robert: the mueller report looms at home as the president looks abroad. i'mobert costa. welcome to "washington week." the special counsel's report into russian electionls interfee could be completed in week, according to multiple report, but theustice department isn't confirming anything, but what will be released to the public? president trump: that will bey tota up to the new attorney general. robert: and as mr. trump's former attorney prepares to testify before congress, a heeeping story raises questions about president's conduct. plus, president looks to cut a deal with k northean leader kim jong un and seeks a win. president trump: prime minister abe of japan said after

nominated you respectfully on behalf of japan.sk i amg you to give them the nober peace prize. robert: we cover it all, next. s is "washington week." funding is provided by -- >> i was able to turn the aircraft around and the mission around and was able to save two men'sives that night. >> my first job helped me to grow up ptty quickly. that will happen when you're asked to respond to >> in 2001 i signed up for the air force. two days later, 911 hpened. >> babbel, a language program that teaches reach life conversations in a new language, such as spanish, fnch, german, italian and more. the 10 to 15-minute lessons are

available as an app or online. more information on babb fbell.com. ding is provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting and b contributions to your pbs you.on from viewers like thank you. >> once again, fromng wasn, moderator robert costa. robert: good evening. the justice department is a powerful but tight lped institution. that has been especially true with the russia nflingts b on friday, a senior d.o.j. official spoke out and said special counsel rert mueller would not be submitting his report to the department next week. full stop. that statement capped off a frenzied week in waington following several reports that mueller could be wrapping up. regardless of the timing, the mueller report still recovers --

hovers over therump presidenc and congress. president trump was asked on friday if he has spoken with attorney general william barr about the probe. president trump: i have>> not. o you expect to? president trump: at some point'i guess be talking about it but there was no collusion, no obstruction, no anything. so that's the nice participate. there was no phone calls, no nothing.kn you why i won the railings? because i was better candidate than she was and she -- it had nothing to do with russia. roibroism joining me tonight, mark mazzetti from the "new york times, amna nawaz of the pbs newshour,olly ball of the-time magazine and phillip rucker of the washingtont. p mark, you've been following this. where does it stand, what do we

know about when it will come out or held to the department of zuffs mark: as usual we don'tkn exactly and any prediction about when exactly the mueller report will end would be foolish but it does for the first time feel that we're in an end game here, that mueller will deliver a report sometime in the coming weeks, a lot of people haveed repo that, and he's wrapping up his work. robert what gives gnaw feeling is, based on your reporting? mark: multiple sources we have and others have reported as well that he is preparing to turn it over. the justice department is preparing for him to. the justice department regularly checks in with th special counsel investigation every two weeks or so and they have the sense that this is coming to an end but when, in fact, it does, it won't be next week and may not be theeek after but we think it's going to be pevsibly

a month. so there could be also even more shoes to drop but it is something that we are certainly waiting for a wehink that it's going to be -- there's going to be more revelations. robert: part of the reason for all the speculation and the reporting, cnn, the "washington post," "the new york times" and others is that you have a n attorney general in william barr and also the deputy attorney general rod rosen semifinal preparing to exit somewhere around march. there's a new culture, a new staff at d.o.j. >> that's right and mark chith r when i want saying earlier we're getting closeo the end. the more we say at some point it's going to end t we're goingo eventually be right. all signs point to something being wrapped up but what we n't know is what happens when it's done. it being done doesn't know we actually know what's in it.

the d.o.j. guidelinest dictate i goes directly to this new attorney general. he hinted it wha he might do. he said he's not leaning towards releasing it in full. said that in his senate confirmation hearing and he also agreed with his predecessor with -- to rekrse accuse himself in jeff sessions. theoaew attorney general a lot of power. it's kind of a bam tim by power and the president knows he has that power. robert: when robert mueller competes theret, rep he will submit it to the attorney general. you wrote "barr is laboring to maintain his reputation as a relatively independents and principled leader while simultaneously reacting to essure from his boss. " what a test for barr, what can you tell about how he's going to handle this moment? >> barr has kept a veryow

