasure in discussions of impeachment. I didn’t campaign on it, &amp; rarely discuss it unprompted," she said on Twitter. "But the report squarely puts this on our doorstep."

The House, when it voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, included obstruction of justice as one of the charges. The Senate ultimately decided not to remove Clinton from office.

The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.

Nadler told reporters in New York Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was too early to talk about impeachment.

"Mueller’s report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how President Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation," the Democratic chairs of six House committees said in a statement.

ELECTION MEDDLING

The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and US intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin's preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference.

In analyzing whether Trump obstructed justice, Mueller looked at a series of actions by Trump, including his attempts to remove Mueller and limit the scope of his probe and efforts to prevent the public from knowing about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between senior campaign officials and Russians.

In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the Justice Department's No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed, the report said. McGahn did not carry out the order. McGahn was home on a Saturday that month when Trump called him at least twice.

"You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod," McGahn recalled the president as saying, according to the report.

House Judiciary Democrat Jamie Raskin pointed to Trump's effort to get McGahn to fire Mueller and then lie about being told to do so as an area of interest for lawmakers, and said McGahn and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be valuable witnesses as the committee moves forward.

"There are these dramatic episodes of presidential attempts to interfere with the Mueller investigation, and I think people would like to hear from a number of officials involved. White House counsel McGahn jumps out as an important witness," he told Reuters.

It also said there was "substantial evidence" Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017 due to his "unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation." The FBI headed the inquiry at the time.

Mueller cited "some evidence" suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn's controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was "inconclusive" and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.

The report said Trump directed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to ask Sessions to say the Russia investigation was "very unfair."

Barr, a Trump appointee, seemed to offer cover for Trump's actions by saying the report acknowledges "there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks."

"President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates," Barr said.

Mueller's team did not issue a subpoena to force Trump to give an interview to the special counsel because it would have created a "substantial delay" at a late stage in the investigation, the report said. Trump refused an interview and eventually provided only written answers.

The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognizing that a president can be criminally investigated.

The report listed 14 criminal referrals for investigation by US&nbsp;prosecutors but 12 of those were fully blacked out because they are open investigations.

Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe he could receive a presidential pardon.

The report said the special counsel's team determined there was a "reasonable argument" that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction.

