ALSO SEE . . .

• Congress to decide what to do with findings. • President Donald Trump tries to frame report as a victory for him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly two years, President Donald Trump and his allies sought to undermine Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, attacking investigators’ credibility and playing down their findings. As a redacted version of Mueller’s report was finally released, Trump resorted to bluster, broadsides and falsehoods to try, once more, to frame the moment as a political victory.

Twelve times 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 Barr concluded his remarks, Trump tweeted a taunt over an image inspired by the HBO show “Game of Thrones”:

“No Collusion. No Obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats — Game Over.”

“Knockout,” read a text from Rudy Giuliani, one of the president’s attorneys.

A further statement from Giuliani and 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. The report said “the government would unlikely be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that the participants “had general knowledge that their conduct was unlawful.”

Though a seemingly backhanded exoneration, the younger Trump tweeted a series of attacks on Democrats. “Better luck next hoax!” he said.

From Air Force One, en route to Florida, the president tweeted: “I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Muel-ler, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!”