ToplineRobert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who concluded Russia influenced voters toward President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, died on Friday—Trump celebrated Mueller’s death by saying he was “glad he’s dead.” Mueller oversaw an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.Getty ImagesKey Facts“With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that [Mueller] passed away” on Friday night, his family told the Associated Press on Saturday.Trump, in a Truth Social post shortly after Mueller’s death was reported, wrote: “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”Surprising FactMueller, who began his 12-year tenure as FBI director one week before Sept. 11, 2001, under former President George W. Bush, was the second-longest-serving director of the agency behind J. Edgar Hoover. Mueller held the role until 2013 after agreeing to former President Barack Obama’s request to remain at the agency, despite his 10-year term ending. Key BackgroundMueller worked as an attorney in San Francisco in the 1970s after serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War, during which he received a Bronze Star. He later became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1982, and after serving at a Boston-based law firm and as a litigator in the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Mueller was named U.S. Attorney in San Francisco, a role he held from 1998 until he was appointed FBI director in 2001. In that role, Mueller shifted the agency’s policies to better prepare for a future terrorist attack. Leaving the FBI in 2013, Mueller worked in private practice until Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asked Mueller to work as special counsel on an investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. Mueller, whose investigation concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election by influencing voters toward Trump’s campaign, opted not to charge Trump with obstruction.Trump’s Years-Long Feud With Mueller: Claims Of ‘witch Hunt’ And ‘russia Hoax’In the years since Mueller oversaw the Justice Department’s investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, Trump has frequently accused Mueller of overseeing a politically biased investigation and a “witch hunt.” An investigation by Special Counsel John Durham—launched under Trump in 2019—found in 2023 that the FBI should never have launched an investigation into connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia, writing the agency relied on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence.” Trump celebrated the report, writing at the time the “American Public was scammed.”Further ReadingForbesSpecial Counsel John Durham: FBI Should Not Have Launched Trump-Russia ProbeBy Molly Bohannon