Robert Mueller: Charging Trump was not an option

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has said charging President Donald Trump with a crime was not an option, in his first comments on the Russia inquiry.

He reiterated that his report did not exonerate the president and that legal guidelines prevent the indictment of a sitting president.

Mr Mueller did not rule out testifying in Congress but said he would not give information that was not in his report.

Reacting to the remarks, Mr Trump said: “The case is closed! Thank you.”

As special counsel, Mr Mueller was tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

His 448-page report said it had not established that the Trump campaign criminally conspired with Russia to influence the election.

However, it did detail 10 instances where Mr Trump had possibly attempted to impede the investigation.