According to the Mueller report which was released on Thursday, US president Donald Trump responded explosively when he was informed that a special council had been appointed to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

When Trump "was told that a Special Counsel had been appointed, the President slumped back in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm f***ed'" the report states, citing notes from Jody Hunt, who was the chief of staff for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the time.

Mueller's 448-page is the culmination of a 22-month investigation that Trump repeatedly labeled a "witch hunt."

Some of the report's key findings include:

• When Trump was told in May 2017 a special counsel was being appointed by the Justice Department the president said: "Oh my god. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked."

• In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the then-acting attorney general that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn did not carry out the order.

• There was "some evidence" Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn's controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was "inconclusive" and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.

• There was "substantial evidence" that Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in 2017 due to his "unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation."

• Trump "repeatedly reached out to intelligence agency leaders to discuss the FBI investigation".

• The special counsel's team determined there was a "reasonable argument" that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction.