Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (/ ˈmʌlər /; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States' primary federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a single 10-year term by the President of the Unite…Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
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What was the Mueller investigation?
In February 2018 Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian organizations for election interference, alleging that they used “information warfare” to aid Trump’s candidacy. The various charges included conspiracy to defraud the United States.
How many people were indicted in the Mueller investigation?
By March 2019 Mueller’s investigation had resulted in the indictment of 34 people, 7 of whom had pled guilty.
How many FBI agents were sent to investigate 9/11?
Mueller was confronted with the task of assigning some 4,000 FBI agents to pursue thousands of leads and gather intelligence relating to the activities and identities of the perpetrators behind the attacks. In the wake of the national crisis, Mueller sent agents to at least 30 countries. Later in September 2001, fears of terrorism were further stoked by a series of anthrax-filled letters sent to American media outlets and to two U.S. senators. Mueller was asked by the White House to find out if there was a link between the anthrax and al-Qaeda, the militant Islamist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks, but FBI investigators ruled out that possibility.
Why did the FBI change its focus?
In 2002 Mueller announced that the FBI would be shifting its focus from combating crime to countering terrorism. This change in course was in part a response to accusations of the FBI’s mishandling of crucial intelligence prior to the September 11 attacks. In the following years, the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as detractors of both, continued to spar over issues related to terrorism and domestic security and over whether the events of September 11 could have been prevented.
Who overruled the 2001 wiretap?
The situation was defused when Pres. George W. Bush overruled Gonzales.
Did Barr say Mueller had insufficient evidence to prove Trump had obstructed justice?
Barr went on to say that, in the absence of a legal conclusion from Mueller, he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Trump had obstructed justice. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
What did Rosenstein say about Mueller?
Mr Rosenstein said that given the "unique circumstances", it was in the public interest for a special counsel independent "from the normal chain of command ", to lead the investigation. By placing authority for the probe into the hands of Mr Mueller, the idea was that it would be able to proceed without any interference, ...
What did Mueller say about the indictment of Trump?
He said if his team had had confidence that Mr Trump "clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so".
What did he find?
Mr Mueller's 448-page report said it had not established that the Trump campaign criminally conspired with Russia to influence the election.
Who works for him?
The justice department provided staff, and the special counsel can also ask for specific people from both inside and outside the department.
Why did Barr fire Sessions?
Mr Barr can fire a special counsel for the following reasons: misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or for other "good cause", including violation of department policies.
Why was the Special Counsel appointed?
The special counsel was put in place to oversee the investigation looking into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election, and if Trump campaign figures were complicit.
Does the Special Counsel speak about anything not included in the report?
The special counsel has said his report is his testimony and that he will not speak about anything not included in the report.
Who is Robert Mueller?
Robert Swan Mueller III ( / ˈmʌlər /; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013.
Who appointed Robert Mueller?
On May 17, 2017, Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as special counsel overseeing an investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and related matters. He submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019.
What charges did Mueller file against Manafort?
The 12 charges include conspiracy to launder money, violations of the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, and conspiracy against the United States.
How long have Barr and Mueller been friends?
Mueller and William Barr —the attorney general who supervised the late stage of Mueller's special counsel investigation—have known each other since the 1980s and have been described as good friends. Mueller attended the weddings of two of Barr's daughters, and their wives attend Bible study together.
What countries did Robert Mueller testify against?
Mueller informed the American public that " [s]even countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and North Korea —remain active in the United States and continue to support terrorist groups that have targeted Americans. As Director Tenet has pointed out, Secretary Powell presented evidence last week that Baghdad has failed to disarm its weapons of mass destruction, willfully attempting to evade and deceive the international community. Our particular concern is that Saddam Hussein may supply terrorists with biological, chemical or radiological material." Highlighting this worry in February 2003, FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley wrote an open letter to Mueller in which she warned that "the bureau will [not] be able to stem the flood of terrorism that will likely head our way in the wake of an attack on Iraq" and encouraged Mueller to "share [her concerns] with the President and Attorney General."
