this is "nightline." tonight, the special counsel report, now public. revealing surprising new details from inside the white house. why robert mueller stopped short of clearing the president of obstruction. the moment trump thought his presidency might be over. and what he reportedly instructed others to do. the president quick to claim victory today as democrats cry foul. >> i'm having a good day too. no collusion, no obstruction. plus, queen bey. beyonce and her beehive in formation. the candid new look into the singer's life. her family, her pregnancy complications and how she got herself back in shape for her epic "crazy in love" coachella performance.

the historic concert documentary, a tribute to her race, culture and historically black colleges. but first, here the "nightline" five. ne" fever. and number one is coming up in just 60 seconds

good evening.

after two years of silence and secrecy, we're finally getting a look at the results of robert mueller's russia probe. his massive report takes you inside a white house where the president made repeated attempts to shut down or impede the investigation. tonight the most dramatic revelations and why the president is declaring victory. a defiant, unapologetic president trump arrived in florida tonight to a crowd of supporters who clearly believe as the president declared earlier today, that the mueller report represents vindication. >> i'm having a good day, too. it was called no collusion, no obstruction. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: but the 448-page report paints a far more complex and potentially damaging picture. while special counsel robert mueller did conclude that no one from the trump campaign criminally coordinated or conspired with the russians

during the 2016 election, the report did not clear the president of obstruction of justice. instead, painting in pains taking detail an unflattering picture of a president who relentlessly sought to use top white house staffers, political aides and the justice department itself to quote curtail the investigation. >> this report demonstrates that many stories the president said were fake news were actually 100% true, and that's not some reporter making it up. that's his white house counsel tell being prosecutors. that things that he was denying were true. so i think he's going to live with a bit of damage to his credibility. >> reporter: in the report, mueller laying out 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice. the report vividly describes the moment in the oval office when then attorney general jeff sessions informed trump a special counsel had been appointed. the president slumped back in his chair and said oh, my god, this is terrible, this is the

end of my presidency, i'm blanked. how could you let this happen, jeff? >> there are a lot of ugly things in there about how president trump tried to kill this investigation. >> reporter: according to the report, president trump ordered former white house counsel don mcgahn to have mueller fired. the president called mcgahn at home and directed him to call the acting attorney general, rod rosenstein and say that the counsel had conflicts of interest and needed to be removed. he said mueller has to go, call me back when you do it. mcgahn refused, deciding to resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential saturday night massacre. ultimately, he stayed on for over a year. >> it could have been much worse for the president if he had been allowed to follow his own instincts. he was stopped from stopping it. he should be very grateful for that. >> reporter: shortly after he ordered his top lawyer to oust mueller, the president was asked

about it and flatly denied it. >> mr. president you thought about or considered leading to the dismissal of the special counsel. >> i haven't given it any thought, no, i'm not dismissing anybody. >> reporter: but the report reveals he was determined to do just that. >> so the picture is of a president furious about the investigation, who can't get his own aides to do his bidding, because they thought it was illegal. >> reporter: the president was furious after attorney general jeff sessions recused himself from investigating russian interference in the 2016 election. >> i have now decided to recuse myself. >> very disappointed with the attorney general. >> reporter: according to the report, sessions told investigators the president asked him to unrecuse himself, but he would not. >> it's a terrible witch-hunt. it's a witch-hunt. it's a rigged witch hunt. >> reporter: since the beginning, trump railed viciously against the special counsel. >> there was no collusion between the trump campaign and

the russian people. there was no collusion. there's been no collusion. there's been no obstruction. >> reporter: but the investigation did produce real results. in all, there were 37 indictments in the mueller probe, including several of the president's closest aides, some of whom pled guilty. >> the bottom line for most americans is whether or not the conduct described in this report by the president is criminal or impeachable. it's revealing. it reveals his character as president. how he sees the office, how he exercises the power. >> reporter: robert mueller was appointed to investigate russian interference in the 2016 election and while the report shows that team trump did not conspire with the russians, the investigation unveiled numerous links between the campaign and the russian government. russian contacts consisted of business connections, offers of assistance to the campaign, invitations for trump and putin to meet in person.

the campaign relished messages that vladimir putin's forces were using to try to sway the election and the russians knew it. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. >> reporter: according to mueller, the russian intelligence service, the gru, was listening. within approximately five hours of trump's statement, gru officers targeted for the first time clinton's personal office. >> donald trump said publicly on many occasions, we want to see those e-mails. and in fact, soon after he said it the first time, we saw the e-mails. and they were extremely damaging to hillary clinton. >> reporter: he worked to spread the fake news russia had posted on social media, but mueller concluded that there was no evidence that these people

knew they were promoting vladimir putin's handiwork. on twitter tonight, the president again lashing out against the special counsel tweeting i had the right to end the whole witch hunt if i wanted. i could have fire the everyone, including mueller if i wanted. i chose not to. i had the right to use executive privilege. i didn't. >> there is a sense of relief the investigation is finally over, that the big picture conclusion on russian collusion was without any evidence. but there is a lot in this report that will lead to a whole new phase of this investigation, now done by hostile democrats on capitol hill. >> reporter: those democrats are asking robert mueller to come to the hill to testify in person. and they are voicing their displeasure with president trump's hand-picked attorney general william barr whose four-page summary released three weeks ago is now being criticized as an attempt to define the story in the president's favor. >> the attorney general did a grave disservice to the country

