VOL. CLXVIII . . . No. 58,275 © 2019 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019

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WASHINGTON — The specialcounsel, Robert S. Mueller III, onFriday delivered a report on hisinquiry into Russian interferencein the 2016 election to AttorneyGeneral William P. Barr, bringingto a close an investigation that hasconsumed the nation and cast ashadow over President Trump fornearly two years.

Mr. Barr told congressionalleaders in a letter that he maybrief them on the special counsel’s“principal conclusions” as earlyas this weekend, a surprisinglyfast turnaround for a report antici-pated for months. The attorneygeneral said he “remained com-mitted to as much transparencyas possible.”

In an apparent endorsement ofan investigation that Mr. Trumphas relentlessly attacked as a“witch hunt,” Mr. Barr said JusticeDepartment officials never had tointervene to keep Mr. Muellerfrom taking an inappropriate orunwarranted step. The depart-ment’s regulations would have re-quired Mr. Barr to inform the lead-ers of the House and Senate Judi-ciary committees about any suchinterventions in his letter.

A senior Justice Department of-ficial said that Mr. Mueller wouldnot recommend new indictments,a statement aimed at ending spec-ulation that Mr. Trump or otherkey figures might be chargeddown the line.

With department officials em-phasizing that Mr. Mueller’s inqui-ry was over and his office closing,the question for both Mr. Trump’scritics and defenders waswhether the prosecutors con-demned the president’s behaviorin their report, exonerated him —or neither. The president’s law-yers were already girding for apossible fight over whether theycould assert executive privilege tokeep parts of the report secret.

Since Mr. Mueller’s appoint-ment in May 2017, his team has fo-cused on how Russian operativessought to sway the outcome of the2016 presidential race andwhether anyone tied to the Trumpcampaign, wittingly or unwit-tingly, cooperated with them.While the inquiry, started monthsearlier by the F.B.I., unearthed afar-ranging Russian influence op-eration, no public evidenceemerged that the president or hisaides illegally assisted it.

Nonetheless, the damage to Mr.Trump and those in his circle hasbeen extensive. A half-dozen for-

mer Trump aides were indicted orconvicted of crimes, mostly for ly-ing to federal investigators orCongress. Others remain underinvestigation in cases that Mr.Mueller’s office handed off to fed-eral prosecutors in New York andelsewhere.

Dozens of Russian intelligenceofficers or citizens, along withthree Russian companies, werecharged in cases that are likely tolanguish in court because the de-fendants cannot be extradited tothe United States.

Republicans immediatelyseized upon the news that no moreindictments are expected as a vin-dication of Mr. Trump and hiscampaign. Those reports “con-firm what we’ve known all along:There was never any collusionwith Russia,” RepresentativeSteve Scalise of Louisiana, thesecond-highest-ranking HouseRepublican, said in a statement.

Democrats, including some ofthose hoping to supplant Mr.Trump in the White House in the2020 election, insisted that Mr.Mueller’s full report be made pub-lic, including the underlying evi-dence. In a joint statement,Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Califor-nia and Senator Chuck Schumerof New York, the top Senate Dem-ocrat, warned Mr. Barr not to al-low the White House a “sneak pre-view” of the document.

MUELLER SUBMITS TRUMP INQUIRY FINDINGSAttorney General Could Brief Congress in

Days on Report’s ‘Principal Conclusions’

Robert S. Mueller III wrappedup a nearly two-year inquiry.

DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

By SHARON LaFRANIERE and KATIE BENNER

Continued on Page A14

After nearly three years ofinvestigation, after hundreds ofinterviews and thousands uponthousands of pages of docu-ments, after scores of indict-

ments and courthearings and guiltypleas, after endlesshours of cable-

television and dinner-table spec-ulation, the moment of reckoninghas arrived.

It will be a reckoning for Presi-dent Trump, to be sure, but alsofor Robert S. Mueller III, thespecial counsel, for Congress, forDemocrats, for Republicans, forthe news media and, yes, for thesystem as a whole. The deliveryof Mr. Mueller’s report to theJustice Department on Fridaymarked a turning point that willshape the remainder of Mr.Trump’s presidency and test theviability of American govern-ance.

