Robert Mueller's redacted special counsel report into Donald Trump and Russian election interference was finally published Thursday saying Congress could find Trump guilty of obstructing justice – an hour after attorney general Bill Barr said he had cleared the president personally of the crime.

The 448-page document was littered with redactions but crucially says that the special counsel did not clear Trump, saying: 'If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.'

'Based on the facts and applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'

Mueller says: 'The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President's corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.'

That judgment will be seized on by Democrats already furious that Barr used a press conference to announce the findings of the report before it had been seen by Congress or the public – but after it had been given to Trump's personal attorneys to review.

A triumphant Trump tweeted a Game of Thrones meme saying 'Game Over' and speaking at the White House said: 'I'm having a good day.'

He declined to stop and speak to reporters as he left the White House - smiling and waving as he strode across the South Lawn with his wife - but seemed to sour after he boarded Air Force One en route to Palm Beach.

'I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to,' he declared. 'I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!'

Attorney General William Barr held a press conference Thursday morning ahead of the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was flanked by Deputy Attorney General Edward O'Callaghan (left) and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (right)

President Trump celebrated Barr's press conference with a tweet inspired by Game of Thrones

Speaking at the White House shortly after, a triumphant Trump said: 'I'm having a good day'

Trump was referring to claims in the Mueller report that he tried to fire the special counsel on multiple occasions.

The report says he called the White House's top lawyer at home several weeks after Mueller's appointment and 'directed him to call the acting attorney general and say that the special counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed.'

Don McGahn was 'perturbed by the call and did not intend to act on the request. He and other advisors believed the asserted conflicts were “silly” and “not real” and they had previously communicated that view to the President,' the report states.

'McGahn recalled the President telling him “Mueller has to go” and “Call me back when you do it," ' at another point. 'McGahn recalled that he had already said no to the President’s request and he was worn down, so he just wanted to get off the phone.'

It was one of many revelations that confirmed reporting Trump insisted throughout the investigation was 'fake news.' He swatted back on Thursday in a tweet, suggesting that if he wanted to fire Mueller, he could have at any time.

It was one of several allegations against Trump that Congress could continue to probe.

Mueller states up front that he applied Justice Department guidelines that prohibit charging a sitting president.

'The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued an opinion finding that "the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions" in violation of "the constitutional separation of powers,' the report states in one of its summary conclusions.

'Given the role of the Special Counsel as an attorney in the Department of Justice and the framework of the Special Counsel regulations ... this Office accepted OLC's legal conclusion for the purpose of exercising prosecutorial jurisdiction. And apart from OLC's constitutional view, we recognized that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President's capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional processes for addressing presidential misconduct.'

The language indicated that Mueller may indeed have intended for Congress to rely on his findings, rather than have Barr render his own immediate decision not to charge Trump.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk together prior to boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on April 18, 2019 as the public got its first look at pages and pages of details about the Russia probe

The president declared 'complete and total exoneration' before the report came out. But it reveals clashes with his own staff over the firing of James Comey and his direction push out Robert Mueller

'If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,' according to the Mueller report.

Prosecutors did not want to determine a crime was committed, when doing so 'could imperil the President's ability to govern' in part since he would have no ability to clear his name through a trial, they wrote.

The day started just after 9.30am when Barr said that the weight of evidence in the Mueller report shows President Donald Trump did not obstruct justice – as he explained Trump's conduct as the actions of an 'understandably frustrated' president who was acting out of a belief that the probe was undermining his tenure.

But the report contains huge amounts of evidence which will be used to question Barr's judgment.

It is divided into two volumes: 207 pages on collusion, the other 241 on obstruction.

It paints a picture of an angry Trump who went outside official channels, voicing rage at the Russia investigation from the beginning of his presidency.

When Mueller was appointed, he ranted: 'I'm f***ed. This is the end of my presidency.'

The account – released to Congress on CD-Roms and to the public in a PDF document which could not be searched – will be mined for evidence by Trump's enemies but it is its legal judgments which will be used by Democrats in Congress to challenge Barr.

The report is stocked with revelations about Trump associates, foreign contacts, Oval Office meetings, lies to and by staff, and defiance, plus a new stream of information from Moscow.

The report paints a damning portrait of the president, who is quoted saying ‘I’m f*****’ after Mueller is first appointed, and on several occasions asks senior staff to put out information they consider untrue.

It reveals multiple examples of Russians seeking to establish contact with Trump family members and campaign officials.

It spells out a Russian troll farm’s efforts to successfully hack Democratic emails, place Facebook ads and even plan pro-Trump rallies.

It says Russian contacts consisted of offers of assistance to the Trump campaign, invitations for Trump-Putin meetings, invites for campaign staff, and policy positions.