The report cited Trump's repeated efforts to convince Sessions to resume oversight of the probe after he had recused himself because of his own prior contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice. The release of the 448-page report on Thursday after a 22-month investigation marked a milestone in Trump's tumultuous presidency and inflamed partisan passions ahead of his 2020 re-election bid. Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations, but there was no immediate indication they would try to remove him from office through impeachment. Mueller built an extensive case indicating the Republican president had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though he did not exonerate the president. Mueller noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law. "The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President's corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law," the report stated. Mueller also unearthed "numerous links" between the Russian government and Trump's campaign and said the president's team "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts," referring to hacked Democratic emails. But Mueller, a former FBI director, concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump's campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow. Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood, saying at a White House event with wounded US troops he was "having a good day" following the report's release, adding, "It's called no collusion, no obstruction." Trump, whose legal team called the report "a total victory," has long described Mueller's inquiry as a "witch hunt." Trump headed to his resort in Florida for the weekend, and on landing on Thursday night told a crowd of well wishers at the airport: "Game over folks, now it's back to work." The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller's ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel. "The President's efforts to influence the investigation 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 report stated. The report said that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that the Justice Department was appointing a special counsel to look into allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair and said, "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked." Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed "10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense." Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller's report that Trump had not actually committed a crime. Trump was wary of FBI scrutiny of his campaign and him personally, the report said. "The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns," the report stated. Any impeachment effort would start in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but Trump's removal would require the support of the Republican-led Senate - an unlikely outcome. Many Democrats steered clear of impeachment talk on Thursday, although a prominent liberal congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, embraced the idea. "Many know I take no pleasure in discussions of impeachment. I didn’t campaign on it, & rarely discuss it unprompted," she said on Twitter. "But the report squarely puts this on our doorstep." The House, when it voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, included obstruction of justice as one of the charges. The Senate ultimately decided not to remove Clinton from office. The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23. Nadler told reporters in New York Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was too early to talk about impeachment. "Mueller’s report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how President Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation," the Democratic chairs of six House committees said in a statement. ELECTION MEDDLING The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and US intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin's preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference. In analyzing whether Trump obstructed justice, Mueller looked at a series of actions by Trump, including his attempts to remove Mueller and limit the scope of his probe and efforts to prevent the public from knowing about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between senior campaign officials and Russians. In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the Justice Department's No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed, the report said. McGahn did not carry out the order. McGahn was home on a Saturday that month when Trump called him at least twice. "You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod," McGahn recalled the president as saying, according to the report. House Judiciary Democrat Jamie Raskin pointed to Trump's effort to get McGahn to fire Mueller and then lie about being told to do so as an area of interest for lawmakers, and said McGahn and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be valuable witnesses as the committee moves forward. "There are these dramatic episodes of presidential attempts to interfere with the Mueller investigation, and I think people would like to hear from a number of officials involved. White House counsel McGahn jumps out as an important witness," he told Reuters. It also said there was "substantial evidence" Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017 due to his "unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation." The FBI headed the inquiry at the time. Mueller cited "some evidence" suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn's controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was "inconclusive" and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct. The report said Trump directed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to ask Sessions to say the Russia investigation was "very unfair." Barr, a Trump appointee, seemed to offer cover for Trump's actions by saying the report acknowledges "there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks." "President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates," Barr said. Mueller's team did not issue a subpoena to force Trump to give an interview to the special counsel because it would have created a "substantial delay" at a late stage in the investigation, the report said. Trump refused an interview and eventually provided only written answers. The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognizing that a president can be criminally investigated. The report listed 14 criminal referrals for investigation by US prosecutors but 12 of those were fully blacked out because they are open investigations. Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe he could receive a presidential pardon. The report said the special counsel's team determined there was a "reasonable argument" that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction. The report cited Trump's repeated efforts to convince Sessions to resume oversight of the probe after he had recused himself because of his own prior contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry

Attorney General William Barr plans on Thursday morning to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US&nbsp;election and contacts between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign, the Justice Department said on Monday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/timeline-big-moments-in-mueller-investigation-of-russian-meddling-in-2016-us-election-211303">Timeline: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US election</a>

Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec did not provide a precise time, but said the report, which Barr has described as nearly 400 pages long, will be released both to Congress and the public. Congressional Democrats have demanded the release of the full report with nothing blacked out and also have asked for the underlying evidence gathered by Mueller, meaning Thursday's action by Barr may be just the first move in a longer fight that could play out in the courts.

Moments after the department announced its plans for releasing the report, the Republican president went to Twitter to make another attack on Mueller's team and derided the "Russia Hoax." The Mueller investigation has cast a cloud over the presidency of Trump, who has often called it a politically motivated "witch hunt."

Mueller turned over a copy of his confidential report to Barr on March 22, ending his 22-month-long inquiry. Two days later, Barr released a four-page letter summarizing what he said were Mueller's primary conclusions. In that letter to Congress, Barr said Mueller's investigation did not establish that members of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia.

Barr also wrote that Mueller presented evidence "on both sides" about whether Trump obstructed justice by acting to impede the inquiry, but he did not draw a conclusion one way or the other. Barr said that he reviewed Mueller's evidence and made his own determination that Trump did not commit the crime of obstruction of justice.

REDACTION DECISIONS

Justice Department regulations give Barr, a Trump appointee and the top US&nbsp;law enforcement officer, broad authority to decide what to release and what to withhold from the report.

Barr has pledged to be as transparent as possible. But he has said he will redact certain portions for reasons including protecting secret grand jury information, intelligence-gathering sources and methods, information relating to ongoing cases and the privacy of "peripheral third parties" who were not charged.

The redactions in the report will be colour-coded by category, according to Barr, explaining the reasons that parts are blacked out.

