After nearly two years of investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller appears to be within days of submitting his report on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign and election.

“The special counsel’s investigation has consumed Washington since it began in May 2017,” reports the Washington Post, “and it increasingly appears to be nearing its end, which would send fresh shock waves through the political system.”

Whenever Mueller sends the report to Attorney General William Barr, it remains to be seen how much of it will be made public. Barr is required to report to Congress about the investigation, but he has not said if he will release it to the nation as a whole.

According to The Washington Post, US Justice Dept. officials are reportedly "preparing for the end" of the Mueller investigation, and "believe a confidential report could be issued in coming days." https://t.co/ClP5hNxwsZ

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 21, 2019

Citing an anonymous adviser to President Trump, the Post says “there is palpable concern among the president’s inner circle that the report might contain information about Trump and his team that is politically damaging, but not criminal conduct.”

Signs that the investigation is winding down include a recent drop in the number of lawyers on Mueller’s staff, from 17 to 12, and some of those who left “have recently been in touch with their old bosses about returning to work,” the Post says.

The investigation has led to criminal charges against 34 people, most of them Russians not likely to face trial in the U.S. Six people associated with Trump’s 2016 campaign have pleaded guilty to various charges, including lying to investigators.

“None of the Americans charged by Mueller are accused of conspiring with Russia to interfere in the election,” says the Post.

Mueller repeatedly sought, but failed, to interview the president, who calls the investigation a “witch hunt.” Mueller did receive written answers to questions from Trump’s lawyers.

The Post predicts the end of the investigation “is likely to set off a fresh political firestorm.”

“Democrats are already demanding a detailed public accounting of what Mueller found,” the paper says, while Republicans “are poised to escalate their attacks on the special counsel’s work as a waste of time and money.”