National Security Advisor Mike Flynn is revealed to have said Trump ‘repeatedly’ made requests to find Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails.

It describes efforts by Trump to keep Cohen close following an FBI raid on Cohen’s home and office. Trump called to ‘check in’ and urged him to ‘stay strong.’ An intermediary told Cohen ‘he loves you.’

According to Manafort Deputy Rick Gates, ‘By the late summer of 2016, the Trump Campaign was planning a press strategy, a communications cam and messaging based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks.’

The report outlines ‘direct communications Donald Trump Jr. had with WikiLeaks during the campaign period.

After he was charged, Manafort told Gates that he had spoken to Trump’s counsel and they said they’re ‘going to take care of us.’ Manafort told Gates it was ‘stupid’ to plead guilty, said he had been in touch with Trump’s personal counsel and they should ‘sit tight.’

It also cites public statements by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani mentioning a pardon for Manafort.

It reveals Trump called the appointment of Mueller ‘the end of his presidency’ and demanded that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions resign for bringing it about. When Sessions did, Trump didn’t accept it.

On the Trump Tower meeting, the report says Trump on ‘several occasions’ directed aides not to disclose emails about it, suggesting they might leak. He then edited a press statement to delete a line that acknowledged the meeting was with ‘an individual who [Trump Jr.] was told might have information helpful to the campaign.’ That line would have been true, since the meeting was set up with the promise of dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The report contains a new revelation about the claim described in the dossier that the Russians had compromising material on Trump. It says a member of the Crocus Group, a Moscow real estate firm, reached out to Cohen in October 2016 to discuss 'tapes' the Russians claimed to have on Trump. The businessman wrote Cohen that he had 'Stopped flow of tapes from Russia.'

Prosecutors cleared Donald Trump Jr. and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner of committing a crime with the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russians, in part because they did not know the law. The spread of dirt on Hillary Clinton might not have been illegal.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders admitted she made up information when she told the press she had communicated with 'countless' FBI agents contacted the White House to criticize James Comey. She told Mueller's investigators the remark was 'not founded on anything.'

A section on the Comey firing says Trump 'had a motive to put the FBI's Russia investigation behind him.' Although the report did not find a conspiracy with Russia, 'the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns.'

The report details efforts by Moscow-born Felix Sater to line up Michael Cohen's participation in an economic forum in Russia.

It provides new details on the president's direction to Don McGahn to fire Mueller telling him, 'You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod [Rosenstein]. He drove to the White House on a Saturday to pack his belongings and leave a resignation letter.

In March 2016, yet another Russian, presidential aide Anton Kobyakov, contacted investment banker Robert Foresman about Trump speaking at a St. Petersburg, Russia economic forum. He contacted Trump assistant Rhona Graff after an introduction by 'Apprentice' producer Mark Burnett. Foresman referenced his work setting up a 'private channel' between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President George H.W. Bush.

It describes campaign foreign policy advisor George Padapoloulos joining the Trump campaign and later meeting a Maltese professor in London who had contacts with Russian defense officials. Papadopoulos reported back about 'Meeting with Russian leadership–including Putin.' But he made statements that weren't true, claiming he had met the Russian ambassador in London as well as Putin's niece, which he hadn't.

When Mueller was appointed, he ranted: 'I'm f***ed. This is the end of my presidency'

A footnote in the report references the infamous unverified Moscow hotel incident described in the golden showers dossier. It also stipulates that Trump may have known about claimed Russian tapes of him as far back as October 2016, before the election.

The report references Comey’s briefing of Trump during the transition, and that it ‘included the Steele reporting's unverified allegation that the Russians had compromising tapes of the President involving conduct when he was a private citizen during a 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe Pageant.’

According to the report, ‘During the 2016 presidential campaign, a similar claim may have reached candidate Trump. On October 30, 2016, Michael Cohen received a text from Russian businessman Giorgi Rtskhiladze that said, "Stopped flow of tapes from Russia but not sure if there's anything else. Just so you know .... "

According to the report, Rtskhiladze said "tapes" referred to ‘compromising tapes of Trump rumored to be held by persons associated with the Russian real estate conglomerate Crocus Group, which had helped host the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Russia.

Crocus Group is the real estate company headed by Azerbaijan-born oligarch Aras Agalarov and his son, Emin – who set in motion the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russians.

The Steele dossier had mentioned the pageant as one of many areas where it stated that the Russians held ‘kompromat’ – compromising materials – on Trump.

According to the Mueller report, ‘Cohen said he spoke to Trump about the issue after receiving the texts from Rtskhiladze.’ It adds that ‘Rtskhiladze said he was told the tapes were fake, but he did not communicate that to Cohen.’

