Robert Mueller, the former longtime director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has died at the age of 81. US President Donald Trump reacted to his death in an extremely disrespectful manner.
His family announced the death of the well-known investigator in a statement to the AP agency, saying that he died on Friday evening. The cause of death was not immediately known. CBS News also confirmed the news of his death.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that Bob passed away on Friday evening,” the family said, while asking the public to respect their privacy.
Changing priorities
Mueller was originally nominated to the position of FBI director by Republican President George W. Bush, taking office just a few days before the devastating terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001. Mueller headed the institution for twelve years (2001 to 2013). His work was so crucial that after the expiration of the standard ten-year term, the US Senate specially extended his mandate for another two years.
According to the AP agency, Mueller fundamentally changed the functioning of the entire office. Until then, the main priority of the FBI was mainly domestic crime, after the fall of the Twins, the office was transformed into a modern agency fighting primarily against terrorism.
The Russian trail and the Trump campaign
Robert Mueller gained worldwide attention again between 2017 and 2019, when he served as a special investigator for the Department of Justice. His investigation put Donald Trump’s election campaign under scrutiny, drawing sharp criticism from the president himself at the time.
His main task was to find out whether the Trump team illegally coordinated with Russia and tried to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in favor of the Republican candidate. Trump’s opponent at the time was Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In his extensive report, Mueller documented in detail Russia’s interference in the US election, as well as Moscow’s multiple contacts directly with the Trump campaign. However, in a final report from 2019, he finally said that the investigation found no evidence that Donald Trump or any other American purposefully cooperated with the Russian government in the election.
A harsh reaction from the president
Donald Trump, who has long and persistently called Mueller’s investigation a fabricated “witch hunt,” reacted to the news of his death. On Saturday, he published a post on his social network Truth Social in which he did not hide his satisfaction.
“Robert Mueller is dead. Okay, I’m glad he’s dead. He can’t hurt innocent people anymore!” wrote the US president.
