Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director and Special Counsel, Dies at 81
Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation.
Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director and the special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, died Friday at age 81, his family said. No cause of death was disclosed; his family previously told The New York Times he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago.
"With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away," his family said in a statement shared with news outlets. The announcement prompted responses from political leaders and former colleagues across the spectrum.
President Donald Trump, who clashed repeatedly with Mueller during the special counsel probe, posted on social media: "Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!" The law firm WilmerHale, where Mueller had been a partner, described him as "a friend" and "an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity," noting his decorated service in the Marine Corps, his years leading the FBI and his work at the Department of Justice.
Former President Barack Obama called Mueller "one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI," praising his post-9/11 transformation of the bureau, and added that Mueller’s "relentless commitment to the rule of law" made him one of the most respected public servants of his time.
Mueller was born Aug. 7, 1944, in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 and earned a master's degree in international relations from New York University before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, where he received the Bronze Star. He later attended the University of Virginia School of Law and joined the Justice Department in 1976, prosecuting cases for U.S. attorney’s offices in San Francisco and Boston. He worked as a partner at Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) and served as a senior litigator in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
Nominated by President George W. Bush, Mueller became FBI director in 2001 and was sworn in a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. Under his leadership the bureau shifted its priorities toward counterterrorism and intelligence, expanding capabilities to anticipate and prevent threats—a transformation his deputy called among the most significant in the FBI’s history. The bureau also faced criticism at times, including for errors in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings. Mueller stepped down as director in 2013.
He returned to public view in May 2017 when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed him special counsel after then-FBI Director James Comey was fired. Tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links to the Trump campaign, Mueller’s nearly two-year probe resulted in a more than 400-page report issued in March 2019. The report concluded it did not establish that the campaign conspired with the Russian government and did not reach a prosecutorial determination on whether President Trump obstructed justice; Mueller told Congress that Department of Justice policy restricted charging a sitting president but declined to exonerate him.
The investigation produced charges against 37 people and entities, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and national security adviser Michael Flynn, and led to multiple indictments of Russian individuals and organizations. Many defendants later received pardons, clemency, or saw cases resolved as the legal and political fights continued.
Mueller’s long career in public service—as a Marine, prosecutor, FBI director and special counsel—was widely noted for discipline, restraint and a steadfast commitment to the rule of law.