Article snippet: WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump angrily assailed special counsel Robert Mueller’s motives on Thursday, a day after Mueller bluntly rebuffed Trump’s repeated claims that the Russia investigation had cleared him of committing a federal crime of obstruction of justice. The president also offered mixed messages on Russia’s efforts to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign. First Trump tweeted that he had ‘‘nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected.’’ That was the first time he seemed to acknowledge that Russia worked to see him elected — something that was underscored in Mueller’s report. Then on the White House South Lawn, Trump told reporters: ‘‘Russia did not help me get elected. You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn’t help me at all.’’ Trump insisted that he’s been tough on Russia and that Moscow would have preferred Clinton as president. That’s not what Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. When asked last year in Helsinki whether he wanted Trump to become president, Putin replied: ‘‘Yes I did.’’ Trump’s 20-minute eruption came the day after Mueller pointedly rejected his claims — repeated nearly every day — that the special counsel’s two-year federal investigation exonerated him of criminal activity and was merely a ‘‘witch hunt.’’ Mueller said Wednesday that charging Trump with any crime in court was ‘‘not an option’’ because of federal rules, but he used hi... Link to the full article to read more