Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, died Friday at 81.
“With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away,” his family said in a statement shared with NPR. No cause of death was given. Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, his family told The New York Times in August.
President Trump, who had repeatedly clashed with Mueller during the investigation, celebrated the death on social media, posting, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”
WilmerHale, the law firm where Mueller served as a partner, remembered him as a “friend” and “an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity.” “His service to our country, including as a decorated officer in the Marine Corps, as FBI Director, and at the Department of Justice, was exemplary and inspiring,” the firm said.
Former President Barack Obama called Mueller “one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI, transforming the bureau after 9/11 and saving countless lives.” “But it was his relentless commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering belief in our bedrock values that made him one of the most respected public servants of our time,” Obama wrote, offering condolences to Mueller’s family.
Born Aug. 7, 1944, in New York City and raised in Philadelphia, Mueller graduated from Princeton University in 1966 and earned a master’s degree in international relations from New York University. He joined the Marines and served in the Vietnam War, receiving the Bronze Star. He later attended the University of Virginia School of Law and joined the Justice Department in 1976, prosecuting a range of crimes for U.S. attorney’s offices in San Francisco and Boston. He became a partner at Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) and later served as a senior litigator handling homicides at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Mueller to be FBI director; he was sworn in a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. The bureau shifted its focus under his leadership to counterterrorism, expanding intelligence capabilities and pushing agents to anticipate and prevent threats. His deputy called it “arguably the most significant changes in the FBI’s 105-year history.” The bureau faced criticism at times, including missteps during the investigation of the deadly anthrax mailings. Mueller left the FBI in 2013.
Mueller returned to the national spotlight in May 2017, when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed him special counsel after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Tasked with investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible links to Trump associates, the probe drew intense political scrutiny. In March 2019 the investigation produced a more than 400-page report concluding it did not establish that Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government. The report did not make a determination on whether Trump obstructed justice. Mueller told Congress that Justice Department policy prevented charging a sitting president but declined to exonerate Trump, saying, “If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”
The investigation led to charges against 37 people and entities, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and national security adviser Michael Flynn, and resulted in indictments of numerous Russian individuals and entities. Many of those charged later received pardons, clemency, or saw cases dropped as the political and legal battles continued.
Mueller is remembered for a long career in public service—as a Marine, prosecutor, FBI director and special counsel—marked by a reputation for discipline, restraint and commitment to the rule of law.