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Mueller Submits Final Report To Attorney General, Marking An End To Investigation

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

OK, let's bring in now NPR's national security editor Phil Ewing, who has been listening to that conversation. Hey, Phil.

PHIL EWING, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: So we just heard Corey Lewandowski mention the name Jerome Corsi in that interview. Remind us quickly who he is.

EWING: Corsi is the conservative commentator who has been a part of characters in the Russia saga linked to the GOP political consultant Roger Stone. And we heard Lewandowski talk about a plea agreement negotiated between Corsi and the special counsel's office. Corsi wound up walking away from that deal. And so far he's correct that there have been no charges to stem from that. What we don't know yet is whether there could be a referral by the special counsel to some other arm of the Justice Department and whether Corsi could be charged or whether they've just decided not to pursue that case.

CHANG: All right, Lewandowski also alleged that two House Democrats, Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell who's also on that committee - Lewandowski says they say they have seen collusion. Is that a fair characterization of what either Congressman has ever said?

EWING: It's a great example of how collusion, because it's such a loose term, can be in the eye of the beholder. What these Democrats have said is that context in 2016 between President Trump's campaign and Russians, including at that meeting that we all remember that took place in Trump Tower in June of 2016, amount in their view to collusion. What we don't know is what the special counsel's office made about that. That's the subject of this report that's getting so much attention but, as you pointed out, no one has actually seen.

CHANG: That's NPR's Phil Ewing. Thank you, Phil.

EWING: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Philip Ewing is an election security editor with NPR's Washington Desk. He helps oversee coverage of election security, voting, disinformation, active measures and other issues. Ewing joined the Washington Desk from his previous role as NPR's national security editor, in which he helped direct coverage of the military, intelligence community, counterterrorism, veterans and more. He came to NPR in 2015 from Politico, where he was a Pentagon correspondent and defense editor. Previously, he served as managing editor of Military.com, and before that he covered the U.S. Navy for the Military Times newspapers.