Mueller: Special Counsel Office To Close

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This is Special Coverage from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep in Washington. We are watching video feeds from the United States Department of Justice here in Washington. There's a lectern set up, an American flag. And special counsel Robert Mueller is expected to stand behind that lectern momentarily and make his first public remarks since the release of what is known as the Mueller report - of course, the results of the special counsel's investigation into alleged collusion and the 2016 election. Let's give a listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROBERT MUELLER STATEMENT)

INSKEEP: Special counsel Robert Mueller speaking there for a little bit fewer than 10 minutes. I must say that he was so silent during his couple of years of investigation that it's a bit surprising to hear his voice. We had interviewed him here on this program in past jobs in past years and still somewhat startling to hear his voice shaking, quavering, a bit there at the beginning perhaps with emotion or with nerves - making some news, saying that he's formally closing the special counsel's office. He is formally resigning from the Department of Justice - restating some of the conclusions of his report, which had also been described by Attorney General William Barr at the same lectern some weeks ago but describing those findings so differently that it almost sounded like news. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.