How much did Robert Mueller get paid for Takata airbags?
On April 6, 2017, he was appointed as Special Master for disbursement of $850 million and $125 million for automakers and consumers, respectively, affected by rupture-prone Takata airbags. Mueller received the 2016 Thayer Award for public service from the United States Military Academy.
What degree did Robert Mueller get from Princeton?
After graduating from St. Paul's, Mueller entered Princeton University, where he continued to play lacrosse, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in politics in 1966 after completing a senior thesis titled "Acceptance of Jurisdiction in the South West Africa Cases." Mueller was a member of University Cottage Club while he was a student at Princeton. Mueller earned a Master of Arts in international relations from New York University in 1967.
Who was Bob Mueller?
Save this story for later. One day in the summer of 1969, a young Marine lieutenant named Bob Mueller arrived in Hawaii for a rendezvous with his wife, Ann.
Who was Bob Mueller's wife?
One day in the summer of 1969, a young Marine lieutenant named Bob Mueller arrived in Hawaii for a rendezvous with his wife, Ann. She was flying in from the East Coast with the couple’s infant daughter, Cynthia, a child Mueller had never met. Mueller had taken a plane from Vietnam. After nine months at war, he was finally due for ...
What did Mueller know before he became Special Counsel?
Before he became special counsel, Mueller freely and repeatedly told me that his habits of mind and character were most shaped by his time in Vietnam, a period that is also the least explored chapter of his biography.
What movie did Mel Gibson play in 2002?
They were watching We Were Soldiers, a 2002 film starring Mel Gibson about some of the early battles in Vietnam. Mueller glanced at the screen and observed, “Pretty accurate.”. His reticence is not unusual for the generation that served on the front lines of a war that the country never really embraced.
Where did Mueller go to school?
That spring, as Donald J. Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and began working for his father’s real estate company, Mueller finished up Officer Candidate School and received his next assignment: He was to attend the US Army’s Ranger School.
Who is investigating Trump's business dealings?
At the same time, Mueller ’s investigators are probing the business dealings of Trump and his associates, an effort that has yielded indictments for tax fraud and conspiracy against Trump’s former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and a guilty plea on financial fraud and lying to investigators by Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates. The team is also looking into the numerous contacts between Trump’s people and Kremlin-connected figures. And Mueller is questioning witnesses in an effort to establish whether Trump has obstructed justice by trying to quash the investigation itself.
Is Mueller's discipline reflected in the silence of his team?
If Mueller’s discipline is reflected in the silence of his team, his relentlessness has been abundantly evident in the pace of indictments, arrests, and legal maneuvers coming out of his office.
HOW DID MUELLER DO IT?
Mueller obtained thousands of emails from the Trump transition team and interviewed at least two dozen current and former Trump advisers, the president’s Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner; former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Press Secretary Sean Spicer; and former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Mueller’s team subpoenaed Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon to testify before a grand jury, according to The New York Times. Mueller’s team never interviewed the president.
What was the Mueller investigation?
Mueller’s probe focused on Russian attempts to disrupt the 2016 election; possible coordination between associates of Trump and Russia; and whether financial crimes were committed by any of the president’s associates.
WHAT DID THE SPECIAL COUNSEL FIND?
On March 25, Attorney General William Barr sent a summary of what he called the “principal conclusions” of Mueller’s report to key members of Con gress. Mueller’s full report has not been made available to the public, though members of both parties have called for its release.
How many people were indicted in the Mueller investigation?
officials, Trump advisers, legal experts and journalists to give an inside look at the key moments of Mueller’s inquiry, which led to the indictments of more than 30 people. We followed the twists and turns of the investigation. Here’s what we know:
What are the two parts of the Barr report?
Barr wrote in his summary that the report is divided into two parts: the results of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, and an examination of whether the president obstructed justice.
How many witnesses did Mueller interview?
The counsel issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and interviewed around 500 witnesses.
Who tried to convince associates to lie to investigators about the scope of their campaign?
Kilimnik and Manafort tried to convince associates to lie to investigators about the scope of their campaign, prosecutors allege. George Papadopoulos: The former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Who is Schiff in the Mueller investigation?
