Everyone should read the Mueller report. And that includes Robert Mueller.

Unfortunately, the special counsel seems shockingly unfamiliar with key findings of his 448-page report — not to mention seriously befuddled by questions he should have expected from members of the House Judiciary Committee. His overall confusion, plus his inability to recall details of a 22-month long investigation into Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, left a respected career prosecutor as helpless as a seal in shark-infested waters.

And, given the hearing’s 8:30 a.m. start time on Wednesday, you could say those sharks, otherwise known as Republican lawmakers, ate Mueller, 74, for breakfast. By lunchtime, he was toast, chewed up and spit out by vicious Republican questioning about his motives and credibility, and that of his team. At the end, he couldn’t even remember which president first appointed him US attorney. It was President Reagan, not Bush, as he mistakenly said.

By then, also toast were any Democratic hopes that Mueller’s highly anticipated testimony would move the dial of public opinion toward impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Yes, Democrats got Mueller to confirm, in mostly one-word responses, that Trump was not exonerated by his report; to affirm that someone who isn’t a sitting president could have been charged with obstruction of justice; and that Trump can be charged once he leaves office. But most people already know what they think about that.

Mueller would not address any questions about impeachment. He said many issues weren’t in his “purview’’ or simply told the questioner he stood by whatever was in his report. According to Politico, Mueller asked lawmakers to repeat their questions 23 times. He directed them back to his report 31 times. He said he “can’t’’ or “won’t’’ get into the substance of the question 58 times. To some extent that was expected. After all, Mueller said from the outset that he would not go beyond the written word. But more often, it seemed like he either forgot what was written, or just didn’t know. For example, he contradicted his own report when he told Representative Doug Collins, Republican of Georgia, that collusion and conspiracy are not the same thing. The Mueller report says they are “synonymous.’’

Also maddening was his resistance to defending his own investigation. In his opening statement, he said he made it his mission to do his work thoroughly and expeditiously, and to conduct the investigation “fairly and with absolute integrity.’’ That meant “our team would not leak or take other actions that would compromise the integrity of our work,’’ he said. “All decisions were made based on the facts and the law.’’

Republicans blasted Mueller for hiring lawyers who supported Hillary Clinton, and for ignoring the partisan origins of the so-called Steele dossier, which contained unverified allegations about connections between the Trump campaign and Russian government operatives. Representative Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Pennsylvania, even said that putting together a report that included only “the very worst information’’ about Trump was “un-American.’’ To that obscene insult, Mueller pushed back with two words: “Not true.’’

Before the wrap-up of the morning hearing, Mueller woke himself up enough to say:

“I’ve been in this business for almost 25 years. In those 25 years, I’ve not had occasion once to ask about somebody’s political affiliation. It is not done. What I care about is the capability of the individual to do the job and do the job seriously and quickly and with integrity.’’

Read the Mueller report and it’s clear the team that put it together did so seriously and with integrity. Read the Mueller report and it’s also clear that Mueller let Trump off the hook on obstruction of justice charges. Instead, he left it to Congress to “do its duty.’’

Mueller’s morning testimony made that duty easier for Republicans to shirk and harder for Democrats to embrace.

Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Joan_Vennochi.