How Robert Mueller electrified a nation and infuriated Trump without EVER saying a word in public - and now his report will be the most-read document of the decade
- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to head the Russia probe May 17, 2017
- Mueller hired a team of seasoned prosecutors and began bringing in Trump-connected officials for interviews
- Mueller had been nominated to run the FBI by presidents of both parties and received two awards for valor in Vietnam after as a Marines officer
- Republicans and Democrats praised the initial appointment but as the probe continued, Trump attacked Mueller as 'highly conflicted'
- He scrupulously avoided the spotlight and repeatedly surprised the nation with his court filings
- But he became a cultural icon with bobble heads, an obsessed following of Hollywood liberals and was played by Robert De Niro on Saturday Night Live
- Mueller produced a final report of about 400 pages and turned it in to Attorney General William Barr; he has not spoken publicly since
The man chosen to head the investigation into Russian election interference and any connections to President Donald Trump had an Ivy League pedigree, a reputation for rectitude and avoiding the spotlight, and a Vietnam war record.
Robert Mueller, 74, burst back onto the political scene in 2017 after stepping back from a career in law enforcement where he helmed high-profile investigations, testified before Congress, and oversaw U.S. law enforcement after Sept. 11th.
When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tapped him for the high-profile position, Mueller stepped back from his perch as a partner at the prominent firm of Wilmer Hale that might have capped his career.
BACK TO WORK: Special counsel Robert Mueller arrives at his office in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. He headed the two-year Russia probe, weathering attacks from President Donald Trump
The appointment initially earned plaudits from Republicans and Democrats alike. But within six months of the move, Trump attacked Mueller's investigation as 'the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history.'
Through all the broadsides in a probe that proceeded for two years, Mueller avoided public comment, never testified or faced the media, and was rarely pictured outside other than commuting to work.
When he did turn up, as he did in an airport terminal and at a Washington, D.C. Apple store to get tech support, his presence was so unfamiliar that photos went viral.
Mueller and his team soon established a reputation for avoiding leaks. But he made his impact by calling in a steady stream of Trump associates for interviews, raising anxiety inside the president's circles as one after another had to lawyer up.
Mueller, pictured with former Attorney General John Ashcroft (L), threatened to resign over the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program
Only after Mueller turned in his report did he put himself out in public, as he did when he attended church at St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House, on Sunday, March 24 with his wife Ann. Later that day Bill Barr's summary of his report was published
Fury: These were just two of the many tweets Trump unleashed on Mueller
When he did make his presence known, it was often through piercing indictments, usually delivered on Friday afternoons when political Washington was preparing to shut down for the weekend.
In case after case, he brought charges of lying to FBI investigators, giving the impression he was rolling up a criminal operation that went higher and higher.
But he failed despite prolonged efforts to persuade President Trump to submit to an in-person interview. The president's lawyers feared the president might get charged if he fell into a 'perjury trap.' In the end, prosecutors allowed Trump and his team to provide answers in writing to questions on pre-negotiated topics.
But in March 2019, when Mueller finally turned in his report to Attorney General William Barr, he did not charge any Trump campaign members with conspiring with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 elections.
Throughout negotiations over that fraught topic, as Trump ran through a stream of personal lawyers on his team, the president began to attack Mueller personally as 'highly conflicted.' He cited a years-old dispute over fees at a Trump-owned Virginia golf club that Mueller belonged to, potential conflicts regarding Mueller's old firm, and the odd fact that Trump had interviewed Mueller as a potential candidate for FBI director just the day before he was named special counsel.
Mueller's impeccable reputation insulated him from many of the president's attacks and established a well of political support from Republicans that may have deterred the president from firing him.
If Trump had done so, it might well have figured into an obstruction of justice probe his investigators began assembling after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
But it was not always clear Mueller's gold-plated resume could protect him from Republican attacks, particularly from House Intelligence Committee Republicans who were aligned with President Trump.
A Justice Department Inspector General would uncover damaging information among members of his team – including a stream of anti-Trump texts exchanged by FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. A damaging Inspector General's report on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe charged that he orchestrated leaks and then lied about them to investigators.
With each disclosure, Trump attacked an expanding number of FBI investigators, Justice Department officials, and anyone connected to the golden showers dossier –and demanded an immediate end to the investigation.
At the heart of Mueller's reputation was his military service. Educated at Princeton and an elite boarding school (future Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was his classmate), Mueller enlisted as a Marine and became an officer, getting shipped to Vietnam in 1968.
He received two awards for valor, and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, which he received after being shot in the thigh.
A registered Republican, he held top posts in the Justice Department under President George H.W. Bush. George W. Bush nominated him to run the FBI, and President Barack Obama nominated him for an additional two years following his 10-year-term. He also received an appointed from President Bill Clinton to serve as a U.S. attorney in California.