Schiff, a California Democrat who became a liberal champion during the first impeachment probe and an enemy to conservatives who parroted Trump's rebuff of a "Russia hoax," admitted that he instructed Democrats on the committee to simplify their questioning strategy after the first session to accommodate Mueller's cognitive inhibitions.
Did Mueller charge Trump?
Mueller's team did not charge Trump or anyone on his campaign with conspiring with the Russian government during the 2016 election. Still, prosecutors said the campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia's interference in the election.
Who was the special counsel for Mueller?
When Mueller was made special counsel the next year, Swecker wondered whether he was up to it. Communications aide Mark Corallo was a Mueller fan even as he worked for the Trump defense team. After his departure in July 2017, Corallo awaited a call — not from his old colleagues, but from Mueller.
Why did Mueller meet Swecker?
Mueller flew from Washington, and Swecker met him for breakfast to brief him on the event. He noticed something he had never seen in his old boss. “I remember telling my wife after the breakfast that he’s slipping,” Swecker recalled. “You could tell the acuity was not there. . . .
How long did Chris Swecker work for the FBI?
Chris Swecker spent 24 years in the FBI. He left the agency in 2006 with the highest respect for his old boss, with whom he had extensive daily contact for more than two years. “Mueller was super sharp,” Swecker remembered. In fall 2016, working in North Carolina, Swecker invited Mueller to speak at a conference.
When will Robert Mueller testify?
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller EPA. To the liberal media, special counsel Robert Mueller was the sharp, seasoned, no-nonsense prosecutor who would get to the bottom of “collusion.”. But when Mueller testified before Congress on July 24, 2019, many were stunned to see a man struggling ...
When did Mueller's lawyers meet with Trump?
The session with Mueller’s lawyers took place on Feb. 15, 2018. “At the end of the interview, Mueller came in and shook my hand and put his hand around my shoulder and said, ...
Was Mueller's investigation clear to the outside world?
But the inner workings of the Mueller investigation were never fully clear to those outside. All the president’s lawyers could see was that Mueller didn’t seem to be in control. “Bob at the end was AWOL,” Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow recalled. “That was the great con. He showed up for cameo appearances.
Who is the Pit Bull in the Mueller investigation?
But who? Speculation focused on Andrew Weissmann, the aggressive prosecutor sometimes known as Mueller’s “pit bull.” But the inner workings of the Mueller investigation were never fully clear to those outside. All the president’s lawyers could see was that Mueller didn’t seem to be in control.
Overview
Career
After receiving his Juris Doctor in 1973 from the University of Virginia School of Law, Mueller worked as a litigator at the firm Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in San Francisco until 1976. He then served for 12 years in United States Attorney offices. He first worked in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, where he rose to be chief of the criminal division…
Early life and education
Mueller was born on August 7, 1944, at Doctors Hospital in the New York City borough of Manhattan, the first child of Alice C. Truesdale (1920–2007) and Robert Swan Mueller Jr. (1916–2007). He has four younger sisters: Susan, Sandra, Joan, and Patricia. His father was an executive with DuPont who had served as a Navy officer in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters during World War II. His father majored in psychology at Princeton University and played varsity lacrosse.
United States Marine Corps service
Mueller has cited the combat death of his Princeton lacrosse teammate David Spencer Hackett in the Vietnam War as an influence on his decision to pursue military service. Of his classmate, Mueller has said, "One of the reasons I went into the Marine Corps was because we lost a very good friend, a Marine in Vietnam, who was a year ahead of me at Princeton. There were a number of u…
Personal life
Mueller met his future wife, Ann Cabell Standish, at a high school party when they were 17. Standish attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, and Sarah Lawrence College, before working as a special-education teacher for children with learning disabilities. In September 1966, they married at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. One of their daughters was born with spina bifida.
Further reading
• Mayer, Jane (2009). The Dark Side. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 978-0307456298.
• Graff, Garrett (2011), The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller's FBI and the War on Global Terror, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN 978-0316068611