For weeks, since Mueller in March delivered his 448-page report to Attorney General William P. Barr, Trump had railed against the “Russia hoax” and the “collusion delusion” at nearly every turn — from campaign rallies to a remarkable diatribe at an impromptu Rose Garden news conference a week ago.

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Trump, having returned to Washington on Tuesday afternoon after a four-day visit to Japan, appeared to be easing back into his schedule. There were no public events listed on the daily presidential guidance, which included a lunch with Vice President Pence, a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a private swearing-in ceremony for the president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank.

The White House press corps, anticipating a potential Trump eruption, moved their equipment, including ladders and television tripods to the entrance to the Palm Room, a passageway to the Rose Garden. The designated “pool reporter,” David Martosko, the U.S. political editor of the London-based Daily Mail, inquired with the White House press office whether Trump would make a public statement after Mueller finished speaking.

“So far all cards are close to the vest and no one is saying anything,” Martosko reported in an email to the press corps at large.

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But no full eruption came, at least not in the hours following Mueller’s televised nine-minute statement, during which he reiterated that his team was unable to clear Trump on the question of obstruction and said only Congress could “formally accuse the president of wrongdoing.” It was a performance that prompted some wavering Democrats on Wednesday to call on House leaders to open an impeachment inquiry.

“Nothing changes from the Mueller Report,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you.”

Otherwise, Trump left it to his surrogates to engage in the public debate over Mueller’s statement. He retweeted a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who proclaimed that “the Special Counsel is moving on with his life, and everyone else should do the same.” And he retweeted his campaign spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, who amplified the president’s previous calls for an investigation into “the origins of the Russia hoax” — an attempt to smear Democrats with what the president has characterized as a political campaign to destroy his presidency.

Just after 5 p.m., the White House declared a news “lid,” a signal to reporters that the president would not be making any public statements for the rest of the evening.