After Barr released his four-page letter, Trump claimed "complete and total exoneration," condemned "an illegal takedown that failed" and accused unnamed political enemies of treasonous acts.

Since Barr released his letter, Trump has set his sights on the FBI, and accused the Justice Department of improperly targeting his campaign. Last week, Barr told a US Senate panel he believed that "spying" did occur on Trump's campaign, and he plans to investigate whether it was properly authorized.

Barr's comments were criticized by Democrats, already sceptical of how he has handled the report's release.

The attorney general has pledged to testify publicly about the report's conclusions before the Senate and House judiciary committees - on May 1 and 2, respectively. The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee voted on April 3 to empower its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to issue subpoenas for the full report and underlying evidence.

Meanwhile, the top Democrat and Republican on the House Intelligence Committee are also asking Barr to produce all of the investigative materials compiled by Mueller's team and to make Mueller and his staff available for a briefing.

In a March 27 letter seen by Reuters on Monday, Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff and top Republican Devin Nunes told Barr they want Mueller to brief them on "the investigation's scope and areas of inquiry, its findings, and the intelligence and counterintelligence information gathered" in the investigation.

Attorney General William Barr plans on Thursday morning to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and contacts between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign, the Justice Department said on Monday.

Attorney General William Barr plans on Thursday morning to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and contacts between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign, the Justice Department said on Monday. Timeline: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US election Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec did not provide a precise time, but said the report, which Barr has described as nearly 400 pages long, will be released both to Congress and the public. Congressional Democrats have demanded the release of the full report with nothing blacked out and also have asked for the underlying evidence gathered by Mueller, meaning Thursday's action by Barr may be just the first move in a longer fight that could play out in the courts. Moments after the department announced its plans for releasing the report, the Republican president went to Twitter to make another attack on Mueller's team and derided the "Russia Hoax." The Mueller investigation has cast a cloud over the presidency of Trump, who has often called it a politically motivated "witch hunt." Mueller turned over a copy of his confidential report to Barr on March 22, ending his 22-month-long inquiry. Two days later, Barr released a four-page letter summarizing what he said were Mueller's primary conclusions. In that letter to Congress, Barr said Mueller's investigation did not establish that members of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia. Barr also wrote that Mueller presented evidence "on both sides" about whether Trump obstructed justice by acting to impede the inquiry, but he did not draw a conclusion one way or the other. Barr said that he reviewed Mueller's evidence and made his own determination that Trump did not commit the crime of obstruction of justice. REDACTION DECISIONS Justice Department regulations give Barr, a Trump appointee and the top US law enforcement officer, broad authority to decide what to release and what to withhold from the report. Barr has pledged to be as transparent as possible. But he has said he will redact certain portions for reasons including protecting secret grand jury information, intelligence-gathering sources and methods, information relating to ongoing cases and the privacy of "peripheral third parties" who were not charged. The redactions in the report will be colour-coded by category, according to Barr, explaining the reasons that parts are blacked out. After Barr released his four-page letter, Trump claimed "complete and total exoneration," condemned "an illegal takedown that failed" and accused unnamed political enemies of treasonous acts. Since Barr released his letter, Trump has set his sights on the FBI, and accused the Justice Department of improperly targeting his campaign. Last week, Barr told a US Senate panel he believed that "spying" did occur on Trump's campaign, and he plans to investigate whether it was properly authorized. Barr's comments were criticized by Democrats, already sceptical of how he has handled the report's release. The attorney general has pledged to testify publicly about the report's conclusions before the Senate and House judiciary committees - on May 1 and 2, respectively. The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee voted on April 3 to empower its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to issue subpoenas for the full report and underlying evidence. Meanwhile, the top Democrat and Republican on the House Intelligence Committee are also asking Barr to produce all of the investigative materials compiled by Mueller's team and to make Mueller and his staff available for a briefing. In a March 27 letter seen by Reuters on Monday, Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff and top Republican Devin Nunes told Barr they want Mueller to brief them on "the investigation's scope and areas of inquiry, its findings, and the intelligence and counterintelligence information gathered" in the investigation.