At his brief press conference at Thursday morning, Barr said that the weight of evidence in the Mueller report shows Trump did not obstruct justice – as he explained Trump's conduct as the actions of an 'understandably frustrated' president who was acting out of a belief that the probe was undermining his tenure.

'There is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks,' Barr said at a press conference which lasted just 25 minutes.

But in the second volume of his report, Mueller outlines the investigation of Trump for obstruction of justice.

He says from the start his team 'determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment' about Trump, citing long standing Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

But, he notes, a president 'does not have immunity after he leaves office.'

He also points out that if people other than the president obstructed justice, 'they may be prosecuted at this time.'

But they proceeded with their investigation of the matter, he explains because of the 'strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of the criminal justice system.' That resulted in his team conducting a 'thorough factual investigation in order to preserve the evidence when memories were fresh and documentary materials were available.'

Mueller assembled the 448-page report over a two-year investigation. His team conducted 500 interviews, though Trump would only submit to an interview in writing while consulting with lawyers

And, he notes, Congress can still prosecute Trump for obstruction.

'The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President's corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law,' he writes.

Mueller outlined the episodes his team examined in their investigation of whether Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Many of them have already been reported in the media over the past two years and will be familiar to followers of the investigation's sage.

The first part the special counsel team examined was the Trump campaign's response to reports of Russian support for the president.

'After WikiLeaks released politically damaging Democratic Party emails that were reported to have been hacked by Russia, Trump publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible for the hacks at the same time that he and other Campaign officials privately sought information,' Mueller noted.

He also cited efforts by the Trump Organization to build a Trump Tower Moscow, a project former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen was working on.

'Trump also denied having any business in or connections to Russia, even though as late as June 2016 the Trump Organization had been pursuing a licensing deal for a skyscraper to be built in Russia called Trump Tower Moscow.'

The Mueller team also looked at president's conduct surrounding former FBI director James Comey – both the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the firing of Comey.

'The day of the firing, the White House maintained that Comey's termination resulted from independent recommendations from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General that Comey should be discharged for mishandling the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But the President had decided to fire Comey before hearing from the Department of Justice,' the report stated.

Mueller also examined his own appointment to the special counsel job and Trump's effort to remove him from office, including a demand from the president that then Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had recused himself from the case, resign.

'The President reacted to news that a Special Counsel had been appointed by telling advisors that it was 'the end of his presidency' and demanding that Sessions resign. Sessions submitted his resignation, but the President ultimately did not accept it,' the report stated.

It also reveals Trump asked McGahn, then the White House counsel, to fire Sessions in June 2017, but McGahan 'did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre.'

President Trump tweeted about Mueller's report on Thursday hours before it became public

He later shared a photo of the front page of the Dallas Morning News with the headline: 'Report: No Collusion.' Trump wrote in the Twitter caption: 'As I have been saying all along, NO COLLUSION - NO OBSTRUCTION'

Mueller also probed the president's attempts to curtail his investigation, including a June 19, 2017 Oval Office meeting with former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, where Trump directed Lewandowski to deliver a message to Sessions.

'The message said that Sessions should publicly announce that, notwithstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was 'very unfair' to the President, the President had done nothing wrong, and Sessions planned to meet with the Special Counsel and 'let [him] move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections,' according to the report.

The report reveals multiple incidents where Trump's advisers and staff simply refused to carry out his directives.

'Lewandowski did not want to deliver the President's message personally, so he asked senior White House official Rick Dearborn to deliver it to Sessions. Dearborn was uncomfortable with the task and did not follow through,' the report notes.

The report also tackles the now-infamous June 9 Trump Tower meeting during the 2016 campaign where Donald Trump Jr., then campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Russian official who claimed to have dirt on Clinton.

Mueller reveals the president's efforts to cover up the meeting's true purpose after he learned the media was investigating it.

While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

'On several occasions, the President directed aides not to publicly disclose the emails setting up the June 9 meeting, suggesting that the emails would not leak and that the number of lawyers with access to them should be limited. Before the emails became public, the President edited a press statement for Trump Jr. by deleting a line that acknowledged that the meeting was with 'an individual who [Trump Jr.] was told might have information helpful to the campaign' and instead said only that the meeting was about adoptions of Russian children,' the report stated.

The report also examined Trump's efforts to have McGahn deny reports the president ordered him to fire Sessions, which McGahn refused to do and Trump's conduct toward his former fixer, Michael Cohen.

'The President's conduct towards Michael Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive, changed from praise for Cohen when he falsely minimized the President's involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow project, to castigation of Cohen when he became a cooperating witness,' the report notes.

Mueller concludes by explaining because his team 'determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President's conduct.'

