Robert Mueller | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2011 | |
| Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice | |
| In office May 17, 2017 – May 29, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Rod Rosenstein |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 6thDirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation | |
| In office September 4, 2001 – September 4, 2013 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Thomas J. Pickard Bruce J. Gebhardt John S. Pistole Timothy P. Murphy Sean M. Joyce |
| Preceded by | Louis Freeh Thomas J. Pickard(acting) |
| Succeeded by | James Comey |
| United States Deputy Attorney General | |
| Acting January 20, 2001 – May 10, 2001 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Eric Holder |
| Succeeded by | Larry Thompson |
| United States Attorney for the Northern District of California | |
| In office August 1998 – August 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Michael Yamaguchi |
| Succeeded by | Kevin V. Ryan |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for theCriminal Division | |
| In office August 1990 – January 1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Edward Dennis |
| Succeeded by | Jo Ann Harris |
| United States Attorney for theDistrict of Massachusetts | |
| Acting October 10, 1986 – April 6, 1987 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Bill Weld |
| Succeeded by | Frank L. McNamara Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Swan Mueller III (1944-08-07)August 7, 1944 (age 80) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1968–1971 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | H Company,2nd Battalion, 4th Marines,3rd Marine Division |
| Commands | Platoon commander |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Mueller, as FBI director, testifies before theSenate Judiciary Committee on reauthorizing portions of thePatriot Act Recorded April 5, 2005 | |
Robert Swan Mueller III (/ˈmʌlər/; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixthdirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013.
A graduate ofPrinceton University andNew York University, Mueller served as aMarine Corps officer during theVietnam War, receiving aBronze Star for heroism and aPurple Heart. He subsequently attended theUniversity of Virginia School of Law. Mueller is a registeredRepublican inWashington, D.C.,[1] and was appointed and reappointed toSenate-confirmed positions by presidentsGeorge H. W. Bush,Bill Clinton,George W. Bush, andBarack Obama.[2][3]
Mueller has served both in government and private practice. He was an assistant United States attorney, aUnited States attorney,United States assistant attorney general for theCriminal Division, a homicide prosecutor inWashington, D.C., actingUnited States deputy attorney general, partner at D.C. law firmWilmerHale and director of the FBI. He is the only FBI Director that Congress has allowed to serve more than the statutory limit of 10 years since the death ofJ. Edgar Hoover in 1972 by giving him a special two-year extension.
On May 17, 2017, Mueller was appointed byDeputy Attorney GeneralRod Rosenstein asspecial counsel overseeing aninvestigation into allegations of Russian interference in the2016 U.S. presidential election and related matters.[4] He submittedhis report to Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr on March 22, 2019.[5] On April 18, the Department of Justice released it.[6][7] On May 29, he resigned his post and the Office of the Special Counsel was closed.
Mueller was born on August 7, 1944, atDoctors Hospital in theNew York City borough ofManhattan,[8][9] the first child of Alice C. Truesdale (1920–2007) and Robert Swan Mueller Jr. (1916–2007). He has four younger sisters: Susan, Sandra, Joan, and Patricia.[10] His father was an executive withDuPont who had served as aNavy officer in theAtlantic andMediterranean theaters duringWorld War II.[10] His father majored in psychology atPrinceton University and played varsitylacrosse.
Mueller is of German, English, and Scottish descent. His paternal great-grandfather,Gustave A. Mueller, was a prominent doctor in Pittsburgh, whose own father, August C. E. Müller, had immigrated to the United States in 1855 from theProvince of Pomerania in theKingdom of Prussia (a historical territory whose area included land now part of Poland and the north-eastern edge of Germany).[11] On his mother's side, he is a great-grandson of the railroad executiveWilliam Truesdale.[12]
Mueller grew up inPrinceton, New Jersey, where he attended Princeton Country Day School (now known as thePrinceton Day School). After he completed eighth grade, his family moved to Philadelphia while Mueller himself went on to attendSt. Paul's School inConcord, New Hampshire for high school, where he was captain of the soccer, hockey, and lacrosse teams and won the Gordon Medal as the school's top athlete in 1962.[13][14] A lacrosse teammate and classmate atSt. Paul's School was futureMassachusetts Senator andSecretary of StateJohn Kerry.[15]
After graduating from St. Paul's, Mueller enteredPrinceton University, where he continued to play lacrosse,[16] receiving aBachelor of Arts inpolitics in 1966 after completing a seniorthesis titled "Acceptance of Jurisdiction in the South West Africa Cases."[17] Mueller was a member ofUniversity Cottage Club while he was a student at Princeton.[18] Mueller earned aMaster of Arts ininternational relations fromNew York University in 1967.
