2:45 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says "nothing is off the table," including potential impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
Pelosi spoke in California after special counsel Robert Mueller indicated Wednesday that it's up to Congress to decide what to do next with his findings. The special counsel stressed in his first public statement on the Russia investigation that he didn't exonerate Trump, as the president claims. Mueller said he was guided by Justice Department policy against bringing charges against a sitting president.
Speaking at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Pelosi said she wants congressional committees to investigate whether Trump obstructed Mueller's investigation. She said, "Where they will lead us, we shall see" and added, "Nothing is off the table."
11:20 p.m.
Cory Booker is calling on fellow congressional Democrats "to begin impeachment proceedings immediately" in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller's public statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including the question of whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice.
The Democratic presidential candidate and New Jersey senator tweeted the statement Wednesday after Mueller spoke publicly for the first time since he was appointed two years ago.
Booker has previously declined to press for impeachment. But he said Mueller's statement "makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation" to initiate the impeachment process.
Mueller referred to a Justice Department legal opinion that says "the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing."
11:05 p.m.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says special counsel Robert Mueller is moving on with his life "and everyone else should do the same."
Sanders said in her statement that Mueller noted that his office has closed the case.
She said the report indicated there was "no collusion, no conspiracy" and the Justice Department confirmed there was no obstruction.
Special counsel Robert Mueller, however, said in his public statement on Wednesday that his team did not make a determination as to whether Trump committed a crime.
Mueller announced that he is now leaving the Justice Department.
10:55 a.m.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says it falls to Congress to respond to the "crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump - and we will do so."
Democratic New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler issued a statement after special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday delivered the first public comments about his Russia report, which was issued last month. Mueller says he was constitutionally barred from charging President Donald Trump with a crime but emphasized that his report did not exonerate the Republican president.
Mueller says he does not want to speak further about the probe, despite invitations to do so from Congress. Nadler did not comment on whether he would subpoena Mueller.
Trump has repeatedly called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt" and tweets, "The case is closed!"
10:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump is declaring "The case is closed!" following special counsel Robert Mueller's first public statement since his appointment in the Russia investigation.
Trump tweeted Wednesday following Mueller's remarks that, "Nothing changes from the Mueller Report."
Trump says, "There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you."
Mueller said Wednesday that he believed he was constitutionally barred from charging Trump with a crime but emphasized that his report did not exonerate the Republican president.
Mueller says that if he had had confidence the president clearly did not commit a crime his team would have said so in its report.
Mueller also emphasized that there were "multiple, systematic efforts" to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that that "deserves the attention of every American."
10:30 a.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller says there were "multiple, systematic efforts" to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that "deserves the attention of every American."
Mueller made the comments Wednesday as he ended an almost 10-minute statement about his two-year investigation into Russian election interference and obstruction of justice. Mueller detailed that meddling in an indictment last year, charging 12 Russian military intelligence officers with hacking Democratic email accounts.
Mueller's probe found there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded or conspired with Russia. But a report released at the end of the investigation detailed many contacts between Russia and the campaign.
The Republican president has repeatedly called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."
10:25 a.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is not ruling out testifying before Congress but is serving notice that he does not intend to go beyond what has already been revealed in his report.
Mueller said Wednesday he and the special counsel team chose their words carefully in the report and "the work speaks for itself."
Mueller says that the report is his "testimony" and that he "would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress."
He says that beyond what he said in his public statement and in his written work he doesn't believe it is "appropriate" for him "to speak further about the investigation."
Mueller's report revealed that President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president. Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt."
10:10 a.m.
Special counsel Robert Mueller says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.
Mueller says that he was bound by longstanding Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office.
In his first public comments in the probe, Mueller said on Wednesday "it would be unfair" to potentially accuse someone of a crime when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself.
Mueller's comments echoed the findings in his public report.
Mueller's report revealed that President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president. Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt."
EARLIER:
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller, breaking a two-year silence on his investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, announced his resignation from the Justice Department on Wednesday so that he can "return to public life."
Mueller's statement was expected to be relatively brief, about eight minutes, and Attorney General William Barr was given a heads-up about what he would say, according to people who were not authorized to provide details on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The statement came amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with Barr.
Mueller and Barr have been at odds over the attorney general's handling of the special counsel's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election and the possibility that Republican candidate Donald Trump's campaign cooperated with the Russians' efforts to help him win.
Mueller has remained a Justice Department employee since submitting the report in March, though the Justice Department has not said what work he has been doing.
Any public statement from Mueller would be extraordinary since his office has been famously tight-lipped throughout the investigation, and the special counsel himself has made no public statements since his May 2017 appointment. His spokesman has only rarely commented to confirm logistical or staff announcements, to announce the filing of public charges and to dispute one published report earlier this year.
House Democrats want Mueller to testify publicly, though no date or arrangements have been set, and it's not clear that he will.
Mueller's report into meddling in the 2016 campaign did not find that the Trump campaign coordinated to sway the presidential election. But, despite Trump's repeated assertions to the contrary, it did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice.
Mueller said in his report that he did not think it would be fair to publicly accuse the president of a crime if he was not going to charge him. A Justice Department legal opinion says sitting presidents cannot be indicted, and Mueller made clear in his report that that opinion helped shape the investigation's outcome and decisions.
Barr has said he was surprised that Mueller did not reach a conclusion, and he decided with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that the evidence did not support an obstruction of justice allegation.
Mueller, for his part, privately complained to Barr that a four-page letter the attorney general wrote summarizing his main conclusions did not adequately capture the investigation's findings. Barr called Mueller's letter "snitty" in congressional testimony this month in which he defended his decision to reach a conclusion on obstruction in place of Mueller.
Barr is currently in Alaska for work and is scheduled to participate in a round table discussion with local leaders in Anchorage later in the day.
A senior White House official said "the White House was notified" Tuesday night that Mueller might make a statement Wednesday.