The special counsel is not recommending any further indictments, a senior Justice official said.
Watch CNN's Laura Jarrett explain:
By Meg Wagner, Brian Ries, Amanda Wills and Veronica Rocha, CNN
From CNN's Laura Jarrett
The special counsel is not recommending any further indictments, a senior Justice official said.
Watch CNN's Laura Jarrett explain:
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham sent out a statement that said the Department of Justice notified him and ranking member Diane Feinstein "that the Mueller Report has been turned over to Attorney General Barr."
That notification, Graham said, "indicates that Attorney General Barr will pursue as much transparency as possible."
He added: “I have always believed it was important that Mr. Mueller be allowed to do his job without interference, and that has been accomplished.”
Some Democrats who are running for president in 2020 have weighed in on the news that special counsel Robert Mueller has finished his investigation.
Many of them are calling on the report to be released publicly.
Here's a look:
Sen. Cory Booker
Julian Castro
John Delaney
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Sen. Kamala Harris
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Beto O'Rourke
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Jay Inslee
A few moments past 5 p.m. ET, CNN's Evan Perez broke the news that special counsel Robert Mueller had finished his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
"The word is in," CNN's Evan Perez told Wolf Blitzer. "The Justice Department is telling us that Attorney General Bill Barr has now received the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. The investigation, 675 days old, is now over."
He continued, "So obviously it is a big moment for this White House. It is an investigation that has hung over the presidency of Donald Trump since is beginning, obviously, so now the question is what is in that report."
Watch the moment:
From CNN's Laura Jarrett
As of now, Robert Mueller is "still special counsel," according to a Justice Department official. But the investigation is unequivocally "complete," the official added.
The White House does not have the report, according to the Justice official. The attorney general’s chief of staff called White House lawyer Emmet Flood and read the information in Bill Barr’s letter to the Hill.
The "principle conclusions" that Barr says will be delivered to Congress soon are "expected to be made public."
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, saying, "Congress and the American people deserve to judge the facts for themselves."
Warner issued this statement shortly after Mueller turned in his report:
"Congress and the American people deserve to judge the facts for themselves. The Special Counsel's report must be provided to Congress immediately, and the Attorney General should swiftly prepare a declassified version of the report for the public. Nothing short of that will suffice.
It is also critical that all documents related to the Special Counsel's investigation be preserved and made available to the appropriate Congressional committees.
Any attempt by the Trump Administration to cover up the results of this investigation into Russia's attack on our democracy would be unacceptable."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just sent out a joint statement calling on Attorney General William Barr "to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress."
Here's their full statement:
“Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General, it is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress. Attorney General Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller's findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public.
“The Special Counsel’s investigation focused on questions that go to the integrity of our democracy itself: whether foreign powers corruptly interfered in our elections, and whether unlawful means were used to hinder that investigation. The American people have a right to the truth. The watchword is transparency.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report "will help inform and improve our efforts to protect our democracy" since many believe that Russia "poses a significant threat to American interests."
"I am grateful we have an experienced and capable Attorney General in place to review the Special Counsel’s report," he said in a statement.
Here's McConnell's full statement:
“I welcome the announcement that the Special Counsel has finally completed his investigation into Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 elections. Many Republicans have long believed that Russia poses a significant threat to American interests. I hope the Special Counsel’s report will help inform and improve our efforts to protect our democracy.
I am grateful we have an experienced and capable Attorney General in place to review the Special Counsel’s report. Attorney General Barr now needs the time to do that.
“The Attorney General has said he intends to provide as much information as possible. As I have said previously, I sincerely hope he will do so as soon as he can, and with as much openness and transparency as possible.”
From CNN's Evan Perez
Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, counselors to President Trump, released a brief statement.
“We’re pleased that the Office of Special Counsel has delivered its report to the Attorney General pursuant to the regulations. Attorney General Barr will determine the appropriate next steps.”