Tag browser tree clear selection

I got a request from client to build a tag picker.
I find the tag browser tree, a half baked component.

I cannot find a way to clear the selection (remove highlight) after clicking a button.

Is there a way to remove highlight?

Also even node have no children, still shows collapse/expand icon:

Thank you.

Ctrl-click.

I did not get that.

I wanted to remove the blue highlight programmatically.