He said the evidence about the president's actions and intent 'presents difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were making a traditional prosecutorial judgment.'

But, he adds: 'At the same time, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller arrives at his office in Washington, DC, on Wednesday

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein previously decided 48 hours after reviewing the Mueller report not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice – even after Barr acknowledged the report states that it does not 'exonerate' Trump on obstruction.

A reporter pressed Barr about his characterization of Trump's emotions as the possible motive for his actions that drew investigation for possible obstruction. These included the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

'Actually, the statements about his sincere beliefs are recognized in the report,' Barr responded. 'That there was substantial evidence for that, so I'm not sure what your basis is for saying that I am being generous to the president.'

'President Trump faced an unprecedented situation' when he took office, explained Barr, noting there was 'relentless speculation' about his 'personal culpability' in Russian election interference – which Barr and the report say did in fact occur.

'Yet as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion,' said Barr, using language that the president tweeted just minutes before he took the podium.

Barr said Mueller's team examined 10 episodes of potential obstruction offenses. But he said the evidence was 'not sufficient.'

'After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report, and in consultation with the office of legal counsel and other department lawyers, the deputy attorney general and I concluded that the evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense,' said Barr.

Barr said he and Rosenstein disagreed with some of theories outlined by Mueller but did not solely rely on that in making their decision not to pursue an obstruction charge against the president.

Barr also hinted the episodes may not paint the president in the most flattering light.

'In assessing the President's actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context,' he said.

'President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President's personal culpability.'

He said the report reflects Trump's frustration and anger at the situation.

'There is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks,' Barr noted.

WHAT BILL BARR SAID ABOUT MUELLER - AT A GLANCE The Russian government sponsored efforts to interfere with the 2016 election campaign

Trump and his campaign did not collude or co-operate with Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 election

Nobody from Trump's campaign or associated with the campaign conspired with operations to hack Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign emails

Russia's GRU gave stolen emails to Wikileaks for publication - but no member or affiliate of the Trump campaign illegally encouraged or played a role in these dissemination efforts

Special Counsel did not find any conspiracy to violate U.S. law between Russian-linked persons and the Trump campaign

Mueller recounts ten 'episodes' involving Trump which could have been considered to obstruct justice - and said that he had not

Trump 'was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks'

Trump's personal counsel viewed the redacted version of Mueller's report but requested no redactions.

The president did not assert executive privilege to make any redactions.

The redactions in the report are tied to 'ongoing investigations and criminal cases,' such as the case against longtime Trump confident Roger Stone.

A select, bipartisan group of lawmakers will get to see a version of the report 'with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information.' Advertisement

Barr described a March 5th meeting with Mueller and included Rosenstein, where the two men asked him in advance of the report about existing Justice Department guidelines against charging a sitting president – and whether or not he was taking a position that he found a crime 'but for the existence' of the guidelines.

Barr said that was not the case. 'He was not saying that but for the … opinion, he would have found a crime. He made it clear that he had not made the determination that there was a crime,' Barr said.

It was not immediately known how Mueller's team gained information about the president's state of mind, since he did not submit to an in-person interview. However, the president repeatedly railed against the Mueller investigation publicly throughout its duration.

And according to voluminous press accounts, he also blasted the investigation to his aides, many of whom were interviewed by Mueller's investigators.

Barr said he would transmit the Mueller report to Congress at 11am Thursday, and make it public shortly thereafter. In another key finding that expanded on what he revealed in his previous letter, Barr stated that Mueller's report concluded that neither President Trump nor members of his campaign team participated in Russia's election interference. He said the public should be 'grateful' that Mueller was able to confirm this.

'The Russian government sought to interfere in our election process,' Barr said at the Justice Department Thursday.

'Thanks to the Special Counsel's thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives that perpetuated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other American for that matter,' he said.

He thanked Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and said Mueller found 'no collusion' – a favorite term of the presidents.

Praising Mueller, Barr thanked the former FBI Director 'for his service and the thoroughness of his investigation.' Trump has repeatedly branded the probe a 'witch hunt.'

Democrats howled before Barr took the podium about an effort to 'spin' the report's conclusions. They are demanding that Mueller be made available to testify.

'I have no objection Bob Mueller personally testifying,' said Barr.

Asked why Mueller wasn't standing alongside him, he said of the report: 'He did for me as the attorney general, he is required under the regulation to provide me with a confidential report. I'm here to discuss my response to that report and my decision.' He said it was 'entirely discretionary' to make it public, 'since these reports are not supposed to be made public. That's what I'm here to discuss.'

He also stated that although the report would be redacted for several reasons, 'No material has been redacted based on executive privilege.'