profile so far. he's had some prae from president trump but trump has taken aim at over people have left the justice department. james comey. rod rosen semifinal. he's been all over twitterut talking a the department of justice and it's created an kward position for bill barr because he's trying to lead this ag ecy toablish some insurance from the white house and the big test is going to be when mueller presents that report. do, how he decide to many information does he share with congress and therefore with the public and he's under a lot of pressure from direction difference directions. robert: molly, do you see a seasoned man of institutions or the who wrote that 19-page memo unsolicited to the deputy attorney general talking about protective attorney general.wh is the real bill barr? molly: it's obviously botut looking back on his confirmation

hearings, he was corned 54-45, almost a party lionel vote with ny democrats showing displeasure in what they thought was a lack of transparency but behind the snes you heardven a lot of democrats feeling he'd done a very good o jobf reassuring his people of his insurance, impartiality. as phil said, presenting a very strong impression of someone who had nothing to lose. he kept saying that he wasn't trying tgetnywhere else from his career and therefore that would give him t freedom to stand up to the president if need me -- be. he talked about that in his confirmation hearings. he is quilose personally to robert mueller. they were friends and he has the utmost respect for him. he used the word inconceivable about the possibility thate would ever see cause to get rid

of mueller so i think even some of the keanlts senators who voted against him felt like would the belles they could get under president trump. robert: when you think about the barr decision and t mueller report, part of the frenzy this week wasn't just about the timing of the reports but about what's going to be in the report and mark and his colleagues at the times published an in-depth account of what they called the president's sustained and secretive assault on federal law enforcement. it spelled outle exa after example about how the president has tried to undermine and discredit not just the mueller probe but theew district in york about hush money payments in 2016. the mueller report underscoruc the obson side of this whole situation, not just the

collusion and the russian interference but the corruption and that could erbe a real swe -- specter for this white house? >> absolutely. we know mueller is investigating trump for possible obstruction of jusce. is is so common for us now. we are used to the president st railing agahe f.b.i., the justice department, against robert muller and his investigates. so much so that we're no longer shocked by it so we thought that bringing these instaes together to show this sort of two-year war on the law enforcementachinery would show what kind of mueller might be looking at in such a case in goes back to barr and this is one of the challenges he has. not only ds he have to work for trump but it's not embedded in a lot of american culture, this idea that the deep state is out to get the president. the f.b.i. is bad, the d.o.j. is bad and there is extraordinary, especially forta a r

president. and yet barr is considered a -- you know he's aespected prosecutor. he's got to buck up the troops at the f.b.i..j and the d and to sort of show that they are not out to get the president and so when we wrote this story, we wanted to just remind people that this is not normal, a president talking about federal investigations into him and doing it so commonly and soag essively is something we've never seen before in american history. robert: where is the president's legal team getting ready for all of this? this firestorm on the horizon? >> the president's personal legal team as well as the laurels and cooperativeles inside white house are preparing for the mueller report and have a series of con i think theys based on sort of not reportingth much of ag about the president to laying out a bill of goods that house democrats could then begin impeachment

proceedings on. they'll ve an aggressive response. but they're preparedr sr it and they've been prepareder -- foro it happen next week while the president is overseas but we know it's not going to happen next week.l robert: p manafort, who was convicted of two felonies, prosecutors have prepared a criminal case against the 69-yhar-old. the man district is reportedly ready to file the chtges if presid trump exercises his power to pardon his former aid so they're trying to get ready for the mueller report but all the other problems are there. paul manafort, even pardoned can fails charges in manhattan. >> that's right. even if it stopped right now, i think it's worstng loo bat back at what the mueller

investigation has been able to so far. you have guilty pleas with some the closest and longest associates . president. manafort, deputy chairman, his personalor ay. criminal charges against roger stone as well. that's an incredibl amount of smoke. we don't yet know where the fire is. t all of these things mean there's more pressure on the president right now. it's kind of remarkable the investigation has gotten as far as it has.th sustained public pressure by the president, those areoing have an effect on how a.j. baver decides to release whatever he does in whatever form. >> in addition to mueller, these other investigations, if you talk to the legal team close to the president, they seem even more concerned about the southern district of new york investigation, the one michael cohen has bee wrapped numb and where the president is potentially a conspire orhere

