As director of the FBI, he transformed the agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But Robert S. Mueller III, who died in March, is perhaps best remembered as the special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Mueller began his 12-year tenure as FBI director just a week before the Sept. 11 attacks and served across presidents of both political parties. Later, he worked as the special counsel investigating whether the Trump campaign illegally coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of the 2016 election. During the two-year investigation, Mueller notably remained silent even as Trump frequently criticized him and the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