He married Ann Cabell Standish in 1966. They have two daughters.
He famously joined James Comey in threatening to resign during the George Bush Administration over reimposition of a warrantless wiretapping program.
Mueller's bipartisan support proved useful as Trump trained fire on the team of investigators he assembled. The Republican Mueller assembled a group of seasoned prosecutors, many of whom were in fact registered Democrats, although Justice Department guidelines prohibit making any such decisions based on party.
Mueller would need all the protection he could muster as the indictments and guilty pleas started come down. In October of 2017, prosecutors charged Trump's campaign chair Paul Manafort with money laundering and other crimes –ultimately earning a conviction that brought a seven-year prison sentence.
They charged White House National Security Advisor Mike Flynn with lying to investigators – and secured his cooperation, sending a message to other potential witnesses.
VALOR: Robert S. Mueller, III in his Marine uniform in circa 1967. He enlisted as an officer, then went on to a career in law that took him to the Justice Department. He served as FBI director and was appointed special counsel of the Russia probe
HELP ME: Mueller was spotted at the 'Genius Bar' of an Apple store at the height of the investigation
Cultural moment: Robert S. Mueller III's journey from the Main Line of Pennsylvania, through the Ivy League, Vietnam and the upper echelons of the criminal justice system took a popular turn thanks to his status as special counsel - earning an impersonation by Robert De Niro on Saturday Night Live
Strange meeting: Robert de Niro played Robert Mueller on Saturday Night Live - appearing to Donald Trump Jr played by Beck Bennett in a December 8 cold openb
They secured an early guilty plea of campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, who admitted he wasn't truthful he wasn't truthful about his early campaign conversations about potential dirt on Hillary Clinton. He ultimately served 12 days in prison.
His team indicted 25 Russian nationals and three Russian entities have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States. Court documents described a detailed effort by Russian military intelligence, with funding by a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, carried out hacking and put out sensational posts mostly intended to tarnish Hillary Clinton and assist Trump.
Along the way he became a pop culture hit and a talisman of a divided nation - with a breathless following of Hollywood celebrities hanging on his every move, a trade in bobble-heads and even a Saturday Night Live doppelganger in the form of Robert De Niro, an outspoken Trump critic.
The investigation brought on more fury from Trump with the raid on his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen had kept a trove of documents and recordings, and ultimately pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation related to his work on hush payments to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.
After the raid, Trump tweeted on June 15, 2017: 'You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!' He said there was 'zero proof' of 'a phony collusion with the Russians story' and noted the inquiry into potential obstruction of justice.
The president had warned that getting into Trump finances would be a 'red line,' and although the extent of his inquiry was not fully known, Mueller spun off the Cohen investigation to the Southern District of New York. That entity also took up its own efforts to secure Trump-related documents from Deutsche Bank, a primary Trump lender over the years.
Order already: Amazon was offering a version of the report before it was even finished, with a foreword by Alan Dershowitz, who was one of the most prominent critics of the probe
The looming threat that Trump might fire Mueller and ignite a constitutional crisis was a near-constant feature of the probe, although it wasn't clear the president had the ability to do so.
One elaborate scenario would have involved Trump sacking his attorney general and Rosenstein, then naming an acting attorney general who would to the deed for him. A version of it was revived when Trump finally secured the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and installed Matthew Whitaker as acting AG.
But Mueller continued his work, and after Trump nominated William Barr as attorney general, Barr vouched for his longtime friend when testifying before the Senate. The two men's wives even shared the same bible study group.
'Knowing him, I had confidence he would handle the matter properly,' Barr said of the time he learned of Mueller's selection. 'And I still have that confidence today.'
Trump family members also avoided prosecution – in particular Donald Trump Jr., who attended an infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russians in June of 2016, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had a web of overseas financial entanglements and disclosure issues. However prosecutors did finally indict longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone.
In March of 2019, Mueller completed his high-impact probe in the same constrained manner in which he had conducted it. He went to work in a tan jacket on a Friday, and submitted a roughly 400-page document to the attorney general.
He has not spoken publicly since, commuting by car from his Virginia home to the special counsel's office space in Washington.
His epitaph will be his report - regardless of whether he speaks or not; it was available on pre-order from Amazon even before it was finished and will be the most-read Washington document since the Kenneth Starr report on Bill Clinton.
Key players in the Mueller probe
The Justice officials:
Robert Mueller
The former FBI director was appointed to oversee the probe into Russian election interference and whether there was any collusion with Donald Trump or his campaign. Mueller kept a low-profile, secured multiple indictments and guilty pleas, but failed to secure an in-person interview with the president. He submitted a 400-page report to Attorney General William Barr.
