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Robert Mueller, the no-nonsense erstwhile FBI main who documented Russia's interference successful the 2016 U.S. predetermination and its contacts with Donald Trump's run but opted not to bring transgression charges against a sitting President, has died astatine property 81, aggregate quality outlets reported connected Saturday (March 21, 2026).
His decease was reported by MS NOW and a New York Times writer who posted a connection attributed to the Mueller family. No origin of decease was fixed for Mueller, a decorated Vietnam War seasoned who led the FBI successful the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks connected the U.S.
The New York Times past twelvemonth reported that Mueller had Parkinson's disease.
Mueller retired aft 12 years arsenic Federal Bureau of Investigation manager successful 2013 but was summoned backmost to nationalist work by a elder Justice Department authoritative 4 years aboriginal arsenic a peculiar counsel to instrumentality implicit an enquiry into Russia's predetermination meddling aft Mr. Trump fired then-FBI main James Comey.
Mueller conducted a 22-month probe that produced indictments against 34 people, including respective Mr. Trump associates arsenic good arsenic Russian quality officers and 3 Russian companies, and a bid of blameworthy pleas and convictions. Mueller yet stopped abbreviated of a transgression indictment of the Republican president, bitterly disappointing galore Democrats.
Mr. Trump connected Saturday celebrated Mueller's passing. "Good, I'm gladsome he's dead," Mr. Trump wrote connected the Truth Social site. "He tin nary longer wounded innocent people!"
During his vocation arsenic a authoritative and FBI chief, Mueller displayed a patrician mode and sometimes woody personality— conscionable astir the other of the bombastic Mr. Trump. He was known by immoderate arsenic "Bobby Three Sticks" due to the fact that of his afloat name— Robert Mueller III— a moniker that belied his ceremonial bearing and sober attack to instrumentality enforcement.
His Russia inquiry, elaborate successful a 448-page 2019 report, laid bare what Mueller and U.S. quality agencies person described arsenic a Russian run of hacking and propaganda to sow discord successful the U.S., denigrate 2016 Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Hillary Clinton and boost Mr. Trump, the Kremlin's preferred candidate. Russia denied predetermination interference.
"First, our probe recovered that the Russian authorities interfered successful our election successful sweeping and systematic fashion," Mueller said during 2019 legislature testimony.
"Second, the probe did not found that members of the Mr. Trump run conspired with the Russian authorities successful its predetermination interference activities. We did not code 'collusion,' which is not a ineligible term. Rather, we focused connected whether the grounds was capable to complaint immoderate subordinate of the run with taking portion successful a transgression conspiracy. It was not," Mueller added.
In analyzing whether Mr. Trump had committed the transgression of obstruction of justice, Mueller looked astatine a bid of actions. These included Mr. Trump's attempts to person the peculiar counsel fired and to bounds the scope of the probe arsenic good arsenic the President's efforts to forestall the nationalist from knowing astir a 2016 gathering astatine Trump Tower successful New York betwixt elder Trump run officials and Russians. Mueller pointedly did not exonerate the President, arsenic Mr. Trump claimed.
"Based connected Justice Department argumentation and principles of fairness, we decided we would not marque a determination arsenic to whether the president committed a crime," Mueller told lawmakers.
"The President was not exculpated for the acts that helium allegedly committed," Mueller added.
Numerous links
Mueller was named by the Justice Department's No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, to instrumentality implicit the Russia investigation.
The investigation, according to the report, unearthed "numerous links" betwixt the Russian government and Mr. Trump's run and said the President's squad "expected it would payment electorally from accusation stolen and released done Russian efforts," referring to hacked Democratic emails.
Mueller, a longtime Republican, faced unremitting attacks by Mr. Trump and his allies connected his integrity arsenic they tried to discredit the probe and the peculiar counsel himself. Mr. Trump utilized societal media, speeches and comments to quality media to assail Mueller, accusing him of moving a politically motivated, "rigged witch hunt," going "rogue," surrounding himself with "thugs" and having conflicts of interest.
"It's each a large hoax," Mr. Trump said successful 2019.
"Absolutely, it was not a hoax," Mueller told the legislature hearing, noting the galore charges arising from the probe. Mr. Trump's erstwhile run chairman, Paul Manafort, was convicted successful 2018 connected 8 charges of fiscal wrongdoing and pleaded blameworthy to 2 others, receiving a 7-1/2-year situation sentence. Longtime Mr. Trump advisor Roger Stone was convicted successful 2019 of 7 counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witnesser tampering and sentenced to much than 3 years successful prison. Trump aboriginal utilized .his enforcement clemency powerfulness to pardon them. Mr. Trump's erstwhile nationalist information adviser, Michael Flynn, entered a blameworthy plea to lying to the FBI. Mr. Trump besides pardoned Mr. Flynn.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives astatine the clip doubly impeached Mr. Trump aft Mueller had finished his work, though those actions did not turn retired of the peculiar counsel's findings.
An bureau successful crisis
Appointed by Republican President George W. Bush to caput the FBI, Mueller took implicit arsenic its manager 1 week earlier the September 11 attacks connected the U.S. by al Qaeda militants utilizing hijacked planes that killed astir 3,000 people. Democratic President Barack Obama aboriginal extended Mueller's appointment. By the clip Mueller near the position, his tenure was exceeded lone by J. Edgar Hoover's 48-year stint.
Mueller was credited with transforming the premier U.S. instrumentality enforcement bureau aft Congress and an autarkic authorities committee determined that the FBI and CIA had failed to stock accusation earlier the September 11 attacks that could person helped forestall them. Mueller revamped the FBI into an bureau centered connected protecting nationalist information successful summation to instrumentality enforcement, putting much resources into counterterrorism investigations and improving practice with different U.S. agencies.
He enactment his vocation connected the enactment successful 2004 erstwhile helium and Comey, past the Deputy Attorney General, threatened to resign erstwhile Bush White House officials sought to reauthorize a home eavesdropping programme that the Justice Department had deemed unconstitutional. The 2 rushed to a Washington infirmary and prevented apical Bush aides from persuading an ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft, recovering from gallbladder surgery, to reauthorize the surveillance program.
Comey succeeded Mueller arsenic FBI manager successful 2013, lone to beryllium fired by Mr. Trump.
Born into an affluent New York family, Mueller grew up extracurricular of Philadelphia, graduated from Princeton University, earned a master's grade astatine New York University and joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving arsenic an serviceman for 3 years, speechmaking a firearm platoon in Vietnam and receiving honors including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Mueller past earned a instrumentality grade from the University of Virginia and aboriginal became a national authoritative and headed the Justice Department's transgression division, supervising cases including prosecution of the transgression brag John J. Gotti and the probe into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 implicit Scotland, earlier Bush chose him to pb the FBI.
"He truly hates the atrocious guys," erstwhile Massachusetts Governor William Weld, who preceded Mueller arsenic the U.S. lawyer successful Boston, told the New York Times successful 2013.
Mueller and his wife, Ann, had 2 daughters.
