The Brief

Floyd Howard Jr. calls it his comfort zone — a canopy-covered courtyard in the heart of Skid Row where he can charge his phone, smoke a cigarette and catch up with friends.

It's also the centerpiece of what Los Angeles County administrators say is the nation's first community-designed homeless services campus.

The Skid Row Care Campus opened in May on a 36,000-square-foot site in downtown Los Angeles. It’s the first county program to formally incorporate input from people living in Skid Row, according to officials, including so-called “harm-reduction” programs that focus on keeping drug users safe and alive.

“It was imperative that the plan be designed by the community to repair the harm done by decades of plans that did not involve people who live in Skid Row,” said Molly Rysman with L.A. County’s Department of Health Services.

The care campus is funded with nearly $26 million a year in local, state, federal and private dollars over the next two years. About 2,000 people visit the new campus each day, according to Homeless Healthcare L.A., the main nonprofit staffing the campus.

Although it's only been open a few months, the center appears popular with unhoused Angelenos who desperately need a place to rest. Last month, one woman visited the campus for her first shower in months, she said, after receiving a buprenorphine injection to help her stop using fentanyl.

But some nearby business owners complain of more drug activity on the street since the facility opened.

Howard, a longtime Skid Row resident, said he visits the campus often to pick up the testing strips he uses to check his crystal methamphetamine supply for fentanyl.

Sometimes, he drops by for art classes or acupuncture treatment.

“It’s like a safe haven,” he said.

Centering the community

The site, at 422 S. Crocker St., provides a range of services, including showers, laundry, medical care and housing referrals. Booths line the south side of the plaza, where a rotating cast of representatives from the county’s three health departments provide pop-up services to connect people with addiction treatment or case management.

The primary clientele are the more than 1,800 unsheltered people living on the neighborhood’s streets who — despite the large concentration of homeless programs in the area — have access to few public restrooms and public gathering spaces.

The campus is the result of an initiative called the Skid Row Action Plan, a $280 million effort to expand services and housing funded by L.A. County, the city of L.A. and the state.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis launched the initiative in 2022 to address historic racism and disinvestment in the neighborhood, where the majority of the unhoused population is Black.

“Engaging the community was not just important; it was essential,” said Solis, whose district includes Skid Row. “Their voices must guide the path forward. Real transformation can only be led by those who live this reality every day.”

A committee of 10 current and former Skid Row residents collaborated with government agencies in 2023 to come up with recommendations for the plan in 2023. That group, known as the Skid Row Action Plan Resident Advisory Committee, recommended the new campus.

They said they wanted a fun community space where they could connect with services and a place where drug users can pick up harm reduction supplies, such as clean needles or pipes, overdose reversal medication and drug testing strips.

As a member of the advisory committee, Skid Row activist General Dogon said he pushed for the campus entrance to be staffed by “community ambassadors,” rather than private security guards.

“Uniforms don't go good with homeless people,” said Dogon, an organizer with the L.A. Community Action Network. “We want everyday faces to be at the door, not some G.I. Joe in a uniform.”

General Dogon observes an encampment sweep along a block of Skid Row.

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L.A. County officials said input from members of the unhoused community is sometimes ignored, and they are not properly compensated for their efforts. So authorities said they wanted to take a different approach at the care campus.

After the Skid Row Action plan started taking shape, the county hired an additional eight unhoused or formerly unhoused people to serve on resident councils for the Skid Row Care Campus. Each is paid a $10,000 consulting stipend and tasked with surveying other community members about what’s working and what isn’t. They also provide training and technical assistance for the campus’ programs.

“I like the fact that it's focused from the ground up and not the top down,” said Dwight Wilson, a member of a resident council. “It wants to  incorporate the actual feeling of the people in the community that need the resources.”

Even the name, “Skid Row Care Campus,” came from the community. It was suggested by Henriëtte Brouwers, associate director of the L.A. Poverty Department, a nonprofit arts organization and theater group that’s been in Skid Row since 1985.