In 1968, Mueller joined theUnited States Marine Corps.[19] After his military service, he enrolled at theUniversity of Virginia School of Law where he served on theVirginia Law Review and graduated in 1973.[20]
Mueller has cited the combat death of his Princeton lacrosse teammate David Spencer Hackett in theVietnam War as an influence on his decision to pursue military service.[21] Of his classmate, Mueller has said, "One of the reasons I went into the Marine Corps was because we lost a very good friend, a Marine in Vietnam, who was a year ahead of me at Princeton. There were a number of us who felt we should follow his example and at least go into the service. And it flows from there."[22] Hackett was a Marine Corpsfirst lieutenant in the infantry and was killed in 1967 inQuảng Trị province by small arms fire.[23]
After waiting a year so a knee injury could heal, Mueller was accepted for officer training in theUnited States Marine Corps in 1968, attending training atParris Island,Officer Candidate School,Army Ranger School, andArmy jump school. Of these, he said later that he considered Ranger School the most valuable because he felt "more than anything teaches you about how you react with no sleep and nothing to eat."[24][25]
In the summer of 1968, he was sent toSouth Vietnam, where he served as a rifleplatoon leader as asecond lieutenant with Second Platoon, H Company,2nd Battalion, 4th Marines,3rd Marine Division.[9][26] On December 11, 1968, during an engagement inOperation Scotland II, he earned the Bronze Star with "V" device for combat valor for rescuing a wounded Marine under enemy fire during an ambush in which he saw half of his platoon become casualties.[27][28] In April 1969, he received an enemy gunshot wound in the thigh, recovered, and returned to lead his platoon until June 1969.[29] For his service in and during the Vietnam War, his military decorations and awards include: theBronze Star Medal withCombat "V",Purple Heart Medal, twoNavy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Combat "V",Combat Action Ribbon,National Defense Service Medal,Vietnam Service Medal with fourservice stars,Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross,Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, andParachutist Badge.[9][29][25][30]
After recuperating at a field hospital nearDa Nang, Mueller becameaide-de-camp to 3rd Marine Division's commanding general, then–Major GeneralWilliam K. Jones, where he "significantly contributed to the rapport" Jones had with other officers, according to one report.[24][31]
Mueller had originally considered making the Marines his career, but he explained later that he found non-combat life in the corps to be unexciting.[25] After returning from South Vietnam, Mueller was briefly stationed atHenderson Hall, before leaving active-duty service in August 1970[31] at the rank ofcaptain.[31]
Reflecting on his service in the Vietnam War, Mueller said, "I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have made it out of Vietnam. There were many—many—who did not. And perhaps because I did survive Vietnam, I have always felt compelled to contribute."[32] In 2009, he told a writer that despite his other accomplishments, he was still "most proud the Marine Corps deemed me worthy of leading other Marines."[25]
After receiving hisJuris Doctor in 1973 from theUniversity of Virginia School of Law, Mueller worked as a litigator at the firmPillsbury, Madison and Sutro in San Francisco until 1976. He then served for 12 years inUnited States Attorney offices. He first worked in the office of theU.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California in San Francisco,[24] where he rose to be chief of the criminal division, and in 1982, he moved to Boston to work in the office of theU.S. Attorney for Massachusetts as anAssistant United States Attorney,[9] where he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorism and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics conspiracies and international money launderers.[33][34]
After serving as a partner at the Boston law firm ofHill and Barlow, Mueller returned to government service. In 1989, he served in theUnited States Department of Justice as an assistant to Attorney GeneralDick Thornburgh and as acting deputy attorney general.James Baker, with whom he worked on national security matters, said he had "an appreciation for the Constitution and the rule of law".[35]: 33–34
In 1990, Mueller became theUnited States Assistant Attorney General in charge of theUnited States Department of Justice Criminal Division.[24] During his tenure, he oversaw prosecutions including that of Panamanian leaderManuel Noriega, thePan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie bombing) case, and of theGambino crime familybossJohn Gotti.[36]
In 1991, Mueller declared the government had been investigating theBank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) since 1986 in more-than-usual media exposure.[37] Also in 1991, he was elected a fellow of theAmerican College of Trial Lawyers.[9]
In 1993, Mueller became a partner at Boston'sHale and Dorr, specializing inwhite-collar crime litigation.[24] He returned to public service in 1995 as senior litigator in the homicide section of the District of Columbia United States Attorney's Office. In 1998, Mueller was namedU.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California and held that position until 2001.[9][34]
