US Justice Department preparing to receive Robert Mueller’s report

Special counsel’s findings on possible collusion with Russia 'could be handed over next week'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation in June 2017. REUTERS

The US Department of Justice may announce as early as next week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has given the attorney general his report on the federal Russia investigation, it was reported on Wednesday.

After the expected announcement, US Attorney General William Barr will review Mr Mueller’s findings and submit his own summary to Congress, CNN reported.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the CNN report. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mr Mueller, also declined to comment.

Mr Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, possible collusion by US President Donald Trump’s campaign and whether there was any obstruction of justice by the Republican president.

Mr Trump has denied collusion and repeatedly criticised the Russia probe as a “witch hunt.” Moscow has also denied any meddling.

So far, 34 people and three companies have pleaded guilty, been indicted or swept up in the inquiry, including several of Mr Trump's former advisers.

Under special counsel regulations, Mr Mueller must submit a confidential report to the attorney general at the end of his work, explaining his decisions to prosecute.

The attorney general must then inform the Judiciary Committees of Congress about Mr Mueller’s report in the form of “brief notifications, with an outline of action and the reasons for them.

How much ultimately becomes public is unclear.

Mr Barr, who was confirmed by the Senate last week, said during his confirmation hearings that he would make public as many of Mr Mueller’s findings as he could but stopped short of promising to release the entire report.