On May 17, 2017, the Justice Department named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation into Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, “and related matters.”
"My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in making the announcement.
Throughout the length of the appointment, Mueller has been notoriously tight lipped while delivering at least two dozen indictments of Russian operatives and some individuals close to the Trump campaign, including former campaign director Paul Manafort and Trump associate Roger Stone.
Who is Robert Mueller? Here’s a quick look at the man appointed to lead the investigation.
- Mueller was appointed FBI director in 2001 and led the FBI through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He retired in 2013.
- He was the second-longest FBI director in history.
- Mueller, along with then Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, offered 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.
- Mueller was replaced as FBI director by James Comey.
- He worked for 12 years in the US attorney's offices, in the Northern District of California in San Francisco, and also working as an assistant US attorney in Boston.
- He was an assistant to the U.S. attorney general in 1989.
- He is a Vietnam War veteran. As a Marine in the 3rd Marine Division, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Gallantry Cross.
- After leaving the FBI, Mueller joined private law firm WilmerHale.
- The Justice Department said Mueller has resigned from his job at a private law firm to take the job of special counsel.
- He is 72. He was born in New York City. He graduated from Princeton.
- Mueller is married and has two daughters.
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