Robert Mueller submits Russia report

By Meg Wagner, Brian Ries, Amanda Wills and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 2:27 p.m. ET, March 24, 2019

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5:22 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

Barr may tell lawmakers "principal conclusions" of the report as soon as this weekend

From CNN's Laura Jarrett

In a letter to House and Senate judiciary leaders, Attorney General William Barr tells them, “I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.”

Barr also informed lawmakers that at no time did the Justice Department leaders tell the special counsel that a proposed action “was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued.”

"There were no such instances during the Special Counsel’s investigation," Barr wrote.

5:21 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

"Only a few" have seen the Mueller report so far, Justice official says

From CNN's Laura Jarrett

A Justice Department official said "only a few people" have seen the report so far.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is planning to call special counsel Robert Mueller and thank him for his work, the official said.

5:20 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

Justice Department briefs Judiciary Committee

From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju

The Department of Justice is briefing the Judiciary Committee now, according to committee sources.

5:12 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

Report is "comprehensive," Justice official said

A Department of Justice official says the department let the White House know it had the report at roughly 4:35 p.m. ET.

The report was delivered earlier this afternoon, per a Justice official. It was delivered to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's office and, within minutes, to Attorney General William Barr.

The official described the report as “comprehensive."

5:04 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

Special counsel Robert Mueller has ended his investigation

From CNN's Laura Jarrett

Special counsel Robert Mueller has finished his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mueller’s confidential report has been delivered to Attorney General William Barr, the Justice Department announced Friday.

5:08 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

Multiple federal courts have upheld Mueller's appointment

From CNN's Marshall Cohen

For months — and as recently as this week — President Trump has railed against the special counsel investigation and claimed without evidence that Robert Mueller is running an “illegal” investigation.

Here are the facts regarding the legality of the Mueller investigation:

There have been seven federal court decisions upholding Mueller’s appointment, authority and actions.
These rulings were made by judges appointed by both political parties – even one by Trump himself.
This includes decisions from four district-level judges and two panels of appeals-court judges.

5:08 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

These are the things Mueller was ordered to investigate

From CNN's Marshall Cohen

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel on May 17, 2017. He tapped Mueller to take over an investigation that was already underway at the FBI.

Rosenstein’s move capped an extraordinary week in American history that began with Trump firing FBI Director James Comey and included Comey leaking his memos to the press.

Rosenstein’s public order specifically authorized Mueller to investigate:

Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election
“Any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump”
“Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation”
Any efforts to obstruct the investigation

Three months later, in August 2017, Rosenstein wrote a secret memo to Mueller that went into greater detail. This document wasn’t publicly known until April 2018, when Mueller’s team disclosed it during the run-up to Paul Manafort’s trial in Virginia.

That three-page memo was highly redacted, but it did reveal what Mueller could investigate regarding Manafort. It included:

Whether Manafort “committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials” as part of their interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Whether Manafort “committed a crime or crimes regarding payments he received from the Ukrainian government” while he was lobbying on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the Russia-friendly former president of Ukraine.

Note: It is possible that other memos like these exist, but have not been publicly disclosed to the public yet.

5:08 p.m. ET, March 22, 2019

675 days and 34 people charged: The numbers behind Mueller's investigation

From CNN's Marshall Cohen

Robert Mueller, who was appointed on May 17, 2017 has been on the job for 675 days.

Since then:

Mueller has brought criminal charges against 34 people and 3 companies. Five people have been sentenced to prison so far.
Those charged include six Trump associates (Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone and George Papadopoulos).
It also includes 26 Russians and 3 Russian companies.
Trump has tweeted “witch hunt” about the Russia investigation more than 170 times.