Robert Mueller III, the long-serving FBI director who later served as the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, has died. He was 81.
In a statement, his family said: “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away last night. His family asks that their privacy be respected.”
Separately, a spokesperson for the law firm where Mueller worked, WilmerHale, told NBC News: “WilmerHale mourns the passing of our friend and former partner, Bob Mueller. Bob was an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity.”
“His service to our country, including as a decorated officer in the Marine Corps, as FBI Director, and at the Department of Justice, was exemplary and inspiring,” the statement added. “We are deeply proud that he was our partner. Our thoughts are with Bob’s family and loved ones during this time.”
Last year, Mueller’s family told The New York Times he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021.
Mueller served as FBI director under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
He was first nominated to the post by Bush in 2001 and went on to be the second-longest-serving FBI director in history.
Mueller was originally confirmed by a Senate vote of 98-0 and began his job just days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In a 2014 speech, Mueller recalled Bush’s main question to him in the days after the attack: “What is the FBI doing to prevent the next terrorist attack?”
Mueller recalled not having an answer at the time but shifting the mission of the FBI in the following years to get one.
“No longer could our metric be the number of arrests, number of indictments, number of convictions,” he added. “It was answering that one question.”
In a statement, Bush lauded Mueller’s life of service to the public, first as a decorated Marine during the Vietnam War and later in his administration, and added that he and former first lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened" by his death. Just a week into the job as the FBI’s sixth director, Bush said, Mueller “transitioned the agency mission to protecting the homeland after September 11. He led it effectively, helping prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil.”
Mueller’s tenure as FBI director continued under the Obama administration, with the Democratic president even asking Mueller to stay on beyond the traditional 10-year term for FBI directors. He stepped down in 2013.
In a post on X Saturday, Obama called Mueller “one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI.”
He credited Mueller with “transforming the bureau after 9/11 and saving countless lives,” adding: “It was his relentless commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering belief in our bedrock values that made him one of the most respected public servants of our time. Michelle and I send our condolences to Bob’s family, and everyone who knew and admired him.”
In 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed him as special counsel to look into Russia’s efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and any links to the Trump campaign.
Mueller became a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s after the special counsel released a report detailing the investigation’s findings.
The report found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in a sweeping and systematic fashion, including efforts to boost Trump’s campaign and damage that of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. It did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Following news of Mueller’s death, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”
The report also detailed Trump’s frustrations when he learned that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate his campaign and potential ties to Russia.
He called it “the worst thing that ever happened to me,” according to the report.
In 2019, Trump also called Mueller a “true never-Trumper” after the report came out.
Trump’s attacks on Mueller continued in 2025, at the start of his second term, when he signed an executive order severing ties between WilmerHale and the federal government.
At the time, Trump said the law firm had “rewarded” Mueller, accusing him of using his “prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process and distort justice.”
Later, the Justice Department dropped efforts to target WilmerHale and other law firms after multiple judges ruled the move unconstitutional.
When he worked as special counsel during Trump’s first administration, Mueller was well regarded by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle due to his extensive legal career.
James Comey, who succeeded Mueller as FBI director and whose firing by Trump in 2017 over the FBI's probe into Russian interference in the previous year's presidential election led to Mueller's appointment as special counsel, posted a tribute to his predecessor and mentor on social media.
“A great American died today, one I was lucky enough to learn from and stand beside," wrote Comey, who has had an adversarial relationship with Trump since his firing. Comey said the articles being published about Mueller's life "will remind you that the Republican Party not long ago attracted people of character and principle whose only interest was in doing things the right way and serving the country. It must again if we are to be a healthy nation. May his example inspire all of us.”
Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, also posted a statement honoring Mueller later Saturday, after Trump's post, calling the former FBI director “the ultimate public servant, the ultimate defender of the rule of law.”
“I do not know a single, sentient person who actually ever worked with Bob who would express anything other than great respect for him," Holder wrote.
Listing several moments in Mueller's life when he chose "the more difficult path," Holder said they were "uniquely Bob Mueller actions. Every time this nation looked to Robert Mueller for service, for sacrifice and for love of country he agreed."
“Bob was more than a colleague to me. He was a friend," Holder wrote.
Mueller was also a military veteran who served in the Marine Corps as an officer for three years after completing a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from New York University.
He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry for his military service.
Mueller was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He pursued his law degree at the University of Virginia and graduated in 1973.
He went on to work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in San Francisco and later at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Mueller first took a post at the Justice Department in 1989 and was the assistant to then-U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.
