So this is it. After two years, more than 30 indictments or guilty pleas and close to 200 individual charges – special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is expected to be wound up within a few more days.

His final verdict has been delivered to attorney general William Barr – the third attorney general since the special counsel was handed oversight of one of the most sensitive investigations in US history. It is up to Mr Barr as to what Congress, and by extension the US public, see of the report.

Mr Barr has pledged transparency over a report that at least one US official is said to have called “comprehensive”. However, if early reports of the contents of Mr Mueller’s findings into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with Donald Trump’s campaign are to be believed, there will be no new damage to the president’s former inner circle. No new indictments are said to have been recommended.

Mr Trump and his White House staff may be preparing to breathe a sigh of relief at the news – the president’s strategy has always been to deny the allegations and to try and keep the investigation at arm’s length. The fact that around half a dozen former Trump officials have been indicted has ensured such tactics have been met with scepticism by many.

According to Justice Department rules Mr Mueller’s report should explain the special counsel’s decisions. These include who was charged and who wasn’t, and why each choice was made.

Mueller investigation: The key figures Show all 12 1 /12 Mueller investigation: The key figures Mueller investigation: The key figures Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led. REUTERS Mueller investigation: The key figures Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt". AFP/Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public. EPA Mueller investigation: The key figures Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact. REUTERS

There is little doubt that Mr Trump will seek to undermine the contents of the report, having spent much of the last two years publicly admonishing Mr Mueller as well as a number of his former associates who have either been found guilty or pleaded guilty to crimes that stemmed from the investigation.

Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort and the president’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn are some of those who have been found guilty or agreed plea deals with Mr Mueller’s team or other prosecutors. Mr Trump will probably use whatever is released of the report to support his constant utterances of innocence and “no collusion”.

While it cannot be ruled out that Mr Mueller has one last rabbit to pull out of his hat – with the investigation having proved virtually leak-proof in the last two years – the result of the report is likely to disappoint many liberals.

But Mr Trump cannot breath completely easy just yet. First, there is the possibility that Mr Mueller could highlight possible collusion or obstruction of justice even without any new indictments, although current indictments should have pointed more definitely to that before now.

But Mr Trump’s biggest problem is that the Mueller inquiry has led to, or spawned, a number of other investigations. Prosecutors in both the southern and eastern areas of New York, Washington DC and parts of Virginia are all conducting federal probes that stretch beyond the scope of Mr Mueller’s work. Those prosecutors are not bound by the more limiting instructions and rules that Mr Mueller’s office must follow, and they do not face the scrutiny or pressure to finish promptly that the special counsel’s office have.