1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,166 JUDY WOODRUFF: We return now to our lead story. 2 00:00:03,166 --> 00:00:07,333 Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation and turned over a report 3 00:00:07,333 --> 00:00:09,733 to Attorney General William Barr. 4 00:00:09,733 --> 00:00:14,633 To help us understand what's next, I'm joined by NPR's Justice correspondent, Carrie Johnson. 5 00:00:16,566 --> 00:00:19,866 Carrie, so we know, we have just learned within the last couple of hours that this report 6 00:00:19,866 --> 00:00:24,866 - - this investigation has finished, and the report's been turned over to the Justice Department. 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,300 What happens right now? 8 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:31,066 Do we -- when do we find out what's in the report? 9 00:00:31,066 --> 00:00:36,066 CARRIE JOHNSON, NPR: Well, we could find out something about the key conclusions by the 10 00:00:37,233 --> 00:00:40,166 special counsel as early as this weekend. 11 00:00:40,166 --> 00:00:44,800 That's according to the attorney general, Bill Barr, in a letter he sent to key members 12 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,266 of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. 13 00:00:47,266 --> 00:00:51,933 The Justice Department says the public may find out around the same time, as early as 14 00:00:51,933 --> 00:00:54,900 this weekend, some of the key conclusions. 15 00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:59,866 As for the meat and potatoes of this report, which I'm told is comprehensive, we may find 16 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:05,500 out more about that after a longer deliberation by the attorney general special counsel, Mueller, 17 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:08,733 and the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein. 18 00:01:08,733 --> 00:01:13,166 JUDY WOODRUFF: Carrie, do we have a sense of how many pages, how big a document this 19 00:01:14,700 --> 00:01:17,166 report is? 20 00:01:17,166 --> 00:01:20,900 CARRIE JOHNSON: I pressed the Justice Department this afternoon about how much detail this 21 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,533 report gets into. 22 00:01:23,533 --> 00:01:27,233 All they'd say at this point is that it is a comprehensive report. 23 00:01:27,233 --> 00:01:32,233 A Justice Department source says the special counsel is not recommending any additional 24 00:01:34,266 --> 00:01:36,666 indictments, Judy, although we do know some of his work, some of the offshoots, have been 25 00:01:36,666 --> 00:01:41,666 farmed out to prosecutors in New York, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and DOJ headquarters as 26 00:01:42,166 --> 00:01:44,300 well. 27 00:01:44,300 --> 00:01:46,933 JUDY WOODRUFF: And , Carrie, when we spoke a short time ago with the chairman of the 28 00:01:46,933 --> 00:01:50,733 House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, he pointed out that these recommendations, 29 00:01:52,833 --> 00:01:57,800 whatever they may be in this report, that this is separate from any counterintelligence 30 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:01,100 work that was being done. 31 00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:03,200 What do you think that may tell us? 32 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,133 What do your sources tell us that may mean about this -- these final conclusions? 33 00:02:07,133 --> 00:02:12,133 CARRIE JOHNSON: Well, it depends on how Robert Mueller has decided to write this report and 34 00:02:13,300 --> 00:02:15,300 how the attorney general wants to interpret it. 35 00:02:15,300 --> 00:02:20,166 Judy, I don't expect we're ever going to see some of the sensitive material that's secret 36 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:26,000 that goes to sources and methods of American intelligence capacities that Adam Schiff may 37 00:02:26,866 --> 00:02:28,066 be able to see in Congress. 38 00:02:28,066 --> 00:02:30,100 The public may never get to see that. 39 00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:34,066 But the open question right now is whether the Justice Department will decide to tell 40 00:02:34,066 --> 00:02:39,000 Congress and the American people a little bit more about why Robert Mueller decided 41 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,066 not to charge certain people. 42 00:02:41,066 --> 00:02:46,033 That's been an ongoing source of controversy ever since the former FBI director, Jim Comey, 43 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:50,033 decided not to charge Hillary Clinton with any wrongdoing, but said a lot of bad things 44 00:02:50,033 --> 00:02:52,033 about her. 45 00:02:52,033 --> 00:02:55,200 The open question now is whether this Justice Department will make a different choice in 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:57,300 this investigation. 47 00:02:57,300 --> 00:03:01,066 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, as the attorney general's letter to Congress said, this report explains 48 00:03:01,066 --> 00:03:06,066 the prosecution or declination decisions, meaning declining to prosecute. 49 00:03:08,066 --> 00:03:10,133 Just quickly, Carrie, what about the White House being notified about this? 50 00:03:10,133 --> 00:03:13,400 What's the protocol at this point in terms of sharing it with Congress, sharing it with 51 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,466 the White House? 52 00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:19,400 CARRIE JOHNSON: I'm told from the Justice Department that they did place a call to the 53 00:03:21,433 --> 00:03:24,533 White House Counsel's Office around 4:45 this afternoon to notify them the report was in. 54 00:03:26,533 --> 00:03:30,266 The White House doesn't have the contents of this report, only the notification at this 55 00:03:30,266 --> 00:03:32,233 time. 56 00:03:32,233 --> 00:03:35,300 And, right now, the White House is deferring all questions and substance to the Justice 57 00:03:35,300 --> 00:03:39,266 Department, which, basically, is the way it should be and the way that investigations 58 00:03:39,266 --> 00:03:41,300 like this are run. 59 00:03:41,300 --> 00:03:44,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, we don't know when and if the White House -- assume at some point 60 00:03:44,666 --> 00:03:46,766 they will be briefed, but we don't know when. 61 00:03:46,766 --> 00:03:48,600 Well, we are certainly waiting. 62 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:49,766 And I... 63 00:03:49,766 --> 00:03:50,600 CARRIE JOHNSON: We expect that, Judy, yes. 64 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:51,600 JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes. 65 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,600 And I know you are waiting. 66 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,666 And I'm guessing you're going to be camping out at the Justice Department this weekend. 67 00:03:56,666 --> 00:03:59,000 Carrie Johnson with NPR, we thank you. 68 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,100 CARRIE JOHNSON: Thank you.