Former FBI Director & Special Counsel Robert Mueller Dies at 81

Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director and special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has died at the age of 81.

His family confirmed his death on March 21, saying that he had passed away the previous night and asking for privacy. A specific cause of death was not disclosed. Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021.

Mueller served as FBI director from 2001 to 2013, taking over just one week before the September 11 terrorist attacks. During his 12-year tenure, he helped reshape the bureau around counterterrorism and national security.

He was also a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam. His military honors included a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. After his military service, he earned his law degree from the University of Virginia and went on to build a decades-long career as a federal prosecutor and law enforcement leader.

In 2017, Mueller was appointed special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and related matters involving the Trump campaign.

His investigation concluded in 2019 that Russia had carried out efforts to influence the election. It did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller’s career spanned more than four decades and included some of the most consequential moments in modern American law enforcement.

He leaves behind his wife, Ann Cabell Standish, their two daughters, and three grandchildren.

Robert Mueller was 81.