Barr also confirmed in his statement that he had provided the redacted report to President Trump's lawyers days ago – even though he had yet to transmit it to committee chairmen with oversight responsibility in Congress. He said he provided the advanced look 'earlier this week,' and cited a government ethics law as the justification.

'In addition, earlier this week, the President's personal counsel requested and were given the opportunity to read a final version of the redacted report before it was publicly released,' Barr said.

'That request was consistent with the practice followed under the Ethics in Government Act, which permitted individuals named in a report prepared by an Independent Counsel the opportunity to read the report before publication. The President's personal lawyers were not permitted to make, and did not request, any redactions.'

He did not say the report was provided to other people mentioned in it – only the president.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer blasted the attorney general for 'his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference' before it becomes public and for his 'irresponsible testimony before Congress last week.' Pelosi is seen above touring the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland on Thursday

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provided a bristling response Barr's confirmation that he had given Team Trump an early look at the much-awaited report.

She tweeted: 'AG Barr has confirmed the staggering partisan effort by the Trump Admin to spin public's view of the #MuellerReport – complete with acknowledgment that the Trump team received a sneak preview. It's more urgent than ever that Special Counsel Mueller testify before Congress.'

She bluntly told the Associated Press: 'He is not the attorney general of Donald Trump. He is the attorney general of the United States.' She added: 'I don't trust Barr, I trust Mueller.'

Pelosi then tweeted out an article containing the comments.

Tweeted House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerold Nadler of New York: 'We cannot take Attorney General Barr's word for it. We must read the full Mueller report, and the underlying evidence. This is about transparency and ensuring accountability.

'The attorney general appears to be waging a media campaign on behalf of President Trump,' Nadler had claimed Wednesday in advance of the press conference.

TIMELINE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER'S RUSSIA PROBE May 17, 2017 - Former FBI Director Mueller is appointed as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election. June 15, 2017 - It's revealed Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice. November 6, 2018 – Democrats gain control of the House in the elections, positioning the party to control panels with oversight authority of the Justice Department. November 8, 2018 - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns and Trump appoints Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general. November 20, 2018 - Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel. March 22, 2019 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to US Attorney General William Barr. March 24, 2019 - Barr releases a summary of Mueller's report, saying the investigation did not find evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law during the campaign. March 29, 2019 – After facing a backlash from Democratic critics, Barr tells Congress the report is nearly 400 pages long and that he will make the report public. April 3, 2019 – Democratic-run House Judiciary Committee votes to subpoena the full Mueller report. April 18, 2019 – Attorney General William Barr makes public a redacted version of the Mueller report. Advertisement

Barr wouldn't directly answer a question at his press conference when asked: 'What do you say to people on both sides of the aisle who are concerned you're trying to protect the president?'

Tweeted Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer: 'AG Barr's handling of the #MuellerReport has been regrettably partisan, including his slanted 3/24 summary letter, irresponsible testimony before Congress, & indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference today—hours before he allows the public or Congress to see it.

He said it caused 'a crisis of confidence in AG Barr's independence & impartiality' and called for Mueller to testify 'ASAP.'

Then he jabbed online: 'Now that President @realDonaldTrump's campaign press conference is over: It's time for Congress and the American public to see the #MuellerReport.'

Although Mueller submitted his report to the attorney general with no fanfare, simply submitting a classified document as required under statute, Barr scheduled a press conference where he will once again discuss its findings.

In just the latest partisan clash over the Mueller probe, Democrats scoffed at Barr's move – which the president revealed in a radio interview.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer blasted the attorney general for 'his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference' before it becomes public and for his 'irresponsible testimony before Congress last week.'

They demanded that Mueller come and testify before Congress immediately to discuss his findings, saying that would be the only way to restore 'public trust' in the handling of the probe.

President Trump put his his own spin on the Mueller report Thursday morning. 'PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!' read the president's tweet shortly after 8 am.

In another tweet, the president wrote there was 'No collusion, no obstruction!,' and retweeted a video featuring various clips of Trump repeating his 'no collusion' mantra ten different times, set to dramatic music. It concluded with two CNN commentators providing spot analysis of Barr's four-page summary of the Mueller report, and casting it as a win for Trump.

The president in the video called the exercise an 'illegal takedown.'

To date, Barr has only described the report through letters and testimony before Congress, while refusing to divulge its substance beyond core conclusions. The president suggested that he, too, may weigh in.

The rollout strategy was the latest example of Trump trying to turn the Mueller probe, which he has branded as 'illegal' and part of a 'coup' that he even called 'treasonous' – part of his 2020 reelection strategy.

The PR effort left little doubt that President Trump once again intended to proclaim 'no collusion' following the final submission of a probe he repeatedly branded as a 'witch hunt.'

