WASHINGTON — The investi-gation led by Robert S. Mueller IIIfound no evidence that PresidentTrump or any of his aides coordi-nated with the Russian govern-ment’s 2016 election interference,according to a summary of thespecial counsel’s key findingsmade public on Sunday by Attor-ney General William P. Barr.

Mr. Mueller, who spent nearlytwo years investigating Moscow’sdetermined effort to sabotage thelast presidential election, found noconspiracy “despite multiple of-fers from Russian-affiliated indi-viduals to assist the Trump cam-paign,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letterto lawmakers.

Mr. Mueller’s team drew no con-clusions about whether Mr.Trump illegally obstructed jus-tice, Mr. Barr said, so he made hisown decision. The attorney gen-eral and his deputy, Rod J. Rosen-stein, determined that the specialcounsel’s investigators had insuf-ficient evidence to establish thatthe president committed that of-fense.

He cautioned, however, that Mr.Mueller’s report states that “whilethis report does not conclude thatthe president committed a crime,it also does not exonerate him” onthe obstruction of justice issue.

Still, the release of the findingswas a significant political victoryfor Mr. Trump and lifted a cloudthat has hung over his presidencysince before he took the oath of of-fice. It is also likely to alter discus-sion in Congress about the fate ofthe Trump presidency; some

Democrats had pledged to waituntil the special counsel finishedhis work before deciding whetherto initiate impeachment proceed-ings.

The president trumpeted thenews almost immediately, even ashe mischaracterized the specialcounsel’s findings. “It was a com-plete and total exoneration,” Mr.Trump told reporters in Floridabefore boarding Air Force One.“It’s a shame that our country hadto go through this. To be honest,it’s a shame that your presidenthas had to go through this.”

He added, “This was an illegaltakedown that failed.”

Mr. Barr’s letter was the culmi-nation of a tense two days sinceMr. Mueller delivered his report tothe Justice Department. Mr. Barrspent the weekend poring overthe special counsel’s work, as Mr.Trump strategized with lawyersand political aides at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Mr. Mueller, who has been aspectral presence in the capital fornearly two years — so often dis-cussed, but so rarely seen — wasphotographed leaving a church onSunday morning just across La-fayette Square from the WhiteHouse.

Hours later, Mr. Barr deliveredhis letter describing the specialcounsel’s findings to Congress.But congressional Democratshave demanded more, and the let-ter could be just the beginning of alengthy constitutional battle be-tween Congress and the Justice

MUELLER FINDS NO TRUMP-RUSSIA CONSPIRACYPresident Sees ‘Exoneration,’ but Barr Says

Inquiry Did Not Settle Obstruction Issue

By MARK MAZZETTI and KATIE BENNER

C M Y K Yxxx,2019-03-25,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

U(DF463D)X+#!%!=!#!}

Some of the scariest parts of the film“Us” are heard rather than seen. LupitaNyong’o is a big reason why. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

She Sounds Awful. That’s Good.

It is one of the world’s most gruelingraces, 26 miles over Siberia’s LakeBaikal, amid cracking ice and shiftingweather. Russia Dispatch. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-10

An Ice Marathon in Russia

A military-linked party was unexpect-edly in the lead, likely cementing thearmy’s status as the country’s dominantpolitical force. PAGE A10

In Thai Elections, a Surprise

Wang Yi has been held incommunicadofor three months, part of a governmentcrackdown on independent religiousgroups. PAGE A9

Church Leader Tested in China

Women make up eight percent of theU.S. Marine Corps. At Parris Island,S.C., they start their journey. PAGE A12

NATIONAL A11-20

From Woman to Marine

Black women in sexual assault casesoften face added pain: charges of dis-loyalty to their race. PAGE A11

When the Accuser Is Black

Top Chinese officials, looking at a skep-tical audience both at home and abroad,pledge to open the country’s markets toforeign investment. PAGE B4

BUSINESS B1-8

A Trade Thaw From China?

As start-ups like Lyft and Pinterestprepare I.P.O.s, Silicon Valley investorsare ready for their close-ups. PAGE B1

Venture Capitalists Preen

The veracity of Chanel Lewis’s confes-sion is being called into question in amurder retrial in Queens. PAGE A24

NEW YORK A21, 24

Issues of Race and Policing

The Blue Devils rallied in the finalminute to edge Central Florida, 77-76,and reach the N.C.A.A. tournament’sround of 16. Tennessee, a No. 2 seed,defeated Iowa in overtime. PAGE D3

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

No. 1 Duke Advances, Barely

Rob Gronkowski, 29, a three-time SuperBowl champion known for his size andspeed as a tight end and for his goofyantics off the field, made the announce-ment on Instagram. PAGE D6

Patriots’ Gronkowski Retires

Charles M. Blow PAGE A23

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump was in the private quartersof his Palm Beach, Fla., club onSunday afternoon when twoWhite House lawyers briefed himon the details of Attorney GeneralWilliam P. Barr’s four-page sum-mary of the Russia investigation.