Washington has been waitingfor Mr. Mueller’s findings for solong and invested in them somuch that it may be hard forwhat he has delivered to live upto the breathless anticipation.But once released, the Muellerreport will transform the politicallandscape, fueling calls for thepresident’s impeachment orproviding him fodder to claimvindication — or possibly, in thislive-in-your-own-reality moment,both at the same time.

Democrats on Friday playeddown the notion that the reportwould be the final word, fearingthat anything less than a bomb-shell would undercut their owndrive to investigate Mr. Trumpnot only on Russia’s electioninterference but on the myriadother subjects that have drawntheir attention. Mr. Trump, forhis part, had engaged in a partic-ularly manic Twitter spree lately,assailing the “witch hunt” andthe “hoax” and everyone heblames for them, like his fellowRepublicans John McCain andJeff Sessions, in what some hadinterpreted as a sign of his ownanxiety before the special coun-sel’s verdict. But he was reportedto appear relieved with earlyreports on Friday.

The fact that Mr. Muellerissued no further indictments ashe wrapped up on Friday andnever charged any Americansalleging criminal conspiracybetween the Trump campaignand Russia emboldened thepresident’s Republican allies,

Turning PointBecomes Test

For PresidentBy PETER BAKER

Continued on Page A15

NEWSANALYSIS

WASHINGTON — The mak-ings of an epic constitutional bat-tle over the executive branch’spower to keep information secretfrom Congress started to takeshape on Friday, as Attorney Gen-eral William P. Barr began toweigh how much to disclose aboutthe findings of the special counsel,Robert S. Mueller III.

As Mr. Barr officially informedCongress that Mr. Mueller hadhanded in his long-awaited report

about the Trump-Russia investi-gation to the Justice Department,Democrats on Capitol Hill imme-diately reiterated their demandsto see the entire document — andmore.

Democrats have made clearthey are also determined to gainaccess to the Mueller team’s sup-porting evidence and other inves-

tigative files, virtually guarantee-ing a fight.

“Now that Special CounselMueller has submitted his reportto the attorney general, it is imper-ative for Mr. Barr to make the fullreport public and provide its un-derlying documentation and find-ings to Congress,” Speaker NancyPelosi and Senator Chuck Schu-mer, the Democratic leader, said ina joint statement.

In a letter to Congress on Fri-day, Mr. Barr said he might re-lease Mr. Mueller’s principal con-

What Should Be Made Public? A Battle LoomsBy CHARLIE SAVAGE Questions of Executive

Privilege and Secrecy

Continued on Page A17

Sarai Pridgen had just gottenhome from debate practice onMonday evening when sheopened her laptop to find herFacebook feed flooded withstories about a staggering statis-tic: Only seven black students hadbeen admitted into StuyvesantHigh School, out of 895 spots. Thenumber was causing a wrenchingcitywide discussion about raceand inequality in America’s larg-est school system.

Sarai said she felt sickened bythe statistic — yet unsurprised. A16-year-old sophomore, she is oneof just 29 black students out ofabout 3,300 teenagers atStuyvesant.

“I go to this school every day, Iwalk through the hallways of thisschool, and I don’t think I see ablack person usually through myday,” said Sarai, who lives in ParkSlope, Brooklyn. “It wasn’t shockthat I felt, it was the same wave of

disappointment I feel every time Ilook at the demographics of thisschool.”

New York is being rocked by afight over the future of its selec-tive schools, but at Stuyvesant,the admission statistics are espe-cially piercing. For students, it ishard enough being a teenager, bal-ancing grades and homework

with social pressures and a bar-rage of Instagram Stories.

But imagine being one of thefew black and Hispanic studentsat one of the country’s most selec-tive public schools.

The nine black and Hispanicstudents who gathered for an in-terview after school on Wednes-

Fed Up and Pushing for Diversity at Elite SchoolBy ELIZA SHAPIRO

New York’s Stuyvesant High has few blacks and Hispanics.CHRISTOPHER LEE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A22

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump undercut his own TreasuryDepartment on Friday with a sud-den announcement that he hadrolled back newly imposed NorthKorea sanctions, appearing tooverrule national security expertsas a favor to Kim Jong-un, theNorth Korean leader.

