Updated at 7:24 p.m. ET
When President Trump learned two years ago that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, he was distraught.
Trump “slumped back in his chair and said, ‘Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I’m f***ed,'” according to the report by special counsel Robert Mueller which was released Thursday in redacted form.
The president’s prediction, written down by an aide and contained in the 448 pages of the Mueller report, has not come to pass. But Mueller’s 22-month investigation did turn up numerous instances where the president tried to prevent investigators from carrying out their mandate — and it suggests that he might have been successful were it not for his own aides who ignored his directives.
Those dissenting figures included former White House counsel Donald McGahn, deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
READ: The redacted Mueller report
As a result, the Mueller report’s conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice was decidedly noncommittal.
“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,” the report reads. “Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards however we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the president’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred.”
Mueller’s doorstop report thumped to Earth Thursday after much anticipation.
The report was divided into two volumes. Volume I looked at Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and it’s interactions with the Trump campaign. Volume II focused on the president’s actions toward investigations carried out by the FBI and by the special counsel.
Mueller concluded that investigators could not establish that the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the “sweeping and systematic” Russian interference effort.
And referring to possible charges that the president obstructed justice, Mueller writes that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
Barr’s reasoning
The report was released only after Attorney General William Barr held a news conference to talk about the report.
He told reporters that “no collusion” had been found between the Trump campaign and Russia — repeating the phrase that the president himself has used many times.
Barr also said 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 said he was satisfied Trump had acted based on “noncorrupt motives” and decided not to prosecute the president for obstruction.
Trump responded following the press conference with a post on Twitter that included an image of himself in a “Game of Thrones” motif with the legend: “Game over.”
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