by misrepresenting several parts of the mueller report. >> democrats are fed up with the way the attorney general has handled the special counsel's report and are demanding to hear from mueller himself. >> this becomes a complicated political judgment for democrats. in the immediate term, they can push to see the whole report. they can haul mueller and barr to capitol hill. and create quite a spectacular. >> reporter: whether he speaks publicly, we have not heard the last of him. the special counsel investigation has spawned 14 other criminal investigations. >> mueller and his team are saying we believe he probably obstructed justice here, but we can't prosecute a sitting president, and we can't even say that in the report, because it would be unfair to him since he can't respond. >> reporter: sometimes lost in all the rapid fire developments involving the mueller probe, the fact that russia did succeed in

interfering in an american presidential election. >> we know from every source now, the russians interfered in an american election. that should be concerning to everyone. >> reporter: how will today's developments affect president trump's political standing in this deeply-divided country? >> people who hate donald trump found lots of new reasons to hate him. people who love donald trump kind of expected a lot of what was in this. it is a day that feels climactic and anticlimactic at the same time. >> i think we learned today that an independent counsel was allowed to conduct his work and sought the truth as much as he humanly could. the work of the independent counsel is something that i think everybody can feel good about. >> and one final note here. gma will have the very latest on the mueller report first thing tomorrow morning. coming up next on "nightline," something entirely different. beyonce's historic coachella performance. historic coachella performance.

or to carry on a legacy? its show of strength... or its sign of intelligence? in crossing harsh terrain... or breaking new ground? this is the mercedes-benz suv family. if you've never seen yourself in a mercedes, you've never seen these offers. lease the gla 250 for just $379 a month at the mercedes-benz spring event. hurry in before april 30th. touch shows how we really feel. but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz, the first and only treatment of its kind offering people with moderate to severe psoriasis a chance at 100% clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of people quickly saw a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. don't use if you're allergic to taltz. before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection, symptoms, or received a vaccine or plan to.

inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz, including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. ready for a chance at 100% clear skin? ask your doctor about taltz. she's doing it again. (vo) no cover up spray here... it's the irresistibly fresh scent of febreze air effects. cheaper aerosols can cover up odors, burying the smell in a flowery fog. switch to febreze air effects! febreze eliminates even the toughest odors from the air. and it uses an all-natural propellant to leave behind a pleasant scent you'll love. use anywhere odors can spread. freshen up, don't cover up. febreze air effects. our because of smoking.ital. but we still had to have a cigarette. had to. but then, we were like. what are we doing? the nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. nicodermcq. you know why, we know how.

beyonce was the first black woman ever to head line coachella, a thrilling performance that was a salute to her heritage. the epic chapter in her life illuminated in a new documentary that takes viewers deep into her private life revealing her personal struggles. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: it's an education of a different variety. ♪ as we are schooled by the queen. beyonce's latest production, "homecoming", turns last year's ground breaking coachella performance into a self-directed and produced film.

it's part big band performance, part carefully curated diary. beyonce reveals struggles with getting back into shape after having her twins rumi and sir. >> my body went through more than i thought that it could. i was 218 pounds the day i gave birth. i developed toxemia. >> reporter: and we get glimpses of her older daughter blue ivy and of course husband jay z. >> she is incredibly strategic about what she lets the audience see. and she lets us see quite a bit. >> reporter: the carters are known for surprises, and just hours before the film was released on netflix, beyonce dropped a surprise album, a live version of her performance. fans across the country, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to be the first to see and hear what everyone would soon be talking about. even michelle obama

congratulating beyonce. >> girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all, and doing it flawlessly. >> i think she will go down in history as one of the most important artists of all times. >> reporter: in recent years, beyonce has leaned in to her heritage, celebrating her race and culture on the world's largest stages, like the super bowl. with hits like "formation." would you say that there is this nigrescence? the process of becoming more black? >> i think there's the process of becoming more beyonce. she's allowed herself a certain amount of freedom. >> thank you for allowing me to be the first black woman to headline coachella. >> reporter: this performance is an ode to historically black colleges.

>> i always dreamed of going to an hbcu. i wanted a black orchestra. i wanted the steppers. >> i think beyonce saw the significance of her being the first african-american woman to headline coachella. she has this deep abiding love for black people and black culture. ♪ >> reporter: don roberts coordinates the music for an atlanta-area music district. he coordinated the drum line to perform in the show. he was formerly the music consultant for the film "drum line." >> my company had a lot of credibility. they got off the plane and landed in california. i said okay, guys, gather round, let me tell you who you're going to play for. and it's like, we're going to be performing for beyonce, and it's like, ah! >> reporter: his company is made up of other musicians. >> they had done their homework, all the research that goes into it, and we just jumped in.

if they were, you could say a steak, we were the flavor. we were the hot sauce and brought that authenticity to what she already had. >> reporter: the dynamic stepping to intricate formations of the marching band. the routine sought to expose america to hbcu. there are 107 across the country, including north carolina a&t. clark atlanta. and florida a&m. advanced screenings were held at four black schools, texas southern in her home state, more morehouse and spellman in atlanta >> i think it is a sacred moment for all of us.

