Article snippet: Special counsel MORE’s report on the Russia investigation reveals the extent to which White House aides, sometimes to protect the president and sometimes themselves, ignored his directives related to the investigations spiraling around his campaign and administration. Mueller suggested that the aides’ actions, or lack thereof, may have shielded the president and themselves from obstruction charges. “The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the special counsel wrote. Mueller did not find that Trump obstructed justice, but he also said the evidence uncovered in his two-year investigation did not exonerate the president. His 448-page report depicted a president frustrated by the investigation and determined to do anything he could to regain control. And it showed a staff willing to resist his most extreme impulses. Trump was distraught in May 2017 after learning that Mueller was appointed as special counsel, according to former Attorney General MORE’s chief of staff, who observed Trump slump back in his chair during an Oval Office as he grasped the consequences. “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm f---ed,” Trump said. One month later, after Trump learned he was under investigation for obstruction, he ordered then-White House Don McGahn to have Mueller ousted as special co... Link to the full article to read more