Robert Mueller, the former special counsel known for leading the investigation into the "Russia scandal" that probed alleged collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, died on the 20th at age 81.
Major U.S. outlets remembered him as a conservative-leaning legal figure who served according to law and principle throughout his life, while also assessing him as a figure who, in the final stage of his public service, squared off sharply with President Trump and set off one of the most contentious scandals in modern American political history.
On the 21st, according to reports from AP, Reuters and other major outlets, Mueller's family said in an official statement that he died at home the previous night. The family did not release the specific place of death or the direct cause. However, local media reported that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last year and had been battling the illness for a long time.
Mueller became known to the public as the special counsel in the Russia scandal, but he originally came from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In September 2001, he became FBI director at the nomination of former President George W. Bush. One week after he took office, the 9/11 attacks struck New York, bringing down the Twin Towers. Afterward, he maximized the bureau's intelligence collection and analysis capabilities so the FBI, which had focused on solving domestic crimes, could also encompass foreign intelligence. As a result, he served as director for a total of 12 years through the tenure of former President Barack Obama. It was the second-longest tenure after legendary inaugural FBI Director John Edgar Hoover.
After a quiet retirement, he was appointed special counsel in May 2017 when the so-called Russia scandal erupted. A special counsel is appointed to conduct an independent investigation outside the control of the Department of Justice when the president, as head of the executive branch, or senior officials are implicated. The Russia scandal centered on claims that during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Russian government intervened to help elect President Trump by systematically hitting then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The core question of the probe was whether members of the Trump campaign had secretly conspired in advance with Russian intelligence authorities in that process.
Over 22 months, the former special counsel drew global attention as his team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and over 500 search warrants while scrutinizing those around President Trump and his closest aides. But after the lengthy investigation, the Mueller team did not secure decisive evidence to conclude that the Trump campaign explicitly conspired with Russia to interfere in the election. It also withheld a clear determination of guilt or innocence on obstruction of justice allegations that President Trump hindered the probe, including by improperly seeking to fire investigators.
Key aides whom the former special counsel directly charged—such as former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn—also effectively avoided legal punishment when they received presidential pardons during Trump's term. The BBC said that day, "The Mueller team's investigation was the most defining event of Trump's first term."
With his formidable investigative authority, he became a target of the global media. Little, however, is known about his personal disposition or private life. For nearly two years of the special counsel investigation, he scrupulously avoided the press and maintained near-perfect security. He usually played quiet rounds of golf with his wife and, even at his regular restaurant, ate only at a designated seat completely shielded from outside view.
AP reported that even within the investigative team, he always insisted on neatly pressed shirts and showed a monk-like focus on work without small talk with team members. Former FBI director William Webster testified, "He is someone who abhors private chatter." Some experts said his rigorous self-discipline and extreme secrecy were his way of avoiding any suspicion about the fairness of the investigation and his political neutrality.
Even so, legal circles have leveled no small amount of criticism that his failure to reach a clear conclusion on the obstruction of justice allegations during the Russia probe was a painful mistake. The critique is that, in the face of the president's formidable power, he clung too tightly to procedural principles and fell short of fully delivering judicial justice.
On the 21st, after news of Mueller's death broke, President Trump wrote on his social media, "I'm glad he's dead," adding, "He won't be able to hurt innocent people anymore."