On Tuesday, attorney general William Barr turned Donald Trump’s wildest dreams into reality when he told a congressional committee he was assembling a team to investigate the F.B.I.’s handling of its probe in the Trump campaign. The next morning, the president was apparently riding high. “It was an illegal investigation,” Trump told reporters running down the list of intelligence officials he’s cast as villains of the so-called “witch hunt.” “This was an attempted coup.”

Trump and his allies have long called for closer examination of the Russia probe, suggesting it was born out of anti-Trump bias and amounts to a politically motivated attempt to bring down the president. Trump’s supporters have insisted that a controversial dossier—which alleged, among other things, that Russia had salacious tape of the president in a Moscow hotel room—served as the basis for the probe, though The New York Times reported in 2017 that it stemmed from drunken comments former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos made to an Australian diplomat in May 2016.

At present, it’s unclear how far Barr’s probe will extend. Per Bloomberg, he explained to lawmakers that he is “reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016.” He clarified in a second straight day of testimony on Wednesday, saying he would look into “both the genesis and the conduct of intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign,” including potential “spying,” which he said “did occur.” He added that he wanted to make sure there was no “improper surveillance,” as Trump and Co. have alleged.

Whether these measures will satisfy Trump, who has continued to call for a separate investigation into the origins of the inquiry, even after Barr’s letter exonerating him, remains to be seen. Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for the release of Robert Mueller’s full report, which some on the special counsel’s team apparently view as more damaging to Trump than the four-page summary Barr provided last month. Barr, who had criticized the investigation before being appointed by Trump, said Tuesday that he plans to publish a redacted version of Mueller’s report, but that will almost certainly fall short for House Democrats, who are preparing to issue subpoenas for more information and have accused the attorney general of attempting to protect the president. “I think that’s a betrayal to what he promised during his confirmation,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN Tuesday. “The president wanted his own Roy Cohn, and apparently he got one.”

Even if Democrats prevail, however, Barr has already given Trump some legal cover. And in complying with Trump’s wishes to investigate the investigators, he could also further muddy the political waters. “We beat them,” Trump crowed to reporters Wednesday. “I won. No collusion, no obstruction. I won. Everybody knows I won.” He added that he has “not seen the Mueller report.”

More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

—The Ivanka e-mail bombshell

— The key to understanding the dark heart of the Mueller report is counter-intelligence

— Why some of the biggest names in publishing are resisting Apple’s pull

— The art world’s ultimate cage match

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hive newsletter and never miss a story.