cohen said hell directed hush money before thele eion. this is really really jeopardy for the president maybe not while in office but when he's out. robert: but is the political jeopardy? the d.o.j. has said cohan't talk about the russian investigation on the trump tower moscow project but he can talk about the president's conduct. do republican voters care? republican governor larry hoag season anything about a primary challenge. could wewiee reference and turn in the wind? will the democrats use thisth a r main issue in 2020? >> a lot depends on what's in that report. the desocrats from con have taken a firm stance that they're t going to goorward with impeachment in particular but they're waiting on the mueller report. in part because they think that's safer political ground r the american people to

believe in a report, even if the president has tried to turn bob mueller, a republican, into a political actorgainst him, he's not yew view that would way by most people but the president's legal strategy has largely been a political strategy. phil's points, this is the groundwork they've been laying d the times stormy talked about this as well. the privet that s made in the president's legal defense to turn from a courtroom active stance to this aggressive publis relatiategy and rudy giuliani has said thisut loud, that this is all about making impemphmentsible, about putting pressure from the republican base on republican members of the sen so they don't feel like they could vote to convict thesi pnt in an impeachment proceeding so if the esident starts to lose those senate republicans. we've seen them starting to rebel on foreign policy, and

when it ko came to the t shutdo. y feel that they were free enough from the pressure from the president base that they can take action against him then he's in real trouble. robert: congress will have to make theecision on impeachment. you could see welcome barr decide to clasp material and not release a lot of it to congress. you cod see the justi department not include a lot of bad facts they found during the investigation because urlt malif they decide this, to not indict president trump or someone close to him. >> right, the actual program terps of what mueller can do are somewhat that's why no one is expecting 100s and hundreds of page report like the starr report or the 911 tmmission or something like thatt tells the full story. however, there's an expectation it's going to be more fullsome than what barr sends to

congress. i am entirely certainly that the entirely mueller report will come out in some till. it is too important a document -- robert: mueller must know that too. >> and i believe that he does and they're probably writing a report with the knowledge that testimony and they're probably being careful abouthe classification. they're not putting highly clasfied information in because they suspect it will ak. i believe it will somewhere. the stakes are too high for everyone to speculates what did bob muellerd actually f out. robert: is this something that republicans are going to turn away from the president on or rally behind him? >> it's going to be come to jesus moment for a lot of senate may be ans and thi where the rubber meets the road for them and this is ora of the ce questions. one of the many interviews that anew mccabe has given is the information in they did launch an individual counter intelligence inf imationo

the president and he said with judy woodruff, he said we reached a point in the investigation into russian interference, it's time to look altus in t ernest in candidates and that is the than hielf and if you go back toth time of cooperation between the mueller team and the present's lawyers, there was those leaked documents thankful wanted responses from president trumno what did you about russian interference, when did you know it and what, if anything, did you do to instruct the investigosion into things. we expect answers or what mueller believes to be trueth i report. robert: we see the president during these pool sessions wtere the rep come into the oval office and he'll say a few words. that gives awes glimpse into how president trump is handling this political moment, this lal moment. but what's it actually like right now inside to have west >> the president is much more concerned about it than the

people aroun i himthe bhouse and you can see it in the tweets that he firesffin the comments he makes to reporters all the time. it's been inha cloud has hovered over his presidency for two years now and he's anxious about i unsettled by it. the advisors are ccerned to but at the end of the day it's about the president, about then campaign as much as they can prepare for things and create a strategy, it all depends on what he's going to end up doing and does he glow a gaveket when the report comes out? there's nothing they can do to haepare for robert: president trump will be traveling to vietnam for his second summit with north careen ader kim jong un -- north korean leader kim jong un. e first meeting in june produced no concrete greevement united states suspended its joint militaryis exe with south korea but has not lifted

