Democrats are keeping up pressure on US President Donald Trump following the long-awaited release of a report into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

They want Robert Mueller, the man who collated the report, to publicly testify before congress about the work he has done.

The redacted report, which was released on Thursday, reveals the president tried to get Mueller fired.

Trump's legal team has described its release as a "total victory".

The 448-page redacted document is the result of a 22-month investigation by Mueller, who was appointed to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Mueller's report says he found no criminal conspiracy between Mr Trump's campaign and Russia, but could not reach a concrete legal conclusion on whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation.

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

"Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

The report also reveals:

Trump instructed a White House lawyer to try to get Mr Mueller removed over alleged "conflicts of interest", but the lawyer resigned because "he did not plan" to follow the directive

Trump reportedly used an expletive when the investigation was announced, adding: "Oh my god. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency"
 Mueller examined 10 actions by the president in regards to obstruction of justice, which he said largely "took place in public view"
The report says that potential obstruction of justice by the president only failed because members of his administration refused to "carry out orders"

Investigators viewed the president's written responses to their questions as "inadequate" but chose not to pursue a potentially lengthy legal battle to interview him. 

BBC
BDST: 1147 HRS, APR 19, 2019
RS