The TVs in the White House are on and tuned to William Barr's testimony. So far, some officials are downplaying the significance of Mueller's letter, saying the underlying conclusion of "no collusion" is not in question (though Mueller, of course, did not use that phrase).

The letter was related to Barr's assertions on obstruction and not on the questions of whether Trump associates conspired with Russia.

One official suggested the President's initial "total exoneration" response to the report — which was informed by Barr's memo to lawmakers �� would not likely have been dramatically different had Barr's letter been worded differently, since the "no collusion" conclusion was more cut-and-dry.

Trump was always going to extract the most positive version of the findings to make his case, this official said, whether Barr helped him along or not.

Officials still believe the most damaging part of Mueller's report for Trump was its broad depiction of the President as unethical and dishonest — and not any specific allegation that he worked to short-circuit the Mueller probe.