Special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election did not find that President Donald Trump committed a crime but also did not exonerate him, according to a summary of findings released this morning.

Key points: Mr Mueller found there was no evidence any Trump official knowingly conspired with Russia

Mr Mueller found there was no evidence any Trump official knowingly conspired with Russia He said he would leave it to Mr Barr to decide whether a crime was committed

He said he would leave it to Mr Barr to decide whether a crime was committed Mr Barr said the investigation found there was insufficient evidence Mr Trump attempted to obstruct justice

Mr Mueller also found no evidence that any member of Mr Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia during the election, according to the summary of conclusion sent by US Attorney-General William Barr to congressional leaders and the media.

Mr Mueller, who spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Mr Trump defeat his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, concluded his investigation on Friday after nearly two years.

"While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," Mr Barr quoted Mr Mueller as writing in his report on the issue of possible obstruction of justice.

Mr Mueller said he would leave it to the Attorney-General to decide whether a crime was committed.

Mr Barr's summary said Mr Mueller found no evidence the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia, despite multiple offers from individuals associated with Russia.

The release of the summary is likely to ignite a new political fight in Washington, as Democrats push for Mr Barr to release the full report.

Mr Trump, who has always denied collaborating with Moscow or obstructing justice, criticised the probe before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Florida.

"It's a shame that our country had to go through this," Mr Trump said.

"This was an illegal take-down that failed. And hopefully, somebody's going to be looking at the other side."

Mr Trump also tweeted that he had been exonerated by the report.

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'Mr Barr is not a neutral observer'

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the Department of Justice's findings were a "total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States".

While the White House claimed vindication, Democrats have vowed to press on with their own investigations.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement saying Mr Barr's letter raised as many questions as it answered.

Mr Mueller completed his probe and sent a four-page letter to Congress outlining the main findings. ( Reuters: Kevin Lamarque )

"The fact that special counsel Mueller's report does not exonerate the President on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay.

"Given Mr Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.

"And most obviously, for the President to say he is completely exonerated directly contradicts the words of Mr Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility."

Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer called for the full report and underlying documents to be released to Congress so Committees' independent investigations into the matter could proceed.

"The American people have a right to know," she said.

'It's better than I expected'

While House Judiciary committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said Mr Barr would be called to testify shortly "in light of the very concerning discrepancies" in the Attorney-General's report summary, saying Mr Mueller "clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the President".

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Past and present lawyers for Mr Trump greeted the release of Mr Barr's summary enthusiastically.

Mr Trump's legal team said Mr Mueller's report was "a complete and total vindication of the President".

While John Dowd, who served as Mr Trump's personal lawyer on the probe until March 2018, said investigators "got it right".

"I'm just very, very happy for the President. It's been an awful two years, in my opinion wholly unjustified."

Another of Mr Trump's lawyers, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, said the summary surprised him, saying: "It's better than I expected."

Vice-President Mike Pence also said Mr Mueller's report vindicated the President, saying the findings would be welcomed by all Americans.

"The special counsel has confirmed what President Trump said all along; there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election," Mr Pence said in a statement.

US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was disturbed by Russia's ongoing efforts to interfere with US democracy and looked forward to reviewing additional information from the special counsel's report.

Russia has said it did not interfere in the election, although US intelligence agencies concluded that it did.

Mr Barr said the investigation also found insufficient evidence that Mr Trump had attempted to obstruct justice.

Many of his opponents accused him of obstructing the Russia probe when he fired former FBI director James Comey.

The Department of Justice announced on Friday that Mr Mueller had ended his investigation after bringing charges against 34 people, including Russian agents and former key allies of Mr Trump, such as his campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Mike Flynn and his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

None of those charges, however, directly related to whether Mr Trump's campaign worked with Moscow.

Legal woes continue for Trump

The closure of the special counsel's probe, while offering a potential political boost for Mr Trump and a political weapon to wield against Democrats, does not mark the end of legal woes for Mr Trump and people close to him.

Other investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, personal conduct, charitable foundation and inaugural committee.

Committees of the Democratic-controlled House are also preparing a series of their own inquiries.

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ABC/wires