sanctions. president trump: sanctions are on in full. as you know, i haven't taken sanctions off. i'd love tutbe able to in order to do that we have to do something that'sfu meanion the other side but chairman kim and i have a very good rhythm. i wouldn't be surprised to see some work out. robert: are we looking at a ladies and gentlemen deal, something to end the kean war to denuclearize or a small-ball situation? >> if there's a big dealeing prepared behind the scenes, it's not something we've heard about sovear. what w seen with these types of negotiation summits that the presidentas done is he doesn't do it the traditional way where you have a lotf our diplomats meet with thes so you have a nice thing to release when you get the bow on it. it's very much about the two men themselves being in the room together and having that great relationip who. is that great relationship good

for? is the united states ging more than it's getting? is ithairman kim benefiting the most? the koreans have given some things onhe but i think's a lot of pressure on the u.s. to produce real under all the circumstances -- res not just a friendly handshake and i don't think we're going to kno whether the president can drive a hard bargain until the smit happens. robert: the president has told reporters he wants to nod not see further tests on the nuclear side from north korea but they kind of suspect that north korea is not going to get rid of those weapons. >> a key tension point in these talks forever has been how do wi denuclearization? and the u.s. and north korea are not on the same page yet with that. what happened last jun e, a l of sim political, not a lot of substance. the bar is higher thi time around.

they have to come away with something. president trump has continued to say that good relationship has meant that the threat has receded and it has not. this is still a country that has anywhere from 20 to 6 nuclear weapons. they still have the potential for their interballistic mississippio reach the united states at some points. so the threats is there. quhams is you've given kim leverage. a lot of people are saying thers not a lot of incents active for him to wants to give enything up right now. meanwhile, you havther regional players saying if there's a relationship there maybe i can starts mine. to he's had three or four meetings wh the south korean president, with the russian preident. there olks in there trying to gain influence and none of that is good r the united states. robert: phil, you're going to be headg to the vietnam. i think it takes a few days to get there. not an easy trip.

you were in singapore as well for the first swument. -- summit. one of the details i rememr from your record -- reportsing from then is this video. the u.s. proposed. propagandaideo about captain little and about making north korea a destination frior t. is that part of the pitch we'll hear again? .>> very mu in mill report this week leading up to the trip, advisors in the white house say tru is fix salt lake citied on selling north korea as a potential tourist magnet in that part of the world and making that case to chaman kim individually since he's had experience in that regard. you could have hotels, golf courses on the clips. you can drawl in people fromij g, seoul, tokyo, these bustling economies and make that pitch to kim and trump thinks

kim would be reseptember dwroich that because he's dazzled by our aspects of culture, movies, ches, so that's the core for trump. robert: we've seen presidents in the past, fm richard nixon on, they heir eye abroad as face challenges here at home. could this be an out for trump? >> it's certainly something he seems committed to and the sort of trump the deal maker seems to wants to make a splash this u.s. and this could be pheblematic if tries to broker a peace deal that could hurt the denuclearization but the investigation is not going away. robert: it's not going away and this show is not going away. thanks, everybody. our conversation continues on the "washington week" extra and i meant it when i say we're involvement going away because starting tonight we'll stream the extra live on our website,

youtube and facebook starting 8:30 p.m. eastern every week. join us. i'm robert costa. have a gre weekend. announcer: corporate funding is provided by -- rn the s able to aircraft around and the mission around and was able to save two men's lives thatig. >> my first job helped me to grow up pretty that will happen when you're asked to respond top. a c >> in 2001 i signed up for the air force. two days later, 911 happened.

>> babbel, a language program that teemps real life conversations in a new language such as spanish, french, german, italian and mor their 10 to 15-minutes lessons are available as an a.m. or online. >> funding is provided by -- koo and patricia yn yuen, through the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural fferences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. thank you. >> you're wating pbs.

(announcerer) i'm sure mosof you realize that this is a recording session. it's the first time this sort of thing has ever been done within the walls of a prison. we're grateful to the warden here for allowing it toe done at folsom. what i see is a man who's emerging from, you know, a long, hard road of just really being on the underbelly of life. (announcer) okay, we're ready to do the record session. ? -are you rea -yeah! (announcer) all right, all right. now i need your help. i think it tapped into the pure rebellion and the--just that passionate impulse to overthrow, to change things. (announcau) now, look, thaence response is very important. let's see how loud a thousand men from folsom can be. let's hear it right now, come on. (cheering) (merle) but his songs were always so easy to do, and...