The release of the report, even in redacted form, provides a key milestone, if not an endpoint, to the probe that has drawn the wrath of the president. Throughout its course, the investigation raised alarms of a constitutional crisis, and even prompted talk of impeachment while it was underway.

Outside of what the report itself reveals, Barr's decision to redact four categories of material is already setting up the next battle with Congress over the report.

The House Judiciary Committee has voted to authorize a subpoena for the full report, which panel chairman Rep. Jerold Nadler is demanding. If Barr blocked out information that seems key to Mueller's conclusions, Trump critics will once again accuse him of whitewashing the special counsel's findings.

Mueller submitted his confidential report to Barr on March 22, nearly two years after his inquiry began.

Read in full what AG Bill Barr said at Mueller report press conference Good Morning. Thank you all for being here today. On March 22, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation of matters related to Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and submitted his confidential report to me pursuant to Department of Justice regulations. As I said during my Senate confirmation hearing and since, I am committed to ensuring the greatest possible degree of transparency concerning the Special Counsel's investigation, consistent with the law. At 11:00 this morning, I will transmit copies of a public version of the Special Counsel's report to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Department of Justice will also make the report available to the American public by posting it on the Department's website after it has been delivered to Congress. I would like to offer a few comments today on the report. But before I do that, I want to thank Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for joining me here today and for his assistance and counsel throughout this process. Rod has served the Department of Justice for many years with dedication and distinction, and it has been a great privilege and pleasure to work with him since my confirmation. He had well-deserved plans to step back from public service that I interrupted by asking him to help in my transition. Rod has been an invaluable partner, and I am grateful that he was willing to help me and has been able to see the Special Counsel's investigation to its conclusion. Thank you, Rod. I would also like to thank Special Counsel Mueller for his service and the thoroughness of his investigation, particularly his work exposing the nature of Russia's attempts to interfere in our electoral process. As you know, one of the primary purposes of the Special Counsel's investigation was to determine whether members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, or any individuals associated with that campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election. Volume I of the Special Counsel's report describes the results of that investigation. As you will see, the Special Counsel's report states that his 'investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.' I am sure that all Americans share my concerns about the efforts of the Russian government to interfere in our presidential election. As the Special Counsel's report makes clear, the Russian government sought to interfere in our election. But thanks to the Special Counsel's thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other Americans for that matter. That is something that all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed. The Special Counsel's report outlines two main efforts by the Russian government to influence the 2016 election: First, the report details efforts by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company with close ties to the Russian government, to sow social discord among American voters through disinformation and social media operations. Following a thorough investigation of this disinformation campaign, the Special Counsel brought charges in federal court against several Russian nationals and entities for their respective roles in this scheme. Those charges remain pending, and the individual defendants remain at large. But the Special Counsel found no evidence that any Americans – including anyone associated with the Trump campaign – conspired or coordinated with the Russian government or the IRA in carrying out this illegal scheme. Indeed, as the report states, '[t]he investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the IRA's interference operation.' Put another way, the Special Counsel found no 'collusion' by any Americans in the IRA's illegal activity. Second, the report details efforts by Russian military officials associated with the GRU to hack into computers and steal documents and emails from individuals affiliated with the Democratic Party and the presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton for the purpose of eventually publicizing those emails. Obtaining such unauthorized access into computers is a federal crime. Following a thorough investigation of these hacking operations, the Special Counsel brought charges in federal court against several Russian military officers for their respective roles in these illegal hacking activities. Those charges are still pending and the defendants remain at large. But again, the Special Counsel's report did not find any evidence that members of the Trump campaign or anyone associated with the campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its hacking operations. In other words, there was no evidence of Trump campaign 'collusion' with the Russian government's hacking. The Special Counsel's investigation also examined Russian efforts to publish stolen emails and documents on the internet. The Special Counsel found that, after the GRU disseminated some of the stolen materials through its own controlled entities, DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, the GRU transferred some of the stolen materials to Wikileaks for publication. Wikileaks then made a series of document dumps. The Special Counsel also investigated whether any member or affiliate of the Trump campaign encouraged or otherwise played a role in these dissemination efforts. Under applicable law, publication of these types of materials would not be criminal unless the publisher also participated in the underlying hacking conspiracy. Here too, the