PresidentGeorge W. Bush nominated Mueller for the position of FBI director on July 5, 2001.[38] He and two other candidates, Washington lawyerGeorge J. Terwilliger III and veteran Chicago prosecutor and white-collar crime defense lawyerDan Webb, were up for the job, but Mueller, described at the time as aconservative Republican,[39][40] was always considered the front-runner.[citation needed] Terwilliger and Webb both pulled out from consideration around mid-June, while confirmation hearings for Mueller before theSenate Judiciary Committee were quickly set for July 30, only three days before his prostate cancer surgery.[41][42]
The Senate unanimously confirmed Mueller as FBI director on August 2, 2001, voting 98–0 in favor of his appointment.[43] He had previously served as acting deputy attorney general of theUnited States Department of Justice (DOJ) for several months before officially becoming the FBI director on September 4, 2001, one week before theSeptember 11 attacks on theWorld Trade Center andthe Pentagon.[9]
On February 11, 2003, one month before theU.S.-ledinvasion of Iraq, Mueller gave testimony to theSenate Select Committee on Intelligence. Mueller informed the American public that "[s]even countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and North Korea—remain active in the United States and continue to support terrorist groups that have targeted Americans. As DirectorTenet has pointed out,Secretary Powellpresented evidence last week that Baghdad has failed to disarm itsweapons of mass destruction, willfully attempting to evade and deceive the international community. Our particular concern is that Saddam Hussein may supply terrorists with biological, chemical or radiological material."[44][45] Highlighting this worry in February 2003, FBI Special AgentColeen Rowley wrote an open letter to Mueller in which she warned that "the bureau will [not] be able to stem the flood of terrorism that will likely head our way in the wake of an attack on Iraq"[46][47] and encouraged Mueller to "share [her concerns] with the President and Attorney General."[47]
On March 10, 2004, whileUnited States Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft was at theGeorge Washington University Hospital for gallbladder surgery,[48] then deputy attorney generalJames Comey received a call from Ashcroft's wife informing him that White HouseChief of StaffAndrew Card and White House CounselAlberto Gonzales were about to visit Ashcroft to convince him to renew a program of warrantlesswiretapping under theTerrorist Surveillance Program which the DOJ ruled unconstitutional.[48] Ashcroft refused to sign, as he had previously agreed, but the following day the White House renewed the program anyway.[48] Mueller and Comey then threatened to resign.[49] On March 12, 2004, after private, individual meetings with Mueller and Comey at the White House, the president supported changing the program to satisfy the concerns of Mueller, Ashcroft, and Comey.[35]: 289–290 [49]
He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2004.[31][50]
As director, Mueller also barred FBI personnel from participating inenhanced interrogations with the CIA.[51][52] At a dinner, Mueller defended an attorney,Thomas Wilner, who had been attacked for his role in defending Kuwaiti detainees. Mueller stood up, raised his glass, and said, "I toast Tom Wilner. He's doing what an American should." However, the White House pushed back, encouraging more vigorous methods of pursuing and interrogating terror suspects. When Bush confronted Mueller to ask him to round up more terrorists in the U.S., Mueller responded, saying, "If they [suspects] don't commit a crime, it would be difficult to identify and isolate" them. Vice PresidentDick Cheney objected by saying, "That's just not good enough. We're hearing this too much from the FBI."[35]: 157, 205, 270
In May 2011, PresidentBarack Obama asked Mueller to continue at the helm of the FBI for two additional years beyond his normal 10-year term, which would have expired on September 4, 2011.[53] The Senate approved this request 100–0 on July 27, 2011.[54][55] On September 4, 2013, Mueller was replaced by James Comey.[56]
In June 2013, Mueller defendedNSAsurveillance programs in testimony before aHouse Judiciary Committee hearing.[57] He said that surveillance programs could have "derailed" the September 11 attacks.[58][59] CongressmanJohn Conyers disagreed: "I am not persuaded that that makes it OK to collect every call."[59] Mueller also testified that the government's surveillance programs complied "in full with U.S. law and with basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution".[60] He said that "We are taking all necessary steps to holdEdward Snowden responsible for thesedisclosures."[61]
On June 19, 2017, in the case ofArar v. Ashcroft, Mueller, along with Ashcroft and formerImmigration and Naturalization Services Commissioner James W. Ziglar and others, was shielded from civil liability by theSupreme Court for post-9/11 detention of Muslims under policies then brought into place.[62]
After leaving the FBI in 2013, Mueller served a one-year term as consulting professor and the Arthur and Frank Payne distinguished lecturer atStanford University, where he focused on issues related tocybersecurity.[63]