The move, announced on Twit-ter, was a remarkable display ofdissension within the Trump ad-ministration. It created confusionat the highest levels of the federalgovernment, just as the presi-dent’s aides were seeking to pres-sure North Korea into returning tonegotiations over dismantling itsnuclear weapons program.

“It was announced today by theU.S. Treasury that additionallarge scale Sanctions would beadded to those already existingSanctions on North Korea,” Mr.Trump tweeted. “I have today or-dered the withdrawal of those ad-

ditional Sanctions!”The Treasury Department an-

nounced new sanctions on Fridayagainst Iran and Venezuela, butnot North Korea.

However, economic penaltieswere imposed on Thursday on twoChinese shipping companies sus-pected of helping North Koreaevade international sanctions.

Those penalties, announced withnews releases and a White Housebriefing, were the first imposedagainst North Korea since late lastyear and came less than a monthafter a summit meeting betweenMr. Trump and Mr. Kim collapsedin Hanoi, Vietnam, without a deal.

It was initially believed that Mr.

A Defiant Trump Mutes North Korea SanctionsBy ALAN RAPPEPORT

Continued on Page A11

President Trump rescinded new penalties affecting North Korea.ED JONES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

LONG WAIT Not even the president’s personal lawyer seemed to haveany idea what was happening as Friday dragged on. PAGE A18

WHAT’S NEXT? The report has yet to be made public, and the path toits potential release — in whole or in part — is complicated. PAGE A16

Anthony Pellicano, whose case exposedthe entertainment world’s underbelly,spent over a decade in prison. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-6

Hollywood Wiretapper FreedItaly will become the first Group of 7nation to officially join China’s “OneBelt, One Road” project, a sign of Bei-jing’s growing influence. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-11

Securing a European FootholdRivers engorged with late-winter rainsand snowmelt have overwhelmed floodcontrols in the Midwest, exposing apiecemeal approach. PAGE A12

NATIONAL A12-20

Anxiety in River TownsChristopher Payne captures the grimybeauty of printing a newspaper at TheTimes’s Queens plant. SPECIAL SECTION

THIS WEEKEND

Stop the Presses

Recently compiled data on new-carregistrations holds ominous signs forthe electric-car maker’s sales. PAGE B1

It’s Pothole Season for TeslaNo. 13 California, Irvine, earned its firstN.C.A.A. tournament win with a 70-64upset of No. 4 Kansas State. PAGE D3

Bracket-Busting Anteaters

President Trump’s call to recognizeIsraeli sovereignty in the Golan Heightsmet a muted Arab response. PAGE A9

A Rallying Cry No More

Nobody imagined Anthony Comellowould ever be charged in the highest-profile mob killing in decades. PAGE A21

NEW YORK A21-22

The Mystery Mob Murder

Democrats say President Trump’sdaughter and son-in-law may haveviolated federal records laws. PAGE A13

Private Email, Official Business

Bret Stephens PAGE A25

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25

The travel guru Rick Steves wants tosave the world — one vacation at atime. THE MAGAZINE

Sights to Behold

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Michael D. Cohen Richard PinedoPaul Manafort

Guilty

Charged

Key

Alex van der ZwaanGeorge Papadopoulos

Konstantin V. Kilimnik

Michael T. Flynn

Rick Gates

Roger J. Stone Jr.

Thirteen Russian nationals Twelve Russian

intelligence officers

More than 80 people were involved in lines of inquiry in the Mueller investigation. Seven peoplewere convicted or pleaded guilty and 27 more were indicted, including 26 Russians. Pages A14-17.

The Findings So Far

An administrator known as a sticklerfor rules is at the center of U.S.C.’sinvolvement in a bribe scandal. PAGE D1

SPORTSSATURDAY D1-6

By the Book (or Perhaps Not)

The Caped Crusader’s journey to thismilestone is filled with many memora-ble crime-fighting moments. PAGE C2

ARTS C1-7

Holy 80th Birthday, Batman!

Late EditionToday, some clouds then sunshine,very windy, high 49. Tonight, mostlyclear, winds subsiding, low 36. To-morrow, mostly sunny, milder, high59. Weather map is on Page C8.

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