Special Counsel's report did not find that any person associated with the Trump campaign illegally participated in the dissemination of the materials. Finally, the Special Counsel investigated a number of 'links' or 'contacts' between Trump Campaign officials and individuals connected with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign. After reviewing those contacts, the Special Counsel did not find any conspiracy to violate U.S. law involving Russia-linked persons and any persons associated with the Trump campaign. So that is the bottom line. After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the Special Counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes. After finding no underlying collusion with Russia, the Special Counsel's report goes on to consider whether certain actions of the President could amount to obstruction of the Special Counsel's investigation. As I addressed in my March 24th letter, the Special Counsel did not make a traditional prosecutorial judgment regarding this allegation. Instead, the report recounts ten episodes involving the President and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense. After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report, and in consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel and other Department lawyers, the Deputy Attorney General and I concluded that the evidence developed by the Special Counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. Although the Deputy Attorney General and I disagreed with some of the Special Counsel's legal theories and felt that some of the episodes examined did not amount to obstruction as a matter of law, we did not rely solely on that in making our decision. Instead, we accepted the Special Counsel's legal framework for purposes of our analysis and evaluated the evidence as presented by the Special Counsel in reaching our conclusion. In assessing the President's actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context. President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President's personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion. And as the Special Counsel's report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks. Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated with the Special Counsel's investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims. And at the same time, the President took no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation. Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the President had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation. Now, before I take questions, I want to address a few aspects of the process for producing the public report that I am releasing today. As I said several times, the report contains limited redactions relating to four categories of information. To ensure as much transparency as possible, these redactions have been clearly labelled and color-coded so that readers can tell which redactions correspond to which categories. As you will see, most of the redactions were compelled by the need to prevent harm to ongoing matters and to comply with court orders prohibiting the public disclosure of information bearing upon ongoing investigations and criminal cases, such as the IRA case and the Roger Stone case. These redactions were applied by Department of Justice attorneys working closely together with attorneys from the Special Counsel's Office, as well as with the intelligence community, and prosecutors who are handling ongoing cases. The redactions are their work product. Consistent with long-standing Executive Branch practice, the decision whether to assert Executive privilege over any portion of the report rested with the President of the United States. Because the White House voluntarily cooperated with the Special Counsel's investigation, significant portions of the report contain material over which the President could have asserted privilege. And he would have been well within his rights to do so. Following my March 29th letter, the Office of the White House Counsel requested the opportunity to review the redacted version of the report in order to advise the President on the potential invocation of privilege, which is consistent with long-standing practice. Following that review, the President confirmed that, in the interests of transparency and full disclosure to the American people, he would not assert privilege over the Special Counsel's report. Accordingly, the public report I am releasing today contains redactions only for the four categories that I previously outlined, and no material has been redacted based on executive privilege. In addition, earlier this week, the President's personal counsel requested and were given the opportunity to read a final version of the redacted report before it was publicly released. That request was consistent with the practice followed under the Ethics in Government Act, which permitted individuals named in a report prepared by an Independent Counsel the opportunity to read the report before publication. The President's personal lawyers were not permitted to make, and did not request, any redactions. In addition to making the redacted report public, we are also committed to working with Congress to accommodate their legitimate oversight interests with respect to the Special Counsel's investigation. We have been consulting with Chairman Graham and Chairman Nadler throughout this process, and we will continue to do so. Given the limited nature of the redactions, I believe that the publicly released report will allow every American to understand the results of the Special Counsel's investigation. Nevertheless, in an effort to accommodate congressional requests, we will make available to a bipartisan group of leaders from several Congressional committees a version of the report with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information. Thus, these members of Congress will be able to see all of the redacted material for themselves – with the limited exception of that which, by law, cannot be shared. I believe that this accommodation, together with my upcoming testimony before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, will satisfy any need Congress has for information regarding the Special Counsel's investigation. Once again, I would like to thank you all for being here today. I now have a few minutes for questions. Advertisement

