U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “having a good day” on Thursday, following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, adding: “It’s called no collusion, no obstruction.”
“There never was, by the way, and there never will be,” he said while at a Wounded Warriors event as the report was published online and submitted to Congress.
LIVE COVERAGE: Redacted Mueller report expected to be released
“We do have to get to the bottom of these things,” Trump said. “This should never happen to another president again, this hoax.”
Trump’s appearance came just after U.S. Attorney General William Barr spoke to reporters about Mueller’s report.
During his conference, Barr said Mueller’s nearly 400-page report confirmed that the Russia government sought to meddle with the election.
WATCH: More from William Barr’s press conference on the Mueller report
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William Barr: I have no problem with Robert Mueller testifying before Congress -
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William Barr addresses reasons why Muller Report is partly redacted -
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William Barr: I disagreed with some of Robert Mueller’s legal theories on obstruction of justice -
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Barr: No evidence that any American coordinated with the Russian government
But Barr also said: “After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the investigation confirmed that the Russia government-sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes.”
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Trump had been tweeting since before Barr spoke. Earlier on Thursday morning, he posted a video where he repeatedly said the phrase, “no collusion.”
Following Barr’s appearance, he tweeted a Game of Thrones-style photograph, which read: “No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats — GAME OVER.”
A closer look at the report, however, details that the findings of Mueller’s investigation aren’t all good news for the president.
The report lists a series of incidents in which Trump took actions to impede the probe.
Mueller also details “10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense.”
READ MORE: Redacted Mueller report released by U.S. Justice Department
In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn push for Mueller to be removed.
The report also notes there was “substantial evidence” that Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in 2017 due to his “unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation.”
The report did not make a conclusion on whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice.
Mueller said there was “some evidence” suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s controversial calls with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office, but evidence was “inconclusive” and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.
“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 read.
Despite this, Trump’s legal team also reacted to the release by saying it is a “victory for the president.”
“The report underscores what we have argued from the very beginning — there was no collusion — there was no obstruction,” a statement read.
— With files from Reuters
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