A LONG awaited report into the 2016 US presidential election report found no criminal conspiracy between Mr Trump's campaign and Russia,  but also sets out 10 “episodes” in which Donald Trump possibly obstructed justice.

As a redacted version of Mr Mueller's report was finally released on Mr Trump framed the moment as a political victory.

It began even before the public glimpsed the two volumes covering 448 pages.

The report included an account of how the president attempted to seize control of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and force out Mr Mueller from leading the inquiry.

The report does recount how Mr Trump repeatedly sought to intervene in a probe that has hovered over the first two years of his presidency.

And it says Mr Trump had been agitated by the investigation from the start, reporting that Mr Trump reacted to Mr Mueller's appointment by saying it was the "end of his presidency".

Special counsel Robert Mueller said in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election that he could not conclusively determine that Mr Trump had committed a crime, or that he had not.

The report said that in June 2017, Mr Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to call the acting attorney general and say that Mr Mueller must be ousted because he had conflicts of interest.

Mr McGahn refused - deciding he would rather resign than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre of Watergate firings fame.

Democrat congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in a joint statement said the report painted a "disturbing picture of a president who has been weaving a web of deceit, lies and improper behaviour".

The party has begun moves to try to obtain the full, unredacted document and to have Mr Mueller testify before Congress.

Mueller says he did not make a “traditional prosecutorial judgement” on whether Trump did obstruct justice and adds that the evidence obtained about “the president’s actions and intent” threw up “difficult issues”.

However, the special counsel refused to exonerate Trump on the charge. “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,” Mueller wrote in his conclusion.

He added: “Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgement.”

The 10 episodes of possible obstruction of justice, included Mr Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey, the president's directive to subordinates to have Mr Mueller fired and efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate.

The president's lawyers have said Mr Trump's conduct fell within his constitutional powers, but Mr Mueller's team deemed the episodes deserving of criminal scrutiny.

As for the question of whether the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr Mueller wrote: "While the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges."

Mr Mueller also said there was not sufficient evidence to charge any campaign officials with working as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia.

The report included an appendix that contained 12 pages of Mr Trump's written responses to the special counsel. They included no questions about obstruction of justice, as was part of an agreement with Mr Trump's legal team.

Mr Trump told Mr Mueller he had "no recollection" of learning in advance about the much-scrutinised Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and a Russian lawyer. He also said he had no recollection of knowledge about emails setting up the meeting that promised dirt on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

He broadly denied knowing of any foreign government trying to help his campaign, including the Russian government. He said he was aware of some reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made "complimentary statements" about him.

Mr Trump said his comment during a 2016 political rally asking Russian hackers to help find emails scrubbed from Mrs Clinton's private server was made "in jest and sarcastically" and that he did not recall being told during the campaign of any Russian effort to infiltrate or hack computer systems.

Mr Trump's legal team called the results "a total victory for the president" and he declared at a White House event that he was having "a good day".

Twelve times Mr Trump took to Twitter in the hours before Attorney General William Barr outlined the findings of the report.

The president proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the investigation was politically motivated.

As soon as Mr Barr concluded his remarks, and more than an hour before Mr Mueller's report was released, Mr Trump tweeted a taunt over an image inspired by the HBO show Game Of Thrones.

"No Collusion. No Obstruction," it said. "For the haters and the radical left Democrats - Game Over."

The news media were led into the White House East Room, just before the report came out, for Mr Trump's appearance at a Wounded Warrior event.

"Knockout," read a text message from Rudy Giuliani, one of the president's lawyers, to reporters after Mr Barr finished speaking.

A further statement from Mr Giuliani and Mr Trump's lawyers said "the report itself is nothing more than an attempt to rehash old allegations" and insisted that "the results of the investigation are a total victory for the president".

Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, was featured prominently in the report for meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016.

Although the report said "the campaign anticipated receiving derogatory documents and information" from Russians that "could assist Trump's electoral prospects", it said "the government would unlikely be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt" that the participants at that meeting "had general knowledge that their conduct was unlawful".

The younger Trump tweeted a series of attacks on Democrats. "Better luck next hoax!" he said.

Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said that because the White House did not interfere with Mr Mueller's work, that "should make people feel good about democracy".

"We're accepting apologies today, too," Ms Conway told reporters, adding that Mr Trump watched Mr Barr, talked to his lawyers and was in "a great mood".

The president, who normally talks to reporters on his way out of the White House, declined to speak as he left to spend the Easter weekend in Florida.

But from Air Force One, he tweeted: "I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn't!"

Appearing relaxed earlier on Friday at a military event, Mr Trump said a statue he had been presented with as a memento would have a permanent home "at least for six years, in the Oval Office".

As the audience applauded and laughed, Mr Trump said he was going to joke and say "at least for 10 or 14 years, but we would cause bedlam if I said that".