Trump declares victory on Mueller report D-Day

Just about an hour later, the Justice Department released the full -- though redacted -- report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which nevertheless raised questions about Trump's actions, saying investigators were "unable" to clear him of obstruction.

Weeks ago, Attorney General Bill Barr said in a summary of the report that there was no collusion between Trump and Russians seeking to influence the 2016 presidential election in his favor.

In a nationally broadcast news conference held right before the report's release, Barr repeatedly drove that point home.

"We now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign," Barr told reporters, in a statement that effectively sought to spin the report before it was released.

The extreme secrecy surrounding Mueller's nearly two-year investigation ended abruptly at about 11:00 am (1500 GMT) when the 400-odd pages of the report were made public to Congress, the media and the public.

The report's publication marks a new peak in a political storm raging over Washington throughout the first half of Trump's first term in office.

While leftist opponents long hoped that Mueller would either charge Trump with crimes or provide evidence for impeachment, the outcome so far has favored the divisive, right-wing Republican president.

"NO COLLUSION. NO OBSTRUCTION," a triumphant Trump wrote in his "Game of Thrones" pastiche tweet.

Later, he said at the start of a speech: "I'm having a good day."

- 'Angry' but not criminal -

At his news conference, Barr said he was standing by his own ruling, noting that Trump had no intention to obstruct and had merely been "frustrated and angered."

"The White House fully cooperated with the special counsel's investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims," he said.

"And at the same time, the president took no act that in fact deprived the special counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation."

But the report said: "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.

"Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment."

- Debate to rage on -

Publication of the report -- minus parts blacked out for legal or security reasons -- will in theory give everyone a chance to get the full picture on a scandal that has been tangled in conspiracy theories.

But given the volcanic political temperature in Washington and the left-right chasm through the rest of the country ahead of Trump's 2020 re-election bid, the debate over what really happened is likely to rage on.

At a minimum, the details -- based on exhaustive interviews by Mueller's prosecutors with Trump insiders -- could paint an unflattering picture of the president and his links to Russia, including a previously undeclared real estate project in Moscow.

"The Greatest Political Hoax of all time! Crimes were committed by Crooked, Dirty Cops and DNC/The Democrats," the president said before Barr took the podium, reprising many of his favorite slogans about his opponents.

Claiming that Barr has been working to hamper and whitewash the Russia report, Democrats will push for still more details and testimony in the near future -- including from Mueller himself.

"It is clear Congress and the American people must hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler tweeted.

Nadler set a deadline of May 23 for Mueller to come to Capitol Hill.