>> reporter: and howard university in washington, d.c. >> thank god for black people. thank god for howard, and thank god for beyonce! woo! >> reporter: to these students, they describe it as practically life changing. >> it was mind-blowing. >> it was black excellence. >> life. >> i liked the stepping, the majorette dance, all of this is tied into black culture. it was just beautiful. >> we're in line to see -- >> beyonce! >> reporter: we met students like caitlyn and jaylin. they watched coachella online. >> it was iconic at least to say we've never seen like hbcu's presented on such a platform. she took it and ran with it, and it was beautiful. it was just mesmerizing. >> i would say beyonce represents black girls. >> reporter: they say beyonce let the world know what they've always known about schools like theirs. >> one, two, ready and! >> i believe it's relevant at

the time right now, because they provide a safe space for black people or young black youth to literally just grow into themselves. >> they just give us a safe space to excel and not have to worry about our race first and foremost and moving throughout the world. >> this is why hbcus are important. they performed and opened their doors for those who were sons and daughters of slaves. >> reporter: some schools have struggled to keep their doors open, but dawn williams says they're more necessary now than ever. >> we have seen a recent uptick at applications. we have seen today in society there have been environments that have not been very welcoming for african-american communities. >> coachella and beychella is going to be the most important thing. i think it's going to increase college enrollment. she made musical history. >> reporter: with this latest achievement that draws so much from the past, she's looking to

cement a new kind of legacy. >> i'm just a new, a new woman in a new chapter of my life. and i'm not even trying to be who i was. >> reporter: new chapter in a spellbinding book where self-affirmation and culture are as perfectly choreographed as her dance moves. for "nightline," linsey davis in new york. next here, two worlds colliding to bring peace to "game of thrones" with one very surprising mediator. >> who are you? >> oh, elmo. elmo of sesame street. elmo of sesame street. woman 2: ...this... man 1: ...this is my body of proof. man 2: proof of less joint pain... woman 3: ...and clearer skin. man 3: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain,

stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. (avo): humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. woman 6: ask your rheumatologist about humira. woman 7: go to mypsaproof.com to see proof in action. it's how we care for our patients- like job. his team at ctca treated his cancer and side effects. so job can stay strong for his family. cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now.

cancer treatment centers of america. with the most lobster dishes lobsterfesof the yearred lobster like our classic lobster lover's dream... so hurry in! lobsterfest ends april twenty-first. and now for a limited time, get ten percent off red lobster to go. what sore muscles? what with advpounding head? .. advil is... relief that's fast. strength that lasts. you'll ask... what pain? with advil.

shshow me homecoming. baby sloth videos on youtube. amy, do you uh mind giving someone else a turn? oh... yeah i made myself a little comfortable here. i got a pizza for amy! yes, that's me! xfinity lets you search netflix, prime video, and youtube with the sound of your voice. and i don't have my wallet, so... that's simple. easy. awesome. get xfinity internet and tv for $40 each a month for 12 months when you bundle both, and get 20 hours of cloud dvr service included. switch today.

i've slain your dreaded dragon. for saving the kingdom what doth thou desire? my lord? hey good knight. where are you going? ♪ ♪ climbing up on solsbury hill ♪ grab your things, salutations. coffee that is a cup above is always worth the quest. nespresso. tis all i desire. did thou bring enough for the whole kingdom? george: nespresso, what else? how about letting your hair down a little? how about a car for people who don't play golf? hey mercedes! mix it up a little. how about something for a guy who doesn't want a corner office? hey mercedes, i don't even own a tie. do you think i need a mahogany dashboard? hey mercedes, can you make it a little cooler in here? [ a-class ] i am setting the temperature [ a-class ] to 68 degrees. we hear you. we made a car that does, too. the all-new a-class. all-new thinking starting at $32,500.

at the mercedes-benz spring event. going on now. (dad) this i(mom)eam cake needs a freezefreezer's full. (vo) only frigidaire's custom flex temp drawer can switch from fridge to freezer. (son) nice save! (vo) that's using your frigidaire. finally tonight, the sit-down talk about respect. >> i only want what's best for westerus. >> two of television's most bitter rivals are once again in a war of words. "game of thrones" unable to reach a resolution, until a mystery champion enters the battlefield. >> who are you? >> oh, elmo. elmo of sesame street.

elmo thinks that you two need to respect each other. >> the mini lesson sinking in as the siblings declare a truce, with peace finally washing over westerus. yeah, but the night king wasn't in on the discussion, so i'm not sure it counts. remember our full episodes are streaming on hulu. thank you for watching and goodnight. thank you for watching and goodnight.

monitor their blood glucose every day. which means they have to stop. repeated. makes it possible to track glucose levels. without drawing a drop of blood, again and again. the most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life.