“ People often talk about Skid Row like it's a bad place; they don’t care to find out why it’s here,” Brouwers said. “But people recover when they build relationships, and you build relationships when you care about somebody.

“I think if we want to end homelessness, we need to actually care.”

An estimated 3,593 homeless people live in Skid Row, including those in homeless shelters, according to the region’s latest count. While the overall unhoused population in the neighborhood has declined by 27% since 2022, the remaining population faces greater health risks, according to survey data.

About 41% of the people in Skid Row’s unhoused population have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or post traumatic stress disorder. Roughly 31% deal with substance use disorder, and 26% claim a physical disability.

To meet some of those needs at the Skid Row Care Campus, the nonprofit health agency John Wesley Community Health Institute runs an on-site clinic and a 48-bed board-and-care facility, which provides permanent housing to people who need help with basic activities like dressing or eating. It’s moving in residents this week, according to county officials.

In several months, Skid Row’s first-ever methadone clinic will open here.

Case workers from the county’s three health departments, LAHSA and other departments rotate through booths within the main courtyard of the Skid Row Care campus.

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People can check in at the medical wing, which includes a clinic, a harm reduction dispensary and dozens of respite beds. The first methadone clinic in Skid Row is expected to open there this year.

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Harm reduction 

Many programs at the facility focus on harm reduction, a public health approach that recognizes addiction is a health condition and that some people aren’t going to immediately quit using drugs.

Harm reduction interventions typically focus on minimizing the negative health effects of drug use.

Public health officials and addiction experts say there is ample evidence these approaches not only save lives, but can also help people get into treatment or sobriety, connect them with other services or get them off the street.

But harm reduction remains controversial. Some view these approaches as enabling illegal behavior.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order encouraging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to give priority for housing grants to local agencies that enforce laws against open illicit drug use.

Trump’s order directs his attorney general to ensure that federal substance use disorder grants do not fund harm reduction programs. It also directs HUD to require people with substance use disorders or serious mental illness to seek treatment before they participate in federal housing and homelessness assistance programs.

Days before the executive order, a Trump-appointed HUD administrator told L.A. County officials at a meeting that he believed the region wasn’t doing enough enforcement and was critical of providing housing subsidies to people who use drugs, according to local officials who were there. L.A. County officials said it’s too early to tell what the actual effects of the new order will be.

Drug overdose is the leading cause of death for unhoused Angelenos, according to the county Public Health Department. Skid Row is home to the largest homeless population in L.A. and the highest rates of drug overdose mortality.

There are no designated safe-consumption sites — where people are allowed to use drugs under supervision — in California, although some exist in other parts of the country. A few years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a state bill that would have allowed them.

On the street outside the Skid Row Care Campus, there are many signs that people are using illicit drugs. But they can’t use them inside the facility. The staff won’t allow it.

Last month, when one woman hit her meth pipe while lounging on the patio, a staff member tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to put it away. She complied.

The Skid Row Care Campus’ main harm reduction provider is Homeless Healthcare L.A., best known for its overdose response teams who roll through Skid Row in Jeeps to pass out supplies like clean smoking kits and naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

“Harm reduction was created by people who use drugs,” said the nonprofit’s Aurora Morales. “And everything that we do reflects what they need.”

On a recent afternoon, Floyd Howard Jr. folded squares of clean tin foil to be packed into kits for fentanyl smokers, as part of a campus work program.

“People that smoke fentanyl, they use the foil to put their drug on and smoke it,” Howard said. “So it's safer to get this from them than to just use some off the ground or something that's not clean.”

Howard added that he’s seen supplies like these save countless lives, including his own.

“If it wasn't for these people, a lot of people would be dead,” he said. “I have a whole lot of people that I met downtown here that passed from overdose.”

An unhoused couple who go by “Porkchop” and “Angel” prepare to visit the Skid Row Care Campus to take their first showers in months. Both had recently taken long-acting injectable doses of buprenorphine to quit using fentanyl, after years of daily use.

