Robert S. Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed the nation’s top law enforcement agency into an anti-terrorism force after the September 11 attacks and who later became the special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died. He was 81.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Bob passed away” Friday night, his family said in a statement Saturday.
“His family asks that their privacy be respected.”
No cause of death was given for Mueller, a decorated Vietnam War veteran. The New York Times reported last year that Mueller had Parkinson’s disease.
At the FBI, Mueller began almost immediately to reshape the bureau’s mission to meet the demands of 21st-century law enforcement, beginning his 12-year term just a week before the September 11 attacks and serving presidents of both political parties.
He was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.