In addition to his speaking and teaching roles, Mueller also joined the law firmWilmerHale as a partner in its Washington office in 2014.[64] Among other roles at the firm, he oversaw the independent investigation into theNFL's conduct surrounding thevideo that appeared to show NFL playerRay Rice assaulting his fiancée.[65] In January 2016, he was appointed as Settlement Master in the U.S. consumer litigation over theVolkswagen emissions scandal; as of May 11, 2017, the scandal has resulted in $11.2 billion in customer settlements.[66]
On October 19, 2016, Mueller began an external review of "security, personnel, and management processes and practices" at government contractorBooz Allen Hamilton afterHarold T. Martin III was indicted for massive data theft from theNational Security Agency.[67] On April 6, 2017, he was appointed as Special Master for disbursement of $850 million and $125 million for automakers and consumers, respectively, affected byrupture-prone Takata airbags.[68]
Mueller received the 2016Thayer Award for public service from theUnited States Military Academy.[69] In June 2017, he received the Baker Award for intelligence and national security contributions from the nonprofitIntelligence and National Security Alliance.[70]
In October 2019, it was announced that Mueller, along withJames L. Quarles andAaron Zebley, would return toWilmerHale to resume private practice.[71] On July 11, 2020, Mueller wrote an op-ed onThe Washington Post stating thatRoger Stone "remains a convicted felon, and rightly so" after the President of the United States granted Roger Stone clemency and defended his investigation.[72][73]
On May 16, 2017, Mueller met with President Trump as a courtesy to provide perspectives on the FBI and input on considerations for hiring a new FBI Director.[74] This meeting was initially widely reported to have been an interview to serve again as the FBI Director.[75] President Trump broached resuming the position in their meeting; however, Mueller was ineligible to return as FBI Director due to statutory term limits, and Mueller lacked interest in resuming the position.[74]
The next day,Deputy Attorney GeneralRod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to serve as special counsel for theUnited States Department of Justice. In this capacity, Mueller oversaw the investigation into "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump, and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation".[76]
Mueller's appointment to oversee the investigation immediately garnered widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.[77][78]Newt Gingrich, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and prominent conservative political commentator, stated via Twitter that "Robert Mueller is a superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity."[79][non-primary source needed] SenatorCharles Schumer (D-NY) said, "Former Director Mueller is exactly the right kind of individual for this job. I now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead." SenatorRob Portman (R-OH) stated, "former FBI dir. Mueller is well qualified to oversee this probe".[77] Some, however, pointed out an alleged conflict of interest. "The federal code could not be clearer—Mueller is compromised by his apparent conflict of interest in being close with James Comey," Rep.Trent Franks (R-AZ), who first called for Mueller to step down over the summer, said in a statement to Fox News. "The appearance of a conflict is enough to put Mueller in violation of the code. … All of the revelations in recent weeks make the case stronger."[80]
Upon his appointment as special counsel, Mueller and two colleagues (former FBI agentAaron Zebley[81] and former assistant special prosecutor on theWatergate Special Prosecution ForceJames L. Quarles III) resigned fromWilmerHale.[82] On May 23, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice ethics experts announced they had declared Mueller ethically able to function as special counsel.[83] The spokesperson for the special counsel, Peter Carr, toldNBC News that Mueller has taken an active role in managing the inquiry.[84] In an interview with theAssociated Press, Rosenstein said he would recuse himself from supervision of Mueller if he were to become a subject in the investigation due to his role in the dismissal of James Comey.[85]
On June 14, 2017,The Washington Post reported that Mueller's office was also investigating Trump personally for possibleobstruction of justice, in reference to the Russian probe.[86] The report was questioned by Trump's legal team attorneyJay Sekulow, who said on June 18 onNBC'sMeet the Press, "The President is not and has not been under investigation for obstruction, period."[87] Due to the central role of the Trump family in the campaign, the transition, and the White House, the President's son-in-law,Jared Kushner, was also reportedly under scrutiny by Mueller.[88] Also in June, Trump allegedly ordered the firing of Robert Mueller, but backed down when then-White House CounselDon McGahn threatened to quit.[89]
During a discussion about national security at theAspen security conference on July 21, 2017, formerCIA directorJohn Brennan reaffirmed his support for Mueller and called for members of Congress to resist if Trump fires Mueller. He also said it was "the obligation of some executive-branch officials to refuse to carry out some of these orders that, again, are inconsistent with what this country is all about".[90] AfterPeter Strzok, an investigator for Mueller, was removed from the investigation for alleged partiality, SenatorMark Warner, the Ranking Member of theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in a speech on December 20, 2017, before the Senate, warned of a constitutional crisis if the President fired Mueller.[91] On June 22, 2018, Warner hosted a fundraising party for 100 guests and was quoted there saying, "If you get me one more glass of wine, I'll tell you stuff only Bob Mueller and I know. If you think you've seen wild stuff so far, buckle up. It's going to be a wild couple of months."[92]
