Trump depicted in Mueller report feared being tabbed a fraud

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fear was persistent.

As the Russia investigation heated up and threatened to shadow Donald Trump's presidency, he became increasingly concerned. But the portrait painted by special counsel Robert Mueller is not of a president who believed he or anyone on his campaign colluded with Russians to interfere in the 2016 election.

Instead, the Trump of the Mueller report is gripped by fear that Americans would question the very legitimacy of his presidency. Would Trump, the man who put his name on skyscrapers and his imprint on television, be perceived as a cheater and a fraud?

To Trump, his victory over Hillary Clinton was both historic and overwhelming, though he won millions of votes less than did the Democratic candidate.

If people thought he'd won with the help of Russia, that glorious victory might be tainted.

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EDITOR'S NOTE - Another in a series of stories focusing on events detailed in the report of special counsel Robert Mueller, drawing from the document's trove.

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Just a month after Election Day, on Dec. 10, 2016, reports surfaced that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded Russia interfered in the election and tried to boost Trump's presidential bid.

The next day, Trump went on Fox News and called the assessment "ridiculous" and "just another excuse." The intelligence community actually had "no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody," he argued.

"It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place," the president-elect added.

The president's public narrative quickly shifted. He blamed Democrats and accused his political opponents of putting the story out because they "suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics."

But the intelligence community's assessment that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to sow...