So there we have it: Robert Mueller went out in the style to which we have become accustomed – saying very little in public and being as professional as he can.

But the fact Mueller felt he needed to do those eight minutes behind the podium at all shows how he believes the words of his report have been twisted by the administration of Donald Trump.

He said that it is the “only time” he would speak like this and that he is returning to private life – and marked his only public statement on the report. If the special counsel sought this press conference as his mic-drop moment, he had one clear message to get across.

“If we had confidence that the president had not committed a crime, we would have said so.”

Mueller clearly wants the report to speak for itself, and obviously thought it would, until attorney general William Barr put out his own summary ahead of the redacted report.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

Constrained by his position, and the professionalism he obviously prides himself on, Mueller decided he needed to be as clear as he could in the wake of that and hope that congress hears his words.

I would say it is mission accomplished. Congress can be in no doubt that Mueller intends for them to pick up the baton on the 11 instances of possible obstruction he laid out in his report. Trump has denied any suggestion of him obstructing justice.

The fact that the special counsel must end his report in the same spirit of professionalism that ensured so few direct leaks about his report across two years of investigation should be taken as ambiguity.

Mueller says he will not give further testimony on report during resignation speech

Mueller’s language is careful, controlled and deliberate – but the subtext screams as loudly as it can.

When the special counsel told the waiting media that charging the president with a crime was “not an option” he did not mean it to affirm the president’s innocence, no matter how much that soundbite will be taken out of context by supporters of Trump. Rather to make clear his professional restraints.

He explained that Department of Justice rules made it explicitly clear that the special counsel could not even “consider” filing criminal charges against a sitting president because of longstanding policy. Barr has previously tried to paint the picture that the opinion was not a major factor in Mueller’s findings.

The major takeaway that Mueller wants us to take onboard for 2020 is the fact Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, but he is not subtle about the question of obstruction either.

In response Trump has tweeted that “nothing changes from the Mueller report” and the special counsel would likely agree – it was all there in the original report and congress just needs to see it.

Democrats may be disappointed that Mueller has ruled himself out of possible testimony to congress, or at least that if he is called he will say nothing beyond what was in his report. But if anything, that is merely to make clear that it is all there in the document.

Democrats and at least one congressional Republican – Justin Amash, who has called for impeachment proceedings against the president – have seized on Mueller’s remarks and called on the legislative branch to act.

“The ball is in our court,” Amash tweeted – and there is no doubt that there is where Mueller meant to put it. Indeed, House Judiciary Committee chair, Democrat Jerry Nadler, said Mueller’s comments made clear that the responsibility now lies with congress “to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump”.

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Calling for impeachment is something that Mueller would be too professional to do given his public role. But he wants us all to know that he is leaving the door as wide open as he possibly can.

Trump will use the same tactic with possible 2020 voters as in his tweet. In the eyes of the president “the case is closed!”