Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign, passed away at the age of 81.
“With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away,” on Friday night, his family shared in a statement on Saturday, adding “His family asks that their privacy be respected.”
President Trump, reacting to the news of Mueller's death, wrote on Truth Social “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
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In August last year, Mueller was among a group of people the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed for records linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had initially pushed for the release of the documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, wrote on X “@GOPOversight just subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales. The U.S. Department of Justice was also subpoenaed for records related to Epstein.”
The subpoena was ultimately withdrawn after the panel learned of unspecified health issues that precluded him from being able to testify, PBS reported citing a committee statement. The New York Times had at that time confirmed with his family that Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the middle of 2021.
{{/usCountry}}The subpoena was ultimately withdrawn after the panel learned of unspecified health issues that precluded him from being able to testify, PBS reported citing a committee statement. The New York Times had at that time confirmed with his family that Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the middle of 2021.
{{/usCountry}}Mueller's name also came up in the documents related to Epstein, the late convicted child sex offender. Trump's name came up along with Mueller's.
What Epstein said about Trump, Robert Mueller?
The files, accessible in the Department of Justice database, detailed a communication from Nicholas Ribis to Epstein.
“Robert Mueller appointed Special Counsel on Russian Probe bad for DJT”, it said. This was sent the very same day -- May 17, 2017-- that Mueller was appointed special counsel.
In another communication from Epstein to Michael Wolff in 2018, it was written “what has become clear is that Robert Mueller and his office are preparing for a life or death confrontation with the President and the mother of all constitutional crises. My discussions have been with both White House advisors and people close to the investigation. No source involved in this story would speak on the record.”
Mueller's Russia-Trump investigation: Report details
Mueller released a 448-page report in April 2019 where he identified substantial contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but did not go on to allege a criminal conspiracy. He laid out details about Trump's efforts to take control of the investigation, and even shut it down, but declined to decide whether Trump had broken the law. This was partly due to department policy barring the indictment of a sitting president.
Mueller in the report noted: “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment.”
(With AP inputs)