Mueller report: Both sides parse findings in probe of Russia's role

US President Donald Trump tried to seize control of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 US election, according to Mueller's report released on Thursday, but Trump said the findings amounted to "no collusion, no obstruction".

The 488-page report laid out multiple episodes in which Trump directed others to influence or curtail the Russia investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017.

It stated that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump that a special counsel was being appointed by the Justice Department to look into allegations that the Republican's campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair, cursed and said, "Oh my god. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency.''

Following the release of the report, Trump said at a White House event that he was "having a good day", adding, "It's called no collusion, no obstruction." Trump, whose legal team called the report "a total victory" for the president, has long described Mueller's inquiry as a "witch hunt".

The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller's ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel.

The report noted that some Trump aides did not carry out some of his demands, including the one to fire Mueller.

The actions by Trump to impede the probe that lasted 22 months raised questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

But the report's bottom line largely tracked the findings revealed in Attorney General William Barr's four-page memo released a month ago — no collusion with Russia, no clear verdict on obstruction — though it added new layers of detail about Trump's efforts to thwart the investigation.

The Justice Department released its redacted version of the report about 90 minutes after Barr offered his own final assessment of the findings at a Justice Department news conference. He again exonerated Trump, saying neither he nor his campaign colluded with Russia and that none of Trump's actions rose to the level of obstruction of justice, despite Mueller leaving that question unanswered in his report.

The report was released to Congress and the White House online, via a compact disc delivered to legislators and in loose-leaf binders distributed to reporters.

The Mueller investigation is said to have cost between $32 million and $35 million. He brought 199 charges against 34 people and three companies, including six of Trump's former advisers and associates.

Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations. The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.

Nadler told reporters that Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was "too early" to talk about impeachment.

Mueller built an extensive case indicating that Trump had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though the special counsel did not exonerate him. Mueller noted, however, that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law.

The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognizing that a president can be criminally investigated.

AP