Trump's new attorney general could announce end of Mueller investigation by next week: report

New U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce the end of the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, according to CNN. This could come as soon as next week.

Here's what we know

CNN cited "people familiar with the plans" who said that the Mueller report would be coming shortly. The exact date could depend on the timing of President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. NBC News had previously said that the investigation was likely to wrap up in the middle of February.

Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17, 2017, to oversee an investigation into potential collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. Rosenstein had taken over the investigation after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself on the grounds that he had been a Trump campaign surrogate. Rosenstein is expected to resign next month.

When Mueller's investigation wraps up, he will submit a full report to the attorney general. In this report, Mueller will have to detail why he chose to prosecute (or not prosecute) each matter he investigated.

It's not clear how much of that report will be released to the public or Congress, if any of it is released at all. During his confirmation hearings, Barr indicated that rather than release the report from Mueller directly, he might choose to instead release a report of his own summarizing Mueller's findings.

What did the president say?

On Wednesday, Trump said that he would leave the decision of whether or not to release the report with Barr.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the investigation, calling it a waste of time and taxpayer money and a "hoax."

While Mueller's team has so far not revealed any information that could incriminate Trump, the investigation has led to convictions for multiple people connected to the president, including former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on charges unrelated to the campaign.