Redacted Mueller report to be issued by US attorney general today

Here is a timeline of significant developments in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/robert-mueller-report-to-be-released-by-mid-april-attorney-general-206612">Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation</a> into Russia's role in the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election and contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-dont-care-about-the-muellers-russia-probe-report-says-donald-trump-209385/amp">I don’t care about the Mueller's Russia probe report, says Donald Trump</a>

2017

May 17 - US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign. The appointment follows Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9. Days later, Trump attributed the dismissal to "this Russia thing."

June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports.

October&nbsp;30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering, as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign.

- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.

December&nbsp;1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

2018

February&nbsp;16 - Mueller secures an indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering in the presidential race to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election" according to the court document filed by Mueller.

- An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign.

February&nbsp;22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia.

February&nbsp;23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial.

April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe.

April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described "fixer" Michael Cohen.

April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe.

April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team.

June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering.

July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking.

July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a "rigged witch hunt" on Twitter.

August&nbsp;21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.

- Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team.

August&nbsp;31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.

September&nbsp;14 - Manafort pleads guilty to two conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors.

November&nbsp;8 - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.

November&nbsp;20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.

November&nbsp;27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon.

November&nbsp;28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016.

November&nbsp;29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. "I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1," says Cohen, who previously identified "individual 1" as Trump. The president criticises Cohen as a liar and "weak person."

December&nbsp;12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes a deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. The publisher admits that the payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements.

2019

January&nbsp;25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political "dirty trickster" Roger Stone is charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that U.S. officials say were stolen by Russia.

February&nbsp;14 - The Senate votes to confirm William Barr, Trump's nominee to replace Sessions, as attorney general. Barr assumes broad authority over how much of the Mueller report to release.

February&nbsp;22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions.

February&nbsp;27 - Cohen tells US House Oversight Committee Trump is a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat" who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies.

March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost four years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million.

March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the two special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years.

- Shortly after his sentencing in Washington, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon.

March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to US&nbsp;Attorney General William Barr.

March 24 - Barr releases a summary of the "principal conclusions" of Mueller's report and wrote that the investigation did not establish that members of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia. Mueller did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice, said Barr, who himself concluded the inquiry had not found sufficient evidence to warrant criminal obstruction charges against Trump.

March 25 - Democratic lawmakers demand that Barr send the full Mueller report and any underlying documents to Congress by April 2 and say the attorney general's summary is not sufficient. The deadline is not met.

April 3 - The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted to enable its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to subpoena the Justice Department to obtain Mueller's unredacted report and all underlying evidence as well as documents and testimony from five former Trump aides.

April 18 - This date is announced by the Justice Department for the release of a redacted version of the Mueller report.

Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 US presidential election and contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 US presidential election and contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow. Also read: I don’t care about the Mueller's Russia probe report, says Donald Trump 2017 May 17 - US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign. The appointment follows Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9. Days later, Trump attributed the dismissal to "this Russia thing." June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports. October 30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering, as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign. - Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials. December 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington. 2018 February 16 - Mueller secures an indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering in the presidential race to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election" according to the court document filed by Mueller. - An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign. February 22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia. February 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial. April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe. April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described "fixer" Michael Cohen. April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe. April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team. June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering. July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking. July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a "rigged witch hunt" on Twitter. August 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. - Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team. August 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine. September 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to two conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors. November 8 - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general. November 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel. November 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon. November 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016. November 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. "I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1," says Cohen, who previously identified "individual 1" as Trump. The president criticises Cohen as a liar and "weak person." December 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes a deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. The publisher admits that the payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements. 2019 January 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political "dirty trickster" Roger Stone is charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that U.S. officials say were stolen by Russia. February 14 - The Senate votes to confirm William Barr, Trump's nominee to replace Sessions, as attorney general. Barr assumes broad authority over how much of the Mueller report to release. February 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions. February 27 - Cohen tells US House Oversight Committee Trump is a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat" who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies. March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost four years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million. March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the two special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years. - Shortly after his sentencing in Washington, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon. March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to US Attorney General William Barr. March 24 - Barr releases a summary of the "principal conclusions" of Mueller's report and wrote that the investigation did not establish that members of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia. Mueller did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice, said Barr, who himself concluded the inquiry had not found sufficient evidence to warrant criminal obstruction charges against Trump. March 25 - Democratic lawmakers demand that Barr send the full Mueller report and any underlying documents to Congress by April 2 and say the attorney general's summary is not sufficient. The deadline is not met. April 3 - The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted to enable its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to subpoena the Justice Department to obtain Mueller's unredacted report and all underlying evidence as well as documents and testimony from five former Trump aides. April 18 - This date is announced by the Justice Department for the release of a redacted version of the Mueller report.