.jpg)
On October 30, 2017, Mueller filed charges against former Trump campaign chairmanPaul Manafort and campaign co-chairmanRick Gates. The 12 charges include conspiracy to launder money, violations of the 1938Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, andconspiracy against the United States.[93]
On December 1, 2017, Mueller reached a plea agreement with former national security adviserMichael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to givingfalse testimony to the FBI about his contacts with Russian ambassadorSergey Kislyak.[94] As part of Flynn's negotiations, his son, Michael G. Flynn, was not expected to be charged, and Flynn was prepared to testify that high-level officials on Trump's team directed him to make contact with the Russians.[95][96][97] On February 16, 2018, Mueller indicted 13 Russian individuals and 3 Russian companies for attempting to trick Americans into consuming Russian propaganda that targeted Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton[98] and later President-electDonald Trump.[99]
On February 20, 2018, Mueller charged attorneyAlex van der Zwaan with making false statements in the Russia probe.[100][101][102]
On May 20, 2018, Trump criticized Mueller, tweeting "the World's most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!"[103] Mueller started investigating the August 2016 meeting betweenDonald Trump Jr. and an emissary for the crown princes ofSaudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates. The emissary offered help to the Trump presidential campaign.[104][103] Mueller was also investigating the Trump campaign's possible ties toTurkey,Qatar,Israel, andChina.[105]
On December 18, 2018,The Washington Post published an article concerning a report prepared for the U.S. Senate which stated that Russian disinformation teams had targeted Mueller.[106]
On March 22, 2019, Mueller concluded his investigation and submitted the special counsel's final report to Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr.[107] A senior Department of Justice official said that the report did not recommend any new indictments.[5] On March 24, Attorney General Barr submitted a summary of findings to theUnited States Congress. He stated inhis letter, "The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russian in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election." Mueller's report also reportedly did not take a stance on whether or not Trump committed obstruction of justice; Barr quoted Mueller as saying "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."[108]
On April 18, 2019, the Department of Justice releasedReport on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, the special counsel's final report and its conclusions.[6][7]
On May 29, 2019, Mueller announced that he was retiring as special counsel and that the office would be shut down, and he spoke publicly about the report for the first time.[109] Saying "The report is my testimony," he indicated he would have nothing to say that was not already in the report. On the subject of obstruction of justice, he said, "under long-standing Department [of Justice] policy, a president cannot be charged with a crime while he is in office."[110] He repeated his official conclusion that the report neither accused nor exonerated the president while adding that any potential wrongdoing by a president must be addressed by a "process other than the criminal justice system."[111] Mueller reasserted the involvement of Russian operatives in the2016 Democratic National Committee email leak and their parallel efforts to influence American public opinion using social media.[110] Referring to those actions, he declared that "there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American."[112]
Robert Mueller was initially scheduled to publicly testify before two House committees on July 17, 2019, with two hours for lawmakers to ask questions, but the hearing was postponed to July 24 with a third hour added for questions.[113] His verbal testimony was expected to help inform the public, and to help Democratic leadership decide whether or not to impeach the President.[114] In particular, the Democrats[which?] aimed to highlight what they considered to be the worst examples of Trump's conduct.[citation needed] RepresentativeJamie Raskin from Maryland said he would use visual aids, such as posters, to help people understand the implications of the Mueller report.[115] Republicans, on the other hand, planned to question Mueller on the origins of this investigation.[116]