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Building community

The care campus sits beside the Umeya Apartments, a 175-unit supportive housing complex managed by the nonprofit Little Tokyo Service Center. Representatives say tenants will start moving in this month.

Most of the site’s neighbors are also homeless services providers. But some business owners complain of increased loitering and drug use outside the campus gates.

“ A lot of people don't want to come here anymore just because the street is so bad and they're scared,” said one representative from a nearby business, who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. “ They should be helping people get off drugs instead of helping them do drugs.”

Morales of Homeless Healthcare L.A. said she’s working on partnerships with local businesses, including sending work program participants to clean up debris in alleyways.

Many unhoused Skid Row residents say they’re frequently denied service and restroom access at local businesses. Some go days without a proper meal and weeks or even months without a shower.

That’s why the care campus is a refuge.

“ They cater to everybody, and they're not biased about anything,” said Lisa Parizo, a formerly unhoused Skid Row resident who visits the space daily. “If you come in with a dirty shirt, dirty pants, they don't care. They're not gonna give you any less attention.”

It’s too early to tell how the care campus may transform this section of Skid Row.

Months after opening, most people living on Skid Row’s streets still haven’t heard of the campus, said resident councilmember Dwight Wilson, whose responsibilities include evangelizing for the site.

“I haven't run into too many people that have actually been there,” said Wilson. “I'm usually letting them know for the first time.”

Wilson has been living in transitional housing in Skid Row for the past year, since getting out of prison. He saw a listing for this opportunity a few months ago and applied.

He said he’s learned a lot about his neighborhood during the last few months on the job.

“When I was sent down here, I was really upset,” Wilson said. “But actually being down here has been a very humbling experience for me. What I learned is that it is actually a community.”

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach president and CEO Jim Michaelian died on Saturday, just four weeks before the street race was scheduled to roar again along the city’s shoreline, association officials said. It was to be the last race he would oversee before passing the reins to incoming CEO Jim Liaw.

Michaelian was 83. His cause of death was not released.

Michaelian wore increasingly larger hats during the past 51 years of the annual race, serving first as the Grand Prix Association’s controller, chief operating officer and then being named president and CEO in December 2001.

“Jim didn’t just lead the Grand Prix — he lived it,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. ”His passion, warmth and dedication turned an event into a tradition, and a tradition into a source of pride for generations of Long Beach residents. Under his leadership, the Grand Prix became a global event and a defining part of Long Beach’s identity.”

Michaelian graduated from UCLA with a BS in Physics and an MBA. He was a competitive sports car racer for more than 25 years and competed in endurance events at tracks including Le Mans, Daytona, Nürburgring, Dubai and Sebring.

Penske Entertainment acquired the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in November 2024.

Penske Corporation chairman Roger Penske reflected on Michaelian’s contributions.

“Jim was a leader of a small, passionate group who believed in the concept of bringing elite open-wheel competition to Long Beach in the 1970s, worked tirelessly to make it happen despite steep odds and then helped nurture the Grand Prix of Long Beach into becoming America’s premier street race,” Penske said. “His vision and energy surrounding this great event remained boundless for 50 years, as no task was too small for Jim, even while he served in numerous leadership roles.”

Michaelian is survived by his wife, Mary, and sons Bob and Mike.

“A loving and devoted husband, nothing meant more to Jim than his family,” the Grand Prix Association said in a statement. “He especially treasured the time he spent with his two boys, creating memories that will be carried forever.”

The Major League Baseball season kicks off this Wednesday, with the New York Yankees going up against the San Francisco Giants.

For our reigning world champs Dodgers, their home opener is on Thursday, when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chavez Ravine.

This year, the Dodgers are looking to make history for the franchise with their pursuit of a back-to-back-to-back win. So, how are their chances? We take these questions to LAist's resident sports expert, Matt Dangelantonio.

How are the Dodgers looking this year?

In a word? Great. Almost the entire 2025 World Series team is returning, with a couple of major additions in the outfield and bullpen. The Dodgers are Vegas' favorites to win it all at +230, far ahead of the next team up — the New York Yankees at +1000. The Dodgers remain the team to beat in the National League West, and really in all of baseball. They are a blueprint for what can go right when you have a lot of money to spend and invest right.

