The Mueller report is finished and Donald Trump was found not to have colluded with Russians during the presidential election in 2016. And Trump, based on his attorney general’s four-page summary, was quick to declare victory. “Complete and total EXONERATION,” he boasted.

Once again, Trump misled America.

Mueller’s report found Trump did not collude with Russia, but the special counsel said he was unable to exonerate the president on the issue of obstruction of justice. “No collusion, and NO EXONERATION” would have been a more accurate tweet from Trump.

'Slam and shame the media': Mueller report sparks backlash against press Read more

Trump’s response reminds us why – despite the Mueller findings – it’s essential that news organisations like the Guardian continue to scrutinize his administration. He has been misleading the US public since the day he was inaugurated. Who can forget his then press secretary’s claim that he drew the “largest inauguration crowds ever”. He didn’t. But this reading of the event was what Kellyanne Conway described as “alternative facts”.

Or lies.

Alternative facts about voter fraud, climate science, white nationalists (some “very fine people”), the border wall (which Mexico is paying for), caravans of illegal aliens and terrorists, the Puerto Rico hurricane death toll, wildfires (too many leaves) will continue to be peddled by this administration.

There are facts, and there are lies. Our role at the Guardian is to tell you which is which.

The completion of the Mueller report is not the end of our reporting on Trump (and, of course, other investigations into Trump are continuing). Not at all. Let’s count a few of the ways in which the Guardian, with your help, can continue to shine a light on this administration.

America’s war on voters

States across America are introducing legislation that makes it punishingly hard for low-income citizens to vote, and in particular voters of color. Since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was gutted in 2013 these measures amount to a legislative war on voters. In most democracies it would be an affront to democracy; here it is part of a post-Jim Crow playbook to entrench conservative (and white) power.

Dismantling environmental protections

The Trump administration has tried to neutralize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It’s now run by an ex-coal lobbyist and he has effectively dismantled the country’s environmental laws. America is becoming less safe, less healthy and more toxic under Trump’s watch.

Politicizing the courts

Trump has appointed more judges to circuit and district courts than any other president in his first two years. These are predominantly male, conservative and white – and will exert huge power over the social and cultural fabric of this country for decades. At a time of huge demographic shifts (with white Americans projected to be a minority by 2045) this political and racial rigging of the US courts is a way of tilting judicial power to entrench white conservatism.

Attacks on immigrant rights

The Trump administration has been systematic and ruthless at dismantling protections for immigrants. From the Muslim travel ban to family separations to dozens of smaller, less visible policy changes, Trump’s hostility toward immigrants – both in rhetoric and policy – is undermining the foundations of America’s inclusive, multicultural democracy.

The war on science

Climate change is not the only scientific reality the Trump administration denies. The administration is cutting science-based programs that are proven to protect Americans, from teen pregnancy prevention to healthier school lunches. Trump prefers to put politics above science. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) – the agency tasked with responding to ever more frequent natural disasters – has deleted the words “climate change” from its plan. And the interior department, currently run by an ex-oil lobbyist, is pursuing an aggressive agenda of handing over the public lands it manages to oil, gas and other extractive industries.

The death of civility; the stench of corruption

From hush money payments for a porn star to savage attacks on ex-prisoner of war John McCain; from refusing to tackle Saudi Arabia over the death of Jamal Khashoggi to lashing out at people who arrive from “shithole countries”, Trump’s poisonous rhetoric and opaque business interests erode the social fabric of the country and undermine the integrity of the American presidency.

Regardless of how the Mueller story unfolds from here, the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater. And we rely on your incredible support to help the Guardian steer a course between facts and lies, civility and brutishness, rhetoric and reason, and science and ignorance.