Mr. Trump, just back from a

round of golf, expressed vindica-tion, though no great display ofemotion, two people close to himsaid. An hour later, as he boardedAir Force One to fly to Washing-ton, a very different Mr. Trumpemerged.

Speaking with barely concealedfury, he told reporters, “It’s ashame that our country had to gothrough this. To be honest, it’s ashame that your president hashad to go through this.” He deni-

grated the investigation, led bythe special counsel, Robert S.Mueller III, as an “illegal take-down that failed” and said thoseresponsible for it should face scru-tiny.

Mr. Trump’s aides warned himnot to react to the findings with asense of triumphalism, peopleclose to him said. But the presi-dent, who has long felt victimizedby the Russia investigation and

Quiet Weekend Closes With Triumph and Fury

By MARK LANDLERand MAGGIE HABERMAN

President Trump spoke angrily with reporters on Sunday before leaving Florida for Washington.TOM BRENNER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A14

WASHINGTON — For Presi-dent Trump, it may have beenthe best day of his tenure so far.The darkest, most ominous cloudhanging over his presidency wasall but lifted on Sunday with therelease of the special counsel’sconclusions, which undercut thethreat of impeachment and pro-vided him with a powerful boostfor the final 22 months of histerm.

There are still other cloudsoverhead and no one outside theJustice Department has actuallyread the report by Robert S.Mueller III, the special counsel,which may yet disclose damninginformation if made public. Butthe end of the investigation with-out findings of collusion withRussia fortified the president forthe battles to come, including hiscampaign for re-election.

While critics will still argueabout whether Mr. Trump tried

to obstruct justice, the presidentquickly claimed vindication andRepublican allies pounced ontheir Democratic colleagues forwhat they called an unrelentingpartisan campaign against him.Even as his own party’s congres-sional leaders called on the coun-try to move on, however, thepresident indicated that he maynot be ready to, denouncing thevery existence of Mr. Mueller’sinvestigation as “an illegal take-down that failed” and calling fora counterinvestigation into howit got started.

Emboldened and angry, thepresident can now proceed withhis administration without thedistraction of new search war-rants and indictments by Mr.Mueller’s team or the worry thatthe special counsel might chargeMr. Trump’s family members or

Burden Lifts, Leaving PresidentFortified for the Battles to Come

By PETER BAKERNEWS ANALYSIS

Continued on Page A16

THE MEDIA After hours of waiting for news to break, TV anchors andcommentators scrambled to interpret “a lot of legalese.” PAGE A17

Attorney General William P. Barr leaving his house on Sunday.ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

WASHINGTON — Over the 22months of their inquiry, Robert S.Mueller III’s investigators exam-ined countless documents and in-terviewed dozens of witnesses, in-cluding some of the highest-rank-ing lawyers and aides in the WhiteHouse, to determine whetherPresident Trump obstructed jus-tice. But in the end, the specialcounsel reached no conclusion —instead producing a report thatmerely marshaled evidence onboth sides.

Then, Attorney GeneralWilliam P. Barr, a political appoint-ee whom Mr. Trump installed lessthan a month ago and who beganreading Mr. Mueller’s report onFriday, stepped in. With the con-currence of his deputy, Rod J.Rosenstein, Mr. Barr seized theopportunity to render a judgment— pronouncing Mr. Trump clear ofcommitting any criminal offense.

The propriety of that move byMr. Barr — who had written an un-solicited memo last year arguingthat Mr. Mueller ought not to bepermitted to investigate Mr.Trump for obstruction of justice —is certain to be a focus of politicalcontention as Congress grappleswith what it now knows about thestill-secret Mueller report.

Mueller DemursSo Barr MakesA Key DecisionBy MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

and CHARLIE SAVAGE

Continued on Page A17

INQUIRIES Democrats vowed to press on with investigations of thepresident while demanding access to Mr. Mueller’s report. PAGE A16

Continued on Page A14

VOL. CLXVIII . . . No. 58,277 © 2019 The New York Times Company MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 Printed in Chicago $3.00

Cloudy south. Mostly sunny north.Breezy. Highs in upper 30s to lower50s. Clear to partly cloudy tonight.Cold. Lows in 20s to 30s. Sunny to-morrow. Weather map, Page A19.

National Edition