Robert Swan Mueller III (born August 7, 1944) is an American attorney who was the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from September 4, 2001 to September 4, 2013. Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
Early life and education
Mueller was born on August 7, 1944, in New York City.[2] He is the son of Alice C. (née Truesdale) and Robert Swan Mueller.[3]
Mueller grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from St. Paul's School in 1962, having been captain of the soccer, hockey, and lacrosse teams and won the Gordon Medal as the School's top male athlete in 1962.[4] He went on to receive an A.B. from Princeton University in 1966, where he played lacrosse; he has cited his teammate David Hackett's death in the Vietnam War as an influence on his eventual decision to pursue military service.[5] He also earned an M.A. in international relations from New York University in 1967, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1973.[6]
Military service
Mueller enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1968, attending officer candidate school, Army Ranger School and Army jump school.[7] He then served as an officer leading a rifle platoon of the 3rd Marine Division during the Vietnam War;[2] he eventually became aide-de-camp to 3rd Marine Division's commanding general.[7] He received the Bronze Star, two Commendation Medals, the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.[2]
Career
Following his military service, Mueller continued his studies at the University of Virginia Law School, where he served on the Virginia Law Review. After receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1973, Mueller worked as a litigator 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, and in 1982, he moved to Boston to work in the office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts as Assistant United States Attorney, where he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorism and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics conspiracies and international money launderers.
After serving as a partner at the Boston law firm of Hill and Barlow, Mueller returned to government service. In 1989, he served in the United States Department of Justice as an assistant to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. The following year he took charge of its criminal division. During his tenure, he oversaw prosecutions that included Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, the Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie bombing) case,[8] and the Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. In 1991, he was elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
In 1993, Mueller became a partner at Boston's Hale and Dorr, specializing in white-collar crime litigation. He returned to public service in 1995 as senior litigator in the homicide section of the District of Columbia United States Attorney's Office. In 1998, Mueller was named U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California and held that position until 2001.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Mueller was nominated for the position of FBI Director by President George W. Bush on July 5, 2001.[9] He and two other candidates were up for the job at the time, but he was always considered the front runner.[10] Washington lawyer George J. Terwilliger III and veteran Chicago prosecutor and white-collar defense lawyer Dan Webb were up for the job but both pulled out from consideration around mid-June. Confirmation hearings for Mueller, in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, were quickly set for July 30, only three days before his prostate cancer surgery.[11][12] The vote on the Senate floor on August 2, 2001, passed unanimously, 98–0.[13] He served as Acting Deputy Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice for several months, before officially becoming the FBI Director on September 4, 2001, just one week before the September 11 attacks against the United States.
On May 12, 2011, it was reported that President Obama had asked Director Mueller to continue at the helm of the FBI for another 2 years beyond his normal term, expiring on September 4, 2013.[14] The Senate approved this request on July 27, 2011.[15] On September 4, 2013, Mueller was replaced by James Comey.[16]
Domestic wiretapping investigation
Director Mueller, along with Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, threatened to resign from office in March 2004 if the White House overruled a Department of Justice finding that domestic wiretapping without a court warrant was unconstitutional.[17] Attorney General John D. Ashcroft denied his consent to attempts by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to waive the Justice Department ruling and permit the domestic warrantless eavesdropping program to proceed. On March 12, 2004, President George W. Bush gave his support to changes in the program sufficient to satisfy the concerns of Mueller, Ashcroft and Comey.[17] The extent of the National Security Agency's domestic warrantless eavesdropping under the President's Surveillance Program is still largely unknown.
Post-FBI career
After leaving the FBI in 2013, Mueller served a one-year term as consulting professor and the Arthur and Frank Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University where he focused on issues related to cyber-security.[18]
In addition to his teaching position, Mueller also joined the law firm WilmerHale as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.[19]
In September 2014, Mueller was hired to serve as independent investigator into the NFL's conduct surrounding Ray Rice and issued a report in January 2015.[20]
After his appointment as special counsel in May 2017, Mueller is expected to resign from the firm.[21]
Appointment as Special Counsel in Russia probe
On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to serve as special counsel to oversee the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. The appointment followed a series of events which included Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, and allegations "that the president asked Mr. Comey to drop the bureau's investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn."[21]
Bibliography
- Graff, Garrett (August 1, 2008). "The Ultimate G-Man: Robert Mueller Remakes the FBI". Washingtonian.
- Graff, Garrett (September 1, 2008). "Robert Mueller: Taking on the Terrorists". Washingtonian.
References
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-russia-investigation.html
- ^ a b c Arthur Holst, "Mueller, Robert S. (August 7, 1944-)" in Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: An Encyclopedia of American Espionage (Vol. 1: A-J), ed. Glenn P. Hastedt (ABC-CLIO, 2011), p. 528.
- ^ "Robert Swan Mueller III". Chicago Sun-Times. July 30, 2001. Retrieved December 2, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "FBI Director Mueller '62 Returns to Concord". St. Paul's School. May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "Award winners Mueller '66 and Jackson *86 highlight Alumni Day". Princeton Alumni Weekly. January 21, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "FBI Director Robert Mueller to Receive Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law". University of Virginia School of Law. March 4, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Shannon, Elaine (July 6, 2001). "Robert Mueller: Straight Shooter With a Moving Target". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ Hastedt, Glenn P. (2011). Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: A-J. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851098071.
- ^ "Remarks by the President in Nominating Robert S. Mueller as Director of the FBI". The White House. July 5, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- ^ "Bush Names Mueller FBI Director". United Press. June 6, 2001. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
- ^ "Senate hearing set July 30 for FBI choice Mueller". CNN. June 18, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
- ^ "FBI director-designate has prostate cancer". CNN. June 13, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
- ^ "Robert S. Mueller, III, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" (Plain Text). United States Senate. August 2, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2006.
- ^ "FBI Director to stay in post for another 2 years". CNN. May 12, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
- ^ "Senate Extends Term of F.B.I. Director". New York Times. July 27, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "FBI — James B. Comey Sworn in as FBI Director". FBI. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Eggen, Dan; Kane, Paul (May 16, 2007). "Gonzales Hospital Episode Detailed". Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- ^ Gorlick, Adam (November 5, 2013). "Former FBI director to bolster security research at Stanford" (Press release). Stanford, California: Stanford University. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ^ "Former Director of the FBI Robert Mueller III Joins WilmerHale" (Press release). Wilmer Hale. March 24, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ^ Pelissero, Tom (January 8, 2015). "Mueller report: NFL had not seen elevator video before punishing Ray Rice". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Ruiz, Rebecca R. (May 17, 2017). "Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
External links
- Profile at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and staff
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Robert Mueller on Charlie Rose
- Robert Mueller at IMDb
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- Robert Mueller collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Template:WSJ topic