Rod Rosenstein
As deputy attorney general, Rosenstein assumed authority over the Russia probe with the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Rosenstein tapped Mueller to lead the probe – a fateful decision that drew the ire of President Trump, who went after him publicly. He remained on the job with oversight of the probe as Trump launched repeated attacks on the Justice Department. He relinquished formal authority when Trump named Matthew Whitaker acting AG and the Senate later confirmed William Barr to run the agency.
Jeff Sessions
Attorney General Jeff Sessions drew the unending scorn of President Trump by recusing himself from the Russia probe, allowing for Mueller's appointment. He had been a Trump campaign advisor, and had failed to initially disclose his own campaign contacts with Russians.
Matthew Whitaker
Trump installed Matthew Whitaker after asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign. The move put a Trump loyalist in charge of the Mueller probe he had blasted publicly during a critical period. Nevertheless, Whitaker allowed Rosenstein to maintain day-to-day oversight of the probe, and it was allowed to go forward.
William Barr
Trump secured the resignation of Sessions and named Matthew Whitaker acting attorney general. Then, he nominated Barr, who had blasted the obstruction of justice basis for the probe in his writings, and who has taken a view of strong executive power. He was confirmed by the Senate on a 54-45 vote with just three Democrats voting for him. Barr infuriated Democrats by releasing a four-page summary of the Mueller report just 48-hours after he got it.
The campaign advisors
Jared Kushner
The president's son-in-law, a senior White House advisor, was interviewed extensively by Mueller's team. Kushner's White House portfolio, his contacts with Russians and inaccurate disclosures, and his efforts to secure overseas financing for a Manhattan skyscraper all became areas for inquiry.
Mike Flynn
Former Trump National Security Advisor Mike Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his conversations with Russians about sanctions during the transition, and to lying about his lobbying for Turkey. His early cooperation sent a message to other witnesses.
Paul Manafort
Trump's former campaign chair got a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted on one set of money laundering and corruption charges, and pleading guilty to other charges. Prosecutors say he lied despite an agreement to cooperate. President Trump praised his loyalty, but claimed he had not thought about a pardon for his former top advisor.
Rick Gates
Manafort's deputy on the campaign, Gates had been Manafort's business partner, and testified about Manafort's efforts set up offshore companies, failure to pay taxes, and avoid disclosure laws. His participation helped the government untangle extremely complex business arrangements dealing with millions the pair earned for their Ukrainian work.
Carter Page
Page was a Trump foreign policy advisor when there were just a handful of them. His Russia contacts – he gave a speech in Moscow in the midst of the campaign – drew immediate scrutiny. The FBI got a judge's approval for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Warrant to monitor Page – leading to Trump's claim there was 'spying' on his campaign.
George Papadopoulos
Papadopoulos met with a Maltese professor in London who said he had information about Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton, a key development in the beginning of the FBI's counter-intelligence probe on Trump. He pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and served 12 days in jail.
Donald Trump Jr.
The president's son attended an infamous meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016. When word got out, he released a statement saying the meeting was about Russian adoptions. When the New York Times was about to report on the contents of his emails, he tweeted out the entire email chain of contacts with British publicist Rob Goldstone about the promise of dirt on Hillary Clinton. Goldstone was representing pop singer Emin Agalarov, whose father is a major Moscow real estate developer.
Roger Stone
Trump's longtime advisor Stone is an infamous political dirty trickster on the scene since the Nixon administration. Prosecutors charged him with seven counts including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and lying to Congress about his communications with WikiLeaks in January 2019.
Hope Hicks
Trump's long-time press secretary and top White House communications aide met with investigators, and was involved when Trump dictated an initial misleading statement about the Trump Tower meeting with Russians. Having been with Trump since his campaign operated with a skeleton crew, she was a potential font of information. But unlike many Trump aides, she left in good standing, and secured a lucrative job with Fox, where Trump is deeply connected.
The diggers
Christopher Steele
The ex-British intelligence officer compiled information based on his Russia contacts for what became the golden showers dossier, which contained salacious unverified claims about Trump's conduct in Moscow. It also said the Russians had compromising financial leverage over Trump. The FBI obtained the document in 2016, and former FBI Director James Comey briefed Trump about it during the transition.
Glenn Simpson
Simpson's firm, Fusion GPS, conducted the investigation that resulted in the 'dirty dossier.' Fusion began the 2016 campaign under contract from the conservative Washington Free Beacon news outlet, whose leaders hoped to damage Donald Trump enough to drive him out of the Republican primary season. Later, however, the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid Fusion roughly a combined $9 million to continue the work, using a law firm to move the money. Fusion hired Christopher Steele to do the ground work, using his contacts in Russia as sources.