On July 24, 2019, Mueller attended both congressional committee hearings and was questioned by members of Congress. His testimony followed the guidelines he had stated would be appropriate regarding his report.[117] In fact, many of his responses were one-word replies.[118] He said he was "not familiar" withFusion GPS, the opposition research firm that commissioned theSteele dossier.[119] He rejected claims that his investigation was a "witch hunt" or that it totally exonerated the President.[120] He declined to answer questions outside of the scope of his investigation, but reiterated his concern about foreign interference with American elections. He noted that it continues, that he expects it to expand to include other foreign governments as well as the Russians, and that he considers it a great threat to the United States.[117] According to the Nielsen Company, total viewership for the Mueller hearing fell just shy of 13 million, significantly lower than other hearings involving the Trump administration, such as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's (20.4 million), former FBI director James Comey's (19.5 million), and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's (15.8 million). Reasons for this comparatively low television rating include the fact that the hearing occurred in July, vacation time for many Americans, and months after the release of the Mueller report. Fox News Channel enjoyed the top rating, with 3.03 million views.[118] Subsequently, Mueller's words were distorted and misinterpreted to both defend and condemn the President.[121] Mueller's testimony was criticized by some as uncharacteristically confusing.[122][123][124]
In late September 2019, it was reported Trump may have lied to Mueller about his knowledge of his campaign's contacts with WikiLeaks, citing thegrand jury redactions in the Mueller report.[125][124]
Political scientistsWilliam G. Howell andTerry M. Moe described Mueller's decision not to take a position on obstruction of justice for Trump—despite "compiling a mountain of incriminating evidence"—as something that "will surely go down as one of the strangest—and most consequential—moves in modern legal history." They added, "in refusing to draw legal conclusions from his evidence, Mueller simply didn't do his job... because he didn't, he failed to carry out his duty to tell the American people what his investigation actually revealed about Trump's lawless behavior, and he failed to draw a bright line that would keep future presidents within legal bounds."[126]
TheUniversity of Virginia Law School announced in June 2021 that in the coming fall Mueller would participate in a six-session course called "The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel," along with three of his colleagues from the investigation.[127]
In July 2024, the publisherSimon & Schuster announced that the bookInterference: The Inside Story of Trump, Russia, and the Mueller Investigation will be released in September. Its authors are Aaron Zebley, James Quarles, and Andrew Goldstein, whom Mueller recruited for his investigation as Special Counsel. Mueller wrote the introduction.[128][129]
Mueller met his future wife, Ann Cabell Standish, at a high school party when they were 17.[130] Standish attendedMiss Porter's School inFarmington, Connecticut, andSarah Lawrence College, before working as a special-education teacher for children with learning disabilities.[131] In September 1966, they married at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church inSewickley, Pennsylvania.[132][133] They have two daughters and three grandchildren.[134] One of their daughters was born withspina bifida.[135]
In 2001, Mueller's Senate confirmation hearings to head the FBI were delayed several months while he underwent treatment forprostate cancer.[136] He was diagnosed in the fall of 2000, postponing being sworn in as FBI director until he received a good prognosis from his physician.[137]
Although raisedPresbyterian, he became anEpiscopalian later in life.[138]
Mueller andWilliam Barr—the attorney general who supervised the late stage of Mueller's special counsel investigation—have known each other since the 1980s and have been described as good friends. Mueller attended the weddings of two of Barr's daughters, and their wives attendBible study together.[139]
Mueller received the following military awards and decorations:[30]
 | |||
 |    |  | |
 |  |   | |
  |  |  | |
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an officer for three years, leading a rifle platoon of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam.
With complete disregard for his own safety, he then skillfully supervised the evacuation of casualties from the hazardous area and, on one occasion, personally led a fire team across the fire-swept area terrain to recover a mortally wounded Marine who had fallen in a position forward of the friendly lines.[page needed]
Last week Assistant Attorney General Robert Mueller, the head of the department's criminal division, undertook an unusual media blitz to declare that the federal government had been investigating BCCI since 1986 when a federal money-laundering prosecution ensnared BCCI.
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Data from Wikidata| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for theDistrict of Massachusetts Acting 1986–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Edward Dennis | United States Assistant Attorney General for theCriminal Division 1990–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for the Northern District of California 1998–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Deputy Attorney General Acting 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2001–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Recipient of theSylvanus Thayer Award 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Bureau of Investigation |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | ||
Italics denotes an acting director. | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