The team's biggest assets?

Biggest assets are the names you already know: Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Muncy, Teoscar, Yoshi ... the list goes on. There are also two new names folks will want to watch. One is slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker, to whom the Dodgers gave a four-year deal worth a whopping $240 million. He's a four-time All-Star who can hit 30 home runs, and is a strong defensive outfielder with a Gold Glove (2022) under his belt. One thing the Dodgers lacked last year was a de facto closer, though rookie Roki Sasaki took on that role during the postseason. Now, the Dodgers have a true closer in Edwin Diaz, a former New York Met with a proven track record of locking things down in the ninth inning — if he can stay healthy. The bullpen will also benefit from the return of past mainstays like Brusdar Graterol, Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia, who missed the World Series after the death of his newborn daughter.

The biggest concerns?

Age and health, pretty much the same as usual. Offensive woes caught up to some of the team's elder statesmen — like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy — in the World Series, though Muncy did redeem himself with the clutch 7th-inning homer in Game 7 of the World Series to make it 3-2 and set the table for Miggy Ro's 9th-inning, game-tying homer. But those guys aren't getting any younger. Health was also an issue for the pitching staff in particular last year. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both missed big chunks of time with injuries.

The archrivals?

In the NL West, it's the Padres as usual. They have a solid combination of veteran experience and youth in their lineup, a strong pitching rotation and arguably one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Mets and Phillies are likely to be the biggest potential threats to the Dodgers' reign, though both clubs have bad track records of winning when it matters. And then league-wide, the Yankees, Mariners and Blue Jays should all be very good and are each good bets to be on the opposite side should the Dodgers make it back to the World Series.

So, three-peat?

Nothing is certain in baseball, but what I'll say is ... it's their World Series to lose. I think in the eyes of owner Mark Walter and GM Andrew Friedman, anything short of a World Series win would be considered a failure, given how much money they've spent on their roster. They have absolutely no excuse not to make it back to the World Series this year if they stay healthy. They are in a unique position before the year even starts to be on cruise control through the regular season and really play their best baseball in October.

It's spring break season in the U.S. — and travelers are facing long airport lines as security screeners work without pay while the Department of Homeland security is shut down.

Congressional Democrats have declined to fund the agency in an attempt to force reforms of federal immigration enforcement practices.

Wait times at major hubs in Houston and Atlanta reached two hours on Friday, while New Orleans's Louis Armstrong International Airport advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departures. In Philadelphia, airport officials closed three security checkpoints entirely this week because of short staffing.

On Saturday, President Trump threatened to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to staff airport security lanes if Democrats don't "immediately" agree to fund DHS. A bipartisan group of senators has been negotiating with the White House over immigration enforcement and ending the shutdown.

"I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country," Trump posted on Truth Social. In a follow-up post he said he told ICE to "GET READY" to deploy to airports on Monday.

Why are wait times so long?

Officials say wait times are unpredictable and can fluctuate sharply as airports struggle with Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages.

TSA staffers are considered essential workers, so about 50,000 have been working without pay due to the shutdown that started Feb. 14. Last week, they missed their first full paychecks. The Department of Homeland Security says more than 300 TSA officers have quit. More than half of TSA staff in Houston called out sick and nearly a third called out in Atlanta and New Orleans last week, DHS said.

The staffing shortage comes as travel has also been disrupted by severe weather, and as schools across the country close for spring break.

Some 2.8 million people were projected to travel on U.S. airlines each day in March and April, adding up to a record 171 million passengers, according to the industry group Airlines for America.

What do officials say?

Transportation officials are warning the situation could get worse if the shutdown isn't resolved. A second missed paycheck would put even more strain on TSA workers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Friday.

"If a deal isn't cut, you're going to see what's happening today look like child's play," Duffy said. "Is it still safe as you go through the airport? Yes, but it takes a lot longer because we have less agents working." He added that some smaller airports may be forced to temporarily close if more staff calls out.