James Comey
Comey led the FBI when it opened a counter-intelligence probe of Trump campaign aides, and when agents obtained judicial approval for a surveillance warrant on Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Trump cited Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe, and his sudden exoneration of her in the middle of the presidential campaign, when he fired him just four months into his presidency. It became one element in the examination of possible obstruction of justice. Comey famously orchestrated press leaks of information from memos he wrote following his private meetings with President Trump, hoping they would lead to a special counsel probe. He delivered riveting testimony after his firing about Trump's request for loyalty and cryptic comments about the investigation of Michael Flynn.
Peter Strzok and Lisa Page
Peter Strzok and Lisa Page
The FBI lawyers became known as 'FBI lovers' after their anti-Trump texts were exposed. Both shared deep concerns about Trump's Russia connections as they unfolded. They became regular features of Trump's Twitter attacks on the Mueller investigation.
The Trump lawyers
Ty Cobb
Cobb joined the Trump White House to aide in his legal defense. He counseled the staff to be in 'full cooperation mode.' Even as the president attacked the Russia probe, Cobb shared his personal admiration for Robert Mueller.
John Dowd
Trump's outside lawyer John Dowd provided some back-channel communications with Mueller's team amid the president's attacks. He disputed journalist Bob Woodward's claim that he called his client a 'f****** liar' and saw the 'nightmare' of possibilities of what would happen if Trump were allowed to meet with investigators after staging a mock interview.
Don McGahn
The White House counsel met with Mueller's investigators for a total of 30 hours. McGahn, who previously served as a member of the Federal Elections Commission and who advised Trump during the 2016, threatened to quit after Trump ordered Mueller's firing, according to a New York Times report.
Rudy Giuliani
Amid a wave of turnover in Trump's legal team, the president brought on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani stumbled several times in interviews and at one point confirmed Trump paid reimbursements to Michael Cohen after he paid porn star Stormy Daniels. He also steered Trump's public response as he managed to avoid having to sit for an interview for the Russia probe despite saying he would love to do so.
The Russians
Vladimir Putin
The Russian president bristled at U.S.-led sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine, seeks to challenge U.S. influence around the globe, and maintained unrivaled control in Moscow as military intelligence undertook an election hacking campaign. Trump drew criticism for repeatedly praising Putin during the campaign and asking Russia to find Hillary Clinton's emails.
Sergei Kislyak
The former Russian ambassador to the U.S. was revealed to have had contacts with a series of Trump-connected figures during the campaign. His Oval Office meeting with President Trump drew attention when the Kremlin, rather than the White House, put out a photo.
Natalia Veselnitskaya
The Kremlin-linked lawyer attended the Trump Tower meeting after the offer of dirt on Hillary Clinton, then frustrated participants by pitching a sanctions-related issue. She was revealed to have worked with the Russian prosecutor general. She was later charged with obstruction of justice in a different money laundering case involving Russia.
Oleg Deripaska
The Russian oligarch was Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort's benefactor – and Manafort also owed him millions during the campaign. Manafort offered to provide campaign updates to the aluminum magnate through an intermediary.
Felix Sater
The Russia-born Sater tried to broker a deal through Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and Russians to build a Trump tower in Moscow, though the project fell through.
Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder published damaging Democratic emails during the campaign. He was arrested on April 11 on charges of conspiracy to hack U.S. government computers in 2010. The initial charge does not mention Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Emin Agalarov
Pops singer Emin Agalarov, an Azerbeijani-Russian entertainer who once cut a music video featuring a cameo by Trump, became an unusual link in the infamous Trump Tower meeting. The son of oligarch Aras Agalarov, it was Emin who put in motion the Trump Tower meeting with Russians by having his associate Rob Goldstone reach out to Donald Trump Jr. about information being promised by Moscow.
Rob Goldstone
Goldstone's email to Donald Trump Jr. became a key piece of evidence of a direct connection between Russians and the Trump campaign. The British PR figure reached out to the president's eldest son, mentioning 'Russia and its government's support' for the Trump campaign and conveyed the offer of dirt on Clinton. He mentioned Emin's father and the 'Crown prosecutor' of Russia, lending legitimacy to what was being conveyed. Long after being swept up in the probe and testifying about the unusual way the meeting came together, he told NPR he had 'no idea what I was talking about.'
The Overseers
Jerold Nadler
The House Judiciary Chair obtained a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, and has emerged as the most prominent figure trying to force its release. He demanded Congress get the full report, called on Mueller to testify, and bashed Bill Barr's four-page letter summarizing the probe's conclusions.
Devin Nunes
The House Intelligence chairman steered his committee's own Russia probe to put the focus on FBI investigators, the origins of the probe, and misconduct. He had to step back from running the inquiry after his White House visits were revealed, including one shortly before he said intelligence agencies may have monitored President Trump incidentally.
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