WASHINGTON: US Special Counsel Robert Mueller said on Wednesday his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election was never going to end with criminal charges against President Trump because of Justice Department policy and that he would give no more information than was already published in his report.
Mueller, in his first public comments since starting the investigation in May 2017, also addressed whether there were efforts to obstruct his investigation, saying, “After that investigation, if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so. We did not however make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.”
Mueller said his 448-page report spoke for itself.
“Beyond what I’ve said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further,” Mueller said in a brief press appearance at the Justice Department’s headquarters.
He did not take questions.
Mueller said Justice Department policy prohibited him from bringing charges against a sitting president.
“Charging the president with a crime was ... not an option we could consider,” Mueller told reporters as he announced his resignation from the Justice Department. “We concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime.”
A redacted version of Mueller’s report was published in April, concluding the campaign of President Donald Trump did not engage in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow to win the White House. Mueller declined to make a judgment on whether Trump obstructed justice, although the report outlined 10 instances in which Trump tried to impede the investigation.
Trump has said the two-year investigation exonerated him after repeatedly denouncing it as a witch hunt. The investigation ensnared dozens of people, including several top Trump advisers and a series of Russian nationals and companies.
Among them are his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who is serving 7 1/2 years in prison for financial crimes and lobbying violations, and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who recently began a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations and lying to Congress.
Since the report’s release, Democratic lawmakers have tried without success to get the full report and underlying evidence. The House Judiciary Committee also is negotiating for Mueller to testify at a hearing.
Trump has said Mueller should not testify before Congress but that the final decision was up to Attorney General William Barr. Democrats have denounced Barr, saying he misrepresented the special counsel’s findings.
Mueller appeared to have misgivings at one point as well, complaining to Barr in March that he had initially disclosed his main findings in an incomplete way that caused public confusion. In congressional testimony in April, Barr dismissed Mueller’s concerns as “a bit snitty.”
Barr now is leading a review of the origins of the Russia investigation in what is the third known inquiry into the FBI’s handling of the matter. Trump harbors suspicions that the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama started the investigation in 2016 to undermine his presidency.
![]()
US Special Counsel Mueller says charging Donald Trump was ‘not an option’ in post-report comments
US Special Counsel Mueller says charging Donald Trump was ‘not an option’ in post-report comments
- Mueller said his 448-page report spoke for itself
- Mueller said Justice Department policy prohibited him from bringing charges against a sitting president
Blizzard warnings cascade across East Coast as winter storm hits
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City and New Jersey announced travel bans, airlines canceled thousands of flights and even Broadway shows were canceled Sunday evening as a fierce winter storm bore down on the Northeastern U.S., prompting blizzard warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts.
Snow began falling in New Jersey and New York as the storm moved northward. The National Weather Service said 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow was possible in many areas, along with heavy winds. Visibility in many areas was expected to be a quarter-mile (400 meters) or less. Officials throughout the region urged residents to avoid travel.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a major nor’easter and major blizzard of this magnitude across the Northeast,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center. “This is definitely a major winter storm and a major impact for this part of the country.”
The weather service issued blizzard warnings for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. State of emergency declarations were issued in New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York as officials mobilized readiness efforts.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets from 9 p.m. ET Sunday through noon Monday, with travel restrictions planned in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and elsewhere in the region. Regional airports canceled flights ahead of the storm, and even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in the city overnight.
To the south, landmarks such as the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., announced closures Monday.
Some of the heaviest snow forecast for overnight Sunday into Monday
The weather service said some of the heaviest snow was expected to fall overnight, with as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow per hour accumulating at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon.
It said the storm's strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “Potentially Historic/Destructive Storm” southeast of the Boston-Providence corridor.
“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages," said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service's Boston office. “That's what we're most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”
The storm could possibly meet the definition of a bomb cyclone, said Frank Pereira, another weather service meteorologist. That’s when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.
“We’re expecting it to drop by that magnitude at least over the course of the next 24 hours,” Pereira said. “I think when all is said and done, it will meet the definition of a bomb cyclone.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also canceled in-person and virtual classes for city schools on Monday, calling it the “first old-school snow day since 2019."
“And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy," he said.
In addition to their robust plow operations, city officials recruited people to shovel snow, some of whom will begin work Sunday night to get an early start on the first wave of snowfall, Mamdani said.
Meanwhile, outreach workers have also been out working to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and various warming centers.
More than 3,500 flights were canceled across the U.S. as of Sunday afternoon along with thousands of delays, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Airports in the path of the storm, including in New York City and Boston, were also seeing widespread cancellations and delays.
Preparations for major snow clearing
With the storm zeroing in, John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico. Instead he was preparing his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt surrounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island.
Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow-removal vehicles, before resting up Saturday.
“I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said. “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back.”
___
Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York. Associated Press writers Mark Kennedy in New York, Darlene Superville in Washington, D.C, and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon. contributed.
Snow began falling in New Jersey and New York as the storm moved northward. The National Weather Service said 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow was possible in many areas, along with heavy winds. Visibility in many areas was expected to be a quarter-mile (400 meters) or less. Officials throughout the region urged residents to avoid travel.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a major nor’easter and major blizzard of this magnitude across the Northeast,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center. “This is definitely a major winter storm and a major impact for this part of the country.”
The weather service issued blizzard warnings for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. State of emergency declarations were issued in New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York as officials mobilized readiness efforts.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets from 9 p.m. ET Sunday through noon Monday, with travel restrictions planned in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and elsewhere in the region. Regional airports canceled flights ahead of the storm, and even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in the city overnight.
To the south, landmarks such as the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., announced closures Monday.
Some of the heaviest snow forecast for overnight Sunday into Monday
The weather service said some of the heaviest snow was expected to fall overnight, with as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow per hour accumulating at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon.
It said the storm's strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “Potentially Historic/Destructive Storm” southeast of the Boston-Providence corridor.
“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages," said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service's Boston office. “That's what we're most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”
The storm could possibly meet the definition of a bomb cyclone, said Frank Pereira, another weather service meteorologist. That’s when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.
“We’re expecting it to drop by that magnitude at least over the course of the next 24 hours,” Pereira said. “I think when all is said and done, it will meet the definition of a bomb cyclone.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also canceled in-person and virtual classes for city schools on Monday, calling it the “first old-school snow day since 2019."
“And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy," he said.
In addition to their robust plow operations, city officials recruited people to shovel snow, some of whom will begin work Sunday night to get an early start on the first wave of snowfall, Mamdani said.
Meanwhile, outreach workers have also been out working to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and various warming centers.
More than 3,500 flights were canceled across the U.S. as of Sunday afternoon along with thousands of delays, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Airports in the path of the storm, including in New York City and Boston, were also seeing widespread cancellations and delays.
Preparations for major snow clearing
With the storm zeroing in, John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico. Instead he was preparing his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt surrounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island.
Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow-removal vehicles, before resting up Saturday.
“I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said. “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back.”
___
Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York. Associated Press writers Mark Kennedy in New York, Darlene Superville in Washington, D.C, and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon. contributed.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.