In the U.K., Foreign Office officials are also warning travelers of "travel disruption" caused by "longer than usual queues at some U.S. airports," and recommended passengers check with their travel provider, airport, or airline for guidance.

On Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk weighed in with an offer to personally pay TSA staff.

"I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country," Musk posted on X early Saturday morning.

U.S. law generally bars government employees from receiving outside compensation for their work.

Even with disruptions, travel demand is still high

On top of long security wait times and weather impacts, travel is being affected by the war in Iran, which is driving up global oil prices.

On Friday, United Airlines said it would cut some flights over the next six months after jet fuel prices doubled in recent weeks. Capacity cuts are likely to send airfares even higher, even as ticket prices are already rising, said Clint Henderson, a spokesperson for the travel website The Points Guy.

Still, he said, none of that seems to be deterring Americans from flying.

"The appetite for travel is insatiable," he said. "People seem willing to endure a lot of stuff to travel. And I don't see any signs of that decreasing."

How can travelers prepare?

Travel experts say it's not just long wait times that travelers should prepare for — it's the uncertainty.

"Every day this goes on, it's getting worse and worse and worse," Henderson said.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for upcoming air travel:

1. Know before you go

Many airport websites list estimated security wait times. That should be the first place you check to get a sense of how long lines might be, Henderson says. (TSA also estimates wait times on its website and app, but that's not being regularly updated because of the shutdown, he added.)

"Knowledge is power," Henderson said. "You should know what's going on at your local airport."

He noted there are 20 U.S. airports where security screening is done by private contractors, not the TSA — and they are not experiencing staffing shortages or long waits. Some are smaller regional airports, but the list also includes some larger hubs, including San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.

"There's big, big, big metropolitan areas where it's not an issue at all," Henderson said.

2. Budget extra time

If you're someone who shows up at the airport when your flight starts boarding, think twice, says travel writer Chris Dong.

"I'm the type of traveler who usually arrives pretty last minute," Dong said, "but I think that that advice would not be sound for the current situation."

Even if wait times are listed as short, things can change on a dime. Dong recently flew out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and found the TSA PreCheck line unexpectedly closed.

"So then everyone that was funneled through the regular line, it was an extra like 20, 30 minutes," he said. "I was sweating it out because I usually arrive super last-minute. And those levels of uncertainty are just higher now with the shutdown."

3. Consider biometric screening

Henderson typically recommends signing up for TSA PreCheck or the Global Entry program to move through airport security more quickly — and to opt in to biometric screening. That has to be done in advance, and travelers also have to choose biometric screening in their airline apps.

"Make sure if that's an option that you're opted in for that, because that will save you so much agita," he said.

For those who haven't signed up in advance, there is a last-minute alternative: the private CLEAR program, which allows people to enroll at the airport. Henderson notes it's pricey — annual membership costs $209 — but that some credit card companies will refund that fee.

"For me to skip a three-hour line is probably worth the membership fee, especially if you know your credit card will pay you back for it," he said.

That said, expedited screening lanes are not always faster than regular screening, both Henderson and Dong warned. Always check what all the lanes look like when you arrive at the airport.

4. Make a plan B

If you miss a connection or your flight is canceled, be proactive about rebooking. "Have all the tools available to you in the toolbox in case things go wrong," Henderson advises.

That includes installing your airline's app on your smartphone and writing down their customer service number, so you aren't scrambling to find it.

"And then, you know, obviously have a plan B," Henderson said. "Know what other airlines fly the route that you want to take in case, you know, you missed your Delta flight and American is offering a flight you can take later that day."

He says while airlines don't generally like to rebook passengers on competitors' flights, it's worth asking. He also recommends having the information at hand to give to customer service agents, including flight number, airline and departure time.

And if an airline cancels your flight in the U.S., you're entitled to a refund, according to the Department of Transportation.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Updated March 21, 2026 at 17:36 PM ET

Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, died on Friday at 81.

"With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away," his family said in a statement Saturday shared with NPR. No cause of death was given.

Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago, his family told The New York Times in August.

Trump, who openly despised Mueller and his investigation, celebrated his death on Saturday.

"Good, I'm glad he's dead," the president posted on social media. "He can no longer hurt innocent people!"

WilmerHale, the law firm where Mueller served as a partner, remembered Mueller as a "friend" who was "an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity."

"His service to our country, including as a decorated officer in the Marine Corps, as FBI Director, and at the Department of Justice, was exemplary and inspiring," a spokesperson for WilmerHale told NPR in a statement. "We are deeply proud that he was our partner. Our thoughts are with Bob's family and loved ones during this time."

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday called Mueller "one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI, transforming the bureau after 9/11 and saving countless lives."

"But it was his relentless commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering belief in our bedrock values that made him one of the most respected public servants of our time," Obama wrote on social media. "Michelle and I send our condolences to Bob's family, and everyone who knew and admired him."

Path to public service

Born on Aug. 7, 1944 in New York City, Mueller was raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Princeton University in 1966. He received a master's degree in international relations from New York University.

Mueller, throughout his career, ran toward tough assignments. Following the lead of a classmate at Princeton, Mueller enrolled in the Marines and served in the Vietnam war. He earned the Bronze Star for rescuing a colleague. Mueller said he felt compelled to serve during that conflict, an idea he returned to throughout his life.

Law professor and former Justice Department lawyer Rory Little knew Mueller for many years.

"Bob is kind of a straight arrow, you know, wounded in Vietnam," Little said. "You keep wanting to hunt for where is the crack in that façade — 'Where is the real Bob Mueller?' — and after a while you begin to realize that's the real Bob Mueller. He is exactly who he appears to be. This kind of sour-faced, not a lot of humor, sort of all-business guy. That's him."

But with his closest friends, Mueller let down his guard. They teased him — saying Mueller would have made an excellent drill instructor on Parris Island, where Marine recruits are trained.

Instead, Mueller went to law school at the University of Virginia. He joined the Justice Department in 1976. There, he prosecuted crimes, big and small, for U.S. attorneys in San Francisco and Boston. He was a partner at Hale and Dorr, a Boston law firm now known as WilmerHale.

He later became a senior litigator prosecuting homicides at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C.

Head of the FBI

In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated him to serve as the director of the FBI. Mueller was sworn in a week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I had been a prosecutor before, so I anticipated spending time on public corruption cases and narcotics cases and bank robberies, and the like. And Sept. 11th changed all of that," Mueller told NPR during an interview in 2013.

He shifted the bureau's attention to fighting terrorism. He staffed up the headquarters in Washington. He pushed those agents to try to predict crimes and to act before another tragedy hit.

"He directed and implemented what is arguably the most significant changes in the FBI's 105-year history," said his former FBI deputy, John Pistole.

Along the way, Mueller drew some criticism when his agents erred. During the investigation of the deadly anthrax attacks, the bureau focused on the wrong man as its lead suspect.

Mueller left the bureau in 2013.

Return to the national spotlight

After Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Mueller in May 2017 was appointed by then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as special counsel to oversee the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible connections to Trump associates.

Trump called the investigation "a witch hunt" and Republicans in Congress started to attack the investigators.

When then the investigation eventually concluded in March 2019 with the more than 400-page "Mueller report," the special counsel said the investigation did not establish that Trump's campaign or associates colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. The report did not take a position on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Mueller said the report spoke for itself. But Democrats wanted more and insisted he testify. A reluctant witness, Mueller once again fulfilled his duty. He was visibly older than at the time of his appointment and kept his testimony restrained.

He said Justice Department guidelines would not allow him to charge a sitting president with criminal wrongdoing. But he also refused to exonerate Trump.

"If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller later told Congress.

In the end, the team charged 37 people and entities, including former campaign chair Paul Manafort, national security adviser Michael Flynn and 25 Russians.

Trump went on to grant clemency to or back away from criminal cases against many of the people Mueller's investigators had charged.

Copyright 2026 NPR