Eight people convicted under the Mueller probe so far

Mueller quietly turned in the document after his team of investigators interviewed hundreds of witnesses in an effort to uncover the roots of Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

As the probe ran through the first half of the president's term, Mueller's team obtained eight convictions – including of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and his deputy Rick Gates.

Picking up from information obtained by Mueller's investigators, federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained a guilty plea from longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is facing a three-year jail sentence.

Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, served a 12-day jail sentence after admitting that he, too, lied to the FBI about Russia contacts that proved to be among the earliest information about Trump Russia contacts.

When Mueller's team obtained information on criminal behavior by longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, FBI agents executed a raid on Cohen's home and office. The case ultimately went to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, but created still more difficulties for the president.

Cohen testified and had information about the hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who each claim they had affairs with Trump.

Cohen would eventually move away from Trump and denounce him. He also revealed new information related to the Russia probe: evidence that he discussed a potential Moscow tower project in Moscow through the summer of 2016, despite the president's denials his company had any dealings with Russia.

Probe reviews whether President Trump obstructed justice

As 2018 wore on, it became clear that Mueller's team was examining whether the president had obstructed the investigation through his firing of former FBI Director James Comey and other actions.

Questions about potential obstruction emerged almost as soon as Comey testified the president had spoken to him privately over dinner about letting the FBI investigation of Flynn go.

The president repeatedly went after attorney general Jeff Sessions online, attacked the Justice Department – sometimes putting 'Justice' in quotes – blasted the FBI, and labeled the probe itself an illegal 'witch hunt.'

His use of the pardon power, his labeling of Cohen as a 'rat,' and his praise for Manafort's loyalty, raised the possibility he was interfering in an official proceeding authorized by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions finally resigned in October after prolonged attacks from Trump for having recused himself from the Russia probe

Trump would eventually push out Sessions, install an acting attorney general without senior Justice Department experience, and finally nominate a hand-picked successor, Barr. Barr had expressed a strong belief in executive power and had blasted Mueller's theory of potential obstruction of justice in an unsolicited memo he provided to Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who was overseeing the probe.

Until Thursday, the only material the public was able to review on the subject was contained in a four-page summary of the report's findings provided by Barr.

Barr's letter said the report 'did not draw a conclusion' on obstruction of justice. He also included a line with a partial quotation stating that 'while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'

Barr said he and Rosenstein decided not to prosecute Trump on obstruction charges, and stated that it was not attributable to DOJ guidelines against prosecuting a president while in office.

Among the most concrete evidence Barr revealed in his March letter was the extent of the investigation overseen by Mueller, who earned a reputation for thoroughness during his 12 years running the FBI. His team conducted 500 interviews, agents executed 500 search warrants, and and lawyers obtained 2,800 subpoenas.

Trump avoids in-person interview with Mueller

One interview Mueller wasn't able to execute in person was with President Trump, who has told falsehoods numerous times in previous court proceedings.

Trump said he would 'love to speak' with Mueller, but through the course of the probe, his changing team of lawyers never agreed to one.

By November 2018, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Trump had submitted written responses to questions from Mueller's team in writing.

With Trump never having had to submit to an in-person interview, Democratic critics wondered how Mueller could have reached a conclusion on obstruction, since a person's mindset is ordinarily critical in evaluating their intent in such matters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained a firm grip on political control in Russia when the hacking was carried out (left). Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced embarrassing disclosures after hacks DNC emails and those of her chief of staff (right)

Mueller lays out specifics of Russian election interference

Russia aspects of the probe, Mueller's team filed detailed indictments laying out charges of Russian election interference.

Indictments charged members of a Russian troll with carrying out the election hack of Democratic emails that WikiLeaks posted during the campaign. One release caused the resignation of Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the eve of her party's convention.

Prosecutors filed a grand jury indictment of 25 Russian nationals and three Russian entities charged with defrauding the United States. Some were charged with identity fraud and money laundering. All are in Russia and remain at large.

But the indictment spelled out the details of a scheme that previously had only been referred to cryptically by the intelligence community. It established a place (a St. Petersburg Troll farm), a team who allegedly carried it out, a financial backer (a confidant known as 'Putin's chef'), and a motive (to sow division, boost Trump, and tear down Hillary Clinton).

Emails hacked from Hillary Clinton's campaign chair John Podesta provided embarrassing fodder for stories in the final months of the campaign.

Mueller's team probed Trump associates for contacts with WikiLeaks to try to establish a connection. They established that longtime advisor Roger Stone had penned emails proclaiming information about WikiLeaks' pending email dumps. But Stone said he was engaging in bravado.

Stone has been charged with lying about his WikiLeaks contacts and witness tampering, but not of a conspiracy with Russia. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump Tower meeting investigated

Another key area of inquiry was the infamous June Trump Tower meeting with Russians. The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., released potentially damaging emails about the meeting when the New York Times was on the verge of revealing it.

The email traffic revealed that when a British music publicist revealed that the Russians had potentially damaging information on Hillary Clinton, Trump's team took a meeting. Sitting in were Manafort, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Trump Jr. But Trump Jr. said nothing came out of it.

Trump repeatedly attacks the 'witch hunt' probe

One constant feature in the probe was Trump's attacks. Even while being investigated, he called the probe 'the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history.' He blasted the FBI as 'leakers' and 'liars.' When anti-Trump texts were revealed among a pair of agents having an affair, he regularly went after the 'FBI lovers.'

Trump went after his former FBI director James Comey, and occasionally attacked the dossier of unverified information saying the Russians had compromising material on him. Trump went after the 'fake dossier' and said 'dirty cops' were out to get him. He even retweeted an image that showed Comey and other top officials – including his own deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, pictured behind bars.

Despite all the attacks, Trump never succeeded in sacking Mueller, and even allowed Sessions to linger months after he had lost confidence in him.

Trump ordered the firing of Mueller in June 2017, the New York Times reported months later, but backed off after former White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to quit.