WASHINGTON — Minutes after the Justice Department released the special counsel’s report on the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, delivered his own verdict: Case closed.

“It is time to move on,” Mr. McCarthy said in a rapid-fire response.

That won’t be happening.

Despite furious Republican demands to drop the subject altogether, Democrats, if anything, appear more alarmed about the president’s conduct as outlined in the report and more determined to pursue several lines of inquiry and hear from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, himself.

Their characterizations were damning. Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey called it “one of the most tragic documents in the history of the American presidency.” The Democratic National Committee said the “redacted report paints a stunning picture of bottomless corruption.” Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader who chooses his words carefully, said that “the report indicates that President Trump tried on multiple occasions to obstruct justice.” Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called the report a “portrait of criminal wrongdoing and national scandal.”

These are not the kind of words that flow from those who are about to say all is forgotten, if not forgiven. Rather than walking away, Democrats appear to be gearing up. Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, who oversees the House Judiciary Committee, called the report a road map to holding the president accountable and suggested Democrats intended to follow it.