ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump White House and its allies went into overdrive on Thursday [4-18-19] to spin the Mueller report as a vindication, even as it became clear that the 448-page document was filled with unflattering details about the president and even suggested that he might still be hiding unknown criminal activity. Within minutes of the full report posting online, Trump claimed victory at a White House event for wounded veterans. He projected a breezy business-as-usual demeanor, telling an East Room crowd that he was having a ‘good day’ because the report showed ‘no collusion’ and ‘no obstruction.’ By early afternoon, the Trump campaign had released a two-minute video calling for the investigation into Democrats and pundits who had advanced theories that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign, something Mueller says did not happen. But Mueller declined to make a finding that Trump did not obstruct his probe. Trump left for a weekend at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort without speaking to reporters. But earlier, dispatched a top White House official, Kellyanne Conway, to celebrate the report for reporters in the White House’s driveway.”
–Nancy Cook, Darren Samuelsohn and Andrew Restuccia, “Trump claims victory despite damning Mueller details,” Politico, April 18, 2019 5:51 pm