Timeline: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US election

US President Donald Trump has said he believes the probe into Russian meddling in the US election &quot;makes the country look very bad,&quot; according to The New York Times.

Speaking to the newspaper yesterday, Trump said he believes special counsel Robert Mueller will treat him fairly -- a view in contrast with recent attacks on Mueller&#39;s credibility from Republicans, who have pressed for a new independent prosecutor to investigate anti-Trump bias.

&quot;It makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position,&quot; Trump told the Times. &quot;So the sooner it&#39;s worked out, the better it is for the country.&quot;

The president added that he was not concerned about the ongoing investigation -- which his lawyers insisted would be finished by Thanksgiving -- as &quot;everybody knows&quot; there was no Russian collusion.

&quot;There&#39;s been no collusion. But I think he&#39;s going to be fair,&quot; Trump said of Mueller.

He repeated the allegations were invented by Democrats &quot;as a hoax, as a ruse, as an excuse for losing an election,&quot; the Times reported.

Trump also distanced himself from ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was indicted in October in the first legal action stemming from the investigation.

&quot;He worked for me for -- what was it, three and a half months&quot; he told the Times, mentioning Manafort&#39;s connections to other Republicans including John McCain and Ronald Reagan.

According to the newspaper, Trump added it was &quot;too bad&quot; that Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing the probe -- pointing out that although he did not want to &quot;get into loyalty,&quot; Barack Obama&#39;s first attorney general, Eric Holder Jr, &quot;totally protected him.&quot;

Meanwhile, questioned on the re-opening of the investigation into Hillary Clinton&#39;s emails, Trump maintained focus on the collusion probe.

He told the Times that &quot;for purposes of hopefully thinking I&#39;m going to be treated fairly, I&#39;ve stayed uninvolved with this particular matter.&quot;&nbsp;

'It makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position,' Trump said

US President Donald Trump has said he believes the probe into Russian meddling in the US election "makes the country look very bad," according to The New York Times. Speaking to the newspaper yesterday, Trump said he believes special counsel Robert Mueller will treat him fairly -- a view in contrast with recent attacks on Mueller's credibility from Republicans, who have pressed for a new independent prosecutor to investigate anti-Trump bias. "It makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position," Trump told the Times. "So the sooner it's worked out, the better it is for the country." The president added that he was not concerned about the ongoing investigation -- which his lawyers insisted would be finished by Thanksgiving -- as "everybody knows" there was no Russian collusion. "There's been no collusion. But I think he's going to be fair," Trump said of Mueller. He repeated the allegations were invented by Democrats "as a hoax, as a ruse, as an excuse for losing an election," the Times reported. Trump also distanced himself from ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was indicted in October in the first legal action stemming from the investigation. "He worked for me for -- what was it, three and a half months" he told the Times, mentioning Manafort's connections to other Republicans including John McCain and Ronald Reagan. According to the newspaper, Trump added it was "too bad" that Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing the probe -- pointing out that although he did not want to "get into loyalty," Barack Obama's first attorney general, Eric Holder Jr, "totally protected him." Meanwhile, questioned on the re-opening of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, Trump maintained focus on the collusion probe. He told the Times that "for purposes of hopefully thinking I'm going to be treated fairly, I've stayed uninvolved with this particular matter."

Russia probe makes US 'look very bad': Trump