- Title: Robert Mueller, special counsel who probed but did not charge Trump, dies at 81
- Date: 21st March 2026
- Summary: KYIV, UKRAINE (FILE - JANUARY 6, 2019) (REUTERS) HONORARY PATRIARCH FILARET, FORMER HEAD OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, HOLDING CHRISTMAS MASS PATRIARCH FILARET BLESSING MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION KYIV, UKRAINE (FILE - OCTOBER 11, 2018) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF CHURCH SERVICE LED BY HEAD OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF KIEV PATRIARCHATE, PATRIARCH FILARET PATRIAR
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Donald Trump Robert Mueller Special counsel
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: US
- Topics: North America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002624221032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Robert Mueller, the no-nonsense former FBI chief who documented Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and its contacts with Donald Trump's campaign but opted not to bring criminal charges against a sitting president, has died at age 81, multiple news outlets reported on Saturday (March 21).
His death was reported by MS NOW and a New York Times journalist who posted a statement attributed to the Mueller family. No cause of death was given for Mueller, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who led the FBI in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.
The New York Times last year reported that Mueller had Parkinson's disease.
Mueller retired after 12 years as Federal Bureau of Investigation director in 2013 but was summoned back to public service by a senior Justice Department official four years later as a special counsel to take over an inquiry into Russia's election meddling after Trump fired then-FBI chief James Comey.
Mueller conducted a 22-month investigation that produced indictments against 34 people, including several Trump associates as well as Russian intelligence officers and three Russian companies, and a series of guilty pleas and convictions. Mueller ultimately stopped short of a criminal indictment of the Republican president, bitterly disappointing many Democrats.
(Production: Arlene Eiras, Kristin Neubauer) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None